Looking back
I first stood in front of the Raging Thrak Inn when I was twelve. The game was still called Gemstone III, and no one in the house was allowed to use the phone when I played, lest I get “booted.” I was a different character then. I quit playing when I was fourteen, then joined … Continue reading
Cave Story: The zig-zag world
Last week, I promised that this week’s post would be about narrative in Cave Story, but I’m going to put that off a bit, in part because the game is doing a great job of doling out the story bit by bit in ways that are keeping me interested as a player, and making me … Continue reading
EarthBound: The end is the beginning is the end
It took longer than I expected (I blame Thanksgiving, and Mysterious Cities of Gold being on Netflix Watch Instant), but I finished playing through EarthBound over the weekend. This was only my second time completing the entire game, and the first time since I was in my early-mid-lower-teens. Now, the big question: When will ALF … Continue reading
EarthBound: Location, location, location
I will say this about EarthBound, it has no shortage of curveballs and it does take you to some strange locations. In a different role-playing game (RPG), some of the locations may not stand out so much, but given the “suburban” look and feel of most of the game, the more “unique” locales can be … Continue reading
EarthBound: Dungeon Man in the sand
I am currently in the Egypt-themed country of Scaraba, and the story gets pretty interesting. By which I mean, strange. No surprise there, right? Upon arriving in Scaraba, I came upon an NPC on the edge of town and he informed me, “The fat kid did his business over there.” Sure enough, on the sand … Continue reading
EarthBound: Oh, Poo
I added the remaining player character to my party this week: Poo. Yes, that is his name. I read an article where the writer wondered why his Japanese name was not translated as Pu, but given the quirkiness of the game, along with the inclusion of characters like Master Barf, Poo fits. Poo, like Ness … Continue reading
EarthBound: Taking dad’s advice
I’m not totally ready to write off EarthBound. There are, after all, some good things to say about the game. The enemy design is unusual and imaginative, even (or especially) for a genre that spends a lot of time on its bestiaries. I love bumping into tripped-out blue-skinned people who “turn back to normal” at … Continue reading
EarthBound: Cut!
I finally rescued Paula (for the second time) the other night, and I am glad to have her back in the party. I missed her PSI Powers. But, maybe I missed her extra item slots even more (OK, that sounds kind of dirty). Last week, I touched on some of the heavy handed plot elements … Continue reading
EarthBound: Getting somewhere (sort of)
So last week I said that this was going to be a make or break week for me. Well, I don’t know that I can say that another couple of hours of play made EarthBound for me, but at least I can say it didn’t break it either. But it’s a close thing, and while … Continue reading
EarthBound: Problems
Over the past week, my gamer brothers-in-arms, Gavin and Andrew, hinted at EarthBound testing their patience. Andrew, bless him, even went so far to title last week’s post “I loathe this game.” However, while I do not plan on giving up, I told the fellas to do whatever they wish. Since this snag came up, … Continue reading
