Hello everyone! You’ve probably noticed it’s been fairly quiet around here of late, so I wanted to make sure I got back on with doing these Around the Network posts to keep you all updated with what I’m up to.
For those who weren’t aware, I’m now the editor over at Rice Digital, a site that focuses on Japanese and Asian popular entertainment and culture, with a particular focus on video games. You’ll find my writing over there every day — this doesn’t leave me a whole ton of time or energy to work on MoeGamer, however, which is why the pace of posts has slowed down a bit over here!
I’m still keeping the Atelier MegaFeature going, though, and I will be continuing with the Fatal Rewind MegaFeature in the coming weeks, too — just need to make some time for it. In the meantime, be sure to go support my work (and that of the great writers working with me!) over at Rice Digital every day — I look forward to seeing you there! So let’s catch up on what you might have missed in the last week.
MoeGamer
As noted above, there’s not a ton going on here at the moment aside from the Atelier MegaFeature, so here’s this week’s installment:
Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky – Battles at the End of the World – An in-depth look at how Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky handles combat — including how it contrasts with its immediate predecessor Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemist of Dusk.
Rice Digital
A filthy casual learns to Smash again with Pyra and Mythra – I return to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate after a long break to try out the new characters.
The Returner: Rediscovering Final Fantasy XIV’s true endgame – Glamour is the true endgame, even if you’re not actually at endgame. I check out the “new” glamour system I’ve been yet to engage with!
What makes Karneval an enthralling manga – Lilia explores Karneval, a manga with some beautifully eye-popping artwork, and what makes it so special.
10 Japanese retro classics we’d love to see on Evercade – The title says it all! While there are some great Japanese retro games on the platform already… what if there were more?
The History of Lewd: Amy’s Fantasies – My weekly column on old-school lewd games continues with a look at the thoroughly unusual — and incredibly memorable — Amy’s Fantasies. Genuinely one of my favourite things I’ve written for a long time.
A newbie’s perspective on the Guilty Gear Strive beta – Guilty Gear Strive seems to have mostly been quite well-received by veterans — but how is it for newbies? Rice’s newshound Isaac investigates.
The timeless classic of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time – The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is a classic in both its print and its animated form — though they’re both quite different! Lilia explores the latter.
Happy birthday, Nintendo Switch – here’s 5 of the best Japanese games on the platform – The Switch turned four years old this week, so it’s a fine time to celebrate the wonderfully broad range of Japanese games available on the platform!
What on Earth was the Dot Kareshi ~We’re 8bit Lovers~ trilogy? – Turns out it’s a thoroughly interesting series of short-form otome games that, if you can track down a translation, are well worth your time. Lilia investigates.
Project Lux and VR as the future of theatre – I sat down and played “VR anime” Project Lux this week and came away impressed with the potential of VR — not for gaming, but for theatrical presentations of narratives.
Hump Day Husbandos: Shota Aizawa (My Hero Academia) – Trent celebrates a favourite character from My Hero Academia in our weekly column of lovely men.
Waifu Wednesday: Princess Daisy (Mario) – Trent also celebrates the perpetual underdog in the Super Mario princess stakes. We all know Daisy’s the real MVP.
4 top games to import for your PS Vita – Still hanging on to Vita Island? Here’s four import games you should consider adding to your packaged collection, courtesy of Lilia.
6 of the best Japanese games on Xbox 360 – The Xbox 360 arguably isn’t particularly well-known for its quality Japanese titles — but they do exist. Here’s six of the best.
Why we love the Persona formula – It’s pretty well-established that the Persona way of doing things has proven immensely popular — but what is it that appeals so much? Conor investigates.
Persona 5 Strikers: an imperfect sequel – Persona 5 Strikers has been a great success so far — but Trent felt there was one very important thing missing.
Looking into the underrated Game Boy Colour-style indie gem Prodigal – Lilia gives us a close-up look at a lovely-looking GBC-style adventure that is worth your time.
Video game collecting has never been better… or worse – It is truly both the best and worst of times if you like filling your shelves with video games. I look at some of the triumphs and pitfalls of the hobby in 2021.
What do we want to see from Guilty Gear Strive after the recent beta? – Conor knows his Guilty Gear, so he spent some time with the recent beta and came away with a wishlist of things to improve before launch.
Atari A to Z
This week we’ve got a classic multi-part action-strategy game from Access Software, a bit of top-notch platform shooting from Gremlin, and an unreleased prototype from Howard Scott Warshaw.
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. If you’d like to get to know me a bit better, be sure to sign up; just £1 a month (about $1.50) 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. S-Rank (£5+ a month) Patrons also get to play a part in the monthly Q&A video!
Find out more and sign up to Patreon here!
Cool Stuff By People Who Aren’t Me
First up, Patreon goodness! Right now, I’m supporting Paul “Mr Biffo” Rose’s creative endeavours on the Digitiser YouTube channel, the ever-grumpy (and always hilarious) Cheap Show Podcast, gaming and gaming culture commentator Liana Kerzner, fountain of retro computer gaming knowledge Rob “Hellfire64” Caporetto, blogger/YouTuber meggsngrits and TangoPunk, the newest zine on the block, all of whom you can find out a bit more about by clicking through to their profiles.
Here’s a selection of YouTube and podcast goodness from several of this lot:
With how busy I’ve been, I unfortunately haven’t made a lot of time to zip around the WordPress community, so permit me to correct that oversight right now and pick out five posts that look interesting! I’ll be right back!
Yomu’s Top 10 Small Breasted Ecchi Anime Gals! (Ecchi Hunter) – May as well start with style, huh.
Is Censored Anime Better than None at All? (I drink and watch anime) – Irina poses an important question to which there isn’t really a simple answer.
The Quiet of Winter (hungrygoriya) – Hungrygoriya has some great pickups to share with you all — even though the never-ending pandemic has made it difficult to get out and look for games!
Indietail – Loop Hero (Indiecator) – MagiWasTaken explores a game I’ve seen a decent amount of buzz about in the last week. How is it?
Carrion – My Wayward Son (RNG) – Included primarily for Quietschisto’s atrocious pun, which I thoroughly approve of. The game itself is interesting, too!
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And that’s your lot for now. Hope you’re all had a great weekend, and you have a nice week ahead of you!
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