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Sky Rogue: Procedural Ace Combat at its Finest

I’ll be honest. I love games about aerial combat and dogfights when they’re simple pick up and play affairs. Toss me a super complex sim like Falcon 4.0 and I will probably crash and burn in record time. Thankfully, the Arcade Flightsim subgenre exists because of games like Ace Combat And Sky Rogue is very much influenced by that particular title and the subgenre as a whole. So, what’re you waiting for? Get into the cockpit, strap in, and let’s shoot down some bandits.

GET IT HERE: https://store.steampowered.com/app/381020/Sky_Rogue/

Also available on Nintendo Switch digitally

SPOLOUS EX: A Love Letter to Gradius…And it’s FREE!

So back in 1985, Konami released a really fun game called Gradius. For awhile it was actually a really big thing, but we haven’t seen a proper new one since Gradius V ever since Konami became well…What it has been for awhile now.

Thankfully at least one fan out there remembers the good old days, having created what is essentially a freeware, non copyright infringing tribute to one of the best vertical scrolling shooters of all time! I give you…

…No, I dunno how to pronounce it.

GENRE: Horizontal Shooter/Gradius Tribute

GET IT HERE (For Free!): https://suppon.itch.io/spolous

RetroNutcaseNovember 17, 2021November 17, 2021 Retro's Reviews No Comments

Mega Man Fully Charged Episode 14: Trust Your Guts, Man

Written by A. J. Marchisello

Directed by Gino Nichele

Rating: Awful

Guts Man tricks his way into Dr. Light’s home, then tries to get into his lab to steal something. The redesign of Guts Man is creative yet nonsensical, as if it was settled upon during committee so as not to confuse real little kids, though he’s still decent as a believable character. This is also supposed to be an episode that builds up the show’s underlying myth arc, but the attempt is ruined by it awkwardly ramming through its aesop and it being unable to decide if robots can or cannot eat human food.

CK20XXNovember 12, 2021November 15, 2021 Mega Man Fully Charged, Rendering Distance No Comments

Death’s Gambit Afterlife: Don’t Fear the Reaper

Death’s Gambit is a game that released a few years ago but didn’t get a whole lot of attention, because while it wasn’t a bad game, it felt like a very average one due to being underwhelming in a lot of ways.

Well, apparently the devs took that critique quite seriously, as now the game has been rebuilt from the ground up and re-released with a massive upgrade in the form of the Afterlife expansion. If you already have Death’s Gambit, it’s FREE! So let’s look on at how a game that I felt was ‘okay but nothing great’ has now become a must play.

GENRE: Soulslike Metroidvania

GET IT HERE: https://store.steampowered.com/app/356650/Deaths_Gambit_Afterlife/

Also available for PS4 and Switch digitally!

RetroNutcaseNovember 10, 2021November 26, 2021 Retro's Reviews, Steam Curation No Comments

Unsighted: Don’t Leave This One Unseen.

Unsighted is definitely something I’d qualify as a hidden gem this year, as it came out of nowhere for me, but ended up being one of my favorite titles of 2021. If you enjoy Metroidvanias and Zelda style games, this is definitely one you should take a look at! More on why after the jump. Though, I’m bolding this because it seems to always come up in conversation:

WHILE THE GAME HAS A TIME LIMIT AS PART OF ITS STORY/GAMEPLAY, IT CAN BE DISABLED. PLAY EXPLORER MODE AND DISABLE TIMERS IN THAT MODE.

GENRE: Topdown Metroidvania…yeah, it’s a thing.

GET IT HERE: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1062110/UNSIGHTED/

RetroNutcaseNovember 3, 2021November 3, 2021 Game Reviews, Retro's Reviews No Comments

Super Amazing Wagon Adventure: Less edu’ and more ‘tainment.

And it’s 100% historically accurate, yep. Completely.

GENRE: Historically Accurate 2D Shooter

GET IT HERE: Super Amazing Wagon Adventure (Steam)

So, back in the 80s, when I was but a wee lad in elementary school, I always enjoyed computer related clubs and activities when they were a thing. And there was one game that was EVERYONE’S jam back then. Oregon Trail. We lamented when we died of Dysentry. We cheered when we got lucky and found a random haul of loot we desperately needed. For many of us, this game was a part of our lives and conversations in and out of the computer lab. It was a game that taught us about risk vs reward, resource management, and planning.

Super Amazing Wagon Adventure is…None of this. It is however, clearly inspired by those days and brings us back to them with a very frantic and hilarious action focused take on the original Oregon Trail. Admittedly, this one’s a bit short, but to be fair, it’s a short game.

RetroNutcaseOctober 27, 2021October 27, 2021 Game Reviews, Retro's Reviews, Steam Curation No Comments

Mega Man Fully Charged Episode 13: I.C.E. In Case of Emergency

Written by Marcus Rinehart

Directed by Gino Nichele

Rating: Alright

Ice Man is back and still thinks he’s a hero. When he and Mega Man compete to put out the same fire, Mega Man comes away feeling that Ice Man is the superior savior. I originally thought this episode was genuinely good, but after seeing all of the cartoon and reading all the comics, it’s just gotten markedly worse on rewatches. It reminds me of the “Cold Steel” episode of the Ruby Spears cartoon, except instead of everyone standing around and letting things hit them, everyone acts uniquely bad at what they do. Otherwise it’s semi-entertaining.

CK20XXOctober 22, 2021October 22, 2021 Mega Man Fully Charged, Rendering Distance No Comments

Doom Mod Spotlight: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love RNG in DoomRLA!

Hoboy. This is it, the big one. I said when I did a deep dive into a Doom mod, this would be the first one. And I meant that. That all said, there’s gonna be a LOT to cover here. And I mean a lot. Also, technically this is *two* mods? With some various addons also available for it. I’ll mostly be focusing on the main mods that make up RLA though, RLA itself and its monster pack. So, if you want your Doom to have a more RNG based experience with a loot based system, tons of new monsters, but still want something that’s Doom at its core? Then read on!

RetroNutcaseOctober 20, 2021October 20, 2021 Doom Mod Spotlight, Game Reviews No Comments

Devil May Cry 3: Hideaki Itsuno’s Redemption Arc

A tale of brothers, and of a director’s redemption.

GET IT HERE: https://store.steampowered.com/app/631510/Devil_May_Cry_HD_Collection/

Also on Switch, PS4/PS5, Xbox One/Series X

Hoboy, this one’s gonna be a thing folks. Don’t get me wrong, Devil May Cry 3 is one of my favorite games, it’s amazing and everyone should play it. Why it’s gonna be a thing is the storied history of Devil May Cry, and now DMC3 is essentially the reason it’s even a series still. It’s the story of a man who didn’t want to go down in history as “The guy who directed DMC2” and created a miracle of a sequel. That said, there’s gonna be a bit a history lesson before the look at 3 proper, you have been warned.

RetroNutcaseOctober 13, 2021October 13, 2021 Game Reviews, Retro's Reviews, Steam Curation No Comments

Mega Man Fully Charged Episode 12: Opposites Attract

Written by Janis Robertson

Story by “Man of Action”

Directed by Gino Nichele

Rating: Awful

The Light family’s trip to a city park is quickly interrupted by Wave Man and Fire Man working together to drain the city’s water supply and turn it into fog. After Aki and Suna stop fighting with each other, they’re able to make Fire Man and Wave Man look like Scratch and Grounder.

CK20XXOctober 8, 2021October 8, 2021 Mega Man Fully Charged, Rendering Distance No Comments