Waltorious Writes About Games

Game-related ramblings.

Scratching That Itch: Danger Crew

This is the two hundred seventeenth 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 two hundred seventeenth random selection from the itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality is challenging us to a hacking battle. It’s Danger Crew, by Team Danger Crew, and its tagline in the bundle reads:

Retro-style, top down RPG about being a programmer

Grab your laptop, folks. It’s time to program.

History Lessons: Phantasy Star II

Other History Lessons posts can be found here. If you’re looking specifically for console games, those are here. This particular entry is also part of the Keeping Score series about games and their soundtracks. As always, you may click on images to view larger versions.

I’ve been looking forward to this one. The original Phantasy Star was the subject of my fourth ever post in this Console History series, before I expanded the scope and went back to add in a lot of games that released before it. But it remains one of my favorite discoveries. Sega’s first foray into the nascent console role-playing game genre, Phantasy Star is both a technical showcase for their Master System and a forward-thinking design that introduced many elements that would become genre standards. Its sequel, Phantasy Star II — which I vaguely remembered seeing once as a kid, at a friend’s house — is regarded as one of the most influential Japanese role-playing games ever made. And like its predecessor, it was a technical showcase, this time for the Sega Mega Drive (AKA Genesis), the first truly 16-bit console (NEC’s PC Engine/Turbografx-16 had 16-bit graphics, but an 8-bit CPU). In fact, Phantasy Star II was the sixth game ever released for the system in Japan, appearing on March 21, 1989, only about five months after the Mega Drive itself (and a mere four days after our last entry, Out Live, released on the PC Engine). It also came to the US about a year later, which means American players actually got it before Final Fantasy!

Scratching That Itch: Wizard Battle

This is the two hundred sixteenth 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 two hundred sixteenth random selection from the itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality is plummeting towards us. It’s Wizard Battle, by Scott Ethington, and its tagline in the bundle reads:

A puzzle game about a wizard falling down a hole.

Look, it happens to the best of us.

Scratching That Itch: Escaped Chasm

This is the two hundred fifteenth 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 two hundred fifteenth random selection from the itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality is lonely, seeking a way out of its isolation. It’s Escaped Chasm, by temmie (AKA Temmie Chang), and its tagline in the bundle reads:

​A small little RPGmaker game about a lonely girl with a connection to anoth…

It’s not Lonely Boy, this time it’s a lonely girl.

Scratching That Itch: Electric Zine Maker (A Work In Progress, Be Gentle, Hug It Often) By Alienmelon

This is the two hundred fourteenth 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 two hundred fourteenth random selection from the itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality is helping us to make our own zines. It’s Electric Zine Maker (a work in progress, be gentle, hug it often) by alienmelon, by alienmelon, and its tagline in the bundle reads:

The Electric Zine Maker (⚡️✂️) is a printshop and art tool for making zin…

Pretty sure that was going to say “zines”.

Scratching That Itch: Gataela – Demo

This is the two hundred thirteenth 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 two hundred thirteenth random selection from the itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality is giving us a taste of what’s to come. It’s Gataela – Demo by Atemly Games, and its tagline in the bundle reads:

Uncover schemes, investigate mysteries, and debate the citizens and nobles…

Uncover schemes and investigate mysteries!? I’m in.

Scratching That Itch: Rym 9000

This is the two hundred twelfth 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 two hundred twelfth random selection from the itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality is overloading our eyes with visual effects. It’s Rym 9000, by Sonoshee, and its tagline in the bundle reads:

Hyperkinetic shooter designed to make your eyes bleed

Look, it’s got a lot of visual effects, OK?

Scratching That Itch: MonGirl Tile

This is the two hundred eleventh 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 two hundred eleventh random selection from the itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality has unleashed a horde of monster-girl hybrids upon us. It’s MonGirl Tile, by Xexus, and its tagline in the bundle reads:

Fight against cute monster girls in this territory control card game!

That’s right, readers. The monster girls want… to play cards.

Keeping Score: Slave Zero

This is Keeping Score, a series about games and their soundtracks. This entry qualifies as an honorary member of the History Lessons series too. As always, you may click on images to view larger versions.

When I first started the Keeping Score series, I viewed it as one way to sort through my massive backlog of games. I figured that instead of looking through the entire thing for something to play, I could pick games for which I also had their soundtracks, and write about them both. Before long, however, the series became a place to catch any particularly cool soundtracks I’d stumbled upon, from games I’d played for entirely separate reasons. I’ve been wanting to get back to the original spirit of the series, though, and have finally done so with Slave Zero.

Released in 1999 for Dreamcast and PC by Infogrames North America (formerly Accolade), a year before they were fully absorbed into French firm Infogrames, Slave Zero is an action game about a giant robot attacking a massive cyberpunk megacity. I played a demo of it back then, in the era when demos came on CDs bundled with game magazines, and I thought it was cool, but not cool enough to spend my limited game-buying budget on. The press seemed to agree, giving the game middling reviews. Yet, it stuck in my memory. When it was released on GOG, I picked it up, but didn’t play it right away. When I started the Keeping Score series I noted that GOG’s version of Slave Zero includes its soundtrack, and I considered playing it for the series, but got distracted by other games instead. Now, I decided to go for it.

Scratching That Itch: Falling Skies

This is the two hundred tenth 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 two hundred tenth random selection from the itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality is sending a fleet of spaceships to oppose us. It’s Falling Skies, by Ironmonger Games, and — like the last entry — is ruining my intro format by not having a tagline in the bundle at all.

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