Derek
@astralcitymini.com
Senior Editor at MARVELOUS/XSEED. Chicagoan.
Digital explorer. 🗺️ Café connoisseur. ☕️ Audiophile. 🎧
I care deeply about words and the stories they tell.
🏳️🌈 he/him
FFXIV: Serph Embryon (Hyperion)
astralcitymini.com
Digital explorer. 🗺️ Café connoisseur. ☕️ Audiophile. 🎧
I care deeply about words and the stories they tell.
🏳️🌈 he/him
FFXIV: Serph Embryon (Hyperion)
astralcitymini.com
The irony is not lost on me given that I just posted about it, but…CDJapan day! 💿
January 28, 2026 at 8:19 PM
The irony is not lost on me given that I just posted about it, but…CDJapan day! 💿
Without warning or explanation, CDJapan has doubled their customs handling fee for packages shipped through FedEx FICP: 1,300JPY -> 2,600JPY. 😓 I just want to support Japanese musicians and listen to their work at the highest fidelity. Small potatoes in light of everything else, but dammit.
January 27, 2026 at 10:21 PM
Without warning or explanation, CDJapan has doubled their customs handling fee for packages shipped through FedEx FICP: 1,300JPY -> 2,600JPY. 😓 I just want to support Japanese musicians and listen to their work at the highest fidelity. Small potatoes in light of everything else, but dammit.
Reposted by Derek
Everyone who makes YouTube thumbnails goes to hell
January 27, 2026 at 7:00 PM
Everyone who makes YouTube thumbnails goes to hell
Reposted by Derek
?! ?! ?!
DDS MERCH IN THE YEAR 2026?
DDS MERCH IN THE YEAR 2026?
January 27, 2026 at 2:08 PM
?! ?! ?!
DDS MERCH IN THE YEAR 2026?
DDS MERCH IN THE YEAR 2026?
OMG. I'd been stuck at level 53 in WaniKani for, like, two years. Finally. Finally, I'm moving again. I'll get level 60 this year, no matter what! 💪🏻
January 27, 2026 at 5:12 AM
OMG. I'd been stuck at level 53 in WaniKani for, like, two years. Finally. Finally, I'm moving again. I'll get level 60 this year, no matter what! 💪🏻
“ I don't want to have a *backlog* of games—a series of orders to work through and clear—I want to own a *library* of them, something to dip into and enjoy it as I see fit.”
さすがキミミ。👏🏻
さすがキミミ。👏🏻
"What's to be gained from spending even more time with something I already stopped enjoying, just to see a conclusion I'm not that interested in? Who is benefiting from this unwanted toil?"
New article for Ko-fi supporters! This one's about how we interact with games:
ko-fi.com/post/Let-It-...
New article for Ko-fi supporters! This one's about how we interact with games:
ko-fi.com/post/Let-It-...
Let It Go: Finishing games is optional
Kimimi published a supporter-only post on Ko-fi!
ko-fi.com
January 26, 2026 at 3:09 PM
“ I don't want to have a *backlog* of games—a series of orders to work through and clear—I want to own a *library* of them, something to dip into and enjoy it as I see fit.”
さすがキミミ。👏🏻
さすがキミミ。👏🏻
Square Enix Music is going balls to the wall this year. 18 albums are on the 2026 release calendar so far—very nearly one or more per week. The budget ails; the ears revel.
Square Enix has announced a new Final Fantasy IX deep house album titled House Grooves featuring new versions of 12 tracks from the game: https://www.rpgsite.net/news/19439-final-fantasy-ix-house-grooves-album-release-pre-order-cd-new
January 26, 2026 at 3:03 PM
Square Enix Music is going balls to the wall this year. 18 albums are on the 2026 release calendar so far—very nearly one or more per week. The budget ails; the ears revel.
Reposted by Derek
How do we see the future? Is it an expansion of possibility and imagination, a canvas on which we can paint anything? Or is the future a contraction? A place where ideas are bound by the spaces we’re given to create them — a place that determines what we’re allowed to dream youtu.be/F0K2DnI1TDk
January 25, 2026 at 4:32 PM
How do we see the future? Is it an expansion of possibility and imagination, a canvas on which we can paint anything? Or is the future a contraction? A place where ideas are bound by the spaces we’re given to create them — a place that determines what we’re allowed to dream youtu.be/F0K2DnI1TDk
I received a surprise gift of a portrait of my FFXIV character, Serph, by @tezastunes.bsky.social! I’m welling up with emotion over how much I love it. His expression, the texture of his hair, the floral detailing on the coat… It’s beautiful. Thank you so much, Teza!
January 23, 2026 at 6:23 PM
I received a surprise gift of a portrait of my FFXIV character, Serph, by @tezastunes.bsky.social! I’m welling up with emotion over how much I love it. His expression, the texture of his hair, the floral detailing on the coat… It’s beautiful. Thank you so much, Teza!
Had to wake up early and brave the “feels like –24°” temps to go to a medical appointment, so to celebrate my survival, I treated myself to a few new books on the way home. 📖
January 23, 2026 at 6:06 PM
Had to wake up early and brave the “feels like –24°” temps to go to a medical appointment, so to celebrate my survival, I treated myself to a few new books on the way home. 📖
Reposted by Derek
My review of The Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond the Horizon is live at @avclub.com, and let me tell you: this one rips. Like you should play all of these games just to experience this one as intended levels of good.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond the Horizon continues the best epic in games
The masterful Trails Beyond the Horizon leaves the best ongoing epic in games on an apocalyptic cliffhanger.
www.avclub.com
January 23, 2026 at 2:15 PM
My review of The Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond the Horizon is live at @avclub.com, and let me tell you: this one rips. Like you should play all of these games just to experience this one as intended levels of good.
Reposted by Derek
otherwise, IMO, that's how you end up with games that are like "our game is like our spiritual inspiration: chrono trigger!*"
*except with worse pacing and writing that fundamentally misreads all the character work happening in that game and instead just rehashes the tropes in a surface-level way
*except with worse pacing and writing that fundamentally misreads all the character work happening in that game and instead just rehashes the tropes in a surface-level way
January 23, 2026 at 5:23 PM
otherwise, IMO, that's how you end up with games that are like "our game is like our spiritual inspiration: chrono trigger!*"
*except with worse pacing and writing that fundamentally misreads all the character work happening in that game and instead just rehashes the tropes in a surface-level way
*except with worse pacing and writing that fundamentally misreads all the character work happening in that game and instead just rehashes the tropes in a surface-level way
Reposted by Derek
couldn't agree more. it's great to be inspired by games you love, but you desperately need to engage with other kinds of things like books, movies, music, theater, going to a museum, looking at a cool tree...you know
The author of the novels that inspired Shin Megami Tensei and Persona says developers should take more inspiration from other media to invent new gameplay systems.
If they only take inspiration from games they'll just make the same games, he says.
www.videogameschronicle.com/news/megami-...
If they only take inspiration from games they'll just make the same games, he says.
www.videogameschronicle.com/news/megami-...
Megami Tensei author says devs must take inspiration from other media if they want to invent new gameplay systems | VGC
If creators draw inspiration from games, they’ll just make the same games…
www.videogameschronicle.com
January 23, 2026 at 4:58 PM
couldn't agree more. it's great to be inspired by games you love, but you desperately need to engage with other kinds of things like books, movies, music, theater, going to a museum, looking at a cool tree...you know
Reposted by Derek
A game doesn't need to be 'by and for fans'
aftermath.site/life-is-strang...
aftermath.site/life-is-strang...
January 22, 2026 at 5:12 PM
A game doesn't need to be 'by and for fans'
aftermath.site/life-is-strang...
aftermath.site/life-is-strang...
Reposted by Derek
Karous steam is here!!!! Go get it!!!!
store.steampowered.com/app/4090420/...
store.steampowered.com/app/4090420/...
Karous on Steam
Slash, shoot, guard, grow! Karous, a Dreamcast shoot 'em up originally released back in 2007, is now soaring onto PC. Play as Karous, a girl who lost her parents in a great war with humans. Driven by ...
store.steampowered.com
January 22, 2026 at 8:03 AM
Karous steam is here!!!! Go get it!!!!
store.steampowered.com/app/4090420/...
store.steampowered.com/app/4090420/...
Reposted by Derek
out now! https://store.steampowered.com/app/4090420/Karous/
if you're curious about the game & how it differs from Cave et al, or were befuddled by RS34's typical PVs, do check out this new one—it's uncharacteristically straightforward & is EN-subbed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0C7uGDocIcg
if you're curious about the game & how it differs from Cave et al, or were befuddled by RS34's typical PVs, do check out this new one—it's uncharacteristically straightforward & is EN-subbed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0C7uGDocIcg
January 22, 2026 at 8:41 AM
out now! https://store.steampowered.com/app/4090420/Karous/
if you're curious about the game & how it differs from Cave et al, or were befuddled by RS34's typical PVs, do check out this new one—it's uncharacteristically straightforward & is EN-subbed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0C7uGDocIcg
if you're curious about the game & how it differs from Cave et al, or were befuddled by RS34's typical PVs, do check out this new one—it's uncharacteristically straightforward & is EN-subbed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0C7uGDocIcg
Reposted by Derek
[ interactSTYLE ]
The New DV-i User Interface Release.
Available now on itch.io, bandcamp and nina protocol.
dv-i.itch.io/interactstyle
dv-i.bandcamp.com/album/dv-i-i...
www.ninaprotocol.com/releases/dvi...
(cover illustration by fredrin @fredrin.megatokyo.com and DV-i)
The New DV-i User Interface Release.
Available now on itch.io, bandcamp and nina protocol.
dv-i.itch.io/interactstyle
dv-i.bandcamp.com/album/dv-i-i...
www.ninaprotocol.com/releases/dvi...
(cover illustration by fredrin @fredrin.megatokyo.com and DV-i)
January 20, 2026 at 6:39 PM
[ interactSTYLE ]
The New DV-i User Interface Release.
Available now on itch.io, bandcamp and nina protocol.
dv-i.itch.io/interactstyle
dv-i.bandcamp.com/album/dv-i-i...
www.ninaprotocol.com/releases/dvi...
(cover illustration by fredrin @fredrin.megatokyo.com and DV-i)
The New DV-i User Interface Release.
Available now on itch.io, bandcamp and nina protocol.
dv-i.itch.io/interactstyle
dv-i.bandcamp.com/album/dv-i-i...
www.ninaprotocol.com/releases/dvi...
(cover illustration by fredrin @fredrin.megatokyo.com and DV-i)
Tricked myself into purchasing the Xenosaga Episode I OST from Wayo Records, as the product listing and "NEW" designation made me think it was a new printing with new liner notes. It is not, but the penalty for my error is...owning the Xenosaga OST on CD. There are only winners here.
January 20, 2026 at 7:21 PM
Tricked myself into purchasing the Xenosaga Episode I OST from Wayo Records, as the product listing and "NEW" designation made me think it was a new printing with new liner notes. It is not, but the penalty for my error is...owning the Xenosaga OST on CD. There are only winners here.
Reposted by Derek
Whenever someone criticizes a Trails game for not being welcoming to newcomers, remember this: good, they shouldn't be
January 17, 2026 at 12:33 AM
Whenever someone criticizes a Trails game for not being welcoming to newcomers, remember this: good, they shouldn't be
The new Craft and S-Craft animations in #TrailsBeyondtheHorizon are so good I’m getting goosebumps and tearing up. Quatre and Elaine got amazing glow-ups. 🥹 I feel safe to love Trails again without compromise. 1000% in nerd heaven right now.
January 16, 2026 at 1:21 AM
The new Craft and S-Craft animations in #TrailsBeyondtheHorizon are so good I’m getting goosebumps and tearing up. Quatre and Elaine got amazing glow-ups. 🥹 I feel safe to love Trails again without compromise. 1000% in nerd heaven right now.
Reposted by Derek
Life is nice. Some memories of Panzer Dragoon. www.lowpolypigeons.com/blog/the-win...
the wings of a blue dragon — Low Poly Pigeons
I remember Panzer Dragoon.
www.lowpolypigeons.com
January 13, 2026 at 2:46 AM
Life is nice. Some memories of Panzer Dragoon. www.lowpolypigeons.com/blog/the-win...
Reposted by Derek
A new release usually means that I write about some PC features and technical details that were interesting during development, which in turn means that I have to log into social media to post about it ;)
Read about our port of Trails Beyond the Horizon here:
store.steampowered.com/news/app/331...
Read about our port of Trails Beyond the Horizon here:
store.steampowered.com/news/app/331...
The Legend of Heroes: Trails beyond the Horizon - PC Features, Protecting Players From Themselves, and Supporting Old Hardware - Steam News
Hi everyone, Trails beyond the Horizon is releasing today, and as always with our PC ports, it's my pleasure to share some information about the features and improvements, and also some - hopefully am...
store.steampowered.com
January 15, 2026 at 3:08 PM
A new release usually means that I write about some PC features and technical details that were interesting during development, which in turn means that I have to log into social media to post about it ;)
Read about our port of Trails Beyond the Horizon here:
store.steampowered.com/news/app/331...
Read about our port of Trails Beyond the Horizon here:
store.steampowered.com/news/app/331...
Reposted by Derek
Happy launch daaaaay.
I was on the loc team for this one~
\o/
Go enjoy.
I was on the loc team for this one~
\o/
Go enjoy.
January 15, 2026 at 1:51 PM
Happy launch daaaaay.
I was on the loc team for this one~
\o/
Go enjoy.
I was on the loc team for this one~
\o/
Go enjoy.