Lufia: The Legend Returns’ large cast makes the game stronger

By Jenni Lada // 1.10.181.8.18

Have you ever considered how unrealistic it is when we see games where a small group of heroes somehow topple gods and save the world? I mean, a group of four or six teenagers or young adults managing to do it all? It could be considered quite a stretch. Some games acknowledge this by offering a larger party to make their premise more plausible, but it is Lufia: The Legend Returns that goes above and beyond to present a solid cast. This game’s 12 heroes and heroines come together to strike down the Sinistrals in a way that makes a bit more sense.

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What do you need to know about Lufia?

By Jenni Lada // 1.8.182.26.18

Sometimes, RPG series people love are lost to the sands of time. The developers that made them go out of business, other companies decide they are not profitable and age leads to them not getting a digital rerelease via a platform like the Virtual Console. Lufia is one of these series. But, while it is difficult to accumulate a complete collection of these games and get into them now, it is not impossible and many installments are worth your time.

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A beginner’s guide to Bokujou Monogatari: the best Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons games to play

By Jenni Lada // 7.17.172.25.19

The Story of Seasons series has reached quite a hallmark in regions outside of Japan this year. It has celebrated its 20th birthday! With the Bokujou Monogatari split happening in 2014, with Marvelous deciding to have XSEED work on localizations of future entries while Natsume retained the “Harvest Moon” name and began using it on a line of original games, it may be difficult to follow the course of the series. We’re here to help you figure out which farming simulations might be right for you.

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Kirby25: Kirby’s Dream Land 2 (GB, 1995), Part 2

By Graham Russell // 2.9.172.8.17

Kirby25 is a week-by-week video celebration of the Kirby series’ 25th anniversary. For more, check out the Kirby25 archive.

This week, Andrew Passafiume (@AndrewWDP) returns as Kirby’s Dream Land 2‘s bosses test us… and find us to be unworthy? As it happens, being bad at action-based games and trying to beat them in a video series is a poor combination. Well… here we go, then!

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Kirby25: Kirby’s Dream Land 2 (GB, 1995), Part 1

By Graham Russell // 2.2.172.1.17

Kirby25 is a week-by-week video celebration of the Kirby series’ 25th anniversary. For more, check out the Kirby25 archive.

This week, Andrew Passafiume (@AndrewWDP) joins us for an exploration of Kirby’s Dream Land 2! The puffball returns to the monochromatic screen for this more fleshed-out adventure full of worlds and powers. While every episode of Kirby25 has its own human helper, Dream Land 2 introduced animal companions to shake up its platforming.

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Kirby25: Kirby’s Pinball Land (GB, 1993)

By Graham Russell // 1.26.171.26.17

Kirby25 is a week-by-week video celebration of the Kirby series’ 25th anniversary. For more, check out the Kirby25 archive.

This week, Michibiku’s own Jenni Lada (@JMariye) drops by to check out Kirby’s first he’s-a-ball-now outing, Kirby’s Pinball Land for the Game Boy! HAL combined its Kirby world and Revenge of the ‘Gator expertise to make a game that’s silly fun if you’re as bad as we are and less silly fun if you can actually accomplish anything.

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Kirby25: Kirby’s Dream Land (GB, 1992)

By Graham Russell // 1.5.171.25.17

Welcome to Kirby25! To celebrate the Kirby franchise’s 25th anniversary, we’re playing all the games in the series in weekly video features. It feels like 2017 could use some happy, relaxing fun, and we hope these episodes will be a welcome respite from the stress of life.

This week, Lucas White (@HokutoNoRucas) joins in as we play through the very first game: Kirby’s Dream Land for the original Game Boy. The game’s a fascinating case study in just how much of the eventual formula was in place in the first title and how much wasn’t.

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Video: Before Advance Wars, there was Game Boy Wars 3

By Graham Russell // 12.1.161.27.23

The Wars series had a long and storied history before we ever saw it in the West, and the shiniest gem of that era is this: the Game Boy Color release, Game Boy Wars 3. It’s different from later games in so many ways, and is thankfully the recipient of a translation patch! Watch us check it out, will ya?

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Video: Pokémon TCG GB 2 is an import to catch

By Graham Russell // 11.17.1612.9.16

With a franchise as big as Pokémon, there aren’t many releases that don’t make it worldwide. Still, a few slip through the cracks! Today, we take a look at what may be the best of these missing titles: Pokémon Trading Card Game GB2 for the Game Boy Color.