Hey folks! Got another batch of game reviews I’ve written recently over at GamerDad.com! Please click on the links and read as many as you can and maybe post a ‘like’ or comment or two. I’d appreciate it. OK, let’s begin!
One of my all time favorite 2-D shooter series is Darius. I have a lot of memories playing the games, and the first arcade title was three screens long! It also has one of my favorite video game tunes of all time: the first stage’s Captain NEO. There’s nothing really special about the series except the bosses are all giant robot fish. But it just has a style about it that I like for some reason. The latest in the series is Dariusburst, which believe it or not, actually started out as a mobile game! Later it got ported to consoles and arcades, each time adding something to the name, which is why the title is so ridiculous now. And now you can play the arcade version on your PS4 or Switch (reviewed on PS4 here).
I loved Streets of Rage 4 when it came out last year. I enjoyed it so much that it won my “Best Arcade Classic Remake” award in my 2020 Game of the Year blog. So I was happy to find out they had some DLC for it, and even more excited that I got to review it! This Mr. X Nightmare DLC adds new characters, modes, and other features to this 2-D side scrolling beat ‘em up. My favorite part is that now you get to play as super strong police woman Estel Aguirre, who is now my favorite Streets of Rage character. Can you guess why?
I got another amiibo figure I’d like to show off. This one is the Zelda and Loftwing amiibo to coincide with the recently released The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD. So let’s take a look at it. And is it just me, or are new amiibo figures getting harder and harder to find and get nowadays? Also, I don’t have the game yet, I just don’t feel the need to play it right away. So I’ll probably ask for it for my birthday or Christmas. And even though it’s been ten years, it doesn’t feel that long since I played it last!
Out of the blue my younger brother Nathan sent me a review of Metroid Zero Mission for GBA, telling me that he is going to try to play all the Metroid games before Metroid Dread comes out. So here it is! Do be sure to read it!
Play solitaire while unlocking outfits for a host of busty anime ladies in Pretty Girls Klondike Solitaire. Is it bad that this is one of the few games I’ve gotten the Platinum trophy for?
I’ve seen the word “Bishoujo” before when referring to anime, but I had no idea what it meant until I looked it up for this review. Turns out it means “beautiful young lady” so to speak. Guess that would’ve made for too long of a title for this game, where you play Mahjong Solitaire to unlock outfits for a bevvy of anime ladies, who are also armed with weapons in this one for some reason. It’s very similar to the Pretty Girls Klondike Solitaire game I reviewed recently, but I didn’t get the Platinum trophy for this one at least.
Out of Line is one of those games that tells its story without words. Well I have no choice here so forgive me if this sounds dumb. Anyway, you play as a dude who looks like the kid from Scribblenauts. You’re in a hand-drawn mechanical world trying to escape these giant grabber claw hands. You have to find these glowing blue cubes that attach themselves to trees, and you also meet older versions of yourself. Early on in the game you get a yellow spear of light that you can throw and do other things with to creatively bypass obstacles in this 2-D puzzle platformer. It’s actually not a bad game at all and held my interest the whole way through.
A couple of years ago I downloaded a game temporarily on sale for the Switch for mere pennies called Conduct TOGETHER! It was basically a virtual train set where you had to dispatch trains to stations and made sure they didn’t run into each other. But you were limited to the tracks on the ground. But now in the sequel, the sky’s the limit with Fly TOGETHER!, where you basically do the same thing, but with airplanes!
Mina is a young girl who befriends a monster named Michi. Together they’ll explore an 8-bit forest maze of the four seasons, solving puzzles and defeating baddies in top down fashion along the way. Control each character separately, even in single player mode. Kind of reminds me of an old Japan only Namco arcade game called The Return of Ishtar.
And that’s all for now! Thanks for reading my reviews and posting ‘likes’ and comments and such. I do really appreciate it. Later! --Cary
I've never played a Darius title before, I'm kind of interested in this one. There have been a lot of Taito releases lately. I got Space Invaders Invincible Collection on Switch. At $60 I suppose it's pricey, but it contains a lot of different Space Invader versions plus related games like Lunar Rescue, and it's the only legit way I've seen to play the original Space Invaders on modern hardware. Strictly Limited Games has been teasing a physical release forever, but they want an insane amount of money for it. I'm thinking of doing a gameplay video of Space Invaders set to "Tom Sawyer", by Rush. Remember where that came from?
I agree with your brother: We need Metroid Zero Mission on the Switch.
I'm reviewing Space Invaders Invincible collection right now. The game cost you 60 bucks? Holy cow, that's WAY too expensive for what you get, especially when you consider most of those games are practically the same game. They really could've added more games to it, like Space Invaders 95: Attack of the Lunar Loonies, which is Taito's answer to Parodius. Or maybe the WiiWare only Space Invaders Get Even, which is probably lost to time by now. Or maybe Arkanoid vs. Space Invaders, an interesting mash up of both Taito classics.
oh man that Zelda Amiibo is SO awesome. I hope I can get one eventually.
Thanks for reading! Amiibo figures are getting harder to get lately!
I'd try Fly Together and Conduct Together if they were on Xbox.
I like Loftwing but Zelda can get her own pedestal to stand on.
Yeah I think you'd enjoy playing those "TOGETHER" games with your friend, but they can get pretty frustrating.
But if Zelda had her own amiibo, the Loftwing would get lonely! :)
I didn't realize there was SoR4 DLC. I'll have to check it out.
Yeah being able to play as my favorite character, Estel, was great.
Haven't seen you in a while. Did you know I have a podcast now?
I did! I thought I commented on the first one about your voices, but I could be wrong. I'll have to check it out again.
No comments on that which I saw, but that's OK! Hopefully you can check out the podcasts sometime!