My life is becoming even more of a Kevin Smith movie: it looks like I'll my summer job will be working as a clerk up at our village's equivalent of a Quick-E Mart. I'll be working 72-hour weeks but I'll get free housing & eats. My co-workers are cool as well; witty banter is bound to ensue. My free time will definitely take a hit; I'm stockpiling reviews while I can.

A clean and elegant style, I'm diggin it. 

Psst, you didn't hear it from me, but... http://lostlevels.org/
Highlights include River City Ransom 2 and Final Fantasy 64. They also did that phenomenal Mr. Gimmick annotated Youtube video.





Uh, yeah... how 'bout that Zelda?  If you're memories worse than mine (which is saying something) Where We Remain was really cool.

You're awesome.

To put this somewhat back on track, apparently Square was planning to make an Action-RPG for the Game Boy back in 1990 called Hyouryuu Shounen Keith. The graphics are rudimentary, but the resemblance is uncanny. I can't find any ROM's floating around, though. http://www.disgruntleddesigner.com/chrisc/secret/GB__1990Q3.html#keith

I need to get on posting this for PTT. Both documentaries look awesome, much love for everybody.

"D3DRM.DLL"

EDIT: It appears to be the same for Akuji as well.

Speaking of Guardian of Paradise; I've downloaded it on more than one occasion but every time I do so it says I'm missing a .dll of some kind. This goes the same for Buster's other title, Akuji the Demon. Any ideas, anybody?

Hey baby, I'm still down for that review.  This looks fantastic, I really want to delve into my half-baked tabletop/TCG designs again.

Just dropped in to say that this is awesome. I'm posting mostly so that I can keep tabs on this project, hope ya don't mind. 

There's always Gunman's Proof, which is pretty much Zelda, but with aliens and cowboys and set in 1880.

Just downloaded and played last night. It's a lot more combat-oriented than Zelda but absolutely charming. Seeing as how it didn't get a release stateside it's pretty Japanese, and the graphics are phenomenal. I'm not sure how long the gameplay will hold up but it's got me transfixed so far.

Oh, it's a stretch... but there is the Shining Soul series for GBA.



It's more of a Diablo-lite but I loved playing it with my little brother a couple years back.

Link's Awakening is the best implementation of the Zelda franchise, in my not-so-humble opinion. Call me a whipper-snapper but I find the original to be too archaic in comparison. The writing works pretty well and has a certain charm to it. The more linear structure is better paced than the wandering around of LoZ. The entire game has this whimsical feel to it that the series hasn't tapped into since (with the caveat being Minish Cap to a degree). This partially has to do with being on a handheld, which always seems to be a more personal experience than a television/computer.

The original title was probably your first experience with the series, as LoZ: LA is mine. This is all personal conjecture -- Link's Awakening is one of my top tier favorites -- but it could be argued at length that the design is a lot stronger and detail-oriented. You can steal from the shopkeeper at the expense of being called THIEF the remainder of the game. If that doesn't win you over... bomb-arrows!


tl;dr LINK'S AWAKENING BETTER

On that note, there is this Japanese only title that served as a prototype for LA:  
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaeru_no_Tame_ni_Kane_wa_Naru

I'm waiting for the translation patch; has anybody tried this game out?

I have to agree with Paul on both counts -- we're all unpaid enthusiasts (nobody on Play This Thing owns a current gen console) and reviews entries trump previews & trailers.

A quick Google search doesn't show much in the way of an XBLIG/PSN/WiiWare review outlet. If you could round up a handful of dev's for these networks that have decent writing chops you could get an entire site dedicated to these games. You'd certainly fulfill your own niche.

I rejoined these forums because of this thread. Thanks for mentioning some of the obscure pieces -- I can vouch for Survival Kids, Final Fantasy Adventure, Legend of Princess, and the ever-quirky Legend of Mystical Ninja starring Goemon.

i really dig how the player is left with minimal instructions and has to divine the games inner-workings through playing. i know it'd be hard to add extra layers of complexity to the title, but i'd definitely stick with this title and refine it some more. i love what you have so far though.