Is this Yaoi? This looks like Yaoi...
Welcome to a special Nerds Without Pants…thing? Ok, I’ll be honest. This is being written by Julian, but I have no earthly idea what you’re in store for here. Justin played another bad game, I think? And he narrated it? This is the first episode of NWP that I’m not involved with, and it feels…really wrong, actually.
It's so good, I can bear-ly stand it!
If there’s one thing that Spike Chunsoft has proven, it’s that they know how to make a damn good visual novel. Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc is their latest title to be localized to America and it stands up to the high standards set by their Zero Escape series. While similar in premise, Danganronpa eschews the puzzle-based design and offers up a unique gameplay style that blends Ace Attorney, Persona Social Links, and a touch of Rhythm Heaven. It all comes together to form a gripping and zany experience that doesn’t let up till the credits roll.
All of this has happened before, and all of this will happen again.
Much like the sequel to Evil Dead, Corpse Party: Book of Shadows opens up to a very familiar scene. In fact, it’s basically the same start to the previous game. Unlike that second Evil Dead, the characters in this story are vaguely aware that they’ve been in this situation before, but not soon enough to seal their collective fates once again. Yep, it’s back to the cursed and deadly Heavenly Host Elementary school. If you're into Japanese culture, you'll notice a lot of plot devices involving déjà vu. This whole game feels like one massive case of déjà vu, and I’m just not feeling it this time around.
If you don't buy this game, I will have a grudge against you, and you don't want me haunting your dreams.
Since its humble 32-bit beginnings, the PlayStation brand has been home to some truly unique and sometimes downright weird games from its native Japan. The PlayStation gave us games like Incredible Crisis, Bust a Groove, One Piece Mansion, and Rising Zan: Samurai Gunman. The trend continued on PS2 with Mr. Mosquito, Katamari Damacy, Gitaroo Man, and Okage: Shadow King. Sadly, with the video game industry being such a volatile, cutthroat business in the current climate, releasing quirky games like these has become a gamble that rarely pays off for publishers. Thankfully, we still have handheld machines like the PSP to give us our experimental Japanese games. Enter Corpse Party, a digital release for PSP that is so niche that I’m surprised it was translated. Surprised, but happy; this is one of those unique, under-the-radar games that is not to be missed.
