"Welcome to the bonfire, Unkindled One. I am a Fire Keeper. I tend to the flame, and tend to thee. The Lords have left their thrones, and must be deliver'd to them. To this end, I am at thy side."
I have a friend I'll call "James". James is a fire keeper, though his own flame is fading. He is a real person, and this account is factual except the name for the sake of his privacy. James is an older gentleman who lives by himself out in the country, only a few miles from our house. He lives a mostly solitary life, a literal hermit in the woods. He has lived this way for many years, most recently in a home-made yurt.
After 51 Episodes we finally entrust Bil to lead an episode!! He walks us through some of the best soundtracks in gaming with a strong focus on the modern era. Also the premier of our shiny new theme song written and performed by RF Generation's own The Disposed Hero!
Links to all of our recommendations below the break!!
In Episode 024, MetalFRO and Addicted look at one of Sega's more unconventional arcade hits, the interminably cute Fantasy Zone. What makes this classic tick, and how does it relate to Konami's arcade shooter smash, Gradius? We discuss that and more!
While not the first portable gaming systems, Nintendo's Game Boy was one of the first to reach massive audiences. It's library consists of hundreds of games, many of which are quick, simplistic but fun experiences designed both around the system's limitations and its purpose of gaming on the go.
So it's interesting that for this Top 20, there were several games that came in as "must owns" as out of 7 voters, four games made every voter's list, and eight made at least five lists.
And yet, the final results also showed the variety of the Game Boy, as only 14 games were on three or more lists.
We interrupt your regularly scheduled quarantine to bringJune 2020 edition of RF Generation's Site News! In this issue, we announce our July Community Playthrough game, our shoot 'em up club title, and of course, thank those members who sent in submissions to our site and registered approvals last month. Thanks for keeping it on Channel 3 and please keep you and your loved ones SAFE!
REMEMBER: If you have any news about upcoming events or topics that you think the site needs to hear about, please PM singlebanana and put "RFG Site News" in the subject line. Who knows, maybe your news will make our front page!
During the 80's and early 90's, kids like myself were treated to a large number of ports of popular (and not so popular) arcade games to home consoles. Who wouldn't want to play their favorite arcade game at home on their own TV, rather than having to go drop quarters into the arcade cabinet? And what happens when that arcade game at the bowling alley or gas station got replaced with something else? Sure, there was a new period of discovery, and perhaps you'll find a new favorite, but you still like that previous game enough to want to keep playing it. Enter the home conversion. According to the advertising, you could have the fun of the arcade game in the comfort of your own home! The reality, however, is that it didn't always work out like that.
I got a request to make a custom Mortal Kombat themed NES system. Although the game never officially came out on the NES, there is a ROM of it. I mean, it did come out on the Game Boy, so why not on the NES?
I think this one came together nicely and it was a lot of making it, especially sculpting the Mortal Kombat dragon.
I apologize up front to those who come to this site for an escape, but the coincidental timing of my piece this month leaves me in an incredibly difficult position. You see, I wracked my brain the last few days trying to think of a subject, but as I sit here at my computer on Monday evening, none of the topics I came up with feel appropriate. I won't comment here on my thoughts about the past week's worth of news, and I genuinely feel bad about even bringing it up in these digital pages, but with recent headlines so raw in my mind, I've discovered I'm literally incapable of writing an article that suggests I'm oblivious to them. Eventually, one of the podcasts I watch gave me an idea, and I decided that if I couldn't force myself to write as if current events haven't deeply affected my headspace, maybe I could use the opportunity to remember the things about this hobby that has brought people together.
Nearly half a year later we are finally back! Since everything else is getting a remaster now, why not our show? Check out the new and hopefully improved show. We've got a new vision for the show and renewed passion to keep it going and evolve it into something special. Please enjoy!
I have always referred to H.E.R.O. as my favorite Atari 2600 game. It's a game I had as a child and have often hailed its theme and gameplay as masterful. But one little thing had always bothered me about H.E.R.O. - I had never beaten it! Going back and finally mastering games I played as a kid has become quite the adventure for me. There's something dramatically satisfying about combining the nostalgia driven experience of replaying a game from childhood with the brand new experience of finally beating it. It's like creating a portal between two worlds; like somehow magically connecting my past with the present. And it's a really special thing when there happens to be a game that you tout as your favorite, but still haven't completed yet. The list of games that fall into this category is obviously finite, and I cherish the opportunities that I have to venture into that realm and overcome a challenge that has eluded me for decades. In fact, I cherish them so much that I like to document them. Here is my three part video series where I put on my laser helmet, strap on my Prop-Pack, and attempt to finally save all of the trapped miners in my favorite Atari game of all time.
In Episode 023, Addicted and MetalFRO explore the Western release of a game from prolific Japanese doujin developer Akiragoya. Steel Vampire, known originally in Japan as Metal Mosquito, is a unique shooter that does its own thing, while bringing in familiar elements from other games in the genre. But is that mix enough to warrant giving this game a serious look? Have a listen, and find out!
One aspect of criticizing artistic forms of media that is frequently brought up is the idea of recency bias. The main problem with recency bias is that when a work is new, the fresh coat of paint can sometimes successfully hide the pocks of rust hidden by the frame. This idea is true for all forms of media, books, movies, shows, and perhaps it's strongest for video games. Games are heavily reliant on the technology of the era, and as that technology advances, the inherent weaknesses of previous works comes to light even more powerfully than before. In other cases, it's simply a question of project scope.
Xenogears was once touted as one of the greatest Japanese role playing games ever created, but over time, that opinion has softened and any discussion about it inevitably leads to the game's biggest flaws. Pinpointing the source of this slowly decreasing opinion of this once highly touted classic relies on knowing what the game's major flaws truly are, an understanding of everything that happened during and after its development, and speculation on how the gaming public itself has shifted. Xenogears is over 20 years old by this point, having released on the first Playstation all the way back in 1998, so there has been plenty of time for reflection.
After hearing much praise for Ori and the Blind Forest over the last few years, it has been on my radar as a game that I should eventually play. Knowing that a sequel was releasing soon and would be freely available to anyone with Xbox Game Pass, I felt like the time was right to finally dive in. After finishing the game, I came away with mixed feelings and had lost interest in playing the sequel. However, after seeing some gameplay for Ori and the Will of the Wisps, I was intrigued to check out the sequel and was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it.
I'm fortunate enough to still be at work, but my movie viewing has still had a major uptick since quarantine started. Here are few of the films I've seen with my wife in the past two months or so.
Westworld and Futureworld - I haven't read the novel or seen the recent tv show, but I quite enjoyed this duology from the 1970s, which centers on amusement parks for rich adults where robots play npcs in real life. Both of these films hold up quite well and to this day are recommended by many as sci-fi classics.
Pacific Rim - Yes, I'm a massive Kaiju fan, but I couldn't care less for American Kaiju productions in general. It was my wife who convinced me to watch this movie and I thought it was pretty darned good. Pacific Rim succeeds where the American Godzilla film from 2014 failed: it leans into the action and doesn't hide its main attraction, the monsters and mechs. I wish I had watched this movie sooner. It's the best western interpretation of a giant monster movie that I have ever seen.
