Gaming off the Beaten Path

  I hope I got my point across in part one. But if I didn't, I'll reiterate here: Nier: Automata set the new standard in video game storytelling. Not necessarily the story itself, but how the story is told. That's all well and good, but now it's time to talk about the gameplay. Because unlike other media formats, you can have the absolutely best storytelling of all time ever and still have it ruined because of awful controls or game breaking glitches. Fortunately, Nier: Automata doesn't have either of those things. But it does come from a series known for less-than-optimal gameplay. Full disclosure, I have never actually played the original Nier or any of the Drakengard games, so I can't really comment on it personally. Any time I see someone call the controls in an old game "wonky" it arouses suspicion, that's in the same category as "aged poorly" for me. What does "wonky" even mean? Sure, if you back it up with details that...

  Let's start with a question. Why are you reading this review? You are just wasting your time. Why am I writing it? In fact, why either of us playing video games at all? None of it means anything. In fact, forget video games. Nothing means anything. Nothing at all. Why bother with life, you may as well just...yeah, I think I need to stop there. Saying that would get me in trouble and besides, who decides what means what anyway? I am going to keep the modern game train running, because I finally got a chance to play yet another one of the internet's favorite games. I have read a lot, like, a lot, about how amazing Nier: Automata was, how it was on a different level in terms of storytelling from just about every game that's ever existed. I've heard it called "the most profound video game ever" and "a truly classic humanist fable." There are countless articles, videos, podcasts, whatever covering just how deep and philosophical the game is. Stop me if ...

  I mean, you had to know this was coming, right? You know how I love to do my comparisons, and this was just too easy. You could see it coming from a mile away. Of course, that's something you definitely can't say about the SMRPG remake itself. It's a few months later and I already finished the game, but it still doesn't feel like a reality that it actually exists. Even with all of the remakes that we see nowadays, I am really surprised that this game got the treatment. A lot of things had to align and, allegedly, a lot of bad blood had to be sorted out for it to happen. But here we are, we have a shiny new Super Mario RPG remake for the Nintendo Switch with updated graphics, music, translation and just about everything under the sun. Before anyone asks, I had originally planned a 10-Round Fight for this, it seemed logical at first. After playing Final Fantasy VII Remake and seeing how different it was from the original, I kind of had in my head that all remakes would ...

  The way things stand, yours is a world where wishes can't come true anymore. It goes without saying, but certain combinations just work. Sometimes, those combinations are obvious while other times, they aren't. It's weird, because Super Mario RPG always kind of fit both categories. On one hand, how could a joint effort from Nintendo and Square (still Squaresoft at the time) go wrong? Both of these companies were riding high, especially in the mid-90's when it felt like neither of these juggernauts could do any wrong. Yet at the same time, the thought of platforming icon Mario starring in a turn-based RPG felt a little...off. How was anyone going to take a plumber who jumps on turtles in linear levels and turn him into a full-fledged  RPG hero? Would this experiment  work out? Or would it crash and burn? I think we all know the answer to that, but I don't think a lot of people really look at why this game was so successful , why it was so revered and why it receive...

  Well, we haven't had one of these in a while. One of the phenomena I have always found interesting is how some series become major players during one gaming generation, only to be largely forgotten once new consoles are released. I found this to be especially prevalent in the 6th generation, especially with the PlayStation 2 and GameCube . I've already looked at titles like Onimusha: Warlords and Jak and Daxter, which were huge, heavily hyped 6th gen series that just disappeared after the 7th gen started. It's not like they haven't received HD remasters or ports or collection re-releases, but in terms of new games, there has been nothing. And no, mobile games don't count. Zone of the Enders fit perfectly into this category. It was a huge, huge deal when it came out and was extremely well received  critically. It came out in a time where game creators didn't get the director treatment they do now, but it was created by Hideo Kojima, one of the earliest people...

  I always thought fan games were cool. I especially think it's cool when developers and publishers put their support behind those fan games. And I especially, especially when those fan games mix two of my favorite franchises in a way that makes sense. Anyone that has been following my content for any length of time knows I am a huge fan of both Mega Man and Street Fighter. You know, I didn't even realize how much I like Capcom games in general. When I first tried to start blogging back in my college days, I did a list of my top 100 video games of all time. That list would look much different if I did it today, but I don't think my top games would change too much. Of my top five, four of them were Capcom games and I didn't notice until I looked at it many years later when I started GOTBP. In fact,  both of these series  found their way into my top five. So yeah, a crossover between the two would be right up my alley. Apparently,  I wasn't the only one either, becaus...