After a very long hiatus, PixlTalk is back for Episode 83. For now, you'll only be able to watch this episode on YouTube, but soon the RSS feed will be updated appropriately in order to bring all of the PixlBit podcasts together into a single feed. In this episode, Nick discusses the state of the industry after both Sony's digital-only announcement and Microsoft's huge layoffs, the games he's been playing recently, and a little bit of site information and where things are going next. Tune in to hear more in this reboot of PixlBit's original podcast!
As a late bloomer to RPGs, I was mostly ignorant of the Final Fantasy series until 1997, when that commercial for Final Fantasy VII caught my attention in all its epic CG glory. But it would be another two years before I finally saw a demo of the game in action, which sparked my love for RPGs. The point is that I missed out on Final Fantasy VI (originally titled Final Fantasy III in the US) when it was released in 1994. Fortunately, the Super NES Classic Edition's release several years back allowed the opportunity to play Square’s magnum opus of the 16-bit series. And boy, was it worth the wait.
There are several similarities between Final Fantasy V and its younger sibling, Final Fantasy III. Chiefly of which, both games stayed exclusively in Japan well after the series moved on to the PlayStation in the mid-90s. For a time, Square Enix (formally SquareSoft) was uncertain if western audiences would grasp the deeper gameplay mechanics that drove character growth. But after the global success of Final Fantasy VII, they decided it was time to start bridging the gap in sequels in the US lineup. As a result, Final Fantasy V was the first to be released as part of the Final Fantasy Anthology compilation on the PlayStation in 1999.
Witnessing the leap from the NES to the new 16-bit Super Nintendo in 1991 was downright magical. The console had an eye-catching futuristic design (in the eyes of my six-year-old self anyway), and the hardware produced higher-quality graphics and sound that delivered an experience impossible for the previous generation. And what better title to lead the charge than Super Mario World? I remember seeing the game for the first time at a graduation party for a friend going to middle school. We all huddled around her TV, taking turns playing the game. As soon as that giant Banzai Bill streaked across the screen, I was hooked.
Out of this World (aka Another World) was initially developed and released for the Amiga and Atari ST personal computers by French game designer Eric Chahi in 1991. The game was later ported to the Super Nintendo, among other home consoles. Out of this World garnered much praise for its intriguing visual style and storytelling ability. In most games from this era, text or dialogue was usually the vehicle used to drive the story forward. But this one did it differently. Instead, the ever-changing situations, dangers, and victories all worked together to tell the story without a word.
To describe Dr. Mario as a falling block puzzle game would be slightly misleading. In lieu of descending blocks, you’ll have to guide vitamin capsules raining down from that dubiously credentialed pill-popping Mario. I mean c’mon— he’s a plumber practicing medicine in the “Mushroom Kingdom”. It’s a Dateline investigation waiting to happen. Mark my words.
Final Fantasy is the stuff of legend. No, seriously-- it is. Just ask any enthusiast about the origins of the series. Watch as their eyes gleam while recounting the story of how it all began. Legend has it that a long time ago (1987) in the land of Japan, a fledgling company known as Square (now Square Enix) wasn’t doing so well financially. Despite earlier releases like Rad Racer and 3-D World Runner, their games weren’t selling well enough to pull them out of the slump. It seemed as if all was lost. Wanting to go out with a bang, Square chose to develop a role-playing game. They called it Final Fantasy (*cue epic music*).
If you told me when I was a kid that Super Mario Bros. 2 was merely a localized version of a pre-existing game from Japan, I wouldn’t have believed you. But in fact, that’s precisely what Nintendo did for the US release of the next chapter in the Mario series. This was mostly due to the fact the original Japanese sequel was nearly identical to Super Mario Bros., only with slightly improved graphics. There was also concern that the game’s high difficulty would be off-putting for American audiences. The solution? Take Doki Doki Panic, swap out the main characters, slap a “Super Mario Bros. 2” label on that bad boy, and you’ve got yourself Nintendo’s best-selling game of 1988.
After almost a year long hiatus Backloggers Anonymous returns with a game to get you back into the Halloween spirit: Castlevania. Casey, Catherine, and Blake all tried to finish off Dracula before they got 25 Game Overs. Did they succeed? Did they fail? Check in to find out then try the challenge yourself! Then give Super Castlevania 4 a try for when the three of them return next time!
To say the least, 1985 proved to be a very good year for Nintendo. They successfully launched the Nintendo Entertainment System in the U.S., introduced the Super Mario Brothers, and quickly won the love and devotion of many youngsters getting into console gaming for the first time. It wasn’t long before Nintendo became a name synonymous with high quality video game entertainment.
Casey, Jamie, and Blake are back from Tomb Raider: Legend. Join our level by level breakdown of the experience while Casey gives his thoughts on Lara's character, Jamie expresses his love of the swan dive and Blake rants on why he hates London.
Just in time for anyone anticipating the new Rise of the Tomb Raider, here comes Backloggers Anonymous with one of Lara Croft's older adventures: Tomb Raider: Legend. Before her franchise was rebooted in 2013, it was rebooted in 2006 as Lara traveled around the world in search of artifacts. Join us as Casey laments for past days of the franchise, Blake trashes the 2013 reboot, and Jamie gets excited over grappling hooks!
For years, the story of Count Dracula has been told many times over, with different spins on how he wrecked havoc on human society and such things. I dare say that there isn't a person on Earth who hasn't heard of the guy...at some point in their lifetime. So given the popularity of this character, it was only natural that Dracula would find a new life on the NES. And sure enough, in 1987, Konami released Castlevania-- a game that featured a whip-wielding hero on a mission to defend the local townsfolk and stop Dracula's bite for good, or so he hoped.
It's no secret that Sony originally intended to produce a CD-ROM attachment called the Play Station for the Super Nintendo console. Somewhere along the line the deal went sour and what was originally intended for the CD-ROM drive became the Sony PlayStation.
Back in 1994, Rareware breathed new life into Nintendo’s arcade game antagonist Donkey Kong with revolutionary pre-rendered graphics and created Donkey Kong Country for the SNES. Despite the pretty looks, it is a solid side-scrolling platformer with great controls, organic level design and a superb soundtrack.
With its deceptively easy gameplay and deep exploration, The Legend of Zelda represented a few first-time accomplishments for Nintendo, as well as the gaming industry itself. It was one of the first Famicom Disk Systems games to hit Japan in February of 1986, sporting the ability to save progress without needing a password. With its 1987 debut in America, it was released on a golden cartridge featuring a small backup battery to save progress -- making it the first game to use the technology. But most importantly, it was the first game to truly revolutionize the action/adventure genre with elements that similar games would borrow from for years to come.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 90s. In this era we saw many things; we saw the true start of the (in)famous 16-bit console wars, the slow decline of arcades, the invention of CD-ROM media and the start of a tradition with mainline Mario titles. Thought it was nice the NES had three great Mario games? You are not going to see that again for a very long time. Make that nineteen years to be exact. Take a good long look over this fourth Mario Mania entry, because the 2-D Mario platforming ship is sailing and it feels like a bittersweet moment.
When talking about Blizzard Entertainment, it’s almost impossible to imagine the company before the creation of their core pillars of Warcraft, Starcraft, and Diablo. It’s even more difficult to think of the company making games for home consoles, but in the early 90s both of these unimaginable things were true. Under the original company name of Silicon & Synapse, the house that would be Blizzard produced The Lost Vikings—a beloved side-scrolling puzzle game that fell by the wayside for juggernauts like Warcraft. We have some love for those quirky Vikings around here, so it was high time for them to get their very own MIA.