Atelier Dusk

Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky – Together We’re Stronger

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As time has gone on, the focus of the narratives in the Atelier series has changed somewhat — and it’s gone back and forth between dramatic, world-saving narratives and more personal affairs.

Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky is an interesting one, in that it has elements of both in there. Of course, the very nature of the Dusk setting suggests that we may well be looking at a world that is already beyond “saving” in its entirety — but that doesn’t necessarily mean that people can’t make a difference in smaller areas of that world.

And, as we’ve seen throughout the Atelier series as a whole, no-one is better-placed to make a difference — for better or worse — than your friendly neighbourhood alchemists.

Continue reading Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky – Together We’re Stronger →

Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari A to Z Flashback: Save Mary

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Back in the early ’90s, people were just getting to grips with falling block puzzlers such as Tetris and its numerous imitators.

Which makes it quite a shame that Save Mary, an interesting and original twist on the formula, never made it to release back in the day — because it’s a really fun puzzler. Still, at least we can enjoy it today as part of Atari Flashback Classics!

Check it out in the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

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Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari ST A to Z: Wheel of Fortune

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The public domain and shareware sector of the 8- and 16-bit era was often a great place to find unofficial adaptations of popular board, card and TV game show formulae.

Today’s Atari ST game is a great example of this, providing a solid (if graphically unremarkable) adaptation of the classic game show Wheel of Fortune for two or three players — and including all the tools you need to build your own custom puzzles, too.

Check it out in the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

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Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari A to Z: Caverns of Khafka

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We take them for granted today, but scrolling platformers were quite an unusual sight back in the early ’80s.

One fun example is Cosmi’s Caverns of Khafka, a game developed by Aztec Challenge creator Robert T. Bonifacio. While the game is by no means perfect — it has some fairly severe issues with collision detection at times! — it’s a fun treasure-huntin’ adventure that is worth a play or two.

Check it out in the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

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Announcements, Community

Around the Network

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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.

Continue reading Around the Network →

Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari A to Z Flashback: Saboteur

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Howard Scott Warshaw is a legendary name in video games — not always for the reasons he might have hoped, thanks to his involvement in the notorious E.T. for Atari 2600.

One of his games that never got released was Saboteur, an interesting multi-phase game that acted as something of a spin-off to Yars’ Revenge. The reason it never got released? Atari wanted to turn it into a game based on The A-Team, then got cold feet at the last minute, so it languished in obscurity until it was recovered for collections like Atari Flashback Classics.

Check it out in the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

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Atelier Dusk

Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky – Battles at the End of the World

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cropped-atelier-megafeature-header-1-8868334This post is one chapter of a MegaFeature!
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While, as we’ve already seen, much of Escha and Logy’s time in their own game is spent living the corporate life and doing things that other people tell them to do, there are times when the pair of them have to take their own initiative.

We’ve already looked at how this works inside their workshop; today it’s time to take a closer look at their work out in the field, and particularly at how they fend off the foes they encounter during their investigations.

Yep, it’s combat time again; make sure you’ve got a basket full of bombs, ’cause we’re going to be out for a while!

Continue reading Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky – Battles at the End of the World →

Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari ST A to Z: Venus the Flytrap

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Gremlin Graphics were known for putting out great games, right from the 8-bit era up until their disappearance in 2003.

Venus the Flytrap was a great title from the 16-bit era, featuring an inventive take on arcade-style shoot ’em up gameplay combined with platforming. It looked great, too, even on the Atari ST — in fact, some people even prefer the ST version to the Amiga incarnation of this game, which is a rare occurrence!

Check it out in the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

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Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari A to Z: Beach-Head

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Access Software’s Bruce Carver definitely had a “formula” — one that he successfully refined over the years.

It’s interesting to go back to Beach-Head, one of his earlier games, and see one of the first successful examples of the minigame-centric action strategy his games became known for. Plus it’s just a fun game in its own right, too!

Check it out in the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

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Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari A to Z Flashback: Return to Haunted House

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One of the cool things about the classic gaming scene is that there are always people out there keen to try and built on old favourites.

Return to Haunted House, for example, not only acts as a follow-up to the classic Haunted House, but also builds on the delightful Adventure to provide a rather different experience for those looking for some spooky fun!

Check it out in the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

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