Thomas Nickel
@tapirfortuna.bsky.social
Writer, teaching game design & history. M!- & book-author, occasional Retronaut and dabbling in localization. Also somewhat making games - http://coria.itch.io/coria! Fck nazis, fck bigots. he/him
13 years ago, I received my Wii U alongside New Super Mario Bros. U and Nintendo Land a few weeks ahead of the launch, the next day Zombi U and the Rabbids showed up. Seeing Nintendo games in HD for the first time was pretty amazing. The system is still connected to my TV today!
November 17, 2025 at 8:05 AM
13 years ago, I received my Wii U alongside New Super Mario Bros. U and Nintendo Land a few weeks ahead of the launch, the next day Zombi U and the Rabbids showed up. Seeing Nintendo games in HD for the first time was pretty amazing. The system is still connected to my TV today!
A visual statement on the absolute misery of shopping at German Media Markt. The employees ripped of every game's price-sticker - now customers have to check the website or ask an employee about prices because they "change every hour". Guys. It's an electronics store, not a fucking gas-station.
November 16, 2025 at 7:59 AM
A visual statement on the absolute misery of shopping at German Media Markt. The employees ripped of every game's price-sticker - now customers have to check the website or ask an employee about prices because they "change every hour". Guys. It's an electronics store, not a fucking gas-station.
20 years ago, Dragon Quest found its modern western identity: Dragon Quest VIII finally kept its original name, went with a wonderfully british dub, orchestral music and a beautifully reworked interface - an amazing adventure that set the tone for most that came after. Also: Yangus was awesome!!
November 15, 2025 at 8:18 AM
20 years ago, Dragon Quest found its modern western identity: Dragon Quest VIII finally kept its original name, went with a wonderfully british dub, orchestral music and a beautifully reworked interface - an amazing adventure that set the tone for most that came after. Also: Yangus was awesome!!
I turned on an Xbox 360 console again today after a long, long time to check if DOAX2 still works - this is also part of my elective on games and dating. The 360 WAS a rather nice hardware, even though MS dropped the ball HARD after the first fantastic years.
November 13, 2025 at 2:59 PM
I turned on an Xbox 360 console again today after a long, long time to check if DOAX2 still works - this is also part of my elective on games and dating. The 360 WAS a rather nice hardware, even though MS dropped the ball HARD after the first fantastic years.
A big RPG-day! A quarter-century ago, Final Fantasy IX and Skies of Arcadia made their way west on the same day. The former is the final incarnation of classic 90s Final Fantasy, the latter a technically amazing swashbuckling pirate-adventure - two real highlights, back then and today!
November 13, 2025 at 9:03 AM
A big RPG-day! A quarter-century ago, Final Fantasy IX and Skies of Arcadia made their way west on the same day. The former is the final incarnation of classic 90s Final Fantasy, the latter a technically amazing swashbuckling pirate-adventure - two real highlights, back then and today!
It's always nice to see one's text and name in a game. I´m really glad I had a chance to work von Verho - Curse of Faces! store.steampowered.com/app/3017330/...
November 12, 2025 at 10:07 AM
It's always nice to see one's text and name in a game. I´m really glad I had a chance to work von Verho - Curse of Faces! store.steampowered.com/app/3017330/...
THIS IS THE GOOD STUFF!!
November 12, 2025 at 9:37 AM
THIS IS THE GOOD STUFF!!
One thing I absolutely did NOT expect is Artdink bringing back Tail of the Sun of all games. I bought it back in the PS1-days and was equally baffled and intrigued. Artdink Game Log... I like the sound of this. And Aquanaut's Holiday is next! store.steampowered.com/app/4038680/...
November 12, 2025 at 9:36 AM
One thing I absolutely did NOT expect is Artdink bringing back Tail of the Sun of all games. I bought it back in the PS1-days and was equally baffled and intrigued. Artdink Game Log... I like the sound of this. And Aquanaut's Holiday is next! store.steampowered.com/app/4038680/...
30 years of Romancing SaGa 3 - the cover-art of this game alone is as amazing as it is inspiring. Back then a localized western release didn't happen, but a pretty neat remaster finally came out in 2019. And I would say: It certainly was worth the wait!
November 11, 2025 at 5:10 PM
30 years of Romancing SaGa 3 - the cover-art of this game alone is as amazing as it is inspiring. Back then a localized western release didn't happen, but a pretty neat remaster finally came out in 2019. And I would say: It certainly was worth the wait!
I finally found and bought this record and I regret NOTHING.
November 9, 2025 at 8:06 AM
I finally found and bought this record and I regret NOTHING.
Here's something nice for #randomgamesaturday: my copy of Burai Fighter for Famicom which I just bought yesterday. A friend's NES-version was maybe the first shooting game I ever played back around 1990 or so. I later got the excellent Game Boy port and now I finally have the original!
November 8, 2025 at 6:31 AM
Here's something nice for #randomgamesaturday: my copy of Burai Fighter for Famicom which I just bought yesterday. A friend's NES-version was maybe the first shooting game I ever played back around 1990 or so. I later got the excellent Game Boy port and now I finally have the original!
At least I didn‘t see any. However, I visited a lovely little used-games-shop.
November 7, 2025 at 8:41 PM
At least I didn‘t see any. However, I visited a lovely little used-games-shop.
Especially a shop Like fnac completely destroys all those sorry, desolate German Media Markts and Saturns. Lots of lovely comics, books, CDs, vinyl, games, movies... It's an absolute joy.
November 7, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Especially a shop Like fnac completely destroys all those sorry, desolate German Media Markts and Saturns. Lots of lovely comics, books, CDs, vinyl, games, movies... It's an absolute joy.
After a succesful day of teaching game history at Hochschule Offenburg, I went over to Strasbourg in france for a bit of walking, shopping and Flammkuchen. 100% worth it.
November 7, 2025 at 8:34 PM
After a succesful day of teaching game history at Hochschule Offenburg, I went over to Strasbourg in france for a bit of walking, shopping and Flammkuchen. 100% worth it.
For my game-romance-elective, I had a student play and prepare a presentation on Sakura Wars. After that, we discussed the game and its mechanics and took a look at later games in the series. The audience was duly impressed at SW2&3's intros - but they really cheered when they saw Sagitta from V!
November 6, 2025 at 8:07 PM
For my game-romance-elective, I had a student play and prepare a presentation on Sakura Wars. After that, we discussed the game and its mechanics and took a look at later games in the series. The audience was duly impressed at SW2&3's intros - but they really cheered when they saw Sagitta from V!
Straight from Japan: The beautiful @sdxgames.bsky.social - version of @yuzokoshiro.bsky.social 's and Makoto Wada's brilliant STG Earthion! I love that game and the whole SDX-package is once again top notch! Love their work!
November 4, 2025 at 11:58 AM
Straight from Japan: The beautiful @sdxgames.bsky.social - version of @yuzokoshiro.bsky.social 's and Makoto Wada's brilliant STG Earthion! I love that game and the whole SDX-package is once again top notch! Love their work!
Happy 30th birthday, Beyond the Beyond! I replayed a bit of it not too long ago and it didn't feel as bad as it's made out to be.
November 3, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Happy 30th birthday, Beyond the Beyond! I replayed a bit of it not too long ago and it didn't feel as bad as it's made out to be.
Crazyness!! It's legendary Virtual Boy Puzzler Virtual Lab for Mega Drive... Who could have expected that!! www.plutiedev.com/blog/20251103
November 3, 2025 at 4:24 PM
Crazyness!! It's legendary Virtual Boy Puzzler Virtual Lab for Mega Drive... Who could have expected that!! www.plutiedev.com/blog/20251103
Ooops, almost forgot that one. I reviewed Cooly Skunk - the official release of a long-lost Super Famicom Platformer from Ukiyotei!
November 2, 2025 at 8:19 PM
Ooops, almost forgot that one. I reviewed Cooly Skunk - the official release of a long-lost Super Famicom Platformer from Ukiyotei!
Then there's reviews of Yuzo Kishiro's and Makoto Wada's exceptional Earthion - it's all I had hoped it would be. Same goes for @falcom.co.jp 's Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter - a masterpiece. And finally, there's a long interview with Atari's CEO Wade Rosen. So yeah... I think this is a good issue.
November 2, 2025 at 8:06 PM
Then there's reviews of Yuzo Kishiro's and Makoto Wada's exceptional Earthion - it's all I had hoped it would be. Same goes for @falcom.co.jp 's Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter - a masterpiece. And finally, there's a long interview with Atari's CEO Wade Rosen. So yeah... I think this is a good issue.
... there's Final Fantasy Tactics. Man, I LOVE this game and I'm glad I could finally properly review a version. And you know what? I think the current one is the best iteration of this classic. Also in there: An interview with the directors of the game who I met at gamescom.
November 2, 2025 at 8:06 PM
... there's Final Fantasy Tactics. Man, I LOVE this game and I'm glad I could finally properly review a version. And you know what? I think the current one is the best iteration of this classic. Also in there: An interview with the directors of the game who I met at gamescom.
The new M! Games @maniaconline.bsky.social is out - if you read german, take a look, there's cool stuff in there! Like my article on my visit to Tokyo Game Show. And a look back at Terranigma und Secret of Evermore which were both released 30 years ago - I'm looking back at both of them. And then...
November 2, 2025 at 8:06 PM
The new M! Games @maniaconline.bsky.social is out - if you read german, take a look, there's cool stuff in there! Like my article on my visit to Tokyo Game Show. And a look back at Terranigma und Secret of Evermore which were both released 30 years ago - I'm looking back at both of them. And then...