Inindo - Way of the Ninja

Something I've always felt interesting looking on the past of gaming,
is that there were many kinds of games, for many kinds of people,
and they were made by many kinds of developers, sometimes
created in a very specific way for a very specific public and
created by people with very specific angles and tastes.

It was possible because in the past, it took less money to
make stuff and be profitable, which let companies of all sizes
to create stuff that your developers might feel passionate about,
even if it's not going to put the world on fire, as they say.

That is not to say it doesn't happen nowadays, far from that, but in
the interconnected and global industry we live with today,  things like
trends, focus group testing, a much larger consumer base and the search
for the "lowest common denominator" in order to maximize the money you
make have changed not only how games are made, but which ones are made
and what your average consumer wants (and flat-out ignores) in a game.

Specially if we talk about middle to big companies, where the business
mentality has grown so much that in the eyes of higher ups and investors
anything that does not give you an assured certain amount of profit is seen
as a risk, a problem that also plagues the music and movie industries.

That's probably why small studios and indies have become such a beloved
part of the industry for many game enthusiasts. They can bring stuff you
want and the bigger guys don't care about. They can take more risks,
and they also can make way more specific and niche experiences
that scratch some itches your typical blockbuster stuff just can't.

Now, you may be asking why the hell I'm saying all this.
Well, you see, the game I'm talking today is such a strange and specific beast that
I can hardly look at it without thinking this was a passion project that only their
biggest fans would give it a chance blindly, making it a rather risky product...
Yet it was green-lighted, and it managed to get localized.
I don't see it having such luck in these times.

So today I'll take a look at Inindo - Way of the Ninja.

And if you think this introduction is too long, wait to see the rest of this entry.

Tomb Raider I - Featuring Lara Croft

How much patience do you have?

Do you adapt to specific control schemes?

Or are you incapable of trying non-standard controls?

Are you able to keep your cool when failing?
Can you try again and again with calm after that?

Would you forget what you did five minutes ago?

Will you get angry when you do end forgetting?

Those questions and more are what my mind thinks about the game 

I'll talk today, a type of game that defines the concept of "Trial & Error".

An experience as frustrating as it can be satisfying.

And a type of game that I simply do not see going 

successfully in this day and age, much to my dismay.

But that doesn't mean we can't enjoy it today.

Let's talk about the original Tomb Raider.

Flying Hero - Bugyuru's Adventure

Do you gravitate to certain genres depending on the time of the year?

It's kind of a weird question, but when I stop and look, I usually spend Summers
playing many light and fast-paced games way more than playing long and slower ones.

While I'm more of a cold weather type of person, Summer always makes me think
about those sort of experiences. And there's few things more true to that than
the genre of Shoot'em Ups, specially the cartoony and colorful ones.

So I thought it was a nice moment to talk about an obscure game that's
quite fun and will do wonders to scratch that itch I have right now.

I'm talking about Flying Hero - Bugyuru's Adventure!

Elemental Master

In a time where people look for more and more bloated experiences

and companies try to design games to trap us for large periods of time

in hopes for consumers to keep giving them money, the quick and fun

games with easy replayability keep getting more desirable to my eye.

Those games are usually related to colorful, lighthearted visuals,

accompanied by charming music and comfortable difficulties.

...But it does not necessarily have to be like that.

The game I'll talk today is a short and fun ride, but it's also 

set in a dark-themed universe with a headbanging soundtrack,

things that would make it a fantastic cover for an 80's metal band.

Not to mention it can easily kick your sorry behind.

Let's talk about Elemental Master!

Vandal Hearts

While I try to play a variety of genres and styles of video games,

there are, as you may imagine, ones I like way more than others.

One of my absolute favourites when looking at "Pre-HD" gaming,

is definitely the big and fascinating genre of role playing games.

I love getting lost in a fantastical world, see stories and characters

impossible to exist in our mundane and boring reality, do things and

learn all sorts of abilities to get out of troubles or sometimes, cause them,

seeing different cultures and being able to enjoy amazing soundtracks.

And on top of that, RPGs can be done in a myriad of ways, which are separated

into sub-genres or styles that radically change how they play, look or even feel.

Turns or Action, Japanese or Occidental influences, First or Third person, 

some centered around the gameplay, others more interested in tell a story,

and, of course, you then have mixtures of RPG and other genres.

Looking at one game to start the PlayStation entries, 

I knew very well what game to choose beforehand.

It's quite underrated, and also one of my most liked ones from this library.

It's Vandal Hearts.

Bubble Ghost

Looking around the early Game Boy library for a first game to talk,

my first thought was to get one of those Puzzle games that were 

oh so popular in the initial moments of life of the gaming brick.

But checking around my personal favourite early GB games,

there was one little thing that stuck out to me immediately,

a charming, quick and fun tiny arcade-like experience.

While the time for the endless Puzzle games will come,

let's enjoy this first cool little thing named Bubble Ghost.

Coryoon: Child of Dragon

Just as with the other entries, many are the games I could
have chosen to start with this underrated system, but this time
I ended looking for a game from the most popular genre
on the console made by NEC and Hudson.

Shoot'em Ups, being the biggest genre in its library,
hold a huge amount of titles that you can enjoy if
you're into this game style, with many of those being great.

Looking around, there was one that strongly called my attention.
It's colorful, it's charming, it's fun, and it has quite a few features.
It also happens to be one of my favourites in this system.

It's Coryoon: Child of Dragon!