Category Archives: Articles

All the non-Cover Game articles and features in one place.

Community, One-Shots

Dedicated to the Backlog

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On Monday, LightningEllen from Livid Lightning and Kim from Later Levels revealed the first #LoveYourBacklog Week: seven days devoted to showing your backlog some love, rather than the fear and guilt it usually engenders.

I’ve never seen the backlog as a particularly negative thing. As Kim argues in her post on the subject, having a backlog means that you always have something to play — something new to experience, something new to explore. And since starting MoeGamer I’ve really relished having this huge library of titles just waiting for me to delve into in detail and write, make videos and otherwise enthuse about them.

So what is going on with this whole #LoveYourBacklog thing? Well, for starters, people are proudly displaying the size of their backlog via badges on their blogs — if you’re reading this on desktop or tablet, you should see that over on the left. And from there? Well, read on.

Continue reading Dedicated to the Backlog →

MoeGamer Music

Tina Guo – Game On!

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Over the course of the last few decades, the definition of what constitutes “classical music” has gradually been changing.

When I was a child, “classical music” was pretty strictly defined as art music for its own sake — or perhaps as a companion piece to another medium that was also defined as fine art, such as ballet or opera. Soundtracks, of course, existed, but despite sharing a lot in common with “classical music” as defined by popular culture at the time, they were regarded as something… if not lesser as such, certainly different.

Whizz forward to today, however, and we have established classical musicians putting out albums that consist entirely of video game music. Who’d have thought it?

Continue reading Tina Guo – Game On! →

Announcements, Community

Around the Network

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Hello! How are you? The weather seems to be on the turn here and the evenings are getting a bit lighter, so the general mood seems to be lifting a bit. January sure sucks, huh.

Well, a low mood for the last month and a bit hasn’t stopped me from hammering out a whole bunch of cool stuff for you to hopefully enjoy! We’ve kicked off a new Cover Game feature, for starters, as well as several ongoing series.

Hit the jump to see what you might have missed this week.

Continue reading Around the Network →

Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown, Delving Into...

Delving Into Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown – #4

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All right. We’ve established that Ace Combat 7 absolutely has its own sense of style, that the VR mode is something rather special and that it strikes a great balance between arcade action and more realistic simulation. What about the actual missions, and the overall “game” experience?

Well, for those who have been hoping for a true next-gen Ace Combat experience, I am delighted to confirm that you will absolutely find this in Ace Combat 7 — both in terms of its narrative style, and in terms of how it plays.

Actual combat is where the game is at its most unrealistic — but also its most fun. Let’s take a closer look.

Continue reading Delving Into Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown – #4 →

Delving Into...

Delving Into Dynasty Warriors 8 Xtreme Legends Definitive Edition – #2

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As I noted last time, I’ve primarily been spending my time in DW8XLDE so far in the Story mode, so I thought I’d talk a bit about that today.

The Story mode (or Musou mode, as it was called in some earlier installments) has changed its form and structure numerous times over the course of the various Dynasty Warriors releases, but it has always focused on one thing: retelling the story of Romance of the Three Kingdoms by showcasing a number of its most significant battles from several different perspectives.

DW8XLDE’s take on Story mode has a few interesting wrinkles that provide it plenty of replay value… and give the game as a whole a significant amount of content even before you get into the more freeform, strategic Ambition mode. Let’s take a look.

Continue reading Delving Into Dynasty Warriors 8 Xtreme Legends Definitive Edition – #2 →

MoeGamer Music

Diggin in the Carts – A Collection of Pioneering Japanese Video Game Music

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What’s that? A new feature? Why yes, yes it is.

In MoeGamer Music, an occasional feature, I sit down with a blank post and sit down to listen to a whole album without interruptions. While doing so, I will pen some immediate thoughts about each track, as well as providing a bit of information about the album as a whole.

And yes, being a physical release sort of person, everything I will be covering in this column is available on CD, and I will be listening to it on CD rather than ripping it to my digital music library. Distraction-free listening for the win.

We begin today with Diggin in the Carts: A Collection of Pioneering Japanese Video Game Music, published by Hyperdub. If you want to listen along, check out the Bandcamp page here.

Continue reading Diggin in the Carts – A Collection of Pioneering Japanese Video Game Music →

Announcements, Community

Around the Network

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Hello! It is cold. It even snowed this week, though sadly not enough to get off work. Boo and indeed hiss.

Plenty to talk about this week, however, and from next week we’ll be starting a brand new Cover Game feature on the subject of Spike Chunsoft’s sound novel 428: Shibuya Scramble. Please look forward to it!

In the meantime, hit the jump to see what you might have missed this week.

Continue reading Around the Network →

Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown, Delving Into...

Delving Into Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown – #3

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I finally beat Ace Combat 7’s single-player campaign the other night, and the whole experience is indeed a fine addition to the franchise.

Today I thought we’d talk a bit about the mechanics and controls of the game, including where it fits into the overall franchise from this perspective, and into the broader concept of “flight simulators” as a whole.

Suit up and get ready, pilot; it’s time to scramble.

Continue reading Delving Into Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown – #3 →

One-Shots

What’s in the Box: Song of Memories – Encore Edition

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Is it Limited Edition time again? Why yes, yes it is!

I actually wasn’t expecting this one quite so soon; Song of Memories has been delayed so much from its originally anticipated release date that I was very surprised to get a shipping notification the other day, and find it showing up on my doorstep a day later. Still, I’m not complaining!

Song of Memories’ limited edition, known as the Encore Edition, is an exclusive to Funstock subsidiary Rice Digital, who have partnered with publisher and localiser PQube on a number of previous titles. Let’s take a closer look.

Continue reading What’s in the Box: Song of Memories – Encore Edition →

Waifu Wednesday

Waifu Wednesday: Mimi Houllier von Schwarzlang

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Continuing Atelier’s proud tradition of having a number of characters with delightfully flamboyant, somewhat Germanic names, I give to you Mimi Houllier von Schwarzlang.

First introduced in Atelier Totori and subsequently explored further in Atelier Meruru, Mimi is a delightful character to be around. She’s also a great example of how the Arland trilogy as a whole makes good use of established character tropes as a basis, and develops those characters over time in various ways.

Let’s take a closer look at this little firecracker, then.

Continue reading Waifu Wednesday: Mimi Houllier von Schwarzlang →