Back when I wanted to play the Dragon Quest series (which to my knowledge had less to really do with me riding the usual smash hype waves but was rather fueled by wanting to see what the series was about as my friends were into DQ11), I wanted to play the first games but I was alone in my expensive-ass college apartment so I didn't have my trusty SNES or NES to bust out the originals and emulation ain't my jam when I can avoid it. I did have a Wii and a palpable comprehension level of Japanese (which to this day is far from complete lmao), so I was like fuck it we ball and played the 16 bit versions of DQ 1-3 through this compilation disc. Very strange that games as extremely important to Japanese video gaming as the first few Dragon Quests got a limited compilation disc to be played on the wii instead of the rational decision to put them on virtual console, but like I guess if Mario All Stars can get away with it so can Dragon Quest. It's a pretty barebones compilation, there's the first 3 games both in their original famicom form as well as their super famicom remakes as well as your typical basic art gallery bonuses that come with these kinds of packages. I do think it's cool to add both the originals for those that want to embrace the 8-bit limitations and jank as well as the remakes for those that want a more comfortable Dragon Questing. It would have been cool if they did some way to transfer save files between the two game types but that'd probably not work given how the remakes for the games (especially 3) are. DQ1 and 3 alone are def worth getting this comp for but there are probably much easier ways to play em these days than finding an obscure wii compilation and I'm just the very weird outlier, I think getting actual carts is pretty trivially cheap (or at least it SHOULD be). If you are in the exact same extremely statistically small scenario as I was when I played this and want to get some dragons quested this is a very good way to do so!

as I abide by the semi-enforced self rule of logging compilation titles for games if that's how I played the games within I realized that I've forgotten to add this from wayyyy back when I played it like 5 years ago so like yea

This is a pretty good compromise for those that want to play the first dragon quests where it's not as riddled with the primitive jank of the 8-bit titles and also not as mobile-core as the modern rereleases. You really can't go wrong with any version of DQ 1/2 but this would be my personal rec

here are my old-ass reviews of both games from way back when I played them in the distant year of like mfin 2019 or whatever (i also logged these as the NES versions despite playing the SNES remakes because I didn't know they had a separate page at the time and can't be bothered to move them, don't trust anyone you know on the internet because they all might be scheming liars like me)

DQ1 review

DQ2 review

For GBA ports of Wonderswan ports of Playstation 1 remakes of NES games, this is a pretty good way to play the first two Final Fantasy games. I think it's a pretty good compromise between having the smaller-scale pixel art and assets for the world, text, and characters while also keeping the modernized features of the PS1 remakes with none of the loading times. There's also extra content that I don't remember was in the original remakes or not, but it's there! I think the pixel remasters have enough mods and options to make them the "premier" way to play the old FFs, and there is some part of me that maybe thinks I should have played the PSP remakes of these games instead of the GBA versions to get my classic FF fill, but overall I can't say what I played was a bad version of the game, or that I didn't get the "true" experience that way. And frankly, if you are the type of person that is gonna get on someones ass about playing the "true" version of a video game, why don't you go try to find the "true" way to not be a snob!

FF1 review (ngl this guy is from my pre-backloggd days where I didn't write as much aka the good ol' days, and I accidentally did log the wonderswan version instead of the GBA version but I don't give a FUCK)

FF2 Review (fun fact I mitigated most of the grinding in FF2 by grinding in the background while listening to class lectures, I do not professionally condone playing video games at school but hey I have an A in the class so shoutouts to the game boy fucking advance I guess)

Ah, Final Fantasy 2. I definitely had some caution going into this one as I had heard the horror stories, but after playing it the games really not as bad as I was led to believe. If anything, I think that the really weird levelling system can lead to a lot of really entertaining ways to approach the game, like having your party ignore whatever crippled mook they've decided to spare to instead beat the shit out of each other in order to raise everyones stats in a safe environment, or just having a naked, masochistic party that refuses to wear anything for the sake of health stat buffs. It's really cool to see a game somewhat try to compromise with the player when it comes to what strategies will actually work, and I enjoyed making EVERYONE a red mage. It's also cool how ultima scales damage by your total levels across the board instead of just its own level, even if it's fundamentally useless and absolutely not worth the grind whatsoever because of that (didn't stop me from trying!). The game also has a lot more focus on the story rather than the first games pretty boneless "four dudes grab the mcguffins and beat up the bad guy" plot. There are pre-established characters with their own personalities going on a quest with a surprisingly somber tone with plenty of character deaths. Felt very star-wars inspired what with the whole ramshackle group of rebels trying to defeat an oppressive imperial military force with weapons of mass destruction beyond anyones comprehension. Compared to other 8-bit RPGs I've played with prestablished parties that aren't just fill-in-the-blank vessels like Dragon Quest 2/4, Mother, and Phantasy Star, this definitely is on the higher end of the narrative scale. My only real gripes with it are just the fact that the game is a bit too long for its own good and there are a LOT of random encounters. The dynamic stat system begs for replays that experiment with party compositions, but I just feel like the game is too long in its entirety for me to really want to replay it to see what I could do differently. Whether that's an actual fault for the game itself or more a byproduct of the game being made for the 1980s gaming market, I leave to you to decide. It was honestly just as enjoyable as the first FF game, so don't let the naysayers dissuade you from at least giving it a shot yanno

what do you mean the touhou games aren't a series of breakout-likes




This is the first "true" touhou game as it's all about that classic danmaku shootin and it's pretty solid all things considered! This game marks the debut of key Touhou characters like Marisa and the turtle that Reimu rides in every game (she does ride a turtle in every game, right?). There are 3 different good endings to get depending on which gameplay style you choose at the beginning of the game (speed-focused, balanced, and attack-focused), and using a continue at any point gets you the bad ending which is kinda blegh imo but that's just the way things are. Luckily unlike supposed later touhou games you don't need to play on a particular difficulty to get the good endings so at least that's something, I was able to squeeze out a clear on the normal difficulty. Gameplaywise it feels like the game took the progressive powerup system and goofy between-stage banter of the Cotton games, threw them in a vertical bullet hell with a panic-button bomb system, all with the yokai and shrine maiden aesthetics of Kiki Kaikai. The music also bangs as per always. Sometimes there can be so much shit flying around on screen that it can become a bit of a sensory overload especially on lunatic mode where killing literally anything sends hordes of bullets at you, but with enough practice things become manageable. For some reason I keep hearing people say that ZUN's art for the games themselves is mediocre/bad but really I thought the visuals and character designs were quite expressive and good! Overall it's a good foundation that I'm sure the future titles will continue to build and polish upon as the series begins to understand its own identity.

The Guild series of games are basically Level-5 taking a boutique assortment of game designers, and offering them the resources to make a small game for the 3DS to the efforts under one label in one compilation. While each game in the first wave definitely left me wanting more in various different ways, they all brought something unique and fresh to the table and make this compilation truly greater than the sum of its parts.

This compilation consists of four titles, each developed by different teams led by different esteemed creators. The four games are the insane sorting puzzle game that could only have been thought up by Yoot Saito Aero Porter, the tribute to tabletop roleplaying DM'd by Yasumi Matsuno Crimson Shroud, the adrenaline-pumping Suda51 action shooter Liberation Maiden, and the weapon store/blacksmithing management sim of Weapon Shop de Omasse, created by Yoshiyuki Hirai, a comedian and relative outsider to game development. Each game feels distinct and has their own personal touches to them, like Aero Porters characteristically blunt UI and design, Liberation Maidens bombastic stylish action, and Weapon Shop de Omasse/Crimson Shroud having writing that matches their director.

I wouldn't really say each game on their own is a particular must-play or a masterpiece, but given the context of their creation I can't help but appreciate them. I really wish it became a larger series than just having 2 waves of releases on 3DS before fizzling out, because games like this are certainly unique little passion projects that I feel the world could always use more of. While the compilation containing all 4 games on a cartridge was only released in Japan, every game in the series was somehow miraculously localized into English and given piecemeal releases on the (now-long-defunct) eShop. It's surprising that no company has tried to do this concept again on something like the switch, but something might tell me that just due to the nature of modern game development being as costly as it is even to polish small projects that maybe this series was something that could have only been done exactly in its time precisely on the 3DS. Regardless, I'm glad to have been able to play through these games as I'd been interested in them for years and would definitely suggest at least giving each title a try. Things like this don't get made very often.

Not much to really say tbh, the game is quite short at only 5 levels. It's like an actiony shootery type game with a control style kind of like kid icarus uprising with the ol' stylus to aim and stick to move type beat but you don't really move in a real 3D space as you just kinda hover around above the ground and shoot downwards at the floor. The game does have a cool sense of spectacle to it especially near the end and the premise of being a government official with a giant robot mech that spreads justice (and nature in this games particular case) will never not be cool. Every boss fight that has a vocal theme kick in always goes hard, they did a good job with the overall excitement here. I was expecting this game to be similar to Ranko Tsukigime's Longest Day, another short Suda side-project, but this game is significantly more reserved and focused than that. There aren't even any wrestlers or assassins!!! Can this really be called a suda game without either of those??? My final protip is for the love of all that is holy if you are curious about playing this get the undub, the fact that they replaced hanakana with the most generic modern anime dub lady with no dual audio should be considered an international crime. I'm normally not one to put my foot in the whole dub/sub wars, but really with a game like this you'd really think they'd at least have an option for jp audio... It's short, it's fun, it's surprisingly straight-laced, if you have a 3DS it's a decent way to kill an hour.