Sega Saturn Retrospection #1: The Neon Genesis Evangelion Games

The original reason I picked up a Saturn all those years ago didn’t really have to do with videogames.  It was 1999, I was in fifth grade, and my father and I had just finished watching Neon Genesis Evangelion. Imagine finding out that there were video games set in this amazing series!

“Videogames?! Neato!”

Long Hiatus almost over, Brainstorming for a few more days.

One of the worst things you can do is take a long break from writing. Writing is something that is really hard to pick up after long hiatuses. I’m going to be a bit rough(e)r around the edges for the next couple posts as I get back into the rhythm.I’ve decided that the next few pieces I write about will have some sort of continuity.  I’m hoping to have the beginning of this project up hopefully next Monday.

What I really want to write about for a while is the Sega Saturn:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While the Genesis and the Dreamcast are generally adored, the Sega Saturn really never gets as much love as it should. Personally speaking, I actually prefer the Saturn to the Dreamcast and I hope with these upcoming posts I’m able to share why. With these next few posts I will walk through some of my favorite Saturn games as well as some…interesting games. I’m not entirely sure if I’ll go through my entire Saturn Library (not that its that big, really) but it might be kinda fun going back and brushing up on most of these games. I definitely have a few odd ones that might be worth writing about.

Guide Books in Japan don’t have to be complete it seems

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I thought BradyGame’s Final Fantasy IX game was pretty terrible because it literally told you to check online if you had trouble with the game, but this takes the proverbial cake.

Mitsubishi Minatomirai Industrial Museum and the progress of Gamification as an educational tool

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gamification  is the the attempt to apply game-like processes in non-game oriented fields in  hopes of engaging broader audiences. Its an idea that many have thrown around, but I personally haven’t seen it applied so well until today when I visited the Mitsubishi Minatomirai Industrial Museum. Its still not perfect, but I’d like to take some time to share the best application of Gamification as an educational tool.

Taito Arcade in Akihabara: some quick impressions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kind of got sidetracked for a while. Since I’m in Tokyo right now, I thought I’d write my impressions of four recent Arcade games I had the opportunity to play today.

The 10 NES 3DS Ambassador games are out but how many of them are good?

Because of the 3DS’ recent price drop, Nintendo has offered 20 free games for early adopters who spent the whopping 250 bucks for their 3DS before August 12th. Today, Nintendo released the first ten games part of the Ambassador program. Despite buying the system well the August 1th window of opportunity, I still somehow managed to get these games free. I believe these games will eventually be sold to the public and I’d to take this time to tell you which ones are worth purchasing and which ones should be avoided.

Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D

Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D could have been a great game. It could have been a full fledged game that could have taken the best of 4 and 5′s Mercenaries mode with  a couple of new additions. Saying that this is just a glorified 40 buck mini-game would be a lie. Its a glorified 40 buck mini-game that doesn’t even feel complete.

Bioshock 2

Its narrative may have been questionable, its ending may have been abrupt, but Bioshock 2 still winds up being a rather fun experience as long as you don’t take it too seriously.

How to Really Make the Doom 4 We All Want and Need

I took notice of an article on Kotaku earlier today written by Brian Crecente about what Doom 4 apparently needs in order to be a success. I agree with most of what he had to say, specifically the part about how the game should center more on number of creatures you should be shooting up at any given time. However, I reeled in horror when he said “A Compelling Story.“

Its already inevitable, but I just want to take some time to say why the last thing Doom 4 needs is a story.

Trauma Team

As a big fan of Atlus’ “Trauma Center” series, I have no idea why I put this game off for so long. Its definitely quite a departure from the series, but it ends up holding its own and is easily the best game in the series yet.