Tag: capcom

Retrogames in 2023 had quite the year

DavidLeave a comment

The video game industry saw plenty of high-profile releases and announcements in 2023. Retrogames were no exception to this. Even going into 2024, I can’t shake the feeling that 2023 was one of the best years in gaming ever. From Tears of the Kingdom to Baldur’s Gate 3, there was plenty to talk including some of the remakes. Here is a not so all encompassing and a not so chronological list of the retrogame related happenings from the past year.

Two scary good horror remakes start off the year

Capcom

                Both Dead Space and Resident Evil 4 stun players by recreating their genre defining gameplay.

Persona 4 Golden widens its release and Persona 3 Reload announcement

Atlus / Sega

                Fans of the series can finally play these JRPG staples in more places and an ambitious remake for Persona 3 are announced in 2024.

Goldeneye comes to Xbox

Rare / Nintendo

                Not much else to say here, this FPS legend deserves every bit of its praise.

Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition also arrives for Xbox platforms

Microsoft

                This undisputed classic needs no introduction, and this particular entry is always welcome.

Metroid gets a prime remaster

Nintendo / Retro Studios

                It’s a fantastic release and a very welcome update, full of graphical enhancements and modernized controls.

Final Fantasy music and gorgeous pixels

Square Enix

                The Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters see a much needed console release and we get a wonderful collection of works from veteran video game composers in Theatrhythm Final Bar Line.  

Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection

Capcom

                A much beloved series of games is rereleased for modern systems with better-than-expected sales. Mega Man Legends ports anyone?

System Shock comes back

Nightdive Studios               

This release reviewed well, the cult classic is finally given justice.

Double Dragon barely leaves a trail

Maximum Games

                Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons looks cool but is barely mentioned after its release.

Long dormant mechs rise again

FromSoftware Inc., Bandai Namco Europe S.A.S

                Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon went on to become one of the best action games of the year and Front Mission 2 Remake is released.

Sea of Stars releases

Sabotage

                Comparisons to Chrono Trigger were made and excellent art styles brought this to the forefront of many headlines this year.

Gargoyles Remastered

Disney

                Another Disney platformer sees a formal release away from the confines of history.

Metal Gear Solid Master Collection is a master of none

Konami

                These broken and wonky ports receive heavy criticism from hardcore fans and Konami promises to fix them with updates and support into 2024.           

November brings us two amazing remakes from the golden era of RPGs

Nintendo / Square Enix

                Star Ocean: The Second Story R gets new features and a well liked 2D/3D visual update. Meanwhile, Super Mario RPG is recreated from the ground up, but remains largely faithful to the late SNES release.

Fortnite brings back the original map

Epic Games               

Perhaps for pandering reasons, but still a wild success.

Square Enix has us drooling for more Final Fantasy

Square Enix

                The second installment of the Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy is shown in 2023 and is set for the early months of 2024.

The Mega Man X stage select theme is amazing

DavidLeave a comment

You probably already know that it is. I was actually trying to compile a list of some of my favorite character/stage select themes and I could only come up with a few that I really liked. For example, the Street Fighter II and Mega Man 8 are pretty great, but nothing matched the affinity I had for the X1 theme.

But, let’s start with the ones I do like. Street Fighter II. It progresses nicely, doesn’t get on your nerves when it repeats and prepares you mentally for the fight, as all character select music should do.

 

 

And the aforementioned Mega Man 8 stage select song is decent too. It pulses with a great dance beat and synths that are easy going. It’s also kinda upbeat and doesn’t over do itself by being too complicated.

 

 

Street Fighter III: Third Strike definitely goes for something different. It’s hip-hop, funky and just down right cool sounding. It might be the only video game rap song that doesn’t sound dumb as you listen to it. It’s straight dope!

 

 

Nothing hits harder than the Mega Man X stage select theme. And I mean nothing. Just listen to the guitar riff, the snare drum and driving bass… it gets you pumped and ready for battle.

 

 

This song is just begging for a great hard rock or heavy metal cover. And I found a few that are actually pretty good. What actually surprised me the most was how good it could sound remixed on a Sega Genesis. Still, not as good as the Super Nintendo original.

 

 

Basically, we’ve learned that Capcom makes the best character and stage select music, ever.

The Top 3 best NES games to play on Halloween

DavidLeave a comment

Yes, this is missing a lot of horror games from the NES library like Maniac Mansion, Friday the 13th etc. but these are my favorite.

Monster Party

Monster_Party_Box

This game might fly under the radar for many, but it should not be ignored. Like most games on the NES, it’s a 2D platformer. But where it differs is in style. Halfway through the first level, the visuals and music change from odd and bright to dark and foreboding. Aside from its weird translations, this is well worth your time. Don’t miss out on this!

Castlevania

Castlevania_NES_box_art

What is Halloween without vampires? Nothing needs to be said about this action side scrolling classic that hasn’t already been said. This game set the stage for many of its kind and is still a treat to play to this day.

 

Ghosts ‘n Goblins

GhostsnGoblins_flyer

Another arcade classic! Everybody should know this painstakingly hard game. It can be cheap, but that’s how games were back then. And yeah… to the get the real ending, I hope you have patience and skill. Or you could just watch the ending like a normal person.

Mega Man Legends 2 to hit PSN in April

DavidLeave a comment

The Mega Man Legends series had a minimal splash on the original PlayStation upon release and throughout the years. The first installment was even ported to the N64 and had a sequel only released for the PlayStation, printed in low quantities. Mega Man Legends 2 now fetches a hefty price at retailers and in online auctions, some times breaching $125 US, much more if the copy is factory sealed.

However, a much lower price tag would make the great and overlooked MML2 a more viable prospect to gamers. The PlayStation Blogcast recently announced that the game would be available in April 2016 on the PSN Store. Like most other PS1 games that are released on the PSN, it can be assumed that it will only be compatible with the PS3 and Vita handheld system.

With this addition hitting PSN, it would make the trio of PlayStation Mega Man Legend games complete (Mega Man Legends, Mega Man Legends 2 and The Misadventures of Tron Bonne).