Tag Archives: Blue Reflection

Podcast

The MoeGamer Podcast: Episode 19 – Best of Battling

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Good afternoon! Welcome, once again, to The MoeGamer Podcast, featuring a pair of shamelessly pants-free games enthusiasts: myself, and the good Mr Chris Caskie of MrGilderPixels.

The MoeGamer Podcast is available in several places. You canΒ subscribe to my channel on YouTubeΒ to stay up to date with both the video versions of the podcast and my weekly videos (including the Atari A to Z retro gaming series); you canΒ follow on SoundcloudΒ for the audio-only version of the podcast; you canΒ subscribe via RSSΒ to get the audio-only version of the podcast in your favourite podcast app; or you canΒ subscribe via iTunes. Please do at least one of these if you can; it really helps us out!

Or you can hit the jump to watch or listen to today’s episode right here on MoeGamer.

Continue reading The MoeGamer Podcast: Episode 19 – Best of Battling →

Community, One-Shots

Seven Arbitrarily Chosen Things You’re Missing Out On If You’ve Been Operating Under the Mistaken Belief that JRPGs are “Dead”

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It seems that every time we get a new Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy or Persona release, we have the same old “we’re having a JRPG renaissance!” discussion.

Well, dear reader, with my coverage of Death End Re;Quest on the horizon at the time of writing and plenty more RPGs in our shared futures, I’m here to remind you that RPGs have been alive and well ever since what people think of as their “golden age” — the SNES and PS1 eras. This will not be a shock to some of you reading this, of course, but I’m sure there are quite a few people out there who have passed up some wonderful experiences for one reason or another.

So with that in mind, I thought I’d do a list of seven arbitrarily chosen things that you might have missed out on if you’ve been operating under the grossly mistaken assumption that the role-playing game genre has somehow been “dead” despite plenty of evidence to the contrary. Here we go!

Continue reading Seven Arbitrarily Chosen Things You’re Missing Out On If You’ve Been Operating Under the Mistaken Belief that JRPGs are “Dead” →

Features, MoeGamer Awards 2018

The MoeGamer Awards 2018: The “This Game Has An Excellent Female Lead And Is About Being A Girl, Stop Whingeing There Aren’t Any Games About Such Things” Award

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The MoeGamer Awards are a series of β€œalternative” awards that I’ve devised in collaboration with the community as an excuse to celebrate the games, experiences and fanbases that have left a particular impression on me in 2018. Find out more andΒ leave a suggestion here!

This award was inspired by a conversation on Twitter started by someone who is apparently unable to look beyond the big-budget triple-A mainstream — specifically that as depicted by the annual Game Awards — for representation in video games.

I am not a girl. However, for a good few years now, I’ve really enjoyed the opportunity to play as female characters in games. As I recall, the first time I ever did it was inΒ Baldur’s GateΒ on PC (which is also where I dreamed up the name I give every female character where the option to customise exists: Amarysse) and it felt strange and exciting at the time.

Now, it’s a much more normal part of today’s gaming landscape, but some people appear to not recognise this fact. So today’s award rather passive-aggressively celebrates a game I covered this year that particularly emphasises the fact it tells an interesting story with its female lead — a story that is very much about femininity.

And the winner is…

Continue reading The MoeGamer Awards 2018: The “This Game Has An Excellent Female Lead And Is About Being A Girl, Stop Whingeing There Aren’t Any Games About Such Things” Award →

Blue Reflection, Cover Games

Blue Reflection: Sounds of School Days

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This 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 thatΒ Blue ReflectionΒ 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 thatΒ Blue ReflectionΒ 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.

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Blue Reflection, Cover Games

Blue Reflection: Kishida’s Pastel Paradise

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This 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 →

Blue Reflection, Cover Games

Blue Reflection: Everyday Life with Magical Girls

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

Blue Reflection is an unusual game in terms of its overall tone and how it “feels” to play, and a big part of this is due to its mechanics and structure.

If you had to pigeon-hole it into a specific mechanical genre, most people would describe it as a “JRPG”. But in many ways this isn’t a particularly accurate description, since although it features a number of common elements of the genre, it draws just as many influences from other types of game such as adventures and visual novels.

Whatever you want to call it, it’s certainly a pretty intriguing game from a mechanical and structural perspective. So that’s what we’ll be focusing on today.

Continue reading Blue Reflection: Everyday Life with Magical Girls →