From its very inception, Pokemon was designed for building a community. Satoshi Tajiri desired to convey his love for catching bugs to a new generation that grew up in a concrete-laden city. When he saw the Game Boy's link cable, he imagined creatures crawling across it. He wanted players to share the bugs they caught … Continue reading Pokémon Retrospective, Part 4: My Life As A Fan
In 2012, I thought I'd outgrown Pokemon. I never bought a DS to play Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, and I didn't feel anything when I saw the remakes of Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver on store shelves. In fact, I felt like I'd outgrown video games in general. During this time I only casually played Super … Continue reading Pokémon Retrospective, Part 3: Modern Poké-Problems
Several weeks ago, our family cat passed away. Her official name was Isabel Allende (yes, we named her after the famous Latin American author), but we usually just called her Smudge. She was about 13 years old when she passed away. She went peacefully, and my family buried her near a lovely tree. We adopted … Continue reading Pokémon Retrospective, Part 2: Becoming Poké-Pals
Pokemon's 9th Generation is nearly upon us. With the franchise experiencing so much growth along with so much scrutiny, it's unclear what kind of legacy Pokemon Scarlet and Violet will leave behind once they come out in November. However, as we anticipate these new games, I want to look back at Pokemon's evolution throughout the … Continue reading Pokémon Retrospective, Part 1: Pokémon’s Magic Spell
So as I'm getting ready for the release of Xenoblade Chronicles 3, I've been re-reading my reviews of the previous Xenoblade games. To be honest, I'm not quite satisfied with how I've reviewed them. I try to lump together all of my thoughts into one post and it ends up being a novel long, and … Continue reading [Update] I’m Going to Start Dividing Some of My Reviews Into Multiple Posts
On Christmas morning of 1999 I received a Game Boy Color (GBC) and a copy of Pokemon Yellow. Leading up to that fateful morning, I'd been watching other kids play Pokemon Red and Blue and listening to their conversations about the games. Pokemon was everywhere: on the playground, in the neighborhood, and in every kids' … Continue reading I Finally Found My Lost Childhood Game Boy Consoles
On July 8th, 2018 I started reviewing and discussing video games on the internet. This week marks the 4th anniversary of my blog. I don't want to toot my own horn too much, but I believe I've learned a lot over the years about how to review this goofy interactive medium. I wanted to offer … Continue reading How to Review a Video Game
Back in January 2019 I was enjoying my SNES Classic and decided I should investigate games I'd never played before. I mashed Right on the D-Pad in a kind of "Retro Roulette" I'd made for myself. I landed on Super Ghouls n' Ghosts. I booted it up, died about 20 times without even finishing the … Continue reading How to Make Difficult Video Games Fun
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is a Visual Novel / Strategy RPG developed by Vanillaware and published by Atlus. It was first released on the PS4 in September 2020 and later released on the Nintendo Switch in April 2022. MSRB is $60. I played the Nintendo Switch version. Ever since I played their games Muramasa: Rebirth … Continue reading 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim Review – A Love Letter to Classic SciFi
Alright, I've introduced you to the Metroid series, and the Xenoblade series, but what about Fire Emblem? Perhaps you're curious about all of the anime sword characters flooding the roster of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, or maybe you're interested in the newest spinoff game coming out, Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes. What are these games … Continue reading A Newcomer’s Guide to Fire Emblem
Hookshot, Charge Beam, Revive 