Posted on Apr 12th 2019 at 12:00:00 PM by (Pam) Posted under video, review, shmup
Sine Mora was developed by Digital Reality and Grasshopper Manufacture and first released in 2012. In 2017 an extended version was released which is available on PC, PS4, Switch and XBox One. It is a horizontal 2.5D shooter, which means the plane you control moves on 2 axes, while the backgrounds are 3D. The game has gorgeous environments, uses some novel time-based mechanics and has a heavy focus on story. However, I found a heavy story in a scrolling shooter wasn't that welcome of a feature. Check out the video for more.
Its here! A game I wanted to play for a long time, and I'm glad I did! I felt good after playing this. Haven't played a game that just made me feel good since Stardew Valley came out. And although I feel good, I also feel sad because we never got more Sakura Wars games, because this one didn't sell well enough. However, we got a new one coming in the near future, but I'm not sure if its going to make its way over here. Back when this game came out, visual novels and strategy RPGs weren't as popular in the West, and a game like this, which is five games into an established franchise, were doomed to fail. And that's a tragedy. We're getting a new Sakura Wars game in the near future, and I hope it does well and makes its way over here, so that we can get more of this positive energy in this gaming culture.
[img width=700 height=463]https://www.washingtonpost.com/resizer/ALmDU0OxDpDLNWWW51luLdRC3ZQ=/1484x0/arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com/public/6X4NQTSKNYI6TDH4FROQTGOCDY.jpg[/img] Image shamelessly linked from The Washington Post
Let me regale a story for you, from an event that occurred before I was born. On September 11, 1973, the Chilean government was overthrown. Sitting president Salvador Allende was ousted in a military coup, and was replaced with military leader General Augusto Pinochet. Despite Allende's refusal to step down, power was seized, and he was effectively removed from office. During the period of military occupation, famously, the Estadio Nacional de Chile, Santiago's giant sports arena and complex, was used as a detention center for civilians, Allende supporters, and ultimately, anyone seen as a dissident of the military coup.
In the late 1980s, as the NES was dominating the children's toy landscape like few other pieces of electronics ever had, one developer in particular stood out to 9-year-old me as something truly special. Sunsoft had churned out some of my favorite games of that era, such as Blaster Master, Batman, and Gremlins 2. The things that stood out to me most about them were the relative difficulty, graphics, and, of course, their soundtracks. While they always tested my skill, I rarely ever cared because they were visually interesting and that proprietary Sunsoft sound chip made the NES sing with rocking beats like no other game out there. In retrospect, the best way I can describe it would be if you could take the punchy bass of the Sega Genesis and strip out the tinny-ness and twang.
But there was one Sunsoft game that no one I've ever talked to has ever enjoyed, Fester's Quest. I would always be confused when I heard people hate on it, thinking that I had a lot of fun with it as a kid. Was I crazy, or was I more enlightened and everyone else was crazy? Yeah, that was probably it. Do I still feel this way, over 30 years later?
The RF Generation community of collectors and players has committed themselves to demolishing the entire licensed NES library in the year 2019. Is that even possible you say, with your help it totally is!! Check out the RFGen 2019 NES Challenge thread to see how to join in at anytime throughout the year. There is plenty of opportunity to participate regardless of your skill level, favorite style of game or the amount of time you have to invest. Come over and play with us here:
Even with our committed members slaying games left and right we managed to fall a little short of our Community Goal of 300 Games beaten by March 31st. Our unflinching players are not discouraged and continue to journey towards our ultimate goal of beating the entire NES library in 2019. We still managed to defeat 282 total games last month with 52 of those being in March alone!
2019 has certainly been the year of gaming as a service so far. From Apple Arcade to Microsoft xCloud, there are a lot of new things that could change the landscape of gaming and collecting in the future. Well, as we tend to do, RF Generation is wholeheartedly embracing this fully digital future.
RF Generation Channel brings you the best of RF Generation, including the forum, blogs, and even your own collection, streamed straight to you. We have partnered with Google and their Stadia platform to bring this new experience to you in the best possible quality. It's so easy, you won't Twitch when you have to enter new games!
Resident Evil fans have been clamoring for a remake of the series' second entry ever since the excellent remake of the initial title. What seemed like a pipe dream for years was finally announced back in 2015, but many fans were skeptical at this point due to the direction the series had been going around this time. Although the positive response to Resident Evil 7 help assuage fears, early footage of the Resident Evil 2 remake still resembled the 'action-horror' titles that are oft maligned. I am glad to say that any fears were unfounded, and Capcom delivered what I feel is the best remake of their survival horror classic that they could have possibly made.
** Note: In an attempt to discuss all relevant gameplay mechanics, some mild story spoilers may be included. **
The Yakuza series has been a long running saga starting on the PlayStation 2. It actually started fairly late in the console's lifecycle, and a lack of marketing made the first two games go overlooked by most of the Western gaming public at the time. On the other hand this was one of Sega's biggest hits within Japan since the Saturn, so they mostly focused on the home market. Western interest in the series was recently kicked into overdrive with the release of Yakuza 0 and the remakes of the first two games, and a remaster of this third game has already released in Japan. I had played the first Yakuza a couple years before the release of its modern PlayStation 4 remake, Yakuza Kiwami, so I saw firsthand what the improvements were, and the only downgrade in my opinion was the remixed soundtrack. The first Yakuza game I had ever played was Yakuza 4, which seems to be the first game in the series that received a decent amount of attention from Western audiences, but still a shadow of what Yakuza 0 and the Kiwami remakes have enjoyed.
In episode #59, Rich (singlebanana) and Shawn (GrayGhost81) bring sexy back as they discuss the heavy hitting, hack and slash adventure that is Bayonetta. Speaking of sexy, the hosts are including an audio clip on the topic "sexiness" from one of their long time friends and former guest of the show. Who is it? You'll have to stick around and find out! Along with the game, the guys discuss their Top 5 female video game lead characters of all time, with a handful of honorable mentions. Included is another fun installment of the Concertcast, a discussion of Ghost in the Shell, and a check-in on the boys' new years resolutions. What new toys did the guys pick up and play since the last recording? And who loves to have their toes wiggled in the morning? All of this and more, in the newest episode of the RF Generation Playcast. Check it out!
As always, we are happy to hear your thoughts on this game on our discussion page (linked below). We will respond to your comments and are always happy to discuss the game more. We hope you enjoy our show. Please be sure to rate and write a review of the show on iTunes to help us increase our listenership. Thanks for the listen!
In Episode 9, Duke recovers the memory of his comic book collection from his childhood and attempts to repair yet another time fragment. He discusses the themes, the artwork, and even the advertisements. There’s enough 80’s nostalgia in this episode to satisfy even the most die hard 80s fan!
When most in the gaming United States was buzzing about the wave caused by the newly released PlayStation 2, I was grudgingly purchasing Final Fantasy IX. I didn't really plan on getting the game, but through a set of circumstances I was standing at the electronics counter of my local Meijer store, waiting for the employee to get my game from behind the glass so I could leave.
When Final Fantasy IX was originally announced, I was oblivious. Well, I was slightly interested, but more because I was reading a lot of gaming magazines while working on the assembly line at Ford, and that game (as well as the upcoming Final Fantasy X) was the talk of the town. We had been having a lot of multi-hour long "gaps" (empty spaces in the assembly line where a truck should be) and since I read at least three different gaming magazines at the time I guess it was just going to happen. But despite the exposure, I didn't care as much as one might think. Despite wringing some fun out of Final Fantasy VIII, after twenty hours the hormonal angst of Squall Leonhart had driven me away from any JRPG with a passion. I don't hate FFVIII, but dealing with Squall's teenage-isms when I was twenty-two and newly married was about as fun as squeezing water from a rock.
Recently I got a call from a good friend asking me to write about how much anger and negativity pervades gaming in our modern era. I reflected the challenge therein, as many of the factoring instigators of such are outside the purview of our humble and relatively focused collector/gaming site. Also, I've spilled much digital ink in various articles over the years championing virtues against such negativity. It is not that more can't or shouldn't be said about the topic, just that there are times and places better suited for conversations that dig deeper into the myriad of problems that are the origin of said negativity.
And yet there are lots of angles about modern gamer anger that can be more readily addressed, if not overcome, by way of analysis and discussion on neutral grounds such as ours. In fact one angle of discussion in particular came to mind by way of my recent reflections playing Fallout 76 and Anthem. These two titles, in their design philosophy, problematic constructions, and correlating critical and commercial reception, pretty much embody the various threads into a cohesive strand of something larger, a specific anger-inducing phenomena inherent to our current-gen gaming.
