Essentials, Switch

Switch Essentials: SkyPeace

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One of the core attractions of a handheld games system is the fact that you can take it anywhere.

While it’s awesome to be able to play deep experiences like Xenoblade Chronicles 2 on the go, an important aspect of a successful handheld’s library is a selection of simple “pick up and play” games that can while away a few minutes rather than a few hours. If you’re out and about, you don’t necessarily want to get stuck into a sprawling RPG, after all, so it’s good to have something on hand to fire up when you just want to play something.

This corner of the market has been dominated by smartphones and tablets for the past few years. But the Switch is showing it has plenty of solid offerings in this department, too — and best of all, many of these titles don’t have exploitative free-to-play mechanics attached.

Continue reading Switch Essentials: SkyPeace →

One-Shots

What’s In the Box: Shantae 1/2 Genie Hero Ultimate Day One Edition

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Having missed out on the Limited Run releases of the last two Shantae games, I was damned if I was going to miss out on this one, particularly as it looked like actually rather a nice edition.

And what do you know? It is! It was also no more expensive than buying a “normal” game, which is always nice, particularly as the only thing it’s lacking when compared to something like the Gal*Gun 2 or Cyberdimension Neptunia limited edition is a “big extra” like a plushie or something. I can live without that… although I won’t lie, a plush Shantae to cuddle is fairly appealing in its own right…

Uh, anyway. Here’s what you get in that mouthful of qualifiers for this (presumably) limited edition of Shantae: 1/2 Genie Hero’s “everything in one box” rerelease, which will be part of June’s Cover Game celebrations here on MoeGamer.

Continue reading What’s In the Box: Shantae 1/2 Genie Hero Ultimate Day One Edition →

Community, One-Shots

Four Years of MoeGamer, 37 Years of Pete

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It’s my birthday! More importantly, it’s also MoeGamer’s birthday. Buy us presents! (You don’t have to do that. But I’m not going to stop you if you want to.)

Ahem. Anyway, yes, it is indeed the fourth anniversary of MoeGamer’s inception. I’ve told the story of how the site came about numerous times — most notably in last year’s birthday post — so I won’t reiterate that here. Instead I wanted to take stock of the year that’s gone by and thank you all for continuing to support my work.

It’s been an interesting year, for sure — and a very good one, both for me, and for the site. So that’s nice! Let’s look at it all in more detail.

Continue reading Four Years of MoeGamer, 37 Years of Pete →

Essentials

Namco Essentials: Galaga ’88

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Arcade-era Namco was good at sequels. Not from a story perspective, mind — the sequel to “shoot the aliens” tended to be “shoot more aliens” — but definitely from a mechanical perspective.

One of the best things about arcade-era Namco’s handling of sequels was that they remained recognisably true to their source material while innovating in their own right. Galaga ’88 (also known as Galaga ’90, Galaga ’91 and Galaga 2 depending on where and how you played it back in the day) is one of the best examples of this, as the fourth installment in the Galaxian series.

Galaxian built on the basic premise of Taito’s Space Invaders by featuring a more dynamic arrangement of enemies. Galaga built further on this format with more dramatic enemy formations and movements. Gaplus — one of the few games in the series to not get many home ports, particularly back in the day — added powerups and vertical movement. And Galaga ’88… well, read on.

Continue reading Namco Essentials: Galaga ’88 →

Waifu Wednesday

Waifu Wednesday: Milla Maxwell

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I have a confession to make: at the time of writing, the Tales series is, for the most part, a bit of a black spot in my JRPG knowledge.

I’m not completely clueless on the appeal of the series, however, since back when I was on USgamer I covered the first Tales of Xillia game… and quite early in MoeGamer’s life I explored its sequel in what we now know as a Cover Game feature, albeit before I’d decided to make that a regular thing.

The characters of Xillia in general were a consistently appealing aspect… but one stood out in particular. Milla Maxwell.

Continue reading Waifu Wednesday: Milla Maxwell →

Blue Reflection, Cover Games

Blue Reflection: Sounds of School Days

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cropped-header2-1232508This article is one chapter of a multi-part Cover Game feature!
<< First | < Previous | Next > | Latest >>

We’ve already talked about how distinctive Blue Reflection’s visual aesthetic is thanks to the contributions of Mel Kishida — but its music is worthy of some discussion, too.

It will come as no surprise to longtime Gust fans to hear that Blue Reflection has an excellent soundtrack — though it’s an interesting score overall in that it blends a variety of different styles to create something altogether unique.

It complements the action well and, between it and the visuals, means that Blue Reflection is one of the most distinctive games Gust has put out for a long time. So let’s take a closer look… listen, whatever.

Continue reading Blue Reflection: Sounds of School Days →

Podcast

The MoeGamer Podcast: Pilot Episode – Sega, Sega, Sega

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I’ve been talking about doing some sort of podcast with my good friend and longtime supporter Chris Caskie for some time… and last weekend we finally got around to it!

After the jump (and on YouTube), you’ll find the pilot episode of a new MoeGamer podcast that will hopefully become a semi-regular thing! How regular it is will depend on the schedules Chris and I keep and whether I can get things edited reasonably quickly, but we’re looking at bi-weekly or monthly rather than weekly right now.

We hope you enjoy the show — we had a blast recording it, I had great fun editing it (even if it took all evening) and we’re already looking forward to recording more!

Continue reading The MoeGamer Podcast: Pilot Episode – Sega, Sega, Sega →

Community

The One-Liner Challenge

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Time for a Community tag post! This one looked like a particularly fun one, and after the lovely Irina from I Drink and Watch Anime specifically requested me to do one about games, who was I to refuse?

The original tag came from The Awkward Book Blogger and was based around, as you might expect, books — but it has since expanded to encompass anime and now, thanks to my contribution, games as well.

So let’s jump right in. After the jump. Jumpy jumpy jump.

Continue reading The One-Liner Challenge →

Blue Reflection, Cover Games

Blue Reflection: Kishida’s Pastel Paradise

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cropped-header2-1232508This article is one chapter of a multi-part Cover Game feature!
<< First | < Previous | Next > | Latest >>

Gust’s games are known for having a distinctive aesthetic, but Blue Reflection is one of the company’s most beautifully presented titles.

Offering a combination of high-detail realism in its school scenes coupled with a ton of creativity for the action that unfolds in the manifestation of the collective unconscious known as “The Common”, it really is a lovely game to look at — perhaps not the best-performing game there is, no, but a lovely game to look at nonetheless.

A big part of that is down to the work of Mel Kishida, a frequent Gust collaborator, and an artist with a very distinctive style all of his own.

Continue reading Blue Reflection: Kishida’s Pastel Paradise →

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