I love Dragon Quest. So maybe I am biased when I say this, but I really believe that Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake is one of the best games of the past year and one of the best JRPGs in quite some time. While it is indeed a remake, this new HD-2D version of the JRPG classic really stands on its own and adds so much upon the original and truly brings it into the modern age. Dragon Quest has always excelled in its simple game design layered upon a foundation of complexity. These games are easy to pick up and play, but there is a lot of substance beneath that simplicity that keeps players coming back to these games again and again. The world of Dragon Quest is both straight forward but also rich with character and lore that begs to be explored. Dragon Quest 3 is still regarded as one of the best of the series and with the HD-2D remake its easy to see why. The game has a bit of everything but most of all it is just so much fun. Exploring the world and leveling up is rewarding and the deeper ...

  With the recent release of Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake there are more eyes on the Dragon Quest series globally than there have been in quite some time. With the new release breaking all sorts of records, I thought it would be interesting to look into different type of records when it came to Dragon Quest 3; speed running records that is. The Dragon Quest series has been subject to a lot of interest from the speed running community, primarily in Japan where the series is most popular. It is an intriguing series to try to speed run as the games are notorious for being lengthy and at times quite difficult. However over the years the attempts to speed run the games in the series have evolved and speed runners have tried just about everything. One such speed runner is a gamer who goes by the name of Hitshee. In 2020 the speed runner achieved notority for their anything goes speed run of Dragon Quest 3 where they famously put their Famicom console onto a hot plate and heated it up unti...

  It is that time of year again when the year ends and people decide what things were the best things of the year that is now ending. As such it is time for the Game Awards for 2024. There are many categories and I decided I will vote in these awards. Here are my votes and a little bit of why I voted for the titles that I voted for. Game of the Year: I voted for Metaphor: Refantazio. There was no other game I sunk so many hours in. I enjoyed the game a lot and think it just slightly edges out Astro Bot for me as Game of the Year. I am a JRPG fan and Metaphor ticked all the right boxes for me. I also gave it the coveted 3 frogs rating in my review article recently so I'd say that speaks for itself. Nominees were Astro Bot, Balatro, Black Myth Wukong, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Elden Ring DLC and Metaphor: Refantazio. Some thoughts on the nominees. Balatro is an interesting contender here and a big win for indie devs for it being nominated. Elden Ring DLC seems a bit strange to be no...

  A couple weeks back Nintendo released Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket on mobile devices. I was not aware of the game's impending release and was pleasantly surprised when I saw some posts on X regarding it and thought that I would give it a go as well. I am now playing it too much. Pokemon TCG Pocket is pretty much exactly what you'd think it is. It is a simulation version of the Pokemon trading card game which allows you to open booster packs and play matches of the TCG against both computer players and actual players around the world. What sets it apart is the fact that you can do pretty much all of this without having to pay a cent. There is paid currency but the game also allows you to regularly earn all these in game currency by surprise-suprise simply playing the game. Because the game doesn't put any real cash hurdles in front of playing the game, I have now been playing it too much. It has become some what of an obsession and I am becoming addicted to opening pac...

  Metaphor: Refantazio is the latest game from the folks who brought us Persona and the Shin Megami Tensei series. I played it on the Playstation 5 and I can say that it is a long game but I did not find myself getting bored or disengaged even after playing over 100 hours of this thing. The story is very fascinating and never dwells too long on a story arc before jumping to something different yet equally interesting. The game plays basically the same as Persona. So if you like those games, you will probably like this too. The game's story deals with some complex themes that parralels our real world in many ways. Despite this it never feels out of place or not in keeping with the fantasy world the developers have put together and instead it simply puts a mirror up to our real world without being too preachy in doing so. I liked a lot of the characters which is not something I can say with the Persona series where I find most to be annoying. Also I found several of the characters st...