Hello everyone! It’s nearly the end of November; hard to imagine that we’re nearly in to a new decade already, isn’t it?
Still, keep tackling things one week at a time and we’ll get there eventually. As much as it feels like we might not want to sometimes. Remember, as bleak and shitty as the world might be, there are always video games, anime, manga, music and all manner of other wonderful forms of art and creative expression to escape into when it all gets a bit much.
And if you’re in the mood for a bit of escapism right now, why not delve into what you might have missed in the last week or so? Let’s take a look.
MoeGamer
The MoeGamer Podcast: Episode 31 – Everything Old is New Again – Chris and I get together to talk about “homage” games — titles which pay tribute to classic games, series and genres through more than just simple aesthetics.
The Demon Crystal: House Party – This lesser-known game from 1984 claims to be a pioneer of the action RPG genre, and recently got a rerelease on PC and Switch. It’s an interesting blend of arcade action and what would become Zelda-style item usage.
#ThankYouPatrons – A Message of Gratitude – It was #ThankYouPatrons day on Patreon this week, so I made a special video detailing how much I wanted to thank everyone for their support — whether it’s through simply reading, liking, commenting and sharing, or taking that next step and flinging me a quid or two each month. I love you all!
Warriors Wednesday: Her Name is Rio – In this week’s Warriors All-Stars episode, Rio Rollins Tachibana takes the lead with her casino-inspired attacks.
Waifu Wednesday: Rio Rollins Tachibana – And what better reason to take a closer look at where Rio, a character not hugely well-known in the West, actually came from?
Bullet Girls Phantasia: A Tale of Three Worlds – We close off the Shade feature with a final look at Bullet Girls Phantasia, examining the game’s narrative and how it draws influences from numerous sources to create a unique blend for players to enjoy.
Final Fantasy Marathon: This Might Take a While – Two more Soul of Chaos dungeons to go in Final Fantasy’s endgame… and the next two are going to be quite the lengthy challenge to defeat!
Interspecies Reviewers, Vol. 1: Don’t Pretend You’ve Never Thought About It – I thought I’d start writing about some manga here on MoeGamer, so why not kick off with one of the most provocative titles I could find?
Atari A to Z
This week we dive under the sea to get crabs, race through some physically improbable obstacles before finally settling down for a nice game of perspective-free one-on-one basketball. A fun combo, I’d say!
Patreon
Don’t forget that over on Patreon I post a daily behind-the scenes personal blog that is, effectively, a resurrection of my old #oneaday blog I used to host over at angryjedi.wordpress.com. At the present time, this also includes exclusive patrons-only weekly vlogs on Saturdays! If you’d like to get to know me a bit better, be sure to sign up; just $1 a month (about 80p) can get you in the club, and it also provides you with access to the MoeGamer Discord as well as helping to fund and support the things I do here on the site.
Find out more and sign up here!
Cool Stuff By People Who Aren’t Me
First up, Patreon goodness! Right now, I’m supporting chaotic “old men attempt to talk about games, usually fail” collective Digitiser 2000, the ever-grumpy (and always hilarious) Cheap Show Podcast, gaming and gaming culture commentator Liana Kerzner, independent games writing collective The Well-Red Mage and fountain of retro computer gaming knowledge Rob “Hellfire64” Caporetto, all of whom you can find out a bit more about by clicking through to their profiles.
Matt from Normal Happenings has retired from the Patreon biz this week, but he will be continuing to do what he does best. Exciting things are in the pipeline — exciting things that I’m a part of!
Here’s a selection of YouTube and podcast goodness from several of this lot:
And, as usual, it’s time for a look around the WordPress Reader for posts that have caught my eye this week. As always, if you think I’m not following you and you would like me to — or if you have a post you’re particularly pleased with that you’d like me to feature — do please let me know! I’m always looking for fun things to read during the frequent boring periods at the day job.
Blood on the Dance Floor Retrospective (Lethargic Ramblings) – I don’t think I’ve ever seen Leth so inspired as he has been with this ambitious project, exploring one of the most despised bands of all time. This introduction post features links to all the albums he’s explored so far — with more to come.
Ani-Blogging Safety Tips: Keeping Your Site Yours – No Free Lunch Edition (Crow’s World of Anime) – Crow presents an informative article about a current security risk facing WordPress users. Essential reading for fellow bloggers, particularly for those on the somewhat more vulnerable self-hosted WordPress installations.
Twenty five for twenty five (Kimimi the Game-Eating She-Monster) – Kimimi celebrates the Saturn’s 25th anniversary as only she can — with exhaustive, comprehensive knowledge of 25 of her favourite games from the underappreciated Sega platform.
“Philosophiraga” – Launch and Giveaway! (The Well-Red Mage) – Chris Durston, aka OverthinkerY, has launched his new podcast on The Well-Red Mage, featuring video games and philosophy. Here’s an introduction to what it’s all about.
Call of Duty, I have missed you more than I knew (Geek Sleep Rinse Repeat) – Will takes a look at the latest installment in Activision’s long-running first-person shooter series and finds it to be a “nostalgia hit right to the limbic system”.
Locks, mini-games and The Outer Worlds (Later Levels) – Kim contemplates The Outer Worlds’ removal of “friction” from activities such as lockpicking, and solicits some feedback from the community as to whether or not she’s the only one who misses interactive minigames for small tasks like this.
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That’s it! Hope you’ve had a pleasant week, or at the very least an acceptable one. Don’t forget that I still want your help with the MoeGamer 2019 awards; please leave a comment on that post (not here!) if you have some suggestions. Check out the link for more details on what I’m looking for.
Thank you, as always, for all your support for what I do; it’s very much appreciated. Enjoy the rest of your weekend, and remember, next Sunday it is finally socially acceptable to put your Christmas decorations up, not a moment sooner!
The MoeGamer Compendium, Volume 1 is now available! Grab a copy today for a beautiful physical edition of the Cover Game features originally published in 2016.
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Thanks for reading; I hope you enjoyed this article. I’ve been writing about games in one form or another since the days of the old Atari computers, with work published in Page 6/New Atari User, PC Zone, the UK Official Nintendo Magazine, GamePro, IGN, USgamer, Glixel and more over the years, and I love what I do.
If you’d like to support the site and my work on it, please consider becoming a Patron — click here or on the button below to find out more about how to do so. From just $1 a month, you can get access to daily personal blog updates and exclusive members’ wallpapers featuring the MoeGamer mascots.
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