Waltorious Writes About Games – Game-related ramblings.

Scratching That Itch: Raik

On September 14, 2024

This is the one hundred ninety-ninth entry in the Scratching That Itch series, wherein I randomly select and write about one of the 1741 games and game-related things included in the itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality. The Bundle raised $8,149,829.66 split evenly between the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund and Community Bail Fund, but don’t worry if you missed it. There are plenty of ways you can help support the vital cause of racial justice; try here for a start. Lastly, as always, you may click on images to view larger versions.

Our one hundred ninety-ninth random selection from the itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality is speaking to us in Scots. It’s Raik, by Harry Josephine Giles, and its tagline in the bundle reads:

a Scots fantasia about anxiety

This tagline is making me anxious.

Scratching That Itch: Our Love Can’t Save The World

By Waltorious

On September 6, 2024

In Uncategorized

This is the one hundred ninety-eighth entry in the Scratching That Itch series, wherein I randomly select and write about one of the 1741 games and game-related things included in the itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality. The Bundle raised $8,149,829.66 split evenly between the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund and Community Bail Fund, but don’t worry if you missed it. There are plenty of ways you can help support the vital cause of racial justice; try here for a start. Lastly, as always, you may click on images to view larger versions.

Our one hundred ninety-eighth random selection from the itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality is asking us difficult questions. It’s Our Love Can’t Save The World, by Mitch Schiwal, and its tagline in the bundle reads:

2-Player RPG where you can save either your relationship or the world.

That… actually doesn’t seem like a particularly difficult choice.

Rainbow In The Dark: Owlboy

By Waltorious

On September 2, 2024

In Uncategorized

This is Rainbow In The Dark, a series about games that actually contain colors. As always, you may click on images to view larger versions.

Reader, I must apologize. It wasn’t my intention to have such a long break between posts in the Rainbow In The Dark series. In fact, shortly after writing the last entry on Knockout City, I started playing D-Pad Studio’s Owlboy, intending to make it the subject of my next post. But then Daggerfall Unity reached version 1.0, and I got totally derailed. I played that a ton instead, and wrote two posts about it, before finally starting Owlboy over from the beginning to play it properly. Now, at long last, I’m able to highlight its vibrant, colorful pixel art.

Scratching That Itch: The Three-Body Problem

By Waltorious

On August 7, 2024

In Uncategorized

This is the one hundred ninety-seventh entry in the Scratching That Itch series, wherein I randomly select and write about one of the 1741 games and game-related things included in the itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality. The Bundle raised $8,149,829.66 split evenly between the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund and Community Bail Fund, but don’t worry if you missed it. There are plenty of ways you can help support the vital cause of racial justice; try here for a start. Lastly, as always, you may click on images to view larger versions.

Our one hundred ninety-seventh random selection from the itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality is stumbling through a spooky forest, uncomprehending. It’s The Three-Body Problem, by RoAnna Sylver, and its tagline in the bundle reads:

Queer Celestial Witches Navigate Scary Woods And Each Other

The only thing better than a queer witch is a queer celestial witch.

Scratching That Itch: Utopias: Navigating Without Coordinates

By Waltorious

On July 30, 2024

In Uncategorized

This is the one hundred ninety-sixth entry in the Scratching That Itch series, wherein I randomly select and write about one of the 1741 games and game-related things included in the itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality. The Bundle raised $8,149,829.66 split evenly between the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund and Community Bail Fund, but don’t worry if you missed it. There are plenty of ways you can help support the vital cause of racial justice; try here for a start. This particular entry is also part of the Keeping Score series about games and their soundtracks. Lastly, as always, you may click on images to view larger versions.

Our one hundred ninety-sixth random selection from the itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality is imagining not one, but nine different perfect worlds. It’s Utopias: Navigating Without Coordinates by AAA, and its tagline in the bundle reads:

A utopian planetary system of nine worlds, a collective hallucination woven…

Get ready to hallucinate nine times.

History Lessons: Getsu Fuuma Den (The Legend Of Getsu Fuuma)

By Waltorious

On July 23, 2024

In Uncategorized

Other History Lessons posts can be found here. If you’re looking specifically for console games, those are here. As always, you may click on images to view larger versions.

Reader, I must apologize. After a rather disorganized start to this series, during which I kept expanding the scope and going back to add more games that messed up the timeline, I thought I’d made a comprehensively researched list of every game I might want to include. Once I got all caught up with Final Fantasy II, I thought it would be smooth chronological sailing. But while tracking down a fan-made translation for the next game to follow Clash At Demonhead, I ended up on the website for Nebulous Translations and took a look at the other games they’ve translated. It’s not a long list, and yet: I still found a couple of interesting games that weren’t on my list. So I’m going back in time once again.

The first of these games is Getsu Fuuma Den, which translates roughly to The Legend of Getsu Fuuma. Released for the Japanese Famicom by Konami in July 1987, it slots in after Wonder Boy In Monster Land and before Dragon Slayer IV: Drasle Family in our timeline. That’s actually pretty early, only the 13th game by original release date, which makes its combination of a top-down world map, side-scrolling platforming, and grid-based dungeon crawling all the more notable. It’s likely this game was an inspiration for a bunch of others I’ve already covered.

Scratching That Itch: The Political Compass: Devil’s Labyrinth

By Waltorious

On July 20, 2024

In Uncategorized

This is the one hundred ninety-fifth entry in the Scratching That Itch series, wherein I randomly select and write about one of the 1741 games and game-related things included in the itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality. The Bundle raised $8,149,829.66 split evenly between the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund and Community Bail Fund, but don’t worry if you missed it. There are plenty of ways you can help support the vital cause of racial justice; try here for a start. Lastly, as always, you may click on images to view larger versions.

Our one hundred ninety-fifth random selection from the itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality is awkwardly mocking modern Western political discourse. It’s The Political Compass: Devil’s Labyrinth, by majestic12, and its tagline in the bundle reads:

See where you fall on the political compass spectrums

Reader, I would not take this claim too seriously.

Scratching That Itch: Heroic Asset Series: Buildings Pack

By Waltorious

On July 18, 2024

In Uncategorized

This is the one hundred ninety-fourth entry in the Scratching That Itch series, wherein I randomly select and write about one of the 1741 games and game-related things included in the itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality. The Bundle raised $8,149,829.66 split evenly between the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund and Community Bail Fund, but don’t worry if you missed it. There are plenty of ways you can help support the vital cause of racial justice; try here for a start. Lastly, as always, you may click on images to view larger versions.

Our one hundred ninety-fourth random selection from the itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality has gone on a construction spree all around us. It’s Heroic Asset Series: Buildings Pack, by Aleksandr Makarov, and its tagline in the bundle reads:

Tiny animated buildings pack with 64 colors!

The only things better than tiny buildings are animated tiny buildings.

Scratching That Itch: Goopty Goo

By Waltorious

On July 10, 2024

In Uncategorized

This is the one hundred ninety-third entry in the Scratching That Itch series, wherein I randomly select and write about one of the 1741 games and game-related things included in the itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality. The Bundle raised $8,149,829.66 split evenly between the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund and Community Bail Fund, but don’t worry if you missed it. There are plenty of ways you can help support the vital cause of racial justice; try here for a start. Lastly, as always, you may click on images to view larger versions.

Our one hundred ninety-third random selection from the itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality is bouncing into view on little cubes of goop. It’s Goopty Goo, by Dylan Brown, and its tagline in the bundle reads:

Stomp goop cubes and avoid the floor.

Pesky floors. I try to avoid them whenever possible.

Scratching That Itch: POM SIMULATOR 9000

By Waltorious

On July 9, 2024

In Uncategorized

This is the one hundred ninety-second entry in the Scratching That Itch series, wherein I randomly select and write about one of the 1741 games and game-related things included in the itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality. The Bundle raised $8,149,829.66 split evenly between the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund and Community Bail Fund, but don’t worry if you missed it. There are plenty of ways you can help support the vital cause of racial justice; try here for a start. Lastly, as always, you may click on images to view larger versions.

Our one hundred ninety-second random selection from the itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality is hiding a lot of sharp teeth beneath its cute exterior. It’s POM SIMULATOR 9000, by d Marie, and its tagline in the bundle reads:

weary, transformation, dog, burger, comfort

I am intrigued by this selection of words.