Vanquish (PS3, 2010)

 

Fantastic Sega game here that really came out of nowhere. It's like Gears of War except fast-paced, and it's a blast. Surprised this never got any kind of a sequel, or even that much notoriety for that matter.

Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride, Part 2 - Faerie Queen

 

Today on Dragon Quest V: A super-eventful part of a super-eventful game. Check out this world map. Looks a bit like DQIV's, with a large inner sea. Pretty sure this game's world is bigger though.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (PS3, 2010)

 

Another PS3 game that later got a PS4 re-release. This one is especially welcome because the first release of the game disappeared off the face of the Earth about seven years ago. Not sure why, but for a long time it just wasn't available anymore. In 2021 it finally saw the light of day again and this time I seized the opportunity.

Nintendo Power Reviews - Episodes 20, 21, and 22 With Notes

 

Get the power! Nintendo Power! The review series has returned with new Youtube episodes.

Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride (iOS/Android, 2015)

 

Jumping over the Super Famicom release (for the moment). This is the first U.S. release of Dragon Quest V, one of the finest 16-bit RPGs to never get an official port over. Originally this came out on the Nintendo DS in 2009 and I wasn't able to get into it. Got maybe a half hour into the game. Now I'm playing the HD phone version from 2015. With new, crisp graphics, will I get further than a half hour this time?

Highlander 4x02 - Brothers in Arms

 

Season 4 does the same thing Season 3 does and has a really relevant second episode. Either of these could have been the season premiere. While 3-02 deals with Duncan's Native American time period, this one deals with Joe Dawson's history.

Code Vein Boss Fights

 

This is a great game. It's basically Souls with less polish, much worse world and level design, and way more attractive characters. The sum total of all of that is that it's a blast. One thing's for sure, ally characters being able to revive you (on a 30 second or so cooldown) really saved me in this game. Recorded all the boss fights, here they are.

Spider-Man and Venom: Separation Anxiety (Super NES, 1995)

 

Here's a game that NOBODY knew existed, it seemed like, back in 1995. That's right, Maximum Carnage actually has a sequel. As popular as that game was, this one is not fondly remembered...or remembered at all. It's nearly impossible to even find information about it online outside of a meager amount of coverage at GameFAQs. So I don't know what I'm getting into here, but expectations are set reasonably low.

Super Mario World Finale - The Aristocrats

Today, I finally find out the secret of the green berries. This game still has things I don't know, 25 years later.

Super Mario World Pt 2 - March Forth

The thing about these two pages of Nintendo Power: Since Vanilla Dome beat me on my first run at this game back in the day, Twin Bridges had this certain mystique to me as the inaccessible next area that I could only glimpse at on these pages.

17 Games I Tapped Out On Midway Through (Updated for 2022)

 

For me to not finish a game that I've put time into, something drastic has to occur. Sometimes a game simply doesn't gel with me. Sometimes it gels fine, yet I find it too difficult to get to the end. This list will cover games that I simply reached the end of my patience with, one way or another, and had to stop playing. Some of them I enjoyed up until around the point where things went bad. The games on this list are by no means bad games (well, some of them are), but simply games that at some point I found myself disliking so much that I just gave up. I'll discuss the why and how of each one, looking at where they went wrong. 2022 Update: Some of these have now been beaten, so I'll get into the how/why. New additions are in bold.

Highlander 4x01 - Homeland

My God. It's finally back.

Super Mario World (Super NES, 1991)

Closing out the year with wholesome Super Mario World posts. Hard to believe I've never covered this. I haven't covered Super Mario Bros 3 either, but we'll get to that eventually. It's been hotly debated which of the two games is the better one, and that isn't a debate I'm ready to wade into. Instead I'll be getting into various memories of the game and my experiences with both playing it and reading about it.

Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen, Finale - Hoffman Estates

The remake of DQIV has a solid Chapter 6 postgame. This takes place before the fight with Necrosaro and actually replaces it, sort of an alternate timeline version of things where Psaro doesn't have to die. We'll also deal with the real instigator behind Psaro's madness.

 

Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen, Part 5 - Necrosaro's Lament

 

Today on Dragon Quest IV, our heroes ride a hot air balloon and take on the final boss, while the dandiest purple-clad bard looks on and sings of them.

Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen, Part 4 - Lady Island

Things get serious on the latest episode of DQIV, as Psaro reveals to his girlfriend that he is school shooter. 

Psaro: "I was the ultimate gentleman, and STILL women didn't throw their undergarments at me at stop lights."

Rose: "I'm throwing my undergarments at you RIGHT NOW! Does this mean nothing to you??"

Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen, Part 3 - A Swift Kick In The Balzack

With the legendary Hero "dead", suddenly parties of adventurers the world over are setting out to be the new Hero. It's sort of like when Superman died and all of those poser "Supermans" appeared. Little does anyone know, the Hero is fine and he's right here. Unfortunately, he's got no allies.

Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen, Part 2 - Ice Packs for Taloon

Endor does not allow gay marriage! That and the Princess wants a husband. Which all begs the question of why they even allowed women into the tournament to decide who she marries in the first place. I think there's a yeti in there too.

Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen (iOS/Android, 2014)

 

I've played this on the NES several times, and I played this on the DS back in college. This mobile port is almost exactly like the DS version, with a couple of neat features and sharper visuals. I wasn't even planning to play this, but it felt weird to jump from DQIII mobile to DQV mobile, and I figured DQIV deserves a "normal" post series after the wrestling-themed one. Let's get going.

Hades (Lots of systems, 2020)

 

The King of the Roguelikes, and the ultimate evolution of / successor to games like Smash TV. I played this on both the Playstation 5 and the Nintendo Switch OLED and it was pretty much the same deal on both.

Brought to you by Raid: Shadow Legends and the Lawn Mower 3.0!