Happy New Year, everyone!
2018 was such a crazy-busy year for me. And like 2017, 2018 marked another visit to a new country. At the tail end of July 2018 I was able to scratch a long, loooooong time destination off my bucket list: Tokyo, Japan! I have wanted to visit Tokyo since I was a kid. But before I go into the unnecessary details, I’ll just say that it was one of the most amazing experiences of my entire life! I even got to attend Comiket. I hadn’t realized that it was taking place the same weekend that I was going to be in town, so I was left a little ill prepared. Anyhow, I had the time of my life and it was all thanks to Mastiff.
Unfortunately, I didn’t really have a whole lot of leisure time to kick back and play games in 2018. And when the opportunity did present itself, I was pretty selective in what I played. Of those games, here’s what I consider to be my favorites of 2018.
Strange Brigade (PS4)
I hadn’t really followed Strange Brigade prior to its release, but when I saw it on the shelf at a local big-box retailer I was immediately grabbed by the adventurous box art. It was as if this motley crew of 1930s explorers were reaching out, asking me to join them on their adventure. After returning home and watching a few trailers online I was sold!
Rebellion did a knockout job creating a retro, semi-futuristic world filled with dingy tombs, gritty excavation sites, plenty of collectibles, intriguing Egyptian lore, fresh puzzle design, and lots of things that go boom! This was one of those games that I found myself binge playing into the wee early hours of the morning. I think I only need like two more Trophies and they’re both online-based Trophies…soooo if anyone is down to help me bag those that’d be awesome!
Like anything and everything else that wasn’t CoD or RDR2 this one may have gone overlooked, but now that the game is only $30 it’s practically a must-own…especially if you “dig” third-person shooters.
Gremlins 2 (NES, Super GameBoy)
The level designer at Sunsoft must have really had it in for kids because I swear some of the levels in Gremlins 2 on NES and GameBoy are so infuriatingly difficult.
I returned to these games couple months ago after the delivery of a Kickstarter reward from a campaign that I backed. That specific reward was for a metal arrangement for an NES game of my choosing. Rather than go with the usual titles that have been done to death (Megaman, Mario 3, Contra, etc.) Presented with such a rare opportunity, I wanted to go with something that was a tad bit different and unexpected, but would still be something that I would love to listen to. Thus, I chose Gremlins 2. The album far exceeded my expectations and is a total testament to musician, Dusty Zahrt’s talent.
Actually, you can listen to and buy the album from his Bandcamp page for only $7: https://dustyzahrt.bandcamp.com/album/gremlins-2-the-new-batch
Back to gaming.
To reassure myself that I wasn’t losing my gaming edge in my old age while playing the final stage of Gremlins 2 I took to watching online playthroughs on YouTube and reading the comments. OK, cool, it’s not just me. The final stage of this game is indeed very difficult! I never passed the third stage as a kid. Probably due to school, watching cartoons, or playing with friends outside. Yes, kids used to go outside and play. Crazy, right?!
Anyhow, I conquered both games in one evening (the GameBoy version for the first time ever). Pending you enjoy old-school side-scrolling and top-down games and have access to an NES or a GameBoy, you can bag both up for around $15. Just make sure that you don’t get the cartridges wet or expose them to sunlight.
Oh, and here’s the code for the final stage of G2 on NES: NXRD. I’ve had that password etched into my memory since I was a kid. ;P
Shikhondo – Soul Eater
I’m a sucker for shmups and love Asian culture. Combine the two and you can pluck the money straight from my wallet and give yourself a tip. Deer Farm’s Japanese renaissance-inspired bullet hell shooter is nothing short of beautiful!
I love the style and simplicity of Shikhondo so much that I’ve tripled dipped on it. I initially bought it on Steam, but never really got to spend much time playing it (like 80% of my overgrown Steam library). I then found myself making a day-one purchase of the physical Limited Edition from eastasiasoft through Play-Asia, and then Digerati was devilish enough to place the game on sale on the Switch eShop. Hook, line, and sinker.
Shikhondo is one of those games that makes you lose track of time. The world around you falls out of focus and all that matters is dodging and grazing enemy bullets. It’s chaotic, but elegant at the same time. If you enjoy top-down vertical scrolling shmups with gorgeous artwork, grotesquely beautiful bosses, and plenty of neon bullets it’s a must-buy. Plus, there’s a physical edition that comes with the OST for $30! What’s not to love about that? I may even buy another copy just to keep sealed. Why do I do this to myself?
Honorable Mentions
Home Sweet Home (PS4/Xbox One)
I’m too biased to give my praise, but I honestly enjoyed this one – played through the entire game…even after demoing it over the last nine months. It’s what the kids call a “spoopy” horror game.
Home Sweet Home is the first entry in a series of first-person, Thai-inspired horror games developed by Yddgrazil Group, a visual effects studio based in Thailand (this is their first game BTW – I was and still am amazed).
The game follows Tim, a man who finds himself having to travel through what is essentially Thai limbo, in search of his wife who has gone missing. While on his non-so-pleasant vacation to Thai limbo land, he encounters evil spirits with some pretty grizzly tales to tell. You just might not want to get too close to them though, as they may decide to slice and dice you with a box cutter, or smash you into the ground like wet cat food on a hot sidewalk. Oh, and did I mention that it can also be played with PS VR? Have fun! You can pick up Home Sweet Home digitally on Xbox One or PS4, and can also find a PS4 physical edition at GameStop for only $20 (includes PS VR mode).
Secret of Mana
Sigh.
Secret of Mana on the Super Nintendo is my all-time favorite RPG. The PS4 version of Secret of Mana was a hot mess, littered with game-crashing bugs. How the final submission build ever got past Square’s QA and through Sony certification process is beyond me. But I have to give Square credit though as they were cool enough to a.) make this a physical release, b.) include new, alternate character skins, and c.) create a remix of the original, euphoric OST (with the option to switch back to the original on the fly).
While I only managed to make my way through roughly 75% of the game before 2018 started to get insanely busy with work (all the way back in late February), Square did manage to release a patch that addressed a slew of post-launch issues. I really hope that they fixed all of the crashes and the Trophies that can be totally missed! I mean who wants to go back and play through the entirety of a lengthy RPG just because they missed killing one enemy in a dungeon where enemies don’t respawn after the dungeon boss is defeated. Eh, whatever, that’s just the completionist in me griping. ;P
Either way, if you were too young to experience this masterpiece on the Super Nintendo, or never got around to it because you were too busy playing Clay Fighter you should still be able to find a copy at GameStop for about $30.
