PixlBit

Sneaking in like a ninja, here are some game reviews I’ve recently written at GamerDad.com!  Please click on the links and read as many as you can, and maybe even post a ‘like’ or comment or two.  I’d appreciate it.  OK let’s begin!

Binging on Ninja Jajamaru!

Video game mascots come and go, and one such mascot that a lot of people have never heard of is Ninja Jajamaru.  Clad in red, this ninja boy was kind of the mascot for the now defunct game company Jaleco.  He appeared in mostly 8-bit games, but they span the range of genres from 2-D platformers to even RPGs!  I’ve read that some of these games were even planned to be released in the US under different names, like Ninja Kid, but I don’t remember ever seeing them.  Some of these titles could be played with the Nintendo Virtual Console service later on.  And if you’ve ever played Retro Game Challenge on the Nintendo DS, the Robot Ninja HaggleMan games are a parody of Ninja Jajamaru.  And now there are a couple of collections of Ninja Jajamaru titles you can download on the PS4 and Switch (reviewed on PS4 here).  So let’s take a look at these collections!

Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse (PS4)

All right folks, I’m about to reveal one of my guilty pleasures.  I like ghost shows.  You know those shows on the Discovery Channel where investigators or ‘ghost hunters’ will explore haunted places to try and find proof of ghosts?  Yeah I know those shows are dumb and probably are over exaggerated and maybe even faked at times.  But I still like ‘em anyway!  I just think ghosts are cool.  But there’s not a whole lot of horror themed video games where you fight ghosts.  It’s usually zombies or something else.  But even though I usually like happy, colorful, kid friendly games, I do have a passing interest in the Fatal Frame series, where you use a special camera to fight ghosts by taking pictures of them.  This series of games goes all the way back to the PS2 and I’ve played pretty much all of them.  The latest one, Mask of the Lunar Eclipse, just came out and it’s available on all current consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.

Cuddly Forest Friends (Switch)

A group of the most adorable critters you’ve ever seen live happily in a forest together.  One day a magical star-shaped seed appeared.  If you plant it, good things will happen when it grows into a tree.  But it only grows with happy feelings.  So all the animals decide to build things for each other, eat good food, and play games together to make the tree grow.  Cuddly Forest Friends on Switch is a hybrid virtual pet simulator mixed with Mario Party style mini-games.

Papertris (Switch)

Papertris is a ‘falling blocks down a well’ type puzzle game, and it’s most similar to SEGA’s Columns.  Colored blocks of three in a column fall from above, and you must arrange them and press the button to cycle through the color order to match three or more of the same.  Except while in Columns you could only match colors horizontally, vertically, and diagonally, here you can match colors as long as they are next to each other.  There are single player and multiplayer modes, and it has a neat paper graphics style. 

Pretty Girls Tile Match (PS4)

Unlock outfits for cute anime ladies by playing a mahjong variation where you match three tiles. 

RunBean Galactic (PS4)

You’re a little astronaut jogging around a small planet while avoiding obstacles.  Jump over spikes, roll under chompers, and try to survive as long as you can in this continuous runner.

Omen of Sorrow (Switch)

Omen of Sorrow is a 2-D fighting game featuring 3-D characters and backdrops.  The fighters are mostly based on horror tropes from literature, myths, and legends.  Some of the characters include a mummy, a Frankenstein’s monster type guy, a demon lady with wings, a werewolf, Quasimodo from Hunchback of Notre Dame, and a Jekyll and Hyde guy.  My favorite is an angel lady.

The Legend of Gwen (Switch)

Gwen is a young witch in training who has just started witch school, but on her first day magical stars have gone missing and it’s up to Gwen and her limited magic skills to save the day.  The Legend of Gwen is a retro styled fixed camera 3-D platformer.

And that’s all for now!  Thanks for reading and commenting on my reviews!  I really appreciate it.  Hopefully on my next blog I’ll be able to tell you all about my trip to Super Nintendo World!  Later!  --Cary