PixlBit

A majority of this batch of GamerDad reviews I’ve recently written have to do with Japanese myths and legends and other related themes, so hence the title.  Please click on the links and read as many as you can, and maybe post a ‘like’ or comment or two.  I’d appreciate it.  OK let’s begin!

Bakeru (Switch)

Well this game certainly took me by surprise, as it’s one of the best games I’ve played this year so far!  Bakeru is set in an alternate version of Japan, where fairy tale heroes are real.  You play as Bakeru, a shape-shifting tanuki who attacks enemies with taiko drumsticks in his human form.  You’ll travel around this cartoony version of Japan in a 3D platformer style adventure. The Japanese themes remind me a lot of games like Okami and the Goemon games (Mystical Ninja in the US).  In fact, Good Feel made Bakeru, and one of the guys who founded that company used to work for Konami and made a lot of the Goemon games.  So many people say that Bakeru is like a spiritual successor to those.  Good Feel also made many games for Nintendo, some of which include Wario Land: Shake it, Kirby’s Epic Yarn, and Yoshi’s Woolly World.  And Bakeru is just as good as anything Nintendo has produced this year so far.

Shadow of the Ninja – Reborn (PS4)

One of my biggest gaming regrets is that when I got my Super Nintendo back in August of 1991 when it first came out, I kind of abandoned my old NES.  Sure I might’ve brought it out again if I rented a new Mega Man game or something, but for the most part, I was just focused on the 16-bit stuff after that.  Which is a shame because a lot of really good NES games came out after that, and I either didn’t play them until much, much later or missed out on them entirely.  Shadow of the Ninja was one such game.  I’m not sure if I would’ve played it much myself, but I might’ve rented it to play with my best friend at the time, since we both enjoyed playing other titles like Ninja Gaiden together.  But now you can play a remake of the game with improved graphics and such, and it’s available on all current consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.  It’s also made by the same team who did remakes of other Natsume and Taito titles like The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors and Pocky and Rocky Reshrined.

Ikki Unite (Switch)

In Japan during the 80s there was an arcade game called Ikki by Sunsoft.  Ikki means ‘peasant revolution’ and that’s exactly what you did in the game.  You play as a poor farmer as you run around fields collecting money and throwing sickles at evil ninjas.  It never came to the US, probably because American kids didn’t want to play a game about a peasant revolution, and who wants to play a game called “Icky” anyway?  Ikki was also ported to the Japanese NES, or Famicom as well.  There it gained notoriety as a really bad game, but since it came out during the Famicom’s big heyday, it still sold well.  It was one of Sunsoft’s first Famicom games, and was probably a good stepping stone for them as they would eventually become one of Nintendo’s best developers for the 8-bit system.   And now, nearly 40 years later, you can play a new Ikki game with Ikki Unite.  It’s a multiplayer version of the game that adds elements from popular titles like Vampire Survivor.

SokoPenguin (PS4)

Pengo was one of my favorite arcade games and was one of the few that could pull me away from Pac-Man.  So I’m drawn to any type of game starring a block pushing penguin.  SokoPenguin is more of a puzzle game where you must push blocks around to make a path so a little penguin can reach its igloo house.

Cooking (Switch)

This game may have the most unoriginal title ever, but at least you know what you’re getting.  Cooking on Switch looks and plays nearly identical to a game I reviewed a few months back called Tokyo Cooking, except they improved on it in every way.  Kind of makes me wonder why they released that one first when they could’ve just done this one.  Anyway, you can probably guess what kind of game this is.

Mining Mechs (PS4)

Drive robot mechs underground as you search for treasure in Mining Mechs.  It’s a 2D action adventure game and kind of reminds me of Steamworld Dig mixed with elements of Terraria.

Bare Butt Boxing (Switch)

Box all sorts of crazy characters in this madcap multiplayer romp.  Play as a frog, fish, skeleton, robots, and more as you punch other players into warp holes for points. 

And that’s all for now!  Thanks for reading my reviews and posting ‘likes’ and comments!  I do appreciate it!  Later!  --Cary