#feature
#feature
by Amr (@siegarettes)
The GBA is one of my all time favorite consoles. With an iconic, pocketable form factor and an expansive library of games, I’m still finding ways to enjoy it, over twenty years after its release. And with so many different options to revisit that library, it can be easy to get wrapped up in finding the “perfect” way to play it. But the truth is, so much of the handheld experience is wrapped up in the hardware you play it on, that the best option is going to be different for each person.
So today I’m going to run through my favorite ways to play GBA, why I picked them, and what makes each great.
by Amr (@siegarettes)
With over a decade since the last mainline Metroid or Castlevania game, it’s hard not to notice that MercurySteam has been given the keys to both parts of the Metroidvania namesake. And when looking at their catalog it’s hard not to ask “Why them?”
They opened their career with a series of derivative action games–with a special 3DS entry that has the pleasure of being one of the worst entries in both the series and genre writ large–then moved onto a ramshackle remake of Metroid II. A game that aspiried to make the story of Samus doing genocide into a sick fucking action game.
It’s as if someone saw the work that a small studio like Climax did on Assassin’s Creed Chronicles, and went “those are the people we gotta get to do our next big game.” To be fair, that gamble did work out for Shattered Memories.
So here we are again, with MercurySteam left to bring to life yet another long awaited title to life–but this time without the baggage and tonal issuses of Samus Returns.
A decent chunk nto Metroid Dread the gamble still hasn’t paid off. But it doesn’t exactly bust either, leaving us at more of a break even point.
by Amr (@siegarettes)
Returning to the series PC roots, DJMAX Respect brings over the latest entry in the stylish rhythm game series, with some new features and major omissions. When the original PS4 version of Respect dropped three years ago, both RJ and I adored it, and I personally found it to be the best introduction into the bullet hell-esque sensory overload of the series. Respect V is generally that same game, but the changes here leave it feeling barebones compared to its console counterpart.
by Amr (@siegarettes)
It must have been hour two before I met my demise the first time. An unavoidable bad ending where my character, Haruaki, was mauled with no choices you could make to escape it. Turns out death is the only way to make progress. By dying and returning to the beginning, Haruaki gains new knowledge he can use to avoid his fate next time. Several more hours in and I’ve only unlocked a few other choices, and the true game has only just begun. The game’s first “good” ending is a melancholy one, and has Haruaki searching for a new path that will give him more agency in influence the story’s events.
by Amr (@siegarettes)
Most of the minigames in Mario & Sonic are simple, one off affairs, relying on the charm and absurdity of seeing your favorite characters compete in sporting events. Some events, however, are surprisingly involved, including my current favorite–Karate.
A full review will follow closer to release, but for now, I wanted to break down what is essentially a miniature fighting game tucked in Sonic and company’s Olympic adventures.
by Amr (@siegarettes)
I’ve made it out of the seaweed forests. The new chainsaw has allowed me to cut through the thick weeds, and uncover more of the history left behind. There are more of those holograms, and even this far in there are massive screens still running news broadcasts. Did they really discover a truly sustainable energy source while I was gone?
Maybe not. At the least there seems to have been a lot of infighting here. Numerous journals describe eco-terrorists taking radical action to stop the development of these cities. What could have been so awful that it was worth fighting the last remains of humanity?
Well, maybe I’m starting to get a sense of it myself. While investigating it I stumbled into the den of the largest octopus I’ve seen. The creatures so far have been massive, but this one was beyond comprehension. The suckers on its tentacles alone dwarfed me. The sea has seemed so vast, terrifying in the way it seemed to continue on. This beast is the first being I’ve met that seems large enough to live comfortably in that vastness.
Our meeting didn’t go well.
by Amr (@siegarettes)
Life in Desert Child was simple when I started. Spend the day racing, sell the extra power cells I didn’t need to make money and fund repairs, and finish the day off with some ramen. It wasn’t a great life, and if you thought the ramen at those hipster shops here were a rip off, wait until you eat this $15 ramen that doesn’t even fill you up. Still it was easygoing, and there wasn’t much to worry about.
Then I got it in my head that I was gonna make it big on Mars, and enter the Grand Prix. So things got complicated.
by Amr (@siegarettes)
Presented entirely in white silhouette, SilverFrame translates the acrobatic combat and wild missile trajectories of anime space operas into streaks of white that cut through the shadow of space. Each encounter is a dance between missiles, with your craft changing between jet and mech form, easing from and moving into being the leader.
