Today we have five reasons why you need to be excited for the MMO-ARPG Hybrid, Wild Buster: Heroes of Titan!
Yearly Archives: 2017
Cat Lovers Rejoice! Purrfect Date now available on Steam
Do you love Cats? I mean, do you really love Cats? Bae Team alongside Bossa Studios has put together Purrfect Date, where a human character dates a variety of cats on a mysterious island. Six main story chapters await, where the player adopts the role of several freshly employed research assistants on an island dominated by cats. There’s a mysterious, shady history here, and it is up to you to uncover it. And also romance a variety of cats, with multiple paths for the player to choose from, as well as 18 different endings. And it’s live now!
“They said we could make a game about anything,” says the game’s creator Oliver Hindle. So we made a game about humans dating cats. 10/10, would gamedev again.”
Ragachak’s Worst RPGs of All Time
by Jason Parker (Ragachak)
So I guess the salt mines are a popular tourist location. It’s with that in mind I sat down today with my top scientists and came up with the (in my estimation) worst RPGs of all time. The ones that were the most disappointing, had the worst plot twists/game mechanics/were just all around awful. There are some honorable mentions though. Like Quest 64. It was barely an RPG! It had no save points, and it was an RPG on the Nintendo 64. It had absolutely no redeemable qualities, but I did not play more than about 15 minutes of it, so I could not justify it being on this list. Everything on this list I have played a physical copy of in my life, and they left an indelible mark on my soul. Another honorable mention is Final Fantasy 8. I know, I know. So many people love this game. It had incredible, unique systems, from Junctions and GFs. I loved it. Until I got to Disc 3. The storyline “swerve” made my blood boil and I will never forget how it made me feel. I actually threw it out of the window of my home in High School, into the street. Whizzed through the air like a frisbee made of garbage.
Other notable ones were Friday the 13th, honestly, either one. They aren’t traditional RPGs, more Survival Horror. But Friday the 13th from LJN was a style of RPG, playing various characters, saving people while trying to survive Jason and his Mother. The map didn’t make sense, there were unavoidable hits, the map didn’t make sense, it was hideous and frustrating, and the map didn’t make sense. Seriously, you could be walking east, only to find you were walking north. This was actually a very difficult list to pair down and rate because there are some insanely bad games, but many of them I did not play. Like Custer’s Revenge, Ogre Battle 64: A Person of Lordly Caliber, and Plumber’s Don’t Wear Ties. Seriously, there’s some real trash out there. I’m willing to bet at least something on this list won’t be agreed with, but that’s okay. Let the salt and bad memories flow!
5. Breath of Fire 4: This one was almost tied with Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter/5 because they were both pretty equally terrible. But Breath of Fire 4’s greatest crime is coming after Breath of Fire 3. The first three Breath of Fire games were gorgeous, intense, and incredible stories. Then … Breath of Fire 4 happened. It was boring, easy, and while it was still pretty to look at, it was nothing compared to its predecessors. Overall, Breath of Fire 4 is not the worst, but it’s the least-best of its entire franchise. It wasn’t bad, just … very disappointing. I’d never pick 4 over 2 or 3, not in a hundred years. I feel like 3 was the plateau, where the series was as good as it was going to get. Each subsequent game just got worse, and worse, and worse. It also had one of the worst camera controls in any game I’ve played. It was just dreadful. Breath of Fire 4 had a great deal of promise, but when compared to the other games that came before, it just seemed like a serious step-down.
4. Suikoden Tactics: I love the Suikoden franchise. It’s based (loosely) on the Chinese Novel Shui Hu Zhuan also known as Water Margin. It’s one of the great Chinese classics and follows the tales with 108 heroes, and that’s what you get in most of the Suikoden games. An epic, oft-overlooked story with an incredible combat system and a ridiculously fun Rune system. There was no need to change the Suikoden franchise into a SRPG/Tactics game. The actual stage maps weren’t so bad, but again, it’s definitely a case of having a good thing, then mucking it up. The story didn’t make a bit of sense to me (which apparently, you had to play Suikoden IV to get it. Up, until that point, I had only played through III). Many of the battles felt incredibly unforgiving and frustratingly difficult, unless you spent a lot of time grinding and leveling everyone. Even then, like in Final Fantasy Tactics, the main fights level with you. This game just kept reminding me that I’d rather be playing Final Fantasy Tactics. I might enjoy it more if I had played Suikoden IV, or not been familiar with the franchise as a whole, just taking it as an SRPG.
3. Final Fantasy Tactics: Advanced: So many of these games simply don’t live up to their predecessors. Another prime example of this is FFTA. God, did I hate this. Final Fantasy Tactics is one of my favorite titles of all time, with a gripping story about the hazards of religion and being overzealous, of mercenaries, gods, and men. Everything about it compelled me and drew me in and I spent hundreds, if not thousands of hours playing it, trying different teams and combinations, despite only having one story to play. But FFTA was childish, silly and boring. FFT was about the hazards of being a human, about the difficulties of religion, love, and betrayal. FFTA was Yay friendship! The two just don’t compare on any level. The only positives were 1. Moogles were awesome and 2. Still Moogles. I thought the “Judge” system was interesting, but it was incredibly frustrating, forcing me to play in ways that I had no desire to, or did not have set up yet, such as “No Melee Characters” on a map where… guess what, I only had melee characters. The things that make FFTA better are 1. Less Linear, and 2. You can take it with you. But even then, that doesn’t work since FFT: War of the Lions is on mobile/PSP/Vita. It’s like going from The Wheel of Time or Game of Thrones, then reading Hop on Pop afterward. It had cool ideas with incredibly clunky inception. And starting the game with a snowball fight? Ehh …
2. Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub Zero: Far and away the worst idea in the entire Mortal Kombat franchise. Well, the idea is awesome. Going through the backstory of Sub Zero? An action-RPG side scroller where you play as one of the coolest Mortal Kombat characters? In particular, the N64 version is far worse, since it didn’t have the power to have the admittedly awesome cutscenes on the PSX version. Maybe “awesome” is a bit generous. . .It’s a shadow of what it could have been. A pale shade, an imitation of a Mortal Kombat game. It was a fool, a fool in man’s shoes. The controls are the absolute worst, the difficulty spikes in crazy, unforgivable ways. Trying to use the special moves is laughable at best, and the combo system may as well not even exist. Almost everything gets blocked or dodged, and having to unlock Sub Zero’s moves, while a cool concept, is really frustrating in the early going. Hell, it’s frustrating forever, because this game is just actual garbage given shape. I love the idea, and as a kid, I was a big MK fan. I wanted to know more about the characters, and if they had tried it with better technology/a better idea of what a video game is, it could have been glorious. I could not believe how terrible and stiff the controls were. In addition, having a Run button (because MK3 had one) was such a bad idea. Is it so hard to double-tap to run? Is it really? There are positives, at least. The blood and gore are still there, and the sound effects are the same awesome Mortal Kombat effects. But the enemies made no sense, and were often generic or boring. If this was your first experience in Mortal Kombat, you probably wouldn’t have a second.
1. The Legend of Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon: Oh. Dear. When I was a kid, my stepfather worked at Brendles, and they had a Phillips CD-I unit, where I could play lots of the games while I waited for him to get off work. “Lots” again is a bit of a misnomer. But I did play Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon and I even played it before I played my favorite Zelda (Link to the Past) because I didn’t have an SNES quite yet. I didn’t own A Link to the Past until adulthood but thank god for friends. So, Wand of Gamelon. I had to pick between the three CD-I games, but since I only played this one for any real length of time, it gets the nod for worst RPG of all time. But what’s so bad about it? First of all, the CD-I isn’t even really a gaming machine. It’s a CD player with graphical designs. The art for the cutscenes was creepy and nightmare-inducing. But you could play as Zelda! As a sidescroller with Zelda as the main character, I was pumped. Until you know, I played it. The controls actually worked pretty well as far as I remember, but having to jump with up, that was no good. Not to mention, pinpoint, perfect accuracy is needed for everything in this game. There were no real major villains except, I guess their poundland, garbage version of Gannon. Which you throw an object at him to kill him.
It’s not even a fight! The item screen is blood-boilingly angry, and this isn’t a tribute or a love letter to the Legend of Zelda franchise. It’s a “Dear John” letter. It’s a “We need to see other people”. A “I’m divorcing you”. It’s an insult. I don’t know what they were thinking, but it clearly wasn’t “We need to make a video game”. From requiring all those damn ropes and lamp oil to walking down and up platforms, side to side, in a side-scrolling game, to having maps that don’t make sense (not being able to figure out what you can walk through/past, jump on, et cetera). The sound effects are tripe, the enemies are generic and disappointing, nothing about this is worth it. Nothing. It has no redeemable features whatsoever. It is far and away the worst RPG, if not one of the worst games that has ever been produced. I hesitate to even call it a game. I played it because I had nothing better to do at the time. Though in all honesty, that time would have been better spent using the CD-I Encyclopedia disc. At least I’d learn something more than disappointment.
What about you guys? Worst RPGs of all? Let me know!
The Chronicles of Tekken, Part 2 – The End of an Era
By Keith Harris (ShinobiGatana), Guest Writer
Tekken is one of the most notable game franchises in the world. One where multiple real martial arts techniques are almost brought to life in video game form, eg. Tai Kwon Do, Capoiera, Karate and more. The franchise carried over from the arcade, to the original PlayStation, PlayStation Portable ( PSP), and then the PlayStation 2 (PS2). This is the story of the end of the PS2 Era of Tekken.

After a three year hiatus, Tekken returned with a vengeance in 2004 in the arcades. One short year later, Tekken 5 made it’s debut on the PS2. Like it’s predecessors, Tekken 5 can be played in a single player, or local co-op versus, up to and including an eight character team battle. It introduced such characters as Asuka Kazama who is a fiery teen who utilizes the Kazama style Karate like her spiritual predecessor, Jun Kazama. Raven is a mysterious shinobi who, unlike Yoshimitsu, and the former Tekken 2 character Kunimitsu don’t use the same, or similar martial arts styles, differentiating him from the previous shinobi in the series. Devil Jin is the identity taken by Jin when his ‘devil gene’ activates. Devil Jin takes on portions of both his parents martial arts forms, Jun and Kazuya, as well as gains the ability to shoot energy beams from his eyes, and flight incorporated into a at least one of his throws. There were ‘more characters than you could shake a stick at’ when Tekken 5 hit the shelves. If it was meant to impress, impress it did.
Tekken 5 also brought in a new game mode called The Devil Within. It replaced the more clumsy Tekken Force mode of Tekken 3 and 4. In this mode, Jin Kazama is the focus.. Unlike the last two 3D side games, this one is not a standard beat’em up. This is a full on platforming game, with armies to be fought. The maze of levels have you figuring out which way to turn, as it’s not made to be a straight, linear journey. You face a returned Ogre from Tekken 3 (who is not playable in Tekken 5, sadly), and other bosses which made for an interesting adventure.

Tekken 5 also allowed you to play a quick demo of one of their earlier attempts at a 3D star shooter called Galaga as the game initially opens, and before the title screen is ever seen. But not to worry. If that is your type of game, or you truly enjoyed it, the full game is unlockable, but not for extra cash. Tekken 5 was a game brought to us before the world of DLC invaded Tekken so heavily. This game also rewarded you for your determination. After completing certain criteria, the arcade versions of Tekken 1, 2, and 3 are unlocked and available for single, or local co-op action.
Tekken 5 was also the last Tekken game for the PlayStation 2, leading the way into the next generation of systems. It ended the era of some of the fiercest and most well balanced of 3D fighters. While I could go on about the ins and outs of how Tekken is about the story of the Mishima Zaibatsu and the ongoing feud between three generations of Mishima/Kazuma, why take away that experience from you. It is something to be taken in on it’s own and played to a gamer’s content. To avoid any confusion, I will avoid the Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection on the PSP, although it will be mentioned for a brief reference in the Tekken 6 article as it introduces two new characters not seen in the standard edition of Tekken 5 on the PS2, but are seen in Tekken 6.

Next time we will go into something far deeper, far more intense than any Tekken before it. I refer to the first foray into the Tekken franchise on the PlayStation 3, and for the first time… The Xbox 360. Tekken 6, and the notoriously brutal Scenario Campaign.
Get Ready!
Keep on rocking gamers, and remember to keep the fighting in the game!
Starfighter: Infinity
Starfighter: Infinity is a sci-fi open-world MMORPG set in a massive universe of endless possibilities. Explore the vastness of space and all that it contains including completing missions, leveling up, crafting powerful weapons, collecting new ships, and generally going on memorable adventures by yourself, with a friend, or in direct opposition of other players. Available for Windows and OSX.
Features:
Ace of Space: Engage in top-down skill based dogfighting combat where fast-paced action is a result of keen piloting skills and a diverse arsenal of guns, auxiliary systems, and augmentations.
Galactic Wanderer: Discover new quests in answering distress calls, investigating anomalies, and journeying into dangerous locations such as asteroid fields, ancient alien relics, and black holes.
Power and Influence: Create or rep a player run organization featuring representative colors, titles, logos, ships, and even perks that extend to nearby merchants and NPCs.
Brief Battles
Brief Battles is an over-the-top solo or local co-op/multiplayer arena platformer where you will live and die by the underwear. Hold on tight to your favorite kind of undies and head to various hazardous stages to do battle against like minded foes. Available for Windows and the Xbox One.
Features:
Boxer Briefs, the Spork of Undergarments: Gain ridiculous powers based on what you’re wearing. For example, squeeze into the Leopard Print speedo to lunge at foes with deadly claws, or crank up the heat in the Flaming Hot Pants for powerful fireball launching capabilities.
No Shame: Start by learning how to play by taking on solo challenges and quickly make your way to the hectic free-for-all and hilarious team based game modes as well as various other co-op’able activities centered around destroying or collecting underwear as fast you can.
Everywear: Shoot, stick, jump, and run across a series of wacky interactive stages including the acid spilling Crystal Cavern and the vertigo inducing Precarious Peaks.
Summoners Fate
Summoners Fate is a F2P turn-based strategy game set in a fantasy world filled with grand adventures to undertake, fast and fun top-down tactical combat to fight through, and hundreds of cards to collect along a rich single-player journey. Craft your ideal deck, use synergistic combos, and annihilate enemies room by room for unimaginable riches, new playable characters, and an assortment of unique spells. Available for Windows, OSX, iOS, and Android.
Features:
Into the Heart of Darkness: Uncover the mystery behind the steep increase in enemy encounters.
Conservation Effort: Carefully manage your various resources to stay strong for the long haul even in challenging raids and dungeons.
The Puppet and the Master: Face off against other players from any platform from anywhere in the world either via real-time or asynchronous play. Additionally, you will be able to take on an A.I. opponent that utilizes decks made by other players.
War Robots VR
War Robots VR is a sci-fi first-person shooter where you will take operational control of a giant robot in a world torn apart by a never ending global war. Experience the fast-paced action and jaw dropping immersion of virtual reality in a short F2P single-player teaser or in the upcoming PVP multiplayer. Available for Windows.
Features:
To Hell and Back: Uncover the reasons why you and your squad have been sent to a city ravaged by constant conflict.
Jaegermeister: Customize your mech with 12 different robots and weapons for a whopping 30 unique loadouts.
Pilot of the Ages: Show off your handling skills on 5 diverse maps in either an every-man-for-himself free-for-all, or in a coordinated team deathmatch.
Note: An Oculus Rift or HTC Vive VR headset is current required to play.
Starfighter: Infinity Kickstarter Trailer
Discover the endless amount of adventures waiting for you in a universe of infinite possibilities!
Brief Battles Kickstarter Trailer
Grab a couple friends, strip down to your underwear, and engage in ridiculously over-the-top platforming arena shenanigans!






