Zool Redimensioned (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
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Posted on June 2nd, 2023 by
Back in the 90s, 2-D mascot platformers were all the rage, thanks to Sonic. There were so many that I got downright tired of them and skipped out on quite a few. Also this was about the time I was really big into 16-bit RPGs like Final Fantasy and Chrono Trigger, so yeah. Anyway, one of these mascot platformers I missed out on was Zool. He was a ninja gremlin guy who tromped around 2-D levels based on themes like candy, tools, toys, music, and more. Zool was on pretty much all the consoles at the time, but hasn’t been heard from since. There’s a rumor that the infamously bad Wii game Ninjabread Man was originally going to be a 3-D Zool title, but I’m not 100 percent sure on that. Anyway, now Zool is back on some modern consoles and PC (reviewed on PS4 here) with all sorts of new modes and features.
nPaint (Switch)
Posted on May 31st, 2023 by
With the Switch’s portability and touch screen features, I’m surprised they haven’t made an Art Academy game for it yet. But until that happens, here’s another basic paint program you can doodle with.
Dogfight: A Sausage Bomber Story (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S, PC)
Posted on May 29th, 2023 by
Sausage Bomber originally started out as a 2-D horizontally scrolling mobile game shooter. And now a sequel of sorts is available for all current consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here. It’s a cartoony shooter with all sorts of hot dog puns and up to four can play at the same time!
Puzzle Bobble Everybubble (Switch)
Posted on May 26th, 2023 by
I freaking love Puzzle Bobble. It’s one of my top three favorite puzzle games, right on up there with Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo and plain ol’ Tetris. It’s actually a spin-off of the arcade classic Bubble Bobble, but this is one case where the spin-off ended up being more popular than the original game it was based on! The series was originally called Bust-A-Move in the US, but I’m so glad they changed it back recently because I hated that name. Puzzle Bobble just makes more sense. Also, this is one type of game that gets heavily imitated on cell phone devices. I bet Taito wished they would’ve gotten some kind of stricter patent or something (not sure how that works), but their game isn’t entirely original itself either. Anyway, the newest game in the series: Puzzle Bobble Everybubble is now available on Switch!
Ayre and the Crystal Comet (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S, PC)
Posted on May 24th, 2023 by
You are Ayre, a dragon rider and the last of your kind. One day you find a glowing gem that communicates to you. The gem says they are part of a massive crystal comet that fell and crumbled into hundreds of pieces. It’s up to you to explore the land riding your flying dragon to find all the crystal pieces and uncover the mystery. Along the way you might discover other secrets in this no-combat, stress-free low polygonal 3D flying exploration adventure. It’s available on all current consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.
Gematombe (PS4, Switch, Xbox One, PC)
Posted on May 22nd, 2023 by
Back in the 90s, there was a popular sub-genre of puzzle games which were usually competitive and had colorful, sometimes anime-like characters. Some of these types of games included Tetris Attack, Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo, Puzzle Bobble, Magical Drop, Puchi Carat, and others. Gematombe seeks to replicate those kind of games and ends up being most like Puchi Carat. The characters featured here are based on the Greek myth about Pandora’s Box, and gameplay is a mix of Breakout and Puzzle Bobble. It’s available on most current consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.
Cannon Dancer: Osman (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S)
Posted on May 17th, 2023 by
Cannon Dancer was an arcade game from 1996 and it was called Osman in the US, although I have never heard of it until now. If the game looks a LOT like Strider, there’s a reason for that. Both were directed by the same person and some have said that Cannon Dancer is like an ‘unofficial sequel’ of sorts. In the game you play as a martial arts dude who can climb walls and punch and kick bad guys as you stop a corrupt government in the future. And now you can play it on all current consoles, but it’s reviewed on PS4 here.
Hyper-5 (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S, PC)
Posted on May 16th, 2023 by
Hyper-5 is a 2-D side scrolling shooter with 3D graphics that look like they came from the late 90s/early 2000s. You can choose to play an arcade mode where you pick up power-ups, or a story mode where you can upgrade your weapons and ship at the end of each level. It’s available on all current consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.
Sport & Fun Swimming (Switch)
Posted on May 15th, 2023 by
This is a motion controlled fitness game where you try and ‘swim’ a set distance each day by moving your arms while holding Switch JoyCons to mimic swimming strokes. It kind of reminds me of another simple fitness game released on the Switch a couple of years ago called Jump Rope Challenge.
The Games of Arcade Paradise
Posted on May 12th, 2023 by
Last year there was a game that came out that I really wanted to review called Arcade Paradise. I requested a review code three different times and was denied each time! I really wanted to review it, too, because it’s a time management sim where you must run a laundromat business, but you are secretly running an arcade in the back with dozens of fictional arcade games you can actually play! I actually had an idea for a business that was half laundromat, half arcade, and I was going to called it Quarters: Good Clean Fun. So this game really resonated with me. If I had gotten a chance to review it last year, it definitely would’ve showed up on my Game of the Year list somewhere. But this year I used some Christmas present PlayStation Store points to buy it, and sure it was only 20 bucks so I was kind of cheap, but this stuff adds up if you’re not careful. Anyway, so now that I’ve played the game, I thought I’d write a blog about the arcade cabinets you can play on it. Oh yeah, and slight spoiler alerts here and there, but I don’t think it matters much.
