Chained Echoes is a 2-D RPG modeled after the 16-bit classics I used to love, like Chrono Trigger and such.  The storyline is a bit convoluted, but it involves three kingdoms on the brink of war, ancient stones that house world destroying monsters, mech suits, and a rag-tag team of adventurers who will end up saving the world.  It’s available on all current consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.

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Tags: Game Reviews

That’s a Cow is a silly, continuous runner where you propel your cow forward by having it squirt milk like some kind of dairy jetpack.  You can also squirt obstacles and enemies, too, as you collect coins and apples.  It’s available on Switch and mobile devices, but reviewed on Switch here.

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Kids love playing with chalk outside on the sidewalk, and there have even been cartoons based on that idea, like Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings from the 70s and Nickelodeon’s Chalk Zone.  And now you can play a game about that, too, with Chalk Gardens on Switch and PC (reviewed on Switch here).  A child’s favorite stuffed toy has lost its leg, and now you must help them find it.  Explore a world of chalk drawings and provide solutions to problems to open up paths to reach new areas.

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A couple of months ago I reviewed the PlayDate, a new handheld gaming device that has a crank on the side that you can wind to control some of the games.  The other unique thing about this device is how you get the games.  They come two at a time and are downloaded automatically on the handheld each week on a Monday.  I talked about a few of them when I wrote my initial review, and then another batch of ten more about a month later.  And now I’ve got my final batch of ten from season one, so we’ll go over those as well as my final thoughts on the PlayDate.

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I play and review a lot of indie games.  Before the pandemic, I would go to shows like PAX and E3 and preview a lot of them, but sometimes it would take years before I would actually get a full release date copy to review.  I’ve always wondered what those developers did during that time.  How did they get paid?  Did they have to work on other things to get by?  Why did it take so long to make that game?  If you’ve wondered about those questions, too, then maybe Goodbye World is for you.  In it, you’ll follow the struggles of two just-out-of-college young ladies as they struggle to make an indie game.  And in between story sections, you’ll get to try a snippet of the game they’re working on, a retro black and white handheld platform puzzler.  Goodbye World is available on Switch and PC, but reviewed on Switch here.

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An evil purple haired vixen has stolen four crystals, and now a goddess guardian must set off to get them back in this 2-D platformer.  Use the crystals’ powers to progress in this side scroller for Switch and PC, but reviewed on Switch here.

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Konami recently came out with a collection of their licensed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games they released back in the late 80s and early 90s, during the first round of the Turtles’ heyday.  Since a lot of people grew up with and enjoyed these titles, this collection is a pretty big deal.  Especially since for a long time, it would’ve been hard to get the rights to all these games again!  But I guess since Nickelodeon has all the rights to TMNT stuff now, maybe that part was easier to do?  Anyway, of course I got this collection so grab a slice of pizza and let’s take a look at the games on here as well as my personal history with each title.

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Tags: Game Reviews, Movies with Children, Television

Tell time on your Switch with the sequel to AAA Clock!  Oh yeah, and you can play a 2-D platformer run and gun game on it, too.  That’s like McDonald’s advertising you can get ketchup packets there, but then you can also get burgers and fries if you want.

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On a distant planet covered in water, one solitary island exists, and it has magical doors that can whisk you away to different worlds.  Also on this island live the Kukoos.  They’re square shaped, monkey…critter…people…things.  I don’t know what they are, but they live happily with each other and their beloved yet weird pets.  In fact, every year they have a Pet Day competition, and this year a mysterious company is selling special collars that’ll make the pets obey your every command and enhance their powers.  But when a giant robot frog takes control of all the pets, it’s up to you to save them in this fixed camera 3-D platformer.  It’s available on most current consoles and PC, but reviewed on Switch here.

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Data East is no longer around, but back in the day, they were a pretty major player in the arcade and game console scene.  Some of their games include Burgertime, Karnov, Bad Dudes, and many more.  Another one of their more popular titles was Joe and Mac: Caveman Ninja.  It was a pretty standard 2-D platformer, but the bright colors, huge dino bosses, and cartoony animated sprites really stood out at the time.  The arcade game got ported to many of the 8- and 16-bit consoles at the time, each one a different take on the series.  Later they would make a spinoff on the SNES called Congo’s Caper, and then a true sequel with Joe & Mac 2: Lost in the Tropics, which had more adventure elements.  After that there was another arcade game called Joe & Mac Returns, but I never saw it.  It was a single screen action game like Bubble Bobble, and played like Tumble Pop, another Data East game.  And now there’s New Joe & Mac: Cavemen Ninja, a remake of the original classic arcade game with hand drawn visuals and other extras.  Those nasty Neanderthals have kidnapped all the cavewomen in the village, and it’s up to Joe & Mac to save them!  It’s available on all current consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.

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Tags: Game Reviews