Bloodstained PR Statement (UPDATE)

After posting my review, and heading to my email to give the PR the news it appears there were some acknowledged issues with frame rate within certain parts of the game. Apparently I haven't encountered those areas yet. That having been said the PR has reassured those who bought the game that patches will be released to address each area's frame rate issues. They ask for your patience. Seeing Koji's dedication to the game already I don't doubt he'll iron out the kinks. Whether or not you want to wait for those patches will be up to you though. Again, I'll say that from what I've played it was smooth, but if the PR thinks that these claims are founded in reality then they must be. Me not having completed the game could be the very reason I missed these slowdown moments. Still, from a base standpoint (issues aside), I feel the game has the potential to be a buy worthy product. Maybe not right now, but I have faith that they'll patch the game as promised. There's a lot at stake not to.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (NS)

Today, the day of launch, I've seen gamers/reviewers hate on this port of the game saying it's bad. That it's got lag or frame rate issues. I've also seen gamers excited to get their hands on the game project they backed, as well as buy it fresh from the store. I'm sure some of you reading this now are wondering, with there being mixed reception, whether or not Koji Igarashi's vision for the game plays out the same on the Nintendo Switch as it does on the PlayStation 4 version of "Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night". The simple answer is, "Yes". With patch 1.02 applied the game plays smoothly from what I've experienced, specifically in handheld mode. As far as visuals go it's a bit darker than the PS4 version, but graphically in sync with that version. It is an improvement upon the previously hated rendering, and though I feel Koji, and his team could have gone a different route with the visual aesthetics it's still good enough for the indie project it is. I think the team did good enough to keep intact the visual art style we Castlevania fans grew up with, and though it takes on a 2.5D design it is a competent return to formula. One that is a mixture of a couple of different Castlevania experiences.

Super Neptunia RPG (PS4/NS)

IFI never strays away from tackling important topics of discussion involving the gaming industry, and the gaming community. They always find ways to integrate their cute assortment of Gameindustri Goddesses in standalone stories meant to not only give the gamer something fun to play, but also to provide something to reflect upon in a more serious manner. In this particular RPG retro tribute, which happens to be a joint effort between Compile Heart and Artisan Studios, we find one such tale unfolding in somewhat real time via gamer progress as Neptune, and the gang get caught up in yet another round of mischief and mayhem. Neptune, the series protagonist, returns as the series protagonist once again in what could best be described as an amnesiac's return to the past of gaming itself.

Taking design elements from "Final Fantasy 7", and even "The Legend of Zelda II" the developer uses Nep-Nep and company as a means to bring light to a situation regarding the past Gamindustri's cartridge based retro monopoly, and their unwillingness to change formula for something more risky, innovative, and potentially more rewarding. For the future of the industry. On one side of the fight are the bad guys, and gals including Filyn and the Bombyx gang. A group not unlike Shinra of FF7. On the opposite, and good side lies Chrome along with other joining allies of a common interest. Bombyx, much like the Shinra Corp of FF7, tries to keep the population of Lastation feeding the greed monster that is cartridge/retro gaming. Damaging the industry as a whole a lot like the Mako Reactor in FF7 with the perpetual game creation to sales cycle as it's metaphorical energy source. In order to make ends meet financially these businesses, and homeowners (or game devs, if you will) are forced to pay a tax in the form of a cartridge based game. If the game succeeds in making Bombyx money, and gains favorable reviews for the experience provided the creators get to continue living as they have, a life of luxury. If not they are kicked to the curb, quite literally. It's no doubt a metaphor for the dirty developer, and corporate dealings that go on in the real world. That, and how it ties-in with the gaming communities fixation with gaming's past, and the industry's greedy intent in going forward in regards to said demands.

Verlet Swing (PS4)

Verlet Swing. What exactly is a Verlet Swing? To understand this you need to know what Verlet Integration is, and in laymen's terms that is Newton's equations for motion. It is used for calculating trajectory in regards to particles in various types of simulations including that of the molecular, and computer graphics kind. I think it's safe to assume that this is the foundation on which Flamebait Games based their own trajectory focused swinging simulator. It's like they took Spider-man's web slinging antics, threw in a timer, and end objective to reach amid many obstacles and paths as well as an added a sort of 80's art flair. Something like you'd see on the old Trapper Keeper notebooks, and portfolio folders from back in the day. Keeping the mechanics simple, and the challenge progressively challenging the developer does good to create something unique among the speed run gaming greats.

Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R | Nintendo Switch Review

As fighting games continue onward their features evolve. It's a given. Such is the case of "Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R", as one might expect. Fast forward a few installments to a point just before the series' most lengthy cut off, and you will find this game being the penultimate edition of the PS2 era Guilty Gear series. An enhanced edition of an already enhanced edition. Arc System Works, along the way, had experimented with several different new features, modes, mechanics, and characters before finally settling on this culmination of the Guilty Gear fighting game experience. With the largest roster to date including some new faces such as Bridget, Robo-Ky, Order-Sol, Anji-Mito, Jam, Dizzy, A.B.A., and a few others the series returned in a much more robust form. More akin to the Guilty Gears of the modern gaming age it also included a handful of newly introduced modes including a 3v3 team elimination mode, a new iteration of M.O.M. (Medal of Millionaire), Arcade Mode, a Gallery, Survival Mode, and online PvP play. Even the mechanics included evolved in such away as to be faster, more efficiently executable, and flashier than before. Utilizing a new BURST gauge, tension gauge, and mechanics revolving around both deeply involved defenses as well as offenses along with new finishers this game set out to make it or break it for the series. It was a sight to behold back in the day, and even as a Nintendo Switch port it still, to this day, holds it's own as one of the most memorable entries in the franchise.

Guilty Gear (NS)

Though I've played, and owned most of the other Guilty Gear games I've never, before now, played the original release. I knew it was released on the original PlayStation console, and that the series never really caught on big until later on. Having the chance to experience It though I've gained a new appreciation for the advancements in tech the newer series releases made in the way of in-game mechanics. Though the original Guilty Gear does harbor at least some hints of the series direction taken by Arc System Works in the way of design it is not the perfected fighter that is Revelator/2, or Xrd SIGN. It has it's flaws, and a unique, but never again used Chaos Gauge that was kind of abusive. In the right hands, and with the right character the gauge could be filled multiple times quickly, and the action mechanics used in rapid succession without much pause. There's that, and the Insta-Kills that can be done in the first round ending all rounds thereafter. Before I get too far ahead of myself though I will say that for the asking price of $9.99 it's not a bad deal, regardless. Gameplay maintains a smooth experience across a couple modes of play, and one that offers a bit of an origin story for those looking to see where it all began. With 10 classic characters, and the presence of one that was never seen in such a way again it is truly something to behold, especially for fans of the series and the studio.

Hellmut: The Badass From Hell (NS)

Badassery. It comes in many forms. From heroes doing heroic things to kung fu masters beating the ever-loving daylights out of gangs of misguided miscreants, and more you'll find that there are many different reasons as to why someone would be considered a badass. In the case of this here twin-stick shooter and rogue-like dungeon crawler known as "Hellmut: The Badass From Hell" though said badassery comes in the form of something rather unexpected. In the short-lived story tease we find a mad scientist looking for immortality. Unfortunately for him he creates a DOOM portal situation opening up the gates of hell, and letting loose into the world the devil and his demonic minions. It results in the scientist being blasted into nothing but the remnants of a Sub-Zero Mortal Kombat fatality ... head, spinal cord, and all that jazz ... and has him resurrected as such by a playful DnD style watcher God who decides to toy with his newly found play thing. This old God known as Ka-Ra basically reanimates the mad doctor's remains, and gifts him the ability to shoot projectiles like a shmup spaceship. That, and the ability to mutate into a select variety of hellish minions with their own unique active, and passive abilities. With these newly gifted powers the mad antagonist must face the demons he's let loose, and survive long enough to fight the devil himself.

Golem Gates (PS4)

I've got a joke for you. A MOBA, an RTS game, and Deck Building game walk into a bar ... out walks Golem Gates. I know it's not particularly the funniest thing you've ever read, but it sums up Golem Gates quite well. Golem Gates is it's own take on the whole demons versus angels mythos. One that has MOBA style lane objectives in the form of maps, and RTS and TCG strategy implementation via card decks and resource management. It ultimately pits harbingers of heaven against harbingers of darkness, or hell. As one such heavenly harbinger you must stand your ground against hidden armies of darkness as you make use of their energy sources to create glyphs that can be used to amass your own army of troops as well as defenses and enhancements to keep yourself from being stealth killed by unseen mobs. It is your use of energy, and crafting of glyphs that will allow you to meet various end goals. Whether it be facing, and dealing with like-minded harbingers, or downing generators to cut off power supplies to bigger targets you will need to strategically play the battlefield like a chess master if you hope to prevail.

Octogeddon (NS)

I do so like games with odd blends of retro experiences. They are rare occurrences in the industry, but when done well they can bring together genres in such a way as to revitalize them. Octogeddon just so happens to be one such experience. To me Octogeddon is a game that takes the rolly polly action of Katamari Damacy (Calamari Damacy ... sorry, couldn't help it) at it's base level, and blends it quite nicely with the city destroying antics of Rampage. The gameplay revolves around a disgruntled social media consuming cephalopod with interchangeable arms, and pits him against a world of cruel humans who engage in regular mockery of his species on a Youtube-like streaming platform known as "Stoopstoob". From the display of sea creature butchery to comedy at the expense of octopus kind this tentacled terror finds himself enraged enough to enact Armageddon. Octogeddon, if you will. Using advance DNA splicing he replaces his tentacles with various creature DNA, and even welcomes support of aquatic mates to aid in his wanton destruction of cities, and famous landmarks. Starting with New York City, and the Statue of Liberty he sets out on a mission spanning across oceans and land to put a stop to the stoopidity of Stoopstoob, and the human consumption thereof.