My big apprehension with playing the first two is that the remakes don't look that hot but they're the only official way to play them in English

idk what it is with mages but everytime they remake a classic VN they make the artstyle so generic and watered down

"I heard his theme music, he's around here somewhere!"

Pinobee & Phoebee (GBA, 2002)

It's definitely an improvement from the first one, more polished in terms of gameplay and presentation, though, sadly, rather than refining the more interesting mechanics from last time, it just ditches them, losing what made it so unique in the first place

Gotta play the PS1 game after

Crimson Shroud (3DS, 2012)

Really great writing, fascinating mechanics and a wonderfully original aesthetic, taking RPG's back to the tabletop days. I really think Guild01 might be one of the greatest game compilations ever, with four unique titles made by legends, shame Guild02 was download only

Hey, I'm really sorry man, just take it easy for a bit, these things always work out

That would imply she has thoughts

Oh, apparently it only has Hotline 1 on the disc, Hotline 2 is a download code which of course has already been used

Yoshi Touch & Go (DS, 2005)

I adored the original Yoshi's Island as a kid, so seeing the mechanics reworked into an arcade score attack title is really fascinating. Definitely screams launch window title, probably could've been a DSiWare release 4 years later, but I find it quite addicting and fun!

Dancing Sword: Senkō (GBA, 2003)

Before Hi-Fi Rush or even Gurumin, the first title to put the beat in beat 'em up was by a developer usually known for otome games. Pretty sparse aside from the core mechanic, and maybe I'm just bad, but I swear the timing is off from what the tutorial shows

And that's a wrap for 2025! Gonna start a new thread for the new year, check it out here:

bsky.app/profile/call...

I haven't played SBCG4AP in years, but a friend of mine said it feels more like Telltale humor than anything the Brothers Chap wrote and I'm scared to go back to it now

And my biggest surprise of the year, actually really cool despite a pretty poor reception: Pac-Pix!

Touhou Chireiden ~ Subterranean Animism. (2008, PC)

Finally giving this series a shot, started with the eleventh title since I heard it was the best. The bullet patterns are incredibly unique, unlike anything I've seen in any other danmaku title, and I love Zun's art too, rough as it may be

Bowser's so much fun to control, he really does overshadow the sections where you're playing as Mario and Luigi, though their sections are better than I remember

What really drives the whole thing home is when you fight Bowser as the bros, it really just reinforces that you're playing a boss enemy