The new console generation is taking shape, and it promises to be more competitively fought than the last generation where Sony was able to run away the winner with more than 115 million PlayStation 4s sold, to Microsoft’s estimated 50 million Xbox Ones sold. Square Enix remains one of Sony’s biggest partners, and rumors of a…
Samuel Rivera
Throwback Bit Thursday: Final Fantasy V
Unreleased in its original SNES form in the United States, I first played Final Fantasy V as part of the Final Fantasy: Anthology Collection package released in 1999. The US only received two SNES entries Final Fantasy IV, and Final Fantasy IV under the “II and III” labels respectively. Squaresoft, at the time, bypassed releasing…
Days Gone Wasn’t a Great Game but its Sequel Could Have Been One
When I reviewed Days Gone last year, my score for the game (7.5/10) was in line with Metacritic’s 7.1 rating. According to recent reports, the less than stellar critic ratings are the main culprit for Days Gone being canned by Sony. Bend, the developer, approached Sony about starting a sequel for the game which was…
The Last of Us: Part II and my Inability to Forgive Abby
* Spoiler Warning: I was finally able to write a piece about the emotional impact that the Last of Us: Part II had in me when I first played the game last year. Because important plot points are discussed, if you haven’t played the game yet, it would be best to avoid this piece in its entirety as…
Throwback Bit Thursday: Skies of Arcadia
The Dreamcast was a weird little system, not because there was anything wrong with it, but because it launched in the U.S. (9/9/1999) in the midst of late gen N64 software (which looked pretty good), and the beginnings of a massive PlayStation 2 hype campaign. The Dreamcast needed to be massive sales success in order to…
FF: Anthology, and the Potential for a Final Fantasy VI Remake
Final Fantasy VI is legendary. That statement is true for many reasons, but mainly for the games’ reputation as either the best, or second-best game in the series by most Final Fantasy afficionados’ reckoning. Final Fantasy Anthology’s Importance to Final Fantasy VI Final Fantasy Anthology, a collector’s package that included the aforementioned Final Fantasy VI…
TGIF: Parasite Eve’s Eerie Atmosphere Made it a Must Play
In the mid to late 90s, both the Nintendo 64 and the PlayStation competed for my play time on a consistent basis. The Nintendo 64 was home to my most memorable and awe-inspiring experiences (Mario 64, Golden Eye, Ocarina of Time), but my PlayStation was my “Storytelling” console thanks to its wide wealth of JRPGs….
Director Confirms that a Legend of Dragoon Remake is in the Works
The news of Sony of Japan Studio’s demise, all but shattered the hopes of a Legend of Dragoon “Remake” for the game’s fans. However, hope has been rekindled by a recent unexpected development. “It has been a rough 21 years. Our parent company (Sony) showed no interest in the IP whatsoever. Our game (Legend of…
What Went Wrong: Sega Saturn Edition
This is how history remembers the fifth-generation consoles’ sales war: Sony won. Nintendo survived with its cartridge-based Nintendo 64, and Sega crashed and burned with its Sega Saturn. Hard cold facts (sales numbers) confirm the introductory paragraph. Sony’s PlayStation took the video gaming market by storm selling an unprecedented 102.49 million units. Nintendo would take…
Throwback Bit Thursday: Banjo-Kazooie
Of all the Super Mario 64 clones, Banjo-Kazooie, is in my opinion the best (at least during the 32-64 bit era). Rare’s first attempt at a 3-D platformer even managed to surpass Mario 64 in a few areas. A Beautiful World One area in which Rare’s game is clearly superior to Nintendo’s revolutionary game is…









