Get in the banana boat!
Welcome back to Nerds Without Pants! This week, we hop onto our Email Banana Boat and read your emails! We also talk a lot about games! It’s…you know…a podcast.
Fifteen years old but still fresh for newcomers.
As much as I love games, I dread the hours it takes to get over the hump of one that’s new and unfamiliar. When I finally get over it, I hope that I didn’t waste those hours on a game I won’t keep playing. So when I fired up Disgaea 1 Complete for the Nintendo Switch I wasn’t sure what to expect. Even though it’s been fifteen years since the game’s initial release, it was still a new and unfamiliar title for me. Thankfully, I’m glad to say that the hours spent getting over that initial hump were worth it.
Squad E, retreat!
One of my favorite things about playing strategy/role playing games is the sense of satisfaction that comes from executing on a well-laid plan. The thrill of deftly maneuvering units into place for a swift and deadly strike after multiple turns of meticulous consideration is something that few games deliver. I love strategy/RPGs, and I was excited to tear into Valkyria Chronicles 4; a return to form of sorts for a series held in high regard by a rabid fanbase, and a franchise I have little experience with. Sadly, instead of tearing into this game because I couldn’t get enough, I will now need to tear into this bizarre title that not only doesn’t reward sound strategy but does everything in its power to undermine player agency.
For Hoshido!
After three long years, Fire Emblem returns to the 3DS in the form of not one, not two, but three different versions. While the idea of “splitting” the game of Fire Emblem Fates into two retail releases (Birthright and Conquest) and a third downloadable title (Revelations) could be seen as a lazy cash grab from detractors, the execution is anything but. Each game packs in as much content as the 2013 Fire Emblem: Awakening, but gives players a choice in their playstyle preference. Birthright allows would-be tacticians to grind out levels in random battles, while the more challenging Conquest takes its cues from the older Fire Emblem games. This review is based on Birthright.
Don’t sleep on Nintendo’s latest strategy game.
The Nintendo 3DS is getting its fair share of great looking games in 2013. With games like Luigi’s Mansion 2, Animal Crossing, and Pokemon X and Y all coming out this year, there will be plenty for 3DS owners to get their hands on. Sooner than all of those comes the niche, but respected strategy game Fire Emblem: Awakening, the latest in a long series of strategy titles exclusive to Nintendo’s consoles. What I can tell you from my hands-on with the game is that not only is there a great game on the horizon, but it might just be one of the best 3DS games yet.
A unique concept that fails in execution.
Aside from ambitious, the only other word that can be used to describe Orgarhythm is disappointing. Given that Tak Hirai of Space Channel 5, Shenmue, and Meteos fame was behind the unique blend of action, strategy, and rhythm gameplay, I couldn’t help but be excited. However, the execution of these concepts simply doesn’t match up to the ambition of the idea.
D’awwww, wook at the widdle corpses!
We all know that war is ugly. But what if someone found a way to make it so freaking adorable that any moral qualms you might have about the whole concept went out the window? Well, War of The Human Tanks sure does its best by making battles across the oh-so-fictionalized land of “Japon” into a cute-fest on a game board. It's a game board with fun mechanics if you can endure the painfully boring and long-winded story that stands between you and each match.
Samurais have honor, even in death.
Skulls of the Shogun is a new 2D turn based strategy game from first time developer 17-Bit. Comprised in part of former employees of EA LA (responsible for the Command and Conquer series), the game aims to please fans of titles like Shining Force with a light-hearted presentation and skull collecting. I know those two don't go together but trust me, it will all make sense.
Xenoblade developer taking on Sega/Namco Bandai/Capcom crossover
Project X Zone may be one of the most ambitious crossover titles to date. The strategy-RPG-fighter is poised to set iconic characters of major Japanese publishers Capcom, Namco Bandai and Sega against each other in a battle for supremacy. With three behemoths coming together and mixing their IPs in this lovely video game soup, one begins to wonder exactly who would get developer duties on the project. Would it be Capcom? Namco Bandai? Sega?
Venture into a fantastical world that will bore you beyond anything you’ve ever imagined!
The visuals in Defenders of Ardania are pretty OK. And thus ends the discussion of the good things about Defenders of Ardania. Everything else about the game is frustrating, boring, and annoying. You’d be excused for being drawn in by the concept, though. Defenders of Ardania tries to grab some attention in the jam-packed tower defense genre by adding a few elements normally seen only in real time strategy games, but the implementation of these additions make the game a slog.
