The Debate Over Video Game Remasters and Remakes

In 1959, the jazz trumpet player Miles Davis recorded the album Kind of Blue. It was a collaboration between other legendary musicians such as John Coltrane on saxophone and Bill Evans on piano. In the album Miles Davis experimented with Modal Jazz, a free-floating departure from jazz's typical style of improvisation based on tight chord … Continue reading The Debate Over Video Game Remasters and Remakes

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening and the Art of Overanalyzing a Video Game

I stand amid the roarOf a surf-tormented shore,And I hold within my handGrains of the golden sand—How few! yet how they creepThrough my fingers to the deep,While I weep—while I weep!O God! can I not graspThem with a tighter clasp?O God! can I not saveOne from the pitiless wave?Is all that we see or seemBut a dream within … Continue reading The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening and the Art of Overanalyzing a Video Game

Skyward Sword HD Review: Third Playthrough’s a Charm

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD is an enhanced remaster of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. The original was developed and published by Nintendo and was released on the Wii in 2011. The remaster was released in June 2021 for the Nintendo Switch. MSRB is $60. This is a review of the HD … Continue reading Skyward Sword HD Review: Third Playthrough’s a Charm

I Finally Found My Lost Childhood Game Boy Consoles

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

Tunic Review: Zelda Veers Off The Beaten Path

Tunic is an Action / Adventure game developed by Andrew Shouldice and published by Finji. It was released in March 2022 for PC and Xbox and will be released in September 2022 for the PS4 and PS5. MSRB is $30. I played the PC version. I've already reviewed several Zelda-like games on this blog, including: … Continue reading Tunic Review: Zelda Veers Off The Beaten Path

Carto Review: A Cute Puzzle Game That Mapped Its Way to My Heart

Carto is a puzzle game developed by Taiwanese indie studio Sunhead Games and published by Humble Games. It was released on PC, PS4, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch in October 2020. MSRB is $20. I played the Nintendo Switch version. Back during the NES era, exploration-based games like The Legend of Zelda and Metroid had limited … Continue reading Carto Review: A Cute Puzzle Game That Mapped Its Way to My Heart

The Witcher III Review: A Novel — I Mean Game — That I Couldn’t Put Down

The Witcher III: Wild Hunt is an open world RPG developed and published by CD Projekt Red. It was originally released on the PS4, Xbox One, and PC in May 2015. It was ported to the Nintendo Switch in September 2019, and will be released again for PS5 and Xbox Series X in 2022. MSRB … Continue reading The Witcher III Review: A Novel — I Mean Game — That I Couldn’t Put Down

The GameCube: Finally Appreciated After 20 Years

Last week I talked about the Game Boy Advance, and today it's time to gush about the GameCube. The GameCube launched in November of 2001. Like in my last post, this was a time before I had regular access to the internet and so could only find out about games through TV ads, store demo … Continue reading The GameCube: Finally Appreciated After 20 Years