Tag Archives: video games

Atelier Arland Trilogy, Cover Games

Atelier Rorona: Arland’s New Beginning

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cropped-atelier-header-3938584This article is one chapter of a multi-part Cover Game feature!
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As we’ve previously explored, the Atelier series is no stranger to rereleases and remakes — and at the time of writing, Arland trilogy debut Atelier Rorona has had more than most.

Initially releasing in Japan in 2009 as Atelier Rorona: The Alchemist of Arland before being localised by NIS America for North America, Europe and Australasia in 2010, the game was subsequently completely rebuilt in 2013 under its new worldwide publisher Koei Tecmo as Atelier Rorona Plus in an attempt to bring it more in line with the subsequent releases in the series. In 2015, Japan got a unique 3DS version of the game. And in 2018, Gust and Koei Tecmo brought Atelier Rorona DX — pretty much a port of Atelier Rorona Plus — to Nintendo Switch, PS4 and Windows PC.

Keeping one game relevant for nine full years and counting is no mean feat. So let’s take a closer look at some of the reasons this game might have stuck around for quite as long as it has!

Continue reading Atelier Rorona: Arland’s New Beginning →

Project Zero, Videos

New Game Plus: Where’s My Head – Project Zero #10

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I think we’re over the worst in our Project Zero Nightmare mode playthrough!

Today’s episode concerns the third “night” of the game, and unfolds surprisingly smoothly. There are only two “vanishing” ghosts to find in this chapter… but there are some tough fights ahead, so we’re certainly not in any sort of safe space just yet.

Hit the jump to see how things went…

Continue reading New Game Plus: Where’s My Head – Project Zero #10 →

Essentials, Switch

Fitness Boxing: Switch Fit

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“Exergaming” has been around for a while now; I can recall working up a sweat in Dancing Stage (aka Dance Dance Revolution) on PlayStation 1 back in university.

It was arguably Nintendo who really popularised the concept in the Wii generation, however, with Wii Fit, Wii Fit Plus and subsequently Wii Fit U all setting a great example that a number of other developers and publishers strove to emulate. Exercising at home could be practical, said these games, and it could be fun, too!

The Wii and Wii U generations are behind us now — though I know some people are still religiously using Wii Fit, and all credit to them — so it’s time we had a successor, right? Enter Fitness Boxing for Switch.

Continue reading Fitness Boxing: Switch Fit →

Videos

Atari ST A to Z: Pac-Mania

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There have been numerous attempts to improve on Pac-Man over the years by both Namco and third parties.

One such attempt by the former was Pac-Mania, a game which transplanted Pac-Man’s simple single-screen maze-based gameplay into a scrolling, oblique-perspective affair with jumping, power-ups and visually themed worlds.

Opinions vary as to whether it’s actually an improvement on Pac-Man or not, but one thing is certain: Grandslam’s port to Atari ST was very solid indeed, and one of the few Atari ST games I actually remember buying for myself back when I was a kid!

Follow Atari A to Z on its own dedicated website here!

Podcast

The MoeGamer Podcast: Episode 15 – Mario and Sonic Got Nothing on These Guys

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Hello! Welcome back to The MoeGamer Podcast, featuring the mellifluous tones of both my good self and my valued friend Chris Caskie of MrGilderPixels.

The MoeGamer Podcast is available in several places. You can subscribe to my channel on YouTube to stay up to date with both the video versions of the podcast and my weekly videos; you can follow on Soundcloud for the audio-only version of the podcast; you can subscribe via RSS to get the audio-only version of the podcast in your favourite podcast app; or you can subscribe via iTunes. Subscribe. Semicolons.

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

Continue reading The MoeGamer Podcast: Episode 15 – Mario and Sonic Got Nothing on These Guys →

Podcast

The MoeGamer Podcast: Episode 14 – Point and Shoot

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Hello you! It’s time again for a new episode of The MoeGamer Podcast, featuring me — the Internet’s Pete Davison — and my co-host Chris Caskie of MrGilderPixels!

The MoeGamer Podcast is available in several places. You can subscribe to my channel on YouTube to stay up to date with both the video versions of the podcast and my weekly videos; you can follow on Soundcloud for the audio-only version of the podcast; you can subscribe via RSS to get the audio-only version of the podcast in your favourite podcast app; or you can subscribe via iTunes. Subscribe. Semicolons.

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

Continue reading The MoeGamer Podcast: Episode 14 – Point and Shoot →

Videos

Atari ST A to Z: Haunted House

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Sometimes you feel nostalgia for something not because it was “good”, but because you associate it with happy times.

One such example of this from among the library of Atari ST games I’ve played over the years is Eidersoft’s public domain title Haunted House, a pretty terrible platform game that is essentially a take on the Jet Set Willy formula. Explore, collect things, try not to die.

Atrocious collision detection, the worst run cycle you’ll ever see and the fact it might not even be possible to actually finish the damn thing doesn’t stop me thinking quite fondly of it, however, because I will forever associate it with pleasant memories of childhood. Ahh, simpler times…

Follow Atari A to Z on its own dedicated site here!

Podcast

The MoeGamer Podcast: Episode 13 – Don, Don, Don, Don, Dodododododo KA

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It’s time for a new episode of The MoeGamer Podcast with me and my co-host Chris Caskie of MrGilderPixels!

The MoeGamer Podcast is available in several places. You can subscribe to my channel on YouTube to stay up to date with both the video versions of the podcast and my weekly videos, you can follow on Soundcloud for the audio-only version of the podcast, you can subscribe via RSS to get the audio-only version of the podcast in your favourite podcast app or you can subscribe via iTunes. Subscribe.

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

Continue reading The MoeGamer Podcast: Episode 13 – Don, Don, Don, Don, Dodododododo KA →

Community, One-Shots

The Importance of Preservation

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In case you missed the news, one of the biggest and most long-running sources for emulators and ROM files on the Internet, EmuParadise, has announced that it is undergoing some changes.

Specifically, the site will no longer be providing games for people to download free of charge; it will be continuing to maintain its database of emulators and hosting its community features, but the main draw for many — the extensive catalogue of ROMs for a variety of systems — has gone away, with every download link now leading to a page which states “this game is unavailable”.

I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that this is emphatically a bad thing. But let’s talk about it anyway.

Continue reading The Importance of Preservation →

Community

Brotherhood of the World Bloggers Award

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There’s gaming stuff coming a little later today, but for now it’s time for another Community post!

The charming and attractive Arthifis was good enough to nominate me for the “Brotherhood of the World Bloggers Award”, and these things are always a good bit of fun, so I thought I’d indulge.

For the uninitiated, these “Award” posts are primarily an excuse for those of us with itchy typing fingers to cross-promote each other, get to know one other a bit better and also to let you, dear reader, find out a bit more about us. So without further ado, let’s begin this round.

Continue reading Brotherhood of the World Bloggers Award →