Rundown (5/01-5/07) Ret-2-eScape TSF Hell
Wherein I discuss the 10th anniversary project’s progress, the Square Enix separation, and an ARG with a zero chance of escape.
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Rundown (7/09-7/15) Natalie Will Need a New Box
I have brought this up in the past, but I eventually plan on retiring Nigmabox. It is a site I have called my own since I was 17, and there is a lot of baggage placed on here because of that, with plenty of bad writing and questionable content to be found in my earlier work. Instead of doing a massive purge, I would rather just reset things with a new site I intend to launch in early 2019, after I finish school once and for all, and intend on remastering or rewriting many of my prior reviews. However, the one part of this that is hindering me is a name for this new website. Nigmabox is a really stupid name, and I have been unable to think of a decent site name for about a year now. Maybe Natalie’s Game Box or something… (more…)
Rundown (4/30-5/06) Which Breath of the Wild Dub is the Least Worst?
One of the more upsetting things for me about Breath of the Wild, at least conceptually, as I have yet to play the game, is how there was no option to change the spoken language of its characters without also changing the in-game text. It is a petty thing, but I never associated the denizens of Hyrule as being English speakers, as the snippets of Hylian featured in prior games did not sound like English. I bring this up because the ability to change the spoken language was added with a recent patch, but now I need to figure out which dub sounds the best, or the least worse. (more…)
The End of 2016!
Seeing as how the year is at its end, it is time to look back and assess 2016. There were some real bad things that happened throughout the past 366 days, most of them relating to the world at large, but the year did have some high points, at least for me. I started my gender transition, met my significant other, put out a novel and novella, started attending a real college, and started a new better job. I also reviewed over fifty games this past year, many of which I loved, and I feel it is appropriate to summarize and celebrate my favorite special treats I’ve indulged in throughout 2016. (more…)
Rundown (10/30-11/05) NaNoWriMo Is a Fool’s Endeavor
The very concept of National Novel Writing Month just confuses me. While in the past I have been able to write stories very quickly, mostly due to a lot of job-based downtime, a luxury I lack at my current employer, the concept of completing a full 50,000 word story within only thirty days not only sounds difficult, but counter intuitive. A novel is judged based on the quality of its words, story, and characters, none of which would likely be particularly refined after being cranked out at nearly 2,000 words a day with no break. Oh, but I suppose this is just to get would-be writers’ butts in gear so they actually finish their story, and I’d be lying if I said that such an endeavor was an ill advised one. (more…)
Rundown (7/3-7/9) I Am Forever Broken
So, I’ve been doing this for, what, three years now? I literally just remembered that I needed to post this within the past twenty minutes. Yeah, let that be a sentiment to how awful I can be at managing my various tasks and assignments, so long as they are self imposed at the very least. I mean, I never missed an assignment in school, and I didn’t even use an assignment notebook in high school, so why that diligence didn’t transfer over is beyond me. (more…)
Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma Review
Well, it’s finally here. After 3.5 years of anticipation, and a second playthrough for both 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors and Virtue’s Last Reward, the conclusionary chapter of the Zero Escape series Zero Time Dilemma is finally here. I already spoke of my love for this series, so without further ado, let’s jump right in. (more…)
Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward Review
Following the initial release of 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors, the game failed to capture a sizable market in Japan, with sales failing to surpass 50,000, while in the west it sold enough to justify a second printing. Because of this the game was viewed as a success, and a sequel was put forward, one that would release on two platforms in order to maximize the audience, feature a far larger and more ambitious story, and be rebranded under the moniker of Zero Escape. However, the game failed to perform adequately in Japan, and there was a brief period where it was believed the series would end forever on the cliffhanger of the series. Which would have been a colossal shame, but that isn’t the case as the final chapter is due out in a week. But before that, let’s dig into the middle chapter of this trilogy with Virtue’s Last Reward.
(more…)Rundown (6/05-6/11) PRE3 2016: Now With Less Eroge
E3 2016 is days away, and PRE3 2016 is in full effect. Reveals were made, trailers dropped, and leaks are still dripping from the sweaty underbelly of the video game industry in anticipation for the hype driven commercialized video game event of the year. I could be jaded and cynical about the whole blasted affair, but I’d gain nothing but smug satisfaction in doing so. It’s a fun and exciting time in the world of video games, so I may try to enjoy it and everything related to it. (more…)
Zero Escape: 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors Review
So, it’s been about four years since I originally reviewed Zero Escape: 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors, and with the third installment in the series, Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma only a month away, I decided I should refresh myself on a series whose intricacies and strong narratives that acted as a key source of inspiration for me as a writer. …And of course I’m going to review them. I mean, the very idea of investing a lengthy amount of time into a game and not reviewing it would be positively preposterous after doing this for four years. (more…)
Rundown (3/27-4/02) Like A Tsundere… ?
Jeepers am I going to have a lot of games to play this month. Hyper Light Drifter came out on March 31st, Hunie Cam Studios launches April 4th, Danganronpa 2 is out April 18th, and Double Root: Before Crime After Days Xtend Edition is out sometime this month. Plus a proper review of Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin should be up whenever I find time to finish that game amidst this chaos. Seriously, this is the reason why I don’t like buying lots of games at launch. You need to build your schedule around release dates, get 60% through a lot of games, and then stop suddenly and hopefully get back to it later. (more…)
Rundown (12/28-1/03) Fart 4 Friendshipping
Well, 2015 is now upon us. It is a nice number, multiple of five, and has a nice calendar. It also happens to be the year where I will set a few of my upcoming novellas during, as I am the sort of guy who needs to tell the reader the date when writing a story. It is a dumb obsessive trait that I will probably never work out of, mostly due to how I doubt anybody will ever talk to me about my stories. Hell, they are a secret to everybody I know off of the interwebs, partially due to how I lack any friends… (more…)
Rundown (5/26-6/01) I’m Gonna Be Missing All of Those Sex Children
Yes, I am forever done with highschool, and will likely only go back there to get my diploma or maybe film something, assuming I can have my dad arrange a deal to produce DVDs of the school’s plays. However, I am just being silly with what I dub Apansexuality! Because I love sexualization, but I don’t want to have sex, just watch twelve year olds get it on while I’m in the bushes! …I guess that could be a good chapter three… where was I? Right, video games! (more…)
Virtue’s Last Reward Review
Note: I re-reviewed this game in 2016. Please disregard this original review.
I will not attempt to hide the fact that I loved 999, or to give the game its revised title, Zero Escape Volume 1: 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors. A title given because nobody had copies after the initial shipments, and they wanted to make it more immediately connected to its sequel. Either way, I absolutely adored the game despite the entry barrier being about eight feet tall and covered in spiders. However, I got to the land of tangential learning by mixing in scientific theories in with one of the my favorite stories I’ve heard in recent memory. That aside, it still got coo-coo up the nutters by the end, and had to be explained through a Q&A with a creator. So how does the sequel hold up, pretty damn well, but I have reasons after the jump!
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