QCF: Ys: Memories of Celceta

This Review was Frelanced by Johnathan Sawyer; you can find his other work here.

s: Memories of Celceta is a new version of Ys IV, replacing Ys IV: Mask of the Sun as the new canon. It is a complete reimagining of what takes place in the past Ys IV games, with some similarities and nods to those releases (characters, music, locations, etc.), but is otherwise a brand new game. This release is the fourth Ys IV game; the other three were developed by Hudson Soft (Dawn of Ys), Tonkinhouse (Mask of the Sun), and Taito (Mask of the Sun: A New Theory), whereas this one was developed by Falcom themselves. The story, the graphics, music, and gameplay were completely overhauled, matching and surpassing what was seen in Ys Seven. This entry gives more light onto when and why Adol Christin (a.k.a. Adol the Red) decided to become an adventurer. Despite being the canon for Ys IV, it takes place chronologically before Ys III / Ys: The Oath in Felghana.

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QCF: Rune Factory 4

ou may think it impossible. You may think it absurd. You might think that you're dreaming. But I have, in fact, recently traded in my intergalactic space fighter (an ' 86 vintage Hyperion Sentoki Beta, if you must know) for a farm--Oh, and a sword (Well okay, maybe loaned out for the week.) Regardless, what I'm trying to get at here, in what can only be described as an ultimate oxymoron, is that I've been losing sleep by relaxing hardcore to a farm-sim--with dungeons.

I've never played a Harvest Moon game before, but I've watched literally dozens of them across various series, systems - and even generations--being played by Daeruna and of them all, the Rune Factory series is one that I felt most closely resonated with me. Recently, Rune Factory 4 was released to the 3DS and at the urging of a friend, I decided to check it out. At first, it was no big deal. “Oh cool, I got a hammer. Not I can bust up these rocks. Oh neat, a cheap axe to take away these tree stumps. OK, that woolly-sheepy thing dropped some fur worth seven gold” but, after investing an hour into Rune Factory 4? Oh boy, get ready.

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QCF: Y's I & II Chronicles+

This Review was Frelanced by Johnathan Sawyer; you can find his other work here.

 storm had arrived. Nothing could pass through this supposedly impenetrable "Stormwall," as it had come to be called. The land looked as though it would be seeing its final days, until a lone man with fiery-red hair washed up on the shores of Esteria... It is here in Ys I & II Chronicles+ that the saga of Adol the Red begins and puts several memorable marks into the pages of gaming history along the way.

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QCF: Corpse Party: Book of Shadows

e all know making video games is hard. The sheer amount of talent, money, time, passion and luck it takes to get a video game made is mind-boggling. It’s truly a Herculean effort to make a game at all, let alone a good one. But it must be even harder to make a sequel. You walk the line of introducing new ideas, while having enough of the previous installment’s DNA to please fans of the series. We all want something new from a sequel, but stray too far from the first game and you lose what originally made it special and fun. In that case, why even make a sequel? Corpse Party: Book of Shadows on the surface is recognizable as another Corpse Party game, but does its departure in gameplay and genre conventions lose what made the first iteration enjoyable? Read on to find out.

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QCF: Orgarhythm

You guys know me. I’m not one to just throw words like "funky" around. It’s something that has to be earned. That being said, Orgarhythm is funky as HELL.

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