Game Resources – Retro Game Resource

Star Ocean: The Second Story: A Discussion of Its Importance in the History of JRPGs

After my somewhat recent playthrough, and review, of Star Ocean, I felt compelled to immediately jump into the sequel. Unlike its predecessor, I had never played Star Ocean: Second Story.

As a longtime fan of the original, I had longed to finally continue the series and see how the universe was further developed.

With my only criticism of the previous game being a somewhat lackluster story, I yearned to experience the stellar mechanics and gorgeous interstellar visuals in a new setting.

In an era dominated by polygons, Star Ocean: Second Story stands out by utilizing gorgeous 2D sprites atop the characteristic PSX blend of 3D and artfully crafted pre-rendered backgrounds a la Final Fantasy and Resident Evil.

To start, all of the pre-rendered backgrounds are some of the most detailed, and colorful on the console. Hues are seemingly chosen very carefully to create a brilliant contrast between back- and fore-ground, giving Star Ocean: The Second Story a visual advantage over its contemporaries.

Colors and details are not limited to pre-rendered backgrounds; the spritework in this game is meticulously crafted to ensure the player enjoys the familiar 2D character models of yesteryear, while also making apparent that they have entered the next generation of gaming: 32-bits man!

The sprite animation is near-flawless; characters slash, jump, dash and cast magic in an incredibly smooth manner, making the battle look and feel dynamic. This visual touch not only enhances the game aesthetically, but also enhances the gameplay tremendously, by making the player feel directly involved in the action, something uncommon in JRPGs.

This lightning-fast visual style, in tandem with an expertly orchestrated, hard-hitting OST, assist in immersion and make each and every battle feel like a healthy marriage between hack-and-slash and artistic expression.

Battles permit free movement of an individual party member via the D-pad, while using the X button initiates a standard attack on the closest enemy.

During this time other party members will execute pre-set AI behaviors, that vary from using their most powerful techniques, avoiding enemies, healing allies, conserving special attacks, to a bevy of other choices specific to the class of the character.

More specific strategies can be devised by switching the character being controlled on the fly, using menu-based battle commands to execute magic, changing battle formation or party member composition, and executing techniques via preset hot keys on each of the four shoulder buttons.

The presets techniques, unlike in the original Star Ocean, are distance-independent, allowing their execution from anywhere on the field.

These techniques, or “Killer Moves,” and magics are learned both by leveling up, and by using special items garnered by crafting or exploration.

These battles and techniques are accompanied by an improved version of the detailed Skill and Talent system established in its predecessor.

Skills can be purchased in Skill Books from guilds scattered throughout the game, after which point they can be learned via expenditure of Skill Points (SP) garnered from defeating enemies in battle.

These Skills, when learned in groups, provide stat increases, functions outside of battle and Specialities.

Specialities vary widely from learning Music that alters encounter rates, stats, and health, to Smithing or creating weapons, items, and more.

As multiple character’s Specialities are improved by leveling up associated skills, the party’s combined power can be harnessed to access super specialities like Orchestra, which creates a symphony that for its play time, increases the success rate of other specialities, Authoring, which permits the collection of passive income in the form of royalties for the party member’s novels, and a variety of others with functions ranging from decreasing or increasing buy and sell prices, respectively, to creating works of culinary genius, to the summoning of a friendly giant bunny for transport. Star Ocean 2 easily has one of the deepest set of RPG mechanics on the PSX.

The depth of such a system is of note because Star Ocean is one of the first console JRPGs that emphasized action, without sacrificing the underlying intricacies that appeal to the classic JRPG fanatic.

While its predecessor certainly made strides in providing such an experience, the battle system, likely due to technological constraints, did not allow for the free movement that removed the immobilizing chains of JRPG antiquity. Such an advancement helped bridge the gap between pure action RPG and JRPG, striking a perfect balance that has rarely been replicated, even in modern times.

Though the Final Fantasy series, especially in the PSX era, is credited with the widespread increase of the RPG genre’s popularity in the West, I argue that Star Ocean 2, does a better job in appealing to Western sensibilities, by increasing direct involvement in battle. Had it not been for the pre-existing popularity of Final Fantasy, the power of the SquareSoft brand, and Star Ocean’s first foray onto the worldwide stage, I think SO2 had potential for being one of the most popular games on the console.

Star Ocean 2’s gorgeous visuals and enchanting soundtrack, pair well with one of the deepest, action-packed RPG mechanics on the console, resulting in a game that advanced the console JRPG in a direction of increased player involvement, while maintaining the deep mechanics often left by the wayside in many of its action-focused contemporaries.

I regret that it took me so long to finally play this gem. I suggest you do the same.

Japan-Only Release: Star Ocean (SNES) Review and Resource

In the early 2000s I began to dabble in the emulation scene. As the decade progressed, access to games was exponentially increasing, with some of the more popular consoles receiving the most attention.

Of course, the SNES was one of the focal points of the scene with compatibility increasing at a steady rate, and a blossoming community of fan translators giving English speakers, like myself, the opportunity to experience narratives previously locked away in Japan.

One of the first games I played was Final Fantasy V. As a completed translation of the SNES version, it provided the entire experience, with a huge advantage over the slow loading times of the Final Fantasy Anthology edition for PlayStation.

I immediately followed with the Fire Emblem SNES trilogy: Monshou no Nazo (Mystery of the Emblem), Seisen no Keifu (Genealogy of Holy War), and Thracia 776, the latter of which had an incoherent and essential barely usable translation (in 2019 TEAM EXILE fixed this issue by providing a near perfect translation HERE for details.)

Despite all the issues with Thracia, and the epilogue of Seisen no Keifu not being translated (ouch), I still immediately considered these three games some of my all-time favorites.

Thirsty for more of what I was missing, I then stumbled upon fan translations for Tales of Phantasia and Star Ocean, two games whose greatness were continually promoted on internet forums.

I started with the exceptional Tales of Phantasia, a JRPG, but upon entering battle the player is thrusted into a side-scrolling, action RPG-like battlefield. This novel battle system combined with the ability to cook food and modify items, provided an exciting experience that offered an engaging level of depth.

I wanted to experience something similar, but sufficiently different to provide a sense of nuance. So instead of diving more deeply into the Tales series, I decided to play the spiritual successor to Tales of Phantasia, the aforementioned Star Ocean.

Star Ocean promised an even deeper level of customization with a completely different, real-time battle system.

When I finally was able to configure the specialized add-ons to the ZSNES emulator and got my translation patch, I dove right in.

LUNAR 2: Eternal Blue Complete (PSX) Resource

Introduction

As previously mentioned, my introduction to the RPG genre, came in the PlayStation era, with the release of the highly anticipated Final Fantasy VIII. With that wonderful game acting as an entry point, I was propelled into a decade-long journey of exploring innumerable JRPGs. My first venture outside of Square’s vaunted Final Fantasy series was catalyzed by a recurring advertisement in GamePro magazine, a full page spread featuring gorgeous anime-style art of a picturesque azure-haired women and a young man adorned with green battle paint, defying his otherwise gentle gaze.

The game being so prominently featured was Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete for the PlayStation. I remember wanting the game for almost a year and repeatedly staring at the ad in an effort to satisfy my appetite for the what seemed to be an incredibly unique experience in a polygon dominated 32-bit era.

Needless to say, this only made matters worse. Knowing almost nothing about the game, my imagination ran wild; my young mind creating a number of possible stories behind the characters. I spent months perseverating on the image, with hopes that I would eventually add the game to my collection.

Then of course came the day. Having just finished my Cheesy Gordita Crunch, a rare treat, from the mall food court’s Taco Bell, I finally convinced my mom to buy the most extravagantly packaged game we had ever seen. The box was seemingly ten times larger than a conventional PlayStation game, my young mind certainly exaggerated its grandiosity, and it was made of cardboard rather than the standard plastic.

The nuance of the packaging was only outweighed by the contents: a hardbound instruction manual that included a walkthrough for the games opening, a reversible map/poster, stand-up cardboard characters, and a large gold-plated medallion that matched the necklace worn by the game’s apparent heroine.

The instruction manual helped me endure the remainder of my mother’s shopping trip while I was nearly trembling with anticipation. When I finally made it home to my room and popped in the disk, I was treated to something truly astounding.

Retro Revamped #3: Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon

Introduction

Growing up I was always a huge fan of the Castlevania series. It all started for me when I played the first 3 games on my friend’s NES, sometime during the transition between the 16- and 32-bit eras. We spent an entire day getting our young asses whupped by each game, as we illogically jumped from one game to another, losing our progress, but having a hell of a time.

One may ask, Why the hell did it take me so long to play Castlevania? Well I didn’t have an NES growing up, instead relying solely on my Uncle for access to Nintendo’s dominant patriarch console, and unfortunately never got Super Castlevania IV for my SNES. Despite these major oversights, all was forgiven following that fateful day at my friend’s house; I was addicted to the series, now considering it one of my favorite of all time.

Unfortunately, the series in its 2D form has been essentially a no-show since the DS era, and has, of late, been ignored by Konami, who instead prefer to focus on Pachinko machines.

Luckily, the DS games were incredible Symphony of the Night-esque experiences, and kept me busy for quite some time. It is for that reason that I was thrilled when I heard that Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night’s, an ambitious SoTN clone, KickStarter campaign was as success. Though this “MetroidVania” style game is critically adored and widely accepted as the better style of Castlevania, I have always preferred the classic, balls-hard, linear approach to the series.

The last time I was able to experience such a Castlevania was during the PSP’s run, with Dracula X Chronicles, which included a 2.5-D remake of Rondo of Blood, the original Turbografx CD Rondo of Blood, and Symphony of the Night; clearly one of the most epic anthologies in gaming history. Since that experience, I had been starving for more of the classic style of Castlevania, but was left un-satiated. That is, until I discovered that Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night had a certain stretch goal that was successfully reached. The reward for reaching one of the game’s financing goals, was an entire classic-style Castlevania game entitled: Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon. Needless to say I was twice as excited as I was for even the original Bloodstained announcement, despite the game merely being a means to whet the communities appetite during the primary game’s development.

Continue reading “Retro Revamped #3: Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon”

Manipulating the Limits: Exploiting Zell and Rinoa’s Limit Breaks in Final Fantasy VIII

Final Fantasy VIII is the pinnacle of the implementation of Limit Breaks in the storied JRPG franchise.

Stressing interactivity and real-time button presses, Limit Breaks ensure the player is adequately stimulated during battle, while simultaneously being the game’s premier damage output modality.

This amazing iteration of the powerful Limit Break mechanic, can become even more useful to those who know how to exploit it properly. Manipulating character turns, HP and casting certain spells all act as easy ways to control access to Limits.

Manipulating said access, however, is not the only available exploit at the player’s disposal; particular character’s Limits can be made nearly unstoppable, with a bit of planning and some fast fingers.

What I am referring to in this case is Rinoa’s Angel Wing and Zell’s so-called “Armageddon Fist,” a loophole in his Duel Limit Break that allows theoretically infinite damage. In this article I will provide all that is needed to get the most out of these to exceptional Limits, as well as a general overview of making Limit Breaks more easily accessible.

Reaching Your Limits: How to Get Limit Breaks Easily

How to use a Limit Break

When a Limit Break is available a “>” will appear next to the Attack command.

Simply hold right on the D-pad and the command will change to the name of the Limit Break. For example Attack will change to “Duel” for Zell or “Shot” for Irvine.

Low HP

When the player is at approximately 30% of their maximum HP, and it appears Yellow on screen, the chance of a Limit Break appearing increases.

Crisis Level

Crisis Level is a hidden stat that helps determine the availability of a Limit Break during battle.

Crisis Level is determined by 3 main factors.

HP level
Number of KO’d Party Members
Negative Status Effects

As mentioned Low HP alone can cause a Limit Break to appear, but luckily the effect is stackable with the other two influencing factors.

Each status ailment increases the chances by a given percentage. Multiple negative status effects lead to MULTIPLE increases in Crisis Level.

Each KO’d party member also increases the chances of a Limit Break, with the second KO yielding twice as much percentage as the first KO’d character.

These factors can easily be optimized by purposely damaging or inflicting status ailments on party members. Silence is probably the least damaging side effect and is my main suggestion for any character that will not be using Magic.

Aura Spell

Speaking of Magic, the Aura spell, when cast on an ally, increases the chances of having a Limit Break tremendously, regardless of HP level.

Removing the requirement of low HP opens up doors and makes using Limit Breaks far less risky.

That being said, the duration of the Aura status buff is determined by Crisis Level. Higher Crisis Level Yields longer Aura status.

The item Aura Stone, has the same effect and can be used on a party member via the Item command in battle.

Turn Skipping

Despite all of the ways to increase the chances of a Limit Break appearing, it is still based on probability. One could have an 80% chance of obtaining a Limit break according to the Crisis Level and still not get a Limit Break on a characters turn.

More turns leads to more opportunities to win the Limit lottery, but waiting for the ATB gauge to fill and performing senseless commands is both boring and potentially wasteful.

Enter the almighty “O” or “Circle” button. Pressing Circle during battle allows the player to skip a character’s turn without decreasing their ATB gauge. This essentially allows saving a turn for later.

Mashing the Circle button continuously until the “ding” that signifies a Limit Break is heard can, in minimal time, make a Limit appear. This is much more efficient than waiting for new turns as the ATB gauge slowly fills up.

Caution must be used however, if Circle is mashed too fast, and the player’s reflexes aren’t up to snuff, a Limit Break can be skipped over. An additional risk to keep in mind, is that turn skipping can be wasteful if the Crisis level is too low; skipping turns too frequently with a low chance of receiving a Limit Break renders the player inactive, while enemies will continue to attack.

I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing: Zell’s Armageddon Fist

Zell’s Limit Break, Duel, allows the player to enter button combinations of individual attacks as many times as possible within a defined time-limit.

While there are a number of powerful techniques, Zell’s two most basic attacks are the best, wasting the least amount of time during input. The two attacks are:

“Punch Rush” [button input O,X]
“Booya” [button inputs Right, Left on the D-Pad].

Which attack appears first, and how much time is allotted for the Limit Break for that matter, is determined by Crisis Level. Higher crisis levels favor starting with Booyah, while lower favor Punch Rush.

Use your time wisely, entering the smaller combos quickly is superior to large cumbersome button entries

Theoretically it is possible to hit with these two attacks well over 100 times depending in the player’s reflexes and the amount of time given.

In a 12 second Duel, the maximum time awarded, it is possible to do even more if the player is able to make inputs in less than one second, which is definitely achievable even with average reflexes. The overall damage output in such a scenario can be well over 1 million HP with maxed stats.

Two-Winged Angel: Rinoa’s Angel Wing

As the game progresses, Rinoa gains access to a second Limit Break, Angel Wing. This Limit Break sends Rinoa into a berserk-like state that increases magic attack 5-fold.

In this state, Rinoa will psuedo-randomly cast magic from her inventory to attack random enemies, but the Magic will NOT be consumed.

There are some rules, however, to Angel Wing’s spell selection worth knowing that are not openly publicized within the game.

Who is targeted?

Random enemies are targeted. In a group of multiple enemies, one will be chosen at random.

Rinoa will not target the party or herself.

Spells Left Out of the Rotation

Rinoa will NEVER use curative or support Magic that boosts the target. For example Curaga, Aura, and Triple will NOT ever be selected.

Again, this is appropriate considering Rinoa will NEVER target the party or herself, ONLY enemies.

Spells Included in the Rotation

All offensive spells, including elemental and non-elemental spells, and status-inflicting spells can be used during Angel Wing status.

For Example Firaga, Meteor, Silence, Demi and Scan are all possibilities.

Particularly note Scan, the proverbial cock-block of all Angel Wing users.

How Spells Are Chosen

Well, this is complicated. It is psuedo-random, but there does seem to be a few patterns agreed on by most Final Fantasy VIII players.

Firstly, Rinoa tends to use status-inflicting spells more often than any other spell class. This can be marginally useful, but since the spell choice is random, the risk of using a status effect an enemy is immune to is omnipresent. Meltdown, the spell that drops enemy vitality (Vit) to zero, is particularly useful, but otherwise I could do without this class of spells.

Next, Rinoa generally uses the best spells the LEAST frequently. For example, Ultima and Flare will be selected less often the Fira.

Interestingly however, she will generally, but not always, choose the higher level spell in a spell family. In other words, Rinoa will cast Firaga more often than Fira.

Other than these examples, there are some arguments for other patterns of her casting, but I cannot reliably reproduce them. Knowing these general patterns can be helpful, but it is better to control the magic inventory as a means to manipulate Rinoa’s choices.

How to Manipulate Angel Wing

Manipulating Angel Wing via the Magic inventory is a simple and effective way to gain control of the randomness and harness the Limit Break’s true potential.

To start, eliminate all status-inflicting spells from the inventory, with the possible exception of Meltdown, which is incredibly useful at debilitating the enemy’s defenses. Aside from this, make sure Scan is NOT in the inventory, it is the bane of an Angel Winger’s existence

Next, eliminate all but the strongest offensive spells. If far enough in the game, limit them to Ultima, Meteor, Holy and Flare. If elemental magic is necessary, use only what is not resisted or absorbed by the enemies or boss in the area.

It is also wise to limit the inventory to one offensive spell to ensure the desired one is chosen every turn.

This becomes particularly useful with Meteor, which is capable of striking an enemy multiple times, thus allowing the player to exceed the 9999 damage cap. With appropriate junctioning, each hit of Meteor can hit for 5000-8000.

In order of importance, the stats that are highest priority for Rinoa and Angel Wing are:

Magic
Speed
HP

Junctioning Supportive and Curative Magic that are not used during Angel Wing is key. These spells will allow for maxing stats without compromising the control of the Limit Break. Spells like Triple and Full-Life are particularly useful for Speed/Magic and HP respectively. The chosen Non-Elemental Magic can also be used in junctioning, since Angel Wing will not consume any of the spells from the inventory.

Final Word

Overall, Limit Breaks, particularly Zell’s and Rinoa’s, are some of the most lethal attacks available in the game. The game’s most difficult enemies, including the near-immortal Omega Weapon, are all made significantly easier with knowledge of the underlying mechanics of Limit Breaks, and related exploits. Enjoy dominating Final Fantasy VIII.

Final Fantasy VIII (PSX) Resource [Compilation of Final Fantasy #1]

Compilation of Final Fantasy

During the Compilation of Final Fantasy article series, my goal is to tell the story of my experience with one of my favorite series of all time. This likely multi-year endeavor will span from my introduction to the series with Final Fantasy VIII, to all mainline entries in the series. Instead of replaying the games in chronological order, I will play them in the order I, personally completed them. For games with multiple ports or adaptations, I will pick my personal favorite rendition and re-play through that one.

I hope everyone enjoys my story and review of one of the most influential series in video game history.

Introduction

On one fateful day in 1999, a 9 year-old me and a group of friends came across a shady character on the corner hustling outside of my parent’s store. Despite our ingrained inclination to avoid such individuals, there was something particularly special about this man. In his limited collection of mostly useless, and likely stolen, wares laid a beacon of modernity and splendor: a collection of PlayStation games.

Despite being 9 year olds, our level of skepticism was incredibly high, and our trepidation in dealing with strangers incredibly healthy. Needless to say, we were hesitant to interact with this individual. Considering the potential sketchiness of the situation, and the nearly magnetic pull of the PSX games on our pre-pubescent attention, we were forced to act: get my dad.

Being a store owner in an urban environment, he had many a time dealt with the bootleg peddling “entrepreneurs”who generally barged through the door in an attempt to peddle their merchandise to his customer base. As long as they weren’t a nuisance or overtly aggressive in their sales approach, he normally let them make their pitch and leave. On occasion, when the quality of the good was particularly high, and they actually spent money in our own store, he would even give them some play and buy a bootleg here and there. It was for this reason he was consulted in this particular scenario.

As the salesman made apparent his inventory, I was shocked to see one copy each of two fairly new releases: Final Fantasy VIII, for $30 and Syphon Filter, for $20 BRAND NEW. My dad agreed to get me one game as a reward for both my scholastic achievement at the time, and the undeniably good price. I was unsure what direction to go in; my GamePro magazines raved about Final Fantasy, but I wasn’t sure what it or RPGs were, despite being an avid gamer since 1992. I had almost rented Final Fantasy III for my SNES a few years prior, but ultimately ended up settling for Super Mario Kart.

In that moment of indecision an older, and much wiser, friend of mine FIRMLY suggested I get Final Fantasy VIII, even stating if I didn’t like it he would buy it off of me. He clarified what an RPGs was, stating it was like Pokemon, but better and more Adult-focused. From there it was decided, after my father opened the packaging to verify there were actually games in there, and to double check with my friends and I that the disks looked appropriate, payment was made and I quickly abandoned my friends to go try out my new game. As I popped in disk 1 of my first ever multi-disk title, I was transported into a world that forever matured my tastes in games, and opened up an entire new genre to me.

Continue reading “Final Fantasy VIII (PSX) Resource [Compilation of Final Fantasy #1]”

Europe’s Chrono Trigger?: Terranigma (SNES) Resource

Introduction

Terranigma PAL release.jpg — By Source (WP:NFCC#4), Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=41896787

One of my favorite genres is top-down action RPG’s. This love stems from a life-long obsession with 2D entries of The Legend of Zelda series. Though it is arguable whether or not Zelda belongs solely to this genre, it regardless is a genre that provides the best of both worlds: the sense of growth and exploration, prevalent in RPGs, and the fast-paced, skill-based mechanics that define the action genre. As such, I am always on the look out for quality games that fit this archetype.

In high school, I became deeply involved in the emulation scene; spending most of my gaming time both reliving my childhood favorites, and further exploring the libraries of the consoles that laid the foundation for my life-long interest in gaming. Armed with my SNES controller and a USB-adapter, my under-powered family PC in my basement became a make-shift Super Nintendo.

I absolutely attacked the Super Nintendo and SEGA Genesis library, efficiently working my way through the system-defining gems regardless of region. My exploration of region-locked games ultimately led to the discovery that Europeans flipped shit about a game called Terranigma.

Heralding it as their equivalent to Chrono Trigger, not in gameplay style, but rather in level of influence and exclusivity, my European counterparts indirectly urged me to try Terranigma. With every positive review, every emotional forum post, and every sample of the game’s music, my interest grew exponentially.

I read on to discover Terranigma was the final entry in the Quintet Trilogy for the SNES, which also included the US releases Soul Blazer, and the fairly popular Illusion of Gaia. Being in the company of such quality games solidified my confidence in the Terranigma’s rave reviews

Despite my excitement to play the game, and the apparent legitimacy of its greatness, it eventually slipped through the cracks, lost in my ever-expanding backlog. For years, Terranigma always lingered in the back of my mind, begging me to partake in the divine adventure. That is until one day, I could no longer justify the procrastination; I finally dropped everything and dove into the adventure head first.

Continue reading “Europe’s Chrono Trigger?: Terranigma (SNES) Resource”

The Culprit: Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (Genesis) Resource

Introduction

As I have mentioned in an earlier post, “My Introduction to Gaming”, my interest in the wonderful hobby of playing video games, began very early in my life. I was just two-years-old when my cousin, who was 12 years old at the time, showed me his SEGA Genesis and a rather impressive collection of games. In this collection, he had a brand new game he had just purchased, Sonic The Hedgehog 2, which absolutely blew my mind and set me up for a life long passion for gaming.

My previous article inspired me to re-visit this spectacular game for the umpteenth time. Despite, having played it so many times in my life, I had not made the pilgrimage to destroy the Death Egg in over 5 years. That is a hell of a long time for a game that I had otherwise re-played at least once per year for most of my life. This yearly ritual was interrupted both by interference from my real-life responsibilities, developing strategies to combat my backlog, and my interest in pursuing games I have never beaten before.

In starting this site however, I have learned to strike an acceptable balance between revisiting the classics that defined my youth, and creating new memories via experimentation with new games and genres. Sonic the Hedgehog 2, is probably one of the most influential of these games that defined my childhood, primarily because it is the game that started it all, the culprit responsible for initiating my life long love affair with gaming.

Continue reading “The Culprit: Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (Genesis) Resource”

Bushido Blade (PSX) Resource

Introduction

During the 32-bit era, I fervently consumed anything that SquareSoft had to offer. I spent much of this console generation exploring some of the deepest, most visually stunning game worlds of the time; nearly all RPGs, painstakingly crafted by this legendary company.

Considering I was only allowed to play video games on the weekend during the school year, I also spent much of my time gazing longingly at my instruction manuals and Game Pro magazines. Aback one of these manuals, Bushido Blade was prominently advertised, with nothing more than the title and some minor art. I knew nothing about the game, but my imagination ran wild as I wondered what epic adventure Square had in store for me next.

To my surprise, I later saw the game featured in one of my magazines. I discovered it was actually a fighting game that stressed realism and required brutally precise execution to avoid the inevitable one-hit KOs. Gone were wild, button mashing, multi-round fights and life bars that found ubiquity in the genre. Instead, these generic mainstays were replaced with tension-filled, yet brief, fights to the death.

I was excited to get my hands on the game, but never successfully acquired it due to competing demands from other titles on my fragile 7 year old mind. Lost in the ocean that is my backlog, Light Weight’s and SquareSoft’s epic Samurai simulation faded into the void. I would wander through life for years, not knowing the way of the sword.

When I finally acquired Bushido Blade, I was able to experience the way, and my life was forever altered.

Continue reading “Bushido Blade (PSX) Resource”

Go to Hell and Back with NAXAT: Devil’s Crush NAXAT Pinball (Turbografx-16) Resource

Introduction

A genre I often ignore, but am almost never disappointed by is video pinball. Growing up, I loved playing pinball in the arcades. Since these games were almost always cheaper than the newest arcade titles, I would end my gaming session with pinball almost every time; prolonging the inevitable dwindling of my coin stash just a bit longer.

All this time spent playing pinball resulted in my growing very fond of the genre and playing fairly often. This translated into a few home purchases, such as Kirby’s Pinball Land, Sonic Spinball and Pokemon Pinball, all of which I enjoyed to varying degrees. As time passed, I stopped dabbling with the genre mostly due to an ever-growing and all-consuming backlog of games.

As part of my mission for this site, I wanted to spend time delving into a variety of genres, so inevitably, video pinball resurfaced. I was excited to find a treasure trove of games I had missed out on, but which was the best? After extensive research I settled on a gem of a game entitled Devil’s Fury for the Turbografx-16.

Continue reading “Go to Hell and Back with NAXAT: Devil’s Crush NAXAT Pinball (Turbografx-16) Resource”