Tag Archives: gameplay

Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy Marathon, Videos

Final Fantasy Marathon: This Might Take a While – Final Fantasy I #21

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Two more Soul of Chaos dungeons to go, plus the Labyrinth of Time… and then we’re done! With the first game. Out of lots.

Yes, the Final Fantasy Marathon is going to take quite a while to get through at this rate, and, hell, the dungeon we start today is going to take two full episodes to get through… but I’m having a good time and I hope you are too.

Today we delve into the Lifespring Grotto, a 20-floor dungeon full of mazes, Final Fantasy V references and assorted weirdness. Watch out for that Atomos, he’s got quite a mouth on ‘im…

Cover Games, Shade

Bullet Girls Phantasia: A Tale of Three Worlds

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shadeheader-3172714This article is one chapter of a multi-part Cover Game feature!
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One of the things I find endlessly fascinating about Japanese popular media is how it blends disparate, seemingly incompatible things together to produce something altogether unique.

That’s certainly the case with Shade’s Bullet Girls Phantasia, a game which pops elements of Cute Girls Doing Cute Things, military action, fantasy fiction and Norse mythology into a big bowl and then whizzes it all around into a fine, blended paste.

It works. It really works. So let’s take a closer look at what you can expect from the narrative, themes and characterisation of this unusual game.

Continue reading Bullet Girls Phantasia: A Tale of Three Worlds →

Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari ST A to Z: Hard Drivin’

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We’ve got it pretty good these days. Even if we haven’t quite mastered true photorealism as yet, we’re getting pretty close, and a lot of game developers have really figured out what is and isn’t fun for the player.

Back in Hard Drivin’s day, though, all sorts of things were still new, exciting and unproven. 3D polygonal graphics, analogue controls, simulation-style handling… all of these things still had to be figured out properly. But Atari Games had a good old crack at it, and actually came out with a decent — if somewhat limited — driving experience.

And, moreover, we actually got a fairly authentic port to Atari ST, too — albeit without all the fancy specialist hardware of the arcade version. But, again, it was a more than valiant effort…

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

Videos, Warriors All-Stars, Warriors Wednesday

Warriors Wednesday: Her Name is Rio – Warriors All-Stars #5

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Arnice takes a back seat this time around as Rio decides to lead the party into battle.

We do our best to fulfil some of Kasumi’s unreasonable demands before moving on to face Laegrinna, star of Deception IV: Blood Ties. She does not want to go down without a rather sneaky fight, but surely the invincible Girl Power team of Rio, Arnice, Christophorous, Kasumi and Honoka will prevail, non?

Warriors All-Stars is, so far, doing a very good job of paying homage to its incredibly diverse source material through a combination of its playable characters, stages, music and overall game design. We’re in this for the long haul, I think!

Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy Marathon, Videos

Final Fantasy Marathon: The Fires of Hell – Final Fantasy I #20

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We’re well into the endgame of the PSP incarnation of Final Fantasy now; today we delve into the second of four “Soul of Chaos” dungeons.

Hellfire Chasm features 10 floors arranged in a random order, with a choice of two Final Fantasy IV bosses to fight on both the 5th and 10th. In order to fill out your Bestiary completely, you’ll need to run the dungeon at least twice to smack ’em all down.

Bring plenty of supplies; today’s a long trip, but we’re just getting started!

Videos, Warriors All-Stars, Warriors Wednesday

Warriors Wednesday: Who’s That Girl – Warriors All-Stars #4

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You know sometimes how you see someone and you know that you know them, but you just can’t remember their name? Yeah, that.

How could I forget dear old Honoka, though? She’s become quite a high-profile mascot for the Dead or Alive series in various crossover collaborations — besides Warriors All-Stars she also had a guest appearance in Senran Kagura — but her name just fell right on out of my head for some reason.

Oh well. At least I remember her name once she’s said it a few times… and once she’s joined Arnice’s brigade of brave warriors!

One-Shots, Switch

Kero Blaster: Amphibious Assault

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Daisuke “Pixel” Amaya is an extremely talented developer with a keen eye for what made older games truly enduring.

His most well-known work Cave Story is quite rightly held up as a shining example of the open-structure 2D platformer done right — and thanks to its numerous rereleases over the years, can be played on a wide variety of systems.

But don’t sleep on Kero Blaster, a very different but equally magnificent love letter to classic old-school gameplay that, like Cave Story, can now be enjoyed on a variety of different platforms, including Windows PC, iOS devices, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch.

Continue reading Kero Blaster: Amphibious Assault →

Videos

Atari A to Z: MasterType

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How’s your typing speed? How’d you like to improve it with the help of a lightning-spewing wizard IN SPACE?!

Such is the concept of Lightning Software’s MasterType, a typing trainer for the Atari 8-bit that I always used to enjoy a great deal as a kid — and, it turns out, I still enjoy an awful lot now, too.

If you’ve ever had trouble quickly and accurately typing BASIC commands or the word “Oriole” under intense time pressure, then you’ll definitely want to check this one out…

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

One-Shots, Switch

House of Golf: Tabletop Tee-Off

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Video games don’t have to be complicated to be enjoyable. They don’t always need to be grand, sweeping great works of art, nor do they always need to have something to “say”; sometimes they can just be fun.

Such is the thinking behind House of Golf, a Nintendo Switch release from Liverpudlian studio Atomicom, a group made up of ex-Psygnosis staffers who were last seen bringing us a game about driving JCB excavators on Mars.

This is a game designed to be nothing more than a bit of fun for 1-6 players — and it achieves this pretty admirably. Let’s take a closer look!

Continue reading House of Golf: Tabletop Tee-Off →

Videos

Atari A to Z Flashback: Backgammon

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A big part of the early Atari 2600 library consisted of digital adaptations of tabletop games — including several that could be played solo against a computer opponent.

One such example was Backgammon, a fairly comprehensive package that allowed one or two players to play Backgammon or Acey Deucey, with or without a “doubling cube” to facilitate gambling.

I’m not good at Backgammon, but aside from this adaptation’s bizarre paddle-based control system, this seems like as good a way as any to learn!

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