During the 16-bit days when I was in high school, I was big into RPGs like Final Fantasy 6 and Chrono Trigger.  But nowadays, not so much.  Today’s RPGs are missing what I liked about the older ones, but luckily Square-Enix can still sometimes pump something out today that I enjoy.  Such is the case with I am Setsuna.  It may have modern visuals and sound, but it plays like an old school RPG.  In the game you play as Endir, a masked assassin whose mission is to kill Setsuna, a sacrificial offering to keep down monster attacks for another year.  But once you meet your target, you soon end up in a series of events that takes you on a quest with Setsuna and a host of comrades as you discover the history behind this practice and maybe even how to stop it for good.  I am Setsuna was a downloadable launch game for the new Nintendo Switch (that version is what’s reviewed here), but you can also get it for PS4 and PC.

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Tags: Game Reviews

So now the world’s most popular doll toy line is getting in on the free-to-play match-three puzzle game bandwagon.  But surprisingly, this one’s actually pretty decent.  Barbie Sparkle Blast is available to download on iOS and Google Play, but reviewed on iPad here.

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Tags: Game Reviews

Pokémon has always been popular, but in the past year or so, it’s had a resurgence in popularity thanks to the mobile game Pokémon GO, and successful new titles in the franchise like Pokémon Sun and Moon.  So because of that, here I present to you, the Pokémon Easter Egg Decorating Kit!  I saw it at the store and just had to write about it.  I could’ve sworn I wrote about the same thing a long time ago, but I couldn’t find an article about it so I either must’ve imagined it or it was such a long time ago that it’s not on the Internet anymore.

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Tags: Misc, Movies with Children, Television

Last year I reviewed a game called Buddy & Me, a downloadable 2-D continuous runner for Wii U and mobile devices.  The charming hand-drawn visuals in the game made it look like a children’s picture book come to life.  Ironically, the next game the makers of Buddy & Me have made really is a children’s book!  Care For Our World was originally an award-winning children’s book, and just in time for Earth Day, now it’s an app you can download and read on the iPad!

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Tags: Misc

An evil supervillain has 88 missiles aimed at Earth ready to fire, and it’s up to 88 of the goofiest, most useless heroes to stop him!  88 Heroes is a silly 2-D platformer challenge available to download on PS4, Xbox One, and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.

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Tags: Game Reviews

So the last in the batch of dollar store LEGO Dimension sets that an online friend in California sent me is the Doctor Who Level Pack.  I didn’t have to pay my friend back, he just wanted me to review them.  The Doctor Who set is the one I actually wanted the most.   “Oh wow, Cary, you’re a Doctor Who fan?” you may be thinking.  Nope, absolutely not.  I know next to nothing about the franchise.  But my brother Jeff’s girlfriend loves Doctor Who, so when this set came out, my original plan was to buy it so they could come over and have fun building and playing the level.  But around that time, I lost my last job, so I went into “money saving mode” and didn’t buy it.  So I’m glad I was able to get it after all so they could enjoy it.  Anyway, two warnings before I start the review.  Like I said earlier, I know next to nothing about Doctor Who, so if I seem uninformed in my review, that’s why.  But not knowing about something has never stopped me from writing about it before.  And the other warning is that there may be an accidental spoiler alert here and there, so please go easy on me, Doctor Who fans.  LEGO Dimensions is available for nearly all the current game consoles, but reviewed on Wii U here.

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Tags: Game Reviews, Movies with Children, Television

So the next in line to review in the batch of dollar store LEGO Dimensions sets is the Scooby Doo Team Pack.  This is another franchise that I’m not a big fan of, but I still have respect for it.  Scooby Doo has been popular since before I was born, and it continued its popularity when I was a kid, and even today!  I watched it a lot as a kid, simply because kids will watch anything.  I will say there is one cartoon Scooby Doo movie that I really do like, and that’s Scooby Doo on Zombie Island.  Seriously, it’s awesome.  I’m also glad I got to meet the original voice of Scooby Doo, before he passed away (Don Messick).  He also did the voices for Scrappy Doo, Boo Boo, Muttley, Papa Smurf, and many more!  Anyway, so even though I’m not as much of a fan, I was mildly curious about the LEGO Dimensions set, so I’m glad I got it!  It’s available for nearly all the current game consoles, but reviewed on Wii U here.

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Tags: Game Reviews, Movies with Children, Television

So apparently a lot of the older LEGO Dimensions sets are being sold at dollar stores and other discount places now.  I’ve even seen a few sets at my local Five and Below, but nothing I had to buy.  However, an online friend of mine from California found some sets at his nearby dollar store, and he offered to send me one set that I wanted to try.  But not only that, he surprised me by sending me a few more LEGO Dimensions sets in the mail as well!  He didn’t want me to send him any money, all he asked was that I reviewed them here at GamerDad!  That was REALLY nice of him to send me all these sets, so reviewing them is the least I can do.  So all this week I’ll be reviewing the ones he sent me.  Except for the Portal 2 set since I already talked about that one in a previous article.  Anyway, the first set we’ll go over today is The Wizard of Oz Fun Pack.

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Tags: Game Reviews, Movies with Children, Television

When I got my Nintendo Switch, I also got all five of the Breath of the Wild amiibo figures!  My wallet was crying that day, but they’re really cool figures so I wanted to show them off to you all.

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Tags: Misc

Chime Sharp is a block puzzle challenge that’ll please fans of games like Tetris and Lumines. I actually reviewed the original Chime game way back in 2011 on the PS3, and even then it was a “Super Deluxe” version.  This “Sharp” version adds some new challenging gameplay modes.  It’s available for download on PS4 and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here

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Tags: Game Reviews