Five More Sega Game Series to Bring Back

January 20th, 2024 ThreeHeadedMonkey Posted in Sega | Comment »

Last month, the internet was buzzing with the news that Sega is bringing back some of its old favorite series. New versions of Jet Set Radio, Golden Axe, Streets of Rage, Crazy Taxi and Shinobi are all on the way.

Jet Set Radio is our pick of the bunch. A remake is long overdue, and we can’t wait to see what it looks like on modern hardware.

But apparently these aren’t the only series we’re going to see. What about the rest then? There are plenty of Sega games from yesterday we’d love to see more of.

So, like a spoilt child writing a long letter to Santa, we’ve decided to list some of our dream picks. Sega, if you’re reading, we’d like these please!

Outrun

Outrun screenshot, showing Ferrari driving round corner, with blue skies above. Palm trees and shops at the side of the road.

Outrun needs no introduction. The slightly less iconic sequel Outrun 2 is, in all its forms, one of my favorite racers ever, and difficult to find these days. It did get ported to PC, but is now delisted. You can play the original Outrun on the 3DS and inside Yakuza 0 though.

In any case, the series is long overdue a remake. If not a full on remake, then how about a remastered collection, with the original and its various sequels? That would shift a few units Sega, get to it.

Alex Kidd

Alex Kidd screenshot showing Alex jumping between columns of destructable blue orbs.

The Alex Kidd games were 8-bit classics. The series never got a proper move into 3D, but would be ideal for a remake. A modern 2D version in the mold of Sonic Mania would go down well, but we wouldn’t say no to a Jak ‘N Daxter type 3D affair, either.

As colorful as possible please, Sega.

Please make chanken optional though, or perhaps have a special chanken zone where its fans can amuse themselves to their heart’s content.

Altered Beast

Altered Beast screenshot showing man in wolf form, surrounded by purple robed undead carrying their own skulls.

Altered Beast was never the best game in the world, but it was a good bit of Christmassy fun, and its not especially good MegaDrive version will, as a pack-in game, have welcomed many users to the system.

It did get a not-especially good sequel in 2005, but that’s a long time ago. How about rebooting it as a dark, gloom ridden soulslike, with skill trees for every beast type and a character that moves and fights something like Sega’s other, definitely doesn’t need more sequels series, Yakuza?

While we’re on that subject, how about a Yakuza special edition with a massive arcade including most or all of Sega’s back catalogue? I’d buy that.

Ecco the Dolphin

Ecco screenshot showing dolphins swimming above and below the water.

Who doesn’t love Ecco? Where has it been all these years? Sega did try rebooting it for the Dreamcast, but that version was never released. It’s well overdue for a reboot.

Something like Subnautica, but you’re a dolphin and considerably less terrifying. Replace the base building with a network of sub-aquatic chums that help you out and give you extra powers. Fish that cloak you. A Healing anemone. Also, the ability to go really, really fast and leap out of the water doing flips and pirouettes for big score bonuses. C’mon Sega, we’re just doing your job for you at this point.

MSR

Yes, we know there was Project Gotham, and yes that series is probably owned by Microsoft, but how about a brand new spiritual tribute to the series that returns to the series roots? The original had a few neat tricks that were dropped in the Project Gotham series. 

The races that were only open at certain times. The limited garage that forced you to really get to know the cars you did buy and.. That’s as much as we can remember really, but I remember it being a joy to play, and that’s reason enough to bring it back.

Developer Bizarre Creations has sadly closed its doors, but this series is fondly remembered. Tearing round facsimiles of real cities was great fun, and had a different character to Forza Horizon’s similar, but not quite the same real world approach.

That’s All Folks

There you go. Do those tickle anyone’s fancy? How about you, what sequels to long forgotten games would you like to see?

There’s no shortage of choice, and Sega’s rich history is full of games that deserve another outing. We can’t complain though, the one’s they’ve promised us should keep us busy.

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Guardians of Gaia out in January

December 2nd, 2023 ThreeHeadedMonkey Posted in PC | Comment »

Guardians of Gaia is an intriguing looking action combat game with a new demo up on Steam now. It’s a multiplayer brawler with an in-depth control system and action stylings.

The game is a one-man project, by Tokyo’s Handmade Games. It’s incredibly impressive for an individual project, so let’s hope it does well.

The demo lets you fight your way past waves of guardians that grow in number as you progress. When you start out it’s just one guy, backed up with a handful of grunts to let you get the hang of the controls. By the last level you’ve got a tough fight on your hands as seven guardians need to be downed.

You have a range of powers to help you, and can pick up and upgrade various different weapons. The graphics look unique – kind of voxelly, and I’m keen to check it out the finished game. The storm effects, which get more intense as the demo progresses, are also cool.

The full game is coming out on February 24th. Those of you that enjoy PvP multiplayer should check it out. Here’s the Steam link.

Edit: This post originally mentioned the shaky performance of the game on older machines, but this has now been improved in updates. The post has also been expanded, and includes an updated release date.

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Missile Dancer 2 Demo Review

November 18th, 2023 ThreeHeadedMonkey Posted in Nintendo, PC, Review, Switch | Comment »

Missile Dancer 2 is an upcoming game from Japanese indie developer Terarin Games. There’s a new demo on Steam, which we took a look at.

The game plays like a combination of Afterburner and Space Harrier, with the emphasis on the former. You’re flying a combat aircraft into the screen and have missiles, which lock on to multiple targets, and a cannon, which shoots close range targets and enemy missiles.

As well as enemy planes to fight, there are also giant robots and other weird enemies more akin to Space Harrier. There are also obstacles to dodge, which we didn’t quite get the hang of in our brief playthrough.

Based on our first impressions the game will lead towards the tough side. It’s a lot busier and pressured  than the aforementioned Super Scaler games, and feels like a bullet hell game at times with so much going on. There are three difficulty levels, so you can keep things manageable, or make things even harder, if that’s your thing.

Missile Dancer 2 has bright, chunky graphics and gorgeous retro sound. Gamers of a certain age will love it. The demo includes a tutorial, and a 3-minute score attack mode, though the demo doesn’t include any of the arcade mode.

The final game promises 16 levels of arcade action on top of what you can try in the demo, and we can’t wait to check it out. Check out the demo now on Steam. Take a look at Terarin’s site for more info.

Want to support JGG? Great, that’s real nice of you. You can help us out by buying through our affiliate links. If you do this, we get a small commission, and there’s no extra cost to you.
Click here to buy Japanese games and goods at Play Asia, and help us out at the same time. Thank you!

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Japan Game Charts – October 16th-22nd

October 27th, 2023 ThreeHeadedMonkey Posted in Charts | Comment »

Super Mario Bros. Wonder has gone storming to the top of Japan’s weekly game charts. According to Famitsu, it debuted with 638,634 copies sold. SpiderMan 2 also entered the charts with 77,348 sales, representing the only PS5 entry. The rest are all for the Switch.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder has been a triumph, with some critics comparing it to the most popular choices for the best 2D Mario games, Super Mario World on the SNES and Mario Bros 3 on the NES.

Mario’s former rival Sonic is still not finished – Sonic Superstars creeps into the chart at 9.

Here’s the whole chart:

1. (NE) Super Mario Bros. Wonder – Switch – 638634

2. (NE) SpiderMan 2 – PS5 – 77,348

3. (3) Jinsei Game (Game of Life) – Switch – 10554

4. (2) Pikmin 4 – Switch – 10208

5. (6) Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Switch – 5305

6. (5) Pokemon Scarlet / Violet – Switch – 5260

7. (7) Minecraft – Switch – 4923

8. (1) Detective Pikachu Returns – Switch – 4718

9. (NE) Sonic Superstars – Switch – 4128

10. (9) Super Smash Bros Ultimate – Switch – 3615

You can view Famitsu’s full top 30 here, or take a look at the top 10, and the week’s hardware sales, here.

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Figurines for Monster Hunters

October 26th, 2023 ThreeHeadedMonkey Posted in Japan | Comment »

The Monster Hunter series has been booming in recent years, with the games getting better and better. Capcom recently launched a new series of figurines, allowing real life collectors to bag the monster of their choice. Those pictured are available for a cool JPY9,900.

The PVC and ABS figures here are about 10-15cm tall, so they won’t frighten the cat, but they’re pretty good for the price.

Including those pictured, there are eight different sets of monsters available. You can also buy an item pack, if you want to remind yourself of those reassuring health items while going about your business.

Check out the shop, here.

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Evolution of the Japanese Shooter

October 17th, 2023 ThreeHeadedMonkey Posted in Arcades | Comment »

The shooting game is a long-time staple of Japanese arcades, and one of the most recognizable game genres there is.  From humble beginnings in the days of Space Invaders, it evolved into an increasingly complex form, ending in the bullet hell shooters we see today.

There have been many, many fantastic titles over the years, but while most are content to tread the same path as their peers, a few key titles went further, and pushed the genre forward. We’re looking at those games now, as we trace the evolution of the Japanese shooter.

Zapping aliens was once the quintessential gaming experience. Nowadays, there’s far more variety in our gaming diets and though that’s perhaps a change for the better, there’s still nothing like a good old fashioned shooter to test the nerves and reflexes. Let’s go through the games one by one, and see how the genre developed.

 Space Invaders – 1978

Space Invaders is arguably the most iconic game of all time. The one that even your Gran knew about back in the days when older ladies didn’t typically know about such things. The aliens moving from side to side, the increasingly fast der, dun, der, dun sound, the ship dodging behind the bases. Space Invaders is a game of simple ingredients, but it’s amazing how well it all hangs together. Everything in the game just works, and it is still worth a play today.

Space Invaders burst into existence in 1978 and sequels are still being made, with recent updates for smartphones and home consoles building on the old formula. Space Invaders Infinity Gene, Space Invaders Extreme and other spin offs bought the series to new generations of gamers.

Developed at Taito and designed by Tomohiro Nishikado, Space Invaders made great use of the limited technical tools at its disposal. The game’s colors are created by strips on the display unit glass, and speed changes as the enemies are killed is simply a result of the processor slowing down when all the enemies are still alive.

Space Invaders, needless to say, was a smash hit, gaining popularity first in Japan, and then throughout the world. Total sales of $13 billion are a testament to the game’s enduring appeal and as well as making money, it inspired legendary developers, including Shigeru Miyamoto and John Carmack.

Phoenix – 1980

Space Invaders was a simple game, but things would soon get much more complex. Several similar games would follow in its wake, such as Galaga and Galaxian. These introduced new ideas, such as aliens swooping down in formation, and the ability to capture incoming enemies and turn them against their friends.

Phoenix arrived in 1980 and took the shooter formula further, with different levels and featuring a variety of enemies. You’ve also got a shield to protect you from the onslaught.

The grand finale is one of gaming’s first boss battles. After downing a few screens of minions, you had to take on the boss alien himself, hiding at the center of a massive flying saucer.

Your bullets gradually carve a path through the ship’s armour, which included a rotating belt that also has to be worn down. Once it is damaged enough, you can send a shot all the way through to take out the alien leader. It’s a great gaming moment and a lot more satisfying than the health bars many later games would use for bosses.

The origins of the game are unclear, with US developer Centuri licensing it from a company based in Phoenix, Arizona, but also claiming in interview to have licensed it from a ‘smaller Japanese developer.’ Taito eventually released it in Japan.

Whether Japanese or American, Phoenix was a great game that added a sense of progression to the endless screens of aliens most other games presented you with. The shield also hinted at the increase in complexity that was to follow.

Scramble – 1981

In February of 1981, Konami’s Scramble added scrolling to the mix, along with multiple distinct phases in each level. It also gave you multiple weapons, with both a forward firing gun and bombs to manage. Your fuel gauge, ticking down as you flew forward, had to be topped up as you went. This trope didn’t really catch on, but the multiple weapons would become a staple of the genre, as would the scrolling levels.

Scramble was also a fairly plausible looking game. You were invading what looked like a moonbase protected by defensive missiles and occasional swarms of aliens. As the genre progressed, enemies would get more spectacular and more abstract, but Scramble’s grounded approach and scrolling levels gave it a more solid feel to many of its predecessors.

Scramble gave you more to think about than simply firing your gun at the baddies. Positioning and strategy were important. The fuel management meant you had to plan a little bit too. Soon though, things would get more complex still.

Gradius – 1985

We’re jumping four years to 1985 now, but staying with Konami. Gradius, released in the West as Nemesis, is sometimes viewed as an indirect sequel to Scramble, but it’s far more of an archetypal scrolling shooter than its earlier sibling. Gradius allows you to collect power-ups, which can be traded in for different upgrades. These include extra speed and a variety of weapons.

The upgrades transformed your ship so much that playing the game is a completely different prospect when you are fully tooled up to when you start with your weedy pee shooter. This gave the genre another of its gameplay staples – losing a life would make it extraordinarily difficult to make progress, particular as later games made a virtue of their spiraling difficulty. That brings us on to one of the all-time greats.

R-Type – 1987

R-Type perhaps represents a peak for the shooter genre. It’s brilliance of design was matched by its off-puttingly fearsome difficulty – few players would reach the end, but many would try, pumping in coins, desperate to get a little further and see more of its amazing sights. Massive alien ships took up entire levels, huge Geigeresque monsters snaked across the screen, and levels made of flesh intertwined with technology took visuals to new heights.

Later games might have been better, but R-Type came at a time when shooters still seemed to matter. Four years later in 1991 Street Fighter 2 hit the arcades and the new multiplayer beat-em-ups would dominate the arcade scene over the coming years.

Gamers’ genre of choice had shifted. After that scrolling shooters became more and more niche. That’s not to say they got worse, some stunning games would follow, and still do, but few of the later games in this list resonate in the popular consciousness as much as R-Type. But shooters weren’t finished yet.

Giga Wing – 1999

Giga Wing isn’t the most well known game on this list, but it’s an early example of a bullet hell shooter and a good representative of what the game style is all about. In this kind of game enemy bullets pour toward you from all directions, and survival is a matter of hunting for the tiny spot on screen where you can remain safe.

These games are a visual feast, despite only being in 2D, and interpreting the waves of enemy fire and finding a path through the chaos is what they’re all about. There are loads of games like this, but Giga Wing is a personal favourite, having fought through its levels on a handful of 50 yen coins many years ago.

Since staying alive for more than 30 seconds is quite challenging in these games, they weren’t hugely popular. The shooter had become a genre for genre specialists. The Playstation had widened gaming’s audience and accessibility was becoming more and more important to publishers.

There were still new ideas waiting to be discovered however.

Rez – 2001

This is a bit of an offshoot, as it isn’t a traditional shooter by any means. It’s not even an arcade game, but a console title that has recently been re-released in VR. It does though, seem part of the same lineage, with its abstract shapes and waves of enemies.

Weird, cool, but far more accessible than nearly all modern shooters, a competent player can reach the end of it in no time at all. They’ll probably want to play it again though.

Rez is both a game and an experiment. You float through surreal 3D landscapes, shooting at enemies with a weapon that plays beats as it fires. Lock onto multiple enemies and the rhythmic musical response goes on for longer. The further you get through the levels, the more intense the music gets.

Back in 2001 the game was a marvel, sparking those never ending discussions on whether games could be art. Inspired by Kandinsky, it aims to create a state of synesthesia, blending your senses and making the visuals and sounds flow into one another. At times Rez is a game. At others it is sound. But really it’s both. The experiment works.

Though released years ago, it’s design was so strong it survived the update to VR, and is a perfect fit for the new technology. It’s continuing appeal shows how forward thinking Tetsuya Mizuguchi’s original Playstation 2 creation was.

Like Space Invaders, the visuals go hand in hand with the sound to create the experience. We’ve come a long way, but not everything has changed.

Ikaruga – 2001

Back to more traditional territory now. Ikaruga gives you a ship that can switch colour from black to white. The enemies are all one colour or the other, and cleverly, you’re only vulnerable to bullets of the opposite hue.

Chaining kills in groups of the same colour lets you rack up seriously big points, but doing so is not for the faint hearted. Survival is a more attainable goal for new players.

It was a tough call which of Treasure’s classics took this spot, but we plumped for Ikaruga over Radiant Silvergun. Radiant Silvergun is very much worth playing though, and feels a bit less austere than Ikaruga.

Both games have a feature where they roll out credits the more you play, which seemed a little unsatisfying to us at first. It meant you were relying on self-discipline if you wanted to finish the game on a respectable amount of credits.

But these games weren’t about getting to the end anymore, they were about winning with as much style as possible, climbing up the high score table by ever greater mastery.

The Here and Now:

Though recently updated, Rez came out nearly twenty years ago, as did Ikaruga. In those years bullet hell shooters have flourished, though mostly outside the eye of the mainstream. Cuphead made waves recently, and is a fine game, if not a genre changing one.

For those looking to pick up older games, collections of retro classics regularly appear in online stores. The recent Gradius collection on Switch is worth a look for example, as is the Darius collection.

Switch online subscribers should also check out their NES and SNES libraries for Star Solder, Twinbee, and others. Mini-consoles are great places to look, too. R-Type has a good remaster available on Steam, and other platforms.

There are other modern Japanese shooting games of course, Splatoon for example, but that feels cut from a different cloth to those we’ve listed here. We know we haven’t mentioned everything, Raiden, Metal Slug and various gun gallery games, for example. Why not check those out yourself? They’re worth a look.

The traditional shooter itself has developed from an arcade staple into a bit of a niche pursuit. It isn’t the most visible genre around these days and that’s a shame, given its rich history. On the plus side, there is plenty of that history to explore and more and more of it is available to download and play. Why not have a look through the games here, and see what you can find? They’re better to play than to read about. Have fun!

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Tokyo Game Show 2023 Launches Today

September 21st, 2023 ThreeHeadedMonkey Posted in Japan | Comment »

Tokyo Game Show Logo

The 2023 Tokyo Game Show starts today and runs until Sunday 24th. As usual it features hundreds of exhibitors from Japan and around the world, with a record 787 this time around.

There are various ways to view the event, with livestreams on Youtube from the main show, Microsoft and others.

Expect to see many reveals and surprises along with new features for existing titles. Capcom are showing several games including Resident Evil 4’s VR mode, Ace Attorney Trilogy, and Street Fighter 6

Despite starting today, the show is only open to the public from Saturday, and the 2,300 yen tickets need to be purchased in advance.

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition Review

September 13th, 2023 ThreeHeadedMonkey Posted in Nintendo, PC, Playstation, Xbox | 2 Comments »

TALES OF VESPERIA: DEFINITIVE EDITION REVIEW

Tales of Vesperia is an epic JRPG from Namco-Bandai. Originally released on the XBox 360, it was then expanded for the PS3 where it gained two extra playable characters along with new sidequests, items and abilities. More recently, a remastered version, the ‘definitive edition’, appeared on PC and consoles, giving players the chance to experience it again. That’s what we’re looking at today. It’s not the first time we’ve looked at it, we had a brief look at the original XBox 360 version demo many years ago.

Tales of Vesperia Screenshot - Yuri at home

A Long and Winding Road

Like many JRPGs, Tales of Vesperia is a sprawling tale that sees your band of heroes fighting for the existence of the world itself. But it is also a tale of friendship, with your team of loners and misfits gradually overcoming their personal demons as they try to figure out how to do the right thing in a confusing, morally ambiguous world.

There’s an environmental subtext to the story too, with humanity’s overuse of resources leaving the world imbalanced, causing an ever greater flood of monsters to besiege them.

Like most JRPGs, it is a long game. The story meanders, twists and turns, and you’d be forgiven for wondering exactly what is going on at certain points. The characters keep the game fun, however, and things do eventually gel.

The characters bond gradually through the game, and their interactions subtly change to reflect this. Some characters also have skills that complement each other, such as getting stat boosts when particular members are in the active team.

Aside from the story, there’s plenty to think about with side quests and various types of collectable to hunt down. There are costumes, titles, skills and combat moves to find, along with a monster book and item book to fill out.

Tales of Vesperia Screenshot - Yuri riding a dragon with mystery rider

The game doesn’t have a proper side quest tracker, and many of them are just a case of being in the right place at the right time. That means you’ll stumble across scenes hotch potch style as you revisit older areas. That makes keep of tracking things very tough, but does keep things interesting as you often get a surprise cutscene when heading back to a town, or resting at an inn.

There are all kinds of playable sub-games however, ranging from poker to snowboarding, to a kind of warehouse sokoban. A lot of the wider content is quite hard to stumble across on first playthrough. If you don’t consult a guide, you can easily miss a lot of what’s there. It doesn’t help that much of the additional content doesn’t become available until the endgame approaches.

That can make the game feel a lot more linear than it is. But once you start to figure out the various sidequests available to you, you’ll soon find yourself with far more to do than you have time for.

Finding everything is quite the task though, especially given the length of a single playthrough. It’s unlikely you’ll do everything without a guide, but you can carry quite a lot over from game to game. Tales games are designed for multiple playthroughs, and this is no exception. Most collectibles can be carried over. There’s plenty of replay value to be had working through the game again to get what you missed, and as you can carry powerful items through, your subsequent playthroughs get much quicker.

The Sights and Sounds of Terca Lumireis

Tales of Vesperia’s graphics are occasionally gorgeous, but do look a little flat sometimes. Character designs are great and there are a huge number of combat moves, many of which are spectacular, particularly the spells.

Tales of Vesperia Screenshot - Yuri and Estelle on Dhangrest bridge

The remastered PC version allows you to play at 60 FPS, and has filters improving the game’s overall appeal. Unfortunately, it isn’t very well optimized, with microstutter appearing regularly to interrupt the game’s flow. It isn’t a deal breaker however.

Sound is pleasant enough. The music is mostly jaunty and pleasant but lacks the emotional punch of a good Final Fantasy, or the drama of Zelda. Character dialogue is excellent, and varied with the cast constantly bickering and bantering as they explore.

Stronger and Stronger

Combat is in real time with you taking control of one (or two, with a friend) of your team of four. You have a wide range of moves, which include basic attacks, artes and spells. Artes and spells use magic points, so these have to be managed.

Tales of Vesperia Screenshot - Yuri, Repede and Karol in heat of combat

You also learn new attacks as the game progresses. Some of these happen as you level up, some are taught during the story or in side quests. Others are learnt through skills, and these can be learned permanently if you do them repeatedly. In best RPG tradition once you get into the game you’ll be just as concerned with growing your abilities as you are about slaughtering the beasts in front of you.

You assign moves to controls yourself. Since the moveset evolves, and many of them are best in particular situations, you may find that you change them so fast, you never really know for sure which controls do what. Since you tend to gravitate towards using a few at a time you’ll probably end up with a set of favorites that you use a lot of the time, swapping others in and out as the situation demands.

You learn skills from weapons and characters will regularly learn these after battles, so much of your time is spent juggling weapons to ensure everyone is always learning something. When you face tougher monsters, you’ll want to prioritize your best gear over learning of course.

You have a limited amount of skill points to assign, and there’s plenty to choose from, ranging from various kinds of stat boosts to more subtle skills letting you chain different types of attack together. Learn to exploit these systems and you’ll be doing far more damage than would otherwise be possible, and will be much harder to knock down.

There are also special attacks, such as burst artes and mystic artes that become available later on. These use your limit gauge, which increases as you give and receive damage. Naturally, these are extra spectacular and best saved for tricky moments, or when you’re heavily outnumbered.

Your team members are very vocal during combat, and are a vital source of information. They’ll alert you to enemy weaknesses, status problems and poor health. There’s also a cooking system letting you make meals after each battle, giving various bonuses for the next fight if done successfully.

There’s a lot of depth in the combat system. With so many attacks and skills to think about, and them changing all the time, there’s plenty of room for experimentation. On standard difficulty, you’ll rarely die at the hands of standard enemies, though your magic points will tick down as your work your way between save points giving combat the attritional feel common to JRPGs.

Bosses are an exception, particularly the rare giga-monsters dotted around the world. These beasts give the game a bit of extra post-game interest, demanding the most from your team. Beyond these guys there are a few nasty surprises hidden away, but I’ll leave you to discover those yourself.

That’s Our Guild

The characterization in the game is great, and the cast all have their own interesting character arcs and side stories, with the banter between them evolving as you play.

Skits are unlocked as you move around the world and these provide a welcome interlude to combat. Many of them are attached to milestones or achievements, such as the first time you use a special attack in combat, or when a character cooks a particular dish.

Tales of Vesperia Screenshot - Exploring the city of Zaphias

The post combat dialogue also shines. It’s mostly throwaway lines and brief skits, but they evolve subtly, providing a further element of character growth alongside your stats and skills. For example, Rita, the game’s nerdy one, won’t want to participate in anything at first, but will eventually open up and join in enthusiastically with everyone else.

A Standout Tales Game

Tales of Vesperia is a long, epic adventure that still stands up well today. It meanders a little, but will suck you in, and its combat and late game challenges will keep you playing long after the credits roll.

Its broad cast of characters also shines, making the whole experience more enjoyable. Their trials and tribulations lend a human side that contrasts with the grandiose main storyline. You’ll watch your gang evolve into a finely honed fighting unit, capable of saving the world, and delivering a few snappy one liners while they do so.

Tales of Vesperia FAQ:

Publisher: Namco Bandai Games
Series: Tales
Release Date: August 7th 2008 (XBox 360), January 11th 2019 (Definitive Edition)
Platforms: XBox 360/One/Series X/S, PS3/4/5, PC, Switch, PS4,
Where to Buy: Steam, Amazon, Console Stores, Play Asia
Goods: Try this Tales site.
Standard Price: $49.99 on Steam
Estimated Sale Price: $9.99
Alternatives: Tales of Arise, Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest
Length: 70 Hours. How long to beat says 45 but that’s optimistic in our opinion.

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Alex Kidd Video Review

July 22nd, 2022 ThreeHeadedMonkey Posted in Sega | Comment »

We’re trying something new on JGG today. Here’s our Youtube review of Alex Kidd – Miracle World on the Master System:

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Nintendo Direct Brings New Splatoon, Remastered Zelda and More

February 21st, 2021 ThreeHeadedMonkey Posted in Nintendo | Comment »

The lastest Nintendo Direct saw a host of new announcements, including Splatoon 3, a remastered version of Zelda: Skyward Sword, and a new Mario Golf game. We’ll also see new Super Smash Brothers characters – Pyra and Mythra from Xenoblade Chronicles 2.

splatoon 3, inkling girl on train with other creatures

The Splatoon 3 announcement was a welcome surprise. The second game wasn’t too far away from a Switch remaster of the first, so we’re hoping to see the third in the series innovate a bit more. The teaser didn’t tell us much, but we saw a few character creation options, a funny looking fish side character and an upturned Eiffel tower sticking out of the desert sand. Will there be some open world exploration in this game? We’ll have to wait for more details. The game will launch in 2022, so there’s a while to wait yet.

Zelda fans hoping for some big news in the series’ 35th anniversary year got a couple of announcements. A new version of Skyward Sword is coming in July, along with custom JoyCons. No news of Breath of the Wild 2, though.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is getting a set of Mario items, including warp pipes to let you travel around your island.

The Switch is also getting versions of the Outer Wilds, Fall Guys, Hades, Stubbs the Zombie, Saga Frontier and Miitopia.

No shortage of games then, even if some big hitters are absent. Take a look below:

AddThis Social Bookmark Button