hg101

Herzog (series)

http://104.236.151.57/series/herzog/

The hugely innovative action-RTS series which began on Japanese home computers, before gaining worldwide cult popularity for its Genesis sequel. Also includes a review of its spiritual successor, AirMech.

This will probably be the final "preview" before the new site goes live, which I'm anticipating for next week. It's been built up a lot over the last several weeks, includin...

The Adventures of Darwin

The Adventures of Darwin is usually classified as a RTS. Looking at screenshots or videos of its tiny monkeys and cavemen following their leader around and carrying objects, you might think you're looking at a budget-priced Pikmin knock-off, and the game itself isn't exactly in a hurry to explain what it's really about. But the RTS elements are more restrained than in Pikmin; at its heart, it's more of an action-adventure game. Think Zelda, if Link had 20 mini-Links following him around. 

Kathy Rain

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

An indie point-and-click adventure, grounded in the Twin Peaks weird of small town Americana. 

Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden

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

Quite possibly one of the most brilliant parodies of Japanese RPGs ever created. 

Now available! HG101 Presents: The Complete Guide to the Famicom Disk System

The Complete Guide to the Famicom Disk System is finally complete! 

PDF:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/e2h4stcjav3xsh8/HG101%20Presents%20The%20Complete%20Guide%20to%20the%20Famicom%20Disk%20System.pdf?dl=0

MOBI:

2017-09-17 15:17:43 +0000 UTC View Post

New Book: Verb/ose - A Personal Analysis of the Graphic Adventure Game Genre

Here's a new book for Patreon donors, which I didn't write but I did help edit and publish: Verb/ose - A Personal Analysis of the Graphic Adventure Game Genre, by Duncan Piasecki. It analyzes the various interfaces, puzzle types and storytelling conventions across many types of adventure games, mostly classic but some modern, while giving a personal opinion of what works and what doesn't. It's a great read for fans of the genre, and I'm happy to have helped make it out into the world! 

Th...

Tobal

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

Dream Factory's duo of PS1 3D fighting games, known for their crazy Akira Toriyama character designs and unique quest modes. 

Top 47,858 Games of All Time Episode 066: Yakuza, River City Ransom, Gunpoint (Patreon bonus)

Join the HG101 Generic Dudes as they talk crooks, crime, and sauna time. Patreon bonus for this episode is minor indie masterpiece Gunpoint.

Top 47,858 Games of All Time Episode 065: WarioWare Inc., Papo + Yo, Strider (Patreon bonus)

Join the HG101 Layabouts and special guest Carolyn Petit (FemFreq) as they talk micro games and macro metaphors. Patreon bonus for this episode is the 1989 coin-op classic Strider. Because we are out of ideas.

A House of Many Doors

Released two years after Sunless Sea, A House of Many Doors might at first glance look like an unimaginative clone, but ultimately it might be an example of a student becoming better than the teacher. 

Supercharged Robot VULKAISER

 This doujin shoot-em-up from Astro Port is a love letter to 70s mecha anime. 

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

Top 47,858 Games of All Time Episode 064 - Marvel Vs. Capcom 2, Capcom Vs. SNK 2, Spider-Man (Patreon bonus)

Join the HG101 N-Gage N-thusiasts as they take you for a ride. Patreon bonus for this episode is Activision's Spider-Man. 

Top 47,858 Games of All Time Episode 063 - Morrowind, Bassin's Black Bass, Oregon Trail Deluxe (Patreon bonus)

Join the HG101 New Jack Swing Groupies as they talk prisoner's dilemmas and fishdar. Patreon bonus for this episode is Oregon Trail Deluxe.

Top 47,858 Games of All Time Episode 062 - Far Cry, Super R.C. Pro-Am, Duke Nukem 3D (Patreon bonus)

Join the HG101 Semi-Pro Toy Car Drivers as they talk oil-slicks and Jeep theft. Patreon bonus for this episode is Duke Nukem 3D.

Populous

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

Bullfrog's legendary sim that effectively coined the "god game" subgenre. This article is a work-in-progress and covers the first two games in the series (as well as their expansions and ports). 

Bushido Blade

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

Squaresoft's innovative swordfighting game proved a substantial alternative to the other 2D and 3D fighting games of the PlayStation era. 

HG101's going to be taking a brief late-summer break over the next week and a half, so I'll be posting a few of the articles to make up for this time! We'll be returning with the lau...

Kaikan

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

 A simple yet incredibly fun freeware doujin shoot-em-up, inspired by the likes of Battle Garegga and Fire Shark. 

Dragon Ball: Advanced Adventure

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

This fairly decent (for a licensed game) brawler/platformer for the GBA is one of the rare titles based on the original Dragon Ball rather than Dragon Ball Z. 

Japanese Video Game Obscurities Preview: Last Armageddon and Digan no Maseki

The crowdfunding campaign on Unbound for our Japanese Video Game Obscurities book has hit the 20% mark, so I've put up a couple write-ups for the games featured in the book: Digan no Maseki (the one that uses that gorgeous Naoyuki Kato artwork) and Last Armageddon, two computer RPGs from the late 80s. 

The latter is actually getting a full write-up on the site in the near future, though by a contributor rather than myself. It's a pretty cool game, though like many late 80s RPGs, kinda dif...

Your Weekly Kusoge: Nerves of Steel

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/kusoge/kusoge-nervesofsteel.htm

There are oh so many poor first person shooters from the mid-90s that are probably better left forgotten, but here we are anyway, for history's sake!

Lord Monarch (Patreon exclusive)

http://104.236.151.57/lord-monarch/

An interesting real-time strategy/puzzle hybrid from Falcom, technically seventh in the Dragon Slayer line, even though it's not an RPG and not much in the way of dragons either.

Last week, Xerxes (from the Top 47k Games podcast) and I joined Retronauts at the Long Island Retro Game Expo for a panel on the Dragon Slayer series. We didn't quite get to this game (it's a big serie...

Snakebird

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

A fun puzzle game from Noumenon Games, based on Snake, and with some very pretty visuals. 

Puyo Puyo BOX, 7, and Anniversary

Our extensive coverage of the Puyo Puyo series is finally nearing its end with the coverage of the unique PS1 puzzle/RPG hybrid Puyo Puyo BOX, as well as the traditional titles, Puyo Puyo 7 and Puyo Puyo 20th Anniversary. Next up: Puyo Puyo Quest and Puyo Puyo Tetris!

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/puyopuyo/puyopuyo10.htm

Beast Busters

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

SNK's zombie-killing light gun shooter, which actually predates Sega's more popular House of the Dead series, has seen a few different incarnations, including an overhead shooter for the Neo Geo Pocket Color and a mobile game. 

Top 47,858 Games of All Time Episode 061: King's Field II, Bloodborne, Super Meat Boy [Patreon Only]

Join the HG101 Underground Mutant Bomb-Worshipers as they pretend to care about things that are stupidly hard and frustrating. Patreon bonus for this episode is the stupidly hard and frustrating Super Meat Boy. 

Tokyo Xanadu (Patreon exclusive preview)

Falcom's latest RPG picks up elements from other popular games, including others by the company, but never quite manages to solidify its own identity.

The Summer Smash Game Bundle (plus PDF links for HG101 books)

The latest Storybundle is out, and it includes a bunch of cool stuff, including Fallen Down - Heartache & Compassion in Undertale, the entire Offworld Collection, Once Upon a Point and Click (focusing on Sierra developers, Roberta Williams and Jane Jensen) and Boss Fight Books: Kingdom Hearts II! Do check it out!

It also includes both of our Sega Arcade Classics volumes, which you guys get anyway since you're Patreon donors, which I've attached here. This includes the text ePUB/MOBI versio...

Crowdfunding Campaign For New Hardback Book: Japanese Video Game Obscurities

So I receive a lot of requests to publish hardcover versions of HG101 books, which unfortunately the current print-on-demand publisher does not allow. The only way they would be financially feasible is through crowdfunding since it requires a substantial upfront investment. However, a few months ago, the British publisher Unbound approached me about doing a book on obscure Japanese video games. It sounded like a fun project so I took it up! Plus instead of crowdfunding a previously published boo...

Catherine

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

Atlus' hybrid of an action-puzzler and a visual novel attempts to address gender and societal roles, in ways that don't always succeed. 

Top 47,858 Games of All Time Episode 060: Deadly Premonition, Forbidden Forest, Hotline Miami (Patreon bonus)

Join the HG101 Elder Statesmen of ROCK as they talk about hunting skeletons to their imaginary friend in a car. Patreon bonus for this episode is drug-fueled murder-fest Hotline Miami.