We already know early-’90s adventure games either delighted in murdering you for mis-clicks (hi, Sierra), drenched everything in self-aware snark (hello, LucasArts), or protected their secrets with novellas of lore that doubled as copy-protection (looking at you, Ultima VII). But what about a title that looked like Disney concept art, sounded like an Amiga demo-scene mixtape, […]
We already know the SNES is stuffed to the brim with heroic quests and sprawling RPG sagas, but then there’s Wonder Project J, Enix’s audacious venture into robotic child-rearing that somehow slipped through Western localization nets (no “please import me” stickers included). Is it a bizarre oddity, a quietly brilliant classic, or just another overpriced
Wonder Project J (SNES) – Nurturing Empathy in a 16-Bit Pinocchio Read Post »
We already know the Super Nintendo was the console that let plumbers ride dinosaurs and let pink balloons inhale deities, so why should it surprise anyone that it also let three rival planets file joint custody over a self-aware robo-menagerie? (Don’t play coy, you absolutely clicked because the box art looks like Gundam fan-fiction spray-painted on
Xardion (SNES) – The Bureaucracy of Saving the Universe Read Post »
We already know puzzle games are the Switzerland of gaming genres, neutral, universally loved, occasionally deadly when you’re one block away from victory. But Super Puyo Puyo on the Super Nintendo (released December 10, 1993) is that eccentric cousin who shows up wearing mismatched socks and insists you call him “Puyo Lord.” Is it a
Super Puyo Puyo (SNES) – A Colorful Maelstrom of Retro Mayhem Read Post »
There is a particular electronic chime, beep-beep-BEEP, LOCK, hat still ricochets around the ossified folds of my gamer brain. If you ever wrestled a Super Scope onto your shoulder in 1992, you know the sound: the moment X-Zone’s crosshair snaps crimson, grants missile authorization, and dares you to turn another on-screen war machine into confetti.