Games I Beat: Legend of Kusakari

Legend of Kusakari
Lawn Mowing Sim
1 Player
System: 3DS Download
Developer: Librage
Year of Release: 2016
Beaten: April 5th, 2017

Sometimes things happen that further convince me I'm actually just an insane person. Just, look up the trailer for this game and tell me if the main idea and especially the music would draw you in. Granted the art style is cute, simple and pleasant. But that music is just awful. I needed it.

Cinephilia: The VVitch A New England Folktale

The VVitch A New England Folktale
Genre: Supernatural, Horror, Period Piece
Directed by: Robert Eggers
Starring: Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie
Released: 2015

Blair Witch was doomed to fail. The whole gimmick of "this is actual found footage" unraveled almost immediately, and without that aspect a lot of the impact was lost. Found footage is a dead genre in my honest opinion, the whole premise is almost always just going to irritate viewers and even if the climax gets interesting it almost never makes up for the inane opening bits. The VVitch is nothing like Blair Witch, but it manages to capture that eerie feeling of something living out in the woods.

Games I Beat: Yooka-Laylee

Yooka-Laylee
Collect-a-thon
1 Player
System: PS4
Developer: Playtronic Games
Year of Release: 2017
Beaten: April 23rd, 2017

Huh, I really thought I wrote this already. That's weird, and more proof every day I'm waking up in yet another alternate universe. Yooka-Laylee is one of those kickstarter darlings, with promises of returning to the glory days of Banjo-Kazooie it didn't take long to be fully funded. A few years later, and Yooka-Laylee is released to.... an incredibly mixed consumer base.

The Ol' Boobtube: Star Wars Rebels Season 1

Star Wars Rebels Season 1
Directed by: Steward Lee (Mostly)
Starring: Taylor Gray, Freddie Prinze Jr, Vanessa Marshall
Released: 2014

I just can't escape it. As a kid I grew up with Star Wars, luckily the unedited stuff, like many others Episode I put a real damper on my Star Wars high though. In recent years, as the series has begun to truly flourish again (granted I have issues with both VII and Rogue One, but that's another topic) so too has my interest reignited. From watching the movies again multiple times, to experiencing board and card games, the new comics and finally to Rebels. It was only a matter of time before I finally gave it a shot.

Games I Beat: Injustice 2

Injustice 2
Fighting
1-2 Players
System: PS4
Developer: NetherRealm Studios
Year of Release: 2017
Beaten: May 22nd, 2017

For a good long while I thought Mortal Kombat was a dead series, the whole early 3D era did not do the franchise any favors. And yet, after Armageddon, and a DC crossover, Mortal Kombat's 9th game came out and proved to everyone it wasn't over yet. Since then NetherRealm Studios has been switching between MK and the Injustice series. As a long time DC comics fan, I can't tell you how happy the Injustice games make me, as a concept alone. While taking place in a very dark version of the DC universe, this is just a really solid fighting game with super heroes as characters.

Games I Beat: Stories The Path of Destinies

Stories The Path of Destinies
Action Story Telling
1 Players
System: PS4
Developer: Spearhead Games
Year of Release: 2016
Beaten: May 27th, 2017

Anthropomorphic animals, floating islands, airships, fun action, a Bastion inspired narrator, a pleasant art style, multiple endings, a metaphysical concept as the basic structure of the story, most of these things all appeal to me in some form or another. And yet...

Freemium Perdition: Magikarp Jump

Magikarp Jump
Click the Screen
1 Player
System: Android
Developer: The Pokemon Company
Year of Release: 2017

In the wide world of Pokemon, one in particular has always risen to the top. From competitive tournaments, to contests, to popularity, truly Magikarp reigns supreme. Maybe not exactly, but Magikarp has always had a certain appeal, usually due to his evolution. Magikarp Jump goes out of it's way to put the titular Pokemon in the lime light.

Games I Beat: Dragon Quest VII Fragments of the Forgotten Past

Dragon Quest VII Fragments of the Forgotten Past
JRPG
1 Player
System: 3DS
Developer: ArtePiazza
Year of Release: 2016
Beaten: March 31st, 2017

It genuinely upsets me that it's taken over a month to finally get around to writing this. Dragon Quest is a long running series that I have become a massive fan of over the last several years. The main line series is a very true to it's roots series, mechanically the games are all very similar to one another. And yet they manage to appeal to so many people despite that. That being said, Fragments of the Forgotten Past here is the longest game in the franchise (X, an MMO, not included), is it worth sinking upwards of 80 hours into this game?

Games I Beat: Downwell

Downwell
Reverse Vertical Scrolling Platformer
1 Player
System: Android
Developer: Moppin
Year of Release: 2016
Beaten: April 3rd, 2017

So many times on this blog I'll mention that as soon as I caught wind of a game I knew I needed to pick it up. Lo and behold Downwell is one of those games. Look, fuck the typical intro, just look at this:

Games I Beat: Sega 3D Classics Out Run

Sega 3D Classics Out Run
Road Trip Simulation
1 Player
System: 3DS
Developer: M2
Year of Release: 2015
Beaten: April 4th, 2017

Playing through this game left me with a really odd sensation, at least at first. Video games typically don't illicit a feeling of nostalgia that I can't place. Smells, or sounds might do that on occasion, but usually if I play a video game I'll know why it's making me feel warm and fuzzy. As a child I played Out Run quite a bit and I somehow completely forgot. A day care I used to go to as a young child had several arcade machines, one of which was Out Run. Booting up this 3D remaster(?) brought me back to a time that might have been forever lost had I not.