Retrogames in 2023 had quite the year

January 8, 2024 palingenesisLeave 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.

I wish this Chrono Break trailer was for the real thing

August 27, 2018 palingenesisLeave a comment

It’s almost as awesome as it is painful to see: knowing that it isn’t happening is the worst part, but also seeing what a possible sequel to the beloved Chrono Trigger could look like is quite frankly awe inspiring.

For reference, Chrono Break was trademarked by Square, but nothing has ever come of it. Thankfully, the artist behind the beautiful looking Owlboy, Simon Andersen, has given us a glimpse of a game that never was.

Chrono Trigger surprisingly releases on Steam! But…

February 28, 2018February 28, 2018 palingenesisLeave a comment

I would be saying hooray! …But, this may not be the exact release you want. So, how could you release Chrono Trigger and mess it up? Well, maybe it has some annoying load times like the US PlayStation release?

Let’s not start with the negatives out right, but the good things the Steam version does.

It’s out on the PC, for everybody!
Extra dungeons from the DS port (arguably the best version right now)
Gamepad support
Autosaves
Other Steam goodies like trading cards, if you’re into that

So no, the load times aren’t an issue. But probably the main gripe everyone is going to have is this:

I mean, look at it! This is not the Chrono Trigger I remember. Sure, the interface is not my favorite, in fact I could probably deal with the new menus and be fine. However, two other things stand out. The font is ugly. It straight up does not fit the feel of the game. It’s huge, plain and out of place. Like the font itself is too modern looking for its own good.

Second is the graphics filter. You can tell the graphics are smoothed out in the Steam release, which initially isn’t a turn off, but the more I played it, the more it felt like I was looking at a blurry painting. The Steam release has some different colors, objects and a few other noticeable changes. For comparison, here’s a screenshot of what it should look like on the Super Nintendo.

At the very least, we got Chrono Trigger, again. Not exactly in the best form, but at least we got it. And I can’t not recommend this game to someone who hasn’t played it or doesn’t have another medium to play it on.

Final Fantasy IX now on PS4

September 19, 2017September 19, 2017 palingenesisLeave a comment

As apart of Sony’s Tokyo Game Show announcements, Square-Enix has released Final Fantasy IX for the PlayStation 4. Much like the re-released FFVII a few years ago, this release of FFIX sports some new features like trophies and some “boosters” like a no encounter mode.