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Ephemeral Enigmas @ephemeralenigmas.bsky.social · 11h

It was indeed the PC-Engine CD version, so you remember correctly! Dying makes you lose all your upgrades except I think the types of magic you've unlocked if I recall correctly, so yeah even one death sets you back to basic slashes

The final level has no item pickups until the very end, too!

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Ephemeral Enigmas @ephemeralenigmas.bsky.social · 12h

That's absolutely true! I'm used to some shmups being like that, but it certainly pops up elsewhere too

Like when I played through the first Valis earlier this year, I died on the last level and it became so hard that it probably would have been faster to restart but I pushed through anyway lol

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Ephemeral Enigmas @ephemeralenigmas.bsky.social · 12h

You're welcome!

Makes sense, if you're enjoying a game enough, then it just comes naturally with time, that's how mine have shaken out as well. All comes down to finding the right vibe with the right game at the right time, I suppose!

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Ephemeral Enigmas @ephemeralenigmas.bsky.social · 13h

The ones I've seen you post are really impressive!

I have some 1CCs and no-deaths under my belt, but nothing I'd call special and I do them very sporadically, so I definitely want to make it a more consistent thing

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Ephemeral Enigmas @ephemeralenigmas.bsky.social · 14h

Couldn't hurt to mix in some newer releases if you're feeling it!

I think your current approach is what I wanna do more next year, I've been getting the urge to grind out some shmups or arcade 1CCs or something but I've been so preoccupied with bigger games this year that I've been putting it off

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Ephemeral Enigmas @ephemeralenigmas.bsky.social · 14h

Breaks are a good idea, honestly! It's better to take longer to finish if it keeps things fresher and Seven totally does give you a very good spot in the middle to do so

I have a bad habit of focusing hard on new games and long RPGs, which sometimes makes me wonder if I'm doing them a disservice

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Ephemeral Enigmas @ephemeralenigmas.bsky.social · 14h

Oh very nice, congrats on finishing it! And wow, that really goes to show you how much bigger they got, Origin's required multiple playthroughs felt like a bit much imo, but maybe it's not as bad as I thought!

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Ephemeral Enigmas @ephemeralenigmas.bsky.social · 15h

Ys gets way longer from Seven onward if that's where you're at, they're like 40-60 hour games at that point! They're still really good despite that, thankfully

But yeah, that'll give Gurumin a nice little niche for you when you need it, so that's cool

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Ephemeral Enigmas @ephemeralenigmas.bsky.social · 15h

It's a cute game, yeah! Wouldn't call it one of their best games, but it's a breezy playthrough and fairly distinct from their other stuff so it's worth checking out sometime. I played it on PSP and remember it pretty fondly overall

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Reposted by Ephemeral Enigmas

⚝ vorsprung durch zauberkraft ⚝ @inobscurity.bsky.social · 17h

manipulate the world around you~!

Agartha-S (Switch)

Agartha is a game that's been on my radar for a long time, and I recently got a Nintendo Switch, and it seemed like a good omen that it hap...

lunaticobscurity.blogspot.com

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Reposted by Ephemeral Enigmas

Kurt @ Hardcore Gaming 101 @hg101.bsky.social · 20h

Follow the exploits of an alien-killing, time-traveling dolphin in Ecco the Dolphin, an absolutely wild and terrifying Genesis game. www.hardcoregaming101.net/ecco-the-dol...

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Reposted by Ephemeral Enigmas

Ephemeral Enigmas @ephemeralenigmas.bsky.social · 1d

"You're the best looking guy here."

A close-up of Carnby from the first Alone in the Dark. Since this was a 1992 release, he looks very polygonal and goofy at such a close angle.

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Ephemeral Enigmas @ephemeralenigmas.bsky.social · 1d

Any thoughts on Gurumin?

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Ephemeral Enigmas @ephemeralenigmas.bsky.social · 1d

"You're the best looking guy here."

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Ephemeral Enigmas @ephemeralenigmas.bsky.social · 1d

77. Clock Tower

As one of the early progenitors of survival horror, it's very impressive how well this game has aged! The sound design does incredible atmospheric work and I like the randomizations that mix up playthroughs. Didn't expect Scissorman to be so goofy and easily dealt with, though!

Jennifer (a young girl with black hair, a white shirt, and a blue dress) stands inside a foggy bathroom next to the shower

A spooky child's bedroom is all dilapidated with stuff broken. The walls are purple as is the floor

The intro has Jennifer being adopted by a Ms. Mary and asking her about the kind of place she'll be living in. Mary says it'll be "a very nice place"

One of the endings features Jennifer escaping via car, only for the Scissorman to surprise her from the back seat

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Ephemeral Enigmas @ephemeralenigmas.bsky.social · 1d

Doing this post was my first time checking it out since I had also never seen/read anything on it, and yeah it's pretty neat! I really like some of the ideas on offer like the nonlinearity, would love to see another go at it

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Reposted by Ephemeral Enigmas

RetroAchievements @retroachievements.org · 2d

Our founder, Scott, would like to discuss the recent situation that happened on RetroAchievements as well as the measures we will be taking going forward to ensure a healthy, welcoming community for all enjoyers of retro games and achievements.

retroachievements.org/forums/topic...

Clarifying RetroAchievements’ Goals

TL;DR RetroAchievements supports openness and celebrating retro gaming, but we will not provide a platform for games that contain illegal, hateful, or otherwise abhorrent content. Achievement sets for...

retroachievements.org

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Ephemeral Enigmas @ephemeralenigmas.bsky.social · 2d

A lot of Shadow Labyrinth's areas are probably bigger than they need to be, but at least that makes them good for scootin' around in

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Ephemeral Enigmas @ephemeralenigmas.bsky.social · 3d

Good to hear, I was worried there for a moment!

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Ephemeral Enigmas @ephemeralenigmas.bsky.social · 3d

New blog post time!

This week's game is Zombie Incident, a MSX platformer with a 3DS remake that only uses one button, but adds nonlinearity and RPG-esque wrinkles to spice things up. Said wrinkles don't stop repetition from kicking in eventually, but the ideas sure are neat!

#blog #gaming

Zombie Incident

I’m probably being a bit harsh considering the origins of this game and the limitations of the MSX, but I suppose I’m doing that because I truly love the ideas being presented here. I can envision …

ephemeralenigmascom.wordpress.com

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Ephemeral Enigmas @ephemeralenigmas.bsky.social · 3d

MorphX

I have no idea what it even is and I've never heard anyone talk about it, but its been staring at me on my shelf for a while so it's gotta be interesting in some way

Ephemeral Enigmas @ephemeralenigmas.bsky.social · 3d

New blog post time!

This week's game is Zombie Incident, a MSX platformer with a 3DS remake that only uses one button, but adds nonlinearity and RPG-esque wrinkles to spice things up. Said wrinkles don't stop repetition from kicking in eventually, but the ideas sure are neat!

#blog #gaming

Zombie Incident

I’m probably being a bit harsh considering the origins of this game and the limitations of the MSX, but I suppose I’m doing that because I truly love the ideas being presented here. I can envision …

ephemeralenigmascom.wordpress.com

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Reposted by Ephemeral Enigmas

Michael @michaelklamerus.bsky.social · 4d

Blog Roundup (October 6, 2025)

It’s been a minute since I’ve done one of these but with Bluesky currently imploding because of its dipshit staff, maybe people will want some other websites to look at and add to their RSS feed reader. I’ve been using Inoreader since it has a solid free tier (although I pay for it now) and […]

virtualmoose.org

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Ephemeral Enigmas @ephemeralenigmas.bsky.social · 4d

Maybe she's still ok

The Scissorman (a boy with a pair of garden shears) falls through a glass ceiling while stabbing a girl

Protagonist of Clock Tower, Jennifer (she has black hair and wears a blue dress + white shirt), calls for her friend Ann even though she's pretty clearly dead at this point

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Reposted by Ephemeral Enigmas

Weasel Hills C.C. (Hole 19) @wildweasel486.bsky.social · 6d

I haven't brought this up in a while on here (felt like I should give other people the stage for a while), but I am still out of work, and running out of money to keep my bills/loans covered.

ko-fi.com/wildweasel - Donations highly appreciated. Pointers towards employment, even more so.

Support weasel

ko-fi.com

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