hg101

Rock n' Rage

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/rock-n-rage/

A silly pop music themed run-and-gun from Konami, originally published in the Contra and Other Konami Classics book. 

“Ii desu tomo” – Golbez’s Famous Line

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/ii-desu-tomo-golbezs-famous-line/

A little bit about a famous line from the Japanese version of Final Fantasy IV, sort of their equivalent to "you spoony bard!"

Bubsy 3D: Bubsy Visits the James Turrell Retrospective

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/bubsy-3d-bubsy-visits-the-james-turrell-retrospective/

Well, since there's a new Bubsy game out for some reason, might as well canonize this goofy, not-really-legit quasi-game from Arcane Kids. We'll probably be reviewing the actual one too, once we figure out who's picked the short straw.

Alan Wake

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/alan-wake/

Remedy's follow-up to Max Payne, focusing more on Stephen King and Twin Peaks rather than crime noir.

Top 47,858 Games of All Time Episode 74 - Deathtrap Dungeon, Neverending Nightmare, Spirits of Xanadu (Patreon bonus)

Join the HG101 gang as they freak out to a deathrap nightmare, oh yeah. Patreon bonus for this episode is Spirits of Xanadu.

Heiankyo Alien 3671

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/heiankyo-alien-3671/

A re-imagining of the classic late 70s/early 80s arcade game, redone in a fashion similar to Pac-Man Championship Edition. This isn't the only resurrection of this game, because there's a homebrew Famicom game that recently came out too.

Anyway, I never cared much for the original game, but this one's a lot of fun. The site's articles on the ...

Costume Quest

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/costume-quest/

Double Fine presents Halloween as a Japanese-styled RPG.

Light and Shadows: Wolfenstein II Visual Glitches

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/light-and-shadows-wolfenstein-ii-visual-glitches/

I hadn't updated my video card drivers in forever, and it turned Wolfenstein II into a surreal, artistic, Nazi-killing experience.

Medievil

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/medievil/

Sitting along the likes of Spyro and Crash, Dan the undead knight starred in a small series of 3D action-platformers for the PlayStation 2, later briefly resurrected for a PSP outing and an appearance in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale.

500 Word Indies: Press X to Not Die

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/press-x-to-not-die/

 Press X To Not Die aims itself to be a return to the age of Dragon's Lair in mechanics, while its humor is incredibly self-referential and purposefully ridiculou 

Top 47,858 Games of All Time Episode 73 - Legacy of Kain - Soul Reaver, Chiller, Splatterhouse (Patreon bonus)

Join the HG101 gang as they reave souls and discuss what may be the worst coin-op ever made. Patreon bonus for this episode is Splatterhouse. 

Zombie Revenge

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/zombie-revenge/

Sega's zombie-punching beat-em-up, and spin-off from the House of the Dead series. 

Don’t Believe Famitsu’s Lies – Final Fantasy Tactics’ Black Book

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/dont-believe-famitsus-lies-final-fantasy-tactics-black-book/

Some amusing lies in a Japanese Final Fantasy Tactics strategy guide have since become the stuff of legend.

Top 47,858 Games of All Time Episode 72: Shin Megami Tensei - Strange Journey, El Viento, Terrordrome (Patreon bonus)

Join the HG101 gang as they discuss insufferable portmanteaus and the cyborb motorcycle gangs of 1920s New York. Patreon bonus for this episode is Terrordrome.

Mansion of Hidden Souls

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/mansion-of-hidden-souls-sega-cd/

Three part article that covers the Sega CD original, the Saturn sequel, and the sorta-spin off Saturn game Lunacy.

Vampire: Master of Darkness

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/vampire-master-of-darkness/

Sega's 8-bit Castlevania clone. Previously featured only in the Castlevania book, it's a good time of year to feature it on the site. Not made with half the skill of any of Konami's games, but there are definitely much worse clones.

Tormentum: Dark Sorrow

A grotesque, visually arresting hidden object game:

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/tormentum-dark-sorrow/

Blade Runner

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/blade-runner/

This isn't technically a new article, as it was previously in the Guide to Classic Adventure Games book, but with Blade Runner 2049 in theaters, I figured it would be a good time to post this on the site. I'd held off in hopes of covering the (apparently quite bad) Commodore 64 game, so maybe we'll get to that some day soon.

Grave Rivalry – The Fate of Competing Video Game Heroes

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/grave-rivalry-the-fate-of-competing-video-game-heroes/

Most video game publishers kept friendly relationships with each other, rarely referencing or parodying other games or characters other than their own. There was, however, a running joke of various video games taking characters from competing games, and putting their names on ...

Monster Bash

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/monster-bash/

For those who grew up gaming with a DOS PC, a lot of people will hold the same reverence for Apogee that console gamers would have for Capcom or Konami. While the quality of their output varied from game to game, there’s no doubt that they were the best source of console-style action games during the DOS era. While they had dalliances with genres like shoot-em...

Top 47,858 Games of All Time Episode 68: Power Stone, Dino Crisis, Bejeweled

Join the HG101 gang as they discuss the stones of power and crises of dino. Patreon bonus for this episode is Bejeweled for some reason. 

Top 47,858 Games of All Time Episode 71: Blaster Master, Sinister, Zombies Ate My Neighbors (Patreon bonus)

Join the HG101 gang as they discuss irradiated reptile pets and THE HUNGER. Patreon bonus for this episode is Zombies Ate My Neighbors.

Top 47,858 Games of All Time Episode 70: Final Fantasy Tactics, Gauntlet Legends, Tetris Attack

Join the HG101 gang as they discuss Shakespearian stratagems and the fine art of food-sniping. Patreon bonus for this episode is Tetris Attack. 

Top 47,858 Games of All Time Episode 69: Diablo II, Space Quest Incinerations

Join the HG101 gang as they discuss broken mice and broken dreams. Patreon bonus for this episode is Konami’s Ninja Turtles arcade classic.

Games:
Diablo II
Spacequest Incinerations
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (arcade) [Patreon Only]

Mystic Midway

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/mystic-midway-rest-in-pieces/

The CD-i, despite the best efforts of both its marketers and its developers, just wasn’t meant to be a games machine. It could play FMV and CD audio, certainly, and perhaps if Phillips had played to those strengths, the machine’s fortunes might have turned out differently. It would have made a fine alternative to a laserdisc p...

Metroid Omoroid – Metroid II’s Commercial Catch Copy

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/metroid-omoroid-metroid-iis-commercial-catch-copy/

The story behind Metroid II's tagline, and other Nintendo games that reference it, including Super Mario RPG.

Metamoqester

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/metamoqester/

One of the small handful of "boss rush" fighting games, similar to Capcom's Warzard and Konami's Monster Maulers. Also technically a tenuous tie-in with an obscure (outside of Japan) Game Boy RPG series called Oni.

Dust: An Elysian Tail

A beautiful 2D side-scrolling action-RPG released a few years ago. I still can't believe this was primarily animated, designed, and programmed by a single guy. We named this one of the Top 200 Games of All Time in our book, and it's featured on the cover of the upcoming Guide to Retro Indie Games, so I figured it was finally time to a proper review on the site!

Welcome to the new HG101

Well, it's been up for a few days now, but the DNS should have refreshed by now so the new site should be available to everyone! (Many of you have probably seen this since the previews though.) It's been a struggle to get this in order, especially since our web developer up and abandoned the project without really telling us, leaving me in a last minute scramble to figure out the fun world of Wordpress and get everything into functional order. So, this is very much a first draft of the site, and...

Crimson Tears

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/crimsontears/crimsontears.htm

 Often times, when discussing little-known (or little-liked) games of some merit, the phrase "diamond in the rough" comes up. Crimson Tears must be among the roughest; it is in turn dull, exciting, obtuse, interesting, involving, frustrating, and sometimes lack common sense. It also achieves a sort of originality by bringing ...