Help me remain strong as I wait for the Vita version of VA-11 Hall-A to be released

I've been curious about Sukeban Games' VA-11 Hall-A, which the developer describes as a "cyberpunk bartender action" title, since I first became aware of it some time ago.

Considering publisher Ysbryd Games' finally made it available to the world yesterday, you might assume I'm currently feeling ecstatic. Unfortunately, you'd be wrong.

That's not because I've reconsidered my stance on this lovely looking visual novel, mind you. Rather, it's because only the Linux, Mac and PC versions of VA-11 Hall-A are able to be purchased at the moment.



The Vita iteration, the one I've been dreaming of playing since this deliciously retro title was unveiled, is nowhere to be seen.

Apparently it'll see the light of day later this year, if the word on the street is to believed, so in the meantime I've either got to sit tight until VA-11 Hall-A Vita hits both virtual and physical store shelves, or I've got to bite the bullet and buy the Mac release for a not-inconsiderable $14.99.

While I decide which path to take, check out the game's final trailer (above). Or, if you've already played some form of VA-11 Hall-A, share your thoughts on it in the comments section below.

My favorite games of 2015 (that actually were released in 2015)

Although I bought and played a lot of games in 2015, the sad truth is that not many of them actually were released this past year.

In fact, aside from the ones highlighted here, the only other released-in-2015 games I remember playing are BOXBOY!, The Legend of Kusakari, Nintendo Badge Arcade and Pokémon Picross.

Still, I think the trio touched on below are worthy of all the praise I can heap on them.

The Legend of Legacy (3DS)--If I were forced to point out my absolute favorite of the current-gen games I bought and played in 2015, this weird, distinctly Japanese RPG would be it. Don't take that to mean it's perfect or recommended for everyone or anything of the sort, though, as The Legend of Legacy often goes out of its way to be repetitive, tight-lipped (as in, its story is the definition of sparse) and hair-pullingly difficult.

Still, I put nearly 40 hours into The Legend of Legacy since I got my hands on a copy of it a couple of months ago, so clearly its developers did something right. Specifically, I consider the pop-up backdrops, watercolor aesthetics and surprisingly deep battles they created for this 3DS title to be spot-on.

I wouldn't have complained if they'd added a bit more pizazz to that last component, mind you, but even in its current, somewhat unfinished state, The Legend of Legacy is pretty great, in my humble opinion, and well worth the hard-earned cash I spent on it.

Rhythm Tengoku: The Best Plus (3DS)--Am I surprised that a lot of folks were let down by The Best Plus after digging into it? Not really. For starters, like me, they probably spent a long time looking forward to a new entry in this quirky series of rhythm games--and as we all know, that sort of thing usually leads to disappointment.

Two additional issues that surely pushed at least a few people down that same path: this title's "best of" nature (as in, most of its content is pulled from past Rhythm Tengoku releases) and its insistence on wrapping an unnecessarily chatty story around the included package of mini-games.

Although I'm just as guilty as anyone in being turned off by those "problem areas," I still walked away from The Best Plus happy that I added it to my collection. The new characters more than hold their own against those who were showcased in previous Rhythm Tengoku installments, and the new mini-games, while perhaps not as stellar as their predecessors, are well beyond passable.

In other words, there's plenty of fun to be had with The Best Plus if you lower your expectations a smidge and then just go with the flow.

Undertale (Mac)--Full disclosure: at this point in time, I don't consider Undertale to be a better (or more enjoyable) game than any of Nintendo's three Mother (aka EarthBound) titles. Granted, I'm pretty sure I've only experienced a fraction of what it has to offer so far.

Also, although I may not be as enamored with this unique RPG as some others are, there's no question I've loved every second I've put into it. The touching--and almost shockingly dark--story and pleasantly odd art style on offer here are obvious high points, but I also really appreciate Undertale's fresh take on old-school RPG battle scenes. As a result, I very much intend to blast my way to this game's finish line in early 2016.

Now that I've blathered on about my favorite games of 2015 (or at least those that actually were released in the last 12 months), please feel free to talk about yours in the comments section below.

See also: 'My favorite games of 2014 (that actually were released in 2014)' and 'My favorite games of 2014 (that were released before 2014)'

Two more reasons to back Indivisible on Indiegogo this week: it's being made by a gay guy and it's going to include LGBT content

First, the "gay guy" in question is Peter Bartholow, CEO of Los Angeles-based Lab Zero Games.

Second, Indivisible, in case this is the first you've heard of it, is a two-dimensional action RPG--inspired by both Valkyrie Profile and Super Metroid--that Bartholow and his team hope to release for PS4, Xbox One, PC, Mac and Linux in 2017.

For that to happen, though, Lab Zero Games has to raise $1.5 million. As of now, its related Indiegogo campaign has garnered just over $1.2 million, with less than five days left until its Nov. 24 deadline. (Go to indiegogo.com to learn more about Indivisible and to make a contribution.)

If you're still on the fence as to whether or not to hand over some of your own hard-earned cash for this intriguing effort, the following tête-à-tête--about Indivisible's origins as well as the gay content mentioned in the header above--with Bartholow may help nudge you toward the "yes" side of the equation.



The Gay Gamer: Indivisible's Indiegogo page describes the game as being inspired by Valkyrie Profile and Super Metroid. Why those two games? Were they simply games you enjoyed playing back in the day, or is there more to it than that?

Bartholow: Indivisible actually began as a pitch for another publisher--they requested something along the lines of Child of Light. So we all played it, and our main takeaway was that it was a hybrid platformer-RPG. We thought about other platformer RPGs, and Valkyrie Profile immediately came to mind, since it’s one of our favorite games.

As we thought more about Valkyrie Profile, we thought about what we’d like to change. The first thing we decided to do was remove the time limit so that players had more opportunity to explore and enjoy the game as they saw fit. And that got us thinking--RPGs typically have a strong exploration component, so what are platformers with a strong exploration component? Naturally, Super Metroid came to mind. The addition of new progression abilities and weapons fit nicely into Indivisible’s nascent story, and so we started heading down that route.



The Gay Gamer: You've also brought up Chrono Trigger in past interviews about Indivisible. How does that Squaresoft classic fit into all of this? Or to put it another way, which aspects of Chrono Trigger will be seen or heard or felt in the final version of Indivisible?

Bartholow: There are subtle touches here and there influenced by Chrono Trigger, such as how the enemies are in the environment and you fight them right there. But probably the main influence is our approach to the story. In Chrono Trigger, each era was sort of an episode focused on a particular character or characters who, in addition to being involved in that era’s story, also served as a guide for Crono and Marle to help them settle into the events they’ve stumbled into. So our goal is to give each region of Indivisible’s world and its story a similar feel, with interconnected episodes anchored by strong characters.

Shall We Do It? (The Legend of Legacy, Undertale and the Yo-Kai Watch demo)

Hey, I actually stepped away from The Legend of Legacy, which I've spent about 22 hours with so far, this weekend to play a couple of other games. Who would've thought?

As for the games that took my attention away from the FuRyu-developed, Atlus-published mentioned in the last sentence, they would be Undertale (for the Mac) and the just-released Yo-Kai Watch 3DS demo.

What follows are a handful of thoughts on all three of these intriguing titles.

The Legend of Legacy (3DS)--Why have I played this kinda-sorta RPG (more on that in a second) for more than 20 hours since it arrived on my doorstep two weeks ago? I guess it's because I like grinding. Or, perhaps more accurately, I guess it's because I really like this game's battle scenes. Sure, they're miles away from the fireworks-filled fights found in, say, SaGa Frontier, but they're still pretty fabulous--and fun. (In my opinion, of course.)

Can the battles here be tough as nails? Sure. In fact, they often are--especially when you start the game, or when you start a new area. For me, though, it's a welcome change of pace from the overly easy fights most RPGs offer up these days. Also, the steep challenge forces you to do what's needed--dig through the e-manual, scan GameFAQs, post questions on Twitter--to figure out the game's surprisingly intricate battle engine. When's the last time you had to do that in a modern game?

I also really like exploring each area and, in the process, filling out its map so I can sell it to the shopkeeper in what appears to be The Legend of Legacy's lone city for a few extra bucks. (If a place with a handful of buildings and citizens can even be called that.) Admittedly, I'd probably thoroughly scour each locale even if I weren't forced to do so, but I like that I'm awarded for it here.

I do wish there were more cities or towns or whatever you want to call them. And I also wish there were more people to talk to in those towns--or that the existing ones had more to say. (This includes the king, by the way, who seems pretty much useless after the first couple of hours.) That said, those same elements tend to be so much fluff in other RPGs, so maybe I should be happy that this one's developers decided to make it so they wouldn't get in my way as I work my way through this peculiar, portable adventure.

Undertale (Mac)--I almost feel like I should talk about this game here, as I'm only a smidge past where I was the last time I wrote about it.

In part, that's because I've focused more on The Legend of Legacy and the Yo-Kai Watch demo than I have on this game in the last week or so, and in part it's because I basically had to start over after I bought the full version of this EarthBound-esque RPG. (My previous comments were based on its demo.)

Something I can say here that I think I failed to mention in my earlier write-up about Undertale is that I'm head over heels in love with its soundtrack. Even at this early juncture, it's packed with the sort of amazing, earworm-worthy tunes that make you want to pause your playthrough so the notes can work their way into your bones.

Is that enough for me to heartily recommend handing over $10 for a copy of this digital title? Not entirely, but don't take that to mean anything horrible. After all, there are plenty of additional reasons to pick up Undertale if you're still on the fence about it--with the on-point, retro-inspired visuals, the genre-busting battles and the wittier-than-it-has-any-right-to-be text being three perfect examples.

Yo-Kai Watch demo (3DS)--I've been looking forward to playing Level-5's Pokémon-esque RPG for a long time now. Or maybe I should say I looked forward to it for a long time until I read some comments on line that suggested its battles are yawn-inducing.

Because of those remarks, I downloaded Yo-Kai Watch's North American demo with a bit of trepidation. Would I still like the game I'd pre-ordered some time ago, or would I wish I'd waited before making that decision? Thankfully, I was able to answer that question within a few minutes of booting up this teaser.

Specifically, I quickly figured out that the above-mentioned critics were wrong and that Yo-Kai Watch's fighting scenes were the polar opposite of boring. For me, they're electrifyingly frantic, and the mini-games at their core do an admirable job of keeping things very interesting.

Some other interesting aspects of this demo, in my humble opinion: the wonderfully charming character designs, the amazingly detailed setting and the appropriately energetic soundtrack.

Given all of that, it'll probably come as little surprise to hear that I'm feeling a lot more positive about my decision to pre-order Yo-Kai Watch after spending just 30 minutes or so with its just-released (in my neck of the woods, at least) demo.

Have any of you spent any time with the Yo-Kai Watch demo so far? If so, what do you think of it?

See also: previous 'Shall We Do It?' posts

We're nearly legal (aka The Nichiest Podcast Ever #17 is now available for your aural pleasure)

Are you the sort who likes to listen to silly people chat about video games during your free time? If so, you'll probably get a kick out of the latest installment of The Nichiest Podcast Ever.

What do Anne, Mollie and I blather on about this time around? A bunch of recently released and soon-to-be-released North American games, for starters, Also, a small handful of just-announced Japanese games.

Oh, and all of the above are niche-y as hell, of course.



We also spend a couple of minutes discussing our ever-embarrassing backlogs, with SaGa Frontier 2, We Love Katamari and The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D being a few of the games I singled out.

Finally, we pull out our favorite pom-poms and cheer on a trio of titles we think deserve a bit more attention. (Actually, my pick--the fabulously EarthBound-esque Undertale--has gotten a whole lot of love on line as of late, but I bring it up here anyway because I'm enjoying it so much.)

Sound scintillating? Point your Internet browser of choice to radio.morningproject.com--or search for "The Nichiest Podcast Ever" on iTunes, I guess--and have a blast.

A trio of spooky games I'm hoping to play between now and All Hallows' Eve

For those of us in North America--and any other locale where folks celebrate the holiday--it's that time of year again. And when I say "that time of year," I of course mean Halloween.

While my compatriots spend the next couple of weeks prepping costumes, planning parties and popping orange and black candies into their mouths, I'm going to spend them playing spooky games. Specifically, I'm going to play--or maybe I should say I'm going to do my best to play--the following trio of Halloween-appropriate titles.

Undertale (Mac)--The good news here is that I've already started playing this just-released, EarthBound-esque RPG. The bad news: I've only played about an hour and a half of it so far. I have no doubt that will change appreciably by the end of this coming weekend thanks to all of the grins and chuckles it's already produced.

My favorite aspects of Undertale at the moment, by the way, are its colorfully creepy "overworld" graphics, its wonderfully witty text and its unexpectedly unique gameplay. A highlight of that last component: if you want, you can dance, flirt or simply chat with baddies rather than beat them up during this title's battle scenes.

Corpse Party (PSP)--I put a small handful of hours into this game a couple of years ago while traveling for one reason or another. That playthrough came to a screeching halt, though, when I got stuck and couldn't figure out what to do next. Why didn't I turn to GameFAQs or some other online resource? I have no idea, I'm sorry to say.

Thankfully, I'm feeling decidedly less stubborn these days--especially after listening to my podcast pal, Mollie, rave about this original entry in the oddly titled Corpse Party series while we recorded the 17th installment of The Nichiest Podcast Ever a few nights ago. So, look for me to give the game a second chance (and write about it in one or more future blog posts) between now and the end of this month.

Clock Tower (Super Famicom or WonderSwan)--Can you believe I've never played any of the many versions of Clock Tower that have been released over the years? I can't. OK, so that's not completely true. I spent about 30 minutes with the Super Famicom release earlier this year, but I quickly gave up on that campaign when the game's scissor-wielding antagonist popped up and scared the living daylights out of me.

I can't guarantee the same thing won't happen again when and if I return to this pixelated horror title, but I can guarantee I'll do my best avoid it. Who knows, maybe playing it in black and white will help?

Any you playing any spooky, scary or otherwise Halloween-esque games this month? If so, which ones--and what do you think of them thus far?

Have you always wanted to play a visual novel featuring lesbian romances? Starlight Vega may be the game for you...

While recording the latest episode of The Nichiest Podcast Ever early last week, Anne (Lee, of the Chic Pixel blog) took the opportunity to educate shidoshi and I about an in-the-works visual novel (for PC) that will feature lesbian romances--an unfortunate oddity when it comes to this particular gaming genre.

That alone makes this game, called Starlight Vega, worth discussing, but what makes it doubly so--in my opinion, at least--is that it actually looks like it could wind up being pretty darn good.



I especially like its art style, which appealingly straddles the line between what's traditionally found in Japanese visual novels and what's usually created by your typical Western illustrator.

Starlight Vega's Kickstarter--which wraps up on May 22--surpassed its initial goal ages ago, but some of you may still want to invest in it given that its final stretch goal would allow for the creation of additional endings (including a "harem" one).

If you'd like to learn more about Starlight Vega, I'd suggest checking out its Kickstarter page, its official site, its Tumblr or its Twitter feed.

The Nichiest Podcast Ever turns 13

Not 13 years old, mind you. Thirteen episodes--or "takes," in shidoshi speak--old.

Anyway, another iteration of The Nichiest Podcast Ever is available for your listening pleasure, should you be a person who enjoys hearing a trio of fellow humans blather on about niche video games and systems.

As always, we cram a lot of niche-y game-y chatter into the latest episode, take, whatever you want to call it of the podcast. Among the topics covered this time around:

• the impending release of the New 3DS in North America
• the episodic visual novel, Harvest December, that's being localized by the folks at Circle Entertainment
• the many Japanese 3DS, Vita and even PC titles that supposedly are being worked on (for Western audiences) by the folks at Xseed
• the plethora of Vita game announcements that followed the holidays (one of which was tied to an English release of Steins;Gate)

Oh, and during our "Cheerleading" section, Anne declares her love for Pikmin 3 (Wii U), while I do the same--to various degrees--for Coming Out on Top (Mac), Woah Dave! (3DS) and Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley (also 3DS).

Speaking of which, look for me to expound on my feelings--both positive and negative--regarding The Lost Valley in a post that will be published tomorrow.

In the meantime, check out The Nichiest Podcast Ever 13 at radio.morningproject.com, if you dare.

Shall We Do It? (Coming Out on Top, Fantasy Life, Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley and Slime MoriMori Dragon Quest 3)

The first eight days of 2015 have been a bit tumultuous for me, I've got to say, but thankfully that hasn't kept me from putting a good amount of time into the handful of games that are named in the header above.

(I've also been working on my weeklong not-quite-playthrough of Okamiden, of course, but you'll have to wait until Monday to read my thoughts on it.)

Anyway, as is par for the course for these "Shall We Do It?" posts, here are a few impressions of the titles that have hogged my attention since the holiday season came to an end.

Coming Out on Top (Mac)--For the longest time, this gay dating sim completely avoided pinging my radar. Eventually, though, I noticed that its official NeoGAF thread was getting a lot of action (pun intended) and so decided to see what was causing all the hubbub.

Two playthroughs later, and I can report, without hesitation, that Coming Out on Top is a blast if you're into visual novels that drop you into the trousers of a cute college boy and then let you, well, get into the trousers (eventually, at least--assuming you do and say the right things) of other cute guys.

As is typical of the genre, you're probably going to have to turn to some sort of walkthrough if you want to nab some of these studs, but if you can get over that hump you'll likely get a kick out of it.

A couple of highlights for me so far: the ability to modify, on the fly, the facial and body hair of each of your potential paramours; the amusing and clever writing; and the surprisingly effective sex scenes.

Fantasy Life (3DS)--Last time I published one of these posts, I mentioned that I'd finished this RPG's main story. In the ensuing two or so weeks, I've chiseled away at its post-game adventure, the bulk of which takes place in a unique locale called "Origin Island."

That journey got off to a rather bumpy start, I'm sad to report, thanks to the fact that Fantasy Life's overt chattiness continues well into its bonus content. Once I finished skipping through all of that blather, though, it wasn't long before I was back to giddily bashing baddies with the best greatsword I could get my hands on (or make myself, as a blacksmith).

The DLC pack adds a bunch of new areas, enemies, materials and even pets to the proceedings, by the way, so it's well worth buying if you enjoyed the main campaign.

I've now spent just over 90 hours with the game, in case you're wondering, which means I've put more than 15 hours into the add-on content alone. Not bad for $9, if you ask me.

Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley (3DS)--Although I got this controversial cart for Christmas, I failed to get past its title screen until yesterday. I've only devoted about two hours to it since then, but even that brief foray was enough to make me wonder if maybe this game isn't as bad as it's been made out to be (by my Nichiest Podcast Ever cohort, shidoshi, among many others).

The Lost Valley certainly looks better than I was expecting it to based on screenshots, though that doesn't mean I consider it to be a visual standout among 3DS titles. I'm also finding its gameplay to be acceptably entertaining this far, so it'll be interesting if that holds true after I've devoted a bit more time to it (which I'm planning to do tonight and this weekend) or if my attention and affection will deteriorate to some degree.

Slime MoriMori Dragon Quest 3 (3DS)--Sadly, I've barely given this Rocket Slime sequel any love in the last week or so, although I made some good progress on it early on in the new year. I'm now out on the open seas, tracking down new lands to explore and taking on any and all enemy ships that attempt to trip me up along the way.

That's one of the few ways in which Slime MoriMori 3 differs from its predecessor (the game known outside of Japan as Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime), by the way; rather than offering players more of the fairly infrequent tank-on-tank battles that were present in the series' second game, this third title ups the ante and not only increases their number (and switches them from tanks to ships, obviously) but also makes them more random, which I have found to be a welcome addition to the Slime MoriMori formula.

Another nice change of pace: it's possible to alter and upgrade your ship this time around, although I've yet to acquire the materials needed to accomplish that feat (or if I have, I've failed to figure out how to make use of them).

Although I've got plenty of other games on my plate at the moment, I'm going to do what I can to make sure Slime MoriMori 3 retains a spot on it for some time to come, as it's nearly as enticing as the DS title that came before it and that ended up being one of my all-time favorite games for the system.

See also: previous 'Shall We Do It?' posts

What can I say? Guys with bouncy shovels (knights, especially) bring me to my knees...

Especially if they're pixelated. The guys, I mean. Actually, I kind of like pixelated shovels, too.

Anyway, the pixelated guy (and shovel) that's bringing me to my knees at this particular moment is the one showcased in the latest teaser trailer produced for Yacht Club Games' long-awaited, Duck Tales-esque platformer, Shovel Knight:



Shovel Knight is set to hit Steam as well as the Wii U and 3DS eShops on March 31, by the way. How many of you are planning to buy it--and which version(s) are you going to pick up?

Me, I'm going with the 3DS iteration. No question. Of course, I can't imagine you can go wrong with any version of this one.

Like someone just said on YouTube, this is some shovelware I can get behind

I can't be the only person who's kind of forgotten about this 3DS, Wii U and PC title since it found success via Kickstarter earlier this year, can I?

Regardless, it's back on my radar now--thanks to the following trailer, which found its way onto YouTube late last week.



My only issue with Shovel Knight and its makers, Yacht Club Games, is that it's not going to see the light of day until sometime in February.

Once it does, though, you can rest assured I'll be picking it up in form or fashion. At the moment I'm planning to buy the 3DS release, although it's possible I'll get the Wii U version instead (assuming I have a Wii U by then, of course).

Are any of you also champing at the bit to get your hands on this game?

It's like Crypt of the NecroDancer was made with me in mind

I don't know about you, but a name like Crypt of the NecroDancer doesn't really pique my interest. Tell me said game is rhythm-based roguelike that sports a retro-tastic art style, though, and you've got my attention.

The question is: will the aforementioned title, which is being made by the folks at Brace Yourself Games for both Mac and Windows, wind up being as fun to play as it appears to be in the following trailer?



I'm a little skeptical, I have to admit, but I'm also intrigued enough that I'll likely take the Mac version for a spin shortly after it's released.

The only thing that could keep me from doing that is Crypt of the NecroDancer's $15 price tag--something I'd be far more willing to put up with if it were attached to a console or even handheld release.

(Via penny-arcade.com)

I've fallen in love with a girl, and her name is Dove

Don't worry, folks, I haven't dumped my husband and gone over to the dark side. (I kid, non-gay readers.)

You see, the girl I've fallen in love with isn't real. Rather, she's the protagonist in an in-the-works "oceanic adventure game" called Sealark. Here's what Dove looks like:

As for who's working on this game: Chillicothe, Ohio-based programmer and pixel artist, Joshua Cross.

Sealark will be released for Windows, Mac and Linux sometime next year (July is the target, I believe) thanks to an enormously successful kickstarter campaign.

Said kickstarter doesn't end for 19 more days, by the way, so click on the link above if you'd like to join in (or if you'd just like to learn more about the project).

I pledged $10 myself over the weekend. I would have pledged enough to earn the "limited run physical copy of the game and OST" had it still been available, but it wasn't. Oh, well.

Anyway, to see even more of Cross' work, check out his deviantART page and/or his tumblr, Pigeon's Nest.

And the winners of the Wizorb Steam codes are ...

Notice how I said "winners" and "codes" as opposed to "code" and "winner"? That's because the gracious guys at Tribute Games gave me a total of three download codes for the Steam release of their brilliant Breakout homage, Wizorb.

Illustration by Yannick Belzil

How did I decide who will receive said download codes? I wrote all of your names on a piece of paper, cut them out, folded them up, tossed them into a hat and then had my husband draw the winners, that's how.

As for which names he pulled from my hat, here you go:

* diaglyph
* Kevin
* Marcus

Congrats, you three!

When you have a chance, let me know in the comments section below where I should send your code. If you'd rather not share your e-mail address here, feel free to contact me at bochalla(at) yahoo(dot)com.

To all of you who didn't win: Thank you for participating. Also, if you have any interest at all in Wizorb, I would highly recommend buying it. It's only $3 and it's packed with content that will keep you busy (and happy) for many hours.

See also: 'A somewhat gay review of Wizorb (PC and XBLIG)'

Oh, hey, auntie pixelante has released another awesome Flash game

It's called Dys4ia and, basically, it takes you through transgender game developer Anna Anthropy's rather tumultuous experiences with hormone replacement therapy.

I'm sure some will say it's not really a game, at least not in the traditional sense. My response to that: Anthropy's not exactly a traditional game developer, so what did you expect?

Anyway, I quite enjoyed my brief playthrough of Anthropy's latest Flash-based effort. I'm sure this will sound awfully odd, but it's kind of like an extremely linear WarioWare game, as each segment has you complete a (generally easy) task while reading a small bit of on-screen text.

Although such gameplay--if it can be called that--could be be boring in the wrong hands, in Anthropy's hands it's surprisingly compelling. Of course, it helps that she keeps things interesting by rarely calling on the player to complete the same "task" more than once.

As for Dys4ia's superficial aspects: Its pixel-based graphics are, as is seemingly always the case in an auntie pixelante game, superb, as is Liz Ryerson's spacey, new-age-ish soundtrack.

It only takes a few minutes to complete a single run-through of Dys4ia, so if you have the time and interest I'd highly recommend giving it a go (here) as soon as possible.

See also: Previous auntie pixelante posts

The Gay Gamer Giveaway™: Wizorb Edition

So, I received a rather surprising e-mail from Tribute Games' Justin Cyr last night. In said e-mail, Cyr let me know that PC and Mac versions of his company's maiden release, Wizorb, could now be bought, downloaded and played via Steam.

Cyr also sent me a promo code for this three-parts-Breakout-to-one-part-Zelda game, but since I already own both the PC and Mac versions of Wizorb (yes, I enjoyed it that much) I thought I'd give the code to someone who has yet to experience its excellence.



What do you have to do to be the someone who receives said promo code (which will allow you to download Wizorb from Steam for free)? Not much, really. Just leave a comment below between now and 9 pm PST on Sunday, March 18. On Monday morning, I'll toss all of the accumulated names into a hat and pull out the winner.

See also: Previous Wizorb posts

Another day, another Sugar Shooter 2 demo

Did you download the Sugar Shooter 2 demo that I mentioned in this post early last week? If so, you may want to head back to the Dudedle Studio blog shortly, as a brand spanking new demo of this upcoming, bara-tastic, bullet-hell shmup was added to the site on Friday.



Said demo not only includes a number of bug fixes and other improvements, but it also includes (as far as I can tell) a second stage. So, download away--especially if you're at all interested in shooting the clothes off of a bevy of cartoonish bodybuilders.

Are you ready to blast the underwear off of another set of buff baddies?

You bet I am--especially if the bosses who appear in Sugar Shooter 2 are as cute (and, yes, as hot) as those who were featured in the first Sugar Shooter.

Unfortunately, I won't know if that's the case or not for a while, as this Mac/PC-based bullet-hell shmup, although finished, has only been sent to those who pre-ordered it thus far.

A note on the Dudedle Studio blog promises it will be made available to the rest of us shortly after the Japanese version drops on (or around) Feb. 19, though, so at least there's that.

In the meantime, why not busy yourself (as I am) by playing through the Sugar Shooter 2 demo that can be downloaded here?

Five additional games I'm looking forward to playing in 2012

If you failed to see yesterday's post--which covered the first five (of 10) games that I'm looking forward to playing in 2012--check it out here.

For those of you who read (if not thoroughly enjoyed) that post, here are the final five games I'm hoping to get my grubby little hands on at some point in the next 12 months:

Mario Tennis (3DS)--I've mentioned before that I'm a tennis nut, right? If not, now you know. I'm also a huge fan of Nintendo's Mario Tennis games--especially its portable ones. The 3DS iteration looks to be the best of both worlds: It's got the great graphics of the console versions and the take-it-anywhere fun of the handheld versions. Will it have an RPG mode, too? My fingers and toes are crossed in the hopes that it will.

Ni no Kuni (PS3)--The Japanese version of this Level-5 RPG--made in partnership with the folks at Studio Ghibli--bombed and reviews of it weren't much better, but you know what? I'll probably buy the North American version regardless shortly after I finally obtain a PS3 (hopefully sometime in 2012). It simply looks too good to pass up, even if it ends up being a bit of a bore.

Rhythm Heaven Fever (Wii)--In all honesty, this may be the game I'm most looking forward to playing in 2012. Why? I enjoyed the hell out of its predecessors--the import-only original, made for the GameBoy Advance, and its DS-based sequel, released in 2009--and I'm fully expecting to love the hell out of this one, too, especially since it takes the series back to its roots and uses buttons only (as opposed to waggle).

Sugar Shooter 2 (Mac/PC)--I've never had as much fun shooting the clothes off of a muscle-bound baddies as I did while playing the original Sugar Shooter last year. As such, I'm chomping at the bit to do more of the same as soon as this sequel--which will be made available to Mac as well as PC owners this time around--hits the streets (or at least the Internet) sometime next year.

Xenoblade Chronicles (Wii)--Can you believe this open-world RPG will be coming to North America in 2012? I can't. I'm glad it is, though, as I desperately want to play it. Don't tell anyone, but this will be my first Monolith Soft-developed game. Yep, that means I've never played any of the Baten Kaitos (GameCube) or Xenosaga (PS2) titles. Just proves there's a first time for everything, eh?

Now that I've rambled on (and on and on) about the games I'm itching to play in 2012, which ones are all of you looking forward to experiencing in the coming year?

A few belated thoughts on A Closed World

Although A Closed World, the free online game made by the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab that aims to explore queer issues within the confines of an RPG-like environment, has been out for a few months now, I avoided playing it until earlier this week.

Mind you, I didn't intentionally ignore it. I remember reading about its release with more than a little interest, but for some reason I can't recall at the moment it fell off my radar before I got around to playing it.

How'd it get back onto my radar? While chatting with the Gayme Bar guys last week, one of them brought up the game as a good example of how the medium can address and otherwise tackle LGBT issues.

Feeling like an idiot for not having played it, I vowed to do so the very next day. That I did--and then some, as I played through the game three or four times over the course of about an hour (mainly so I could see how things differ when you choose to play as a male or female).

My initial impressions based on those playthroughs: It's ... interesting. I of course like that the game tries to depict the struggle of being "different" (whether that means being queer or being a minority or an outcast in other ways), but with just a few exceptions A Closed World's story is a bit too awkward and heavy-handed for me. Also, it can be confusing at times, as you aren't always sure who you're dealing with or where you're supposed to go or what you're supposed to do. (Thankfully, the game's map is tiny, so you can only wander around like a lost puppy for so long.)

On the plus side: The game's graphics, especially those found in its turn-based, rock-paper-scissors battle scenes, are quite pretty. Its soundtrack is similarly appealing.

I don't want to say much more than that right now, as I'm currently in the middle of writing a "somewhat gay review" for this game (expect it to be published sometime in the next week or two) and I'd rather save most of the pro-versus-con discussion for that post.

In the meantime, I highly recommend giving A Closed World a go--whether you're a member of the LGBT community or not. Yes, it's flawed in many ways, but for the most part I think it's admirably so. Also, it's sure to prompt you to consider how future games should tackle these same issues. For that reason alone, I think playing through A Closed World once or even twice is well worth anyone's time.

Play: A Closed World