[timestamp] is a running journal and reflection on the games I play, news I’ve read, and commentary on hot topics and conversations I have come across. These will be free to read online and printed in a limited monthly edition for $15/mo Patreon supporters!

Game played: Mina the Hollower (PS5)

Okay. Mina’s back. Straight up. I forced myself to boot it up and feel it out. It was a test. Had I been away too long and didn’t have the feel for it to continue? Was the point I was stuck at going to stop me from being able to get back on track? Was this the time to admit that I was done with it, and that’s okay, and move on to something else? Those were the questions I had for the game and myself, and I wasn’t going to know unless I booted back in.

I think it was a good thing my save file was right at the point I was stuck at trying to find Bone Beach (or whatever it’s called), my next major story destination. Previously, I wasn’t sure how I could get through this area I was in with some conveyor belts, sand, and mine carts. There were bombs around, and I knew they had something to do with it. So I went to the internet and found a guide with a single screenshot that helped me figure out how to destroy the mine carts blocking my progress. A single attempt at this led right into progress and success, and suddenly all my questions were answered. I was having instant fun again, I had new paths to go down, and I wasn’t done with Mina.

I don’t fault the game for bad design here at all. This was fully me and user issue. Had Elliot not been released, I easily could have taken another stab at figuring out where I was temporarily stuck, and this would have been a non-issue. Instead, the timing and circumstances are what had me thinking about moving on. My mindset with games these days is to play them as they are fun. If a game starts to lose its luster, and I’m not enjoying myself, then move on. Enjoy it for as long as you can, and know that seeing it through to the end isn’t required. Great games will keep me, and my decision to not buy new games until I know I am done with what’s come before is a great way to be smart with money, and helps me ensure I’ve done all I want with a game. I didn’t think Mina was going to be done, but if it was, I still would have recommended the game and looked back on it as an amazing experience for 2026. For now, that decision doesn’t have to be made, and I am locked back in.

I was able to make my way through the “over world” area on my way to the next dungeon. So far, these are challenges and almost dungeons themselves, just without the boss. You’ll eventually get to a point where you can double back or get to the “entrance” quickly once you find what you’re looking for. What I found here was a giant creature, mouth opened, inviting me inside. This will either be the best or the worst time.

I thought I should stop here, but I had some time on the clock still before work, so I decided to push it a bit and see if I could get to another hollow to rest. This turned into a full exploration and fighting, falling (strategically) through some areas, solving the loop, riding an auto-scrolling platform, and somehow unlocking the rope to double back right at the entrance, ready for the boss. The boss, though, that would really be the end of my day. I took three attempts at it, retooled and even changed my weapon to the mega buster, then even adjusted my trinkets, and tried another three times. All failures, but fun ones!

I’m so happy to be back on the Mina train. I’m going to be thinking about it all day at work and wanting to bash these eyes in all over again to hopefully put an end to my beach trip. I don’t think I’m too far from the end of the game, but I don’t know that I want it to be over now that I’ve got this second wind.

[timestamp] is a running journal and reflection on the games I play, news I’ve read, and commentary on hot topics and conversations I have come across. These will be free to read online and printed in a limited monthly edition for $15/mo Patreon supporters!

Now that I have that empty feeling in my head where Elliot was living, I need to find something else to play. Mina is there. I do need to finish it, but I am stuck thinking about how I am stuck in that game, and I’ll need to look up a guide or something to get back on track. Instead, I played a few bite-sized games to dabble in while I considered my next option. The demo for Rhythm Heaven Groove is out, so I gave that a shot. The Nintendo Direct trailer from a few weeks ago talked about an RPG mode I was hoping to try, but the demo is just 5 minigames and a final challenge that mixes them. They were fun, and I am getting WarioWare vibes, which is a great thing, but I don’t know if this is something I’ll purchase right now.

The other game I played to wrap things up was PICROSS S CAPCOM CLASSICS edition. This is something I haven’t played in months, but Picross puzzles are timeless. These are logic-based puzzles, with a hint of math, but you are just given the coordinates of how many squares are filled in in both horizontal and vertical rows. You then have to deduce which squares are filled in, and which you know aren’t, and can mark them. As you do this, the logic of where more spaces can be filled in comes in with what you’ve learned, and you continue to fill out the board. It’s simple, but as the puzzle area gets bigger, it’s a lot more to think through, and it scratches a good part of my brain. The developer, Jupiter, has been the primary maker of Picross games since the SNES days, which is wild to think about. 30 years of this.

I had originally started playing a Japanese ROM of Mario's Super Picross a couple of years ago on a whim. I heard about Picross growing up, but I just never gave it a shot for whatever reason. I really should have, as in the DS era, I was all about Brain Age and the sudoku puzzles in that game, I logically would have loved playing Picross. It’s quick, simple, and a good challenge. It’s a game you can always come back to, or play in between things. I will say, playing it before eating breakfast, staring at the screen with potential failing vision, it is a good way to give myself a headache and make me not want to play games for the rest of the day…

After a long break, and a really hot day of some frustrating errands, I was able to get back to some Picross (as we had a power outage in the 110 summer heat, wonderful!). I had to play this, as it was battery powered. Switch 2 for the win? Once the power came back on, I decided to peek at a little more on the Switch menu, and that WarioWare reminder had me jump into the GBA Classics and play some of the original WarioWare.

WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames! is a classic. These aren’t minigames, these are MICROGAMES. You’ve got only seconds to decipher what’s on the screen, and you get one quick blurb of instructions, and the goal is to read it all and react with just the d-pad or A button. Simple. The games are all low-fi originals and retro-inspired Nintendo classics. This is a real easy game to pick up for 10 minutes, and realize you’ve been at it for an hour. I played a bit of the series as it went on, but everything after the Wii is uncharted territory for me. Maybe I should see what the latest one is and give it a try sometime. The simple design of this makes me wish I could make a game. I’ve always had an idea for an adventure game where you're a regular kid making it through a single day of school, but all your actions are these micro-hits that are pass or fail, and they will either keep you going or embarrass you to hell. I thought of it like a coming-of-age interactive game, getting you into the head of the awkward kid in school. If anyone wants to help me make it, I can do audio and produce it. I just need some art and programming friends… One day…

That is it for the day. I am really going to try to convince myself to play something I haven’t finished yet before I buy something new. I have Suikoden II, Dragon Quest HD-2D II (I finished III, and then finished I, but didn’t start II yet), and Mina, which all deserve my time before completely casting them away. I guess we’ll all see what my choice was in the next entry!

[timestamp] is a running journal and reflection on the games I play, news I’ve read, and commentary on hot topics and conversations I have come across. These will be free to read online and printed in a limited monthly edition for $15/mo Patreon supporters!

I did it. I adventured Elliot. This morning I powered my PlayStation on, waited a moment, realized the TV wasn’t automatically turning on and changing to the input the way it normally should, went to turn on the TV manually and saw my Apple TV on, pressed the PS button again, noticing it was off, then realized the power went out and all this technology is fragile and a small power out can cause you to question every device in your home when something isn’t working…

Anyway, the PlayStation was now on. Elliot on the homescreem where I needed to wait for it to load and load my save file, as my sleep state was lost in that power outage. When I entered the world for what would be my final time (I assume), I only had a few things left to complete before I went after the final boss and acquired the platinum trophy. Again, to praise Elliot’s pace, I was able to zoom around the map, find the last few manuscripts (with some help from the Internet, as there is no needle to help track these), and that was it. All that was left to do was defeat the final true ending boss.

Now, this is where I have finally started to feel “just get it over with” and not just joy and entertainment from playing the game. There are a few reasons for this, but by skipping the cutscenes and trying to get the anecdotal version of the story, I have lost attachment to exactly what is going on. This game has some plot-heavy secrets and things to do to get the multiple endings, but luckily, they just required me to be a completionist to have access, so I wasn’t able to miss anything from my natural compulsion to do it all, but I wasn’t sure of the plot reasons I was getting here. By the end, there was some epic shit, with a resurrected, world-ending being called “Demise,” a phoenix, and fourth-wall-breaking gameplay. This was something I wanted to see, but I just had no idea how I got here. I wish the game had not felt like it had training wheels to the plot with as much exposition as it did for its simpler early story beats, and had a quicker pace of storytelling to match the excellent gameplay.

Overall, though, this is still a solid game I’d recommend to fans of classic adventure games or Team Asano games. I am sure if you enjoy the plot a bit more than I did, you will really love what it’s got to offer.

I am a huge fan of this HD-2D look Square has been selling, specifically with Team Asano. With the Octopath games, the Dragon Quest HD-2D releases, and the others, I could play games that look like this forever. I am excited about the Final Fantasy rework coming later this year, and I hope these games have been successful enough for Square to continue. Both with original games and remakes/reimaginings, please!

Game played: The Adventures of Elliot (PS5)

Today is technically a holiday, but not one I have ever been excited for. I once had fireworks as a teen and was bored, so I started burying them and lighting the fuse, blowing holes in the dirt until a stray rock flew into my face and JUST missed my eye. Fireworks aren’t more fun than having stable vision, so I quit that action fast. I also used to live in a trailer park just on the other side of the 5 freeway in Orange County, by Disneyland. Depending on the wind direction, their nightly fireworks would rain down ash all over us. The charred sulfur ash and the smell made me feel like I was living in some post-apocalyptic world, but I was just living in capitalist America.

I started my day with some Elliot. I did make more story progress, fighting my way through new spaces and confronting more bosses. Business as usual. I started to feel fine on my main route path, not worrying much about min/maxing side quests and items, and thought today might be the day that I see those end credits. But then, a small message appeared on the side of the screen. It stated, “Certain quests will soon become incompletable.” What the fuck?! What sick world was I trapped in? I was doing so well, breaking compulsive habits and just enjoying the game, now I was being taunted with a warning of missing content? There was only one thing I could do… Compulsively complete all the side content and quests I could to be sure I didn’t miss anything or lock myself out of that potential platinum trophy.

Luckily enough, there were only two quests I needed to complete that were available to me, and only one would have been locked out after passing the potential point of no return. So I knocked that out, got a few more cats and health shared, then got back on that main route towards the end. I knew I was onto something good when I came across a new and even lower level to the northern dungeon, with four other elevators that descended into a Mega Man-style boss rush. This is pure endgame design. Because I have so many health points and all the best weapons, I blasted through these fools again, making easy work of this barrier to the final boss.

I did do a bit of reading to make sure I was safe with a few save files, so I could stay on track for the platinum trophy. The game has a couple of endings, and if you do them in order, you’re safe to keep plugging away and not be stuck having to do a completely new play-through to finish it all off, as long as you’ve done all the side quests up to this point. Which I have.

After all this, I slayed the “final” boss pretty easily, and then I progressed to the point where I acquired a new and potentially final ability that lets me travel to the last few locations on each map. This is where I can do that final “finish everything” stage and then complete the last fight two more times to get these endings. I will say that, at 17 hours of playtime to this point, I am still not feeling fatigue or boredom. I am still skipping most cutscenes, but the gameplay is still engaging and quick, and I am happily completing this all 100%. I will likely be wrapping it all up on my next session, and then on to something new.

Game played: The Adventures of Elliot (PS5)

Today was a news day. The biggest hot takes were out there about Sony and its decision to shut down disc production for games starting in 2028. This is pretty wild and a radical turn for the industry, but really, this has clearly been in motion over the last few years. With the digital editions of the PS5 and the PS5 Pro not including a disc drive out of the box, all the signs were there. I definitely feel players should have options. I may have been part of the problem, adopting the PS5 Pro and being digital-first for the last few years, but I have bought a few physical editions for special releases. I am curious to see what this means for limited print companies going forward, not to mention the entire second-hand market and people on a budget. It is clearly exclusionary, regardless of the logistics and convenience.

As far as the chronicles of my adventuring with Elliot, I did push ahead with the main story, and as soon as I made some progress and got the western gate key… I fell into the void of every side activity available to me. Suddenly, I opened a new chunk of the map and needed to start collecting cats, weapon upgrades, treasure chests, and dungeons, all of it. It’s beyond a compulsion. I could have just focused on the main drama and made some real progress, but something inside me didn’t want to miss out on potential items and rewards. Even when I knew it was only going to be money, magicite, or accessories, I still kept doing them.

One aspect of Elliot that I moved on from is the cutscenes. I am holding triangle and skipping these 90% of the time, because right afterward, my fairy companion is reacting and navigating me to what’s next, and I can talk to the nearest NPC to get the gist of whatever was slowly being delivered in whatever cutscene was happening. The story isn’t uninteresting, but it’s just slowly paced, and when the rest of the game allows for quick combat, travel, and access, it’s an odd thing to drag out and layer in so much exposition to a plot that isn’t all that deep. This isn’t a deal breaker, it’s just a small miss. I am still getting the main points, and I have been watching them after bosses or dramatic moments, but with side quests and slower moments, I am just moving fast.

I have now gotten all of the fairy powers, three upgrades, found a few three-star weapons, and have 42 out of 50 cats. I have been turned off by games when there is TOO much to do (like the last act of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth) and flipped to switch to just complete the main quest and ignore the side stuff, but so far I am still entertained by all there is. It’s quick combat, and the magicite system really helps make the action feel well-crafted and my own. I started using the sprint ability more to zip around the map even faster after I got its upgrade. The trial for that was beyond quick. I am just too good.

After 15 or so side quests, 30-something cats, and a few new bosses, my day was complete. I saw a lot and found a whole new era. I think I have got to be at least two-thirds of the way through the game at this point. I think if I get up early enough before work, or on the 4th of July, I can knock out the rest of the main part of the game. We’ll see. I do want to pick up that new Rhythm Heaven game for the Switch 2…

Secret of Mana was originally released as a Super Famicom/SNES title in 1993. In Japan, it is known as Seiken Densetsu 2, but it comes with quite a story, including classic regional confusion and localization nightmares. The first game in the series, Seiken Densetsu, was released for the Game Boy in 1991. When it was brought to North America, they thought giving it a more familiar title would help sales, and it became Final Fantasy Adventure here. Of course, the European release mixed things up even further, retitling it Mystic Quest. A few years later, Square would use that title in North America for a separate Final Fantasy release, but that’s a story for a different game (and one I covered last year in Retro Game Zine 007, available now!).

This was, of course, an era when the world wasn’t instantly connected to each other via the internet. Localization wasn’t quick, it wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t always guaranteed. Beyond just localizing a game’s content, the name of the game itself often saw odd changes when coming and going between regions around the world. Before we get into the specifics of Secret of Mana, let’s walkthrough the general localization process most companies followed in that era.

In the early 90s, many Japanese game companies had US offices to help them handle their business overseas. While it may seem simple to just make a game, send it over, translate it, and be done, it was never quite that easy. There were layers and layers of complications to cut through, and relationships between North American offices and Japanese headquarters weren't always positive or cordial with some companies. Part of the issues came from communication. Heads of offices often needed translators to serve as intermediaries in communication. You couldn’t just pick up the phone in your workday to ask a question, check in on a project, or confirm a little detail. On top of all that, there was the little issue with the significant time zone difference between territories. Before the era of the internet, business was slow, complicated, and almost isolated from each other. The Japanese HQs were the decision-makers. The US offices were subsidiaries trying to take more power and make more decisions, but essentially controlling very little of the creative decisions.

US offices would assess a game’s potential for success in North America during development, considering any changes needed to assets or in-game artwork from a cultural viewpoint, and then determine the likely player interest in its gameplay and difficulty. These would be changes and asks that the original development team could handle, but some teams had artists and designers on the US side who could also handle some of these duties. The problem was that they often didn’t have a say in whether the game would be released, as the decision-makers in Japan had already decided what would be released in the early years. Eventually, companies would have dedicated teams that helped curate which games would be brought over, and they would have multiple in-house translators.

The biggest challenge in localizing a game, especially an RPG, is the game’s story, especially the in-game text. To overly simplify it, Japanese text can convey more information with less space, so when converting those characters into English, you’d need to drastically increase the game’s memory if you tried to convert the language 100%. This is where specialized translators would earn their keep, like Ted Woolsey, who would come in, try to capture the “spirit” of the text, modify the necessary information, and even omit or alter plot points to get it all to fit.

Now, that all seems doable on paper, but there were more difficulties in the standard process. First, developers of the original Japanese games would often wrap up their work, ship the game, then take a vacation and/or move on to their next project. By the time US teams began translating and localizing the game for a new audience, beyond the communication and time zone barriers, planners and producers wouldn’t be as open or excited to revisit old data to answer questions or take on additional work when they were focused on what was ahead. Companies would also want these games ready to go as soon as they could get them done in other territories, so they could begin selling games and making money, which makes sense. So, all of these things created a post-Japanese development crunch that compressed the translation window to just a handful of weeks.

I mentioned Ted Woolsey earlier. He is a video game translator and producer who worked for Square during the localization of Secret of Mana. His first project with the company was Final Fantasy Legend III for the Game Boy, and he would famously be the translator on major games like Final Fantasy VI (III), Chrono Trigger, and Super Mario RPG. His work has been covered in many books, but in both “Chrono Trigger” and “Final Fantasy V,” published by Boss Fight Books, Ted’s work is discussed, and it’s shared that he had just a couple of weeks to complete each project.

For Secret of Mana, the game began life as Seiken Densetsu 2 in Japan, the sequel to Seiken Densetsu for the Game Boy. Seiken Densetsu was Koichi Ishii’s project after Final Fantasy III. While Ishii had originally come up with the concept for the game years before, it wasn’t until 1990 that Square gave him the green light to develop it as a spin-off of Final Fantasy. The game was released as Seiken Densetsu: Final Fantasy Gaiden, and even featured the iconic chocobos in its original release. When Square brought the game over to North America, it was rebranded to Final Fantasy Adventure, and when it hit Europe, it was Mystic Quest. The names being different in North America and Europe was not that common an occurrence. It would make things really weird when Final Fantasy Mystic Quest came a few years later, forcing additional regional name changes. Seiken Densetsu’s regional changes mostly removed obvious references to death and religious themes, as was Nintendo of America's normal practice.

Seiken Densetsu 2 would shed the “Final Fantasy” connection and establish itself as its own series, being retitled Secret of Mana in both North America and Europe. Though there was a moment when the US press received previews of the game under the title “Final Fantasy Adventure 2.” So between these two games, worldwide there would be six different titles: Seiken Densetsu: Final Fantasy Gaiden, Final Fantasy Adventure, Mystic Quest, Seiken Densetsu 2, Final Fantasy Adventure 2, and Secret of Mana. Once Final Fantasy Mystic Quest was released in North America, it was retitled Mystic Quest Legend in Europe and Final Fantasy USA: Mystic Quest in Japan, muddying up these series’ connections even more. Let’s not worry ourselves about the Final Fantasy Legend series, which had three releases on the Game Boy from 89-91, but were actually the first games in an entirely different franchise, the SaGa series.

Nowadays, game development is a more global process. Localization teams work hand in hand with developers throughout development, and there are entire studios that act as outsourced localization specialists for other companies. A game can see its original vision and identity more accurately translated across Europe and North America, and even in reverse. Many of these classic games have also been retranslated with more accurate scripts, and there are no concerns about memory usage as they are ported to newer hardware. They get to just be the games they were meant to be. These localization hiccups were just growing pains of an industry, and even with the opportunities, I don’t think you could find a single gamer from the early 90s who wasn’t enthralled with these adventures as they were released. It just makes for an interesting history to tell.

Many developers find their niche and stick to it, not straying from that path for years, if at all. They establish themselves with their own stamp or identity on a given genre. They make a name for themselves on a series and iterate from there. Maybe, after years of establishing their voice, they experiment with other styles, testing themselves and adding their own spin on things outside the norm. But not all developers are Genki. Not only did they do things differently, but they did it backwards. They experimented with style and genre from the outset before finding their niche, but they would always remain unique for their multipurpose approach. Even their company logo is unrivaled. It is reportedly a drawing of Hiroshi Hamagaki, created by his then-3-year-old son. Genki is Genki, and I appreciate them for that.

Like most great origin stories, you have to go back to before the beginning to find the true start. The two key individuals in this story are Hiroshi Hamagaki and Tomoharu Kimura, who both worked together at Sega in the late ‘80s. Hamagaki worked as an artist and director on several projects before joining Sega R&D 8 under Yu Suzuki, where he met Kimura, a programmer on the team. The two worked on several titles before joining R&D 8, but once together, they pitched an RPG with 3D visuals to Suzuki. They were given the green light to make it work. This game would become Sword of Vermilion, the 1989 action role-playing game for the Genesis/Mega Drive.

Shortly after, in the fall of 1990, Hiroshi Hamagaki and Tomoharu Kimura left Sega and formed Genki. Here, they’d develop a library of games together, not just focused on a single genre, but instead, on a variety of titles. It appeared that they never said no to a challenge or to a genre. If you look at their development history, you’ll see action games, racing, fighting, sports, RPGs, first-person shooters, and even platforming. In their first decade, they made a name for themselves.

Their first game, according to text found in the Japanese ROM, was the breakout-style Devilish for the Sega Game Gear. In the game, players control two bumpers across a stage, aiming to keep the blue ball in play while breaking blocks, collecting power-ups, and reaching the goal. The stages can scroll not only up but also left to right. You can adjust your bumper orientation to get through sections like this and for a safer play style. There are even enemies and boss fights that you destroy by volleying back the blue ball to inflict damage. It’s a fun-looking game, especially after recently completing the 2025 indie hit BALL X PIT.

In the early ‘90s, Genki worked on racing games such as GP-1 and, even though they didn’t know it at the time, they would make magic with the first Shutokō Battle for the Super Famicom. Shutokō Battle '94: Drift King was an arcade-style racing game inspired by Japan's street racing culture. The game had courses on highways, mountain roads, and traditional circuits. The subtitle “Drift King” was coined from professional driver Keiichi Tsuchiya, who used it as his nickname and was one of the most famous faces in the sport at the time, bringing drifting techniques to professional racing. The game received two more sequels on the Super Famicom, but they were never localized outside Japan.

In 1995, Genki would enter the world of first-person shooters with Robotica for the Sega Saturn. They also developed Kileak: The DNA Imperative, a launch title for the PlayStation in North America. Both titles were products of their era, featuring boxy hallways and key-finding, with slow progression through the stages. This was a time before dual-analog controls and full 3D movement, but for games made in 1995, they were impressive feats, especially for console players. There would be a sequel, Epidemic, and a successor to the series in BRAHMA Force: The Assault on Beltlogger 9 released in the following years, but this would be the final first-person experiments Genki would be involved in.

My first personal exposure to Genki was through the 1996 PlayStation game Tokyo Highway Battle. In Japan, this was Shutokou Battle: Drift King, and was the first entry in the series to be released in North America. The game would feature highway courses with pedestrian traffic, a unique feature at the time. It was a traditional checkpoint-based racer, with drift mechanics. The game even featured an opening montage of Tsuchiya demonstrating his drift techniques on a closed course. The series made its first steps into 3D, but it wasn’t quite a hit yet.

Through the late ‘90s, Genki continued to get creative and went all-in with the new Nintendo 64. They would develop Chōkūkan Night: Pro Yakyū King, their first sports title. This was a 3D polygonal baseball game with full analog pitching control. The game would also receive a sequel on the system. Sticking with the Nintendo 64, they would also develop Fighters Destiny, their unique take on 3D fighting games, and partner with Imagineer to port SimCity 2000 to the N64.

Fighters Destiny, known as Fighting Cup in Japan, took notable steps to differentiate itself from the 3D fighting genre. Instead of a traditional health bar that depletes, the game also featured a point-scoring system, similar to a martial arts tournament. Successful throws, take downs, advanced moves, ring outs, etc., all scored various points that appeared as stars below the health bars. The game also awarded players new skills for playing against CPU opponents. This allowed for unique character growth in addition to the unique combat system.

While Genki was getting quite serious with their attention on the Nintendo 64, they would have one final game for the PlayStation in the late ‘90s. They would develop the cult classic Jade Cocoon: Story of the Tamamayu. Here, Genki would try their hand at mixing RPG elements with virtual monster raising mechanics. While this wasn’t the most original creation, it features striking visuals, including character designs by Katsuya Kondō (Studio Ghibli). The game also featured a compelling monster fusion mechanic that set it apart from similar titles. Across multiple games, genres, and platforms, Genki was out there firing away. In the background, though, the Shutokō Battle series was gaining traction.

Genki would finish the ‘90s by creating sequels to their titles, but their biggest game would become a Dreamcast classic. In 1999, Tokyo Xtreme Racer was released in North America. It was known in Japan simply as Shutokō Battle, but it marked a step in a new direction for the series overall. TXR would feature a quest mode, where you cruised the highways at night, and when you found an opponent, you would challenge them by flashing your high beams at them to trigger the race. The SP system would then activate, and instead of checkpoints and finish lines, your goal was to stay in the lead, creating distance and reducing your opponent's SP. This gave the game an almost fighting game feel to these races. This would be a mechanic the series would build on over the next decade and beyond.

Genki had proven itself as a versatile team. With the developer earning their stripes across genres and styles, always willing to take on even the oddest of challenges. Their unique approach enabled them to find their niche in a genre they excelled at. This was quite the unorthodox way to make their stamp on the industry, but Genki is an unorthodox company. From their logo to their experimental game design, Genki made an impact in their first decade, and that impact would continue into the next.

Koei has been active in the video game industry for many decades. The company was founded by husband-and-wife partners, Yōichi and Keiko Erikawa, in 1978 in Yokohama, Japan. Initially, they created business tools, but they later released a couple of erotic computer games that brought them into the computer gaming business. Their earliest games date back to the ‘80s on platforms such as the PC-8801, the FM-7, the MSX, and other Japanese home computers. In 1983, Koei would release the first game in a long-running series called Nobunaga no Yabō, or Nobunaga's Ambition in the West.

Nobunaga's Ambition is a historical simulation set in Japan's Sengoku period. Your goal is to unite Japan as Oda Nobunaga (or any other selectable daimyo) by carefully balancing resource management and strategic diplomatic decisions. You also control your people's economy and, beyond that, develop your military power. The game is played over years, with your character aging and potentially dying. This is a hardcore title for real strategy sickos. The success of the first game led to multiple sequels and ports/remakes through the ‘80s and ‘90s. Nobunaga's Ambition was translated and released in the West as early as 1988 on PC, and on the NES and other home consoles in 1989 and beyond. The series would even cross over with Pokémon in 2012 in the DS game Pokémon Conquest (Pokémon + Nobunaga's Ambition in Japan).

They would go on to become known for serious strategy and simulation titles, carving out a niche within gaming. With a small but dedicated enough fanbase, they remained profitable and eventually opened a North American subsidiary in 1988. Nobunaga's Ambition wasn’t the only strategy title the developer would make. They would also create the Romance of the Three Kingdoms series in 1985.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms is more of a turn-based tactical role-playing simulation. Much like Nobunaga's Ambition, this is a title that isn’t for the faint of heart or casual player. It is a complex web of statistics, character growth, resource management, and decision-making. The earliest version was released for the PC-88, and it was later ported to the MSX, NES, Amiga, FM-7, and more. This series has seen numerous sequels, with the most recent entry released on PS4, Switch, and Windows in 2020.

Koei would continue on this path, establishing itself as a leader in the strategy genre and expanding its catalog. Genghis Khan, Bandit Kings of Ancient China, Top Management, Gemfire, Inindo: Way of the Ninja, Uncharted Waters, P.T.O.: Pacific Theater of Operations, and dozens of other games would be released from 1990 to 1995. While these games have different settings, mechanics, and systems, they share common threads across the strategy, simulation, and role-playing genres. Koei had an established system, and the developer continued to grow in this space, but when would it ever break out of its self-created niche?

The earliest title I found that significantly distanced itself from the usual historical simulations and complex strategy is Stop That Roach! This was a Game Boy game released in 1994 in both Japan and North America. Players controlled an exterminator and were tasked with defending their sweets from cockroaches in an early tower-defense-style game. For a Game Boy game, it made sense to keep the game focused on a simple gameplay loop, as a traditional hardcore strategy game wouldn’t likely be possible on Nintendo’s portable device.

Key staff members were brought into the company around this time. Kenichi Ogasawara joined Koei with the goal of working on titles like Nobunaga's Ambition, but, lacking proper programming skills, he was instead assigned to training courses and to a team that ported titles from the PC-9801 to the SNES. Similarly, Hisashi Koinuma joined Koei after finishing school, having been a fan of the Romance series. His first assignment was also porting titles to the SNES. These two were part of a group that was identified for a new team within the company. Koei was looking to expand beyond its strategy catalog and began planning to create a team dedicated solely to this task.

In 1996, Koei would officially established this studio to create games beyond strategy and simulation titles. This new team, Omega Force, was founded by Akihiro Suzuki and Kenichi Ogasawara and would also include key names such as Hisashi Koinuma, Kazuta Imamura, Tatsuya Yazaki, Kageki Shimodo, and many other talent developers. Initially, the studio name was planned to be the last letter of the alphabet, Z, but due to outside cultural concerns, that was scrapped. Instead, the last letter of the Greek alphabet, Omega, was chosen, but to avoid another potential conflict, they added Force to the end. In an interview with Ogasawara, Force was chosen as it sounded like “Fourth,” and this team was the fourth business division within Koei. They were the company's “last weapon.”

Omega Force’s first title didn’t stray far from their roots. Essentially spun off from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms series, the team was asked to create a game using 3D models and leverage the emerging hardware of the time. This game would become Dynasty Warriors (Sangoku Musō in Japan). It was a one-on-one 3D fighter that used motion-captured animations and focused on weapons and parrying rather than button combos and special moves. Think more Soulcalibur than Tekken. The title surprised attendees of the PlayStation Expo in 1996, where it was first unveiled. Next Generation magazine covered the show and shared this about its announcement, “KOEI’s new 3D fighting game, which was developed by Omega-Force. KOEI, as most readers will know, has a well-deserved reputation as a publisher of high quality, complex, dry, historical simulation games. Thus, the surprise at finding a 3D weapons-only combat game (that bears more than a passing resemblance to Soul Edge) at KOEI’s stand.”

With the positive reception of Dynasty Warriors, Omega Force was off to a great start. Next, they would develop something even further removed from the company's history. The adventure game called Enigma. Visually, the game reminds me of the early Resident Evil titles, using pre-rendered backgrounds with fully polygonal character models. You explore your environments to find shining items to unlock doors and find more items. Combat is primarily hand-to-hand, but still similar to the early RE titles. You hold a shoulder button to enter combat, and square and circle initiate left and right attacks, with triangle delivering a heavier attack. In a 1997 IGN interview, an uncredited Koei staffer discussed these early Omega Force titles and described Enigma as an “Indiana Jones meets Resident Evil” game. The game was initially planned for localization into English, but it was ultimately canceled.

1998 continued, and for their 3rd game, Omega Force returned to the 3D fighting genre. Destrega was directed by Akihiro Suzuki and designed by Kenichi Ogasawara. Instead of a weapons-based fighter like Dynasty Warriors, Destrega used an open rock-paper-scissors system. Players would need to think on their feet about which attack to choose, dashing to evade, combining different attacks, and countering with the winning move. The game also featured a solid story mode, praised by many critics at the time. The game's characters and setting were a completely original concept, much like Enigma, and Omega Force was on a roll. If Koei intended to allow Omega Force to fly on its own, it was succeeding both critically and financially, but the best was yet to come.

To close out the ‘90s, Omega Force took their talents to the latest hardware on the market: The Nintendo 64. Koei had a long history with Nintendo titles, having created and ported many of their early Japanese PC hits to both the Famicom/NES and Super Famicom/SNES. They were a multi-platform developer and had an original action title well-suited to the system and its new analog control. WinBack was first unveiled at the 1999 Electronic Entertainment Expo and impressed attendees with a new third-person action title. Cover-based mechanics had been used in arcade titles like Time Crisis, but in WinBack, players would have direct control over the main character, Jean-Luc Cougar. While navigating levels, players can press an action button to take cover and “stick” to these locations, stepping out of cover to return fire before retreating to safety. In addition to the innovative cover system, players also had a laser sight to see where they were aiming, and could use the analog stick for precision shots. You can see the spirit of these mechanics influencing later titles such as Gears of War and Resident Evil 4.

Once the new millennium came, things for Omega Force would be blown wide open. The team began work on a new action title for the upcoming PlayStation 2, while Koei was developing the strategy title Kessen. Omega Force would release Dynasty Warriors 2 in North America (Shin Sangokumusō in Japan) as a launch title for the system on October 26th, 2000. Instead of a one-on-one fighter, this title was an open hack-and-slash action game. Players would choose characters from the same Romance of the Three Kingdoms setting, as this was essentially a spinoff of that series. Gameplay consists of mixing up light and heavy attacks, flashy special moves, capturing key locations, and defeating opposing generals. The goal is to win battles and unite China under the banner of the Wu, Shu, or Wei kingdoms.

Dynasty Warriors received mostly positive reviews, and the game sold well enough to allow Omega Force and Koei to continue the series. What followed next was a steady shift away from a developmental focus on original titles. Instead, Omega Force began to invest heavily in the Dynasty Warriors series, driven by the franchise's success and growing popularity. The series would feature 10 mainline entries over the next 2+ decades, along with more than 30 spin-offs, including Samurai Warriors, Warriors Orochi, and expansions such as Xtreme Legends and Empires. There was no end in sight for this franchise, and Omega Force would begin to grow even larger than Koei itself.

The 2000s continued this trajectory with mainline and spinoff releases. New console generations enabled higher-resolution graphics and improved mechanics, but people were becoming quite familiar with the Three Kingdoms. What could possibly happen to catapult Omega Force even higher? Licensed opportunities. In 2007, the first licensed Dynasty Warriors was released. Developed by Omega Force, but published by Namco Bandai Games in North America and Japan, Dynasty Warriors: Gundam replaced the Three Kingdom leaders with mecha from Mobile Suit Gundam. Giant robots, space battles, lasers, and explosive attacks, all wrapped up in the familiar Dynasty Warriors packaging. This was an instant hit with me, and although game reviews were average, it was popular enough among fans to warrant two sequels. This would only be the beginning of the studio's licensed opportunities.

In 2009, Koei merged with another long-established Japanese company, Tecmo, which had its own history of iconic games. The two companies would merge to form Koei Tecmo, and operations would continue without any drastic changes to either company's development plans. Eventually, their internal teams would help support each other with auxiliary help for various projects.

In the years that followed, into the 2010s, mainline Dynasty Warriors games continued. Omega Force would return to create original titles, such as 2007's Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War. This was a real-time tactics game, set during the Hundred Years' War between England and France. Omega Force would take up developmental duties on Trinity: Souls of Zill O’ll for the PS3. This took the previous entries' turn-based approach into a real-time action battle system, and the game received mixed reviews. They also took on Capcom with a very Monster Hunter-inspired series, Toukiden. The first game in the series, Toukiden: The Age of Demons, was released for the PSP and allowed players to control a slayer, team up, and go hunting to defeat various oni. While none of these games were flops, none generated the same level of interest and success as the Dynasty Warriors series had.

More licensed opportunities came Omega Force’s way in this decade. Beyond the Gundam titles, Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage would take the Dynasty Warriors formula and combine it with the long-running, popular manga property. After that, One Piece: Pirate Warriors would be released, again published by Bandai Namco. Both titles would see sequels in the following years, and one of the biggest licensed collaboration opportunities was on the horizon. Having successfully merged their exciting and approachable gameplay with high-action properties, Omega Force was ready to become a legend.

Yosuke Hayashi, the lead developer at Team Ninja, who was now a developmental partner under the Koei Tecmo banner, discussed the possibility of partnering with Nintendo with then Koei Tecmo executive VP Hisashi Koinuma. Many staff members were big fans of The Legend of Zelda, and the studio would pitch its concept to Nintendo. Eiji Aonuma, producer and lead on the Zelda franchise at Nintendo, supported the idea, and the companies would officially announce their partnership. The game was shown off at the 2014 Electronic Entertainment Expo and was playable for attendees. The game would be developed by Omega Force with support from Team Ninja, as a collaborative release. Koei Tecmo published the game in Japan, with Nintendo taking on worldwide publishing responsibilities themselves.

Omega Force would see further opportunities to collaborate with many more highly regarded franchise games. They would release multiple sequels to Hyrule Warriors. They took on another Nintendo property with Fire Emblem Warriors. They had partnerships with Square Enix with Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree's Woe and the Blight Below. They partnered with another popular manga property and developed Berserk and the Band of the Hawk. A collaboration between Atlus and Sega resulted in Persona 5 Strikers.

Even with all the Warriors collaborations, Omega Force found itself creating original titles like Attack on Titan and its sequel, Dragon Quest Builders and its sequel. They would also create the original Wild Hearts for PS5, Xbox, PC, and Switch 2. This would be a game that brought crafting and combat into multiplayer, competing with Capcom for its own giant-monster-hunting title. In an unusual business collaboration, EA would publish the game rather than Koei Tecmo. When the game was ported to Switch 2, Koei Tecmo resumed its own publishing duties for the game, but it showed that the studio is being courted for development and original concepts, and not just Warriors titles.

Omega Force had now found a new peak of success and collaboration. The company began as an experiment to bolster Koei’s catalog with unique new titles beyond its traditional releases. Over the years, it evolved into a success story, building partnerships beyond Koei. Dynasty Warriors faced challenges and reached a low point after a critical failure in Dynasty Warriors 9. Still, the studio had too many connections and too much talent to fail on a single release. Since then, their most recent release, Dynasty Warriors: Origins, reimagined the core gameplay and style, delivering a well-received refresh the franchise needed. Omega Force has lived up to its name and is a genuinely creative developmental force. I will remain intrigued and excited when I see their name in the credits of an upcoming game. Here’s to another 30 years, Omega Force!

When DreamFactory released Tobal No. 1, many North American gamers likely bought it for the Final Fantasy VII sampler CD included with this strange-looking 3D fighter. Why the hell was Square putting out a fighting game, and who the hell was DreamFactory? Well, let’s get into it. It’s a pretty cool story. With some real major players.

DreamFactory was established as a subsidiary of Square with the exact goal of producing Square’s first 3D fighter. They weren’t going to do this with their current in-house developers, so they went out looking for the best. What they ended up with was 17 staff members who came from other companies who were unhappy with the current state of 3D fighting games. The company was led by Seiichi Ishii, who was also the director of Tobal No. 1, and had an excellent resume, including work on Virtua Fighter and the first two Tekken games. The main programmer and co-designer was Toru Ikebuchi, another Virtua Fighter alum who programmed the first two games and would later return to Sega to direct Virtua Fighter 4. Hitoshi Matsuda did the motion design, coming over from Namco, having previously done motion design work on Tekken 1 and 2. Clearly, the team was built with talent to get the job done.

DreamFactory wanted to achieve full 360-degree movement to create a dynamic fighting game. Players weren’t locked into 2D planes like they were in other 3D fighters of the time. Sure, those games allowed you to side-step around, but the Tekken games had “infinite” stages, and Virtua Fighter stages were simple and small. In Tobal No. 1, players could move around the stage, omit blocking and step around their opponent to counter their moves, and jump over low attacks. Players still needed to mind their step, as ring outs would end their round instantly.  It ran smoothly at 60 frames per second and felt solid to control. Visually, the characters looked a bit dated without fully textured polygons, but overall, Akira Toriyama’s character designs looked great. That’s right, Akira Toriyama of Dragon Ball and Dragon Quest fame helped design the plot and the original characters in this game.

The thing Tobal No. 1 did that was truly unique was the Quest Mode. In this mode, the camera pulled back, and you controlled your chosen fighter through a multi-floor dungeon filled with potions, items, traps, enemies, and other surprises. You could improve your strength and defense to increase your chances of making it through to the end alive. This was a full-on RPG-inspired quest that was really cool to see. There were drawbacks in some of the controls with the platforming sections, but with unlockable characters and multiple stages, there was quite a lot here, and it was quite unexpected.   

Overall, there was a lot of promise, but it didn’t fully deliver and execute on making the greatest 3D fighter of the era. There was a strong foundation here, and with some retooling and refinement, there could be a really rad game with this focus on freedom of movement and quest modes.

After Tobal No. 1, DreamFactory went straight to work on Tobal 2. The goal was to refine and expand the game to address the first game's issues. Visually, the characters’ polygons had more shading and detail, though this was more of a technical trick and not fully texture-mapped models. The game engine uses the same freedom-of-movement controls, with players still locked facing each other but able to move in 3D to find the right position in battle. Players had access to the same three attack buttons for specialized combos, and each character also had an unblockable projectile or fireball attack. There was a return of the standard tournament mode, where you fought stage by stage until you reached the end boss battle, which is a pretty standard mode for a game like this. There was also a training mode on the main menu, rather than buried in the options menu like it was in the original. But there was one mode that returning Tobal fans likely bought the game for—Quest Mode.

Tobal 2’s Quest Mode abandoned the straight dungeon hub and instead offered a map and a complete world. There were NPCs, text boxes, dialogue, and a plot, as simple as it still was. You began your quest in a home and are introduced to indoor environments, doors, NPCs, and exploration. Outside, in a town, you have the freedom of choice to explore a number of areas. Some locations are destination dungeons that play out like the Quest Mode dungeon of Tobal No. 1. There are far more items, stats, and locations here, plus you have full-on equipment menus and much more depth to gaining stats and growing your character. There are items you can use to capture the Quest Mode enemies and use them in the other modes of the game, as well. This is a nice way to pad out the number of playable characters for the completionists out there. This Quest Mode was far deeper, and a full investment into solidifying itself here in this unique space.

While the praise is fully deserved for getting weird with the Quest Mode, the standard game and gameplay again felt… generic. This may be too tough a criticism, as the developers came from Virtua Fighter and Tekken backgrounds, so there are obvious reasons why it may feel similar to the competition. It just lacks a certain something to stand out in the area of the game that matters most. The characters were again Akira Toriyama's creations, while plot ideas were fleshed out by the team. With two attempts to realize the fusion of Akira Toriyama and the DreamFactory quest and movement ideas, there still wasn’t a surefire hit. The next game needed to mix something up.

With just a single year between releases, DreamFactory would mix things up after all. Their third title would drop Akira Toriyama and instead use the growing young talent in-house at Square, Tetsuya Nomura. Hot off Final Fantasy VII, Nomura’s original characters shared many of the same design qualities as those now fan favorite characters from FFVII. This new game would also partner with Namco and be developed on the PlayStation-focused System 12 arcade board. With a presence in the arcade to hype up the home conversion, DreamFactory had enough to give this new game the best chance of becoming a hit. This is how Ehrgeiz: God Bless the Ring was born. But Square had one more trick to entice players to give their latest fighting game a shot.

The arcade edition of the game launched with two guest characters, Cloud Strife, Sephiroth, and Tifa Lockhart, from Final Fantasy VII, in addition to a larger roster of 10 original characters. The game had a simple, focused plot to drive players through it. The legendary Ehrgeiz sword has been sealed away, and the stone key used to unlock it would be the prize given to the winner of the fighting tournament you participate in. With a strong story, as simple as it is, this was already an improvement over both Tobal games, whose generic tournament isn’t as memorable.

The original characters are also a bit edgier and, as sad as it is to say, cooler than Toriyama’s Tobal characters. Godhand, whose right hand is cut off and replaced with a gun, is the bizarre cover guy, along with "Yoyo" Yoko Kishibojin, who is a cop and uses a ranged yo-yo as a weapon. With each character having a standout design and move set, the entire roster is worth exploring, though the urge to crack skulls with Tifa or swing that buster sword wildly with Cloud may be too hard to resist.

Gameplay would see a significant upgrade in 3D movement. Now, it wasn’t just a gimmick in technology. Stages now feature elevational changes, objects, and walls, creating unique spaces that take full advantage of ranged moves and the ability to run freely. This is the game that finally realizes the benefits of having a free movement control system for a fighting game. DreamFactory figured it out here, for sure.

Ehrgeiz would be ported to the PlayStation just a few months after the arcade game's release, bringing with it some amazing additions. First, more characters. Yuffie, Vincent Valentine, and Zack join the roster as additional Final Fantasy VII guests, bringing more of that draw to players who may have been on the fence about playing a Squaresoft fighting game. Of course, the biggest home console addition was the updated Quest Mode. Tobal fans knew this was coming, but for anyone new to Square fighting games, this was the thing to play.

Brand New Quest: The Forsaken Dungeon is the full title of the game’s Quest Mode, and it is a stand-alone experience you select from the main menu. This is a beat-em-up RPG in a fully realized world, much like the Quest Mode from Tobal 2. Instead of playing as any of the game’s fighters, there are two original characters to choose from at the start of the game: Clair Andrews and Koji Masuda. You can also swap between them during the game if you visit the Inn. The character growth system has been overhauled as you manage and improve your Attack, Magic, Dexterity, Speed, or Defense stats. Multiple weapons, items, and dungeons can be found, and this is the best version of these Quest Modes that DreamFactory has created by far. There is less wandering as the story shares a multifloor dungeon with randomized maps created each time you enter. The loop of progress and character growth resembles Diablo, and even with a more focused world, it has more depth than Tobal 2.

Seeing DreamFactory find ways to respond to and improve its ideas over the three PlayStation-era fighters was special. While Tobal No. 1 and 2 aren’t as easy to go back and play, Ehrgeiz is still a game worth playing today. Each game has its flaws. If you like dungeon-crawling games and fighting games, what other title attempts to fuse these two things together? Get weird and give it a try.

As far back as I can remember, I always had access to video games. I have photos of me holding an NES controller on Xmas morning in 1989. We also had an Atari 2600 with a box full of games— that I only dragged out when I was extremely bored with whatever NES games I had. My mom worked for some kind of bank or lending company in the 80s, and she had an MS-DOS computer that she may have used for work then. I am not actually 100% sure. I know this computer moved with us when we left Southern California and moved to the middle of the desert, 30 minutes south of Maricopa, AZ, in 1990.

Our family came to the desert, and our new home was three miles down a dirt road off a two-lane paved road and a few miles off a two-lane highway, which was 15 miles away from the nearest town. There was a school, a convenience store, a gas station, and even a municipal airport. The town may not have been called “Lizard Breath,” but it could have been. This remote location where I lived meant I wasn’t walking to any parks or going anywhere nearby to play. Video games were my primary form of entertainment, and I was okay with this. I’d stick to my NES games, and we’d randomly get new ones from who knows where, or we’d get a rental from a store if we went into town. Sometimes, I’d just have to be bored.

One day, I started exploring the house in one of these hazy boredom states and found the computer. This was a computer that would boot right into MS-DOS, and along with this computer, I found a few boxed games and a Rolodex-style storage bin filled with 5¼-inch floppy disks, many of which were games. I’d learn how to put the disks in, search for the .exe files, and play things like “Harley-Davidson: The Road to Sturgis,” “Zork,” and more.

I’d meet my best friend a couple of years later, and much like my home, there was always something new to discover when our boredom reached new lows. We would find another computer and some early music production software. After more digging, we found even more games like “Ys: The Vanished Omens” and one that stood out because of its B-movie cover, It Came From the Desert.

What were our parents doing in the early 90s? I never saw them play video games. I never saw them sitting in front of these computers. Where did these games come from? Some kind of trade? A yard sale buy? I have talked to my friends over the years, but we have no idea. I don’t know if I am alone here, but I never really learned how these games showed up, but I am glad they did. Finding them helped us discover new genres or at least genres we wouldn’t have ever been exposed to at that age, and eventually, these types of experiences would be things we’d hunt down again and again. We were lucky to have the chance to get our hands on them then.

When we first put in It Came From The Desert, we weren’t quite sure what to expect. Our NES, SNES, and Genesis games taught us that shooters and platforming were the typical stock experience, so I could imagine blasting away at some giant ants based on the cover. Instead, we were greeted with a message from the main character, a geologist temporarily living in a small town investigating a meteoroid that fell out of the sky on the outskirts of town.

It was an adventure game that had us make choices and work against the in-game clock. It felt like one of my “Choose Your Own Adventure” books that I was obsessed with at that age. We weren’t immediately thrown into action, but we had to glean clues to figure out where to go next, acting as a detective of sorts to the game's main story. There were odd characters and strange events, and the real surprise was that all these moments were broken up with mini-games of all different types. There was a first-person game of chicken against some rebel teens. There was a knife fight against that same crew. If you traveled to the local airfield, you could play a top-down flight sim to gather intel, explore the town, and more. If you are on the right path, a giant ant may interrupt and attack in a first-person fight where you defend yourself with a gun.

I mentioned the in-game clock before, but this concept was new for us as younger kids. You wouldn’t immediately know if your choice to investigate a local farm or drive to the quarry outside of town was right or wrong. Each choice took time, and you needed to solve the central story within 15 days. Failing to succeed at some of these events risked injury, and a bad enough injury could land you at the local hospital.

This is where I would find the most significant challenge. First, choosing to wait to heal up would cause you to lose the most of your limited time to figure out the town's ant problem. The doctors and nurses didn’t believe your story, and they ordered you to stay in bed. The problem is that you don’t have time to waste, so you do only what you can: Escape the hospital. You needed to avoid orderlies, sneak to the first floor, and make it out of the front door to succeed. If you were caught, it was back to your room, where you would have to wait and lose the most precious resource in the game. It wasn’t easy, but when I finally did it for the first time after dozens of tries, I remember breaking out in an ad-libbed song, “I escaped the hospital!” This must have been an infectious song because my friends and I still bring it up over 30 years later.

The game was non-linear in its design. You could take multiple paths and find different people to meet to help uncover the details of the game's mystery. This meant we could try new things, go to new places, and experience something different each time. This is something we had never experienced before. As I grew older, I discovered more adventure and RPG games— which became my genre of choice. Threads of what I love today can be found here. We would see the end of the game and make it through the ant's tunnels in the southwest area of the map with a flamethrower in hand. We found what came from the desert, living in our version of that game, and it's an experience I can never forget.

Hello everyone, I wanted to pop in and share a few updates on all that’s going on with Pixels and Polygons. I’ve got updates on everything and a few recommendations, too.

First, this one is for patient 32 Bit Library Deluxe Edition supporters. I have my final print-ready file, and I will be launching the Kickstarter for the special A4-sized 32 Bit Library Greatest Hits Volume 1: Deluxe Edition SOON! By ‘soon,’ I mean it might be launched today, and this link will take you right to the campaign, depending on how soon you read this email. I will have a few limited sets that’ll include an enamel pin, trading card, and sticker along with the book, but you will also have options to get just the book if you don’t like all the extras. I originally started these books in this size, but the standard ones took priority because of their smaller size (and price). I haven’t forgotten everyone who enjoys the massive coffee table version. The same slipcase and spot UV treatment are here. This is the giant book you’ve been waiting for. Shipping will be late spring, with my goal to get it to everyone by July (or sooner!). You can read all about it and get notified when it launches right here:

Coming soon: 32 Bit Library Greatest Hits Volume 1: Deluxe Edition

A chronological retrospective of 50 of the best-selling games on the PlayStation from 1995-2003. A4 size. 344 pages. 900+ screenshots.

www.kickstarter.com/projects/darrenhupke/32-bit-library-greatest-hits-volume-1-deluxe-edition?ref=3l11pv

This volume’s focus is not on an entire publisher's catalog, but instead on 50 of the best-selling games that were rereleased as “Greatest Hits” on the system. Inside, you’ll be able to read about quite a few games that wouldn’t normally be featured in the typical 32 Bit Library book. From Alien Trilogy to X-Men Mutant Academy, there is something for everyone here. There are also some great original essays by some amazing folks. Check out the link and read all about it.

Up next is Pixels and Polygons Quarterly! Issue one is complete and being printed here any day now. It has come together better than I originally envisioned, with extra content like the “Pencils and Polygons” comic drawn by Maddie, aka ohthatsraspberry. I am also happy to have more writing on it. Each issue has an overall “theme,” so having a story that ties to this theme as a connective tissue for the issue is something I am proud of. Issue two is already in production with another group of great writers. Nadia Oxford (Axe of the Blood God, frequent Retronauts guest, and so much more!), Brendan Hesse of The Crawl, and Alex Johnson. This next issue will be “Square Pegs in Round Holes.” It’ll cover a few less popular Square titles that are fan favorites.

I’ve got a few recommendations this month. If you’re reading this, you likely enjoy old PlayStation games. If you’ve ever seen any of Geeks-Line’s books, you'll know they're anthologies of consoles with game data, development articles, and plenty of info. Their latest, the PlayStation Anthology: The Tetralogy, is a giant four-volume tetralogy covering the original PlayStation. If you have the original volume, you can buy 2-4 and the slipcase or get all four now in the slipcase. It looks like a great book. I recently got their giant slipcase set for the PS2. Check it out on Kickstarter now:

PlayStation Anthology: The Tetralogy

100% dedicated to the PlayStation: Exclusive Box Set, 4 Books, 1300+ pages.

www.kickstarter.com/projects/2099439603/playstation-anthology-the-tetralogy

Another book I recently picked up was Philip Summers’ and NF Publishing’s Hand-Drawn Game Guides: Mega Man. This is like a love letter to old gaming magazine strategies with tons of illustrations by Philip. Full level maps, tips, and walkthroughs for the entire game, plus boss info, game history, and more. It’s a great read and art book, all in one, and a neat way to revisit the classic Mega Man. Philip has been a guest on Pixels and Polygons in the past, if you want to find his episodes to hear more from him. Buy your own copy here:

Hand-Drawn Game Guides: Mega Man - Hardcover Book

The origin point of the iconic Mega Man franchise is revisited and reimagined in this totally hand-illustrated guidebook! Use Hand-Drawn Game Guides: Mega Man as a companion to your next playthrough of the Blue Bomber's first classic clash against the devious Dr. Wily and his rogues' gallery of radically reprogrammed Robot Masters. Mega Man's inaugural mission is infamously challenging, and tough

www.nintendoforcemagazine.com/product/Hand-Drawn-Game-Guides-Mega-Man-Hardcover-Book

Last part of this update, I’ve been busy with new 2026 episodes of the Pixels and Polygons podcast. Recently, I’ve posted episodes with Gooey from Flashback 64 (also a buddy show on the Sound Stone Network) and Audi Sorlie (DF Retro, Limited Run Games, more) with a revised format. It’s allowed for more conversation and more time for the episode topics. I hope y’all have been enjoying that. I’ve got more new guests lined up in the coming weeks, as well. I’ve also been making time to guest on OTHER podcasts. I recently recorded an episode with Dave from Tales From the Backlog talking about Crazy Taxi. I’ve also got a new Side Quests episode coming from the “Fun” and Games Podcast folks. You can also find me on upcoming episodes of the Still Loading Podcast and the Retro Blast Podcast. Apparently, I’ll take most offers to join others to talk about video games!

LISTEN: talesfromthebacklog.fireside.fm/198

I’ll end this update with an original article I posted over on my Patreon (Patreon.com/darrenhupke) that you can follow for FREE! I wrote about the similarities of The Last of Us and an amazing comic called Sweet Tooth, and the dark tensions of being a protective parent. I hope y’all enjoy it! I’ll be back with another update when I have something new to announce. Maybe it’ll be that thing I have been posting so much about with all those skateboarding games on BlueSky…

PAPERBOY VOL 002 - The Last of Us and Sweet Tooth | Pixels and Polygons

Get more from Pixels and Polygons on Patreon

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Hello everyone!

Retro Game Zine is coming back to Kickstarter for the final time this year! I am rounding out the year with issue 011 and 012 covering Harvest Moon on the SNES and Snatcher on the Sega CD. This will bring my goal of producing a monthly zine for an entire year to an end. It has been a lot of work, but a lot of fun, and I will let you know now, I don’t plan on stopping. I will be retooling, and I’ll share more about that later, but do know Retro Game Zine isn’t done!

I am also releasing a massive 340+ page collection of every issue released in 2025 in a single book called Retro Game Zine 2025 ANNUAL. This will be a great way for people who skipped the zine initially to check it out, or for those who want an easy to read single volume to put on your book shelf. It will have all of the same content from every issue, including all of the contributors essays, retro reviews, and game histories. I hope you all enjoy it!

New cover art by Ry-Spirit!

The project will be launching on Kickstarter soon! So head to this link and get notified when it launches so you can get your issues, or the 2025 ANNUAL as soon as it launches. The early support goes helps push it up the charts for Kickstarter to internally promote it, and as always, you aren’t charged until the project ends, so if you planned to back it, please do as early as you can!

Coming soon: Retro Game Zine Issue 011, 012 & 2025 ANNUAL

A zine focused on a retro video game release. Read about the game's history, a personal essay, analysis, screenshots, and more!

www.kickstarter.com/projects/darrenhupke/retro-game-zine-issue-011-012-and-2025-annual

Here are some of the promotional images I made of the issues, as well as the cover art done as sticker mockups to see how amazing Ry-Spirits art for these issues is!

Issue 011

Issue 012

Farming Sticker

Junker Sticker

Ry-Spirit 2025 ANNUAL Sticker

Thanks for all for your interest, your support, and helping me make these projects for an entire year. This isn’t something I could have done alone, and your support means more than you know. If you’ve read this far down, I will also share the secret cover art that will be unlocked during the campaign… Legendary cover artist Wil Overton is working on artwork for the actual cover right now! Ry-Spirits art will still be featured on the back cover and interior, and as a sticker, but having the chance to do something different for this collection with Wil was something I couldn’t pass up. If you don’t know his stuff, google “Wil Overton Samus” or check out his site. I’m excited.

That’s all I got for this newsletter! I just wanted to share a quick update on this new Kickstarter. I’ll be back when there is another new project to share!