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Another week has passed us by! It’s been a pretty good week for me; I’ve been on holiday from the day job, and I’ve been using the time to get ahead of schedule on a bunch of projects.

Specifically, I’ve managed to get ahead of schedule on pretty much all of my video series, providing me with ample time to focus on written stuff in the meantime. I’ve got a Senran Kagura feature to finish, and then we’ll be moving on to something a little unusual that I’ve been looking forward to tackling for a while.

In the meantime, though, there is of course plenty that you might have missed in the last week — so let’s take a look at that!

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Videos

Atari A to Z Flashback: Air Raiders

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Let’s check out what is regarded by some as one of the best flight simulators on the Atari 2600!

To be fair, this isn’t a particularly high bar to clear or anything, but Air Raiders is a solid, enjoyable enough game, so long as you pay attention to its unusual structure and mechanics. It’s also historically noteworthy as one of the only “M Network” Atari 2600 releases from Mattel that wasn’t a port of an Intellivision title.

It’s also nowhere near as well-known as some of the more established classics of the Atari 2600 canon, so that’s as good a reason as any to give it a bit of time and attention, hmm?

Find a full archive of all the Atari A to Z videos on the official site.

Cover Games, Senran Kagura

Senran Kagura: Shinobi Creativity

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senran-kagura-header-9065113This article is one chapter of a multi-part Cover Game feature!
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Besides being a cracking series of games that are a lot of fun to enjoy in their own right, a very appealing aspect of the Senran Kagura series for a lot of players is how it encourages creativity.

This has taken a number of different forms over the years, beginning with the simple option to dress the various characters up as you see fit — with these custom appearances being reflected in real-time cutscenes during the game — and gradually evolving into a fully-formed “Diorama” feature where you can arrange and pose characters as you see fit.

Let’s take a look at how Senran Kagura Burst Re:Newal, the next game we’ll be covering here on MoeGamer, handles this side of things.

Continue reading Senran Kagura: Shinobi Creativity →

Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy Marathon, Videos

Final Fantasy Marathon: The Wrong Dungeon – Final Fantasy I #11

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After a bit of farting around getting lost, the Warriors of Light finally find themselves in front of their next dungeoneering challenge.

Okay, it’s the wrong dungeon, but they’re there now, so they might as well dive in and have a bit of an explore. What could possibly go wrong, after all?

Mindflayers, dear reader; mindflayers are what could possibly go wrong.

Essentials, Shmups

Assault Android Cactus: Shooting for the S+

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I remember coming across Assault Android Cactus for the first time: it was back in 2013, when I was still working on USgamer, and I was headed for EGX, or the Eurogamer Expo as it used to be known.

My boss Jaz Rignall suggested that I might want to check out this game he’d heard a bit about, and put me in contact with the developer. I wasn’t sure what to expect going into it; if I’m perfectly honest, I was expecting some sort of fairly forgettable indie fare, but I trusted Jaz’s judgement. He’d been around in the games industry even longer than me, after all, so he knew his stuff.

I was right to trust his judgement. Assault Android Cactus ended up being my favourite thing I saw at EGX that year, and it’s remained a consistent favourite of mine ever since.

Continue reading Assault Android Cactus: Shooting for the S+ →

Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari ST A to Z: Xybots

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Do you like dungeon crawling? Do you like shooting things? Do you like games that begin with the letter “X”, which are in unsurprisingly short supply? Then do I have a treat for you!

Atari Games’ Xybots — originally envisioned as a sequel to Gauntlet but reskinned to sci-fi because someone in a suit figured that a sequel to one of the company’s most popular games of all time would not, in itself, be popular — is an interesting game. And, moreover, one that was probably ahead of its time; turns out that making it sci-fi didn’t make it popular either!

It also features one of my least favourite mechanics from Atari Games releases of this era, but it’s not quite enough to spoil the rest of the experience. This ST port is remarkably true to the arcade version, warts and all…

Find a full archive of all the Atari A to Z videos on the official site.

Waifu Wednesday

Waifu Wednesday: Yumi

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It would probably be remiss of me to ignore one of the most consistently popular characters in the Senran Kagura series while we’re smack dab in the middle of a detailed exploration of it, huh?

Yes, it is absolutely time to acknowledge Yumi’s popularity among fans of the series worldwide — and also to address a few common matters that tend to come up in discussion any time she’s mentioned.

It is also time to remember that cuteneth ith juthtithe. Puri.

Continue reading Waifu Wednesday: Yumi →

Videos, Warriors Wednesday

Warriors Wednesday: Watch Me Whip, Watch Me Nene – Warriors Orochi #55

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By popular request, I present Nene! All right, one person asked if I could unlock Nene and play as her for a bit, but on a channel as small as mine that counts as “by popular request”.

Turns out the suggestion was a good one, mind, as Nene is a ton of fun to play, and manages to make herself useful to Cao Pi’s cause even though she’s considerably lower level than everyone else. But I shouldn’t be surprised really; ninja girls are the best girls, after all.

Having successfully captured Da Ji in a previous sortie, Cao Pi declares Wei’s independence from Orochi and continues growing his army in preparation for the final assault. Today he sets his sights on Nagamasa Azai, who is hanging out in the Chen Cang area… so this seems like as good an opportunity as any to throw Nene in at the deep end and see what she’s made of!

Essentials

Parasol Stars: The Bubble Bobble Everyone Forgets

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At the time of writing, the world is gearing up for a fourth official installment in the Bubble Bobble series.

Wait a minute, I hear you ask, fourth? What happened to the third? I don’t judge you too harshly for asking this question; I know some people who weren’t even aware that Rainbow Islands was the second Bubble Bobble game, so for you to be unaware that there had already been a third one is entirely understandable.

It doesn’t stop it being a huge shame, however, because 1991’s Parasol Stars: The Story of Bubble Bobble III is a wonderful game; one of my all-time favourite single-screen “kill ’em all” platformers, in fact, beaten only by Rod-Land. And yet, for various reasons, very few people either know it exists or remember it.

Continue reading Parasol Stars: The Bubble Bobble Everyone Forgets →

Videos

Atari A to Z: Dan Strikes Back

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After the success of Diamonds, programmer Simon Hunt decided that he wanted to make a sequel using the characters he’d established.

Inspired by the vertical scrolling of Firefleet, another game from English Software, he decided he wanted to expand beyond the original game’s single-screen gameplay, and thus Dan Strikes Back was born.

Digger Dan’s most precious of treasures has been stolen away by the evil Brian the Blob! Can Dan make his way through the many perilous layers of Brian’s vault to reclaim his prize? Probably not, given that I’m in charge, but it’s fun having a go anyway…

Find a full archive of all the Atari A to Z videos on the official site.

The best of overlooked and underappreciated computer and video games, from yesterday and today.