There's Just Something Ugly About a 70 Dollar Price Tag

It feels like I've talked about this before already.  Hmm... yes. Yes, I did.  Although that blog was more aimed at Sony, it seems like I need to talk about it again, because it seems the problem's only getting worse. Last week, during The Game Awards (I should have blogged about that, oh well), we got a new gameplay trailer for Square-Enix's upcoming RPG Forspoken, and man, does that game look great! We also got a release date of May 24th, 2022, which was really nice to hear. What wasn't nice to hear was that, unfortunately, SE has now decided to join the group of seedy, scummy publishers charging 70 dollars for their games. Yes, Forspoken will be 70 dollars for both PS5 AND PC. Yes, even PC. 

Remember when the PC Master Race used to belittle us console plebs by bragging about how all their games were cheaper than ours? Although that gap has closed over the years, with many AAA games now being 60, SE has now tightened that gap even more by launching Forspoken at 70. 70 still isn't the average yet, but companies like SE are really pushing for it to be, even going so far as to sell a PC game for 70... A PC game... A game released for a platform that owes no platform holder a licensing fee, and releases their games strictly digitally, so money is being spent on pressing discs and shipping them out.  Think about that, for a second. Provided that Forspoken sells well, they'll have made even more profit on PC than they would on PS5. 

I know there's a crowd out there that defends price hikes by saying games cost more money to make, and that's true to a degree. But guess who keeps getting more and more money? Publishing execs. If you were to tell me that the developers are guaranteed more of a cut or don't get fired the moment they finish the game, then maybe it would be easier for me to accept the new price... but I really don't think so. Hell, you have 2K selling sports games at 70 dollars WITH loot boxes and microtransactions! Can you not see the greed here?

What's disappointing is that just a few months ago, the same company, SE, put out the critically acclaimed Guardians of the Galaxy for 60 dollars. Although, that was across multiple platforms, so maybe a bean counter had a formula that let them be just as profitable at a lower price because it would sell more on multiple platforms. But also take into consideration what franchise this is. It's Guardians of the Galaxy, a Marvel property, which is Disney owned. This means Disney would be getting a cut, so if SE was going to start charging 70 dollars, why not start with Guardians when there was more hands in the cookie jar?

Also, take into consideration that SE has another perpetual money making machine in the form of Final Fantasy XIV. Hot after many awards, the game is currently enjoying its fifth new expansion with subscriptions at an all time high. On top of paying for the game plus expansions and subscriptions, there are still optional microtransactions being sold. They sell JUST mounts for upwards of 40 bucks, not to mention all the pieces of clothing and minions that are five bucks here, 10 bucks here. FFXIV prints SE money. Forspoken would have been just fine at 60. 

So I'm curious to see just how well it'll sell on PC, because it won't do THAT great on PS5 with only a few million machines out in the wild. Will the PC crowd hold off, or will they fight back with piracy? Let's also talk about the IP itself. Is Forspoken even worthy enough to be a 70 dollar game? It's a brand new IP, and a risky one at that, placing a black woman into a heavily Japanese influenced world. The draw for the common gamer might have been weak at 60, let alone 70. I just don't see this performing well. I for one am going to pass at 70, and I'm going to make a commitment to buy any game that launches at 70 at a used price instead. 

"Well, if you can't afford an extra 10 dollars, then you can't afford video games." See, that's the kind of argument I hate. I get that gaming is a luxury hobby. It's not cheap, but it doesn't have to be price-gouging. Think of it this way. Let's say you buy two games a month at 60. Now you have to pay 70. That's an extra 240 dollars a year, which would have been four more games you could have bought at 60. It adds up. You shouldn't be advocating for these incremental price increases, because at some point, gaming will become too expensive, even for you. 

And let's be honest here. The jump from the eighth generation of gaming to the ninth has not been as impressive as the jump from the six to the seventh, when games started being 60. As much as I loved the Demon's Souls remake, I just can't convince myself it was worth 70, especially since Bluepoint released the Shadow of the Colossus remake at 40. As much as I loved Ratchet and Clank: A Rift Apart, it was no where near meaty enough to warrant 70 dollars. As interesting as Returnal is, I can't see myself paying 70 for what's essentially a really shiny rogue-like. 

I don't want the standard to be 70, because I personally don't feel it's worth it. There's just something ugly about the numbers 7 and 0 being together. I guess it's because it's getting closer to 100, and if there's a day that games cost 100 dollars, we're going to be in some serious trouble. We need to seriously question WHY the prices are going up, and we need to look at the record profits their CEOs are making. With all the work place abuse that's being covered up in companies such as Activision, Ubisoft, and now even Bungie, we should be more wary of giving these corporations more of our hard earned dollars. We just need to stop wanting so much. We're becoming frogs in the slowly boiling pot. 

I know this blog doesn't have much reach, but I'm hoping maybe whoever reads it will share it or tell a friend, and ask them to hold off on buying new games at 70 dollars. We have to admit that we're being taken advantage of and we need to fight back, because next generation, it could be 80. Then the one after that will be 90, and now we're at 100. Do we really love gaming enough to allow ourselves to be taken advantage of like that? I love gaming enough that I want to do something about it. I hope you will, too. Let's make game prices attractive again. 

September 2021's Nintendo Direct Left Me Both Extremely Happy and Extremely Pissed

This isn't going to be a breakdown of everything that was announced at the Nintendo Direct. You can either watch the show or read an article about it if you want to know the announcements. Instead, this is going to be a blog about how Nintendo, as per usual, has me feeling weird after their Directs. Let's just get right into this. 

Very early on, Nintendo announced a game that had me so freaking happy, I didn't care what else was announced. This is the one for me. 

Look at that!  Look at it! It's a new Kirby in 3D! I have been waiting for a 3D Kirby game for a very long time. Not only is it in 3D, it gave off some really strong Super Mario Odyssey vibes, and I obviously really loved that game. So, to see Kirby finally get a potentially huge installment in his franchise just has me over the roof. My jaw hung open pretty much the full length of the trailer. I can't wait to start sucking up enemies and taking their powers in glorious 3D! 

So, another pleasant surprise that left me feeling pretty good is Actraiser Renaissance. 

I'm sure there's plenty of people who don't remember Actraiser, but I'm not one of them. Actraiser was one of those games I never had as a kid but did rent. I'm pretty sure I never finished it. If you never played Actraiser, the trailer does a really good job showing you exactly what kind of game it's like. It's a mixture of side-scrolling action-RPG gameplay with topdown world building. It was a great game, and the remake looks like it's going to keep the exact same gameplay just with renewed graphics. It's actually out today, but.... ARGH... I'm trying to stick to one game a month!

And then, the show ended with ... THIS!

Finally! FINALLY! We get to see Bayonetta 3! Now, to be perfectly honest, I wasn't that impressed with the trailer. For starters, it's so hard to be impressed visually by a game that's been built on a decade old engine. Graphics aside, I know it's going to be a great game, because Bayonetta always had fantastic gameplay. I just don't think they chose the right gameplay segment to really make the best impression. I'm just glad that Nintendo FINALLY let Platinum show off the game so we can stop wondering if it's still coming or not. If only we had Metroid Prime 4... if only. 

These three announcements really upped my serotonin levels, so I should have closed my browser feeling and staying happy. For the most part, I was, but the more I thought about one of the announcements, the more pissed off I got. 

Now, I wasn't completely surprised by the N64 announcement, because I had a strong feeling it was coming when Nintendo filed the patent for a new controller. It was only logical that it would have been the N64 controller. When I heard that Genesis games were coming, that was exciting. Nintendo finally added not just one, but TWO systems to their NSO service. Not only that, but there's a good selection from each system. So... 

Yes, I do. Two, actually. The first is that, if you watched the N64+Genesis video, you'd see that Nintendo is going to be implementing a new membership plan. This means they're going to charge extra for access to these games. Need I remind you that these games were playable as far back as the Wii? Need I remind you that whenever Nintendo starts over on building a virtual legacy store, they do it so slowly and pick very obscure games that no one's ever heard of or care about? I just recently canceled NSO because I felt that it just wasn't worth it content wise, and now, after Nintendo finally steps foot in the right direction, they expect MORE money from us? 

Of course, everyone on YouTube and Twitter is losing their minds. Nintendo fans are just weird. We just can't stop throwing our money at them for any little bone they give us. Well, that stops with me. I'm never resubbing to NSO, especially if I have to pay extra for the NSO Expansion Pack. To make things worse, there's these:

50 dollars. EACH! For reproductions of really old controllers!  Yet, there's a ton of Nintendo games who easily dropped 100 dollars today. Better get them now because you know the scalpers will be all over them. Jesus Christ... But look at the Genesis controller. What do you see? It's the three button controller, not the six button controller, so that means a lot of Genesis games won't be considered for the NSO Expansion. Well, that is if you want to press start to swap from kick and punch for games like Street Fighter II. No thanks. I was never into the NES and SNES Switch controllers, so I'm definitely passing on these. Besides, I already have a Genesis Mini whos collection is so vast that I doubt Nintendo will ever come close to it before the Switch reaches end of life. But man... Nintendo. This. Has. Got. To. Stop. Stop taking advantage of our nostalgia! Treat us fairly! 

Gah, I'm just a mess today. What makes my crash that much worse is that I rarely feel this happy after a Direct, and when I just wanted to be in Kirby and Bayonetta bliss, I just can't stop thinking about the NSO Expansion Pack and how poorly implemented it was. But if there's anything I can say about Nintendo is that they know how to be consistent. Consistently stupid. 

Thank You, Sony, For Making It Easier to Save Money

You know what, I've had enough of Sony. I've tried to justify spending 70 dollars on their games when the PS5 came out, because for one, I needed some games during the honeymoon period, and for a time, I was actually convinced that because games took more money to make, the increase in price was warranted. All the extra development time in textures, and ray tracing, and hot dog warming, and all that. It was just time, wasn't it? I mean, wasn't Demon's Souls worth 70 dollars by being a completely rebuilt game... nevermind the fact that Bluepoint also rebuilt Shadow of the Colossus and sold it for 20 dollars less than the PS4 standard? 

But then... Sony got greedy. Or, should I say greedier as 70 dollars for a game is already greedy enough. Last week, Sony tripped over their own feet by making a mess of their upcoming Horizon: Forbidden West launch by making all these different versions. Very soon, though, it was discovered that if you just had the launch version of Forbidden West on the PS4, you couldn't upgrade to the PS5. You HAD to buy the Digital Deluxe version which contained both copies. There was also their 250+ dollar Regalia collector's edition that for whatever reason did not have a physical copy.  I don't support that jackassery. 

Anyway, Sony learned very quickly that they made a mistake. They backpedaled earlier this week and said that the upgrade to the PS5 version would be free, which is great, but they also clearly laid out that this was the only time they were going to make this concession. They flatout said each first party release hereafter will have a 10 dollar upgrade fee. So here's the thing... 

Look at what everyone else is doing, MS for instance. Every game you buy on the Xbox One for 60 dollars you can upgrade for free for the Series S|X via Smart Delivery. Granted, they aren't pressing Series S|X specific copies, but you can still get the next gen upgrades for free. 60 is better than 70 no matter how you look at it. As much as I wish MS would focus on first-party content, I cannot deny the value in Smart Delivery, as well as Game Pass. Now, I don't play so many games at once that I can justify subbing to Game Pass, but I do know the service kicks the crap out of whatever Sony offers, but that's another blog post. 

Even on Sony's PS5, there are AAA publishers releasing their games for 60 dollars. Deathloop, a Bethesda game, is 60 dollars. Dying Light 2 and Guardians of the Galaxy are 60 dollars, both by Square-Enix. Hell, look at all the Ubisoft games that released on launch day. Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Immortals, those were 60. Far Cry 6, one of Ubisoft's biggest games, is coming out next month .... at 60 dollars. Bethesda, SE, Ubisoft. These are huge AAA publishers (well, one is an MS studio now, but I digress), and some have made egregious business decisions regarding DLC and MTXs, but even they are saying no to selling games at 70 dollars. Unfortunately, there's still a couple of jerks selling their games at 70, such as Activision's Call of Duty games and 2K's sports games, but since Sony wants to echo what two of the worst companies when it comes to anti-consumer practices, I have no choice but to regard Sony as being highly anti-consumer.

And then, let's take a look at this oddness. To fill in the gaps of Sony's lacking first-party PS5 line up, they've been brining more PS4 games into the mix. Both Death Stranding and Ghost of Tsushima have Director's Cut editions. As expected, GoT is 70 dollars, but Death Stranding is 50! I'm not that surprised that GoT is 70, because it does have an entire expansion pack in it, but then DS:DC is not only NOT 70, it's also 10 dollars CHEAPER than when it released on the PS5, WITH all that extra quality of life goodness, the new story content, and the PS5 features. So why, oh why, then is a 50 dollar price tag NOT the standard? Makes me want to get the Ghost of Tsushima DLC even less. 

So they can keep their free upgrade of Horizon: Forbidden West. I'll be buying that game at most on sale, or better yet, used. I'll be doing the same for each and every Sony game from here on out. I really want to start buying multiplats on XSX from now on, but I also don't like having to sit and wait on Smart Delivery to download massive patches for each and every game. Plus, it's REALLY hard to say no to the Dual Sense controller. I heard MS is working with the company that designed it, so hopefully, MS gets on haptic feedback real soon. I'd like to give Sony even less of money right now. 

I really hate it when it companies get extremely arrogant like this. When MS tried this in 2013 with the Xbox One always-online requirements, I was ready to boycott. Thankfully, enough gamers like me were vocal enough to get MS to backpedal. Sony tried to gouge us with Forbidden West, and again, we were vocal enough to get Sony to backpedal. Now, I wish gamers would finally wake up and realize Sony doesn't need to hit us for an extra 10 dollars, when they are the among the very few charging the next-gen tax. MS, their direct competitor, isn't doing that, and even Sony themselves aren't consistent by selling Death Stranding: Director's Cut at a whopping 20 dollars less than Ghost of Tsushima. We've given Sony so much of our money over the past 25 years. It's time Sony starts giving us a little of it back. 

Now... if I can just start saying no to Nintendo... But that's an ENTIRELY different blog... 

It Shouldn't Have to Keep Being Like This: Switch OLED Preorders / Steam Deck (Bonus Blog)

Switch OLED

So a couple of days ago, 7/15/21 at around 1 PM MDT, preorders for the Switch OLED went live at most retailers. I was prepared. I was at my computer at work with all the windows open: Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop, Target, Wal-Mart (yes, I alphabetized them on purpose). 1 PM came and... nothing. Best Buy still said "Coming Soon". GameStop changed from "Coming Soon" to "Not Available" before 1 PM even rolled over. About 15 or so minutes later, I actually had one in my cart at GameStop, but when I checked out, nothing. Best Buy was still Coming Soon several minutes after refreshing, so I went on my break and kept trying. Amazon and Wal-Mart didn't even list theirs at all. 

My break was over, and I had to go back to work, but I kept trying Best Buy while shelving. I'd see a preorder button appear, click it and then be met with a grey Please Wait button instead. Best Buy was trying something new, making people 'wait in line' but waiting for the button to reappear and then try again. Well, after almost a half hour of doing this while shelving, I came back to my computer and tried again. Finally, I got one in the cart and tried to check out, but when I did, it said "Please pick a store". Apparently, Best Buy was only doing store pick up, and my default store didn't have any available. So, I clicked on Find a Store and was met with a message saying no store in 250 miles was available. I gave up on Best Buy after trying an additional 20 minutes. I went home for lunch and just felt defeated. 

But then the funniest thing happened while I was laying down reading. After being so involved in Best Buy, I completely forgot about Target. When after refreshing them a little after 1, Target kept saying Coming Soon, but while I was reading, I got a sudden urge to check their site again, so I whipped out my phone, opened my Target tab, searched for the OLED, and there it was. I wanted the White model, but that was gone. The Red/Blue was still there so I went for it. I had it in my cart, went to check out, then was met with a prompt to reenter my credit card number, and then hilarity ensued! In a panic, I ended up ejecting all my credit cards across my bed. Scrambling for the one I wanted, I put it in after several fumbling attempts and then finally after entering the CCV, got the order in and had shipping confirmation! YES! Target saved me! I was sure I was going to lose it having wasted a minute or two trying to reconfirm my credit card number, but maybe that prompt was what saved me. Maybe they were holding it for me at that point, or maybe a thousand scalpers got tripped up at that point as well. Who knows? All I know is that I landed one!

Now, my goal was to get the white model because there's just something sexy about white on black. I also really wanted to try to secure it from Amazon, because I have a Visa Rewards card and I get 5X cash back from Amazon, so that would be about 19 dollars back. That would have taken some of the sting out of having to pay an extra 50 for this Switch, but at the time, I was just happy I got a Red/Blue from Target. But then yesterday, 7/16/21, I get a text from my good friend saying that preorders FINALLY went live on Amazon. Of course, I checked the text eight minutes after he sent it and of course, they were already gone. Not really that bummed out, I went back to work, but then about five minutes later, just like how I got that sudden thought to check Target, I got that thought to refresh the page. I had my tab open on the white model, and there it was! Pre-order to cart! I clicked it, confirmed purchase, and got it! I got the model I wanted where I wanted it and now I can get a bit of discount off it. 

So yes, I was lucky. Everything turned out fine. Everything turned out fine when I was trying to preorder a PS5 .Everything turned out fine, much better actually when I tried to secure an Xbox Series X. Why, then, do I always get like this when system preorders happen? This is the third time in 10 months that I've had to deal with this. I should be getting used it to it, but I need to be honest with myself. I'm a victim of FOMO. I would have been FINE without the Switch OLED, but then the thought of not being able to play Switch games on a nice bright crisp OLED while everyone else was really started to bug me, and I feel like a hypocrite as I just talked about this in my previous blog. I said I wasn't going to get one because it was overpriced and not needed, but then the thought of missing out just took over. This shouldn't have been like the PS5, because the PS5 is an entirely new system with new features and games, so I understood the demand. I also saw nothing but "I'm not getting this!" from people online, yet they're all gone. Obviously, the scalpers played a large part in it. 

It shouldn't have to keep being like this. For starters, retailers have GOT to implement better systems to ease the purchasing process and fight off scalpers. At least some are trying. Best Buy did the "Please wait" button and did store pick up only (which screwed me over), and Target made me reenter my credit card number. Amazon decided to be late to the party, so there's a good chance that people got tired of waiting on Amazon that opened up a window of opportunity for me to get one, but it's still chaos. A new system should not be selling out within minutes. If the retailers aren't going to put a stop to these scalpers, then the only other option would be to push back preorders until several million more units are available. Make it so that people who try to scalp have so much stock that it becomes worthless. But man, I miss the days where had several DAYS to just stroll into a game store and preorder a new system after it was announced, but the scalpers have really ruined that. 

Steam Deck

And while arrogant Nintendo suckered us intopaying 50 dollars more for a Switch with a slightly better screen, Valve nonchalantly announced the Steam Deck, an absolute behemoth of a machine that really makes the Switch look pathetic. The base model is also only 50 dollars more than the Switch, but the high end model is 650 dollars, more than twice the price of an original Switch. The initial reaction is that because there's a much more powerful machine for just a little bit more that the Switch is in serious trouble, especially if you believe everyone telling you that everyone's just going to get a Steam Deck instead of a Switch and just emulate the games. Honestly, Nintendo is going to lose a few customers, but I don't think the Switch is doomed. In fact, I think the people who are trying to say it's doomed are just a very loud minority. Let's take a look at the Steam Deck.

I'm not going to break down the specs, because I'm not really the type of person that understands them much. I just want to point out a couple of obvious things with the design. Look at the d-pad and the face button's positions. They are so high up in the corners, along with the sticks that it seems like it'll be uncomfortable. Also, it's one solid unit; the controllers can't detach. A lot of people like the Switch for its hybrid set ups and Joy-Con customization, and the Steam Deck offers nothing for them. 

It also has another problem: memory. The base model only has 64 gigs, but if want 512 gigs, you'll need to buy the pricey 650 dollar unit. The Switch has memory problems, too, but as Steam Deck is digital-only, that means it's a turn off to anyone who likes to collect their games in physical format. Yes, you can play your games much better on the Steam Deck, but you can't display them on your shelves. Believe it or not, physical is still a real big deal for a lot of people. 

The market is also completely different. Again, some people looking to get a Switch will now pass it over for this, and some will just emulate Switch games, but Nintendo has a lot of loyalists. We are just so damned eager to throw money at Nintendo at every opportunity. How many just bought Skyward Sword again for 10 dollars more than when it first came out? *raises hand* Yeah, the emulation community is no threat to the Switch. The Steam Deck is primarily aimed at PC gamers, and the PC market was never in competition with Switch. Being in a portable form still doesn't change that.  

Also, Valve, while they have made a few games of their own, aren't seen as a major game publisher like Sony, MS and Nintendo, so the Steam Deck honestly has no real identity. Sony markets with God of War and Horizon. MS markets with Halo and GamePass. Nintendo markets with Mario and Zelda. All Valve has to market is power, and historically Nintendo has never been beaten in the handheld market by more powerful hardware. This isn't to say that the Steam Deck is DOA. Far from it. It will be successful. Whether it will be successful enough to put a dent into Nintendo's market is something we're just going to have to wait and see, but I don't see it happening. It'll be a niche device that I honestly don't see lasting longer than the Vita. 

PC and consoles have coexisted since the 8-bit days, and they'll continue to coexist well into the future. Anyone who keeps trying to say that "this is the last console generation" is just fooling themselves. The massive success of the PS5 and Switch, and hell, even the Xbox given the fact that you can play all their games on PC anyway, have proved it. I believe the Steam Deck and Switch will coexist for several years, but its presence should make Nintendo reconsider their business model regarding making cheap underpowered hardware. Nintendo should pay close attention to how well this Steam Deck does and if the Deck ends up being a runaway success, Nintendo should view Valve as a potential threat and begin to work on a more serious machine. As much as I love Nintendo, it's simply embarrassing to see such an underpowered machine still sell for upwards of 300 dollars. We deserve better, and we need someone to finally kick Nintendo's ass. Valve, the ball's in your court but you have got a LOT of work to do. 

We Need to Stop Hyping Things Up

 "I bet this is about the Nintendo Switch OLED."

Yes, you're correct.

So Nintendo finally unveiled the New Nintendo Switch, or the Super Nintendo Switch, or the Nintendo Switch Pro, or the ... whatever names were being passed around. Except, it wasn't. The only thing the rumor mill got right was the 7 inch OLED screen, built-in LAN adapter and the wider stand. The LAN adapter and stand should have been something included with the original Switch in my opinion, and I'd even argue Nintendo should have gone with OLED from the very start, but we all know Nintendo makes their hardware as cheap as they can and they just upgrade it later. To say this particular model is what it is is no surprise, but it's also clearly disappointing. 

I'm not exactly sure where the power upgrade rumors came from. Maybe whoever got the word on the screens thought this would just be the next step, or maybe Nintendo is planning for a more powerful Switch next year. Considering Sony and MS did mid-generation refreshes after three and four years respectively, and Nintendo has refreshed the 3DS with the New 3DS, it was only logical to assume that the next Switch would be a more powerful version. I mean, the Switch is more than four years old now. Even the most die-hard fans can at least admit the hardware is getting long in the tooth. 

So, we're not getting a better processor. We're not getting 4K output. We're not getting DLSS or any other bells and whistles, just what's going to be a beautiful 7 inch OLED screen. This means Age of Calamity is still going to stutter like crazy. Wolfenstein 2 will still look terrible in TV mode. We won't get a lot of games that should be running in 60 FPS on handheld. Nope, just a better screen. Oh yeah, and for 50 dollars more. Yep, it will retail for 350 dollars on October 8th. This is great for people who don't currently own a Switch, as they can spend a little extra money and get a much better screen. To be honest, I think a good number of original Switch owners will probably take the dive and upgrade on this model to not only get the better screen, but the better battery life. Not me, though. I didn't get the V2. I didn't get the Lite (as there's just no reason aside from saving a hundred bucks to buy that mistake), and I certainly won't get this one. Although there is a slight tug in me to buy it for the OLED screen, it's just not going to be worth it for me when Age of Calamity will still run like complete crap. That's not what I want to pay Nintendo extra money for. 

We're disappointed, and this keeps happening, so who's at fault? I don't think any one person is to blame. You could say the biggest culprit is games media as they get wind of anything they think will get clicks and run with it. You could blame the companies for being so secretive and never confirming or denying anything. We can even blame ourselves for thinking that the rumors were going to be true knowing that there's a long history of rumors surrounding Nintendo products that many times don't turn out to be true. It's just we've been waiting a long time for a more powerful Switch, so much so that we started assuming that no denying rumors was the same as confirming them. 

But we need to not just stop hyping up Nintendo, but just hype all around. Sony and Microsoft have fallen to this numerous times. Every new system Sony preps they routinely oversell. The PS2 having Toy Story graphics, remember that? The Killzone 2 demo anyone? MS hyping up the Xbox One's TV and Kinect features? Halo Infinite at launch for Xbox Series S|X? And it's not even just the platform holders, but publishers in general. I can't count the amount of times publishers have upsold games only for them to underperform, nor do I want to spend the time to list them and bloat this blog, but when I talk about a hyped game disappointing people, the first game that should come to everyone's minds is Cyberpunk 2077. That was probably the biggest mess of a game since No Man's Sky, but what's concerning is that even after watching that game crash and burn, people are just not learning. They're STILL hyping themselves up for new releases such as Elden Ring and Starfield. Gamers are still getting pissed at delays, and it's a double-edged sword. The game comes out rushed, they'll complain about it being bad. It gets delayed, they'll complain about not being able to play it now. 

It's frustrating to see my community act this way, but I won't speak holier than thou, because I've acted this way myself. Some of my gamer friends witnessed me losing it when Animal Crossing: New Horizons got delayed. That was a huge blow to me, because it actually affected my plans for that year as I just bought my mom a Switch in order to play with her. It was one of the few times where me wanting a game so badly turned into an unreasonable need, but after a couple of days, I mellowed out and to be honest, the silver lining was the game coming out at the onset of the COVID shutdowns, which saved millions of people's sanity. 

How do we deal with this, then? How can we change our thinking and stop setting ourselves up for disappointment? Well, first rule would be to stop listening to games media. Read the articles and watch the YouTube videos to get informed, but stop buying into opinions of whether or not things will be real. Wait for official confirmation from the companies, and DON'T accept "neither confirm nor deny" as actual confirmation. Second rule would be - and this is a tough one for many - to be happy with what you have. I've been loving my Switch so far, and yeah, I could use a new screen, but I've really had no problems with the screen I have now. What I really wanted was more power so graphics on the screen could look better, so this makes it easier for me to say no to this new model. But, many gamers are just going to throw away (not literally) the current hardware because they just have to keep upgrading; nothing is ever good enough for them. This is a huge ongoing problem in the cellphone industry. 

You should also try to understand the concept of not needing to restrict yourself to only playing new games. There are tens of thousands of games out there worth your time, so when a game you're hyping yourself up for gets delayed, take a deep breath, and go find a game you wanted to play six months ago, a year, two years ago, and go play it. Also, if a highly anticipated game finally came out and isn't hitting the mark, don't feel obligated to still play it just because you've been waiting so long for it. That's not justification to play an average game, and that's why I'm still going to wait on Biomutant, I want them to work a little bit more on patching the game and since I've been waiting as long as I have, I can wait a little more for a PS5 version. 

So yeah, I was a bit disappointed that this new Switch was not the model I wanted, and I should have learned already not to fall for the rumors. It's just everything was lined up so well, I really couldn't believe it would NOT be the Pro. How I'm going to take this disappointing news is be thankful that I don't have to buy another system this year. I'm still putting money back in the bank from last year's PS5 and Xbox Series X purchases, and don't even getting me started on those hype-related disappointments. That's an entirely separate blog. Anyway, if you have a current Switch, I hope you have enough willpower to hold out for the more powerful one, but if you've always wanted a Switch, well, this would probably be a great time to finally get one. Enjoy that OLED screen!

E3 2021 Thoughts

After a terrible year of COVID complications resulting in E3 being canceled in 2020, E3 has returned... in some form. I'll go into my personal thoughts of the state of E3 at the end of the blog. For now, let's just jump into the shows I did watch. I'm also going to preface by saying that the order of the games mentioned may not be in the order shown just because I'm going off memory and articles.

Ubisoft

E3 started early for me as I was still at work, so I didn't catch this show live. Now, Ubisoft has always been rather hit or miss, and they certainly where more miss than hit this year. They started off by showing Rainbow Six Extraction, which used to be called Quarantine, but changed due to sensitivity around COVID. I know a little bit about Rainbow Six, but what I saw here was nothing like the previous games. They decided to go this entirely new direction with sci-fi horror having the team fight off waves of generic looking virus infected monsters. They also said levels would be procedurally generated with risk/reward mechanics, and I thought, "Great, they went Returnal." Needless so say, I won't be getting it. They also talked a bit about Rainbow Six Siege, but I've no interest in that. 

Farcry 6 was given some time, but you know what? Something seems off about Giancarlo Esposito's performance. I'm just not getting the creepy vibes from him as I would like in Breaking Bad. Anyway, the game looks fun, but nothing revolutionary. I'm sure it'll be a cookie cutter Ubisoft game. There's also going to be a multiplayer mode where you can play as any of the Farcry villains, which admittedly does sound cool. 

The crowning highlight of the show, and of the entirety of E3 for that matter, was the announcement of a Mario x Rabbids sequel called Sparks of Hope. This time, the game's going to be themed after Super Mario Galaxy and it looks like the gameplay has been revamped giving more freedom of movement to the characters allowing for new strategies. I was really delighted to see this because I absolutely enjoyed the first game and to see a sequel made to an outlandish mashup that had no business being as good as it was was very refreshing. Definitely getting this day one. 

After that, everything was downhill. Ubisoft did finally show off their Avatar game using their Snowdrop engine and although it does look nice, we know nothing about its gameplay. Movie-based games do not have a very good history of being good, so I have zero expectations for it now. 

They also announced a subscription-based Rocksmith+ service where you can play your guitar with any device, but I hardly felt like this needed to be E3 material. A new Steep-like game called Riders Republic was shown but it didn't hold my interest. Oh, and Assassin's Creed: Valhalla content for Year Two was revealed. That was about it. 

I also have to mention that there's a massive absentee here being Beyond Good and Evil 2. This game either needs to have an update or be officially canceled, because we've been wondering what's been going on for far too long. From what was shown, though, it wasn't looking promising, a mix of being overly ambitious and confused as to what it wants to be. It honestly should have been smaller in scope and been a true successor instead of this massive project that will most likely never be finished. It just sucks to pour so much money into a game and then sweep it under the rug. Maybe it's for the best as it would only be ruined by a live service business model. 

Rating: C

Gearbox

I don't really know why I even bothered to watch this. I'm not that familiar with Gearbox, but I think I watched it just to have something to watch that night. Gearbox's presentation was basically, "We're making a Borderlands movie, but we have nothing to show you, so we're just going to ramble on and on and oh, say hi to a mildly interested Kevin Hart." 

They did show off a new game called Tiny Tina's Wonderland, which looks like it'll fit right in with the Borderland games. They also announced that Godfall is coming to the PS4, and they announced a cartoonish Viking game called Tribes of Valhalla, but that was pretty much it. 

Rating: D-

Microsoft and Bethesda 

I'm still wrapping my mind around Microsoft now owning Bethesda, a publisher so big, they were grouped together with the major E3 presenters of the past. Microsoft definitely had one of the better showings of E3 in no part due to lack of competition. 

They started their show off with a trailer for Starfield. Although it was cool to see, it was unfortunately just a computer rendered trailer with no gameplay. It was referred to as Skyrim in space, so we'll see how it goes. I can't wait to experience Skyrim-quality bugs in space, though. The bomb shell was dropped that yes, it is a Microsoft exclusive, so it will only be on PC and Xbox consoles. There was talk about some currently developed games still being allowed to be published on other consoles during the acquisition, but it's clear now that MS is taking their ball and going home after paying seven billion dollars for it. We also have a release date for it, which is November 11th, 2022. 

We finally got another look at Halo: Infinite and it looks better. It still doesn't scream next-gen to me, but I can only base that on what I was shown in the stream. I might just have to play it on my own TV to get a true feel of the graphics. They also announced the multiplayer portion of H:I will be free to play, which is both a good and bad thing. For starters, you won't have buy H:I at all if you just want to play the multiplayer, but expect it to be a microtransaction-laden mess. They also announced that it will release this holiday....

Then they showed off Forza Horizon 5, and my god, does that game look beautiful! I still haven't even started Forza Horizon 4, which I only bought just to have something to play on my Xbox One X, but just seeing the graphics of this game made me want to get it. They talked about how they spent hours upon hours filming on location in Mexico with 12K cameras to capture as much detail as they could, which they've flawlessly executed into the game. I also like the fact that their focus was being as authentic to the locales as possible, but we'll just have to see if the gameplay will be just as great as it looks. I might hold off if I never get around to starting FH4. 

Psychonauts 2 was one of the few games during the entire E3 that got me to yell out YES! I have been waiting my ENTIRE LIFE for this sequel! I cannot tell you how excited I am for this. Let me just put it into perspective: NOTHING Nintendo showed (which I'll get into later) got the same kind of reaction from me. This is my most wanted game of the year. Anyway, they showed off more gameplay for it and it looks really fantastic. We also have a date for it, which is August 25th, so it comes out really soon! I believe it's a timed exclusives, and as much as I would like to play it on PS5 for Dual Sense feedback, I don't want to wait yet another year just for that. I'm DYING for a reason to play my XSX again!

The Outer Worlds 2 got a trailer reveal, and it was actually pretty hilarious. The narrator was breaking the fourth wall making fun at typical trailer reveals talking about, "Lens flares everywhere! Ooh, mysterious silhouette! We don't have anything to show right now, not even an official name!" It had a very Honest Trailers feel to it, and even though it was just a CG trailer, the humor was greatly appreciated. 

Redfall is a new IP being developed by Arkane Studios, which is a Bethesda studio, so it's MS-owned, and it's really nice to see MS showing off any exclusive new IP. Redfall is basically going to be Dishonored, but with vampires. I'm sure the gameplay will be great, and I'm definitely going to play it since I love vampire games, but if I'm being honest here, I'm not that thrilled about the character design. They just seem obnoxious, like they could get on my nerves after a while. 

Avalanche showed off a teaser trailer for a new game called Contraband, but it was pretty uninteresting. All I can think about when I hear Avalanche is how disappointing Just Cause 4 was. This was followed by another trailer for MS Flight Simulator, which really looks pretty, and will have a Top Gun Maverick tie-in expansion pack. More content was announced for Grounded, which I keep forgetting exists. Sea of Thieves also will being have an expansion featuring Jack Sparrow and the Pirates of the Caribbean. 

Then we have Battlefield 2042, which I just don't have interest in. I've never been interested in Battlefield games, because for starters, campaigns are never their focus, and 2042 won't even have a campaign at all. Another thing, every time DICE makes a new Battlefield, I think of a new Mirror's Edge I could have instead. Anyway...

MS rattled off more games coming to Gamepass, and they also announced Hades will come to Xbox with a physical copy, so that's good to hear. 

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 had a nice trailer shown, although it contained too much filler for my liking. The gameplay looks interesting, and the graphics are really impressive, but it's just really damned dark. I never played the first S.T.A.L.K.E.R., but I know it's loved by a lot of people, so I'm sure they'll be excited for it. I'll probably pass, though. It's also going to be called Heart of Chernobyl and will be out August 28th, 2022. 

I was surprised to see a trailer for A Plague Tale: Requiem, and I instantly became hyped for it. I absolutely loved the first game. Its combination of stealth, puzzle solving and fighting off rats combat made for a very tense game. It wasn't the best of games, but it was still a very refreshing title and to see a sequel coming means unique concepts are still being rewarded. The game looks great and I can't wait to get it next year. 

There were also mentions of the Diablo II remake and Age of Empires IV, neither of which I care about. 

Overall rating: B

Square Enix

A new game based on Guardians of the Galaxy got a rather nice segment of time. What I really appreciated about the unveiling was that it wasn't just a CG trailer. They actually showed off some gameplay. But this game apparently has split the audience in two. There's one side of the crowd, myself included, that thinks it actually looks great, but I got to admit the movements look a bit janky. Then, there's the other half which thinks the game looks terrible, and I'm almost positive it's due to people being burned by The Avengers. This game will not be following The Avengers' business model, however, and it's a single player RPG, which already piqued my interest. I'm leaning towards a buy this October 26th. 

A pixel for pixel remaster of the first six Final Fantasy games called Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster was announced but SE seems to have only completely miffed the Internet by releasing them only on Steam and Mobile. This would have been the perfect collection to release on something like the Switch. 

We got a release for the Legend of Mana remake on June 24th, which I don't care about at all, as I actually detest the original game, and we got a Black Panther expansion trailer for The Avengers, which honestly I feel they should just ditch the Avengers games and turn their expansions into full fledged single RPGs. 

Hitman Sniper and Nier Re[in]carnation were announced for mobile, and more information was shown for Final Fantasy Brave Exodus and FFVII: The First Soldier, clearly illustrating a continuous disconnect SE has with mobile gamers and gamers who actually care about SE's games. 

Babylon's Fall was finally shown, Platinum's project for SE. I got to be honest, this was one of the most underwhelming reveals of any game during E3. Maybe if it wasn't by Platinum, it would have seemed more interesting, but this is not up to Platinum's standards. Uninteresting visuals, boring gameplay, and here's where it really gets worse. It will be a live service game. 

So yeah, hard pass. 

Something something Life is Strange remake, something something Life is Strange Colors. For some reason, SE views Life is Strange as a franchise important enough to take up one of the largest portions of their show. In fact, I think they spent more time showing the remake than they did the sequel. Just a weird choice... 

Aaaaand, then there's this... Stranger in Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin. This game is just not looking good at all. So, it's a Team Ninja Souls-like game from my understanding that's a prequel to the first Final Fantasy, but the tone and aesthetic of the game is completely off. For one, the main character is going to be one of those characters you're going to be yelling "SHUT UP" at during the course of the game as he won't stop talking about wanting and needing to kill Chaos. The gameplay trailer also was irritating me because the main character just HAS to yell something every time he kills a monster. It doesn't even look visually impressive either, barely more than what the PS3 can do. I did try to download the demo on the PS5, but experienced a common corruption error, so I couldn't play it. SE says it's fixed, so I redownloaded it but at the time of this writing, I haven't started it yet. I don't expect to come out of it the same person as I went in. 

And well.. absolutely no coverage of the upcoming FFXIV expansion Endwalker. You'd think they'd want to as FFXIV is SE's gravy train... 

Rating: D+

Take-Two Interactive

I'm not even sure I want to talk about this one. I will say I did know that Take-Two Interactive did mention they were going to have a diversity, inclusivity, and equity panel at E3, but I didn't know it was going to be their entire 50 minute presentation. When I started watching it, I tried to remain patient but after five minutes, I muted it and played Oddworld: Soulstorm waiting for them to move on to show any upcoming games. I thought maybe they'd at least tease GTA 6, but no. They kept talking for FIFTY minutes about diversity, inclusivity, and equity. It was a Zoom call where everyone had terrible green screening with plain drab white backgrounds making cringe-inducing faces while talking, or looking completely bored while waiting for their turn to speak.

Now, I'm not saying those aren't important things to talk about, because they are. Our games can only benefit by having more people of different backgrounds and experiences, as everyone's cultures mix together to make games feel more authentic and relevant, but was this really the time and place for this? I don't believe so. Sure, have a panel, but don't make people believe your ENTIRE presentation was going to be a panel. You know what venue this would have been perfect for? Ted Talks. 

But Take-Two, you got to understand something here. The more and more these issues are thrust upon the general audience, the more and more it will fall on deaf ears, and the less they'll actually care about these issues. Your average consumer does not want to hear about this. They don't care what the color, gender, or sexual persuasion of the people who makes their games are, only that the games are good. Your number one priority as a business AT A GAMES CONFERENCE is to sell games, and you couldn't have spent even 15 minutes of your presentation showing off any games? 

Rating: F

Capcom

I wasn't really expecting much from Capcom, and I was right not to. Capcom had the shortest show of E3, falling just short of 30 minutes. They started it off by showing footage of Resident Evil Village, a thank you from the producer and announcing upcoming DLC as well as a multiplayer mode called RE:Verse featuring characters from previous Resident Evils. I didn't really care much for it. Then, it was showing off the upcoming sequel to Monster Hunter Stories as well as extra content for Monster Hunter Rise as well as a crossover event for both games. *shrugs*

Next, they spent a good portion of the show talking about The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles, a prequel to the first Ace Attorney. You play as Phoenix Wright's ancestor as you solve cases in London. Although the gameplay of Ace Attorney games aren't very exciting to show off during a presentation, I still ended up being excited enough that I actually went and preordered the game. I'm looking forward to it. I'm just wondering if they could have cut the time in half and shown another game as well because....

... they ended the show talking about Street Fighter V and eSports, both of which I don't care about. No other games, no other special announcements, no Mega Man or anything of that nature. Why even show up?

Rating: D

Nintendo

It's safe to say that even if Nintendo's Direct was really bad, it would at least be better than most everyone else's show. That's how awful this E3 has been. Fortunately, however, Nintendo's Direct was rather good. 

It started off by announcing Kazuya as the new DLC fighter for Super Smash Bros. I was completely caught off-guard by that, as Tekken barely has a presence on Nintendo platforms. Kazuya looks and plays great, but I just can't get myself back into Super Smash. It also looks like Heihachi will be his final boss, and it looks he can transform into Devil Kazuya for some moves.

Life is Strange Remaster and Colors is coming to the Switch as well as Guardians of the Galaxy, but that will be the cloud version. I really dislike the concept  of cloud version games for Switch, but I digress.

A new entry to the Worms franchise called Worms Rumble was shown, but to be honest, I just miss the old style of Worms games. I'd love to have a remaster of the first Worms. What I saw in Rumble didn't really impress me much. 

A beautifully drawn and animated RPG called Astria Ascending was shown off. Very little was shown, though, so I'll have to keep my eyes open for more information about it. This could be a potential purchase if the gameplay is good enough. 

Two Point Campus was shown, of which I've no interest in as I never played any of the Two Point games, and a remastered collection of Super Monkey Ball games called Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania will release on October 5th. I haven't played a Monkey Ball since the original, so I may think about getting this one. 

Dance Dance 2022 was announced, a new Cruis'n game called Cruis'n Blast which didn't look that good to me, a new Dragon Ball Z game which I don't care about it, and Mario Golf: Super Rush was shown again, for whatever reason. 

There was a Mario Party rehash/remaster called Mario Party Superstars coming out on October 29th. It looks fun, but I haven't been into Mario Party since the first game, so it's a no from me. 

Now, I've known this was in the works for the past several months if you had your ear to the ground, so I wasn't as surprised as other people, but we finally got the new 2D Metroid announced, and it's called Metroid Dread. It's made by the same team that did the remake of Metroid 2: Return of Samus, Samus Returns on the 3DS, which I absolutely loved. Dread looks fantastic, although I'm not really a fan of the white suit. It comes out October 8th, and I'm definitely getting it. Oh, they also acknowledged that Metroid Prime 4 was still in development, but no surprise, nothing to show for. 

WarioWare is making a return with Get It Together. Man, I don't remember the last time I played a WarioWare game, maybe on the Wii? Anyway, this game looks batshit crazy like any WarioWare game, and it's only 50 dollars, so I think I'll bite. 

We finally get a trailer for Shin Megami Tensei V, as well as a release date for November 12th. To be honest, I wasn't really wowed by it. I thought the gameplay was slow and it didn't look visually impressive to me. However, I never played an SMT game before, and I do like the concept of recruiting demons and fusing them. I think I'll make this my first SMT game. 

New Dangaronpa games were announced, a series I know nothing of. Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water was announced, another Wii U port (yay...). Doom Eternal DLC and Tony Hawk 1+2 were announced, so good for those fans. 

Then there's a game called Strange Brigade which looks pretty interesting. It's an action adventure game that looks like it has something to do with treasure hunting. I'll have to keep my eye on that one. Mario + Rabbids Spark of Hope was also shown again, and a surprise announcement that Advance Wars 1 and 2 Remastered would release as one game. Awesome for fans, but I'd rather have a new one. 

Then, there's the Zelda stuff. They said there'd be one last announcement, which was Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity DLC, and I wish they didn't word it that way because I was ready to turn the show off at that point. However, Nintendo usually always ends with "one more thing," which they did. They flat out said they had no game collections or remasters in the works for Zelda's 35th Anniversary, which is disappointing. This means no 2D or 3D collections, no remakes of Ocarina of Time or remasters of Wind Waker. The only thing we're getting is Skyward Sword, which I still am not sure I want to play again. We are, however, getting a Zelda Game and Watch, which will have the first and second NES Zeldas and Link's Awakening. I'm going to try to grab one of these for collector's purposes. 

And to no one's surprise, they ended the show with a new gameplay trailer for the tentative title Breath of the Wild 2. It looks really good so far, and there's some abilities that involve land manipulation. It showed Link rising to the ceiling of a cliff ledge and then phasing through to the other side. I can't wait to see what other cool stuff they have in store for us! Also, they say they're aiming for 2022...

But there's just one thing I have to mention. There are some obvious absentees here. Metroid Prime 4 got acknowledged, which is great, but how about doing the same for Bayonetta 3? Why did they bother showing Mario Golf, a game coming out in just a couple of weeks, but not show more of No More Heroes 3? Are they even working on a new Mario Kart at all? It is been EIGHT years since MK8. I don't care if it's still selling; it's time for a new one. And well, I have to accept the fact that F-Zero is dead, but I can never fully stop hoping that there will be some teaser banner like they did with Metroid Prime 4.. 4 years ago. Maybe that's why they don't bother, because they want to make sure they have a game to show us so we don't have to wait more than four years for it. Or maybe I'm just being delusional. 

Rating: B

So that's all of E3 I watched. Granted, there were a few other shows I could have watched, like the Limited Run presentation and Bandai Namco later today, but I don't really care much for indies or Bandai Namco. I'm sure BN will show off more Elden Ring, so part of me wants to tune in for that, but I don't want to sit through games I know I won't care about to get to it, so E3 wraps up with Nintendo. 

But there's also a critical no-show at this E3 and that's Sony. Sony has always been one of the biggest presenters at E3 since they started at E3 more than 25 years ago by uttering one little thing "299." To be honest, Sony hasn't been as strong at E3s the past few years and they suddenly dipped out and did presentations Direct style, but not even having a State of Play at E3 just feels weird. Sony's not in a very good place right now due to PS5s being hard to find and no real big hitters until at least next year with Horizon: Forbidden West, God of War Ragnarok and Gran Turismo 7(?). But at least Sony understood that if they didn't have much to show, it wasn't worth showing up, unlike Gearbox, Capcom and most notably, Take-Two. 

So this leaves the future of E3 rather bleak. COVID shook the industry so much last year, E3 was canceled entirely leaving publishers to show off their wares in their own digital events, and suddenly, it was proven to many that E3 was no longer needed. Remember how your job insisted you had to attend meetings in person, that information couldn't be disseminated via email and now that COVID hit, it was entirely possibly that every meeting could be virtual, and when virtual meetings couldn'thappen, emails contained everything you needed to know? This is happening here. 

This has been the worst E3 on record. Granted, E3 was slowly declining before COVID, but this year, it's pretty much in its death throes. I doubt we'll get a traditional E3 next year even if COVID has been pretty much eradicated. The best thing to do going forward is for companies to just presenting their own shows as information becomes available. You don't need to wait for E3 to share info, and most importantly, you don't need to pay them overhead to do so. 

We'll see, though. 

Sega Astro City Mini Part 6

Welcome to the final installment of Sega Astro City Mini! This will also be a bit longer as I'm going to include my overall impressions of the Mini at the end. 

32. Tant-R - Tant-R can best be described as a party game of mini games. The only problem is, it's the Japanese version, so all the instructions before each game are in Japanese. It's pretty easy to understand what to do, though. You select from a scrolling wheel of four games and play games such as picking a flower underneath shuffling hats, solving a maze, picking a matching line up of slot machine symbols, and hitting hiding ninjas with shurikens. There's also cutscenes with what looks like characters from the Bonanza Bros. The game's fun, and I'd like to come back to see more mini games, but I just wish Sega would have translated most of these games in the Mini. It's getting irritating. 

33. Virtua Fighter - I can't really fault this game for anything, aside from me thinking it ran smoother. It feels slower from what I remember. Anyway, Virtua Fighter is what started the entire 3D fighting genre. Of course, since I haven't played it in over like 25 years, I couldn't remember any of the moves. I played as my favorite Kage, so I kinda defaulted on his leg sweep to get me through a few rounds. When I had to fight myself, though, that's when I started losing. I got frustrated and turned it off for now, but I definitely plan on coming back to play more. It's so freaking cool to finally own the arcade version of such a classic!

34. Stack Columns - Wow... Sega really loves columns, the third columns game in this collection. Stack Columns is a bit more combative than the other two. Not only do you have trash dumped on you, you can also have your base level raised. Of course, you can do that to the other player as well. There's also an attack function, but I couldn't figure out how to use it because, guess what? It's another Japanese version. There was some kind of setting before I started the game, but because of the text, I didn't understand what I was doing. I beat the first two rounds out of sheer luck, but I actually did enjoy this entry of Columns the most. Maybe if I have a major hankering for Columns, I'll come back and play more. 

35. Ichidant-R - Was Tant-R really that popular in Japan that Sega felt the need to put the sequel on this compilation? I didn't have nearly as much patience for this one as I did for the first. Again, it's in Japanese so I can't read any of the instructions. I was really stuck on a frog leap game and couldn't figure out what I was doing. Finally, I got it and was able to move to another mini game where a bunch of batters were hitting balls, and after the round, you had to pick which one hit the most. I could never do it. Imagine paying money for guessing wrong every time! The first mini game that I played was fun, though. You had to shoot down three UFOs before time was up. As the music played, I recognized what the melody was. It was Daytona! The fact that Daytona's not on here has now really pissed me off... 

36. Puyo Puyo 2 - As far as I can tell, the sequel plays exactly like the first. There's supposed to be some new feature called Offset, but I can't tell where it is or what it does, thanks to this being yet another Japanese version. There are new characters to battle, but again, all the story text is in Japanese! Anyway, I only played one round and felt that was enough. It was a total waste to include this one in my opinion, so it's safe to say I won't be coming back to this. 

37. Dottori Kun - This one is weird. It shows no genre or release date and all the synapsis says is, "The one that's already in there." It's a very simple game where you move a < shaped piece around a Pac-Man like maze clearing dots and avoiding a wandering X. The graphics are very basic and there's no sound or music. I'm really clueless as to why this is on here. So, I looked it up. It actually has an interesting history where you can read about here.  Anyway, it's not really a game per se, and didn't hold my interest at all. 

So, there we have it. After I finished playing with Dottori Kun, I went ahead and hooked it up to my TV and used my wireless adapter on it to play with my Switch Pro Controller. For starters, it's very cumbersome to hook up. Because the USB ports are on the back, they're also right next to the HDMI port and the adapter's bulk won't allow me to plug in my HDMI cable. I used the dongle included with the adapter to make space for the HDMI cable. When I finally got it up and running, the first game I played again was Virtua Fighter. Almost immediately, I felt the input lag, just like when I was revisiting my old mini consoles with the adapter. Even if I was really good at Virtua Fighter, I would not want to play it in this shape. I also played Sonic Boom, that fighter where I said it was really hard to see the projectiles. Well, it was still a bit hard to see them on the big screen too. I guess they just made them really hard to notice on purpose. The last game I played before I turned it for a while was Rad Mobile and got a couple more rounds finished. To my surprise, I got arrested by a cop who ended up smashing the hood of my car with his fist! How rude!

So, was the Sega Astro City Mini worth the 130 I paid? I'm hard-pressed to say yes. I mean, I love having the arcade version of Virtua Fighter, but thanks to the input lag from the wireless adapter, I'm pretty much stuck playing it on the Mini's screen until I can find an official controller for it. It's nice to have arcade versions of Shinobi, Altered Beast and Golden Axe, but how many times have I already played them? Plus, Sega just loves Columns and three titles is way too many. The sequel to Puyo Puyo adds nothing of value, and I really could have done without the Tant-R and Ichidant-R games. Without having to go back and read through all my blogs, it feels like at least half the games are Japanese versions, which is a shame, because I really like reading the text to know what's going on. 

It would have been really nice if Sega would have localized them or better yet replaced them with other games. There's so many other awesome Sega arcade games that should have been in here like Afterburner. Since we have Virtua Fighter, why not Virtua Racing? Or Virtua Cop? And when I heard the melody for Daytona in Ichidant-R, where the hell is Daytona USA? Hell, Sega Rally or Sega GT would have been really awesome Sega arcade racers as well. It's a shame we only got one racer in the form of Rad Mobile, but at least we have that. Also, when I played it a second time, I just realized there was a Sonic ornament hanging from the rearview mirror. That was a nice touch. 

I don't regret buying it, though. There are a handful of cool games that I've never played before. It was nice to be able to go through some of Sega's arcade legacy and see how certain franchises evolved. I never knew Wonder Boy had such an identity crisis. But yeah, unless you're a hardcore collector and just really have to own the arcade version of Virtua Fighter, I would recommend you pass on this. You're really not missing too much. 

Sega Astro City Mini Part 5

 Welcome to Sega Astro City Mini Part 5!

26. Rad Mobile - This is one of the games I was really waiting to play when I first ordered my Mini. I have a special attachment to this game. I can't quite remember playing it in the arcades, but I do remember it being featured in Encino Man. Anyway, Rad Mobile's like Outrun in the fact that it's a point to point racer and you can keep racing provided you make it to the next checkpoint in time. Unlike Outrun, though, you are racing against other people, and some turns are actually banked, so it gives the game a pseudo-3D effect. There are also sections that require you to turn on your headlights or use your wipers. I played the first three levels and had fun. It's a bit on the hard side and continuing puts you back at the current checkpoint, so you can't just drop coins and push through it. When I come back to it, I may have to save state a bit to get to the next round. 

27. Cotton - I've never heard of this game, most likely because it's a Japanese shooter. There's text before each level, and unfortunately, it's in Japanese so I've no idea what is being said. It doesn't affect the gameplay, though. Instead of being a space ship, you're actually a witch on a broomstick, and you have a little fairy that follows you around fighting with you. Having a drone all the time is a +1 for me, but the one thing that I don't like is that for some reason, when I continue, I get put back at the start of the stage. Sometimes, I don't. I like the game for the most part, but if I return to this, I'm probably going to end up save stating because I don't want to be returned to the level at random times. It's just weird. 

28. Arabian Fight - I've never heard of this one, again, most likely because it's a Japanese game. As such, the text is in Japanese, so I'm in the same situation as Cotton. I love it when a beat 'em up does something different to make it self stand out in the genre. This is an Arabian-themed brawler, so all the levels are desert and pyramid based. You fight standard enemies, skeletons, lizardmen, snake women and the like. You also have magical special attacks where your character jumps to the front of the screen and does a little animation before they cast it. The game's sprites are also pretty large, and they scale down the further you go into the background. I just wish it was animated a bit better, as it's pretty jerky. I do like this game, though, so I'll come back at some point to beat it. 

29. Golden Axe: The Revenge of Death of Adder - I think I may have played this game in some form. Unfortunately, this is also the Japanese version, so the text is useless to me. Anyway, this plays better and faster than the first Golden Axe, and the magic system has been changed up. Now you can stock up on as many bottles of magic as you want instead of having to collect them in order to fill up a staged meter. This definitely comes in handy. I picked a female centaur, and I really enjoy playing as her. I also like the new ridable animals. This is going to be one of those games that I'm really going to look forward to coming back to when I bring out the Sega Astro City Mini again. 

30. Puyo Puyo - My first exposure to Puyo Puyo was with Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine on the Sega Genesis. I just recently got Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 on the Nintendo Switch after loving the hell out of the first one. So, it's nice to actually play the original arcade game that started the franchise. Once again, this is the Japanese version, and there's story between your character and the character you're battling, so it's disappointing that I can't read the text exchange. Anyway, if you never played Puyo Puyo, it's a simple puzzle game where you move a group of two blobs around and match them up by color. It's a Vs puzzle game, so you're always going against someone else, and it's very easy to get buried under someone else's trash very quickly. Man, though, I used to be so good at this game, but I'm really rusty. Since I have Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 on the Switch now, I doubt I'll ever go back to this version, especially since I can't read the story. 

31. Dark Edge - Before I eventually get to Sega's first 3D fighter, I played some of this psuedo-3D fighter. It's all sprite-based, but the gameplay involves moving up and down the arena with the sprites rotating as you move to simulate a 3D effect. It's a bit off-putting if I'm being honest, very hard to line up any attacks. Plus, it only has six fighters to play with, a low number for fighters back then. I played a few of them, and didn't really enjoy what I played. Also, I fought someone who I swore kept telling me to "Fuck off!" when she threw her projectiles at me. Ahh well. Virtua Fighter's just around the corner. 

So that wraps up the fifth installment. The sixth and final is almost here! Thanks for reading!

Sega Astro City Mini Part 4

 Welcome to Sega Astro City Mini Part 4!

20. Shadow Dancer - Shadow Dancer is Shinboi II, or as it's known on the Genesis, Secret of Shinobi. Now, I'm not sure if I've ever played the arcade version, although I probably have. I think I may have played it on the Genesis as well. With that said, I'm almost certain I never beat it. Shadow Dancer plays pretty much exactly the same as Shinboi with the addition of having a dog by your side. The dog can run up on enemies and attack them making them vulnerable for your attacks. The only thing I don't like about that is the constant yiping when the dog gets hurt. Also, you have time bombs that you're supposed to find in order to clear the level. I missed one in 2-1 which was highly annoying as I made it to the end of the stage without getting hit, but died going back to find it. I'll definitely return to finish this one later, though.

21. Alien Storm - One thing I love about these mini consoles is seeing how the games evolve over the years. Alien Storm is an arcade beat 'em up that released when the genre was entering its golden era. Like many, it has different characters with unique move sets and special attacks, and HP bars instead of losings lives from one hit. What makes Alien Storm stand out from others is its design. Alien Storm takes place in an alien infested city and as you progress through the levels, you'll see humans turn into and be attacked by aliens, and you'll also see objects like thrash cans and phone booths reveal hidden aliens. I played the first two missions, and it looks like each mission ends in a shooting gallery style section where not only do you kill every invading alien left, you also pretty much destroy every last standing thing in these stores. Great fun! I look forward to coming back to this one to finish it and try using other characters. 

22. Columns - Like Golden Axe and Altered Beast, Columns is another Sega staple. I've played this game many times on Genesis and Game Gear. I spent a few minutes on this one, since this is an arcade version, but as to be expected, there's no real difference. I don't even really think the graphics are any better than the Genesis version. I played as much as I could before I ended up getting a game over and I'm certainly rusty. However, Columns has never really been a puzzler that I crave to go back to, so I doubt I'll play anymore. 

23. Bonanza Bros. - Hey, I remember playing this game with a friend back on the Genesis! Now I have the arcade version! As far as I remember, I don't think there's any difference with this one and the Genesis version. Probably better graphics. Anyway, if you've never played this one, it's basically a cops and robbers game where you play a burglar who goes into buildings to get loot and shoot guards and avoid traps. You can also lure them into traps such as getting them on the other side of the door slamming into them with it. I played a few levels and I really do enjoy this sort of game. I can't remember if I ever beat it with my friend, but I would like to go back to this game in the future and finish it on the Astro City Mini. 

24. Columns II - I never played Columns II, arcade wise or console wise. Columns II changes things up a bit by splitting single player and versus modes apart from each other. The single player mode is also called Flash Columns, and you start each level with several rows of gems already on the screen. Within the gems is a flashing gem, and your goal is to clear a path to the gem and then clear the gem itself. After a little while, a gem with a skull on it will appear and if you happen to clear that gem, trash gets added to the level. I was never good enough in Columns to clear away trash gems quickly, so unfortunately, I don't really find the sequel that much fun. I do like that the graphics of the gems change every level, though. It adds some variety, but the game overall just isn't fun enough for me to want to come back to. 

25. Thunder Force AC - This game's a side scrolling shooter similar to Gradius. You can also change your speed and weapon types at will. This game's freaking hard, though. Probably one of the hardest shooters I've ever played. It's definitely a coin cruncher for sure, but hey, infinite coin drops! I like the graphics and how fast it moves. I played a couple of levels, and thought the bosses were pretty standard fare, but even though there's a ton of cheap shots, I still found myself having fun with this. I might come back to it some time to finish it off. 

That wraps up the fourth installment in this series. Thanks for reading, and watch out for part 5!

Sega Astro City Mini Part 3

 Welcome to Sega Astro City Mini Part 3!

14. Scramble Spirits - Like Sonic Boom, this one suffers from the same problem of being really hard to see the projectiles while playing on the small screen. Unlike Sonic Boom, I actually had fun with this one. It has power ups that give you drones to fight with, and if you've followed my mini console blogs, you'll know I'm a big fan of shoot 'em ups that give you these kinds of power ups. Also, there's a section in the first level where you go to ground and the camera zooms in adding more detail to the graphics. I played the first couple of levels, and I'd like to go back to this game at some point to see if it does that again. So far, the bosses haven't been very interesting, but maybe they'll be later on in the game. 

15. Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair - It seems this franchise does not know what kind of genre it wants to be. The first was a platformer. The second was an action RPG. The third is shooter. WBIII's levels are split into two stages. The first is a run and gun where they bring the stamina meter back from the first game that you fill back up by collecting fruit. The second stage is a flying shooter were the stamina meter turns into an HP meter and it leads to the level boss. I played the first couple of levels, and it's fun, but the second boss was far more annoying than anything. It was obviously designed to be super cheap to keep the player dropping coins, but thanks to my magic drop coin button, I don't have to worry about it. I may come back to this game to finish it up, but it probably won't be anytime soon. 

16. Gain Ground - This is a top down combat style shooter, but it's not a very fun one. It plays way too slow for me, and another thing I hate is that the bullets are extremely short range. This makes you get into dangerously close range in order to kill the enemies. I guess the design choice was to make the game harder in order to kill you more so you'll drop another coin. Well, that's horrible game design that doesn't translate well in this day and age, especially with an infinite drop coin feature. So, it's pretty safe to say I won't be coming back to this one at all. 

17. Crack Down - No, this isn't the lackluster Microsoft open world franchise. This is a top down shooter that involves you planting time bombs and then escaping the level. I actually like this game a bit. You can get different kinds of weapons, and you have to pay attention to enemy positions and areas such as narrow hallways. A cool little feature the game has lets you press yourself against the wall in order to dodge enemy fire. Each level is broken into acts, and I played the first three acts of the first level. The level design seems varied enough that it should keep me interested when I decide to go back. I really would like to play more. 

18. Golden Axe - Just like Altered Beast, what can I really say about Golden Axe that Sega fans don't already know? Even though I own a couple Genesis versions, it's nice to own the actual arcade version. Of course, it looks and runs a little better, and now thanks to infinite coin drops, I can actually beat this game without having to abuse the hell out of save states. Also, I did happen to beat this game years ago in the arcades, but I'm sure it took me over 20 dollars in quarters. Anyway, this is one of the definitive Sega arcade classics and I'm glad Sega included this in the Astro City Mini. 

19. Cyber Police Eswat - Oh wow, imagine this game in the hypersensitive anti-police social climate of today. You play as a cop shooting and killing criminals. Because, you know, criminals trying to kill you don't deserve to be killed. Anyway, at least you arrest most of the big boss criminals. I played through the first six levels, and after the first two or three, you take on a suit of armor and have suped up weapons. I really enjoyed what I played, very similar in how Shinobi plays by jumping up to higher levels and into the background. Now that I think of it, I may have actually played this back in the day when arcades were still a thing. I'm definitely returning to this one. 

As usual, thanks for reading, and look out for Part 4!

Sega Astro City Mini Part 2

 Welcome to Sega Astro City Mini Part 2!

8. Alex Kidd with Stella: The Lost Stars - I think I have an Alex Kidd game on the Sega Genesis Mini. It's a pretty basic left to right platformer with some tricky enemy dodging and platforming. I played it for a couple of levels. There's really nothing special about it, but I do like that at the end of every level, you reach the Fantasy Zone spaceship. I like it when games have Easter eggs from other games. It's fun enough that I may come back at some point to play some more, because I want to see what the other levels offer in terms of challenge. 

9. Alien Syndrome - This is my kind of game! It's a top down shooter that has Contra-style power ups. The game's goal is to rescue all of your comrades in every level before the time bomb goes off. I tried a few times to clear the first level, but I kept dying, and there's no continue so I have to clear the level in three lives or start over from the beginning. What I do like is that when you die, your power-ups don't go away. I'll have to come back later and use save states in order to finish the game. Too bad I can't find someone to play this with for co-op!

10. Wonder Boy in Monster Land - The sequel for Wonder Boy has gone Action RPG. Sadly, this version is in Japanese, so I can't read any of the text. I played it for a little bit, though. One thing that I noted is that the game loves to throw all sorts of shops at you selling things you'll never get enough gold to buy unless you go back and forth for an hour or more. Not sure how to use any items or change gear, either. I did beat a couple of bosses, but one kept throwing so many minions at me and jumping around so much that I just gave up. Not sure if I'll return to this one. 

11. Shinobi - Now we're getting into the era that I'm familiar with. I dumped so many quarters into this game at Village Inns and IHOPs, but I never did finish it. Now with unlimited coin drops and save states, I finally can. I played a few levels for now, but I'll definitely come back later to beat it. What I really love about Shinobi is how well it plays and how great the music is. I even remember a few tracks being redone in Shinobi III. The only real disappointment is that unfortunately, this version does not have the Spider-Man cameo in it. I guess they couldn't get the license for it. 

12. Sonic Boom - No, this isn't a move shouted by Guile, nor is it that horrible Sonic game from 2014. This is a top down shooter where you play as a jet fighter shooting at enemies. I didn't really enjoy this one, though. It's really hard, most likely because I'm playing it on the unit's small screen, and the projectiles are pretty tiny. Maybe it would be more fun on a TV screen. But regardless, I've got SO many shoot 'em ups on my other mini consoles, I doubt I'll ever go back to this one. 

13. Altered Beast - "WISE FWOM YOUR GWAVE!" Do I really need to tell anyone how iconic that line is? Anyone who's grown up on Sega knows Altered Beast. It was the original launch game for the Sega Genesis after all. Even though I have a few versions of this game, this is the first time I've owned the arcade version. It's nice to have this one, and since I have unlimited coin drops, I don't have to worry about messing with save states. It's also nice that you don't lose your power ups when you die. Now that I think of it, I STILL haven't beaten this game, so if I ever want to get around to it, I'll definitely return to this one. 

Thanks for reading! Look forward to Part 3 tomorrow!