Magazine Spotlight: The Official Dreamcast Magazine (Issue 2 November 1999)

 Magazine Spotlight!

1999 was a pivotal turning point for the video game market. Sony's PlayStation had been out since '95, but the new PlayStation 2 was on the horizon, the N64 had hit it's stride the year prior and was having good releases this year like Donkey Kong 64, Super Smash Bros. and more. During all this Sega, once a majority stake holder in the game market with their Genesis, is just coming off the heels of a commercial failure with the Sega Saturn. A lot of bad decisions were made with the Saturn (too much to go over in this article) but a new hope is on the horizon for Sega fans, the Dreamcast. Released on 9/9/99 the Dreamcast is the most advanced video game home console released to this point, featuring a 128-bit processor, built in online and VGA graphics out for better resolutions. This brings us to the Official Dreamcast Magazine, which is still in it's infancy as the Dreamcast just came out. Today we are going to take a look at the articles, advertisements, reviews and interviews from the November 1999 issue of the Official Dreamcast Magazine.

When you first open up the magazine, you're greeted with an ad for Trick Style, a futuristic skateboarding game, and then a message from the editor in chief congratulating the reader for, purchasing the magazine, as well as a double congrats if you've already bought a Dreamcast at this stage. Editor Simon Cox informs the reader of Sega's success thus far saying "by the time you read this, there will be over 350,000 Dreamcasts in American homes." This number may be more accurate than what Sega had reported earlier in September saying they sold over 500,000 units (insert WSJ here). Either way, the Dreamcast was making waves in the US and a lot of great games were on the horizon as we will go over. Before some games are covered is a section with reader submitted letters/emails. One reader asks if Square's games or Metal Gear Solid will come to the Dreamcast, which gets shot down pretty quickly. Another reader asks some questions about the online functionality, some and when the microphone is coming out because they want to play Seaman. My favorite is a letter from a guy named Thomas who says, and I quote "what's that sucking sound? Oh yea it's the content of your new mag". Seems a lil harsh if you ask me. He then complains about House of the Dead 2 and why they gave it a 8 out of 10 saying that the game was repetitive and boring. I guess everyone has their different opinion.  

After the fan mail is the section on the latest Dreamcast news and announcements. This section was where I had the most interest personally, because usually it's where you can compare and contrast to what actually happened vs. what didn't over the course of the Dreamcast's lifespan. For example you have more in depth previews and updates on Dreamcast staples like Shenmue and Seaman that are coming to the system from Sega

directly, but also 3rd party games that didn't quite make it to the Dreamcast but did for other systems like Tekken Tag Tournament, Max Payne, Half Life and more. They also give a shout to Bernie Stolar, previous Sega of America president stepping down and being superseded by Toshiro Kesuka. Bernie Stolar didn't have the easiest time being president of Sega during his time. He took over after the former Mattel executive, Tom Kalinske, had taken the Sega brand during the 16-bit era and aggressively positioned it against the competition, and in 1993 making the Genesis have the majority market share in the industry (insert ign reference here). However, after many missteps during the end of the Genesis and the beginning of the Saturn's era, Tom Kalinske had stepped down in 1996 leaving Stolar to pick up the pieces of a company that was bleeding money and with a product that was a 3rd place in the industry. After declaring that "the Saturn is not our future" in 1997, he pivoted into the new Dreamcast system, but wasn't there for the entirety of the system's lifespan. I think that it's interesting the president of your company leaving is only worth a footnote in the news section of your console's magazine. A president of a company was usually a key component of announcements and public image, especially since E3 had just had it's first show in 1995 and was becoming a more publicized event. Another minor point in this news I wanted to look at was that Majesco had announced that they were re-releasing the Game Gear at a budget price, which did happen. They also mention that they were planning a re-release of Sega Saturn systems and games which I don't believe they ever did. Majesco had rights in the late 90's to manufacture their own older Sega systems, including the aforementioned Game Gear reissue along with the Genesis Model 3. It would've been interesting to see if they did reissue the Saturn or games if they would shift the packaging to be different from the rest of the Saturn library, or if they would create a new design for the console to adhere with their budget. 

After a round-up of American news, there is a page blurb of Dreamcast news from Japan,

including news on Death Crimson 2 (lol), Sakura Taisen Hanagumi Columns 2 and Taisen 3, and that Sega is partnering with Sanrio to make a Hello Kitty themed Dreamcast. Lastly inthe news section they've separated RPG news and Sega coin-op news including an interview with members of the Skies of Arcadia developer team, and a preview of Ferrari F355 Challenge in the arcade. I've never seen or heard of F355 Challenge, but I have to say it looks like an experience only for the arcade with more control options for traction control, ABS, a clutch pedal with 6 speed gear shifter, and a 3 monitor set-up to get a true to life view of driving in a F355. Definitely a part of Sega history I'd love to see in person if I ever get the chance to.

Let's take a step back and look at a part of every magazine, advertisements. Usually one of my favorite parts of a magazine to look back on, you can tell that as the turn of the century is around the corner that advertisements are becoming more tame compared to ads earlier that decade. Sega's own ads are comprised of a campaign claiming the Dreamcast is "thinking" and highlighting some system sellers like NFL 2K, Sonic Adventure and House of the Dead 2. You can see some of Sega's 'tude come through saying that "Sonic has a new light speed dash... too bad your lame-ass reflexes are the same", but that's about the extent of it. There are also some advertisements for 3rd party offerings of varying quality including Midway's lineup of games like Hydro Thunder and NFL Blitz, Speed Devils from Ubisoft, and a 3 page ad for Soulcalibur which is awesome. 

There are also a handful of ads for 3rd party controllers, some of which look so uncomfortable and cheap in quality it's not even funny. I remember 3rd party controllers being a larger part of my childhood, especially the Rock Candy glowing controllers and Gamestop's crappy offerings, but never anything compared to what InterAct had on offer. Lastly, there were several ads and information about the Neo Geo Pocket Color.

The Neo Geo Pocket Color, released a few months prior to the Dreamcast in the US, had somewhat of a symbiotic relationship with the system. Sega actually developed a handful of games for the system, including Sonic's Pocket Adventure which also got a preview in this issue of DCM. They report that the game "should also move as fast as it's Genesis forebears - without the (unintentional) blur created by the slower refresh rates of older Game Gear and Nomad screens". 

DCM also looks at 3 games for the system that are out currently along with promising more coverage of the handheld in future issues, and touting that one of the games, King of Fighters R-2, will have compatibility with the Dreamcast and a link cable that SNK is still developing. While the link cable did come out, only a handful of game were compatible, mostly the SNK vs. Capcom games and other fighting games for unlockable in both the handheld and console versions of each game. There's also a lovely ad for the handheld later in the issue highlighting some SNK standards like Samurai Shodown and Baseball Stars along with Pac-Man. It'll be interesting if DCM

follows up on it's promise to look at more Neo Geo Pocket Color games in future issues. 

Now we come to probably the most important part of gaming publications, previews of games to come and reviews of games that are coming out. Starting with the previews, DCM looks at a handful of interesting and not so interesting games coming out in the coming months. MDX 2 is one of the first games they preview, a Bioware shooter/action game coming out in early 2000 for the console. DCM accentuates the fact you'll be able to play as 3 different characters in the sequel, with each specializing a different style of gameplay, whether stealth or more guns blazing. MDX 2 did come out for the Dreamcast in addition to PS2 and PC. As far as Sega offerings on preview, we have 2 games in Toy Commander and Extreme Boarders. Toy Commander was an action strategy game where you take control of toy vehicles like RC cars, helicopters and more to do various tasks around the house. By the time Toy Commander came out both Toy Story 1 and 2 had come out in the states, but I haven't actually played the game to see if any inspiration other than the main concept of toys coming to life had any effect on the game. On the other hand we have Extreme Boarders developed by the same company as Cool Boarders on PS1 and published by Sega. DCM highlights both the trick mode on the halfpipe as well as free mode where it's you against the elements trying to get down the mountain. The biggest thing that DCM is excited for is the improved visuals moving from a 32-bit to 128-bit system, and hopes that the announcer from the previous entries holds back on the cheese factor. Extreme Boarders did eventually come out on Dreamcast, but under the title of Rippin' Riders Snowboarding. 

Ending off our look at some of the previews is Castlevania Resurrection, an unreleased Castlevania game for the system. The preview includes some screenshots and preliminary renders of the game, along with gameplay features both new and old, like grabbing hearts for secondary weapons, as well as a new dodge roll. While the game was slated for a spring of 2000 release, the game never saw the light of day. There is an unreleased prototype build of the game floating around online, so if you're really interested in what might've been you can check that out. 

Last but not least we enter the Test Zone where all games that have released or are getting ready for release are reviewed and given a score. This issues biggest review is the 6 page review on 6 different fighting game offerings for the Dreamcast including Soulcalibur, Virtua Fighter 3TB, Power Stone, Street Fighter Alpha 3, Marvel vs. Capcom and Mortal Kombat Gold. For each game they rank them in 4 categories and assign a winner and runner-ups with the categories being best gameplay, graphics, replay value and characters. Soulcalibur ends up winning most of the categories, tying with Virtua Fighter 3TB in Gameplay and Street Fighter Alpha 3 winning best characters. Something to note about the graphics department was what the publication had to say on the 2D Capcom offerings, saying that comparing SF Alpha to Soulcalibur is "really like comparing apples to oranges" and calls SF Alpha "by far the best-looking 2D game available on the Dreamcast." This is at least shows more openness to 2D offerings, but that gaming in the years to come is still largely 3D skewed in terms of what graphics are favorable. Soulcalibur still wins overall with a 9/10 rating, and most other offerings getting a 8/10 or slightly lower apart from M.K Gold which got a 3/10. 

Other games reviewed include NFL 2K, which got a 9/10 and a compliment from the reviewers saying "this is the best overall football game we've ever played". They praise the graphics, play-by-play commentary that never gets repetitive and the VMU play calling making a 2 player couch co-op game more strategic since plays are hidden from your opponent. The only real negative they give the game is the lack of running options for offense. That still doesn't stop the game from receiving the Dream Game Award for the issue. Further back in the reviews, DCM gives more rapid-fire opinions including reviews on some racing games that just hit the platform like Hydro Thunder, Tokyo Xtreme Racer and Flag to Flag. They also review other Sega 1st party offerings like Sega Bass Fishing and Dynamite Cop, but end up giving them middling scores due to lack of replayability.

Overall I think DCM was a well structured publication that gave interesting insight for games on Sega's last home console. There is plenty more to read in the issue, so if you're interested give it a shot! I'll include a PDF version I used for some pictures down below if you want to read the entire issue. DCM overall didn't have a terribly long print run, lasting about as long as the Dreamcast itself, but I enjoyed my time reading this issue and will definitely look into getting more! DCM will have been the 3rd publication I've given a spotlight to, but what would you like me to look more into? I still have plenty of issues of Nintendo Power, Japanese Sega Saturn Magazine as well as 20-30 issues or so of EGM from the early to mid 2010's I can take a look at as well. Thanks for reading this magazine spotlight and keep an eye out for more in the future!

References:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB938129466996877414

https://retrocdn.net/images/8/8f/ODCM_US_02.pdf

https://www.ign.com/articles/2009/03/20/genesis-vs-snes-by-the-numbers

https://twitter.com/CGQuarterly/status/1160678661726433280/photo/1

https://segaretro.org/Neo_Geo_Pocket/Dreamcast_Setsuzoku_Cable

 Guardian Force Review

A Shmup Review

The Sega Saturn is no stranger to shmups of all shapes and sizes. Whether you're looking for easy to get into shmups like Layer Section or Thunder Force V, more bullet hell shooters like Dodonpachi, Batsugun or Battle Garegga, or a more light-hearted approach like Twinbee or Cotton, the Saturn is one of the few consoles that really appeals to a shmup fan. Guardian Force I would say isn't one of the best on the platform, but certainly a curiosity that brings some unique ideas to the table among the selection of shmups on the system and a rare one at that as well. Created by Success, the same team that is most well known for the Cotton franchise of games that is still going strong, Guardian Force only has had a handful of home releases. It recently got a release as part of a Saturn collection with Cotton 2 and Cotton Boomerang for modern platforms, but I've heard and read online that the port job wasn't the best, including a good amount of lag which isn't appreciated in a twitch reflex kind of game. I'll be looking at the original Saturn port since that is the best playing version. How does Guardian Force stack up?

Gameplay and Scoring

There are plenty of mid-bosses in Guardian Force

Guardian Force is atypical of other shumps in that you aren't piloting a space ship or plane but rather a tank-like vehicle (I say tank-like because I swear you're flying over some sections and stages, including going underwater). The tank brings some unique aspects to gameplay compared to other ships in the genre. For one, as a tank, you have a turret attached that allows you to shift the direction you're aiming. This allows for some fun stage design where you start a stage going vertically and then switching to a horizontal view, or even going backwards through a stage the way you just came. Shifting your turret can be bound a few different ways control-wise, but I like to have it set to the L and R buttons. Turning for the most part is pretty consistent, but it can get confusing sometimes amongst the chaos of which way you're facing, so I wish there was a reset to your forward direction toggle or button in the options. You also have some unique powerups that can either make a section easier or harder. You have some pretty basic spreadshots, missiles for more concentrated damage, and a bomb shot that explodes on contact making easy work for bosses. My personal favorites are the yellow laser beam that can stay active as you're turning making for a sweeping shot that lasts a decent amount of time, and the green yo-yo like weapon that can really shred a boss from the inside-out. Weapons are powered up by collecting gems sometimes dropped by enemies and bosses or collecting powerups of the same color as your current weapon. Each weapon can get powered up to level 10, but even when you're powered up some weapons just don't do the trick against the common enemies. To me the whole appeal of a spreadshot is making the stage overall easier because the weaker enemies die before they can even attack, but in turn it makes the boss more difficult because your damage isn't as focused. This isn't the case in Guardian Force, as enemies stick around for a little longer than they're welcome. Lastly on the gameplay side of things that is abnormal from other shmups is the diagonal scrolling. sometimes during a stage as it transitions from a horizontal section to a vertical one you'll have part of the stage that scrolls diagonally. It's a little awkward in terms of feel, but I never noticed the presentation dip because of it.

Diagonal Scrolling can make things tricky

 In terms of scoring, there are 2 main ways to rack up a good score being mid-bosses and these bullet medallions. Mid-bosses will usually have a timer pop up before they become active, once they do the time starts counting down. The smaller amount of time that is wasted the larger the bonus that you receive. As far as the medallions, they start in a smaller bonus that gets larger as you collect more in sequential order going from 100 bonus points to 12800 points. The catch is if you fail to pick up any of the medals, it goes back to the 100 point bonus. I usually don't play these games for score as much as I do completion, but knowing the scoring system can help you earn an extra life here or there. Outside of the weapons, rotating turret and scrolling in stages, Guardian Force is pretty average for a shmup of this era in terms of gameplay and on the more difficult side of shmups on the console. It's nowhere near Battle Garegga's difficulty, but still a difficult clear nonetheless. There are some accessibility options for difficulty and amount of lives, so enjoy the game in whatever way works for you.

Presentation

Graphically, I'd say Guardian Force is middle of the road for the console. The pixel art is very colorful, backgrounds tell a good story of your location and enemy designs are varied enough, but there isn't as much parallax scrolling as other 2D shmups or games on the console. I wonder if that has something to do with the diagonal scrolling on some stages, but I digress. Circling back to those backgrounds, they sometimes don't mesh well with bullet colors and can make for a difficult time navigating areas. Stage-B immediately comes to mind with these issues. Musically I'd say the game is pretty lackluster. There were maybe 2-3 tracks that I remember and enjoyed, but nothing else really stood out. I wouldn't say that the soundtrack gets in the way of gameplay, but it's just kinda there for most of the experience which is a shame. The box art and manual are a nice part of the presentation as well, giving a good rundown on starting the game, weapons and bombs, and even a bit of backstory. Here's a roughly translated and abridged version of what little story there is. As I understand it, some crystal-like objects were unearthed named "Force" which provided a great leap forward in technology and science. The Hammerbolt Empire are using the Force to build weapons and invade other countries. A secret society known as "Guardian" knew about Force and were able to seal it away from the military empire and as a countermeasure developed a top-secret Force equipped tank (that's you!). Without the manual, none of this is explained in any fashion at any point. 

Closing Thoughts

While Guardian Force is a fun time, I don't think it's anywhere near the best on the platform. I can appreciate what Success was going for and I think the concept overall is a breath of fresh air, but it could've been better executed on both the gameplay and presentation front. That being said, I still see value in the game and would recommend it if you're a fan of the genre. I would also recommend playing the Saturn version if you have access to it, but don't go out of your way to buy it unless you're collecting rare games or are a hardcore fan of the shmup genre. I paid a pretty penny on this game, but I wouldn't say I regret it. It's a game I never thought I would have the chance to own but I'm happy I do!

If I had to put a number rating on Guardian Force, I would say around a 6.5/10 feels right in my mind. Thanks for reading and keep an eye out for more shmup reviews in the future!

All research and high-scan pictures can be found here: Sega Retro

Games I Played through in 2023

 I actually play my games?

Believe it or not, I don't just buy games to look at the box art (most of the time). This year was one of the first that I really took in and tried to look at things more critically as I played through and completed games. In my head I didn't think I played that many different games fully through this year, but my list is bigger than in years past I feel. I'll be chronicling my thoughts on games either in brief or in more length depending on my enjoyment of the game, whether or not I beat them, and so on. At the end of the year maybe I'll even put them all into a tier list of sorts to rank every game I played. All of this is mostly for my personal recollection so that I can have something in the future to look back on, and as my tastes evolve and new games come out I can see where priorities change. These games aren't in any particular order to start, but most of the games at the end will most likely be some games I've played recently.

YS Chronicles (YS 1)

I had a stretch of a few weeks where I was playing a lot of my Vita, mostly to feel involved with the investment of the system and games I've bought this year because outside of Persona 4 Golden or the occasional game of Hot Shots Golf, I really haven't played the Vita a ton. One of the games I panic downloaded a few years ago while the Vita store was getting ready to shutdown before Sony switched the decision was YS Chronicles. I figured getting into the YS series made sense to play the first game first, and I can say it was a good decision. As Falcom has made updates to the original game and ported it to multiple systems, the Chronicles port still holds a lot of that appeal from the original game. It was also nice to play a game that had such fast combat but not a ton of thought behind it if that makes sense. It was perfect to just run into enemies for an hour or so after getting off work, but outside of some initial grinding at the very beginning it never got tiring. In a lot of ways YS had a lot of Metroidvania elements to it as well with items as a prerequisite for traveling to new locations, killing certain enemies and so on. The story wasn't bad and felt different enough to stand out among other contemporaries I've played from the time period. Still, it wasn't anything to write home about just quite yet, I'll have to see how YS II carries the story on at some point soon. In my opinion the crown jewel of playing YS I now is the soundtrack. Whether you're listening to the PC-88 original soundtrack, or one of the remixed soundtracks available in the Chronicles collection you cannot go wrong. Each tune is necessary in pushing the mood of a given situation, whether it's your first time stepping out into the field and getting ready for an adventure, or entering a town that's seen better days, or entering a dungeon that could be your last. The soundtrack has been something I've been listening to on and off all this year and I'm excited to play YS II sooner rather than later. Getting to experience a major stepping stone in a genre that's more prevalent than ever in Action-RPGS was a major highlight this year.

Star Soldier

If you're interested in more of my thoughts on Star Soldier, take a look at one of my blog posts from a few months ago. Just to go over things briefly, I thought Star Soldier was a fun enough time for a few dollar pick up. If you do play the game today, definitely play it with a turbo controller as it makes things much more enjoyable. I'm sure it might've felt outdated at the time it came out, and even more so today, but as something to pick up and play for 30 minutes or for someone who has played the same NES games over and over Star Soldier is a fun enough time.

Spy Hunter PS2

I played Spy Hunter for like a day or two and got kind of bored of it quicker than I thought I would. I'm a vocal arcade racing fan, and the PS2 era of games had some of the best games. Spy Hunter isn't one of those games but is far and away from the worst on offer. I thought it was a neat idea to revive one a classic arcade game and give a fresh coat of paint, but I'm not sure how many people were exactly buying this game solely off of name recognition. The driving controls are pretty solid and I like how your vehicle evolves as the situation does like a real spy car should. One other thing they brought over from the arcade game was the music that plays during most of the stages and menus being the same as the original arcade release which was a pretty big let down. Similar to shmups, arcade racers are one of the few genres where I look at the soundtrack as a key part of the experience and a great way to differentiate your game from the competition. Spy Hunter does this but in reverse, because it feels like there's only one song and you won't be able to forget it after playing unfortunately. I think this game would be better if it wasn't so linear in its mission structure, or having strict requirements of achievements you have to get in order to move on to the next mission. If this game was more open world, or had a few hub cities that you could drive around and do some smaller spy missions in between the big ones and unlock either cosmetics or new weapons to use, I'd still be playing. Unfortunately, Spy Hunter as it is can be fun for a little while, but it overstays its welcome in areas with repeating missions to move on to a new stage, and a great soundtrack with the TV muted. On the flipside, at least this made more time for me to play other games lol. 

Willy Wombat

There aren't many 3D platformers on Saturn unfortunately. While the PS1 and N64 were redefining what you could do in a platformer in a 3D space, the Saturn got games like Willy Wombat. If you don't know, Willy Wombat is a pseudo 3D platformer with most of the characters and objects in the stage being handled by 2D sprites and the stage itself being 3D spaces. Not a bad idea, especially on a console like the Saturn that could mesh games with 2D and 3D very well, just look at a game like Bulk Slash for example. Where Willy Wombat falls is its controls. Controlling Willy is a little slippery, attacking from close range is almost impossible, and the camera is pretty basic only being able to shift it left or right around Willy. The soundtrack drags a bit as well, with the only shift in songs being in between worlds and not stages. The songs themselves aren't anything to write home about, almost trying to be more atmospheric than anything which doesn't work in the game's favor. This game is more of an oddity than anything, I might try to play more of it in the future but most likely not for a while.

Persona 4 Dancing All Night

Another local game store pickup, I was happy to pick this one up after playing P4G a few years back. With P4G easily one of the best reasons to own a Vita, Persona 4 Dancing All Night had some big shoes to fill in. I'm happy to say for the most part it delivers for a fun spinoff. The story isn't nearly as involved as the main series, but deals with topics of the difficulty of making connections, expectations, and dealing with grief. The story early on can drag for the first few chapters as you're getting introduced to characters and playing tutorials for the actual rhythm sections of the game, but around Chapter 4 I ended up really enjoying and stuck around to actually finish the story. As far as the gameplay itself, its a solid rhythm game experience reminding me of the Hatsune Miku Project Diva games. Starring remixes of classic Persona 4 tunes along with some new songs that were a nice addition. Some main standouts were "Dance!", "Signs of Love - TK Remix" and "Your Affection". However that's not to say the track list has some down turns. I wasn't a huge fan of some of the slower songs, and some remixes were a little too "dubsteppy" if that makes sense. Overall though, I was happy to play this one this year. I'll always take some supplementary material for some of my favorite characters in a game, and if you don't look at it as more than a fun side-romp then you'll have a good time with this one.

Endless Ocean

This one was a revisit from my childhood because I wanted to originally go to school to be a marine biologist. Living in Ohio and being landlocked put a damper on that idea, so Endless Ocean was the next best thing for me. Endless Ocean is nothing more to me than one of those games that I can turn my brain off for and just wind down an evening with as I try to find new kinds of fish to fill out my encyclopedia. A chill experience, I was happy to play for some of my evenings this year. 

Sea of Stars

I'll make a full review of this game at some point, but this game delivered to me in a big way after being hyped in my head for quite some time. One of the few games that held my attention beginning to end, I beat with both endings, and almost immediately went back for a new game plus which I never do. I could talk endlessly about visual effects, the soundtrack, battle systems and the characters, but like I said I'll leave that for a more full review. Please play this game, it's out on basically everything and is more than worth your time. 

Phantasy Star

One game I got out of my backlog was Phantasy Star. It almost feels like a right of passage to play the games that define a genre, and Phantasy Star I think has aged pretty well. With an interesting cast of characters in a setting that's unique for it's era on a quest to avenge your family and stop the galaxy from being taken over. The big thing that stood out to me was the presentation. Battle scenes being somewhat animated and having designated backgrounds in the overworld, colorful panels during major plot events that show more character, and the 1st person perspective from the dungeons were all more than I was expecting from a game of this vintage. There were some issues I ran into however. If I wasn't for me playing the Sega Ages release of this game on Switch, exploring some dungeons would be a nightmare without a map. I was also fine with talking to NPC's to figure out where to go next for a little over the first third of the game, but I did get pretty stuck in the ice planet and couldn't wait to get off of it honestly. Walking around and trying to figure things out on my own did have it's advantages, I didn't have to grind almost at all apart from the first few levels, and I got to experience some optional dungeons that made life a lot easier during points of the game. Overall, I would say if you do go back to this game play the modern re-release on Switch for some nice bells and whistles along with the FM soundtrack. 

NFSU2

"Riders on the Storm... Riders on the Storm... Into this House we're born... Into this world we're thrown... Like a dog without a bone, an actor out on loan... Riders on the Storm"
I got way further than I did when I was a kid, just a bunch of nostalgia on this one.

Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild

7 years after the Switch releases, I finally get around to playing the game that sold so many systems on it's release. I'm not a huge fan of the normal 3D Zelda formula, I feel a lot of things that are easy in 2D Zelda become a chore in 3D so I tend to put the games down pretty quickly. BOTW kept me decently engaged from beginning to end. I liked the excitement of climbing a new tower and unlocking part of the map that was brand new, or finding a new shrine with a new puzzle. The freedom to do whatever you want and tackle the dungeons in any order you want was refreshing, and I didn't feel any rush to go to the next objective. Some of the divine beasts as dungeons were a little underwhelming and they didn't have a real way to stand out visually. I would say playing BOTW for me was good starting out, great after the first and second divine beast, then after that it was downhill in terms of my enjoyment for most of the playthrough. I can appreciate the freedom that BOTW allows, leading to a good amount of replayability, but a lot of it felt very repetitive towards the end. You'd go to a new area, find the tower, look for shrines/stables and if there wasn't a major city or landmarks to explore you go to the next tower whenever you're ready. The final battle was nothing compared to some of the regular enemies you could come across running around, but being able to walk straight up the castle path and go straight into the final Ganon fight was an awesome feeling. Last little side rant here, fuck the rain. For a game that wants you to explore and encourages different ways of exploration and the paths you take, the rain completely stopped me in my tracks of progression at least on 10-12 different occasions. I figured after getting the Zora spirit and that I could swim up waterfalls that it wouldn't be a big deal anymore, but I never found anything that helped climbing in the rain. With that being said, overall I had a good time with BOTW, but it doesn't really make me want to play the sequel if it's going to be more of the same.

Yakuza 0

I have a full review from my perspective around the 15 hour mark into the story of Yakuza that I will most likely redo at some point, but after finishing Yakuza 0 I'm excited to play more. Balancing a tonally and thematically serious plot with fun, self aware mini games and hilarious situations/dialogue couldn't have been easy, but Sega pulled it off and then some. I think my only complaint was with the combat. One or two points during the story the combat was much harder than in other spots for whatever reason, and I wasn't a fan of the skill tree in which you unlocked things, but I tried to use the new tools that were given to me when the opportunity arose. The combat itself was a lot of fun, heat moves were a blast to pull off and I was always trying to find new ones. Yakuza from my experience had more to do than in BOTW, and you could either spend a large portion of time doing side quests, playing mini-games and just chilling, or if you want to go through the story as is the game allows you to do so. Very happy I picked this up and played this year.

Metal Gear Solid 2

I think I played and beat this at the very beginning of this year or late last year, I honestly can't remember. Either way I'll rank it this year because I had a great time with this game. The new ways to deal with foes always had me trying out every new tool I got, and it increases playability in my eyes because you can go about situations differently on repeat playthroughs. Getting to shake down enemies after holding them at gunpoint was fun and I didn't even realize I could do it until I did it on accident. The story was all over the place at the very end, but up until that point I thought that it was scary how well the story holds up to today's technological and political environment. My only gripes were with some of the bosses and a difficulty spike towards the end of the game. I felt like the bosses in MGS1 were cooler and more varied, outside of Fatman and his bombs I didn't really care for any of the bosses. I was also stuck on the part toward the last quarter of the game where you lose your gear for a section, I got caught and died a lot there. Outside of that, it really does feel like you're playing a movie, and the twists of the story are sure to take you for a ride so I won't spoil them here, but I'm excited to play MGS3 soon.

Pokémon Scarlet

This was one of the last games this year I sunk time into. I wanted to give the game some time after hearing so many bad things on release in terms of performance, visuals and bugs, but now that both DLC's are released for the game is it any better. From my experience, there are still some pretty big issues with the game. A lot of lighting errors during battles and cutscenes, textures not loading in correctly, and I even ran into a bug where my campsite that I had set up was completely invisible. I still haven't been able to see my picnic table in any capacity and I just beat the 8th gym. Pokémon's strong suits have always been the Pokémon that are available to you and how you construct your team for upcoming battles, as well as seeing the new creations that Game Freak have come up with. I skipped out on Sword and Shield, so a lot more Pokémon were new in this game which has been a breath of fresh air. Other than that, I don't have a ton that I really enjoy about this Pokémon game in particular. The open world is nice to wander around in, but it means the game is poorly optimized as they try to load the entire map in at once. If they had some minor loading zones in between major regions I feel like they would've looked a lot smoother. I hate all the characters, except the gym leader that's just a normal business man, he's pretty chill. I'll continue to be skeptical of Pokémon going forward, but I'm happy they haven't made a new game this year and just focused on DLC.

From this point on I don't have as much to say, either because I haven't beaten the game or didn't have a lot of thoughts on the experience as a whole, but still wanted to keep track of to say that I've played it.

Ridge Racer 7

Damn they need to make a new HD Ridge Racer. The game looks amazing and carries on the formula that was established in the PSP title, but at the end of the day it's Ridge Racer. You'll either love it or hate it, and I love it.

Project X Zone

I really don't know what's going on with the story in this one, but shit is going down. The battles are a lot of fun and don't feel overly difficult which I like for an SRPG. I mainly got this for the characters interacting with each other, but the gameplay and soundtrack are a good enough reason to keep me around for more.

Revenge of Shinobi

Holy crap this game is hard. Hard but fair for the most part. I really enjoyed the music and the levels in this one, but that damn double jump I just can't get the timing down for. I'll beat this one someday.

Super Mario Wonder

I can't binge a 2D Mario game, I found Mario Wonder much more enjoyable as a game that you can play for an hour or so and then come back to. As someone who hasn't played a new 2D Mario game since the Wii, this is the game I've been waiting for. Awesome powerups, the best creativity in levels I've seen maybe ever, the amount of ideas this games throws at you is the best part of the experience. Still wish I could pick up player two in co-op to throw them around. 

Streets of Rage

I played the sequel last year and forgot that I had the 6-pak Genesis cart with the first game on it, so I played that this year as well. The bosses are impossible in the first game, they really take some memorization to know how to avoid their attacks. Outstanding soundtrack and awesome visuals as well, shoutout to Stage 5. 

Soul Hackers 2 

A departure from the gameplay in the first entry, most likely to have it be more like Persona. I found the dungeons kind of boring, but the visuals and sound were good. I might give this one more time in the future, but I mainly just played the week before Sea of Stars came out and haven't touched it since lol.

Street Fighter 6

I liked E Honda and Dee Jay, but I ended up playing KOF XV more this year because I like SNK and their characters a lil bit more.

KOF XV

I sunk a lot of time into KOF this year, building out my team and at least getting decent with the systems in place. I'm working on finding a definitive 3rd character, but doing the combo trials and trying out all the characters really make me appreciate the combo freedom and versatility of characters that SNK has on offer. I'm about to buy the game again on PC just to have a better connection to start playing online and get my ass whooped.

Super Mario RPG (Switch)

If you liked the original, you'll have a good time. A lot of what made the original hold up still works today, and the quality of life changes that were made like the quick travel and spread damage on perfect timing of hits in battle were nice touches. I'd say the game was too easy, but there were some nice additions to the post game that are there to challenge people who've played the original. 

Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind. 

Easily one of the coolest things Nintendo has done during the Switch era, I love when they do something absolutely no one asked for because no one knew it existed. I want to get more into the VN genre of games and I figured this would be a great place to start. The music slaps and it's nice that they give you several different arrangements. Expect to hear a full review once I beat the sequel as well, because the games do connect.

SSX (PS2)

Couldn't get into this one. I enjoyed SSX Tricky for it's fun tricks and smooth controls, but the first game was much more difficult, and I just found myself getting frustrated. 

Burning Force

I really ramped up my Genesis collection this year, with Burning Force being one of the main pickups I got at TORG. I love the super scaler look on a home console, the soundtrack is nice, and it's a nice preview of what else Namco has to offer on Genesis. 

Raiden

I played a lot of the OG Raiden this year with my flip grip that I received for Switch, and the game still isn't getting easier. I can make it to the 3rd stage usually but anything after that it's too hard. I wish Raiden 2 was on Switch because I have a much better time playing that game, but as of now I still have to wait. 

Other than the games I've listed above, I played games that I had already played before, or didn't really play long enough to have thoughts about the experience that weren't "I like this" or "I don't like this". I feel pretty satisfied with the amount of games that I played this year, and I got some items off my backlog that I was happy to complete. Now I'll give my Top 5 games that I played this year, just because it's fun to.

1. Sea of Stars
2. Yakuza 0
3. Ridge Racer 7
4. Legend of Zelda BOTW
5. Famicom Detective Club/MGS 2

Next year, I look to get more games off my backlog including things like Grandia, Metal Gear Solid 3, Gunstar Heroes, and more. I also look forward to collecting more games to add to my curated collection in 2024, so keep your eye on the blog here for updates to the collection, along with more modern reviews on games both old and new! I'll have some more articles on the way soon, one being my aspirations for 2024, some items I got for Christmas and afterwards, along with another magazine spotlight coming as well! Thanks for reading, and have a Happy 2024!

Torg Gaming Expo Pickups and Experience

 TORG Gaming Expo '23

I missed out on Midwest Gaming Classic this year with changing jobs, but I had to go to TORG with it being a short drive away! TORG is held annually in Columbus, Ohio and is one of the premier expos in Ohio for video games. I was able to go last year for the first time, and I'll go into my experience more in just a second, but overall it was better than last year on just about every front! I also was able to set aside a decent budget for games this year as well with Genesis games and a few uncommon titles which I was happy to find most of what I was looking for! Lets get into the experience overall.

Experience

Huge shoutout to the expo staff for running a smooth experience this year. Last year TORG was just a one-day con, but the turnout was so good that they expanded it to the weekend and so they had much more people on staff to help people getting in. Again looking at last year, the line to get in was pretty long and if you don't know Ohio weather in November, it's pretty chilly especially at 9 in the morning. This year we were able to get in super quick, we were inside the venue in a separate waiting area, and the staff actually let us in 15 minutes early which was awesome. I'm pretty sure they also moved buildings even though it was technically the same venue as last year because it felt much bigger. There was probably 100 different vendors from individuals to local game stores to art vendors and tabletop games, all pretty standard for a convention of this type. It was also nice that they had food trucks outside of the venue as well as a food court inside the venue. We didn't stay the entire day, getting there at 9:30 and leaving around 3 but it only started getting busy around lunch time with our first trek around the expo being pretty chill. Best part of all, its only 20 bucks for a one day pass. I think they got it right this year for sure in terms of an overall experience and I'm excited to go next year.

Games

Now for the fun part, what games did I get? I got 11 different games this time around, and after not buying any games for like a month I was itching to buy. I won't post a ton of photos for some of the lower dollar items but I'll add in some of the highlights. Let's start with the Genesis games. First off I picked up some common games that I had found elsewhere but weren't in the best shape when I did, so these ones were in nice shape. Early on I found a nice CIB copy of Ms. Pacman which I wanted to try the 2-player after seeing it online. I also found a copy of Nigel Mansell's World Championship, which might be a hidden gem on the Genesis. The game also came out on Snes, but I really liked the music, there were a ton of courses to select from and the driving itself felt pretty good. I wish the tracks were a little bit wider to make passing cars easier but for 10 bucks it made sense to me to get it CIB. Not quite CIB but at least in the box I got Gunstar Heroes as well which was a much needed addition to the collection. I was surprised at the price as well, getting it in box for what you could get it loose was nice.

Lastly on Genesis I got Burning Force which I was really looking for and excited to get. The copy I got is really clean and the game has been a lot of fun so far. I only made up to stage 3-2 so there's more to experience, but well worth it having on my shelf. I'm looking to eventually get a few more of the Namco Genesis games with Rolling Thunder 2 and Phelios primarily on my list, but all in due time. 

From taking a look at my list of games that I was keeping an eye out for, I had a lot more DS games that I didn't end up getting, but I did get some Vita and 3DS games to fill the gap. Mario and Luigi: Dream Team was the first purchase of the con, and something I knew that I would be in the mood for after playing the Mario RPG remake on Switch, especially because I loved the previous games in the series. I also got a pair of Vita racing games, Ridge Racer and Sonic and All Stars Racing Transformed. I heard that the Ridge Racer game was generally a pretty weak entry, and after playing it I can see that because there isn't a ton of single player content off the bat, but DLC certainly helps with that. Sonic Racing on the other hand was harder than I expected initially, but I can see myself playing a lot of this one as well. I'd say next on Vita I'm looking for Shiren the Wanderer and then spending some more money on some of the higher tier RPG's like YS and a few others.

Lastly, I picked up some miscellaneous PlayStation and Saturn games that I had my eye on for a long time now. There wasn't a import Saturn stuff unfortunately, a lot of the import games were Famicom, Pc Engine and surprisingly a lot of import GameCube games. I was able to find a copy of Fighters Megamix on Saturn that was imported thought, and added that to my collection pretty quickly as it was cheap, and I later learned that it might still be factory sealed which is cool. One pair of games that I had my eye on for a long time were Ace Combat 2 and 3 which I got both this time around as well. The more retro games I play nowadays, the more appreciation I have for Namco and what they've done not only in arcades but also during the PlayStation as well.

 By this point during the day I had bought most of what I was looking for, so we had stopped and ate some lunch and then took some time to check out the game museum that was there, and got a chance to play some Typing of the Dead 2-Player which was awesome! It definitely makes me want a Dreamcast sooner rather than later. There was still one game that I was looking for in particular, being Outrun 2006 Coast to Coast on PS2. The Xbox version looks better sure, but it's much more expensive and I just want to play the game. We went back around to the tables we had been to, and found one that we must've skipped over because they had a huge PS2 section where we found a copy! By this point of the convention I was pretty satisfied with my pickups, and started looking for some other goodies I could take home. I ended up getting some pins, t-shirts for my girlfriend and a custom tumbler cup and straw with the Q-Bert arcade marquee.

I had a great time at TORG this year and will definitely make it an annual occurrence. If you're nearby Columbus or even if you're a little further away, definitely try making it to the con next year because it seems to be getting better year after year. If you made it this far, thanks for reading! I'll have another article up at the end of the year recapping some of the games I had a chance to play this year and I'll rank them in order. 

Mini Review: Donut Dodo

 Donut Dodo Mini Review

Donut Dodo is a modern arcade game done in the style of games from the golden age of arcade games. Similar to other single screen platforming games like Popeye or Donkey Kong Jr., Donut Dodo sees you play as a baker who gets his days worth of donuts stolen by a giant dodo, and you have to get them back. You chase this dodo over 5 different stages before they loop, and they have great level design. My personal favorite is the 4th where you're in a large candy shop and the dodo attacks you by rattling gumball machines. One major difference between this game and its inspirations are in its smooth controls. Often when going back to arcade games like Donkey Kong, especially on original hardware, it can be a little stiff in its controls because of the limitations of the joystick, and not being able to influence your direction in mid-air. Donut Dodo takes after more modern conventions and let you have full control over the short hop that the chef can do, which really lets you run through stages at what feel like a fast clip. Just because you have more control compared to older games however, doesn't mean that it gives up in the difficulty department. Far from it. In order to unlock different difficulty levels you have to run through 2 full cycles of the 5 stages with the 2nd loop getting more difficult, and I got stuck for about an hour or so just trying to get further. Thankfully this isn't 1982, and a new try doesn't cost 50 cents. Scoring also is comparable to its older counterparts, where you can try to complete the stage as quickly as possible for a bigger bonus, or complete the stage in a certain way by grabbing the flashing donuts that have a multiplier attached to them. I appreciate that Donut Dodo gives you the option for a fast-paced or more methodical approach and still let you get a decent score either way. Lastly is the presentation, which shows appreciation to older games with some lovely modern flairs. The pixel art is well animated, lively even though they limit the game to a 16-color palette. The game also has an overlay by default with artwork and how many points each donut and bonus fruit gives, and looks like it fits right in with an 80's arcade. The standout in the presentation is the soundtrack by Sean "CosmicGem" Bialo, which is energetic and catchy. Of the short soundtrack list, I'd have to say the final dodo battle and construction chaos stages are my personal choices when going back and listening. I don't have any major complaints with this game outside of wanting more of the experience, but for 5 bucks I think Donut Dodo more than delivers. If you're looking for an arcade challenge, a great chiptune soundtrack, or something to pick up and play in short bursts, Donut Dodo is worth your time. 

  Donut Dodo is available on Steam and Nintendo Switch with store links provided below

Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1779560/Donut_Dodo/

Nintendo Switch: https://www.nintendo.com/store/products/donut-dodo-switch/

New Game Pickups 7/28/23

 New Game Pickupssssss

Back again with the new game pickups. I haven't been shopping for games as much as I used to over the past year or two, but that still doesn't mean I don't pick something up from time to time. I was able to sell some items I haven't played and that contributed to my budget, as well as take some friends to an arcade about 45 minutes away from me which was nice. They have an awesome media store there with a little bit of everything, and they were also one of the only stores I came across local to me that were willing to take my extra import Saturn games. Eventually I want to get a Neo-Geo CD and they actually had a few games, I should've picked up Crossed Swords there while I had the chance, but such is life. With that being said here are the games I was able to find local to me!

ESWAT is an early action platformer similar to your Rolling Thunders and Splatterhouses, where you aren't so much focused on the platforming but more the action side of things. Trying it out I had some issues in level 2 trying to figure out what to do, but after about 10 minutes or so I was able to progress. Other than that, its a solid, challenging experience that isn't very expensive either which is nice. These types of games are the reason I bought a Genesis so I'm happy I could expand more on my collection.

Yet another Genesis game we have Forgotten Worlds, a horizontal shooter by Capcom. Horizontal shooters for me always have had more personality than vertical ones, and Forgotten Worlds is no exception. In the game you can control the direction you shoot with a decently intuitive control scheme, where A and C rotate you and B shoots. I feel like the music leaves a little to be desired, and the game isn't exceedingly hard especially during the first few stages once you learn the controls and the stages. Another nice addition to the collection and one that feels feasible to beat in a short amount of time. 

I'm gonna be honest, I didn't even know this game existed. Pinballs games are something I wish were still being pushed out on occasion. Growing up I played some Pokemon Pinball as well as Fantastic Pinball on Saturn more recently, and I think video pinball gives experiences that you can't get from normal pinball games. The table in Pinball of the Dead is pretty neat and I'll definitely play more of it. Now I just have to get the Ruby and Sapphire Pokemon Pinball as well as Sonic Pinball Party both on GBA.

I've been playing my Vita a lot more recently, and so I was on the look out while at the arcade for some Vita games. This one was a recommendation from a friend that works at the arcade, made by the same people that worked on Odin Sphere and Dragons Crown which I was all about. My friend had some pretty high praise for the game so I may check it out sooner rather than later, but we will see. 

This was the other Vita game I was able to pick up while at the arcade, complete as well! I know Teraway was one of the few games that really took advantage of all of the Vita's features which some people may not be about, but as someone who grew up with a DS and Wii, gimmick controls are something I'm more accepting of. I wasn't a huge fan of LittleBigPlanet when I played it, but I have more faith in a 3D platformer I feel. Outside of Persona 4 Golden this was one of the Vita games I knew I wanted from the point of initially getting the system, so I'm happy I was able to find this one.

Expanding the Vita collection once more with a visual novel mystery game from part of the same series as 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors. Visual novels are a genre that I'm wanting to get more into as of recent, and from what I've heard this series is a good one. Another game I'll be on the lookout for will be the Nonary Games which is another entry in the same series. It might be a while before I actually do end up playing this one, but I'm happy I was able to find the game for cheap!

If you've read my recent magazine spotlight you may recognize this one. Let's Tap was one of the first creative endeavors after Yuji Naka left Sega and formed his own company named Prope. I remember reading about this game back in the day with the fascination of being able to play the game without actually having to hold the controller. I don't know if I have a suitable surface for the Wii remote to sit on, but I'm sure I'll be able to find a suitable substitute. I was looking a little more into it and in Europe the game actually came with a foldable box along with the manual for you to rest your Wii remote on. 

I recently got to experience the Mister in all its glory as something to play my retro games on, and Kickle Cubicle was one of the games that we played while testing some things out. A fun little puzzle game that actually reminds me quite a bit of the arcade game Pengo by SEGA. Basically you push blocks around a top down stage to try and kill enemies and complete the stage. A fun little game which I found at a local shop, the same as Xexyz. I don't know much about Xexyz but I liked the name of it and it's by hudson who makes a lot of games on NES that I enjoy, so I figure that I give this one a shot as well. For me, games like these are a main reason why I love collecting for the NES, with a lot of games that I've never even heard of turning out to be someof my favorite games on the platform. Kabuki Quantum Fighter is a great example of a game that unless you collect or know about it, you'lll likely never play. But, I'm getting ahead of myself as this is a post for another time.

Another game I enjoyed on the Mister was Devil Dice on PS1.  How I had never heard of this game prior to this point is beyond me, but this one was right up my alley. Devil Dice is a two-player competitive multiplayer puzzle game where you play as a lil' devil climbing on top of dice and trying to match the faces up to eliminate them from the board. It really is unlike any other game I've experienced and was a ton of fun. They also mad e some further sequels on PS2 named Bombastic which may be a bit easier to find in the wild. Still, give this one a shot if you ever get the opportunity!

Project X Zone to me makes complete sense and I don't know why I didn't have this game sooner. From what I understand its a crossover between Sega, Namco and Capcom all wrapped up into a tactical RPG experience . I read and watched some reviews on this game before buying the special edition that I found, and some people were complaining about the story, but the story isn't the main reason I would play this game. For me, its all going to be about the fanservice and which characters I recognize and can build my team around. There was a 2nd one of these actually made as well (how the hell that happened I'll never know) but its a little more expensive than this game, so I'll have to see how this one turns out

Lastly, these two were a complete surprise to me as I hadn't even known of their existence until I saw them. The Magnavox odyssey 2 is a console I don't often collect for just because its not something I have hooked up very frequently. From time to time I do come across some Odyssey 2 games in the wild, but I was very surprised to see these two. Let's start with the Great Wall Street Fortune Hunt. Unfortunately I found out I was missing a few pieces including the manual and some smaller pieces involved in the higher levels of difficulty offered, but even without you'll still be able to play the game. Its a one or two player game where you're able to trade stocks on the open market. As long as you buy low and sell high you should turn out just fine. As far as the 2nd game, The Quest For The Rings looks to be similar to a DND adventure. I don't know too much about this one so I'm excited to learn more as I play because I have all the pieces for this one. 

That's all for my recent pickups! I got some big games I'm looking forward to in the month of August like Sea of Stars and Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, but those won't come out physically until much later I'm sure. I know this article is coming out a bit later than when I started writing it, but I wasn't stressing myself out getting a post out. If you read all the way through let me know if there are any other games I should keep my eye out for! Thanks again and I hope you have a great rest of your day!