It’s time we talk about one of the all time classics: Irritating Stick for the PlayStation 1. It’s got everything! Sticks (well, one stick), a level creator (kinda cool), multiplayer (well, you can take turns), and most importantly, it is exactly as irritating as you’d expect ❌

Riveting gameplay 😎

FMA creator Hiromu Arakawa got another tie-in game in 2016 with her newer series The Heroic Legend of Arslan (itself a retelling of a 1980’s novel series, featuring art by Final Fantasy’s Yoshitaka Amano). Arslan was developed by Omega Force of Dynasty Warriors fame, and plays how you’d expect 3/

Full Metal Alchemist got several games in the 2000’s. Japan got 11 games, including ones for the GBA, Wii, and PSP, while the US only ended up with four, two for the PlayStation 2, and two for the Nintendo DS. The TCG DS game even came with a special trading card! 1/

Feels like an applicable game to talk about for July 4th. A game about fireworks 🎆
It’s pretty simple, but it’s a visual treat! It got a pretty limited release sequel on PS5, as well. I haven’t played that one, but maybe today’s the day?

Got my copy of The Thing Remastered for PS5! Such a cool game to get a remaster, I’m excited to start this soon. No goodies on the inside, sadly, but that’s okay.

Carnage Heart! It’s a mech fighting game, except you don’t control the mech. Instead, it comes with an 80 page manual and an entire second disc dedicated to teaching you how to program your mech, to send it in to fight on your behalf.

Just when we thought the series was dead, Square Enix announced Valkyrie Elysium, an action RPG sequel to the series, alongside an enhanced port of Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth. This one got so-so reviews, but it’s still a beautiful game, and it’s great that Square still cares about the series /5

Shortly after, in 2008, a DS spinoff tactics game was released, called Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume. Featuring some fun mechanics, including teaming up and surrounding enemy units, this game deserves a lot more love in my opinion /4

Despite its cult status, it also got a direct sequel the same year as Lenneth, on the PlayStation 2! This one follows a similar gameplay pattern as the first, but fully 3D, and this time, it’s a story of revenge /3

VP got a remake with the subtitle “Lenneth” on the PSP in 2006, featuring higher resolution art and brand new CG cutscenes. This version was also ported in HD to the PS4/5 in 2022 /2

1999 gave us Enix’s Valkyrie Profile for the PlayStation! With stunning art, fantastic turn-based hybrid gameplay, and an operatic story with a Norse backdrop, this game has a cult following and is fairly rare these days.
It has a unique premise of scouting for party members throughout the world /1

Quick little sneak peak at my Dragon Quest shelf 🐉
One day I’d love to have a full set of NA games + all other regional exclusives! I’ve got a lot, but I’m still missing quite a few.
Also bonus DQ Nintendo Switch console (with Red XIII for scale)

Gives me the same vibe

Dragon Quest is my favorite series of all time, so it’s cool to see all this stuff. Some of the art is weird and not even closely resembles (or is nearly as charming) as Akira Toriyama’s classic designs.

I was given this awesome Dragon Warrior Nintendo Power guide from my boss at work. I love all the wild artwork they added, most of it doesn’t match the look of the game *at all*

Crusader of Centy! This was a hard one to track down! Being a quite good Zelda Link to the Past competitor, this game sadly sold terribly (only around 6,000 copies in North America) likely due to the fact that the Sega Saturn released only a month later.
1/2

One of the coolest things in my collection: the Operation Rainfall kickstarter slipcover case for Xenoblade Chronicles, Last Story, and Pandora’s Tower!
From my research, only between 50-100 of these were made. 1/2