Game-related ramblings.

Month: May 2022

History Lessons: Cleopatra No Mahou (The Cursed Treasure Of Cleopatra)

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.

When I started this series about console game history, the first game I wrote about was Final Fantasy. That was before I got more organized and realized there were older games I wanted to cover as well. Games like Cleopatra no Mahou (which translates roughly to “The Cursed Treasure of Cleopatra”), the first role-playing game that Square made, before getting their breakout hit with Final Fantasy. The story goes that the “Final” in Final Fantasy referred to the fact that it may well have been Square’s final game, although that may not be wholly accurate. But Square were in financial trouble at the time, because their earlier games hadn’t sold well. I wanted to play Cleopatra no Mahou not only to see what Square’s early foray into the role-playing genre was like, but also because I was intrigued by its modern day Egyptian setting and blending of role-playing design with adventure game elements.

Scratching That Itch: Forever Lost: Episode 2

This is the one hundred twenty-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 next random selection from the itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality seems to truly be lost. It’s Forever Lost: Episode 2 by Glitch Games, and its tagline in the bundle reads:

Explore what awaits in front of you and learn all you can about what you left…

But, I am unable to download it. I just get the error message pictured above. Some quick research reveals that all three episodes of the Forever Lost series are included in the bundle, but none of them are downloadable right now, nor do they even have pages on itch.io. At the Glitch Games website, the series (which appears to consist of first-person adventure games with a horror theme) is shown as being sold via the Apple App Store, Google Play Store, and Amazon, suggesting that they are focused on mobile only. Perhaps they were pulled from sale at itch.io? Whatever the reason, Scratching That Itch must continue onwards, so I must regretfully skip this one.

That’s an unfortunate 123 down, and only 1618 to go!

Scratching That Itch: The Company

This is the one hundred twenty-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.

A sleek helicopter sporting a corporate logo has just delivered another random selection from the itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality. It’s The Company, by Mega Corp, and its tagline in the bundle reads:

Corporate Survival Horror

The only way to make survival horror more horrifying is to make it corporate.

Getting Even More Extreme With EXTREME MEATPUNKS FOREVER: BOUND BY ASH

This post is part of Keeping Score, a series about games and their soundtracks. As always, you may click on images to view larger versions.

About five months ago, I wrote about the first season of episodic game Extreme Meatpunks Forever (which should be in all caps, but I’m too lazy to do that), subtitled Powered By Blood, as part of the Scratching That Itch series. Spoiler alert: it’s fantastic. I wanted to play the second season, Bound By Ash, while the first was still relatively fresh in my mind, so I grabbed it from itch.io and fired it up. Like the first season, Bound By Ash comes in six episodes, picking up where our misfit band of fascist-killing “gay disaster” meat mech pilots left off. And it’s even better than the first season.

Scratching That Itch: A Day In The Woods

This is the one hundred twenty-first 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 next random selection from the itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality arrived by swapping positions with other games. It’s A Day In The Woods, by RetroEpic Software, and its tagline in the bundle reads:

Guide Red through the woods to help her find grandma’s house.

Ah yes, just a nice walk through the spooky woods to visit grandma. I’m certain there won’t be any ravenous wolves lying in wait.

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