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        <title>Tain's Game Log</title>
        <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/</link>
        <description>My thoughts on gaming and games I'm playing, old and new. I lean toward action games and am particularly interested in single-credit clearing arcade games.</description>
        <lastBuildDate>Tue, 30 Jun 2026 04:15:06 GMT</lastBuildDate>
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        <copyright>All rights reserved 2026, Tain's Game Log</copyright>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Otogi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/otogi/</link>
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            <pubDate>Thu, 25 Jun 2026 02:44:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[From Software, Xbox, 2002

I gave this game a brief try as a teenager and bounced off of it in just a mission or two, but some time in the 2010s I picked up a cheap used copy. I thought that I was surely missing something, given the praise the game …]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mario vs Donkey Kong]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mario-vs-donkey-kong/</link>
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            <pubDate>Sun, 21 Jun 2026 20:21:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo Software Technologies, Game Boy Advance, 2004

A successor to Donkey Kong ‘94 released ten years later.

Much of the game follows in the footsteps of the original, with similar small-scale stages and a similar core set of actions for Mario.…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rising Zan]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/rising-zan/</link>
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            <pubDate>Sun, 14 Jun 2026 22:05:16 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[UEP Systems, Playstation, 1999

A 3D katana-and-revolver wild west action game from the developers of Cool Boarders. Everything is played for laughs as your hot-headed cowboy swordsman main character slices up Fist of the North Star goobers, pretty …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Look Outside]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/look-outside/</link>
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            <pubDate>Sat, 13 Jun 2026 19:05:23 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Francis Coulombe, PC, 2025

A loosely traditional JRPG set inside an apartment building where looking outside causes people to morph into grotesque monsters thanks to a gigantic celestial body that suddenly appeared in the sky one day. The game ride…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Wonder Boy: Monster Land]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/wonder-boy-monster-land/</link>
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            <pubDate>Thu, 11 Jun 2026 01:02:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Westone, Arcade, 1987

An extremely cool arcade action platformer with simple “RPG” trappings in the form of NPCs to talk to, stores to visit, and secret rooms. It’s a game I’ve wanted to put more time into since I first tried it in the Sega Ages 25…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tanuki Justice]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/tanuki-justice/</link>
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            <pubDate>Fri, 05 Jun 2026 03:57:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Wonderboy Bobi, PC, 2021

A cute and no-nonsense Contra-style arcade-designed action platformer. Nice environments and enemy designs, mostly good readability, and some nice backgrounds and occasional big sprites. Aside from having omni-directional t…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[007 First Light]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/007-first-light/</link>
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            <pubDate>Thu, 04 Jun 2026 15:06:54 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[IO Interactive, PC, 2026

The modern Hitman games are probably some of the best around, so I was basically guaranteed to give this game a shot. Played on Hard (“Purist” or whatever).

IO went in a more Uncharted direction than a Hitman one here. The…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[DonPachi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/donpachi/</link>
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            <pubDate>Sun, 31 May 2026 05:06:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 1995

Cave’s debut masterpiece. I originally cleared this in 2020 but wanted to come back to it and get an on-stream clear. As far as I know this is the first shooting game with the idea of holding fire to get a focus laser that gives …]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Battle Formula]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/battle-formula/</link>
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            <pubDate>Tue, 26 May 2026 02:43:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sunsoft, Famicom, 1991. aka Super Spy Hunter

Top-down vertical-scrolling car shooting action. I’ve never played anything in this little Spy Hunter subgenre before so this is all new to me.

Having control of the car’s speed is the weirdest thing go…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Demon's Blazon]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/demons-blazon/</link>
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            <pubDate>Sun, 24 May 2026 14:58:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Super Famicom, 1994. aka Demon’s Crest

The third of the Red Arremer games, and safely the best of them. An incredibly gorgeous and moody action-platformer that takes the “quest” factor of the prior two games and refines it into a simple Mod…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[DoDonPachi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/dodonpachi/</link>
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            <pubDate>Sun, 24 May 2026 01:36:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 1997

Spent some time revisiting this, which I initially cleared in 2012. It’s as intense as I remember it being, and while I remember bomb usage being the key skill I’m surprised at how much trickier the game is with the type A ship. …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[DoDonPachi DaiFukkatsu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/dodonpachi-daifukkatsu/</link>
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            <pubDate>Thu, 21 May 2026 02:45:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2008

The fourth main DonPachi game. Gone is the bleak tone of DaiOuJou, replaced with bright and colorful environments, crisp EDM music, and boss vehicles that transform into robotic anime girls. Alongside the tonal shift are some ext…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gundam Side Story 0079 - Rise from the Ashes]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/gundam-side-story-0079-rise-from-the-ashes/</link>
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            <pubDate>Wed, 20 May 2026 06:20:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[BEC, Dreamcast, 1999

A pretty huge step up from the Saturn trilogy in every way, I think. We get a full-length and substantial campaign that spans a variety of nice-looking plateaus, rolling hills (no more flat Saturn VDP2 terrain), cities, and mil…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Maken X]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/maken-x/</link>
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            <pubDate>Wed, 13 May 2026 20:36:57 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Atlus R&D1, Dreamcast, 1999

A striking first-person melee action game with Kazuma Kaneko art direction. That’s already plenty unique enough, but on top of that you play as a sentient sword that can hop from body to body. I remember renting this as …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Superlative Night Dreams: Cotton Rock'n'Roll]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/superlative-night-dreams-cotton-rocknroll/</link>
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            <pubDate>Wed, 13 May 2026 00:46:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Studio Saizensen, Arcade, 2021

Played the Steam version. Pretty cool! A 180 from the original in that magic is incredibly useful now and in fact is almost something to mash out as much as you can. Thankfully despite the modernness, it has a similar…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story III]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mobile-suit-gundam-side-story-iii/</link>
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            <pubDate>Fri, 08 May 2026 04:44:33 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[BEC, Saturn, 1997

See [my thoughts on part II](/gamelog/2026/mobile-suit-gundam-side-story-ii/ "‌"). More of the same, of course, with a slight difficulty escalation and a couple more out-there mission concepts. Culminates in a lot of rapid dodge-f…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mobile-suit-gundam-side-story-ii/</link>
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            <pubDate>Thu, 07 May 2026 04:58:29 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[BEC, Saturn, 1996

The second entry in a trilogy of very brief first-person mech action games on the Saturn. I’ll just dig up what I said about the first game, which I played in 2020:

These are some of the best visual on Saturn, it's kinda wild. I …]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Fantastic Night Dreams: Cotton]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/fantastic-night-dreams-cotton/</link>
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            <pubDate>Wed, 06 May 2026 23:55:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Success, Arcade, 1991

Pretty great game! Fun theme, cute character designs, great art, catchy music, dense with setpieces. I really like how it’s balanced. It’s relatively easy, but you’ll still have to learn most every step of the way and it’s all…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Crystalis]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/crystalis/</link>
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            <pubDate>Sun, 03 May 2026 23:02:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SNK, Famicom, 1990. aka GOD SLAYER

On paper this is a pretty well-executed take on Ys from SNK, but unfortunately it just didn’t get any claws into me. Annoying story triggers, sometimes-annoying dungeon design (having to switch swords using that c…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Pragmata]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/pragmata/</link>
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            <pubDate>Tue, 28 Apr 2026 19:51:47 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2026

An inventive third-person shooter about stranded moon colony worker Hugh teaming up with childlike android Diana in order to find their way through the colony's haywire robots and get back to Earth. The foundation of the game is a …]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Guardians: Denjin Makai II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/guardians-denjin-makai-ii/</link>
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            <pubDate>Tue, 28 Apr 2026 01:53:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Winkysoft, Arcade, 1995

A really cool belt scroller full of stuff. It’s got branching stage selection. It’s got eight characters. It’s got big movelists, meters, all the mobility options, long combo mechanics, and blocking.

…And maybe that’s part …]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dynamite Deka]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/dynamite-deka/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/dynamite-deka/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 18 Apr 2026 20:43:18 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM1, Arcade, 1996. aka Die Hard Arcade

The 2026 revisit, years after [my last real try at single-credit clearing the game](/gamelog/2023/dynamite-deka/ "‌").

Everything I said back then still stands. This clear has reinforced the game’s statu…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mirrors]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mirrors/</link>
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            <pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 15:06:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Soft Studio Wing, NEC PC-8801, 1990

A PC-8801 visual novel that, fascinatingly, uses a CD-ROM despite the computer’s age. A 1990 CD-ROM adventure game for a computer platform that released in 1981 is wild to me, so I played the fan translation that…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Death Stranding 2: On the Beach]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/death-stranding-2-on-the-beach/</link>
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            <pubDate>Tue, 14 Apr 2026 21:29:57 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Kojima Productions, PC, 2026

Played on “to the wilder” difficulty.

Obviously a lot of overlap with the original. Maybe the most straightforward sequel of any Kojima game. Like in the original it’s fun to simply move around the world partially than…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[R-Type Delta]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/r-type-delta/</link>
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            <pubDate>Sat, 04 Apr 2026 01:23:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Playstation, 1998

‌I was worried after R-Type 3, which I found to be an over-long game with jacked pacing that was really unfun to try to 1CC and still kind of a slog to clear with continues. 

Fortunately, Irem kind of did the impossible her…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tobal No. 1]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/tobal-no-1/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/tobal-no-1/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 19 Mar 2026 01:36:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[DreamFactory, PS1, 1996

Very cool and polished 3D fighting game with a distinct gradient-heavy texture-light look and particularly spectacular animation. The Quest mode is the main draw for me here, mixing a traditional roguelike dungeon crawling e…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Valusa no Fukushuu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/valusa-no-fukushuu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/valusa-no-fukushuu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 15 Mar 2026 00:02:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Zain Soft, X68000, 1990

A fantasy action-platformer starring a character that looks a bit like Adol. It’s a short and linear one, with no XP to speak of, and the pixel art, boss designs, and music all rule. The core mechanics are just a basic jump …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/61da4bf85134758483ad562e/attachments/694a067110f6edd23b509f77/previews/694a067210f6edd23b509f94/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[WinBack]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/winback/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/winback/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 10 Mar 2026 17:55:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Omega Force, Nintendo 64, 1999

A cool-looking third-person shooter that feels like an idea shot into someone’s brain simply because they saw Solid Snake pressed against a wall in Metal Gear Solid and wanted to be able to make him pop out from that …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5f190654c875223c13d400d8/attachments/69881f5ff9914a07ad9505bb/previews/69881f60f9914a07ad9505d3/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Fantasy Zone]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/fantasy-zone/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/fantasy-zone/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 07 Mar 2026 03:09:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Arcade, 1986

Classic bidirectional shooting game. This was one of the first arcade games I cleared, back in 2007, and I decided to revisit it today. 

Autofire mostly decimates it, but there's still some boss strategy that shines through and …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/69ab87ce2e41cb3deb9e1f27/attachments/69ab965b46dba44a6cae513d/previews/69ab965c46dba44a6cae514e/download/5257a38c-b9fc-4617-a6bf-4097f7609d67.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Splatterhouse]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/splatterhouse/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/splatterhouse/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 07 Mar 2026 03:02:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Namco, Arcade, 1988

A sick action-platformer focused on tight punching  and kicking with just a little dash of platforming. I haven't played a lot of Spartan X yet but I imagine this builds on it. The theme is a complete horror mishmash, but the pi…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/66ce840d63c16936a7254306/attachments/66ce8410fe8c7599c8085413/previews/66ce8411fe8c7599c80855e7/download/abc19a61-1ba9-45c3-8eb1-1aee1dcbc01a.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Resident Evil Requiem]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/resident-evil-requiem/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/resident-evil-requiem/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 05 Mar 2026 03:18:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2026

Reliable as always! Another excellent FPS, though this time Grace’s first-person creepy survival segments are split up with combat-focused third-person Leon segments. It feels like a natural evolution of all the hopping around in V…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/69a7ce3f47fcae01dfd10a99/attachments/69a7ce4434b222b4375407e3/previews/69a7ce4634b222b4375407f8/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Philosoma]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/philosoma/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/philosoma/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 26 Feb 2026 03:25:50 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[G-Artists, Playstation, 1995

A dark sci-fi scrolling shooter that rapidly changes perspective, surely serving as an inspiration for Astebreed. It’s a game full of neat designs and cutscenes, focusing on the spectacle part of the genre above readabi…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/68fad579469ef8c8e93c0a63/attachments/68fad58d0dc7df2cb6c3f06f/previews/68fad58e0dc7df2cb6c3f07e/download/r2_29485164-6bc0-4231-94e0-3ffb3e4e5f76.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ketsui: Kizuna Jigoku Tachi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/ketsui-kizuna-jigoku-tachi/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/ketsui-kizuna-jigoku-tachi/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 23 Feb 2026 17:56:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2003

A long time coming. I originally picked up a Japanese Xbox 360 to play this back in 2010. I put some real time into it, eventually reaching stage 4, but it was kicking my ass too thoroughly and I moved on. 16 years later I’ve com…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6294516009dd17751080bc37/attachments/696a69ccfa9e0184644bf975/previews/696a69ccfa9e0184644bf98e/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Romeo is a Dead Man]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/romeo-is-a-dead-man/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/romeo-is-a-dead-man/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 21 Feb 2026 19:43:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Grasshopper Manufacture, PC, 2026

A sci-fi melee action game mixed with third person shooting, probably closer to a Wanted Dead than it is a Killer is Dead.

Romeo’s foundation is melee slashing, i-frame dodging, and third-person shooting. The slas…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/698d4adbe06c672fee4c322f/attachments/698d4ade72e019a03fad4f14/previews/698d4adf72e019a03fad505c/download/hero_capsule_2x.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mansion of Hidden Souls]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mansion-of-hidden-souls/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mansion-of-hidden-souls/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 09 Feb 2026 20:41:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[System Sacom, Sega Mega-CD, 1993

aka Yumemi Mystery Mansion, Yumemi Yakata no Monogatari

An all-CG FMV first-person adventure game released right after Myst and Gadget where you play as a boy trying to prevent his sister from turning into a butter…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Lemmings]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/lemmings/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/lemmings/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 08 Feb 2026 01:47:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[DMA Design, MS-DOS, 1991

This is an interesting one. It’s a classic game, one I poked at as a kid but never got far in. I like the concept a lot, and the pixel art is surprisingly charming given how small these dudes are on-screen. I opted with the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Why I'm a Dweeb About Arcade Games]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/posts/why-im-a-dweeb-about-arcade-games/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/posts/why-im-a-dweeb-about-arcade-games/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 06 Feb 2026 20:14:57 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Any look at [my game log](/gamelog/2025/?highlights=true) should make it clear that I’m an arcade game head. I’ve been interested in them for most of my life, but things really kicked into high gear here in the 2020s. It’s a huge part of my time wit…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67eeb3b58202d028a01581b1/attachments/67eeb8ebce295cba33194776/previews/67eeb8ecce295cba3319477e/download/Mikado-Candy-cab.jpg.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shining the Holy Ark]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/shining-the-holy-ark/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/shining-the-holy-ark/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 04 Feb 2026 17:40:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Camelot and Sonic, Sega Saturn, 1996

I’ve said it a [few](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/grandia/ "‌") [times](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/shin-megami-tensei-strange-journey/ "‌") [now](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/like…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6969cbce2a98fc03d011e0b3/attachments/6969cbeedde79f063be093b6/previews/6969cbf0dde79f063be093c5/download/d39918c5-9b50-4912-ade9-ac9b6ef9f733.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Musha Aleste]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/musha-aleste/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/musha-aleste/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 25 Jan 2026 04:37:39 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Compile, Mega Drive, 1990

Took a break from getting my ass kicked by Ketsui and decided to spend a couple hours with this beloved Compile vertizontal STG and see how I felt about it. The only other Compile STG I’ve played through is Guardic Gaiden,…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/69744765d3a62d084890799a/attachments/6974477206efe17e891b10b5/previews/6974477406efe17e891b10c4/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Air Fortress]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/air-fortress/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/air-fortress/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 24 Jan 2026 01:19:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[HAL Laboratories, Famicom, 1987

A very cool and unique sci-fi action game. Stages start with horizontal scrolling shooting sequences to approach the fortress, and then it switches over to jetpack-ish action-platformer mode inside of the base. Durin…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/696a6895f63b250f42f46feb/attachments/696a689c0d4f02af645cd455/previews/696a689d0d4f02af645cd466/download/6be5aa6e-f709-430a-9e8a-cab1a5643a47.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Fight'N Rage]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/fightn-rage/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/fightn-rage/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 19 Jan 2026 21:07:49 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[sebagamesdev, PC, 2017

A belt scrolling action game from 2017. It’s pretty well-executed! Lush and fluid pixel art, great music, and a bunch of satisfying combat mechanics that are laid out elegantly. It’s got the usual genre foundations but you al…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/696a65bb15d044a23b88109c/attachments/696a65bf65069e06daf07f55/previews/696a65bf65069e06daf07f63/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[YAKYUKEN SLUGGER YAMADA]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/yakyuken-slugger-yamada/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/yakyuken-slugger-yamada/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 17 Jan 2026 22:56:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[デジメカ製作所 (Digimecha Manufacturing Co.?), PC, 2023

Wildly creative third-person action game themed around baseball. As you run around the game’s small stages an inning timer ticks away, and every time an inning ends you switch between using shooting …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Red Dead Redemption II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/red-dead-redemption-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/red-dead-redemption-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 16 Jan 2026 04:05:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Rockstar Games, Playstation 4, 2018

A massive free-roaming action game set in the tail end of the 1800s, serving as a prequel to the 2010 predecessor.

When this first released seven years ago I assumed it wouldn’t be my kind of game. Rockstar’s GT…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Routine]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/routine/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/routine/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 23 Dec 2025 16:17:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Lunar Software, PC, 2025

A first person horror game set on an abandoned lunar base in a chunky 80s-tech world. The environments and technical designs are among the coolest I’ve seen in any first-person game and make the playthrough worth it on thei…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/68a4bba165f139c9f269ea30/attachments/6940ed421b179a877727dfc1/previews/6940ed431b179a877727dfd0/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Majou Densetsu II: Maze of Galious]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/majou-densetsu-ii-maze-of-galious/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/majou-densetsu-ii-maze-of-galious/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 23 Dec 2025 02:49:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, MSX, 1987
aka The Maze of Galious

Tried to dig into this again. The hurdles are high! The esoteric upgrade item placement and core action-platforming isn’t too bad, but I’m mostly floored at the insanely sluggish retry procedure. Losing Pop…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631eabcee94ad4012dc27a28/attachments/631eac4d9fef90231af52c79/previews/631eac4e9fef90231af52d29/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Terminator 2D - No Fate]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/terminator-2d-no-fate/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/terminator-2d-no-fate/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 18 Dec 2025 03:01:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bitmap Bureau, PC, 2025

A very polished action-platformer from the developers of Xenocrisis. This is pretty sick, taking a lot of inspiration from the right places. It’s got that Megadrive-era game length (a bit longer than an arcade game but not t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Skate Story]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/skate-story/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/skate-story/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 11 Dec 2025 19:07:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sam Eng, PC, 2025

A game where you play as a skateboarding demon made of glass. I was enamored by the reveal trailer for this years back, and fortunately the final release delivered.

The shape of the game surprised me. There are some substantial s…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Metal Garden]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/metal-garden/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/metal-garden/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 05 Dec 2025 05:49:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tinerasoft, PC, 2025

Quick and elegant first person shooter about exploring a vast desaturated alien world. Most of the game is low-gravity jumping through cool structures and landscapes, but there’s some serviceable combat in there as well. Kinda …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/693271035a11131b70832ec3/attachments/693271ef1d2ad77ec0013f51/previews/693271f01d2ad77ec0013f60/download/hero_capsule_2x.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Baby Steps]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/baby-steps/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/baby-steps/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 02 Dec 2025 21:27:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Gabe Cuzzillo, Maxi Boch, Bennett Foddy, PC, 2025

A game about exploring a vast surreal world by controlling your feet. And to be clear, I mean pulling a trigger to lift a foot, using an analog stick to position it, and then releasing the trigger t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Night Striker Gear]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/night-striker-gear/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/night-striker-gear/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 02 Dec 2025 02:18:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[M2, PC, 2025

Sick sequel to the 1989 game directed by none other than Hiroshi Iuchi (of Ikaruga fame). It’s a shorter game, only four stages deep on the branching stage tree, and the stuffy orchestral soundtrack is kinda weak compared to the synth …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Asura the Striker]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/asura-the-striker/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/asura-the-striker/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 30 Nov 2025 02:00:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[LeftOver, PC, 2025

A Space Harrier style game with reasonably modern polygonal visuals. Extremely anime character design that I’m not a huge fan of, but I think the environments, enemies, and music are great. It’s got a very powerful sense of speed…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Night Striker]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/night-striker/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/night-striker/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 29 Nov 2025 15:54:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1989

Night Striker is an insanely cool-looking and cool-sounding Taito rail shooter (as in, Space Harrier style) full of huge scaling sprites and Darius-style stage branching. Weirdly enough I haven’t cleared a lot of arcade games in…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Chronicles of the Wolf]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/chronicles-of-the-wolf/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/chronicles-of-the-wolf/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 28 Nov 2025 18:57:19 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Migami Games, PC, 2025

Wonderful Igavania-style game set in 1700s France. At first glance it feels in lockstep with those Iga games, but the way this game builds up and consistently surprises gives it such a distinct feel. For a surprisingly long s…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Psyvariar 2: The Will to Fabricate]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/psyvariar-2-the-will-to-fabricate/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/psyvariar-2-the-will-to-fabricate/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 27 Nov 2025 02:10:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SKonec, Arcade, 2003

Played for La Calice Cup 11. A Korean-developed Naomi vertical STG, and a follow-up to a couple Success-developed G-NET games I’ve never played.

Probably the weirdest thing in this game is that, while it has a standard shot an…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Neon Inferno]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/neon-inferno/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/neon-inferno/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 23 Nov 2025 21:22:05 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Zenovia Interactive, PC, 2025

Absolutely sick action-platformer from the studio behind [Steel Assault](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/steel-assault/ "‌").

The major standout trait here is that the action-platforming is combined with Wild G…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[TwinBee Yahho!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/twinbee-yahho/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/twinbee-yahho/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 18 Nov 2025 16:02:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1995

Playing the Normal course of the arcade version for Calice Cup 11. Having no prior TwinBee experience I was pretty pumped to get into this despite it being the third and last game in the arcade series. Great character designs, …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Beyond Citadel]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/beyond-citadel/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/beyond-citadel/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 16 Nov 2025 00:24:14 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[doekuramori, PC, 2025

A Japanese first-person shooter I’d been hearing praise for throughout the year. I decided to finally try it despite skipping 2020’s The Citadel.

All of the characters, weapons, and props in the game are “hand-drawn” sprites …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/690e6970ac9fd751ba801d93/attachments/69103b7fe179269ef1f11899/previews/69103b7fe179269ef1f118a8/download/hero_capsule_2x.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Caput Mortum]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/caput-mortum/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/caput-mortum/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 11 Nov 2025 03:56:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[WildArts Games, PC, 2025

A well-made first-person horror adventure game that makes you interact with everything by using the right thumbstick to move your character’s right hand. This means you’ve got to rotate with shoulder buttons, giving you som…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/690e696df57a94ecd6c76767/attachments/69103b3ee61489ef142d9b64/previews/69103b3fe61489ef142d9b73/download/hero_capsule_2x.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Earthion]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/earthion/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/earthion/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 10 Nov 2025 03:38:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ancient, Mega Drive, 2025

A new horizontal shooting game designed for Mega Drive hardware. It’s a stunning game technologically, with the kind of pumping music you’d expect from Yuzo Koshiro and setpieces that feel mostly inspired by Thunder Force …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/68fad0c771dfd56149273e8b/attachments/68fad19b29a8d3c508f6b87a/previews/68fad19c29a8d3c508f6b889/download/hero_capsule_2x.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Pilot Kids]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/pilot-kids/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/pilot-kids/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 10 Nov 2025 01:27:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Psikyo, Arcade, 1998

A pretty cool Psikyo horizontal STG released roughly a year after Zero Gunner, making it their second polygonal game in the genre. The visuals are complex and clean (as you’d expect from something running on Model 2), the livin…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[THRASHER]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/thrasher/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/thrasher/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Nov 2025 06:38:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Puddle, PC, 2025

I really enjoyed Thumper. I wish I enjoyed this more.

Thrasher maintains Thumper’s general style of presentation, placing you in vast menacing abstract spaces with slowly-building music. The mechanics are totally new, though: inst…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/657269593d2d061069fff356/attachments/691016cba2cbaf4e5b5a11e6/previews/691016cba2cbaf4e5b5a1203/download/hero_capsule_2x.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[J.B. Harold: Blue Chicago Blues]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/jb-harold-blue-chicago-blues/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/jb-harold-blue-chicago-blues/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Nov 2025 04:12:50 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[RiverHillSoft, 1994, Pioneer LaserActive Mega LD

An FMV adventure game for the newly-emulatable Pioneer LaserActive Mega LD. This is my first experience with the platform, and given that it’s basically a Megadrive that can finely seek through and d…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/690940cb85a7ec4cdf0af242/attachments/690940f85337cc65d6ab8e14/previews/690940f95337cc65d6ab8e23/download/2262a02c83aa083e0312fd462714dacf.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rabio Lepus]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/rabio-lepus/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/rabio-lepus/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 05 Nov 2025 19:02:54 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Video System, Arcade, 1987

Future Psikyo director Shin Nakamura’s first game, a horizontal-scrolling shooter with a robo-rabbit theme. This is pretty visually stunning for 1987, and thematically it’s such a goofy mix of cute popcorn enemies, cutsce…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/690b99e8a1c57aba221fd233/attachments/690b99f261943442a433ed7c/previews/690b99f361943442a433ed8b/download/c6201d0a-3e7c-414f-921e-c6984c7e6303.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Chouyoku Senki Estique]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/chouyoku-senki-estique/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/chouyoku-senki-estique/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 04 Nov 2025 03:40:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cat Hui Trading, Famicom, 2024

A new Famicom horizontal shooting game released in late 2024. Technologically this game is really marvelous, filling up a Famicom-powered screen in a way I think I haven’t seen since Recca. Backgrounds are gorgeous, t…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/68fad0e329100ec72b8bb70d/attachments/68fad1202729548eb6d77dc1/previews/68fad1222729548eb6d77dd0/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Singou Breaka]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/singou-breaka/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/singou-breaka/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 04 Nov 2025 00:48:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[NEOタケトンボ, PC, 2025

A fast action puzzle game about sliding traffic lights together. The rules are elegant: 2x1 pieces spawn into the grid and you can slide them along their long axis. Each piece has one side lit up as “STOP” or “GO”, and connecting…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/68ff847603d9d9aa9751e87c/attachments/68ff84950ba67af7a001fcae/previews/68ff84960ba67af7a001fd21/download/hero_capsule_2x.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Replicube]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/replicube/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/replicube/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 01 Nov 2025 04:56:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Walaber, PC, 2025

Laser-targeted game to me. It’s a puzzle game about making 3D voxel-based shapes, so there’s inherent overlap in presentation with Jupiter’s 3D Picross games, but instead of solving nonograms you’re writing code that gets executed…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67dce1c3e8ee94ec3a5ff2e2/attachments/67dce1d1468ea32247739011/previews/67dce1d2468ea32247739397/download/hero_capsule_2x.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Battlefield 6]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/battlefield-6/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/battlefield-6/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 29 Oct 2025 15:06:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[DICE, PC, 2025

I haven’t played one of these since Battlefield 4 like a decade ago, so after 30-ish hours of playing with friends I don’t feel like I’ve got much to say about the specifics on balance or map design here outside of “seems good”. The …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tetris the Grandmaster 4]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/tetris-the-grandmaster-4/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/tetris-the-grandmaster-4/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 29 Oct 2025 03:49:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Arika, PC, 2025

I feel like I’m an awfully long way from clearing this game’s Master mode, but it’s nice to have a modern TGM release at home. And one with so much stuff in it! It’s easy to picture myself chipping away at this one for years, though…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ninja Gaiden 4]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/ninja-gaiden-4/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/ninja-gaiden-4/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 28 Oct 2025 17:13:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[PlatinumGames/Team Ninja, PC, 2025

I had no clue what to expect with this one. Obviously Ninja Gaiden Black and Ninja Gaiden 2 are two of the best 3D melee action games ever, and games that I like more than any of Platinum’s releases, but given the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rygar: The Legendary Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/rygar-the-legendary-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/rygar-the-legendary-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 19 Oct 2025 04:47:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tecmo, Playstation 2, 2002

Neat 3D melee action game that feels like a natural step toward Ninja Gaiden (despite not having a lot of direct staff overlap) and a very obvious inspiration for God of War. Nice-looking fixed camera angles, long-reachin…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cosmic Smash]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/cosmic-smash/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/cosmic-smash/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 14 Oct 2025 00:50:17 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega Rosso, Arcade, 2000

Dabbled with this game since I was a teenager but made it a point to get all the endings. It’s pretty awesome, mixing some Virtua Tennis/Power Smash racket-swinging with Breakout stages and some sick low-gravity animation. …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/68e9358d9dd6db72478670a1/attachments/68e935e240703bd1988a18fb/previews/68e935e340703bd1988a1905/download/r2_66d72ee5-b93a-4205-ae8b-fa93d63699d1.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Consume Me]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/consume-me/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/consume-me/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 11 Oct 2025 04:14:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, and Ken "coda" Snyder, PC, 2025

A very earnest and polished semi-autobiographical “life sim” where you follow the day to day of a teenager named Jenny as she manages her relationship with food an…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Battle Garegga]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/battle-garegga/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/battle-garegga/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 08 Oct 2025 23:27:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Raizing, Arcade, 1996

Shinobu Yagawa’s star game. A vertical shooter that takes an awful lot of influence from Taito’s Gun Frontier, but with a theme that leans into an overcast future full of scrap metal instead of Gun Frontier’s cosmic wild west.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Silent Hill f]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/silent-hill-f/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/silent-hill-f/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 08 Oct 2025 15:01:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[NeoBards Entertainment, PC, 2025

An engaging horror game with a novel and well-realized 1960s rural Japanese setting. As you’d expect from the name you’ll get extremely moody environments, a beautiful soundtrack, nasty creature designs, lots of fog…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gray Matter]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/gray-matter/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/gray-matter/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 24 Sep 2025 03:14:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Wizarbox, PC, 2010

A point and click adventure game designed and written by Gabriel Knight creator Jane Jensen, seemingly stuck in development hell after being announced in 2003 and passed around multiple development studios but finally making it o…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Red Alert / Last Alert]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/red-alert-last-alert/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/red-alert-last-alert/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 14 Sep 2025 19:57:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Shin-Nihon Laser Soft, PC Engine CD-ROM, 1989

A pretty sick commando-themed top-down omnidirectional shooter. It’s always wild to play a CD-ROM game from this era, since you get a lot of sick-looking full-screen pixel art illustrations (especially …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6135a3edf3647b06bce90330/attachments/6314f0deb4d93900d171c7ab/previews/6314f0dfb4d93900d171c7b7/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Skyblazer/Karura Ou]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/skyblazerkarura-ou/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/skyblazerkarura-ou/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 14 Sep 2025 15:21:19 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ukiyotei Company Ltd, Super Famicom, 1994

A well-made action platformer with a focus on wall sticking/climbing and really short-range bare-handed melee attacks. It’s got a simple world map, lots of cool bosses (barring one), and fun magic attacks t…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/61d36913d95ac14bf700c398/attachments/66ac52d1fbe7741545a89e11/previews/66ac52d3fbe7741545a89e1b/download/0a36adc9-9c45-4709-976b-fcbcc66fbdac.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Drakengard]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/drakengard/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/drakengard/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 10 Sep 2025 18:28:47 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cavia, Playstation 2, 2003

Above all else, after bouncing off of Dynasty Warriors 2/Shin Sangokumusou earlier this year, this game takes that basic concept and builds something genuinely engaging to me on top of it. An interesting cast of character…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Donkey Kong Country]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/donkey-kong-country/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/donkey-kong-country/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 01 Sep 2025 19:54:16 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Rare, Super Nintendo, 1994

A surprisingly tricky game! Mario 3 seems to be the main inspiration here both in the moment-to-moment (big focus on momentum, enemy head bouncing, a run/pickup/throw button, “flow-y” levels) and in terms of the broader s…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/vampire-the-masquerade-bloodlines/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/vampire-the-masquerade-bloodlines/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 31 Aug 2025 15:14:50 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Troika Games, PC, 2004

Played with the now-official “unofficial patch” (without restored content).

If someone had told me it was loosely like Deus Ex I would've played it years ago. Take that baseline and give it an edgy vampire plot, more of a fo…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Majuuou]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/majuuou/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/majuuou/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 21 Aug 2025 05:55:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Eleven Co., Super Famicom, 1995

Small sprite excellence. A really sick action-platformer with a demon-Giger theme.  Everything is bloody and brooding, sprites have somewhat realistic proportions, and the camera is zoomed out to give the action plen…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[South of Midnight]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/south-of-midnight/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/south-of-midnight/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 20 Aug 2025 03:59:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Compulsion Games, PC, 2025

A linear action game with a striking visual style, nice character designs, and a loosely Psychonauts-like narrative in a fantastical southern folklore setting. There’s a small selection of scene archetypes the game too-ri…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Wuchang: Fallen Feathers]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/wuchang-fallen-feathers/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/wuchang-fallen-feathers/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 12 Aug 2025 21:54:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Lenzee Studios, PC, 2025

Reminiscent of Wukong in a lot of ways, but it isn’t hooking me nearly as much as that game did. Got a few hours and a few bosses in before deciding that I just wasn’t in the mood to continue. Might be a revisit down the li…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Salamander 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/salamander-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/salamander-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 09 Aug 2025 03:00:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1996

‌I really love this game. It's better-balanced than I remember, the setpieces are sick, and what a soundtrack! The option-burning attack is crazy satisfying, and the bosses are more "honest" than anything in the first game. The…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6896aac4182445400998e4af/attachments/6896aaea9589301576f61d91/previews/6896aaec9589301576f61d9d/download/7cc0bf38-7561-47bb-a62e-72a8219b600a.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Salamander]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/salamander/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/salamander/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 09 Aug 2025 02:48:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1986

Dabbled in this a few years back, but with the new collection I revisited and had to get the 1-All. It's a cool divergence from Gradius with how it has in-place respawns and free-spawning power-ups. Sick visuals, great music, a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Salamander III]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/salamander-iii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/salamander-iii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 07 Aug 2025 01:21:10 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[M2, PC, 2025

A well-made successor to Salamander 2 that cranks up the enemy bullets and the raw spectacle of it all, throwing you against wild-looking and creative scenarios at a rapid pace. Salamander 2’s options-as-attacks button has been dropped…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6893fb721e75f5d3b5f06095/attachments/6893fb78c1ff48751af33c9a/previews/6893fb79c1ff48751af33ca4/download/salamander_iii.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Haunted Castle Revisited]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/haunted-castle-revisited/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/haunted-castle-revisited/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 05 Aug 2025 01:22:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[M2, PC, 2024

A shockingly good and loose remake of arcade Akumajou Dracula. Remakes tend to be best when the original game is kind of fucked up, I guess. M2 used the levels and bosses of the original as a loose guide and created prettier and expand…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/68915a41889eb15c00694931/attachments/68915a90a5d4ed406dbc225a/previews/68915a91a5d4ed406dbc2264/download/Haunted_Castle_Revisited_-_01.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Akumajou Dracula]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/akumajou-dracula/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/akumajou-dracula/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 04 Aug 2025 18:19:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1988

An often dunked-on early entry in the series, released between Dracula II/Simon’s Quest and Akumajou Densetsu/Castlevania 3. It’s honestly got great music and some pretty sick art (in that kinda chaotic late-80s Konami way), an…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/657fe02478e4737e3f8f4dd1/attachments/6890f88ef5a1a8dbc168b09e/previews/6890f88ff5a1a8dbc168b0a8/download/e6b5e197-65f3-4ee0-87b8-a1d1390901de.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Altered Beast / Juuouki]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/altered-beast-juuouki/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/altered-beast-juuouki/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 28 Jul 2025 17:21:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega Team Shinobi, Arcade, 1988

The arcade game probably most known in the US for being the origin of the Genesis launch pack-in title. Directed by Makoto Uchida, who would later direct Golden Axe and Dynamite Deka. It’s an action-platformer with a…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/657fe469e8bcd27ef5912d96/attachments/6886bf4771cf301a3d9c90c3/previews/6886bf4871cf301a3d9c90ca/download/altered_beast.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gotzendiener]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/gotzendiener/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/gotzendiener/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 27 Jul 2025 05:10:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Gainax and Studio Alex, PC Engine Super CD-ROM, 1994

A fascinating but flawed isometric action and exploration game. The cutscenes, designs, spritework, and lonely atmosphere are top-notch and I’m glad I played it for these elements alone. The whol…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6854aa0e397a1192cafe4822/attachments/6854aa1139bbad533123014a/previews/6854aa1239bbad5331230154/download/7b2aee43-cdae-4243-8133-5933968380be.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Game Tengoku - The Game Paradise]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/game-tengoku-the-game-paradise/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/game-tengoku-the-game-paradise/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 24 Jul 2025 04:07:26 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jaleco, Arcade, 1995

Pretty cool STG set inside… a game center? Other video games? A development workstation? Fun theme! You’ll fight arcade cabinets, claw game toys, and even Daytona USA cars. Colorful, varied, and way more Psikyo-like than I expe…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/tony-hawks-pro-skater-34/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/tony-hawks-pro-skater-34/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 21 Jul 2025 04:21:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Iron Galaxy, PC, 2025

THPS1+2 was a well-done remake with interesting decisions (like aging the game’s various stages by a few decades) that I only had a few qualms with outside of my usual beef with remakes. THPS3+4 here very seamlessly carries th…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Clockwork Knight]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/clockwork-knight/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/clockwork-knight/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 21 Jul 2025 04:21:29 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Sega Saturn, 1995

A really charming and elegant 2D platformer from near the Saturn’s Japanese launch. Being so early, it’s not too surprising that it represents a late Genesis platformer like Ristar: it’s of course not going to be arcade-tigh…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5f07ffb21d4c5a0f355033f2/attachments/687dbeaf2854287c3fb9e58b/previews/687dbeb32854287c3fb9e595/download/9a979a6a-5edf-43a8-9247-d9a5522afb0c.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Grandia]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/grandia/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/grandia/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 20 Jul 2025 23:58:33 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Game Arts, Sega Saturn, 1997

I played like half of the sequel to this back when it was a new release on Dreamcast and was kicking around the idea of returning to it. Thankfully the Saturn original has a fan translation, so I decided to start there.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rastan Saga]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/rastan-saga/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/rastan-saga/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 14 Jul 2025 00:57:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1988

Circled back to this one for Summer Yolympics 2025 after [playing for a bit a few years ago](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rastan-saga/ "‌"). It was pretty sick to get reacquainted with the unique combination of hefty j…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[R-Type III: The Third Lightning]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/r-type-iii-the-third-lightning/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/r-type-iii-the-third-lightning/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 26 Jun 2025 03:34:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Super Famicom, 1993

This drove me up the wall, man. I didn’t think it would given my arcade clears of R-Type and R-Type Leo, but there’s a lot of annoying shit in here. The gotchas are similar, but the latent difficulty outside of them is tot…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5514e57049af51334cd0bad7/attachments/685071b21871981c66f92ba9/previews/685071b41871981c66f92bb3/download/4c7e4a98-1ed3-46fb-bb5d-be390b88d202.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hagane]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/hagane/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/hagane/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 25 Jun 2025 02:08:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[CA Production, Super Famicom, 1994

Really spectacular action-platformer. Like Contra Spirits, this is very arcade-dense. Basically every stage segment is a totally unique scene that often has a distinct mechanical focus, and a no-death playthrough …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Silver Case]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/the-silver-case/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/the-silver-case/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 19 Jun 2025 22:31:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Grasshopper Manufacture, PC, 2016/1999

Early Suda51. A narrative-heavy adventure game with light first-person exploration and puzzle-solving. I played the 2016 remake for the localization, though it does seem to stick reasonably close to the origin…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Contra: Alien no Gyakushuu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/super-contra-alien-no-gyakushuu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/super-contra-alien-no-gyakushuu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 19 Jun 2025 00:25:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1988

Another goofy 3:4 horizontally-scrolling action-platformer like the original Contra. This time the perspective switch is to a more palatable top-down view and you get smart bombs replacing the jump button, which I thought was a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gun Frontier]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/gun-frontier/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/gun-frontier/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 15 Jun 2025 18:10:10 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1991

Landmark STG by the director that would immediately after work on [Metal Black](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/metal-black/ "‌"). The setting here is a sci-fi spin on the wild west and all of the vehicles show an over-th…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67a809df7399b22b9ccdc2cf/attachments/67a809e234421518a1e0e41f/previews/67a809e334421518a1e0e42b/download/58d20338-1f66-4ef6-8b56-08e4fb8f6b4f.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Elden Ring Nightreign]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/elden-ring-nightreign/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/elden-ring-nightreign/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 10 Jun 2025 01:39:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[From Software, PC, 2025

A weird one. Prior to release there was a lot of gun-jumping about what the game was even going to be, but ultimately it’s a roughly arcade-style game (“runs-based”, I suspect people are starting to say) built on top of Elde…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/675b8ea98fbde99fa9ace51d/attachments/68158f4582b9d0cc4fd8345e/previews/68158f4682b9d0cc4fd8350e/download/9ff4b9fde2b7dce20fa282961454b7a81695d598eb5c7404.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sonic Wings Reunion]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/sonic-wings-reunion/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/sonic-wings-reunion/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 29 May 2025 16:40:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Success, PC, 2025

I was rooting for this one, but unfortunately I can’t recommend it. The visuals are rough, the stage designs are bland, there aren’t any unique core mechanics beyond being able to essentially select two types of smartbomb, and the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Doom: The Dark Ages]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/doom-the-dark-ages/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/doom-the-dark-ages/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 27 May 2025 15:46:28 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[id Software, PC, 2025

I’m a pretty big fan of these nu-Doom games. Back in 2016 the first game was such a breath of fresh air. For decades I’d been dying to see FPSes experiment with mechanics that were outside of the 90s Texas genre lineage and he…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/68158f87e90b0f8d5979d0a3/attachments/68158fa49f1aaa2ca0924c7e/previews/68158fa69f1aaa2ca0924c88/download/1893e77387eec1591406d71c98f8d4074b7c32664c3bf5af.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ninja Hayate]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/ninja-hayate/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/ninja-hayate/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 18 May 2025 00:24:22 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1984

Never played an arcade LaserDisc game, figured these re-releases would be a good time to try one out. A lot of people understandably find the concept of these Dragon’s Lair style games to be silly, but I figured they might be pr…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/680a49c67b226ae5147787bb/attachments/680a4caf1d5acf73a132a5ba/previews/680a4cb01d5acf73a132aea8/download/library_600x900_2x.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[R-Type]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/r-type/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/r-type/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 16 May 2025 01:56:14 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Arcade, 1987

The space horror STG classic. I’ve been picking at this game for most of my life. I never really tried it until hearing about it as a teenager and checking it out in MAME, but it immediately became a go-to test ROM for any machin…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5511aba3f13892a3608c45b9/attachments/6329c621e2e52c01a2da5f9d/previews/6329c622e2e52c01a2da5fa9/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Stuntman]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/stuntman/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/stuntman/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 14 May 2025 04:09:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Reflections Interactive, Playstation 2, 2002

Such a sick idea. Every mission in the campaign is a course you drive through while trying to accomplish various stunts highlighted in-world and barked at you via radio. These scenes are grouped up by fi…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/62312458155ed44c7f2f46fd/attachments/68240ae3fea850f18a346a91/previews/68240ae4fea850f18a346a9b/download/50d53816-8e69-423e-bbb0-dd90caa985f8.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Espgaluda II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/espgaluda-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/espgaluda-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 09 May 2025 02:15:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2005

After wrapping up Calice Cup I returned to this for the first time since around 2021 and put time into it to get the clear. It’s a heavy one.

The original Esgaluda’s major standout mechanic is “Kakusei” mode, where you can press…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6121e266c6a0bf720e369a58/attachments/61fcc208b3d7b97d3d2186a7/previews/61fcc209b3d7b97d3d21891b/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Skin Deep]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/skin-deep/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/skin-deep/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 07 May 2025 03:42:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Blendo Games, PC, 2025

A well-made System Shock style first-person action game that, kind of like 2023’s [Blood West](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/blood-west/ "‌"), shakes up the usual structure a bit. Instead of using an open world or a …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/681acd110bacdee6982fd6cb/attachments/681ace64a6f4283c7ed0ee38/previews/681ace65a6f4283c7ed0ee3f/download/61e267565d12c4499e4ed19771e42360c7585d2c559e2fc85a19246350a25f98.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Armed Police Unit Gallop]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/armed-police-unit-gallop/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/armed-police-unit-gallop/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 25 Apr 2025 04:03:32 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Arcade, 1991

Super unique horizontal shooter where your ship’s positioning affects the stage scroll speed and you have a cooldown-based instant omnidirectional laser button (alongside the genre-standard shot + missile combo). It’s very lean, …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67ce545d19d62f45f8c16df3/attachments/67ce585518496068ebb34d81/previews/67ce585718496068ebb34d8d/download/fd76693a-af89-4264-b1d2-2678afe9b492.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/shin-megami-tensei-strange-journey/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/shin-megami-tensei-strange-journey/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 24 Apr 2025 15:18:39 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Atlus, Nintendo DS, 2010

I’ve said it a million times by now, but I’m not a big JRPG guy. I almost always get sick of the combat way before the game wraps up. I wish this wasn’t the case! There are so many games in the genre with an appealing sense…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hang-On]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/hang-on/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/hang-on/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 15 Apr 2025 17:37:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM2, Arcade, 1985

Goofy to play this after the 1987 sequel, but that's what Calice Cup called for. I heard the course I spent so long clearing in the sequel is the same layout as this first game’s lone course so I decided to go for it while it…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67fe976e6b9b71960a599c9f/attachments/67fe977412ab595a044f4473/previews/67fe977612ab595a044f4481/download/hangon.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Hang-On]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/super-hang-on/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/super-hang-on/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 15 Apr 2025 00:40:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM2, Arcade, 1987

Masterpiece. I’m not the biggest racing game guy but I absolutely could not put this down. The sense of speed is magical, the environments are gorgeous (and transition so smoothly), the boost mechanic is insanely satisfying, …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Slap Fight]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/slap-fight/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/slap-fight/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 10 Apr 2025 00:27:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Toaplan, Arcade, 1986

An interesting post-Gradius vertical STG. You’ll see the Gradius power-up meter, but it’s got fewer strict upgrades and more mutually-exclusive weapons to toy with. Designs are very boxy 80s but more appealing than Xevious. En…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67ce55b2cf79775accebd508/attachments/67e5928d961e8b8430bf32e9/previews/67e5928f961e8b8430bf32f6/download/6f46cc85-85e8-44ff-8641-e67863cde3f7.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Spacefortress Macross]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/super-spacefortress-macross/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/super-spacefortress-macross/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 09 Apr 2025 16:58:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[NMK, Arcade, 1992

A relatively breezy but super cool-looking vertical shooter. I don’t know anything about the license here, but the mech designs are sick and I particularly like how your whole sprite changes up depending on what weapon you’ve pick…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67ce56177c991c0310a42582/attachments/67ce5f8c420ad89eec9085b0/previews/67ce5f8d420ad89eec9085be/download/7759714a-3074-459e-81a1-58258af11fdd.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Secret Agent]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/secret-agent/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/secret-agent/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 05 Apr 2025 04:49:39 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Data East, Arcade, 1989

Goofy Data East action-platformer. It looks like Rolling Thunder at first glance, but you’ve got a big ol health bar and enemies tend to take a lot of shots to kill. There’s some charm here, but there’s also a stage 2 that d…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/657fd561c286536a44fd04e4/attachments/657fd7b18b71db31b1def3a3/previews/657fd7b38b71db31b1def6e6/download/037c4287-fe54-43ea-8700-010036ffeb57.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cambria Sword: Another Cry]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/cambria-sword-another-cry/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/cambria-sword-another-cry/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 30 Mar 2025 05:18:33 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Vagues Games, Arcade, 2025

A new arcade adaptation of/sequel to a ~3 hour long doujin STG from 2017. I hadn’t really played the original, but I’m completely blown away by this. It’s a massive game that reminds me of G-Darius in terms of its branchi…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67ca19c4be763d6a2047b954/attachments/67ca1a5b3ec56c3050395dc0/previews/67ca1a5c3ec56c3050395dcc/download/cambria-sword-ac-header-web.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Kamiwaza - Way of the Thief]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/kamiwaza-way-of-the-thief/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/kamiwaza-way-of-the-thief/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 20 Mar 2025 05:22:50 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Acquire, Playstation 2, 2006

I really love Shinobido Imashime, Acquire’s Tenchu successor where you select missions from three warring factions through a highly dynamic campaign. Shinobido isn’t the most polished or focused game, but I couldn’t put…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67ca1b11f3c6abb29a4a5f25/attachments/67ca1b1acfbb76aeb2b20336/previews/67ca1b1bcfbb76aeb2b2033d/download/e2791a44-8802-4f95-b3a0-21b89883bd02.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Monster Hunter Wilds]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/monster-hunter-wilds/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/monster-hunter-wilds/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 16 Mar 2025 00:55:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2025

I’ve been playing these games pretty casually since 3U and enjoyed each one, with this being no exception. Don’t really mind the lack of monster  tracking, I think the blurring of the lines between being in a village and being in a…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67ca1ba8feb4a4801ed25ed9/attachments/67ca1bab4fb7c4b64afe7121/previews/67ca1bad4fb7c4b64afe7f16/download/9b982960-12ab-4af0-b2ef-b91e97ad7a57.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Zombie Revenge]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/zombie-revenge/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/zombie-revenge/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Mar 2025 05:48:26 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM1, Arcade, 1999

Another crazy inventive arcade game from AM1, just a little over half a year after [Dynamite Deka 2](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dynamite-deka-2/ "‌"). Where Deka 2 feels like a game making questionable compromises…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67b9320191d2ef1e42628473/attachments/67b93260a408df696731607f/previews/67b93266a408df6967316089/download/ZR_DC_JP_Box_Front.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/kunitsu-gami-path-of-the-goddess/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/kunitsu-gami-path-of-the-goddess/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 24 Feb 2025 15:51:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2024

I wasn’t sure how much I’d like this when I heard it described with the phrase “tower defense”, but I wound up really enjoying it. The basic premise is that you’re guiding an ever-dancing goddess along a path, setting up defenses b…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6732ea0f95fb72acec56ebce/attachments/6732ea2a4230a8b07449fd8a/previews/6732ea2c4230a8b07449fece/download/3628f2599138c53445c9e731ed34c75f037f40c39ea1a0e9.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Fatal Frame II - Crimson Butterfly]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/fatal-frame-ii-crimson-butterfly/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/fatal-frame-ii-crimson-butterfly/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 21 Feb 2025 23:39:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tecmo, Playstation 2, 2003

It’s been a long time since I’ve played the first Fatal Frame, but I remember liking it and this seems like everything you’d expect for a sequel. A darker tone, a somewhat longer runtime, slightly beefier mechanics, and a…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/66d5d5e806176e9dc70105aa/attachments/66d5d6070b6bf5f410611e0f/previews/66d5d6080b6bf5f410611e1b/download/8e7310be-bf32-405e-80bb-0c10a3d57f22.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tiny Bullets]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/tiny-bullets/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/tiny-bullets/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 13 Feb 2025 23:40:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Contrail, Playstation, 2000

I was interested in this because it looked like a Japanese 3D action platforming game that took some core mechanics from Tomb Raider. 3D platforming and ledge grabbing with tank controls. And early on it delivers on that…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/66425d4d0ae1d4a12211fa1c/attachments/66425d586706119532ea2685/previews/66425d596706119532ea27e2/download/75eb21a3-61ba-41f8-a32c-d0dcea137d32.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shin Sangokumusou / Dynasty Warriors 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/shin-sangokumusou-dynasty-warriors-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/shin-sangokumusou-dynasty-warriors-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 13 Feb 2025 04:34:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Omega Force, Playstation 2, 2000

I'm told this isn't the best intro to the series and I see why. The actual combat here is kinda neat, with directional blocking and guard reversals and attack strings that have distinct uses, but I can't really get …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Devil Blade Reboot]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/devil-blade-reboot/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/devil-blade-reboot/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 13 Feb 2025 03:23:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SHIGATAKE GAMES, PC, 2024

Another arcade-tuned modern PC 2D shooter, this time a very loose remake of a Dezaemon Plus game the solo developer (an artist at Vanillaware these days) made back on Playstation. Hard mode seems like the baseline it was d…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6732eabf20fa1d18ffcbed7c/attachments/6732eac1bb79084e79e70f31/previews/6732eac2bb79084e79e71829/download/bff71eb5-3861-4c4d-8a69-6b209b94144d.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Blue Revolver Double Action]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/blue-revolver-double-action/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/blue-revolver-double-action/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Feb 2025 19:24:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Stellar Circle, PC, 2024

Long-awaited revision to the highly-regarded and arcade-designed 2016 PC shooting game. Like Mushihimesama, this has three selectable difficulty courses presented as part of the standard credit flow. I hadn’t played any of …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6754dc1445c1bb875ae922b9/attachments/6754e036a8d5bf4cb3732797/previews/6754e037a8d5bf4cb373279f/download/GcXdB7YbwAAVX8X.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Strikers 1999]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/strikers-1999/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/strikers-1999/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 02 Feb 2025 23:25:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Psikyo, Arcade, 1999

Fantastic, as expected from this trilogy. 1999 here is of course very much in line with the first two games (which I talked about [here](/gamelog/2024/strikers-1945/ "‌") and [here](/gamelog/2024/strikers-1945-ii/ "‌")), only n…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/65482ad114b2f0f6b00101b1/attachments/654831bd81832e38670f26e0/previews/654831be81832e38670f27a3/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Lorelei and the Laser Eyes]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/lorelei-and-the-laser-eyes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/lorelei-and-the-laser-eyes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 02 Feb 2025 03:12:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Simogo, PC, 2024

A puzzle-focused adventure game where you unravel a mystery in a surreal old hotel. Coming from the Sayonara Wild Hearts studio the presentation is absolutely killer, but this is a more demanding adventure game than Sayonara Wild H…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/665d4a4e018c8dad2f6a657e/attachments/672d191472c61ffb1e57a80b/previews/672d191472c61ffb1e57a9e6/download/1dfe8252-d05f-4cf3-8b03-6604a0d2747d.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Go There]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/go-there/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/go-there/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 23 Jan 2025 01:06:59 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[いくちおすてご, PC, 2023

Cool little boss rush. Great visuals. The basic playthrough is a very quick tour up a mountain with really cool ancient dragon designs. There’s a post-game here that I’m unfortunately not that thrilled to see through, as I’m not t…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/667e2f4c774356fdbcf219b6/attachments/66e4e133a1bdce620416356d/previews/66e4e133a1bdce6204163578/download/library_600x900.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mean Streets]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/mean-streets/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/mean-streets/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 21 Jan 2025 03:58:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Access Software, MS-DOS, 1989

The adventure game that started the Tex Murphy series. This actually ruled. I was worried it would be cruel and stuffy and arcane, but it’s infinitely kinder than the 80s Sierra adventure games I’ve tried.

The main in…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Overblood 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/overblood-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/overblood-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 18 Jan 2025 19:05:21 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Riverhillsoft, Playstation, 1998

A huge, lumbering, and ridiculously ambitious PS1 game with only the loosest ties to its predecessor. It’s a two-disc epic full of clunky 3D action-platforming, minigame sequences, light adventure game elements, pre…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6629b4864f3de0867118b152/attachments/6629b4a52b2e83b056de0539/previews/6629b4a62b2e83b056de06e3/download/e286ceff-a2ce-4c1f-b52c-1af2e1aea027.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Jewel Master]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/jewel-master/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/jewel-master/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 08 Jan 2025 18:57:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Mega Drive, 1991

This is another one of those early Mega Drive action games that basically serves as an arcade game due to its structure, its short length, and its strictly-limited continues. It reminds me a bit of Mega Drive ESWAT, Shadow Da…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Final Fight]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/final-fight/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/final-fight/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 01 Jan 2025 17:02:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Arcade, 1989

It’s so hard to believe that this was Capcom’s first take on belt-scrolling action. Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-kun basically established the genre 3.5 years prior, but even looking at other 1989 games Final Fight leaves them in the d…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/657fc6d1807302c2f04d5164/attachments/657fc71d9c3009ec0fedfb44/previews/657fc71e9c3009ec0fedfd54/download/e7bd59f2-eedd-4b5b-b4e7-d8a2dc10cb80-1.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Indiana Jones and the Great Circle]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/indiana-jones-and-the-great-circle/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/indiana-jones-and-the-great-circle/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 20 Dec 2024 22:54:23 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[MachineGames, PC, 2024

MachineGames is back. I didn’t really like The New Colossus and skipped Youngblood, so I’m glad that this game clicked with me.

Indiana Jones, as a setting, winds up being a good fit for the studio that spun off from Escape …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sol Cresta]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sol-cresta/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sol-cresta/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 25 Nov 2024 17:52:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[PlatinumGames and Hamster, PC, 2021

I really wish I enjoyed this more. I think there's a lot of mechanical creativity here, but it's also convoluted (the special input directional shots, the way you have a dodge at 1hp but not other times, etc), ha…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super H.Q. Criminal Chaser]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/super-hq-criminal-chaser/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/super-hq-criminal-chaser/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 24 Nov 2024 06:30:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Super Famicom, 1993

A console-exclusive entry in the Chase H.Q. series. The only other game I’ve played in this little subgenre is [Special Criminal Investigation](/gamelog/2022/special-criminal-investigation/ "‌"), which rules, but this is …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Slitterhead]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/slitterhead/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/slitterhead/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 22 Nov 2024 18:59:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bokeh Studios, PC, 2024

A horror-themed action game set in 90s Kowloon where you play as a spirit that hops between bodies to take down big gory monsters. It’s a lot to explain, pieced together from a lot of relatively unique elements, and I don’t …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[1000xResist]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/1000xresist/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/1000xresist/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 13 Nov 2024 22:17:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[sunset visitor, PC, 2024

A pretty dense and sweeping sci-fi visual novel. The premise here is pretty unique and confidently told, and it’s impressive how frequently the presentation is uprooted in service of the narrative. It reminds me of Fata Mor…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/66c5fa3fd5844a7a3413dc85/attachments/66c5fa41f6314eea4b907590/previews/66c5fa42f6314eea4b90776c/download/341ec158-051d-4dbf-8237-bda2d4b6bae5.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Earth Defense Force 6]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/earth-defense-force-6/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/earth-defense-force-6/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 13 Nov 2024 22:17:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sandlot, PC, 2024

Been a minute since I’ve played one of these but the appeal from EDF2 is still there. It’s still satisfying to blow up buildings and swathes of ants, but the enemy and scenario variety here is thankfully closer to EDF2 than EDF3. …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Black Myth Wukong]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/black-myth-wukong/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/black-myth-wukong/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Nov 2024 02:30:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Game Science, PC, 2024

Incredible melee action game. It’s a little bit like Sekiro as a starting point, but with a slightly more focused and linear world structure. Combat is fast, aggressive, and full of hugely satisfying slams once you unlock the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gemini Wing]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gemini-wing/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gemini-wing/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 28 Oct 2024 02:51:23 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tecmo, Arcade, 1987

An incredibly inventive and forward-thinking vertical STG. Initially it feels like a Hishouzame-style game with slow movement and a harsh player bullet limit, but the major standout mechanic comes from using the B button to fire…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/66d0f0e92988652c2fb09f71/attachments/66d0f21622fa1f238a0ba5e9/previews/66d0f21722fa1f238a0ba5f5/download/5bec38c1-a458-4b44-ac0a-8c319ac71e5c.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[JJ Squawkers]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/jj-squawkers/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/jj-squawkers/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 20 Oct 2024 01:03:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Athena, Arcade, 1993

A bright action-platformer with lush visuals and classic cartoon designs. The difficulty curve is pretty uneven and none of the weapons feel very good to use, so I was frustrated at the start, but I got into it once I started r…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Aurail]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/aurail/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/aurail/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 20 Oct 2024 00:14:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Westone, Arcade, 1990

Sega must’ve sent this one out to die. There’s seemingly no promotional material for it, no snazzy flyer, and I never once heard anybody talk about it prior to Jotego’s System 16 MiSTer core release.

A shame, because it’s pre…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[ESP Ra.De.]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/esp-rade/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/esp-rade/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 15 Oct 2024 03:40:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 1998

Calice Cup 9, put some time into this to get another 1CC. I still mostly stand by [my 2021 impressions](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/esp-rade/ "‌") (and it’s still probably my least favorite mainline Cave shooter) but t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Legend of Zelda - Echoes of Wisdom]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-legend-of-zelda-echoes-of-wisdom/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-legend-of-zelda-echoes-of-wisdom/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 13 Oct 2024 04:45:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo, Switch, 2024

A new Zelda game using the visual style and perspective of the well-made 2019 remake of Link’s Awakening. You play as Princess Zelda in the role of a mage that can summon monsters and force-beam things around. Any kind of dir…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[R-Type Leo]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/r-type-leo/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/r-type-leo/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 09 Oct 2024 03:35:14 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nanao, Arcade, 1992

Very cool game. A Nanao-developed original shooter that was reworked mid-development into an R-Type game. This explains the big mechanical differences, but there’s still a good amount of overlap with the legendary series. Scroll…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/66d0f3107c4b9527e8133eb1/attachments/66d0f377049fab4c008c42b1/previews/66d0f378049fab4c008c477a/download/cde4af24-5e29-4a88-8b9c-a3af74059017.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[UFO 50]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/ufo-50/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/ufo-50/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 03 Oct 2024 17:46:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Mossmouth, PC, 2024

A new alternate-history collection of fifty 1980s games made for a fictional company’s gaming machine. Each title is accessible from the get-go, and the games run a pretty wide gamut: single-player games, (local) versus games, t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The King of Dragons]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-king-of-dragons/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-king-of-dragons/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 29 Sep 2024 15:40:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Arcade, 1991

1CC'd with the Wizard.

A belt scroller released a couple years after Final Fight with a very D&D fantasy setting (only missing the license) and combat that strips the core mechanics down to a very raw level. The game uses two …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Crimson Diamond]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-crimson-diamond/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-crimson-diamond/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 21 Sep 2024 04:02:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Julia Minamata, PC, 2024

A new EGA-looking text-parsing adventure game centered about geology and murder in a 1910s Ontario ghost town, clearly inspired by The Colonel’s Bequest.

I had a really nice time with this. The setting, the environmentalis…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shadow of the Ninja - Reborn]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shadow-of-the-ninja-reborn/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shadow-of-the-ninja-reborn/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 06 Sep 2024 01:43:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tengo Project, PC, 2024

Can’t believe how much I liked this. Of all the Tengo Project games this is the biggest departure from the original. Level designs loosely follow old concepts, but the core mechanics, enemy designs, and visuals are radically…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Urban Reign]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/urban-reign/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/urban-reign/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 02 Sep 2024 15:53:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Namco Hometek, Playstation 2, 2005

Super unique melee action. This, Beat Down, and Final Fight: Streetwise have always been a blur in my head since they were all thematically similar and released at the same time, and this is the first of the three…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Strider Hiryu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/strider-hiryu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/strider-hiryu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 26 Aug 2024 01:04:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Arcade, 1989

A shockingly dense and messy action-platformer. Even by arcade standards it’s pretty terse (something like 18-ish minutes), and every moment is unique. It’s a super-fast series of inventive setpieces full of cool enemies and tr…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Zelda II: The Adventure of Link]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/zelda-ii-the-adventure-of-link/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/zelda-ii-the-adventure-of-link/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 19 Aug 2024 16:06:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo, NES and Famicom Disk System, 1988

Played the NES version, but I like the JP FDS box more.

The broad structure of the game is fascinating. I dabbled with this a little bit growing up so I knew it was a mixture of a world map and side-view…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Samurai Jack - Battle Through Time]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/samurai-jack-battle-through-time/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/samurai-jack-battle-through-time/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 16 Aug 2024 03:15:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Soleil, PC, 2020

A 3D melee action game with a pretty restrained scope. It feels like it had a tight budget, but there’s real Ninja Gaiden 2004 lineage here. I wasn’t looking for a huge commitment right now so I played through this on Normal, and u…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Strikers 1945 II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/strikers-1945-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/strikers-1945-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 15 Aug 2024 06:07:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Psikyo, Arcade, 1997

Played about as much of this as the first Strikers 1945, and it’s a pretty impressive step up from an already great game. Cooler plane variety, a new charge meter that limits the charge attacks but makes them faster to fire, an…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Volgarr the Viking]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/volgarr-the-viking/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/volgarr-the-viking/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 09 Aug 2024 16:00:32 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Crazy Viking Studios, PC, 2013

I really enjoyed my normal playthrough of this in 2013. It’s a tight, varied game with some well-paced high-tension checkpoints and fun core mechanics. I knew the game had a better ending involving an entirely  differ…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/66b50f6a42bd764574b03049/attachments/66b50f6dd9ac836197b2d70e/previews/66b50f6ed9ac836197b2d719/download/8d76b2f0-6730-480f-9a5d-036dcbdd1f7b.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shiren-the-wanderer-the-mystery-dungeon-of-serpentcoil-island/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shiren-the-wanderer-the-mystery-dungeon-of-serpentcoil-island/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 29 Jul 2024 05:03:26 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Spike Chunsoft, Nintendo Switch, 2024

This is my third Shiren game, after playing the fifth back on the Vita and then later playing the fan translation of the second on the Nintendo 64. I appreciate Serpentcoil’s shift in approach from 5, giving yo…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/66914ec2aa49636c092a1689/attachments/66914f041127efcfac23586b/previews/66914f051127efcfac235878/download/a5ccf14637181f65fd2e8fb5c946310e27e3438725f78dc45af7d57a589f3403.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shinobi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shinobi/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shinobi/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 27 Jul 2024 15:29:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Arcade, 1987

I’ve played through most every home-original Shinobi game but decided I’d finally learn and 1CC the arcade original. It’s a pretty clear response to Rolling Thunder (a game I’ve only dabbled in), but there’s plenty of thematic an…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Contra: Operation Galuga]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/contra-operation-galuga/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/contra-operation-galuga/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 25 Jul 2024 18:39:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[WayForward, PC, 2024

WayForward’s second stab at the series. Being a modern HD game it doesn’t have two of Contra 4’s foundational issues: it’s not super claustrophobic (being widescreen instead of essentially 9:16), and it doesn’t have a super-biz…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dragon's Dogma 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/dragons-dogma-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/dragons-dogma-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 25 Jul 2024 18:39:39 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2024

Capcom’s second massive free-roaming fantasy action game feels like a beefier version of the original in an awful lot of ways, but it’s been a while since I played that first entry and I never wound up trying the expansion. The wor…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Helldivers II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/helldivers-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/helldivers-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 25 Jul 2024 18:39:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Arrowhead Game Studios, PC, 2024

A co-op third-person shooter about killing hordes of bugs and robots. Normally I’m not into horde-based games like this, but this has a lot of things going for it. The Starship Troopers theme is extremely well-execu…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gunforce]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gunforce/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gunforce/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 20 Jul 2024 21:54:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Arcade, 1991

A clear step on the road to Metal Slug, made by some Irem members that would go on to form Nazca. While there’s nothing too standout going on here, everything is snappy and breezy to learn, the presentation is sick, and the vehic…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Border Down]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/border-down/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/border-down/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 12 Jul 2024 00:09:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[G.Rev, Arcade, 2003

I’ve single-credit cleared another Naomi classic. I barely touched this back on release, but I put some time into it in 2022 and it’s been great to come back to.

Now that I’ve played through Metal Black, it seems like the clear…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Strikers 1945]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/strikers-1945/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/strikers-1945/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 10 Jul 2024 16:14:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Psikyo, Arcade, 1995

Psikyo’s classic vertical STG. I picked up a Strikers 1999 board and figured I’d put a little bit of time into the first two games before digging in, so I spent around 10-12 hours with this one. I know I’m skipping Gunbird here…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Boomerang X]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/boomerang-x/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/boomerang-x/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 09 Jul 2024 02:46:54 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[DANG!, PC, 2021

A neat first person action game about throwing and then launching yourself toward a boomerang. There’s a lot of slow motion, a lot of yanking yourself around these big arenas at high speeds, and a lot of lining up specific shots to …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[OverBlood]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/overblood/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/overblood/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 08 Jul 2024 06:09:23 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Riverhillsoft, Playstation, 1997

Was surprised by the pacing of this. It's a pretty slow adventure game set in a lot of bright, sterile sci-fi halls, but I was surprised at how effective the writing and small dashes of dashes of action were. It fee…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Case of the Golden Idol]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-case-of-the-golden-idol/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-case-of-the-golden-idol/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 04 Jul 2024 02:14:26 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Color Gray Games, PC, 2022

An excellent detective game in which you review a scene and piece together what happened by arranging words on a “thinking” sheet of text and visuals. It doesn’t sound like much, but the scenes are cleverly laid out, the …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ninja Kamui]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/ninja-kamui/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/ninja-kamui/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 01 Jul 2024 03:30:49 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[G.Rev, Nintendo Switch, 2024

G.Rev’s latest, an action-platformer based on an anime I’d never heard of. The movement and combo mechanics make me think of the action scenes in Sakuna a little bit, but it’s a focused six stages and it’s peppered with…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/elden-ring-shadow-of-the-erdtree/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/elden-ring-shadow-of-the-erdtree/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 30 Jun 2024 16:36:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[FromSoftware, PC, 2024

What an expansion. What a game. The entirety of the expansion takes place on a new “Shadow Realm” world map. The Shadow Realm is only accessible once you’re pretty deep into the base game, so leveling up through runes doesn’t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shinrei Jusatsushi Taromaru]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shinrei-jusatsushi-taromaru/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shinrei-jusatsushi-taromaru/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 29 Jun 2024 02:49:50 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Time Warner Interactive, Sega Saturn, 1997

A wild Edo-era action-platformer with a dark, violent tone. The presentation here is really spectacular. It’s full of a lot of no-nonsense realistically-proportioned pixel art characters (think Clock Tower…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Pulseman]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/pulseman/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/pulseman/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 25 Jun 2024 01:29:17 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Game Freak, Mega Drive, 1994

Pretty cool to try some pre-Pokemon Game Freak. Pulseman has a lot of the same spirit as Gunstar Heroes and a lot of similar character designs, but it feels a bit more stretched thin. There are some legit spectacular sc…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Magical Quest starring Mickey Mouse]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-magical-quest-starring-mickey-mouse/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-magical-quest-starring-mickey-mouse/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 20 Jun 2024 17:24:59 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Super Famicom, 1992

A polished, cute, and focused action-platformer where you play as Mickey as he gains new abilities (and thus entirely new outfits and animations) through the stages. There’s a lot of care here. It plays well to the hardw…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Alpha Protocol]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/alpha-protocol/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/alpha-protocol/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 19 Jun 2024 04:28:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Obsidian, PC, 2010

Lots of potential with the dialogue system and the way the campaign is designed around your choices. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get into the actual missions part. Lots of corner peeking as you either wait to sneak or wait to shoot…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Contra 4]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/contra-4/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/contra-4/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 18 Jun 2024 03:50:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Wayforward, Nintendo DS, 2007

Weird game. Weird pacing. Lots of very obnoxious immediate ankle shots. Screen ratio is fucked, sprites are huge, everything is claustrophobic… and that’s before we get to the physical screen gap. By treating the space…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gargoyle's Quest II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gargoyles-quest-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gargoyles-quest-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 11 Jun 2024 02:02:05 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Famicom, 1992

aka Red Arremer II

Better than the Game Boy game, but it still kinda runs at less than full speed the whole way through and I think the quest stuff wore thin too early this time around. The stage variety isn’t all that strong…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mushihimesama - Maniac]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/mushihimesama-maniac/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/mushihimesama-maniac/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Jun 2024 02:51:49 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2004

I cleared Original mode in 2015-ish, back when the Steam release dropped. I decided to go back and get the Maniac clear some nine years later and what a game! The time away helped the aesthetics feel completely fresh, and the Man…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Subnautica]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/subnautica/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/subnautica/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 31 May 2024 01:29:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Unknown Worlds, PC, 2016

An incredible game about exploring a vast alien ocean after surviving a spaceship crash. I was worried that I wouldn’t get into a something built around survival and crafting mechanics, but I’m glad I gave it a shot. It’s a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Crow Country]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/crow-country/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/crow-country/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 13 May 2024 15:37:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SBF Games, PC, 2024

Like Signalis, this is a great modern isometric take on classic Biohazard. Where Biohazard has its mansion and Signalis has its sci-fi facilities, Crow Country has its titular abandoned theme park.

The visuals are immediately s…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Viewtiful Joe]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/viewtiful-joe/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/viewtiful-joe/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 11 May 2024 01:15:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, GameCube, 2003

Kamiya’s third director credit. An action game with a similar structure to Devil May Cry. The presentation is bold and unique, with a cute tokusatsu film reel theme that leans hard into cel shading and pitch black shadows. St…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Children of the Sun]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/children-of-the-sun/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/children-of-the-sun/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 07 May 2024 01:45:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[René Rother, PC, 2024

A unique puzzle game about killing a bunch of cultists with one bullet. The game builds up rules around how the bullet can be controlled, and the stage complexity ramps up pretty well up to a solid and satisfying final stage. …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[War of Aero]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/war-of-aero/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/war-of-aero/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 05 May 2024 23:39:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Allumer, Arcade, 1993

look at this flyer lmao. Just flagrantly bootlegging Image Fight’s art. And the game is an Image Fight clone, but I suspect that Image Fight is much cooler. There’s an initial appeal to this, and there are some very neat touch…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Muchi Muchi Pork!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/muchi-muchi-pork/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/muchi-muchi-pork/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 30 Apr 2024 17:18:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2007

La Calice Cup 8 gave me a great reason to return to this. It’s been a little over 12 years since I cleared the Xbox 360 port’s easier “1.01” mode with Rafute. This time we’re playing the arcade original and I decided to shoot for…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Libros de Chilam Balam]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/libros-de-chilam-balam/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/libros-de-chilam-balam/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 29 Apr 2024 03:04:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Right Stuff, NEC PC-9801, 1992

The incredibly sick cover art got me interested. The opening was cool. And then… it was a traditional JRPG. A snappy enough one, but I didn’t like the characters and the towns/environments were pretty samey. I had to …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gadget: Invention, Travel, & Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gadget-invention-travel-and-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gadget-invention-travel-and-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 23 Apr 2024 01:40:10 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Synergy Inc, Macintosh, 1993

A Japanese CD-ROM adventure game released around a month after Myst. It’s got a similar early CG look and feel, but the environments are way more linear and there is, no joke, only a single puzzle in here. A comically h…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Baldur's Gate 3]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/baldurs-gate-3/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/baldurs-gate-3/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 21 Apr 2024 01:34:33 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Larian, PC, 2023

A massive game to follow the Divinity: Original Sin duo. I only reached the end of Act 1, but that took over 20 hours so I figured I should give my impressions.

Famously this game has an interesting cast of characters with excelle…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dynamite Duke]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/dynamite-duke/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/dynamite-duke/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 19 Apr 2024 05:12:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Seibu Kaihatsu, 1989, Arcade

A fascinating Cabal-like with striking visuals. Big, detailed sprites and sick animations end to end. The main differentiating point here is the focus on melee, with boss fights almost feeling like a more analog version…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Salamander]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/salamander/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/salamander/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 26 Mar 2024 02:32:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1986

I put a handful of hours into this after clearing Gradius II, and I have to admit I didn’t know exactly how MUCH of a Gradius game this was. I had a great time with Salamander 2 a couple years back, and despite being ten years …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gradius II: GOFER no Yabou]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gradius-ii-gofer-no-yabou/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gradius-ii-gofer-no-yabou/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 26 Mar 2024 02:28:54 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1988

What a great sequel. The rough edges are filed down a little from the first game, but difficulty is way up all around. Rank management is a factor, but a simple one. You get a variety of ships to choose from, each unique enough…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/657fe00cccf59822fdfa0619/attachments/65eb7eee1878bbb6d990f62f/previews/65eb7ef01878bbb6d9910213/download/7c5f485b-ac02-4c78-90ca-b29a8440ba1a.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Star Wars: Dark Forces]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/star-wars-dark-forces/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/star-wars-dark-forces/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 21 Mar 2024 22:58:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[LucasArts, Windows, 1995

A Star Wars FPS with a very Doom-style raycasting engine. Even outside of the technology, though, Doom is the clear starting point. The movement is fast and slippery and the maps are big and striking. The presentation is pr…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Oni]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/oni/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/oni/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 13 Mar 2024 05:00:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bungie, PC, 2001

I have vague memories of Oni’s release, complete with it getting made fun of by Penny Arcade. Not long after I picked up a copy out of a bargain bin but only wound up playing the first level or so. Given how much belt scrollers and…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[G Darius]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/g-darius/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/g-darius/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 08 Mar 2024 21:13:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1997

This was the last of the main arcade Darius games for me to play, and I think it wound up being the best. It’s a standout in so many ways!

Despite the single-screen factor, the presentation is incredible. Immediately I was floo…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Disaster Report]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/disaster-report/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/disaster-report/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 02 Mar 2024 19:27:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Playstation 2, 2002

aka Zettai Zetsumei Toshi

This reminded me of something Human would make. Something like Septentrion or a little bit like Clock Tower. Your train gets derailed by a massive earthquake and you have to navigate the crumblin…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tekken 8]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/tekken-8/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/tekken-8/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 28 Feb 2024 16:49:57 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bandai Namco, PC, 2024

We all know what’s going on here. Good music. Massively beefy hits. Characters and moves you’ve been seeing since 1995, but with some cool new redesigns. A new Heat system (not to be confused with Rage) that lets you enter a …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/i-have-no-mouth-and-i-must-scream/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/i-have-no-mouth-and-i-must-scream/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 27 Feb 2024 04:22:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cyber Dreams, MS-DOS, 1995

A unique adventure game where you play as five humans trapped by a hateful, planet-encompassing AI. It’s very uneven: interactions are awkward, cues sometimes feel more obscure than intended, the pacing is super jacked, a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Metal Black]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/metal-black/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/metal-black/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 25 Feb 2024 22:11:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1991

The presentation here is pretty monumental. The opening stage is set in the desolate ruins of a city, played alongside this beautiful and somber track.  You then rocket off into space (presented as a very flashy bonus stage) to …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/65db9d36ccf9d4a111a686fc/attachments/65db9d4a54e7c82b81dbfcc7/previews/65db9d4b54e7c82b81dbfd54/download/8cf14345-ab1e-4e60-a5a2-8beb427b55a1.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bruce Lee (C64)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/bruce-lee-c64/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/bruce-lee-c64/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 18 Feb 2024 02:47:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Datasoft Inc, Commodore 64, 1984

An impressive early American action-platformer. Reminds me of Shadow of the Beast in that it’s terse, arcade-structured (complete with permadeath), and has a simple movelist. Surprisingly nice environment and obstac…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Almana no Kiseki]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/almana-no-kiseki/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/almana-no-kiseki/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 16 Feb 2024 23:27:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Famicom Disk System, 1987

An FDS action-platformer with a very goofy grappling hook mechanic. It’s not quite like Bionic Commando: you still have a small hop, there’s no swinging, the hook gets thrown out in a very rigid fashion, and you’re…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[DoDonPachi DaiOuJou]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/dodonpachi-daioujou/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/dodonpachi-daioujou/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Feb 2024 05:14:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2002

After about 50 hours of direct play time, I got the one-loop clear of the original “White Label” version of DoDonPachi DaiOuJou. My ship selection was B-Exy.

It’s a masterpiece. It has a reputation as one, and I think it’s easy …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Thunder Force V]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/thunder-force-v/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/thunder-force-v/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 09 Feb 2024 18:36:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tecno Soft, Saturn, 1997

I picked this up real cheap back in the 90s, during the brief period of time when Funcoland or EB or whatever was selling Japanese Saturn games. It was always incredibly cool to me. The music is sick, the stage openings are…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Advanced Busterhawk Gleylancer]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/advanced-busterhawk-gleylancer/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/advanced-busterhawk-gleylancer/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 09 Feb 2024 18:34:49 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Masaya, Mega Drive, 1992

A sick game. It might be Thunder Force III tier? Similar in difficulty to TF3, so nothing too difficult on Normal, but it’s got lots of cool stage designs (arguably better ones), great music, some really stunning background…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/like-a-dragon-infinite-wealth/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/like-a-dragon-infinite-wealth/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 09 Feb 2024 18:18:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, PC, 2024

This game’s inclusion of Spikeout as a minigame caused me to pull the trigger and I decided to give the main game an honest shot despite my history of not being able to get into traditional JRPGs. I tried. I think I’d…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tomb Raider II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/tomb-raider-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/tomb-raider-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 30 Jan 2024 02:55:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[CORE Design, Playstation, 1997

I liked the idea of Tomb Raider with a decent spread of stages outside of tombs, but unfortunately this wasn’t very fun in practice. It’s still Tomb Raider, it’s still a solid foundation, but these villa and industria…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Alan Wake II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/alan-wake-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/alan-wake-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 20 Jan 2024 22:41:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Remedy, PC, 2023

This is probably up there with Control as the two best post-Payne Remedy games, and it serves as a good compliment. Where Control is a game with a lot of dashing and hip-firing, this is more of a Resident Evil 4 with precision shoo…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Biohazard: Gun Survivor]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/biohazard-gun-survivor/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/biohazard-gun-survivor/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 08 Jan 2024 01:26:32 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[TOSE, Playstation, 2000

An ambitious attempt at making a free-movement first-person shooter with a light gun based control scheme. It’s kinda like an early 90s console game in that the whole thing is just a couple hours long, very linear, and you h…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Relics]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/relics/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/relics/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 01 Jan 2024 23:27:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bothtec, PC-98, 1986

Originally released on PC-98 but ported to other platforms shortly after. This is a pretty mysterious game, very deliberately not telling the player much and with a manual that encourages the player to explore, but I found the …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Finals]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-finals/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-finals/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 2023 23:28:58 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Embark Studios, PC, 2023

Traditional multiplayer FPS (as in, not BR or extraction) with teams of three, highly destructible maps, and a relatively long time to kill. The destruction is the main element that stands out, for sure, and it’s fun as hel…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/avatar-frontiers-of-pandora/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/avatar-frontiers-of-pandora/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 2023 22:27:49 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Massive Entertainment, PC, 2023

This is kinda Far Cry adjacent and it’s been a while since I’ve played one of those. The Na’vi movement is pretty cool, the mech enemies are formidable, the world is gorgeous, and the genre trappings are executed wit…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shinobi Non Grata]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shinobi-non-grata/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shinobi-non-grata/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 27 Dec 2023 05:14:10 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Studio PICO, PC, 2023

A tight action-platformer. Player movement is breezy, the animation is nice, and the special attacks you cycle through are pretty mechanically distinct and flavorful. The structure of the game is something like Alien Soldier o…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Jigoku Gokurakumaru]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/jigoku-gokurakumaru/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/jigoku-gokurakumaru/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 20 Dec 2023 05:38:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Human Entertainment, Famicom, 1990

A pretty solid action-platformer. It’s hard to say it’s one of the best on the system (that’s an incredibly high bar) but it’s got a cool theme, nice Batman-style environment art with a bit more guts factor, a fun…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Blood West]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/blood-west/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/blood-west/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 18 Dec 2023 01:24:54 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Hyperstrange, PC, 2023

A System Shock style first-person action game with a wild west horror theme. You’ve got a big inventory grid, leaning, stealth, and a skill tree. And from the lense of Shock-style design the game is pretty well-executed. Comb…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sonic Wings]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/sonic-wings/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/sonic-wings/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 17 Dec 2023 05:34:16 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Video Systems, Arcade, 1992

You can really see the beginning of Psikyo here. A focused shooting game with a fun cast of unique characters, early stage randomization, breakneck pacing, and huge, sick bosses. There are rough edges here that aren’t in…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hi-Fi Rush]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/hi-fi-rush/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/hi-fi-rush/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 11 Dec 2023 07:04:22 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tango Gameworks, PC, 2023

(Played on Very Hard, which I didn’t even have to unlock!)

Lead designer Masaaki Yamada uses Devil May Cry as a starting point (which he was a planner on back in the day) and adds all these little mechanics built around h…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Northern Journey]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/northern-journey/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/northern-journey/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:46 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Slid Studio, PC, 2021

This was a huge surprise. Not unlike Cruelty Squad it's pretty rough-edged, but not quite as hostile. There's a noisy visual style that holds up incredibly considering it's all done with a very vertex color approach. Some real…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[BOPPING DRIVE]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bopping-drive/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bopping-drive/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[David "Tain" Williams, PC, 2021

A nice exercise in keeping scope down and not stressing myself out. I set out to make something small and polished and I'm proud of the results.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Toree 3D + Toree 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/toree-3d-toree-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/toree-3d-toree-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Siactro, PC, 2021

A well-made basic linear 3D platformer with cute and clean visuals. There's not a ton noteworthy here, but the linear 3D platforming genre is still small enough to make this worth a quick runthrough. 

Sequel is largely the same, …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Halo Infinite (Versus)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/halo-infinite-versus/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/halo-infinite-versus/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[343i, PC, 2021

When it comes down to it, this is the first time I've played Halo consistently with a regular group of friends. I don't have a lot of knowledge about the competitive modes in older games. This has been fun as hell, though.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shiren the Wanderer 2: Oni Invasion! Shiren Castle!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/shiren-the-wanderer-2-oni-invasion-shiren-castle/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/shiren-the-wanderer-2-oni-invasion-shiren-castle/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:23 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Chunsoft, Nintendo 64, 2000

This one took ages, but what a game. I loved Shiren 5 back in 2016 when I played the English Vita release, but a fan translation of this appeared this year.

Being an N64 game the presentation is pretty drastically diffe…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Psychonauts 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/psychonauts-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/psychonauts-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Double Fine, PC, 2021

Surprisingly dense world. I like the lack of HUD highlights combined with the surplus of signposting. 

Game doesn't seem to do much layering of mechanics or make any real attempt at getting more difficult, sadly.

Extremely d…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Steel Assault]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/steel-assault/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/steel-assault/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Zenovia Interactive, PC, 2021

Fantastic action-platformer. Pretty top-tier aesthetically, with lots of smooth animation, gorgeous backgrounds, and a face-melting Thunderforce 4 style soundtrack. Stages are extremely dense, sometimes approaching a M…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Metroid Dread]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/metroid-dread/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/metroid-dread/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[MercurySteam, Switch, 2021

Dread winds up being a fantastic action game due to its constant, intense, and creative boss fights and overall excellent animation. Samus gets a lot of unique abilities and the bosses push you to use them in all sorts of…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Outer Wilds: Echoes of the Eye]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/outer-wilds-echoes-of-the-eye/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/outer-wilds-echoes-of-the-eye/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Mobius Digital, PC, 2021

A fantastic expansion to the original, fleshing out the universe's history a bit while having the player solve a detached but still grand mystery in an alien ring world. The structure set up by the original is here, and the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Deathloop]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/deathloop/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/deathloop/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:29:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Arkane Studios, PC, 2021

This is an interesting one. At its core, it's a Dishonored-style action-stealth game but leaning more toward the action this time and for the better. The abilities are fun, mayhem is encouraged via dumb enemy AI and lots of…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Jupiter Hell]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/jupiter-hell/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/jupiter-hell/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:29:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[ChaosForge, PC, 2021

An incredible roguelike. This is a much smaller and more focused game than a lot of the western-made ASCII classics, but there's a ton of variety when it comes to viable character builds and the combat rules are elegant and wel…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Game Builder Garage]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/game-builder-garage/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/game-builder-garage/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:29:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo, Switch, 2021

As to be expected, this is an extremely cute game construction kit. Dreams is the obvious comparison, and while this doesn't give users anywhere near as much freedom, there's still plenty of power here and it comes with a cha…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cruelty Squad]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cruelty-squad/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cruelty-squad/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:29:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Consumer Softproducts, PC, 2021

it's 2021 and games are looking like shit on purpose. It's successful at looking and sounding repugnant, it's got a pretty fun theme, and there's an impressive amount of complexity to the stages. Extremely anachronis…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Guilty Gear Strive]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/guilty-gear-strive/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/guilty-gear-strive/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:29:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Arc System Works, PC, 2021…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Resident Evil 8]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/resident-evil-8/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/resident-evil-8/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:28:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2021

Great game. Built on 7 perfectly by being far more consistent and using a wonderful hub area to guide the player through a handful of mechanically and thematically varied dungeons. The cast of enemies is great and has a huge amount…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Nioh 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/nioh-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/nioh-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:28:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Team Ninja, PC, 2021

A step up from the first game for sure. Lots of cool bosses and great core combat mechanics. Unfortunately, it doesn't fix the major problem of the first game: it's stretched out far, far longer than it should be.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ghosts n Goblins Resurrection]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ghosts-n-goblins-resurrection/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ghosts-n-goblins-resurrection/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:28:22 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2021  
aka Kaettekita Makaimura

Great game. It's not an arcade-built game at all, but the divergences are well thought-out and deeply tied into the game's difficulty levels. You're encouraged to start by trying on Legend mode (both the …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bowser's Fury]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bowsers-fury/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bowsers-fury/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:28:17 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo, Switch, 2021

This was good. Probably the right length, and I wonder how they could build a game with the same core that holds up to be much longer, but the world this takes place in feels like it's made up of my favorite kind of side-cour…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cyber Shadow]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cyber-shadow/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cyber-shadow/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:28:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Aarne "MekaSkull" Hunziker, PC, 2021

This might have some of the best Famicom-style visuals of any modern game I can think of. It delivers visually on those Kickstarter shots of Steel Assault (where this game got its start before Steel Assault swit…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hitman 3]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/hitman-3/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/hitman-3/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:57 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[IO Interactive, PC, 2021

It's absolutely more of the same, but the six stages of Hitman 3 are mostly huge, all great, and have some high points for the trilogy. I love how the stages from the prior two Hitman releases are neatly merged into this on…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Midnight Suns]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/midnight-suns/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/midnight-suns/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Firaxis Games, PC, 2022

I think the core combat of this game is really, really cool. The positioning and environmental attack stuff is very fun and clever and super unique. Unfortunately, everything stringing the missions together feels like grind-…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[God of War: Ragnarock]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/god-of-war-ragnarock/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/god-of-war-ragnarock/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Santa Monica Studio, Playstation 4, 2022

This is good in the same areas that the first game is. The core combat is pretty fun and satisfying, they’ve added a cool new weapon in the spear, and they brought in some welcome enemy variety. There are pl…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Signalis]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/signalis/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/signalis/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:26 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[rose-engine, PC, 2022

A fantastic game in the style of the original Biohazard. Helping it stand out is an extremely unique look and atmosphere that leans heavily on blurring the line between pixel art and 3D. There’s an even stronger focus on puzzl…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bayonetta 3]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bayonetta-3/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bayonetta-3/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:22 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[PlatinumGames, Switch, 2022

Refreshing to play a game like this again. Lots of ideas crammed into this one (reflecting the long development time), but it’s all wrangled together very well. The kaiju mechanics help it stand out from the first two, E…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Scorn]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/scorn/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/scorn/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ebb Software, PC, 2022

This is an extremely visually accomplished game. Just a really thorough and stunning take on Giger's style. Unfortunately, the game's puzzles and combat are two mechanical halves that fit together terribly. If it had only one…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Kevin Costner's Waterworld]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/kevin-costners-waterworld/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/kevin-costners-waterworld/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Macaw45, PC, 2022

Macaw45's action game based on the Waterworld arcade game gag from The Simpsons. You take big steps one at a time, you have very specific punch timing, and the obstacles get very silly. Every time you die you have to manually inse…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Return to Monkey Island]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/return-to-monkey-island/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/return-to-monkey-island/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Terrible Toybox, PC, 2022  

Return to Monkey Island is really good. Visuals won me over in motion, it does just the right amount of streamlining, it's charming throughout with occasional genuinely funny moments, and I really liked the ending.

I th…]]></description>
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            <title><![CDATA[Last Call BBS]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/last-call-bbs/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/last-call-bbs/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Zachtronics, PC, 2022

It's not often that a development studio declares a game as their final release. This is a fascinating collection of games that are all solid ideas and well-polished, even if not always fully fleshed out. A couple highlights f…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rumbleverse]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rumbleverse/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rumbleverse/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Iron Galaxy, PC, 2022

What a unique thing. Really cool core mechanics. Endlessly fun to climb around, chuck items at people, slam people into cars, tackle people off of buildings, whip people to your friends, etc. Deceptively complex for sure, and …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[ROLLERDROME]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rollerdrome/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rollerdrome/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Roll7, PC, 2022

Really good Tony Hawk style skating game that manages to bring in a layer of bullet-time third-person shooting. The skating stuff is kind, not allowing you to bail and basically only having flip tricks and grinds, but the way the tr…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Paradise Killer]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/paradise-killer/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/paradise-killer/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:29 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Kaizen Game Works, PC, 2022

A neat adventure game where you hop around a vaporwave island of the gods using Quake controls to gather as much evidence as you feel like prior to initiating a trial. The music is wonderful and the visuals are pretty we…]]></description>
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            <title><![CDATA[COMPOUND]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/compound/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/compound/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bevan McKechnie, PC VR, 2022

Cleared on Hard. Incredible. Fun to learn weapons, well-balanced between physical and artificial movement, tons of little quirks to learn about the enemies and environments they're placed in, and one of the best executi…]]></description>
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            <title><![CDATA[Stray]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/stray/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/stray/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[BlueTwelve Studio, PC, 2022

Cute, gorgeous game. Mostly a very atmospheric walking sim with light puzzles and action.…]]></description>
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            <title><![CDATA[Yurukill: The Calumniation Games]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/yurukill-the-calumniation-games/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/yurukill-the-calumniation-games/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[IzanagiGames and G.Rev, PC, 2022

What a unique game. The basic idea is that it's a Danganronpa-style visual novel only with the trial scenes replaced by a full-ass 2D shooting game designed by Border Down director Hiroyuki Maruyama. 

The VN side o…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Knight's Try]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/knights-try/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/knights-try/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Modus Interactive, PC, 2022

This might be a 3D platforming all-timer. 

You play as a goofy, tired, and faceless onion knight trying to ascend a massive floating course full of jumps, traps, and enemies. The core mechanics are simple: basic movemen…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/cuphead-the-delicious-last-course/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/cuphead-the-delicious-last-course/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Studio MDHR, PC, 2022

Really good expansion to the original. They went all out with most of these bosses, and the final boss in particular is incredible. Couldn't get into the new character's controls, but she does seem mechanically distinct.…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Neon White]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/neon-white/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/neon-white/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Angel Matrix, PC, 2022

Very unique first-person action game featuring Trackmania-style stages strung together with visual novel sequences. 

Each stage has you running, jumping, and shooting around a porcelain course in the heavens. There are medal…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Drainus]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/drainus/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/drainus/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Team Ladybug, PC, 2022

Gorgeous gorgeous game but mechanically inelegant and largely about mashing absorb instead of dodging. I probably won't be going back to it.…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/stranger-of-paradise-final-fantasy-origin/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/stranger-of-paradise-final-fantasy-origin/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Team Ninja, PC, 2022 

A Team Ninja game that serves as a prequel of sorts to the original Final Fantasy. I wasn't the biggest fan of Nioh or Nioh 2, but I enjoyed this a good amount more. 

The core combat here is pretty fun. The basis is a fairly …]]></description>
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            <title><![CDATA[Ghostwire: Tokyo]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ghostwire-tokyo/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ghostwire-tokyo/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:21 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tango, PC, 2022

It's no TEW but there's something nice about the simple lock-on + parry combat between all the building-climbing. It's surprisingly distinct despite the broader open world structure. 

This is probably best on Tatari, where the game…]]></description>
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            <title><![CDATA[Elden Ring]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/elden-ring/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/elden-ring/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:14 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[FromSoftware, PC, 2022

Jesus Christ. This game is gigantic, yet consistently good. It's dense. There's something interesting in every nook and cranny. You'll see repeated bosses and other elements, but the game justifies it and changes plenty of ot…]]></description>
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            <title><![CDATA[Akai Katana Exa Label]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/akai-katana-exa-label/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/akai-katana-exa-label/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Team EXA-AM2, Arcade, 2022

Like with DoDonPachi Saidaioujou Exa Label, the Exa release of Akai Katana does an excellent job of porting the 2010 original by shedding the egregious slowdown, gathering existing arrange modes (one of which tastef…]]></description>
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            <title><![CDATA[The King of Fighters XV]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/the-king-of-fighters-xv/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/the-king-of-fighters-xv/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SNK, PC, 2022

I like the autocombos, I like the new characters, I like the visuals. I'm not going to play a ton of this but it seems good.…]]></description>
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            <title><![CDATA[Sifu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sifu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sifu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sloclap, PC, 2022  


The main draw here is this very unique, flashy, and stylish combat (kinda reminiscent of Arkham Asylum but with some GOD HAND thrown in) combined with a really high difficulty level. You'll learn all about weapons, crushing gua…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/serious-sam-siberian-mayhem/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/serious-sam-siberian-mayhem/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Timelock Studio, PC, 2022 

It's more of Sam 4, but with slightly tighter pacing (it's shorter overall) and better vehicle segments. It rules. Maybe the boss fights are a little weaker.…]]></description>
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            <title><![CDATA[Robocop: Rogue City]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/robocop-rogue-city/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/robocop-rogue-city/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Teyon, PC, 2023

What a nice surprise this was. Absolutely has the energy of a Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay or a Wolfenstein: The New Order. It’s a focused and linear FPS that intelligently uses genre conventions without sticking t…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/like-a-dragon-gaiden-the-man-who-erased-his-name/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/like-a-dragon-gaiden-the-man-who-erased-his-name/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:50 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, PC, 2023

I liked the sound of a shorter Yakuza game going into this one, but in practice it’s a bit of a letdown. Too much time is spent introducing the player to side quest and minigame stuff and it all feels like leftovers. …]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Air Twister]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/air-twister/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/air-twister/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ys Net, PC, 2023

Initially an Apple Arcade game, Yu Suzuki’s new rail shooter is now on PC and consoles. The presentation is surprisingly good! Environments look nice, enemy designs are inspired, and the soundtrack is all original ELO-ish stuff wit…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Mario Bros. Wonder]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/super-mario-bros-wonder/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/super-mario-bros-wonder/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo EPD, Nintendo Switch, 2023

Pretty good. Nothing too surprising, but it’s well-made and the new presentation is refreshing compared to New Super Mario Bros U. As always the new power-ups are fun and well-explored by the stages they’re place…]]></description>
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        </item>
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            <title><![CDATA[Slay the Princess]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/slay-the-princess/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/slay-the-princess/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Black Tabby Games, PC, 2023

A nice, terse visual novel with a very dynamic feel. Well-executed with a unique look and narration. I don’t want to say much about what actually goes on here, but by the end of the fairly short play time it winds up sat…]]></description>
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        </item>
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            <title><![CDATA[Trepang2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/trepang2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/trepang2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Trepang Studios, PC, 2023

A well-made successor to FEAR that, going by memory, turns all the dials up. Extremely satisfying weapons, environmental destruction, and hit reactions. Surprisingly good boss fights, especially the final boss. Thankfully,…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Void Stranger]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/void-stranger/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/void-stranger/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[System Erasure, PC, 2023

ZeroRanger is one of my favorite games of 2018 and one of the best home-exclusive 2D shooting games I can think of, so I had to immediately hop on Void Stranger despite it being a huge departure. It uses Game Boy classic Ca…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/armored-core-vi-fires-of-rubicon/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/armored-core-vi-fires-of-rubicon/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:27 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[FromSoftware, PC, 2023

A big new release that snuck up on me. My Armored Core experience prior to this consisted of playing the four 360-generation entries, which I generally enjoyed.

What struck me most about Armored Core 6 was how finely From ro…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[En Garde!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/en-garde/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/en-garde/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Fireplace Games, PC, 2023

A very charming third-person swashbuckling game. It’s a bit like Sifu, but with simpler (yet still very clear and slick-looking) swordfighting mechanics and none of the meta-layer inelegance. A particularly neat touch is t…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bomb Rush Cyberfunk]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/bomb-rush-cyberfunk/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/bomb-rush-cyberfunk/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Team Reptile, PC, 2023

Wish I liked this more. This is clearly using Jet Set Radio Future as a starting point, and I’d say that it makes some clear improvements by changing up the structure a bit. The tricks and trick-related challenges are more fu…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Pseudoregalia]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/pseudoregalia/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/pseudoregalia/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:18 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[rittzler, PC, 2023

This is a nice time. I don't like it as much as Knight's Try when it comes to recent 3d platformer-adjacent stuff but it does a pretty good job of making a roughly Souls-style connected world with distinct-enough areas out of a t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Protodroid Delta]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/protodroid-delta/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/protodroid-delta/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Adam Kareem, PC, 2023

This was a neat linear 3D action-platformer with well thought-out movement and combat. Charge attacks require energy that you can regenerate through melee, and there’s a lot of neat variety to the enemy behaviors. Dash-jumping…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Street Fighter 6]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/street-fighter-6/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/street-fighter-6/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:05 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2023

World Tour mode is pretty solid. It’s not great, not Tobal 2, but better than any fighting game campaign mode I can point to in the past couple decades. I don’t really like talking about fighting games in too much detail because I …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo EAD, Switch, 2023

Something special. An improvement on BotW in so many ways. The deeply flexible and optional BotW campaign has been expanded on not primarily through more or better dungeons (though there are more and they are better), but…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Star Wars Jedi: Survivor]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/star-wars-jedi-survivor/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/star-wars-jedi-survivor/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:22:59 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Respawn, PC, 2023

A good iteration on Fallen Order. It’s bigger and has a more complex hub, but the main campaign doesn’t lose any of the focus from the first game. The hardest difficulty demanded a little too much perfection so I dropped it down t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Lattice Rider NEPHILA]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/lattice-rider-nephila/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/lattice-rider-nephila/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:22:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[David “Tain” Williams, PC, 2023

I made this game over ten days for Bullet Hell Jam 2023. I wanted to practice low-fi 3D visuals and some 2D shooting game stage design, and overall I’m super happy with the results. If I made this into a full project…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Resident Evil 4 (2023)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/resident-evil-4-2023/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/resident-evil-4-2023/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:22:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2023

I loved the Resident Evil 2 remake largely because it built a fantastic new game using mostly just the skeleton of the original. It was a huge departure in tons of ways. This is a very well-made game, but it simply can’t be as exci…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Wanted: Dead]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/wanted-dead/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/wanted-dead/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:22:17 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Soleil, PC, 2023

A 3D melee action and third person shooter hybrid set in future Hong Kong, developed by some ex Team Ninja guys minus Itagaki. It doesn’t feel as much like Devil’s Third as I expected it to, and I think it does some key things bett…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/63e9848f96cf8556fd9824c5/attachments/63f05670ae10621d045726c6/previews/63f05671ae10621d04572824/download/wanteddead.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/vengeful-guardian-moonrider/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/vengeful-guardian-moonrider/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:22:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[JoyMasher, PC, 2023

I was hoping this would be a lean and 1cc-focusable game like Blazing Chrome, but it turns out it’s more like Rockman X than anything else. The visuals are gorgeous and the theme is cool as hell, but both the stages and boss fig…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Lunacid]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/lunacid/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/lunacid/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:08:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[KIRA LLC, PC, 2023

I’ve only played the first and a bit of the second King’s Field games, which Lunacid takes a lot from, and it does an admirable job of creating that sense of mystery that pulls me through so many of From’s games. This is a little…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Baroque (Saturn)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/baroque-saturn/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/baroque-saturn/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 04:55:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sting, Saturn, 1998

Dark and moody action game with (and I don’t throw this term out lightly) roguelike elements. It’s basically like if Shiren the Wanderer had far slower and realtime first-person combat to space out all the cool decisions. It’s r…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gunbird]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/gunbird/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/gunbird/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 08 Dec 2023 17:53:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Psikyo, Arcade, 1994

This was a really fun game to learn. Being Psikyo’s second shooter it’s notably less complex than the games that would come later, but it’s also a pretty big step above their already-solid Sengoku Ace. You’ll see a lot of the P…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[D/Generation]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dgeneration/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dgeneration/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 03 Dec 2023 21:38:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Robert Cook, DOS, 1991

Played about half of this. It’s a pretty clever combination of small-scale room puzzles and action that leans into avoiding traps, but eventually the behavior of the Survivors really started to wear on me and there are some p…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/63deca1d312256eaae62a000/attachments/63decad65ae3c46028c23957/previews/63decad75ae3c46028c23968/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dynamite Deka 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dynamite-deka-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dynamite-deka-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 11 Nov 2023 04:43:32 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM1, Arcade, 1998

Played both the Model 2 original and the Dreamcast port, which has a pretty different look to it.

Sequel to the 1996 masterpiece. Despite being a 1998 release this was built for the then-old but still powerful Model 2 arcade…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5f19b176548840810dfbdf9b/attachments/65490332040fe2d5d7f6e99e/previews/65490335040fe2d5d7f6ec73/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Magnetic Neo]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/super-magnetic-neo/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/super-magnetic-neo/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 11 Nov 2023 04:35:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Genki, Dreamcast, 2000

A surprisingly tough Crash Bandicoot style 3D platformer with a neat magnet polarity gimmick. Like with Crash there are some rough edges (stuff like not being able to magnetize while holding the run button), but overall I thi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Clock Tower 3]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/clock-tower-3/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/clock-tower-3/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 11 Nov 2023 04:35:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Playstation 2, 2003

I played Haunting Ground a lifetime ago and really liked it, and I’ve always loved the first Clock Tower game in particular, so I figured it was time to finally play this. It’s good! Being developed by a team from a diff…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Raiden DX]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/raiden-dx/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/raiden-dx/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 10 Nov 2023 02:13:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Seibu Kaihatsu, Arcade, 1994

An enhanced/arranged version of Raiden 2, often pointed to as the one to play. I didn’t clear it but put a good chunk of time into it for Calice Cup. It’s insanely lush, pretty tough, and has a ridiculous list of scorin…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Karateka]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/karateka/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/karateka/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 11 Oct 2023 03:50:22 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jordan Mechner, Apple II, 1984

A breakthrough game in terms of presentation, but I think it’s clear that Prince of Persia was the real masterpiece. The entire structure here is a brief, straight-shot left-to-right series of karate fights with a cou…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dr. Toppel's Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dr-toppels-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dr-toppels-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 11 Oct 2023 01:34:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Kaneko, Arcade, 1987

this is a rough STG man. Cute designs, a neat option-placement concept, and it’s kinda unique in how all the bullets are tiny and crawl real slow… but the sprites look crazy sparse with almost no animation, there’s zero time to…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gokujou Parodius]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/gokujou-parodius/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/gokujou-parodius/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 10 Oct 2023 20:51:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1994

Played for Calice Cup 7.

The second of the three arcade Parodius games. Normally I’d have preferred to put more time into the predecessor Parodius Da!, but I’m told this series got easier with each entry so maybe it’s for the …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dynamite Deka]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dynamite-deka/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dynamite-deka/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 28 Sep 2023 19:59:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM1, Arcade, 1996. aka Die Hard Arcade

It feels like Dynamite Deka is often considered a footnote, but I really think this is a milestone in 3D melee action.

Belt scrollers were always 3D in a mechanics sense, but being built fully around pol…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Deep Fear]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/deep-fear/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/deep-fear/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 21 Sep 2023 03:19:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega CS2, Saturn, 1998

Really wish this was good! Deep Fear is a Biohazard-style fixed camera horror game set in an undersea base. Cool premise, and much of it is pretty well-executed with detailed environments, smooth-moving gouraud-shaded charact…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5f7e788c39918d1a09169da2/attachments/646c48f8438b54b0bb0b16dd/previews/646c48fa438b54b0bb0b16ee/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Nosferatu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/nosferatu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/nosferatu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 19 Aug 2023 03:41:16 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SETA Co., Super Famicom, 1994

Unhinged and wonderful. The most concise way I can describe Nosferatu is that it’s like Prince of Persia with slightly more granular movement and an emphasis on a unique, hefty hand-to-hand combat system. The presentat…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Prince of Persia (PC-98)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/prince-of-persia-pc-98/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/prince-of-persia-pc-98/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 10 Aug 2023 04:28:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Broderbund Software and Arsys Software, PC-98, 1990

This is my first time fully playing any form of Prince of Persia. I landed on this version because it was one of the earliest ports, it adds a soundtrack, and the PC-98’s grimy audio hardware and …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Eliza]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/eliza/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/eliza/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 09 Aug 2023 21:05:29 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Zachtronics, PC, 2019

Obviously not the usual Zachtronics game and has a pretty distinct theme for a VN. Looking back I don’t know that it went where it needed to.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dracula Densetsu II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dracula-densetsu-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dracula-densetsu-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 09 Aug 2023 18:43:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Game Boy, 1991, aka Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge

This is a step up from the first Game Boy game in a lot of ways, but the most noticeable are the tech improvements. It looks nicer, with some seriously impressive backgrounds, and it mos…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/61fcc332af3eeb3cd296a203/attachments/61fcc34dfef0a6743bd253b8/previews/61fcc34efef0a6743bd253f2/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Punisher]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-punisher/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-punisher/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 31 Jul 2023 04:18:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Arcade, 1993

So sick. The lush animation and excellent voice samples work hand-in-hand to make the heavy hits satisfying. I can’t think of any move in anything I’ve played recently that’s more fun to land than the Punisher’s perfectly-timed…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/64b82336f68b16bdf2ab7a01/attachments/64b824250f5bab138debddd9/previews/64b824270f5bab138debdf3e/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dangun Feveron]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dangun-feveron/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dangun-feveron/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 19 Jul 2023 17:27:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 1998

This is wonderful. As with Guwange, there’s nothing else in Cave’s library that feels like it. It’s the last of their games to primarily use traditional pixel art, and is utterly stuffed with awesome chunky-looking ships on top o…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/62944eec98c5f975395307bf/attachments/62944efe5a8cca58e38cf090/previews/62944f005a8cca58e38cf0b6/download/DangunFeveron_Flyer_front.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Baldur's Gate]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/baldurs-gate/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/baldurs-gate/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 19 Jul 2023 00:24:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bioware, Windows, 1998

Playing the Enhanced Edition. This seems impressively flexible from the get-go and the game’s world feels pretty big. The real time combat is pretty breezy and helps keep things from feeling like a slog, but I think that the …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Flashback]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/flashback/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/flashback/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 14 Jul 2023 21:21:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Delphine Software International, Amiga, 1992

It’s striking how distinct this feels from Another World. Both made at the same studio, both using Prince of Persia as a starting point, both using flat colors to create gorgeous environments and fluid c…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Batman (Famicom)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/batman-famicom/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/batman-famicom/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 03 Jul 2023 03:27:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sunsoft, Famicom, 1989

After bouncing off of Future Wars I had to play something good and tight and familiar. This rules basically as much as it did when I beat the game in 2010-ish, though the final stage’s jump timing was even tighter than I reme…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Future Wars: Adventures in Time]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/future-wars-adventures-in-time/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/future-wars-adventures-in-time/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 03 Jul 2023 03:08:29 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Delphine Software, Amiga, 1989

Wanted to try this since Éric Chahi was behind most of the art. I bounced off of this, sadly. The opening scenes are gorgeous and the interface is pretty elegant for 1989, but the hotspots are the tiniest I’ve ever se…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Another World]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/another-world/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/another-world/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 27 Jun 2023 17:32:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Delphine Software, Amiga, 1991

Absolutely sick game. Having never seen beyond the intro when I was younger I'm very happy that I finally played through this. It’s an action platformer with fluid animation and grounded movement, like Prince of Persi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Fallout: New Vegas]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/fallout-new-vegas/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/fallout-new-vegas/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 26 Jun 2023 05:36:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Obsidian Entertainment, Windows, 2010

Best Bethesda-style game I've played. An easy standout. The Elder Scrolls games never did much for me and I bounced off of Fallout 3 in 2009, but I was pretty hooked to New Vegas. It has an impressively dynamic…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[System Shock]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/system-shock/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/system-shock/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Jun 2023 17:22:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Looking Glass Technologies, DOS, 1994

A staggeringly ambitious first person action game set in a big semi-linear space station. It’s all incredibly impressive for 1994. Movement mechanics let you lean, strafe, crouch, jump, and even go prone. Envir…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Galleon]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/galleon/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/galleon/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 05 Jun 2023 21:10:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Confounding Factor, Xbox, 2004

This was apparently directed by Toby Gard, one of the lead guys behind the original Tomb Raider that left Core prior to Tomb Raider II. You can definitely see a trajectory from that game to this. It’s still got plenty…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Fighting Force]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/fighting-force/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/fighting-force/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 23 May 2023 04:29:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Core Design, Playstation, 1997

A polygonal beat ‘em up by the Tomb Raider developers. I always thought this looked so cool as a kid and wished I could play it on Saturn, but despite all the times I got to try PS1 rentals at friends' houses I never …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Castlevania: The Adventure Rebirth]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/castlevania-the-adventure-rebirth/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/castlevania-the-adventure-rebirth/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 16 May 2023 17:34:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[M2, Wii, 2009

I think the visuals put me off on this back in the day, but now that I’ve actually sat down with it it’s pretty good! It’s a cool mix of mechanics from the original game (no stair jumping/landing for example) and some departures like …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Kick Master]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/kick-master/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/kick-master/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 25 Apr 2023 04:47:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[KID Corp, NES, 1992

Shinobu Yagawa as programmer. His third credit. No Japanese release.

This is a pretty interesting one. Every enemy kill sends three items up into the air and these items drop through the floor, so you often need to commit to gr…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Low G Man]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/low-g-man/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/low-g-man/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 23 Apr 2023 02:50:59 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[KID Corp, NES, 1992

Having your primary attacks be between a stun-only pistol and an up/down stab is a pretty cool setup. There are there’s a surprising amount of cool enemy designs in here, and pretty decent variety in stage design. On the other h…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shadowgate 64]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shadowgate-64/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shadowgate-64/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 22 Apr 2023 15:00:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[TNS Co., Nintendo 64, 1999

A first-person adventure game apparently developed by the studio behind Wachenroeder. Unfortunately super dry compared to the original. Cool atmosphere, nice (if subdued) music, but there are no silly deaths and the puzzl…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shadowgate]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shadowgate/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shadowgate/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 17 Apr 2023 02:23:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[ICOM and Kemco, NES, 1989

Unlike with Deja Vu, I decided to play Kemco’s NES adaptation over the Macintosh original after reading up on major differences. This is a larger and cooler game than Deja Vu, for sure, and while some of the puzzles are gr…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Comix Zone]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/comix-zone/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/comix-zone/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 15 Apr 2023 17:07:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega Technical Institute, Genesis, 1995

This is a wild one. It’s an action platformer where the premise is that you play as a 90’s comic book artist guy that gets sucked up into his own work. The presentation rules, honestly. Everything takes place…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Selection: Erabareshi Mono / The Sword of Hope]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/selection-erabareshi-mono-the-sword-of-hope/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/selection-erabareshi-mono-the-sword-of-hope/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Apr 2023 19:08:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Kemco, Game Boy, 1989

Kemco first adapted Deja Vu in '88, this being a year later. I figured I'd check this out since I liked the idea of an original Game Boy ICOM-style adventure game by Kemco themselves, but unfortunately this is more of a tradit…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Guwange]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/guwange/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/guwange/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Apr 2023 03:48:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 1999

It’s easy to think of Cave as sticking to a very tight set of mechanics and hardly ever deviating but this game stands way out. What a wild take on the genre. The core concept is basically an on-foot top-down STG with the usual C…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Deja Vu: A Nightmare Comes True!!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/deja-vu-a-nightmare-comes-true/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/deja-vu-a-nightmare-comes-true/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 07 Apr 2023 22:19:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[ICOM Simulations, Macintosh, 1985

Really impressive how this uses the Macintosh UI to do a lot of heavy lifting and deliver a very new kind of adventure game only a year after King’s Quest. The black and white art is really distinct and barring a c…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[El Viento]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/el-viento/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/el-viento/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 07 Apr 2023 22:19:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Wolf Team, Megadrive, 1991

This game’s definitely got rough edges, but it also has a really cool presentation, nice cutscene art, excellent music, a pretty unique setting, and honestly some decent action! It’s deeply silly and has a couple weak poi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[EX-RANZA]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/ex-ranza/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/ex-ranza/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 05 Apr 2023 15:14:58 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[GAU Entertainment, Megadrive, 1993. aka Ranger X.

Very cool. This was released about half a year after Valken and isn’t really dissimilar in structure and theme: it’s a side-view mech action-platformer where you have a health meter, every life is a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Mario: Yoshi Island]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/super-mario-yoshi-island/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/super-mario-yoshi-island/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 23 Mar 2023 23:54:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo EAD, Super Famicom, 1995

Gorgeous. Really really nice-looking, lots of cute designs all over the place, great music. The egg throwing is pretty fun, but as the stages sloooowly ramped up I found the flutter jump mechanic and the Mario reco…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Wild Guns]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/wild-guns/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/wild-guns/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 13 Mar 2023 01:15:28 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Natsume, Super Famicom, 1994

An easy entry into the absolute top tier of SFC action games. The theme rules, the art is incredible, the soundtrack is great, all of this stuff is basically perfect. And then you have this clever split between stationa…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Progear No Arashi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/progear-no-arashi/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/progear-no-arashi/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 13 Mar 2023 01:14:59 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade (CPS2), 2001

Very pumped that I got the first loop one credit clear of Progear no Arashi today. This wasn't as hard for me as Ikaruga, but I still found this tricky. Will probably never even see loop 2, lol. Really love this game. The …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[KiKi KaiKai: Nazo no Kuro Manto]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/kiki-kaikai-nazo-no-kuro-manto/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/kiki-kaikai-nazo-no-kuro-manto/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 06 Mar 2023 01:37:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Natsume, Super Famicom, 1992

I spent some time with this, learning to 1cc up to the final stage, and unfortunately I think the game’s kind of annoying. I don’t like the movement-is-aim orientation mechanics, the constant melee swipes against bullet…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[DoDonPachi SaiDaiOuJou Exa Label - Original Mode]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dodonpachi-saidaioujou-exa-label-original-mode/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dodonpachi-saidaioujou-exa-label-original-mode/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 02 Mar 2023 03:49:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2012

Playing as A-S. I have not 1cc’d this yet. I spent a few months off-and-on chipping away at this and I’ve finally just started seeing stage 5. This really feels like a clear step above the other one-loop Cave games difficulty-wis…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gungrave G.O.R.E.]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/gungrave-gore/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/gungrave-gore/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 26 Feb 2023 07:08:14 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Iggymob, PC, 2022

I like the look of this game a lot. Some real fun designs and animations delivered with a lot of detail and impact. Unfortunately the stages do nothing for me. Just gigantic amounts of little dudes that you blast through, occasion…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Space Channel 5 VR: Kinda Funky News Flash]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/space-channel-5-vr-kinda-funky-news-flash/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/space-channel-5-vr-kinda-funky-news-flash/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 25 Feb 2023 19:08:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Grounding, PC, 2020

What’s here is really good. It’s better than the old games in a lot of ways, but it’s also both shorter and easier. This wouldn’t be a big problem if they included a nice bonus challenge mode, but unfortunately no dice. Still, y…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Leisure Suit Larry goes Looking For Love (In Several Wrong Places)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/leisure-suit-larry-goes-looking-for-love-in-several-wrong-places/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/leisure-suit-larry-goes-looking-for-love-in-several-wrong-places/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 25 Feb 2023 03:06:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sierra On-Line, DOS, 1988

Big step down from the first one. The visuals are more detailed but less appealing, the world is bigger but more confusing, and the puzzles are some of the cruelest and softlock-iest I’ve seen in an adventure game. Kinda h…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-beast-within-a-gabriel-knight-mystery/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-beast-within-a-gabriel-knight-mystery/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 24 Feb 2023 03:06:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sierra, PC, 1995

Decided to play something chill like this while I was out with a nasty infection.

Compared to Phantasmagoria, this feels like a much more complete attempt at FMV-ifying Sierra’s traditional point and click setup. The sprites still…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Returnal]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/returnal/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/returnal/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 24 Feb 2023 03:06:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Housemarque, Playstation 5 and PC, 2021

This is a great time. Housemarque has adapted their chaotic twin-stick shooting action into a gorgeous and cutting-edge third-person shooter, deftly bringing along the lessons they’ve learned through the year…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[King's Quest]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/kings-quest/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/kings-quest/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 24 Feb 2023 02:26:19 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sierra On-Line, IBM PC, 1984

Not as breezy or as purposeful with its environments as Leisure Suit Larry, but it’s very obviously a groundbreaking release for its time. Like with LSL I was surprised at how kind the parser is, and the game has some m…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/leisure-suit-larry-in-the-land-of-the-lounge-lizards/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/leisure-suit-larry-in-the-land-of-the-lounge-lizards/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 24 Feb 2023 02:26:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sierra On-Line, DOS, 1987

I’ve been meaning to play through more old Sierra stuff for a while now. I grew up on LucasArts, and Sierra’s adventure games have mostly been a blind spot for me barring the first Gabriel Knight. King’s Quest seemed a lit…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Space Quest: Chapter I - The Sarien Encounter]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/space-quest-chapter-i-the-sarien-encounter/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/space-quest-chapter-i-the-sarien-encounter/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 19 Feb 2023 05:59:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sierra On-Line, DOS, 1986

Relative to the other Sierra series first entries I’ve played this year, this released between King’s Quest and Leisure Suit Larry. The theme here is really fun. There’s a nice variety to the settings that make it feel lik…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The GG Shinobi II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-gg-shinobi-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-gg-shinobi-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 08 Feb 2023 00:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Game Gear, 1992

I liked this more than the first one. The structure is similar but the main change is that in each of the four selectable stages you’ll have to beat their boss to unlock the Shinobi (with unique abilities) and then you’ll also…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shining Force: The Legacy of Great Intention]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shining-force-the-legacy-of-great-intention/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shining-force-the-legacy-of-great-intention/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 29 Jan 2023 20:24:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Climax Entertainment and Sonic Co., Mega Drive, 1992

I haven’t played many SRPGs so I figured I’d play through this for the Sega factor. From what little I know about the genre, the unique part of Shining Force seems to be that you have town segmen…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Wishbringer]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/wishbringer/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/wishbringer/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 25 Dec 2022 02:22:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Infocom, various PC platforms, 1985

Directed by Brian Moriarty (Loom, etc). Infocom themselves describes this as “introductory level” right on the box. Wishbringer basically does away with all of the stuff I disliked about Zork I. The world is much…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Jet Island]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/jet-island/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/jet-island/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 25 Dec 2022 02:13:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Master Indie, PC, 2018

This is a neat proof of concept where you Tribes-ski around an impossibly big island, make your way to the core of colossal moving robots, and blow 'em up. There isn't much to it outside of the movement and it's VERY motion-u…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Room VR]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/the-room-vr/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/the-room-vr/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 25 Dec 2022 02:13:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Fireproof Studios, PC, 2020

Really good VR adaptation and the tech fits so well. There aren’t any huge swerves from the flat-screen games, but there are plenty of standout puzzles and everything is paced well. Probably the best of the series.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bomberman 64]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bomberman-64/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bomberman-64/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 18 Dec 2022 00:25:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nice little campaign with some legit fun bosses and stages. There are some weird difficulty spikes, and the performance combined with the camera can get a little maddening, but it's a solid game overall.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[D no Shokutaku 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/d-no-shokutaku-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/d-no-shokutaku-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 16 Dec 2022 19:20:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[WARP, Dreamcast, 1999

This is WARP’s most fleshed-out game for sure. Taking place in snowy Canadian fields after a plane crash, the pre-rendered FMV has finally been relegated to occasional cutscenes and the adventure game scenes from the prior two…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shock Troopers]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/shock-troopers/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/shock-troopers/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:34:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Saurus, Arcade, 1997

Sick game. A surprisingly long one (wanna say my clear was like, idk, 30 minutes? 35?) but there's a lot of cool route selection stuff with a lot of clever re-use in design. Rolling through bullets to melee a dude is very satis…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Air Gallet]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/air-gallet/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/air-gallet/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:32:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Gazelle, Arcade, 1996

Cool game but a little uncanny, which makes sense given the Cave-sibling development history. Ship's just a little slow, hitbox maybe just a little big? Zako are mean as hell. First boss is overtuned. etc.

…but it's so sick v…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hishouzame]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/hishouzame/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/hishouzame/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:31:46 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Toaplan, Arcade, 1987

Wonderful game. I can see why this was such a monumental release, and it feels like it really paved the way for Raiden. There's a nice arc to learning how to lead all those fast bullets around, the bombs have a tricky delay th…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mahou Daisakusen]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/mahou-daisakusen/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/mahou-daisakusen/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:29:33 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Raizing, Arcade, 1993

I’ve loved this game ever since digging into it with the M2 release back in 2017. It’s not as relentlessly paced as a Cave game, but this gives it time to build out such a flavorful world for the genre’s standards. Each stage …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sin and Punishment]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sin-and-punishment/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sin-and-punishment/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:19:58 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Nintendo 64, 2000

This rules. I'm realizing that Cabal-style shooters and "forward-scrolling" shooters are largely the same thing, and this has to be near the top of that broader genre. I love the slight genre-bending parts, too, and ever…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Halo Infinite (Campaign)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/halo-infinite-campaign/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/halo-infinite-campaign/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:15:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[343i, PC, 2021

Played on Heroic.

Like in so many free-roaming games, there's a novelty to the world map that lasts for just an early portion of the campaign's length. In Infinite here, this map is full of little side battles. Since Halo has such a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Devil Daggers]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/devil-daggers/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/devil-daggers/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:11:17 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sorath, PC, 2016  

Devil Daggers has always seemed like a really good ultradense arcade-style game, but I've finally dug into it a little more. Once I learned that the gems can be absorbed by not firing and that you upgrade your firepower by collec…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Zork I]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/zork-i/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/zork-i/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 06:14:19 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Infocom, TRS-80, 1980

It’s easy to see why this was a big deal 40+ years ago. The map is big, the puzzles can be clever, there’s a nice sense of humor, and the interpreter is surprisingly smart. I got a kick out of how the combat was based on some …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hydlide]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/hydlide/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/hydlide/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:54:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[T&E Soft, PC-8800, 1984

A brief game full of grinding and designed around quicksaves. It's a hurdle to get into, of course, but I can certainly see why it'd be monumental in 1984. It's a cute adventure once you adjust, and it’s pretty staggering to…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ikari no Yousai (1993)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikari-no-yousai-1993/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikari-no-yousai-1993/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:52:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jaleco, Super Famicom, 1993

Thankfully, this is the best game in the trilogy. I have some nitpicks here (unskippable cutscenes and it's still slightly too mazey), but this is a great Valken-paced limited-continue action game with a really cool them…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Final Fantasy VII Remake]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/final-fantasy-vii-remake/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/final-fantasy-vii-remake/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:51:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Square Enix, Playstation 4, 2020

Enjoyed this. The main quest isn't overlong, the game is ridiculously gorgeous, and I really like what they did with the story. The combat is pretty brisk and flashy and fun, and really shines during some of the bos…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Natsuki Chronicles]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/natsuki-chronicles/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/natsuki-chronicles/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Qute, Xbox One, 2019

Really interesting setup here. The Story mode is genuinely pretty cool, giving you a pool of three lives per level that increases the more you have to retry the stage, and you upgrade weapons using credits earned throughout all…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Adventure of Little Ralph]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-adventure-of-little-ralph/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-adventure-of-little-ralph/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[New Corporation, Playstation, 1999

Fucking masterpiece.

Great visuals, tons of cool scenarios, incredibly good boss fights, and the fighting game genre twist is great. There are some tonal oddities that I don't like, but not enough of them to be a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ys III - Wanderers From Ys (PC-88)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ys-iii-wanderers-from-ys-pc-88/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ys-iii-wanderers-from-ys-pc-88/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nihon Falcom, PC-88, 1989

Played on Hard. The visuals, monster design, tight pacing, and excellent music are completely undeniable. The difficulty curve is also pretty tight considering the XP system, and while the bosses aren't particularly hard y…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Blazing Star]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/blazing-star/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/blazing-star/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:16 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Yumekobo, Arcade, 1998

This game fuckin rules. The CG sprites are certainly rough (which is excusable for 1998), but the scenes portrayed manage to be thrilling and unique nonetheless, and the fantastic soundtrack drives them perfectly as it hops b…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-great-ace-attorney-adventures/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-great-ace-attorney-adventures/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, 3DS, 2015

Been years since I've played one of these. It's really incredible how they handled the transition to 3D (like in AA...5?) and the new cast and setting were desperately needed. Tons of charming animations and a well-designed cast. …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Nikujin]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/nikujin/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/nikujin/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ikiki, PC, 2005

Brutal ninja platformer with a lot of wall running and occasional stealth elements. The movement and camera can get kind of erratic at times and you have to learn to not freak out during certain directional changes, but there's so m…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Daioh]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/daioh/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/daioh/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Very weird, but overall great. The game uses checkpoints, but it's kind with them by usually pushing you ahead of where you died and it actually eschews the checkpoints during boss fights. There's rank and a bit of rank management, but nothing too c…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968000b3d6c020e89e0a0/attachments/63196d9952d35003ebe07e7e/previews/63196d9b52d35003ebe07f25/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Esp RaDe]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/esp-rade/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/esp-rade/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 1998

This is undoubtedly a great game, but upon revisiting and playing enough to get a clear, I think it's my least favorite mainline Cave game. Since I've already talked about the game's strengths, this is what I don't like:

* The f…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The House in Fata Morgana]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-house-in-fata-morgana/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-house-in-fata-morgana/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:46 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Novectacle, PC, 2012

This was incredible. A massive, massive story about lives tied to a mansion over centuries. I can't imagine the process of writing this or of localizing it. It's incredibly detailed, empathetic, sometimes heartbreaking, sometim…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sengoku Ace]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/sengoku-ace/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/sengoku-ace/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Psikyo, Arcade, 1993…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968020b3d6c020e89f042/attachments/631968030b3d6c020e89fd21/previews/631968030b3d6c020e89fd28/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Espgaluda]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/espgaluda/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/espgaluda/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2003

You know how it is. It's a masterpiece. The final boss FINALLY clicked for me. There's so much to say about this game but it's late.

My favorite video game?…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bionic Commando (Game Boy)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bionic-commando-game-boy/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bionic-commando-game-boy/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Minakuchi Engineering, Game Boy, 1992  

Very much like the Ninja Ryukenden Game Boy game in the sense that it's very original, a bit shorter, and shockingly polished. A really good time, and the ending stretch is probably harder than the Famicom ga…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Darius II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/darius-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/darius-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:05 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1989

Beaten on "A" Difficulty ("Easy" on Switch collection).

This is a fascinating game. The move from three screens to two ultimately helps the pacing, cutting down on a lot of dead air at the expense of some novelty. A good decisi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Giga Wing]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/giga-wing/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/giga-wing/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Takumi and Capcom, Arcade, 1999

I loved this. This is the first Takumi game I've put time into, and the reflect mechanic is a blast. Just incredibly satisfying to get the barrier up, cut into a huge mass of bullets, and slam them back onto the enem…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Disco Elysium: The Final Cut]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/disco-elysium-the-final-cut/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/disco-elysium-the-final-cut/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:48:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[ZA/UM, PC, 2019

Incredibly unique game. It's mostly a very engaging and darkly funny detective story, packed with character progression and skill checks in a way that makes perfect sense in a tabletop setting but that you see rarely in a video game…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Actraiser 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/actraiser-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/actraiser-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:48:32 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Quintet and Ancient, Super Famicom, 1993

Really cool game. It's brutal, and there are unfortunately a couple lame segments that drag it down a little (a few mazes and some really questionable late fights), but the various jump mechanics are really …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968080b3d6c020e8a117a/attachments/6319680a0b3d6c020e8a203c/previews/6319680a0b3d6c020e8a2044/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ninja Five-O]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ninja-five-o/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ninja-five-o/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:48:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Game Boy Advance, 2003  
aka Ninja Cop

Sick, maddening, methodical game. Fun to learn the grapple controls. Very tight HP. Stages are slightly mazy but never too bad. Awesome bosses, amazing pixel art.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ankoku Densetsu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ankoku-densetsu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ankoku-densetsu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:47:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[RED, PC Engine, 1990  
aka The Legendary Axe II

A follow-up to Makyou Densetsu by a different team. Love the dark atmosphere of this game, love the boss designs. The core mechanics are pretty fun: you lose the satisfying axe charge attacks, but the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Perfect Dark Zero]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/perfect-dark-zero/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/perfect-dark-zero/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:47:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Rare, Xbox 360, 2005

This one's a jarring one to play in 2021. The style is hilarious (nu-metal Bond theme, everyone's clothing, the UI), it's kinda repugnant in terms of character design ("Mai Hem" are you kidding me), and the environments sincere…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ninja Ryukenden (Game Boy)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ninja-ryukenden-game-boy/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ninja-ryukenden-game-boy/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:47:16 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Natsume, Game Boy, 1991  
aka Ninja Gaiden

Very well-made action-platformer by Natsume, completely distinct from the arcade or Famicom games. This one plays more like Shatterhand, with Ryu moving at a slower pace to better fit the Game Boy's resolu…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sakura Wars]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sakura-wars/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sakura-wars/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:46:57 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[RED and Sega, Saturn, 1996

Played the fan translation. The combination of VN and tactics was pretty fun and novel, as was the 90s anime presentation. I appreciated how the fixed-length episodic structure of the game allowed for decently unique tact…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Atomic Runner Chelnov]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/atomic-runner-chelnov/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/atomic-runner-chelnov/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:46:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Data East, Arcade, 1988

This is such a neat game despite the roughness. The core forced-scrolling mechanics are super unique, fun to learn, and thoroughly explored. I particularly like the way that bouncing off of enemy heads works and is tied into…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Contra (Famicom)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/contra-famicom/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/contra-famicom/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:46:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Famicom, 1988  
aka Probotector

Been playing this lately and cleared the Famicom version today. Pretty clearly better than the arcade game of course, especially if you're playing the Famicom version with the extra BG animation. Has similar …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Xanadu Next]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/xanadu-next/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/xanadu-next/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:46:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nihon Falcom, Windows, 2005

An uneven game with a nice atmosphere. It feels very much like if one of the less-focused Ys games were built around mouse controls. It's generally enjoyable to run through the pretty environments, mow through monsters, …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/lands-of-lore-the-throne-of-chaos/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/lands-of-lore-the-throne-of-chaos/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:44:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Westwood Studios, MS-DOS, 1993

Excellent atmosphere and pixel art. Really friendly to get into. The mechanics, expectedly, don't hold up as you get into silly square-based dances and rapid equipment swapping, but I bet that's common for the genre.
…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Virtual Hydlide]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/virtual-hydlide/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/virtual-hydlide/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:44:47 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[T&E Soft, Saturn, 1995

a mess. 

The main programmer on this apparently worked on a bunch of golf games and I think that makes complete sense. There are a lot of ambitious things about this game: the environments are surprisingly detailed (even if …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ikaruga]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikaruga/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikaruga/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:42:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Arcade, 2001

I played some of Ikaruga in 2002. I bought it since it was a really cool-looking sendoff for the Dreamcast but didn't spend much time with it. I played some of the XBLA release in 2008 after falling in love with the idea of c…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/metal-gear-2-solid-snake/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/metal-gear-2-solid-snake/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:42:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, MSX2, 1991  

Really incredible. I heard going in that there was a lot of overlap between this and Metal Gear Solid and that's true (as it is with the first Metal Gear), but less so than I expected. Obviously the core mechanics are distinct …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sin & Punishment: Star Successor]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sin-and-punishment-star-successor/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sin-and-punishment-star-successor/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:41:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Wii, 2009

Still rules, and stands out from the original more than I remember. This one is about twice as long, and the result feels a bit closer to a game like Bayonetta than something arcade-ish. The IR aiming and near-constant flying al…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mischief Makers]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/mischief-makers/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/mischief-makers/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:41:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[This was pretty good. At it's core this is a 2D action-platformer about dashing all over the place, grabbing things, shaking things, and throwing things. Structurally it's a big series of 2-5 minute levels, and it very much feels like stage designer…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Radiant Silvergun]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/radiant-silvergun/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/radiant-silvergun/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:41:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Saturn, 1998

It's beautiful, I love the boss design, the player weapons are cool, and it's probably a top 3 in terms of presentation. The long runtime and arcane process of finding how much chaining I need for my ship to be viable, tho, k…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Alien Soldier]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/alien-soldier/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/alien-soldier/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:40:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Mega Drive, 1995

Alien Soldier is the real star of their MD lineup. 

I haven't beaten this yet (playing on its default "SUPERHARD" difficulty) but judging by the first half this is a masterpiece. Like in Gunstar there are a ton of things…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shenzhen I/O]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/shenzhen-io/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/shenzhen-io/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:40:19 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Zachtronics, PC, 2016

This game rules, but like so many Zachtronics games it's so dense. I hit a solid breaking point in the story (Avalon City), so I figured I'd shelve it for now.

The programming isn't too removed from TIS-100, but it does have …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a487fc77e8401883553fa/attachments/631a4880c77e840188356203/previews/631a4880c77e84018835620a/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Prop Cycle]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/prop-cycle/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/prop-cycle/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:39:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Namco, Arcade, 1996

What a beautiful game. Structured like a more elegant arcade take on Pilot Wings, but set in a clearly Ghibli-inspired world and with perfectly-tuned controls. Tough to learn but with a fun degree of freedom to find your route. …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4885c77e8401883577d7/attachments/631a4887c77e8401883586cb/previews/631a4887c77e8401883586d2/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Outer Wilds]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/outer-wilds/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/outer-wilds/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:37:58 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Mobius Digital, PC, 2019

Incredible. Really, really floored by this. Outer Wilds is crudely a first-person adventure game. It gives you an elegant set of actions and a space explorer's toolkit and tasks you with solving a complex mystery spread thr…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6319680e0b3d6c020e8a3468/attachments/631968100b3d6c020e8a4373/previews/631968100b3d6c020e8a437a/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Makyou Densetsu - The Legendary Axe]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/makyou-densetsu-the-legendary-axe/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/makyou-densetsu-the-legendary-axe/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:37:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Victor Musical Industries, PC Engine, 1989  
aka The Legendary Axe

This game is fantastic, gotta be one of the best home action-platformers of its time. The axe charge up system is satisfying, and when you hit the second half of the game and start …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6319680e0b3d6c020e8a34a6/attachments/631968100b3d6c020e8a43c0/previews/631968100b3d6c020e8a43c8/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tomb Raider]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/tomb-raider/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/tomb-raider/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:37:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[CORE Design, Playstation, 1996

Played the PS1 version. Obviously the game was a big deal at the time due to its presentation and perspective, but its specific approach to 3D Prince of Persia style platforming is still pretty novel. It's a lot of fu…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631967f90b3d6c020e89b3cb/attachments/631967fa0b3d6c020e89bfea/previews/631967fa0b3d6c020e89bff1/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Darius]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/darius/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/darius/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:37:28 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1987

Arcade, beat New Version but played a lot of Extra Version.

What a cool game. The big unique elements are, of course, the three-screen 4:1 aspect ratio and the massive 28-stage map. The aspect ratio certainly makes for a unique…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968050b3d6c020e8a008b/attachments/631968060b3d6c020e8a0e7c/previews/631968060b3d6c020e8a0e83/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Steel Battalion]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/steel-battalion/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/steel-battalion/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:37:22 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom and Nude Maker, Xbox, 2002  
aka Tekki

Steel Battalion's controller is ridiculous, as everyone knows, and it's worth a quick rundown. The left-hand panel of the three-panel controller has a throttle for changing gear and a one-axis stick for…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631967f90b3d6c020e89b3c1/attachments/631967fa0b3d6c020e89c001/previews/631967fa0b3d6c020e89c007/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Enemy Zero]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/enemy-zero/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/enemy-zero/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 03:35:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[WARP, Saturn, 1996

It’s crazy to me that this was only about a year and a half after D no Shokutaku. Aside from being set in space, the major differences between this and D are that it drops the time limit and adds surprisingly pretty polygonal fir…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6396ae8a23ee7f051bf1f547/attachments/6397e9a835713c015d5a7da6/previews/6397e9a935713c015d5a841c/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[D no Shokutaku]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/d-no-shokutaku/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/d-no-shokutaku/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 12 Dec 2022 01:56:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[WARP, 3DO, 1995

A first-person adventure game with a pretty strong atmosphere, rigid-but-serviceable CG, and unbearably slow movement. Would have been way better if it were more static images like Myst. The two-hour time limit and lack of saving ar…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/639686d4e2575001dde2c997/attachments/639686d8201c9403fddd134b/previews/639686d9201c9403fddd1358/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bujingai - The Forsaken City]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bujingai-the-forsaken-city/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bujingai-the-forsaken-city/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 22 Nov 2022 20:39:47 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[RED, Playstation 2, 2003

A surprisingly polished 3D action game by RED. It’s better than I remember Gungrave being. The animation is nice, the combo system is basic but fun to noodle around with, and there are some goofy movement options to mess wi…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/63607b6680d70000fbad533f/attachments/637262e93515b9001d3884b6/previews/637262eb3515b9001d3884c2/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rastan Saga]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rastan-saga/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rastan-saga/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 04 Nov 2022 04:57:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1988

Very cool game with a fairly unique Japanese take on a barbarian theme. Plenty of jank, but the enemies and equipment are well thought-out and there are a surprising amount of different approaches you have to take with the traps…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/635e8741f38d2f05379dc22e/attachments/635e877608af550379b052f7/previews/635e877708af550379b05304/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Vermilion]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/vermilion/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/vermilion/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 21 Oct 2022 23:13:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM2, Mega Drive, 1989  
aka Sword of Vermilion

This game left a strong impression on me as a kid because of that cold initial town music. Revisiting it and putting a few hours into it I think it's pretty neat, but just a little too slow-paced …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631eae992f55d2033d7925c3/attachments/631eaea26dffef002f90027c/previews/631eaea26dffef002f900288/download/48210_front.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Chase the Express]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/chase-the-express/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/chase-the-express/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 19 Oct 2022 02:10:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sugar & Rockets, Playstation, 2000
a.k.a. Covert Ops: Nuclear Dawn

Very cool Biohazard-style game that takes place on a train. There's a shift in focus from puzzles to combat, but it's not too huge of one despite what the roll buttons suggest. Inst…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6344c916adfc9300af103937/attachments/634754d0ee888303718837fe/previews/634754d1ee8883037188382f/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Yami no Shigotonin Kage]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/yami-no-shigotonin-kage/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/yami-no-shigotonin-kage/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 12 Oct 2022 20:35:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Natsume, Famicom, 1990

This is no Shatterhand, but you can tell they're on their way. It's got a super well-executed dark visual style like Batman or Gun-Dec and a similarly pumping soundtrack. There's a strict five-lives limit, and because of that…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/62768ba3b78db53acafc143b/attachments/627fe0176a6d0d8aec03e078/previews/627fe0176a6d0d8aec03e089/download/kage.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Brightis]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/brightis/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/brightis/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 11 Oct 2022 01:31:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Quintet, Playstation, 1999

Shockingly modern 1999 PS1 game with a big polygonal world and complex (though not meaningfully so) combat. I had to shelve it like 2/3rds through (a little under 10 hours in) because the dungeons were getting a little to…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6333185f26ab7705760fe440/attachments/6333187938770f01335f7583/previews/6333187a38770f01335f758c/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bionic Commando (2009)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bionic-commando-2009/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bionic-commando-2009/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 27 Sep 2022 02:06:28 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Grin, Xbox 360, 2009 

Better than it has any right to be, frankly. There are some annoyances, like a lack of feedback and kind of a slow start. But once you unlock some abilities and make it to some of the cooler areas swinging around and throwing …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/62cef51b45eb746dfea41676/attachments/63325a9f36be4c022e2a5537/previews/63325aa036be4c022e2a5540/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Prodeus]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/prodeus/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/prodeus/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 24 Sep 2022 02:56:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[The core mechanics here feel pretty good and I think the visuals are a technically unique take on Doom 2016, but unfortunately the structure is kind of mess. Regardless of the difficulty, you get infinite respawns at a checkpoint without any rollbac…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/632e24f2d663fe00521f55e4/attachments/632e71f2417529014fbc40b0/previews/632e71f3417529014fbc40bd/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Crash Bandicoot]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/crash-bandicoot/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/crash-bandicoot/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 17 Sep 2022 23:07:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Naughty Dog, Playstation, 1996  

Never fully played through this until now. I've always wanted this to be good, because I like the fundamental idea of a linear 3D platformer and felt it never got explored much in the 90s. I think this does a pretty…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/63265237c7f5e600fa097a9f/attachments/63265294499a2f0069f1e093/previews/63265296499a2f0069f1e1cb/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shin-chan: Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation - The Endless Seven-Day Journey]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/shin-chan-me-and-the-professor-on-summer-vacation-the-endless-seven-day-journey/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/shin-chan-me-and-the-professor-on-summer-vacation-the-endless-seven-day-journey/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 16 Sep 2022 18:03:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Millennium Kitchen, Switch, 2021  
aka Crayon Shin-chan: Ora to Hakase no Natsuyasumi - Owaranai Nanokakan no Tabi

This is the lowest-stakes game I've played in years. Very chill and idyllic fixed-camera game with particularly gorgeous backgrounds.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6314e20d4d77c301b9c0d512/attachments/6323b93a25dab002dbaff4b0/previews/6323b93b25dab002dbaff4bc/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/warhammer-40000-space-marine/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/warhammer-40000-space-marine/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 11 Sep 2022 22:55:46 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Relic Entertainment, Windows, 2011

Pretty good third person action game that takes a lot from Gears but omits the cover system and marries the shooting with Musou-style slashing. This isn't quite Gears 1 level, but it's a tight and well-paced campa…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a487fc77e8401883553f6/attachments/631e676d405cd7001712d9ff/previews/631e676e405cd7001712da07/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Stretch Panic (PS2)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/stretch-panic-ps2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/stretch-panic-ps2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 20:08:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Playstation 2, 2001  
aka Hippa Linda, Freak Out

Defeated but did not exorcise every boss.

This is a slick-looking game with a lot of nice technical tricks in it, and it's surprisingly competent for a first-go at a third-person 3D game i…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4874c77e840188351237/attachments/631a4ba14df03a02d919af12/previews/631a4ba24df03a02d919af1b/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gunstar Super Heroes]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/gunstar-super-heroes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/gunstar-super-heroes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Game Boy Advance, 2005

Like with AGH, this is better than the original. The stages feel like they're more mindfully built around the character's moves, the pixel art is nicer, the weapons seem more balanced, and enemies aren't just though…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Advance Guardian Heroes]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/advance-guardian-heroes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/advance-guardian-heroes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Game Boy Advance, 2004

Liked this better than the Saturn game for sure. Ditching the invincible AI partner, losing the 3-plane system, making block require a meter, and adding a fun parry are all big improvements. Battles are generally mo…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4871c77e8401883502af/attachments/631a4872c77e840188350f42/previews/631a4872c77e840188350f49/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Astro Boy: Omega Factor]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/astro-boy-omega-factor/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/astro-boy-omega-factor/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Game Boy Advance, 2003

NA version. Definitely got the wrong impression of this back in the day. This is pretty good!  It takes the basic core side-view melee combat from Tiny Toons but refines it a whole lot and gives you an awful lot of …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4871c77e8401883502ec/attachments/631a4873c77e840188350f5d/previews/631a4873c77e840188350f64/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hajime No Ippo: The Fighting!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/hajime-no-ippo-the-fighting/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/hajime-no-ippo-the-fighting/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Game Boy Advance, 2002

Very cool take on Punch-Out. Extremely good spritework and some cool mechanics twists (even if it's not as elegant or pattern-based).…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster's Bad Dream]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/tiny-toon-adventures-busters-bad-dream/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/tiny-toon-adventures-busters-bad-dream/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Game Boy Advance, 2002

This is kind of neat. There's a very satisfying set of core mechanics here: it's single-plane 2D, but you have a handful of simple combos and attacks and enemies easily get knocked into each other and cluster up on …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4874c77e8401883511aa/attachments/631a4875c77e840188351dcd/previews/631a4875c77e840188351dd3/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Silpheed: The Lost Planet]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/silpheed-the-lost-planet/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/silpheed-the-lost-planet/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Playstation 2, 2000

This is actually pretty good as far as console paced shooters go, I think. It's too slow and long to want to 1cc, but retrying the late chapters was fun. Nice graphics and some interesting boss designs.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4874c77e840188351247/attachments/631a4875c77e840188351f3e/previews/631a4875c77e840188351f44/download/Silpheed-_The_Lost_Planet_Japanese_Cover.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bakuretsu Muteki Bangaioh (N64)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bakuretsu-muteki-bangaioh-n64/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bakuretsu-muteki-bangaioh-n64/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Nintendo 64, 2000

Liked it. It's very much like Mischief Makers in terms of structure and pacing, but with less standout cool moments unfortunately. On the other hand, the core mechanics are more fun to me with the constant system-halting…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4877c77e8401883521f3/attachments/631a4878c77e840188352e72/previews/631a4878c77e840188352e78/download/Bangai-ON64Box.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rakugaki Showtime]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rakugaki-showtime/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rakugaki-showtime/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Playstation, 1999

Cute visuals, fun movement with a lot of homing dash stuff, fun item throwing and parrying. Real neat, and a big departure from their previous two party fighters.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4877c77e84018835220f/attachments/631a4878c77e840188352ecb/previews/631a4878c77e840188352ed2/download/Rakugaki_Showtime_cover.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Golden Axe: Beast Rider]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/golden-axe-beast-rider/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/golden-axe-beast-rider/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Xbox 360, 2008

This isn't a good game, but it's better than its reputation suggests. The presentation is hilarious, very edgy and embarrassing for 2008. Animation blending is jacked up all over the place. But the core combat is kinda fun, lar…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Silhouette Mirage]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/silhouette-mirage/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/silhouette-mirage/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Saturn, 1997

This has a lot of cool and creative stuff in it. Some genuinely funny boss fights, some clever little strategies to find. It's a got a huge core move set and the presentation reminds me of a better and more pixel art focused …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4877c77e84018835229c/attachments/631a4878c77e840188352fe7/previews/631a4878c77e840188352fee/download/SilhouetteMirage_Saturn_JP_Box_Front.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Guardian Heroes]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/guardian-heroes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/guardian-heroes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Saturn, 1996

I should trust my 2010 tastes more often. The multiplayer arena mode here seems neat enough in the same way that the Yu Yu Hakusho game is, and it's probably a good successor on that front. As a single-player beat 'em up, tho…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Yu Yu Hakusho - Maikyo Toitsusen]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/yu-yu-hakusho-maikyo-toitsusen/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/yu-yu-hakusho-maikyo-toitsusen/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Mega Drive, 1994

This one is pretty cool. I'm sure it's busted competitively but the presentation is great and it's very ambitious. Was probably pretty mind-blowing in 1994 with a multi-tap.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a487ac77e84018835326f/attachments/631a487bc77e840188353e9d/previews/631a487bc77e840188353ea3/download/Makyou_Toitsusen_cover.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dynamite Headdy]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/dynamite-headdy/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/dynamite-headdy/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Mega Drive, 1994

Dynamite Headdy is a deeply annoying showcase of great pixel art and technical tricks. It's a million confusing gimmicks strung together. It's somehow a 1994 2D action platformer with too many cutscenes. I do not like thi…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a487ac77e8401883532a7/attachments/631a487bc77e840188353f5c/previews/631a487bc77e840188353f64/download/47312_front.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[McDonald's Treasure Land Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/mcdonalds-treasure-land-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/mcdonalds-treasure-land-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Mega Drive, 1993

would you believe that this is a very competent but also very unexciting action platformer? Pay those bills.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a487ac77e8401883532de/attachments/631a487bc77e840188353ff2/previews/631a487bc77e840188353ffa/download/s-l1600.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gunstar Heroes]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/gunstar-heroes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/gunstar-heroes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Mega Drive, 1993

I've always seen this as a pretty mid treasure game compared to Alien Soldier. Let's see where it lands.

Ok.

Played through Gunstar Heroes today. I had played scattered stages growing up but this was the first honest pl…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a487ac77e840188353328/attachments/631a487bc77e840188354065/previews/631a487bc77e84018835406a/download/s-l500.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Eye of the Temple]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/eye-of-the-temple/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/eye-of-the-temple/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Rune Skovbo Johansen, PC, 2021

This is an interesting one. It's a room-scale VR game in the 2016 sense of the word, where you actually need 2x2m to play it. Room scale has largely fallen out of favor, and this game is a shining example why: the adm…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a487cc77e840188354372/attachments/631a487ec77e8401883550e2/previews/631a487ec77e8401883550e8/download/library_600x900.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Her Story]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/her-story/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/her-story/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sam Barlow, PC, 2015

Clever, novel, well-acted.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ninja-gaiden-3-razors-edge/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ninja-gaiden-3-razors-edge/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Team Ninja, PC, 2012

I remember really hating vanilla NG3. Just a massive disappointment. This revision of the game never repulsed me quite like the original did, and ultimately I think it's worth playing through on Normal mode, but unlike masterpi…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a487fc77e8401883554fb/attachments/631a4880c77e8401883562ea/previews/631a4880c77e8401883562f1/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Prey (2006)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/prey-2006/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/prey-2006/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Human Head Studios, PC, 2006

Better puzzles than I expected, but the action is as bad as I feared. It's an already short game, but it'd do better with a Portal-style pace. Lots of dumb mid-2000s edgy shit, too, especially the ghost girls.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Floating Runner]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/floating-runner/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/floating-runner/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Xing Entertainment, Playstation, 1996

Unfortunate. Being a pre Mario64 3D platformer I expected jank, and it is. The core of the game is tank control movement, high jumping, and a very short-range gun to shoot enemies with. There are lots of cute d…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4882c77e840188356595/attachments/631a4884c77e840188357477/previews/631a4884c77e84018835747d/download/s-l400.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Death's Door]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/deaths-door/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/deaths-door/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Acid Nerve, PC, 2021

A surprisingly restrained game that uses some bare dodge-roll-slash combat. The dungeons aren't thrilling to explore, but they don't overstay their welcome and the bosses are pretty fun throughout. Definitely better than Titan …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Way of the Samurai]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/way-of-the-samurai/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/way-of-the-samurai/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Acquire, Playstation 2, 2002

Super novel structure, and it gets a lot of credit for having such a cool branching story, but unfortunately I can't enjoy the combat enough to tolerate the lack of skippable dialog bubbles.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4885c77e840188357668/attachments/631a4887c77e8401883582cd/previews/631a4887c77e8401883582d5/download/399892-way-of-the-samurai-playstation-2-front-cover.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Miracle Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/miracle-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/miracle-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Data East, Arcade, 1993  
aka Spinmaster

Pretty mid action-platformer. It's generally well constructed, with clean art and nice music, but the on-rails sections are boring if you aren't playing for score and there's very little to it all.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Special Criminal Investigation]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/special-criminal-investigation/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/special-criminal-investigation/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1989

Neat little Outrun/ChaseHQ style game. It's a pretty forgiving one overall, as the timer isn't very harsh and it won't take that many attempts to learn the stage tricks, but the chaining passes is neat and I like the precision-a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tenchu: Stealth Assassins]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/tenchu-stealth-assassins/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/tenchu-stealth-assassins/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Acquire, Playstation, 1998

Cool game to finally beat. It's obviously clunky in a lot of ways (especially compared to Metal Gear Solid), but the melee combat is surprisingly good for the context imo. The stages have a very Tomb Raider style 3D grid …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dust: A Tale of the Wired West]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/dust-a-tale-of-the-wired-west/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/dust-a-tale-of-the-wired-west/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[CyberFlix, Windows 3.1, 1995 

I have some childhood memories of clicking around in this game and getting nowhere, and something made me want to revisit this recently. Getting Windows 3.1 running these days can be a pain.

This is a first-person adv…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Phantasy Star (Switch Sega Ages)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/phantasy-star-switch-sega-ages/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/phantasy-star-switch-sega-ages/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[M2 and Sega, Switch, 2018

Very cool theme. Nice art, nice music, nice three-planet setup. The dungeons are amazing technologically but managed to wear on me even with the map.

In no universe would I have ever beaten this without a guide. Even this…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[X]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/x/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/x/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo and Argonaut Software, Game Boy, 1992

Super impressive tech showpiece for the Game Boy, and obviously reminiscent of Star Fox in some ways, but the structure is pretty unique. 

There's one general map that gets re-used across the games' t…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4889c77e84018835895e/attachments/631a488ac77e8401883597b0/previews/631a488ac77e8401883597b6/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Trespasser]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/trespasser/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/trespasser/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Dreamworks Interactive, PC, 1998

Of course it's bad. I can admire the attempt to change up how guns are fired in first person, but this sort of independent arm motion won't wind up feeling natural until VR.

I'd actually say that this early phase o…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dracula Densetsu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/dracula-densetsu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/dracula-densetsu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Game Boy, 1989  
aka Castlevania: The Adventure

Lots of baffling shit in this game. From a tech perspective it seems to NEVER run at full speed. There's a ridiculous amount of screen tearing for a fixed-hardware game, too. 

There are a few…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/super-mario-land-2-6-golden-coins/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/super-mario-land-2-6-golden-coins/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo, Game Boy, 1992

Big step up from the first, obviously. Everything's nicer visually and the basic mechanics feel closer to the Famicom games (though not quite there). The way that you have to fight bosses again when you get a game over is p…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rygar (NES)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rygar-nes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rygar-nes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tecmo, Famicom, 1987

There's something cool about the theme and the journey and some of the backgrounds here, but for the most part the action in this game is a mess. The bosses are a joke, the enemies have no thought to them, and two of the three …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Monster Hunter Rise]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/monster-hunter-rise/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/monster-hunter-rise/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2021

I don't know about the monster selection and post-game stuff just yet, but I AM loving the new maneuverability stuff and the new monster in-fighting mechanics. The village quests did go by pretty fast.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a486ec77e84018834f363/attachments/631a4870c77e84018834ffb1/previews/631a4870c77e84018834ffb7/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Inscryption]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/inscryption/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/inscryption/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Daniel Mullins Games, PC, 2021

Starts very strong. Builds up a good permadeath card game loop with a unique aesthetic, a lot of mystery, and some really neat core mechanics.

Once you beat this and realize this is just the first act, however, you'l…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Great Ace Attorney 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/the-great-ace-attorney-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/the-great-ace-attorney-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Switch, 2017

It's more of the same, but the structure was a little different in this one. It's a clear two-game story arc and the payoff was good, even if the cases felt a bit uneven.

These two games are as good as the original trilogy, I …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a486ec77e84018834f358/attachments/631a4870c77e84018834ff73/previews/631a4870c77e84018834ff7a/download/latest.jpeg.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ikari no Yousai 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikari-no-yousai-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikari-no-yousai-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jaleco, Game Boy, 1992

This game improves on the action of the original in nearly every way. The healing item distribution is way more deliberate and character revivals are gone, making things tenser, and both characters can switch between three si…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ikari no Yousai (1991)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikari-no-yousai-1991/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikari-no-yousai-1991/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jaleco, Game Boy, 1991

Cool little room-by-room top-down action game. Slow movement like Gain Ground or something and a neat separation of character abilities. The combat isn't thrilling and usually boils down to decent positioning, but it doesn't …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a486ec77e84018834f359/attachments/631a4870c77e84018834ff9b/previews/631a4870c77e84018834ffa2/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Trip World]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/trip-world/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/trip-world/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 05:02:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sunsoft, Game Boy, 1992

An extremely cute game, but it's a strange platformer with very little threat and a lot of NPCs that kinda just push you around and don't damage you. The boss fights stand out like a sore thumb. Not a great game, but very ac…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631967fb0b3d6c020e89c23a/attachments/63197741af4a18018f2d61fe/previews/63197742af4a18018f2d6296/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Mario Land]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/super-mario-land/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/super-mario-land/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 05:01:28 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo, Game Boy, 1989

Very brief, and the mechanics don't feel as good as the console games, but it's a cute platformer with little STG stages and nothing lasts longer than it needs to.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631967fb0b3d6c020e89c23b/attachments/63197704d5919201970ea124/previews/63197705d5919201970ea16c/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Blue Stinger]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/blue-stinger/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/blue-stinger/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:55:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Climax Graphics, Dreamcast, 1999

Pretty neat game. The combat is surprisingly satisfying with the huge impact effects (that stun rod!), blocking, and monster limb removal stuff. There are some places where it's easy to get lost, objective-wise, and…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631967fb0b3d6c020e89c243/attachments/6319758c7a5b4f003f760815/previews/6319758d7a5b4f003f7608d5/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Runabout]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/runabout/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/runabout/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:53:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Climax Entertainment, Playstation, 1997

Pretty novel driving game. The courses are mostly linear, but you get these little selectable routes all over the place and the streets are filled with things to smash into and get points for. The car handlin…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631967fb0b3d6c020e89c24c/attachments/63197545c1418c01d7374b28/previews/63197546c1418c01d7374b30/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cave Noire]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cave-noire/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cave-noire/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:52:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Game Boy, 1991

A cute and small-scale Game Boy roguelike from 1991. The structure is pretty unique: you play through dungeons that get larger in size (like Shiren), but there are four dungeon objective types for you to chip away at (each wi…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631967fb0b3d6c020e89c256/attachments/631974fa8fcf2404eca94494/previews/631974fa8fcf2404eca944b9/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Marathon]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/marathon/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/marathon/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:30:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bungie, Macintosh, 1994

This is an impressive game for 1994, and I think there are some cool and unique things that it does. The desolate space station is pretty moody. The alien designs are cool. I like the health station and save point structure …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631967fe0b3d6c020e89d176/attachments/63196fbab94548009afe76c9/previews/63196fbcb94548009afe7730/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Vimana]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/vimana/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/vimana/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:28:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Toaplan, Arcade, 1991

Some neat pixel art in here, but ultimately this is a pretty busted Toaplan STG that relies solely on autofire rate. It'll only take a couple tries to clear. Shame the music can't really be heard over the shots.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631967fe0b3d6c020e89d1d5/attachments/63196f7d96fc7802dadb8378/previews/63196f7e96fc7802dadb8380/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Teppodon]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/teppodon/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/teppodon/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:27:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ikiki, PC, 2004

VERY sick improvement on Teppoman. Cleaner controls (fixed up some climb+jump shit) and way cooler enemies and stages and visuals.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631967fe0b3d6c020e89d18a/attachments/63196ee32db64400932a2bfb/previews/63196ee32db64400932a2c47/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Teppoman]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/teppoman/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/teppoman/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:25:26 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ikiki, PC, 2003

Extremely short but well-made little action-platformer that involves limited-ammo weapons and some very minor stealth elements. Being an early freeware game it's visually sparse but clean and perfectly readable.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[...Iru!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/iru/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/iru/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:22:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Soft Machine, Playstation, 1998

A straightforward first-person adventure game that basically plays out like Clock Tower but worse. It's kinda novel looking in a "polished King's Field 1" sort of way.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968000b3d6c020e89e0bf/attachments/63196dea99bc01004d0ed689/previews/63196dec99bc01004d0ed6fe/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cabal]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cabal/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cabal/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[TAD Corporation, Arcade, 1988

Pretty simple game, and one wrecked by autofire, but it walked so Wild Guns could run. A useful dodge mechanic and satisfying destruction.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968000b3d6c020e89e0a1/attachments/631968010b3d6c020e89ed9c/previews/631968010b3d6c020e89eda4/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Banishing Racer]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/banishing-racer/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/banishing-racer/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jaleco, Game Boy, 1991

An extremely novel and cute Game Boy platformer. You control a car, complete with pretty sluggish acceleration and even more sluggish reverse (the sprite is always facing right). Stages are generally manually-scrolling, but t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dead Space]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dead-space/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dead-space/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Visceral Games, PC, 2008

Played on Hard.

This is a pretty good game that, unfortunately, drags too much in Act 2. I don't think the combat is particularly great, certainly not enough to justify the game length. But the abilities are kinda fun, the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Yakuza 6: The Song of Life]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/yakuza-6-the-song-of-life/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/yakuza-6-the-song-of-life/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Playstation 4, 2016

A surprisingly interesting game for being the sixth main entry in the series. Loved the Hiroshima setting and loved the relative brevity of a lot of the plot, but obviously we're in familiar territory here. Beat Takeshi is…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968000b3d6c020e89e0fb/attachments/631968010b3d6c020e89eded/previews/631968010b3d6c020e89edf4/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Titan Souls]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/titan-souls/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/titan-souls/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Acid Nerve, PC, 2015

Decided to play this because Death's Door looked cool. Unfortunately didn't like it overall. The core mechanics of firing and force-pulling a single arrow are neat, I like the way the world map is structured overall (the tiny p…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Boogerman: A Pick and Flick Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/boogerman-a-pick-and-flick-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/boogerman-a-pick-and-flick-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Interplay, Genesis, 1994

okay it's not good but it's probably better than some of the Shiny games. Surprisingly decent boss fights, and the stages are a little convoluted but not mazelike. Still, not enough stage, enemy, or mechanical variety.

And…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968020b3d6c020e89f066/attachments/631968030b3d6c020e89fdae/previews/631968030b3d6c020e89fdb6/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ys IX: Monstrum Nox]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ys-ix-monstrum-nox/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ys-ix-monstrum-nox/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nihon Falcom, PC, 2019

This Flash Guard/Dodge model of Ys that's been around since 7 is still inherently satisfying albeit simple (learn animations, then Flash, then win). It's pretty fun to stack up dodge and flash repeatedly while pummelling on a…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968020b3d6c020e89f08f/attachments/631968040b3d6c020e89fe1b/previews/631968040b3d6c020e89fe22/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[10,000 Bullets]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/10000-bullets/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/10000-bullets/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Blue Moon Studio, Playstation 2, 2005  
aka Tsukiyo ni Saraba

This game sucks. It's a mess of a bullet time third-person shooter.

BUT

Most of the game is about the auto lock snapping to an enemy, shrinking, and then giving you a brief window for …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968020b3d6c020e89f097/attachments/631968040b3d6c020e89fe09/previews/631968040b3d6c020e89fe11/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Last Labyrinth]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/last-labyrinth/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/last-labyrinth/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Amata K.K., PC VR, 2019

A very polished puzzle game with some mystery to it. You're bound to a chair and have a laser pointer on your head and guide a girl through Saw-themed puzzles. The deaths can get pretty dark without being graphic. There are …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Castlevania: Lords of Shadow]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/castlevania-lords-of-shadow/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/castlevania-lords-of-shadow/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[MercurySteam, PC, 2010

Played on Hard. 

Better than I expected. Some pretty fun combat mechanics despite the "honesty" (lack of iframes), just takes some learning with less than obvious animations. Hard mode is appropriately tough. I'm not crazy a…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968030b3d6c020e89f0ad/attachments/631968040b3d6c020e89fe2d/previews/631968040b3d6c020e89fe35/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[R-Type]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/r-type/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/r-type/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Arcade, 1987

Decided to try credit feeding the arcade original. Some of the checkpoints in this game are particularly egregious, and there are enough of these to make it a no-miss game. I tried beating the stage 7 midpoint well, well over 100…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Light Crusader]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/light-crusader/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/light-crusader/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Mega Drive, 1995

Late Treasure-developed Megadrive game. Almost certainly inspired by Landstalker. Unlike Landstalker it's one big dungeon and there isn't a lot in the way of exploration, which ultimately makes for a tighter game in this …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968080b3d6c020e8a10cf/attachments/631968090b3d6c020e8a1e24/previews/631968090b3d6c020e8a1e2c/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dark Savior]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dark-savior/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dark-savior/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Climax Entertainment, Saturn, 1996

A big step up from Landstalker. The Yoko Taro-ish parallel story setup keeps the pace brief while still having a lot to do and see, and the combat is ultimately more fun through slightly more complicated 1v1 fight…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tip Top]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/tip-top/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/tip-top/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SEGA, Arcade, 1983
aka Congo Bongo

This is pretty fascinating. It seems like it's clearly the first go at 3D platforming, and it's surprisingly pretty and varied for being that. Can't quite close out a loop.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968080b3d6c020e8a112b/attachments/631968090b3d6c020e8a1f7f/previews/631968090b3d6c020e8a1f86/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gunlord X]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/gunlord-x/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/gunlord-x/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[NGDEV, Switch, 2019

Turrican again but with a better health system, bosses, signposting. Sick pixel art. Weird control mechanics, feels like it must be a significant rebalancing from the MVS/AES original. Cool STG stages.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968080b3d6c020e8a1131/attachments/631968090b3d6c020e8a1f95/previews/631968090b3d6c020e8a1f9c/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[RoboSkate]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/roboskate/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/roboskate/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Matas Sakalauskas, PC, 2020

A simple QWOP-like game about a robot arm on a skateboard. Mind-bending to learn, lasts about exactly as long as it needs to.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968080b3d6c020e8a1137/attachments/6319680a0b3d6c020e8a1fce/previews/6319680a0b3d6c020e8a1fd4/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Castlevania 64]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/castlevania-64/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/castlevania-64/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Nintendo 64, 1999  
aka Akumajou Dracula Apocalypse

I actually kinda like the structure of this game. A linear sequence of slightly less linear levels that mix platforming, combat, and light puzzles. The combat is the weakest part of the ga…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968080b3d6c020e8a116f/attachments/6319680a0b3d6c020e8a2022/previews/6319680a0b3d6c020e8a2029/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Turrican (C64)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/turrican-c64/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/turrican-c64/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Rainbow Arts Software, Commodore 64, 1990

Certainly incredible from a tech perspective. There are a lot of rough edges here, but I found both the sweeping laser and the rolling ball to be a lot of fun to use, and the stages do a good job of riding …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Landstalker]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/landstalker/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/landstalker/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Climax Entertainment, Mega Drive, 1992

Gorgeous. Really stunning game for 1992. Impressive how complex the various dioramas are. 

The combat is simple, but the puzzles and the platforming elevate the game. Platforming in particular surprised me: i…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Beyond Oasis]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/beyond-oasis/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/beyond-oasis/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ancient, Mega Drive, 1994

Very modern-feeling visuals, almost looks like Xenocrisis. Flat colors, cool animation, big sprites. Excellent audio, too, with some surprisingly ambient tracks, directional sound effects, reverb.

This is kind of the oppo…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bucky O'Hare]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bucky-ohare/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bucky-ohare/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Famicom, 1992

A solid action platformer using Konami's multi character schtick. Some fun puzzle-y bosses, doesn't overstay its welcome. A surprisingly flat retry structure though, making it feel like a modern quicksave-style game at times.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dynamite Batman (Famicom)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dynamite-batman-famicom/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dynamite-batman-famicom/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sunsoft, Famicom, 1991  
aka Batman: Return of the Joker

Ridiculously gorgeous game, but unfortunately not quite as solid as the first.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Moon Crystal]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/moon-crystal/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/moon-crystal/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Hect, Famicom, 1992

Great animation and it's fun to learn the weird movement. Stages are tightly-designed and the environment art is nice. Cool cutscenes. 

Unfortunately, the bosses aren't as fun to fight as they are to look at, and there's an inc…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Crazy Taxi 3]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/crazy-taxi-3/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/crazy-taxi-3/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Hitmaker, Xbox, 2002

S-ranked West Coast and Small Apple, Awesome'd Glitter Oasis. I always loved what they did with the original arcade map in this release (adding a bunch of areas and the CT2 mechanics), and this definitely has the best mini-map …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Crazy Taxi 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/crazy-taxi-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/crazy-taxi-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Hitmaker, Dreamcast, 2001

Went back to this one and got S-Rank on the two cities and did most of the Crazy Pyramid. Overall it's not as good as the first game, definitely not, but the arrow is better-behaved than in home CT1's Original City and the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[GG Shinobi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/gg-shinobi/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/gg-shinobi/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SEGA, Game Gear, 1991

An overlooked Shinobi game released a couple years after Revenge. The structure is kinda unique and takes a little bit from Rockman, with the first four stages being selectable and having you rescuing color-coded comrades that…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dino Crisis 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dino-crisis-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dino-crisis-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Playstation, 2000

A pretty cool game, but ultimately probably merely better than the original Dino Crisis (which is probably the worst of the Capcom fixed-camera PS1 games). It's too simple mechanically to be a particularly good 3D action g…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Amid Evil]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/amid-evil/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/amid-evil/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Indefatigable, PC, 2018

A classic-style FPS that probably has more in common with Unreal than Doom or Quake. I don't think the weapons and enemies combine into combat that's nearly as enjoyable as something like DUSK, Doom 2016, or Serious Sam, but…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Metroid Prime]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/metroid-prime/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/metroid-prime/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Retro Studios, GameCube, 2002

This game is incredibly stylish and gorgeous. The pace combined with the z-target combat reminds me a bit of a OOT-era 3D Zelda. The movement upgrades in particular are a lot of fun to use. Unfortunately, despite being…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Perfect Dark]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/perfect-dark/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/perfect-dark/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Rare, Nintendo 64, 2000

Not a lot of surprises here. It's Goldeneye with a bit more to it and a Deus Ex theme. Some of the warts are a little more prominent in this game: more frequent extreme framerate dips, more annoying objective failures becaus…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Room 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-room-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-room-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Fireproof Games, PC, 2016

Extremely more of the same, of course. Fortunately the devs steered away from using the viewfinder all that often. It's good, but I'm not rushing to play the third.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Zwei: The Arges Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/zwei-the-arges-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/zwei-the-arges-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nihon Falcom, PC, 2001

Found the dungeons to be too repetitive in this one, didn't really like the structure. Very pretty game though.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Halo: ODST]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/halo-odst/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/halo-odst/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bungie, Xbox 360, 2009

It's better than Halo 4 and 5 campaigns because it doesn't have the lame silver and orange guys but it's worse than Halo 1-3 campaigns because it has a worse hub world and the whole game is 2008 brown. I don't need to see pol…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/star-wars-shadows-of-the-empire/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/star-wars-shadows-of-the-empire/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[LucasArts, Nintendo 64, 1996

Surely this game's weird third-person/first-person combat with extremely heavy autoaim was a big inspiration for Goldeneye 64 even if the floaty movement wasn't. The scope of a lot of these stages are pretty impressive …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Otogi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/otogi/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/otogi/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 25 Jun 2026 02:44:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[From Software, Xbox, 2002

I gave this game a brief try as a teenager and bounced off of it in just a mission or two, but some time in the 2010s I picked up a cheap used copy. I thought that I was surely missing something, given the praise the game …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mario vs Donkey Kong]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mario-vs-donkey-kong/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mario-vs-donkey-kong/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 21 Jun 2026 20:21:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo Software Technologies, Game Boy Advance, 2004

A successor to Donkey Kong ‘94 released ten years later.

Much of the game follows in the footsteps of the original, with similar small-scale stages and a similar core set of actions for Mario.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rising Zan]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/rising-zan/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/rising-zan/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 14 Jun 2026 22:05:16 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[UEP Systems, Playstation, 1999

A 3D katana-and-revolver wild west action game from the developers of Cool Boarders. Everything is played for laughs as your hot-headed cowboy swordsman main character slices up Fist of the North Star goobers, pretty …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Look Outside]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/look-outside/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/look-outside/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 13 Jun 2026 19:05:23 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Francis Coulombe, PC, 2025

A loosely traditional JRPG set inside an apartment building where looking outside causes people to morph into grotesque monsters thanks to a gigantic celestial body that suddenly appeared in the sky one day. The game ride…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Wonder Boy: Monster Land]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/wonder-boy-monster-land/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/wonder-boy-monster-land/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 11 Jun 2026 01:02:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Westone, Arcade, 1987

An extremely cool arcade action platformer with simple “RPG” trappings in the form of NPCs to talk to, stores to visit, and secret rooms. It’s a game I’ve wanted to put more time into since I first tried it in the Sega Ages 25…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tanuki Justice]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/tanuki-justice/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/tanuki-justice/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 05 Jun 2026 03:57:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Wonderboy Bobi, PC, 2021

A cute and no-nonsense Contra-style arcade-designed action platformer. Nice environments and enemy designs, mostly good readability, and some nice backgrounds and occasional big sprites. Aside from having omni-directional t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[007 First Light]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/007-first-light/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/007-first-light/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 04 Jun 2026 15:06:54 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[IO Interactive, PC, 2026

The modern Hitman games are probably some of the best around, so I was basically guaranteed to give this game a shot. Played on Hard (“Purist” or whatever).

IO went in a more Uncharted direction than a Hitman one here. The…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[DonPachi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/donpachi/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/donpachi/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 31 May 2026 05:06:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 1995

Cave’s debut masterpiece. I originally cleared this in 2020 but wanted to come back to it and get an on-stream clear. As far as I know this is the first shooting game with the idea of holding fire to get a focus laser that gives …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Battle Formula]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/battle-formula/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/battle-formula/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 26 May 2026 02:43:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sunsoft, Famicom, 1991. aka Super Spy Hunter

Top-down vertical-scrolling car shooting action. I’ve never played anything in this little Spy Hunter subgenre before so this is all new to me.

Having control of the car’s speed is the weirdest thing go…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Demon's Blazon]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/demons-blazon/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/demons-blazon/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 24 May 2026 14:58:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Super Famicom, 1994. aka Demon’s Crest

The third of the Red Arremer games, and safely the best of them. An incredibly gorgeous and moody action-platformer that takes the “quest” factor of the prior two games and refines it into a simple Mod…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[DoDonPachi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/dodonpachi/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/dodonpachi/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 24 May 2026 01:36:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 1997

Spent some time revisiting this, which I initially cleared in 2012. It’s as intense as I remember it being, and while I remember bomb usage being the key skill I’m surprised at how much trickier the game is with the type A ship. …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[DoDonPachi DaiFukkatsu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/dodonpachi-daifukkatsu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/dodonpachi-daifukkatsu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 21 May 2026 02:45:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2008

The fourth main DonPachi game. Gone is the bleak tone of DaiOuJou, replaced with bright and colorful environments, crisp EDM music, and boss vehicles that transform into robotic anime girls. Alongside the tonal shift are some ext…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gundam Side Story 0079 - Rise from the Ashes]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/gundam-side-story-0079-rise-from-the-ashes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/gundam-side-story-0079-rise-from-the-ashes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 20 May 2026 06:20:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[BEC, Dreamcast, 1999

A pretty huge step up from the Saturn trilogy in every way, I think. We get a full-length and substantial campaign that spans a variety of nice-looking plateaus, rolling hills (no more flat Saturn VDP2 terrain), cities, and mil…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Maken X]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/maken-x/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/maken-x/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 13 May 2026 20:36:57 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Atlus R&D1, Dreamcast, 1999

A striking first-person melee action game with Kazuma Kaneko art direction. That’s already plenty unique enough, but on top of that you play as a sentient sword that can hop from body to body. I remember renting this as …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Superlative Night Dreams: Cotton Rock'n'Roll]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/superlative-night-dreams-cotton-rocknroll/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/superlative-night-dreams-cotton-rocknroll/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 13 May 2026 00:46:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Studio Saizensen, Arcade, 2021

Played the Steam version. Pretty cool! A 180 from the original in that magic is incredibly useful now and in fact is almost something to mash out as much as you can. Thankfully despite the modernness, it has a similar…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/63c4df956c7723035fc0fa3f/attachments/69feb74f6ea2f661542361dd/previews/69feb7506ea2f661542361fe/download/9741632.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story III]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mobile-suit-gundam-side-story-iii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mobile-suit-gundam-side-story-iii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 08 May 2026 04:44:33 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[BEC, Saturn, 1997

See [my thoughts on part II](/gamelog/2026/mobile-suit-gundam-side-story-ii/ "‌"). More of the same, of course, with a slight difficulty escalation and a couple more out-there mission concepts. Culminates in a lot of rapid dodge-f…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/607af53fff09b5399e232361/attachments/69fb5981b86415912a83096f/previews/69fb5982b86415912a830c93/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mobile-suit-gundam-side-story-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mobile-suit-gundam-side-story-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 07 May 2026 04:58:29 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[BEC, Saturn, 1996

The second entry in a trilogy of very brief first-person mech action games on the Saturn. I’ll just dig up what I said about the first game, which I played in 2020:

These are some of the best visual on Saturn, it's kinda wild. I …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Fantastic Night Dreams: Cotton]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/fantastic-night-dreams-cotton/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/fantastic-night-dreams-cotton/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 06 May 2026 23:55:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Success, Arcade, 1991

Pretty great game! Fun theme, cute character designs, great art, catchy music, dense with setpieces. I really like how it’s balanced. It’s relatively easy, but you’ll still have to learn most every step of the way and it’s all…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/657fe4c61f9d50c6ee436888/attachments/69fb57cfc82968fe4e6ac6c2/previews/69fb57cfc82968fe4e6ac6d3/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Crystalis]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/crystalis/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/crystalis/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 03 May 2026 23:02:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SNK, Famicom, 1990. aka GOD SLAYER

On paper this is a pretty well-executed take on Ys from SNK, but unfortunately it just didn’t get any claws into me. Annoying story triggers, sometimes-annoying dungeon design (having to switch swords using that c…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5514e4cf458815f9dcbaacd8/attachments/66be464d40480565f472ac0b/previews/66be464d40480565f472adeb/download/27001cf0-419d-46e3-bf93-d3d851a94786.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Pragmata]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/pragmata/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/pragmata/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 28 Apr 2026 19:51:47 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2026

An inventive third-person shooter about stranded moon colony worker Hugh teaming up with childlike android Diana in order to find their way through the colony's haywire robots and get back to Earth. The foundation of the game is a …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/69f0eb0029255a08d38af3a8/attachments/69f10ccd030e7e9e5cc6f3ad/previews/69f10cce030e7e9e5cc6f3c2/download/hero_capsule_2x.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Guardians: Denjin Makai II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/guardians-denjin-makai-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/guardians-denjin-makai-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 28 Apr 2026 01:53:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Winkysoft, Arcade, 1995

A really cool belt scroller full of stuff. It’s got branching stage selection. It’s got eight characters. It’s got big movelists, meters, all the mobility options, long combo mechanics, and blocking.

…And maybe that’s part …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dynamite Deka]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/dynamite-deka/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/dynamite-deka/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 18 Apr 2026 20:43:18 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM1, Arcade, 1996. aka Die Hard Arcade

The 2026 revisit, years after [my last real try at single-credit clearing the game](/gamelog/2023/dynamite-deka/ "‌").

Everything I said back then still stands. This clear has reinforced the game’s statu…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mirrors]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mirrors/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mirrors/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 15:06:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Soft Studio Wing, NEC PC-8801, 1990

A PC-8801 visual novel that, fascinatingly, uses a CD-ROM despite the computer’s age. A 1990 CD-ROM adventure game for a computer platform that released in 1981 is wild to me, so I played the fan translation that…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6136456816009588f7ef3e26/attachments/61364569ecf22d09412b0ed8/previews/6136456aecf22d09412b0ee4/download/16309466268812686978515299045982.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Death Stranding 2: On the Beach]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/death-stranding-2-on-the-beach/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/death-stranding-2-on-the-beach/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 14 Apr 2026 21:29:57 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Kojima Productions, PC, 2026

Played on “to the wilder” difficulty.

Obviously a lot of overlap with the original. Maybe the most straightforward sequel of any Kojima game. Like in the original it’s fun to simply move around the world partially than…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[R-Type Delta]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/r-type-delta/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/r-type-delta/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 04 Apr 2026 01:23:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Playstation, 1998

‌I was worried after R-Type 3, which I found to be an over-long game with jacked pacing that was really unfun to try to 1CC and still kind of a slog to clear with continues. 

Fortunately, Irem kind of did the impossible her…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tobal No. 1]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/tobal-no-1/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/tobal-no-1/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 19 Mar 2026 01:36:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[DreamFactory, PS1, 1996

Very cool and polished 3D fighting game with a distinct gradient-heavy texture-light look and particularly spectacular animation. The Quest mode is the main draw for me here, mixing a traditional roguelike dungeon crawling e…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5f19e7fc4674ec26446665c5/attachments/65ad48117e6a7c579d96ae90/previews/65ad48117e6a7c579d96aec8/download/e4427282-d8d5-49bb-96e9-88deea816981.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Valusa no Fukushuu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/valusa-no-fukushuu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/valusa-no-fukushuu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 15 Mar 2026 00:02:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Zain Soft, X68000, 1990

A fantasy action-platformer starring a character that looks a bit like Adol. It’s a short and linear one, with no XP to speak of, and the pixel art, boss designs, and music all rule. The core mechanics are just a basic jump …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/61da4bf85134758483ad562e/attachments/694a067110f6edd23b509f77/previews/694a067210f6edd23b509f94/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[WinBack]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/winback/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/winback/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 10 Mar 2026 17:55:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Omega Force, Nintendo 64, 1999

A cool-looking third-person shooter that feels like an idea shot into someone’s brain simply because they saw Solid Snake pressed against a wall in Metal Gear Solid and wanted to be able to make him pop out from that …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5f190654c875223c13d400d8/attachments/69881f5ff9914a07ad9505bb/previews/69881f60f9914a07ad9505d3/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Fantasy Zone]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/fantasy-zone/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/fantasy-zone/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 07 Mar 2026 03:09:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Arcade, 1986

Classic bidirectional shooting game. This was one of the first arcade games I cleared, back in 2007, and I decided to revisit it today. 

Autofire mostly decimates it, but there's still some boss strategy that shines through and …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Splatterhouse]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/splatterhouse/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/splatterhouse/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 07 Mar 2026 03:02:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Namco, Arcade, 1988

A sick action-platformer focused on tight punching  and kicking with just a little dash of platforming. I haven't played a lot of Spartan X yet but I imagine this builds on it. The theme is a complete horror mishmash, but the pi…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/66ce840d63c16936a7254306/attachments/66ce8410fe8c7599c8085413/previews/66ce8411fe8c7599c80855e7/download/abc19a61-1ba9-45c3-8eb1-1aee1dcbc01a.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Resident Evil Requiem]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/resident-evil-requiem/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/resident-evil-requiem/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 05 Mar 2026 03:18:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2026

Reliable as always! Another excellent FPS, though this time Grace’s first-person creepy survival segments are split up with combat-focused third-person Leon segments. It feels like a natural evolution of all the hopping around in V…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/69a7ce3f47fcae01dfd10a99/attachments/69a7ce4434b222b4375407e3/previews/69a7ce4634b222b4375407f8/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Philosoma]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/philosoma/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/philosoma/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 26 Feb 2026 03:25:50 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[G-Artists, Playstation, 1995

A dark sci-fi scrolling shooter that rapidly changes perspective, surely serving as an inspiration for Astebreed. It’s a game full of neat designs and cutscenes, focusing on the spectacle part of the genre above readabi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ketsui: Kizuna Jigoku Tachi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/ketsui-kizuna-jigoku-tachi/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/ketsui-kizuna-jigoku-tachi/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 23 Feb 2026 17:56:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2003

A long time coming. I originally picked up a Japanese Xbox 360 to play this back in 2010. I put some real time into it, eventually reaching stage 4, but it was kicking my ass too thoroughly and I moved on. 16 years later I’ve com…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6294516009dd17751080bc37/attachments/696a69ccfa9e0184644bf975/previews/696a69ccfa9e0184644bf98e/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Romeo is a Dead Man]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/romeo-is-a-dead-man/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/romeo-is-a-dead-man/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 21 Feb 2026 19:43:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Grasshopper Manufacture, PC, 2026

A sci-fi melee action game mixed with third person shooting, probably closer to a Wanted Dead than it is a Killer is Dead.

Romeo’s foundation is melee slashing, i-frame dodging, and third-person shooting. The slas…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/698d4adbe06c672fee4c322f/attachments/698d4ade72e019a03fad4f14/previews/698d4adf72e019a03fad505c/download/hero_capsule_2x.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mansion of Hidden Souls]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mansion-of-hidden-souls/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mansion-of-hidden-souls/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 09 Feb 2026 20:41:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[System Sacom, Sega Mega-CD, 1993

aka Yumemi Mystery Mansion, Yumemi Yakata no Monogatari

An all-CG FMV first-person adventure game released right after Myst and Gadget where you play as a boy trying to prevent his sister from turning into a butter…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Lemmings]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/lemmings/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/lemmings/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 08 Feb 2026 01:47:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[DMA Design, MS-DOS, 1991

This is an interesting one. It’s a classic game, one I poked at as a kid but never got far in. I like the concept a lot, and the pixel art is surprisingly charming given how small these dudes are on-screen. I opted with the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Why I'm a Dweeb About Arcade Games]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/posts/why-im-a-dweeb-about-arcade-games/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/posts/why-im-a-dweeb-about-arcade-games/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 06 Feb 2026 20:14:57 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Any look at [my game log](/gamelog/2025/?highlights=true) should make it clear that I’m an arcade game head. I’ve been interested in them for most of my life, but things really kicked into high gear here in the 2020s. It’s a huge part of my time wit…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shining the Holy Ark]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/shining-the-holy-ark/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/shining-the-holy-ark/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 04 Feb 2026 17:40:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Camelot and Sonic, Sega Saturn, 1996

I’ve said it a [few](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/grandia/ "‌") [times](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/shin-megami-tensei-strange-journey/ "‌") [now](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/like…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Musha Aleste]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/musha-aleste/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/musha-aleste/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 25 Jan 2026 04:37:39 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Compile, Mega Drive, 1990

Took a break from getting my ass kicked by Ketsui and decided to spend a couple hours with this beloved Compile vertizontal STG and see how I felt about it. The only other Compile STG I’ve played through is Guardic Gaiden,…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/69744765d3a62d084890799a/attachments/6974477206efe17e891b10b5/previews/6974477406efe17e891b10c4/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Air Fortress]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/air-fortress/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/air-fortress/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 24 Jan 2026 01:19:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[HAL Laboratories, Famicom, 1987

A very cool and unique sci-fi action game. Stages start with horizontal scrolling shooting sequences to approach the fortress, and then it switches over to jetpack-ish action-platformer mode inside of the base. Durin…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Fight'N Rage]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/fightn-rage/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/fightn-rage/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 19 Jan 2026 21:07:49 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[sebagamesdev, PC, 2017

A belt scrolling action game from 2017. It’s pretty well-executed! Lush and fluid pixel art, great music, and a bunch of satisfying combat mechanics that are laid out elegantly. It’s got the usual genre foundations but you al…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/696a65bb15d044a23b88109c/attachments/696a65bf65069e06daf07f55/previews/696a65bf65069e06daf07f63/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[YAKYUKEN SLUGGER YAMADA]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/yakyuken-slugger-yamada/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/yakyuken-slugger-yamada/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 17 Jan 2026 22:56:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[デジメカ製作所 (Digimecha Manufacturing Co.?), PC, 2023

Wildly creative third-person action game themed around baseball. As you run around the game’s small stages an inning timer ticks away, and every time an inning ends you switch between using shooting …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/693b631d5bfb3889f2c2251e/attachments/693b6357a503548d5301f6be/previews/693b6357a503548d5301f6cc/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Red Dead Redemption II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/red-dead-redemption-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/red-dead-redemption-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 16 Jan 2026 04:05:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Rockstar Games, Playstation 4, 2018

A massive free-roaming action game set in the tail end of the 1800s, serving as a prequel to the 2010 predecessor.

When this first released seven years ago I assumed it wouldn’t be my kind of game. Rockstar’s GT…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Routine]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/routine/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/routine/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 23 Dec 2025 16:17:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Lunar Software, PC, 2025

A first person horror game set on an abandoned lunar base in a chunky 80s-tech world. The environments and technical designs are among the coolest I’ve seen in any first-person game and make the playthrough worth it on thei…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/68a4bba165f139c9f269ea30/attachments/6940ed421b179a877727dfc1/previews/6940ed431b179a877727dfd0/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Majou Densetsu II: Maze of Galious]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/majou-densetsu-ii-maze-of-galious/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/majou-densetsu-ii-maze-of-galious/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 23 Dec 2025 02:49:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, MSX, 1987
aka The Maze of Galious

Tried to dig into this again. The hurdles are high! The esoteric upgrade item placement and core action-platforming isn’t too bad, but I’m mostly floored at the insanely sluggish retry procedure. Losing Pop…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631eabcee94ad4012dc27a28/attachments/631eac4d9fef90231af52c79/previews/631eac4e9fef90231af52d29/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Terminator 2D - No Fate]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/terminator-2d-no-fate/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/terminator-2d-no-fate/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 18 Dec 2025 03:01:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bitmap Bureau, PC, 2025

A very polished action-platformer from the developers of Xenocrisis. This is pretty sick, taking a lot of inspiration from the right places. It’s got that Megadrive-era game length (a bit longer than an arcade game but not t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Skate Story]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/skate-story/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/skate-story/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 11 Dec 2025 19:07:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sam Eng, PC, 2025

A game where you play as a skateboarding demon made of glass. I was enamored by the reveal trailer for this years back, and fortunately the final release delivered.

The shape of the game surprised me. There are some substantial s…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Metal Garden]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/metal-garden/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/metal-garden/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 05 Dec 2025 05:49:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tinerasoft, PC, 2025

Quick and elegant first person shooter about exploring a vast desaturated alien world. Most of the game is low-gravity jumping through cool structures and landscapes, but there’s some serviceable combat in there as well. Kinda …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/693271035a11131b70832ec3/attachments/693271ef1d2ad77ec0013f51/previews/693271f01d2ad77ec0013f60/download/hero_capsule_2x.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Baby Steps]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/baby-steps/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/baby-steps/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 02 Dec 2025 21:27:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Gabe Cuzzillo, Maxi Boch, Bennett Foddy, PC, 2025

A game about exploring a vast surreal world by controlling your feet. And to be clear, I mean pulling a trigger to lift a foot, using an analog stick to position it, and then releasing the trigger t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Night Striker Gear]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/night-striker-gear/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/night-striker-gear/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 02 Dec 2025 02:18:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[M2, PC, 2025

Sick sequel to the 1989 game directed by none other than Hiroshi Iuchi (of Ikaruga fame). It’s a shorter game, only four stages deep on the branching stage tree, and the stuffy orchestral soundtrack is kinda weak compared to the synth …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Asura the Striker]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/asura-the-striker/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/asura-the-striker/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 30 Nov 2025 02:00:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[LeftOver, PC, 2025

A Space Harrier style game with reasonably modern polygonal visuals. Extremely anime character design that I’m not a huge fan of, but I think the environments, enemies, and music are great. It’s got a very powerful sense of speed…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Night Striker]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/night-striker/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/night-striker/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 29 Nov 2025 15:54:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1989

Night Striker is an insanely cool-looking and cool-sounding Taito rail shooter (as in, Space Harrier style) full of huge scaling sprites and Darius-style stage branching. Weirdly enough I haven’t cleared a lot of arcade games in…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Chronicles of the Wolf]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/chronicles-of-the-wolf/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/chronicles-of-the-wolf/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 28 Nov 2025 18:57:19 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Migami Games, PC, 2025

Wonderful Igavania-style game set in 1700s France. At first glance it feels in lockstep with those Iga games, but the way this game builds up and consistently surprises gives it such a distinct feel. For a surprisingly long s…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6904d144d6e2fc6d8620d517/attachments/6929f08efe01b397526e69da/previews/6929f08ffe01b397526e69e9/download/hero_capsule_2x.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Psyvariar 2: The Will to Fabricate]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/psyvariar-2-the-will-to-fabricate/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/psyvariar-2-the-will-to-fabricate/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 27 Nov 2025 02:10:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SKonec, Arcade, 2003

Played for La Calice Cup 11. A Korean-developed Naomi vertical STG, and a follow-up to a couple Success-developed G-NET games I’ve never played.

Probably the weirdest thing in this game is that, while it has a standard shot an…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Neon Inferno]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/neon-inferno/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/neon-inferno/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 23 Nov 2025 21:22:05 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Zenovia Interactive, PC, 2025

Absolutely sick action-platformer from the studio behind [Steel Assault](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/steel-assault/ "‌").

The major standout trait here is that the action-platforming is combined with Wild G…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[TwinBee Yahho!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/twinbee-yahho/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/twinbee-yahho/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 18 Nov 2025 16:02:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1995

Playing the Normal course of the arcade version for Calice Cup 11. Having no prior TwinBee experience I was pretty pumped to get into this despite it being the third and last game in the arcade series. Great character designs, …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Beyond Citadel]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/beyond-citadel/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/beyond-citadel/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 16 Nov 2025 00:24:14 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[doekuramori, PC, 2025

A Japanese first-person shooter I’d been hearing praise for throughout the year. I decided to finally try it despite skipping 2020’s The Citadel.

All of the characters, weapons, and props in the game are “hand-drawn” sprites …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Caput Mortum]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/caput-mortum/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/caput-mortum/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 11 Nov 2025 03:56:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[WildArts Games, PC, 2025

A well-made first-person horror adventure game that makes you interact with everything by using the right thumbstick to move your character’s right hand. This means you’ve got to rotate with shoulder buttons, giving you som…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Earthion]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/earthion/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/earthion/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 10 Nov 2025 03:38:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ancient, Mega Drive, 2025

A new horizontal shooting game designed for Mega Drive hardware. It’s a stunning game technologically, with the kind of pumping music you’d expect from Yuzo Koshiro and setpieces that feel mostly inspired by Thunder Force …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Pilot Kids]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/pilot-kids/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/pilot-kids/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 10 Nov 2025 01:27:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Psikyo, Arcade, 1998

A pretty cool Psikyo horizontal STG released roughly a year after Zero Gunner, making it their second polygonal game in the genre. The visuals are complex and clean (as you’d expect from something running on Model 2), the livin…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[THRASHER]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/thrasher/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/thrasher/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Nov 2025 06:38:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Puddle, PC, 2025

I really enjoyed Thumper. I wish I enjoyed this more.

Thrasher maintains Thumper’s general style of presentation, placing you in vast menacing abstract spaces with slowly-building music. The mechanics are totally new, though: inst…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[J.B. Harold: Blue Chicago Blues]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/jb-harold-blue-chicago-blues/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/jb-harold-blue-chicago-blues/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Nov 2025 04:12:50 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[RiverHillSoft, 1994, Pioneer LaserActive Mega LD

An FMV adventure game for the newly-emulatable Pioneer LaserActive Mega LD. This is my first experience with the platform, and given that it’s basically a Megadrive that can finely seek through and d…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/690940cb85a7ec4cdf0af242/attachments/690940f85337cc65d6ab8e14/previews/690940f95337cc65d6ab8e23/download/2262a02c83aa083e0312fd462714dacf.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rabio Lepus]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/rabio-lepus/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/rabio-lepus/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 05 Nov 2025 19:02:54 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Video System, Arcade, 1987

Future Psikyo director Shin Nakamura’s first game, a horizontal-scrolling shooter with a robo-rabbit theme. This is pretty visually stunning for 1987, and thematically it’s such a goofy mix of cute popcorn enemies, cutsce…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Chouyoku Senki Estique]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/chouyoku-senki-estique/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/chouyoku-senki-estique/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 04 Nov 2025 03:40:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cat Hui Trading, Famicom, 2024

A new Famicom horizontal shooting game released in late 2024. Technologically this game is really marvelous, filling up a Famicom-powered screen in a way I think I haven’t seen since Recca. Backgrounds are gorgeous, t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Singou Breaka]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/singou-breaka/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/singou-breaka/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 04 Nov 2025 00:48:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[NEOタケトンボ, PC, 2025

A fast action puzzle game about sliding traffic lights together. The rules are elegant: 2x1 pieces spawn into the grid and you can slide them along their long axis. Each piece has one side lit up as “STOP” or “GO”, and connecting…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Replicube]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/replicube/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/replicube/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 01 Nov 2025 04:56:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Walaber, PC, 2025

Laser-targeted game to me. It’s a puzzle game about making 3D voxel-based shapes, so there’s inherent overlap in presentation with Jupiter’s 3D Picross games, but instead of solving nonograms you’re writing code that gets executed…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67dce1c3e8ee94ec3a5ff2e2/attachments/67dce1d1468ea32247739011/previews/67dce1d2468ea32247739397/download/hero_capsule_2x.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Battlefield 6]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/battlefield-6/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/battlefield-6/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 29 Oct 2025 15:06:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[DICE, PC, 2025

I haven’t played one of these since Battlefield 4 like a decade ago, so after 30-ish hours of playing with friends I don’t feel like I’ve got much to say about the specifics on balance or map design here outside of “seems good”. The …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tetris the Grandmaster 4]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/tetris-the-grandmaster-4/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/tetris-the-grandmaster-4/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 29 Oct 2025 03:49:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Arika, PC, 2025

I feel like I’m an awfully long way from clearing this game’s Master mode, but it’s nice to have a modern TGM release at home. And one with so much stuff in it! It’s easy to picture myself chipping away at this one for years, though…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6754a15df465875eaf267f4e/attachments/68ddd182d6d770c831f00483/previews/68ddd182d6d770c831f0048a/download/hero_capsule_2x.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ninja Gaiden 4]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/ninja-gaiden-4/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/ninja-gaiden-4/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 28 Oct 2025 17:13:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[PlatinumGames/Team Ninja, PC, 2025

I had no clue what to expect with this one. Obviously Ninja Gaiden Black and Ninja Gaiden 2 are two of the best 3D melee action games ever, and games that I like more than any of Platinum’s releases, but given the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rygar: The Legendary Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/rygar-the-legendary-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/rygar-the-legendary-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 19 Oct 2025 04:47:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tecmo, Playstation 2, 2002

Neat 3D melee action game that feels like a natural step toward Ninja Gaiden (despite not having a lot of direct staff overlap) and a very obvious inspiration for God of War. Nice-looking fixed camera angles, long-reachin…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67a2a66b7745067aa8a6f1ce/attachments/67a2a67eaccd819a850e7d70/previews/67a2a67faccd819a850e7d7c/download/4cb05cf7-f68d-48d0-bc92-21604f7702aa.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cosmic Smash]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/cosmic-smash/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/cosmic-smash/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 14 Oct 2025 00:50:17 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega Rosso, Arcade, 2000

Dabbled with this game since I was a teenager but made it a point to get all the endings. It’s pretty awesome, mixing some Virtua Tennis/Power Smash racket-swinging with Breakout stages and some sick low-gravity animation. …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/68e9358d9dd6db72478670a1/attachments/68e935e240703bd1988a18fb/previews/68e935e340703bd1988a1905/download/r2_66d72ee5-b93a-4205-ae8b-fa93d63699d1.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Consume Me]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/consume-me/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/consume-me/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 11 Oct 2025 04:14:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, and Ken "coda" Snyder, PC, 2025

A very earnest and polished semi-autobiographical “life sim” where you follow the day to day of a teenager named Jenny as she manages her relationship with food an…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Battle Garegga]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/battle-garegga/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/battle-garegga/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 08 Oct 2025 23:27:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Raizing, Arcade, 1996

Shinobu Yagawa’s star game. A vertical shooter that takes an awful lot of influence from Taito’s Gun Frontier, but with a theme that leans into an overcast future full of scrap metal instead of Gun Frontier’s cosmic wild west.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/62944e90d7d11c2487b0ab6b/attachments/685ead0b794e97993b3c8914/previews/685ead0f794e97993b3c8920/download/ffafa9f9-0730-4eb6-a4d9-74c0e5a345ca.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Silent Hill f]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/silent-hill-f/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/silent-hill-f/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 08 Oct 2025 15:01:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[NeoBards Entertainment, PC, 2025

An engaging horror game with a novel and well-realized 1960s rural Japanese setting. As you’d expect from the name you’ll get extremely moody environments, a beautiful soundtrack, nasty creature designs, lots of fog…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/68ac9a5ce4e7ae224e40ecbc/attachments/68ac9a5e4bac1db40ff2ce85/previews/68ac9a604bac1db40ff2ce8f/download/e81b1e0b80b2001d8a5070c5c465cbc7246e02d1da39fe76.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gray Matter]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/gray-matter/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/gray-matter/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 24 Sep 2025 03:14:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Wizarbox, PC, 2010

A point and click adventure game designed and written by Gabriel Knight creator Jane Jensen, seemingly stuck in development hell after being announced in 2003 and passed around multiple development studios but finally making it o…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/68c2413dce65a34e54c1feed/attachments/68c2414b3d37cbdb2ef04fe5/previews/68c2414c3d37cbdb2ef05233/download/6ceca8ab-743b-479f-a4c6-a8fb929db06b.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Red Alert / Last Alert]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/red-alert-last-alert/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/red-alert-last-alert/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 14 Sep 2025 19:57:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Shin-Nihon Laser Soft, PC Engine CD-ROM, 1989

A pretty sick commando-themed top-down omnidirectional shooter. It’s always wild to play a CD-ROM game from this era, since you get a lot of sick-looking full-screen pixel art illustrations (especially …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Skyblazer/Karura Ou]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/skyblazerkarura-ou/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/skyblazerkarura-ou/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 14 Sep 2025 15:21:19 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ukiyotei Company Ltd, Super Famicom, 1994

A well-made action platformer with a focus on wall sticking/climbing and really short-range bare-handed melee attacks. It’s got a simple world map, lots of cool bosses (barring one), and fun magic attacks t…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/61d36913d95ac14bf700c398/attachments/66ac52d1fbe7741545a89e11/previews/66ac52d3fbe7741545a89e1b/download/0a36adc9-9c45-4709-976b-fcbcc66fbdac.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Drakengard]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/drakengard/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/drakengard/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 10 Sep 2025 18:28:47 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cavia, Playstation 2, 2003

Above all else, after bouncing off of Dynasty Warriors 2/Shin Sangokumusou earlier this year, this game takes that basic concept and builds something genuinely engaging to me on top of it. An interesting cast of character…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6318a39876783f03f8e9fdd4/attachments/6318a3ba8315a91323c6701c/previews/6318a3bb8315a91323c67094/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Donkey Kong Country]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/donkey-kong-country/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/donkey-kong-country/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 01 Sep 2025 19:54:16 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Rare, Super Nintendo, 1994

A surprisingly tricky game! Mario 3 seems to be the main inspiration here both in the moment-to-moment (big focus on momentum, enemy head bouncing, a run/pickup/throw button, “flow-y” levels) and in terms of the broader s…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/68b5f024611026f7a7a93faa/attachments/68b5f027ac98396f478d02a5/previews/68b5f02aac98396f478d02af/download/de45a6fe-0418-4b04-8c5f-5595f6a9bfa7.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/vampire-the-masquerade-bloodlines/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/vampire-the-masquerade-bloodlines/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 31 Aug 2025 15:14:50 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Troika Games, PC, 2004

Played with the now-official “unofficial patch” (without restored content).

If someone had told me it was loosely like Deus Ex I would've played it years ago. Take that baseline and give it an edgy vampire plot, more of a fo…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Majuuou]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/majuuou/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/majuuou/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 21 Aug 2025 05:55:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Eleven Co., Super Famicom, 1995

Small sprite excellence. A really sick action-platformer with a demon-Giger theme.  Everything is bloody and brooding, sprites have somewhat realistic proportions, and the camera is zoomed out to give the action plen…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[South of Midnight]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/south-of-midnight/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/south-of-midnight/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 20 Aug 2025 03:59:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Compulsion Games, PC, 2025

A linear action game with a striking visual style, nice character designs, and a loosely Psychonauts-like narrative in a fantastical southern folklore setting. There’s a small selection of scene archetypes the game too-ri…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Wuchang: Fallen Feathers]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/wuchang-fallen-feathers/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/wuchang-fallen-feathers/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 12 Aug 2025 21:54:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Lenzee Studios, PC, 2025

Reminiscent of Wukong in a lot of ways, but it isn’t hooking me nearly as much as that game did. Got a few hours and a few bosses in before deciding that I just wasn’t in the mood to continue. Might be a revisit down the li…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Salamander 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/salamander-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/salamander-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 09 Aug 2025 03:00:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1996

‌I really love this game. It's better-balanced than I remember, the setpieces are sick, and what a soundtrack! The option-burning attack is crazy satisfying, and the bosses are more "honest" than anything in the first game. The…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6896aac4182445400998e4af/attachments/6896aaea9589301576f61d91/previews/6896aaec9589301576f61d9d/download/7cc0bf38-7561-47bb-a62e-72a8219b600a.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Salamander]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/salamander/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/salamander/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 09 Aug 2025 02:48:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1986

Dabbled in this a few years back, but with the new collection I revisited and had to get the 1-All. It's a cool divergence from Gradius with how it has in-place respawns and free-spawning power-ups. Sick visuals, great music, a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Salamander III]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/salamander-iii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/salamander-iii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 07 Aug 2025 01:21:10 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[M2, PC, 2025

A well-made successor to Salamander 2 that cranks up the enemy bullets and the raw spectacle of it all, throwing you against wild-looking and creative scenarios at a rapid pace. Salamander 2’s options-as-attacks button has been dropped…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6893fb721e75f5d3b5f06095/attachments/6893fb78c1ff48751af33c9a/previews/6893fb79c1ff48751af33ca4/download/salamander_iii.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Haunted Castle Revisited]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/haunted-castle-revisited/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/haunted-castle-revisited/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 05 Aug 2025 01:22:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[M2, PC, 2024

A shockingly good and loose remake of arcade Akumajou Dracula. Remakes tend to be best when the original game is kind of fucked up, I guess. M2 used the levels and bosses of the original as a loose guide and created prettier and expand…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/68915a41889eb15c00694931/attachments/68915a90a5d4ed406dbc225a/previews/68915a91a5d4ed406dbc2264/download/Haunted_Castle_Revisited_-_01.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Akumajou Dracula]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/akumajou-dracula/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/akumajou-dracula/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 04 Aug 2025 18:19:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1988

An often dunked-on early entry in the series, released between Dracula II/Simon’s Quest and Akumajou Densetsu/Castlevania 3. It’s honestly got great music and some pretty sick art (in that kinda chaotic late-80s Konami way), an…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/657fe02478e4737e3f8f4dd1/attachments/6890f88ef5a1a8dbc168b09e/previews/6890f88ff5a1a8dbc168b0a8/download/e6b5e197-65f3-4ee0-87b8-a1d1390901de.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Altered Beast / Juuouki]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/altered-beast-juuouki/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/altered-beast-juuouki/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 28 Jul 2025 17:21:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega Team Shinobi, Arcade, 1988

The arcade game probably most known in the US for being the origin of the Genesis launch pack-in title. Directed by Makoto Uchida, who would later direct Golden Axe and Dynamite Deka. It’s an action-platformer with a…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/657fe469e8bcd27ef5912d96/attachments/6886bf4771cf301a3d9c90c3/previews/6886bf4871cf301a3d9c90ca/download/altered_beast.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gotzendiener]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/gotzendiener/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/gotzendiener/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 27 Jul 2025 05:10:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Gainax and Studio Alex, PC Engine Super CD-ROM, 1994

A fascinating but flawed isometric action and exploration game. The cutscenes, designs, spritework, and lonely atmosphere are top-notch and I’m glad I played it for these elements alone. The whol…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6854aa0e397a1192cafe4822/attachments/6854aa1139bbad533123014a/previews/6854aa1239bbad5331230154/download/7b2aee43-cdae-4243-8133-5933968380be.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Game Tengoku - The Game Paradise]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/game-tengoku-the-game-paradise/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/game-tengoku-the-game-paradise/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 24 Jul 2025 04:07:26 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jaleco, Arcade, 1995

Pretty cool STG set inside… a game center? Other video games? A development workstation? Fun theme! You’ll fight arcade cabinets, claw game toys, and even Daytona USA cars. Colorful, varied, and way more Psikyo-like than I expe…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/tony-hawks-pro-skater-34/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/tony-hawks-pro-skater-34/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 21 Jul 2025 04:21:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Iron Galaxy, PC, 2025

THPS1+2 was a well-done remake with interesting decisions (like aging the game’s various stages by a few decades) that I only had a few qualms with outside of my usual beef with remakes. THPS3+4 here very seamlessly carries th…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Clockwork Knight]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/clockwork-knight/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/clockwork-knight/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 21 Jul 2025 04:21:29 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Sega Saturn, 1995

A really charming and elegant 2D platformer from near the Saturn’s Japanese launch. Being so early, it’s not too surprising that it represents a late Genesis platformer like Ristar: it’s of course not going to be arcade-tigh…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5f07ffb21d4c5a0f355033f2/attachments/687dbeaf2854287c3fb9e58b/previews/687dbeb32854287c3fb9e595/download/9a979a6a-5edf-43a8-9247-d9a5522afb0c.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Grandia]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/grandia/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/grandia/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 20 Jul 2025 23:58:33 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Game Arts, Sega Saturn, 1997

I played like half of the sequel to this back when it was a new release on Dreamcast and was kicking around the idea of returning to it. Thankfully the Saturn original has a fan translation, so I decided to start there.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/68011e229478b2fe02804026/attachments/68011e26abdf318789a92d8d/previews/68011e27abdf318789a92d9b/download/54c9906d-c361-4937-b6e4-15f974af4091.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rastan Saga]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/rastan-saga/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/rastan-saga/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 14 Jul 2025 00:57:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1988

Circled back to this one for Summer Yolympics 2025 after [playing for a bit a few years ago](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rastan-saga/ "‌"). It was pretty sick to get reacquainted with the unique combination of hefty j…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[R-Type III: The Third Lightning]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/r-type-iii-the-third-lightning/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/r-type-iii-the-third-lightning/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 26 Jun 2025 03:34:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Super Famicom, 1993

This drove me up the wall, man. I didn’t think it would given my arcade clears of R-Type and R-Type Leo, but there’s a lot of annoying shit in here. The gotchas are similar, but the latent difficulty outside of them is tot…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hagane]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/hagane/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/hagane/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 25 Jun 2025 02:08:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[CA Production, Super Famicom, 1994

Really spectacular action-platformer. Like Contra Spirits, this is very arcade-dense. Basically every stage segment is a totally unique scene that often has a distinct mechanical focus, and a no-death playthrough …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5514e5747cf5a8748483e358/attachments/66ac52b86064161cf8d5205d/previews/66ac52ba6064161cf8d52065/download/3731c0fb-f22b-40e6-85f8-dd423610c959.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Silver Case]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/the-silver-case/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/the-silver-case/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 19 Jun 2025 22:31:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Grasshopper Manufacture, PC, 2016/1999

Early Suda51. A narrative-heavy adventure game with light first-person exploration and puzzle-solving. I played the 2016 remake for the localization, though it does seem to stick reasonably close to the origin…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/68479b80411b4f921c8eabdb/attachments/68479bf3c6d26de491e38f6f/previews/68479bf3c6d26de491e38f76/download/9e13cd17-bad6-4f61-b4be-920bc89b4c26.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Contra: Alien no Gyakushuu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/super-contra-alien-no-gyakushuu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/super-contra-alien-no-gyakushuu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 19 Jun 2025 00:25:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1988

Another goofy 3:4 horizontally-scrolling action-platformer like the original Contra. This time the perspective switch is to a more palatable top-down view and you get smart bombs replacing the jump button, which I thought was a…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/657fe040f91ea1a3ff5e8a84/attachments/667d713575c39d2b217ad3cc/previews/667d713675c39d2b217ad627/download/2dabf789-c20a-4ea7-b375-c25220a320ea.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gun Frontier]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/gun-frontier/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/gun-frontier/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 15 Jun 2025 18:10:10 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1991

Landmark STG by the director that would immediately after work on [Metal Black](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/metal-black/ "‌"). The setting here is a sci-fi spin on the wild west and all of the vehicles show an over-th…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Elden Ring Nightreign]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/elden-ring-nightreign/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/elden-ring-nightreign/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 10 Jun 2025 01:39:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[From Software, PC, 2025

A weird one. Prior to release there was a lot of gun-jumping about what the game was even going to be, but ultimately it’s a roughly arcade-style game (“runs-based”, I suspect people are starting to say) built on top of Elde…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sonic Wings Reunion]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/sonic-wings-reunion/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/sonic-wings-reunion/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 29 May 2025 16:40:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Success, PC, 2025

I was rooting for this one, but unfortunately I can’t recommend it. The visuals are rough, the stage designs are bland, there aren’t any unique core mechanics beyond being able to essentially select two types of smartbomb, and the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Doom: The Dark Ages]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/doom-the-dark-ages/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/doom-the-dark-ages/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 27 May 2025 15:46:28 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[id Software, PC, 2025

I’m a pretty big fan of these nu-Doom games. Back in 2016 the first game was such a breath of fresh air. For decades I’d been dying to see FPSes experiment with mechanics that were outside of the 90s Texas genre lineage and he…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/68158f87e90b0f8d5979d0a3/attachments/68158fa49f1aaa2ca0924c7e/previews/68158fa69f1aaa2ca0924c88/download/1893e77387eec1591406d71c98f8d4074b7c32664c3bf5af.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ninja Hayate]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/ninja-hayate/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/ninja-hayate/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 18 May 2025 00:24:22 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1984

Never played an arcade LaserDisc game, figured these re-releases would be a good time to try one out. A lot of people understandably find the concept of these Dragon’s Lair style games to be silly, but I figured they might be pr…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[R-Type]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/r-type/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/r-type/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 16 May 2025 01:56:14 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Arcade, 1987

The space horror STG classic. I’ve been picking at this game for most of my life. I never really tried it until hearing about it as a teenager and checking it out in MAME, but it immediately became a go-to test ROM for any machin…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Stuntman]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/stuntman/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/stuntman/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 14 May 2025 04:09:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Reflections Interactive, Playstation 2, 2002

Such a sick idea. Every mission in the campaign is a course you drive through while trying to accomplish various stunts highlighted in-world and barked at you via radio. These scenes are grouped up by fi…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/62312458155ed44c7f2f46fd/attachments/68240ae3fea850f18a346a91/previews/68240ae4fea850f18a346a9b/download/50d53816-8e69-423e-bbb0-dd90caa985f8.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Espgaluda II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/espgaluda-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/espgaluda-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 09 May 2025 02:15:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2005

After wrapping up Calice Cup I returned to this for the first time since around 2021 and put time into it to get the clear. It’s a heavy one.

The original Esgaluda’s major standout mechanic is “Kakusei” mode, where you can press…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Skin Deep]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/skin-deep/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/skin-deep/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 07 May 2025 03:42:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Blendo Games, PC, 2025

A well-made System Shock style first-person action game that, kind of like 2023’s [Blood West](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/blood-west/ "‌"), shakes up the usual structure a bit. Instead of using an open world or a …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/681acd110bacdee6982fd6cb/attachments/681ace64a6f4283c7ed0ee38/previews/681ace65a6f4283c7ed0ee3f/download/61e267565d12c4499e4ed19771e42360c7585d2c559e2fc85a19246350a25f98.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Armed Police Unit Gallop]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/armed-police-unit-gallop/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/armed-police-unit-gallop/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 25 Apr 2025 04:03:32 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Arcade, 1991

Super unique horizontal shooter where your ship’s positioning affects the stage scroll speed and you have a cooldown-based instant omnidirectional laser button (alongside the genre-standard shot + missile combo). It’s very lean, …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/shin-megami-tensei-strange-journey/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/shin-megami-tensei-strange-journey/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 24 Apr 2025 15:18:39 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Atlus, Nintendo DS, 2010

I’ve said it a million times by now, but I’m not a big JRPG guy. I almost always get sick of the combat way before the game wraps up. I wish this wasn’t the case! There are so many games in the genre with an appealing sense…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hang-On]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/hang-on/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/hang-on/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 15 Apr 2025 17:37:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM2, Arcade, 1985

Goofy to play this after the 1987 sequel, but that's what Calice Cup called for. I heard the course I spent so long clearing in the sequel is the same layout as this first game’s lone course so I decided to go for it while it…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Hang-On]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/super-hang-on/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/super-hang-on/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 15 Apr 2025 00:40:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM2, Arcade, 1987

Masterpiece. I’m not the biggest racing game guy but I absolutely could not put this down. The sense of speed is magical, the environments are gorgeous (and transition so smoothly), the boost mechanic is insanely satisfying, …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Slap Fight]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/slap-fight/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/slap-fight/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 10 Apr 2025 00:27:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Toaplan, Arcade, 1986

An interesting post-Gradius vertical STG. You’ll see the Gradius power-up meter, but it’s got fewer strict upgrades and more mutually-exclusive weapons to toy with. Designs are very boxy 80s but more appealing than Xevious. En…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Spacefortress Macross]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/super-spacefortress-macross/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/super-spacefortress-macross/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 09 Apr 2025 16:58:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[NMK, Arcade, 1992

A relatively breezy but super cool-looking vertical shooter. I don’t know anything about the license here, but the mech designs are sick and I particularly like how your whole sprite changes up depending on what weapon you’ve pick…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Secret Agent]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/secret-agent/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/secret-agent/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 05 Apr 2025 04:49:39 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Data East, Arcade, 1989

Goofy Data East action-platformer. It looks like Rolling Thunder at first glance, but you’ve got a big ol health bar and enemies tend to take a lot of shots to kill. There’s some charm here, but there’s also a stage 2 that d…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cambria Sword: Another Cry]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/cambria-sword-another-cry/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/cambria-sword-another-cry/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 30 Mar 2025 05:18:33 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Vagues Games, Arcade, 2025

A new arcade adaptation of/sequel to a ~3 hour long doujin STG from 2017. I hadn’t really played the original, but I’m completely blown away by this. It’s a massive game that reminds me of G-Darius in terms of its branchi…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67ca19c4be763d6a2047b954/attachments/67ca1a5b3ec56c3050395dc0/previews/67ca1a5c3ec56c3050395dcc/download/cambria-sword-ac-header-web.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Kamiwaza - Way of the Thief]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/kamiwaza-way-of-the-thief/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/kamiwaza-way-of-the-thief/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 20 Mar 2025 05:22:50 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Acquire, Playstation 2, 2006

I really love Shinobido Imashime, Acquire’s Tenchu successor where you select missions from three warring factions through a highly dynamic campaign. Shinobido isn’t the most polished or focused game, but I couldn’t put…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Monster Hunter Wilds]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/monster-hunter-wilds/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/monster-hunter-wilds/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 16 Mar 2025 00:55:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2025

I’ve been playing these games pretty casually since 3U and enjoyed each one, with this being no exception. Don’t really mind the lack of monster  tracking, I think the blurring of the lines between being in a village and being in a…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67ca1ba8feb4a4801ed25ed9/attachments/67ca1bab4fb7c4b64afe7121/previews/67ca1bad4fb7c4b64afe7f16/download/9b982960-12ab-4af0-b2ef-b91e97ad7a57.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Zombie Revenge]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/zombie-revenge/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/zombie-revenge/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Mar 2025 05:48:26 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM1, Arcade, 1999

Another crazy inventive arcade game from AM1, just a little over half a year after [Dynamite Deka 2](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dynamite-deka-2/ "‌"). Where Deka 2 feels like a game making questionable compromises…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67b9320191d2ef1e42628473/attachments/67b93260a408df696731607f/previews/67b93266a408df6967316089/download/ZR_DC_JP_Box_Front.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/kunitsu-gami-path-of-the-goddess/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/kunitsu-gami-path-of-the-goddess/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 24 Feb 2025 15:51:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2024

I wasn’t sure how much I’d like this when I heard it described with the phrase “tower defense”, but I wound up really enjoying it. The basic premise is that you’re guiding an ever-dancing goddess along a path, setting up defenses b…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6732ea0f95fb72acec56ebce/attachments/6732ea2a4230a8b07449fd8a/previews/6732ea2c4230a8b07449fece/download/3628f2599138c53445c9e731ed34c75f037f40c39ea1a0e9.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Fatal Frame II - Crimson Butterfly]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/fatal-frame-ii-crimson-butterfly/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/fatal-frame-ii-crimson-butterfly/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 21 Feb 2025 23:39:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tecmo, Playstation 2, 2003

It’s been a long time since I’ve played the first Fatal Frame, but I remember liking it and this seems like everything you’d expect for a sequel. A darker tone, a somewhat longer runtime, slightly beefier mechanics, and a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tiny Bullets]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/tiny-bullets/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/tiny-bullets/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 13 Feb 2025 23:40:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Contrail, Playstation, 2000

I was interested in this because it looked like a Japanese 3D action platforming game that took some core mechanics from Tomb Raider. 3D platforming and ledge grabbing with tank controls. And early on it delivers on that…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/66425d4d0ae1d4a12211fa1c/attachments/66425d586706119532ea2685/previews/66425d596706119532ea27e2/download/75eb21a3-61ba-41f8-a32c-d0dcea137d32.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shin Sangokumusou / Dynasty Warriors 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/shin-sangokumusou-dynasty-warriors-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/shin-sangokumusou-dynasty-warriors-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 13 Feb 2025 04:34:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Omega Force, Playstation 2, 2000

I'm told this isn't the best intro to the series and I see why. The actual combat here is kinda neat, with directional blocking and guard reversals and attack strings that have distinct uses, but I can't really get …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Devil Blade Reboot]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/devil-blade-reboot/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/devil-blade-reboot/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 13 Feb 2025 03:23:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SHIGATAKE GAMES, PC, 2024

Another arcade-tuned modern PC 2D shooter, this time a very loose remake of a Dezaemon Plus game the solo developer (an artist at Vanillaware these days) made back on Playstation. Hard mode seems like the baseline it was d…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6732eabf20fa1d18ffcbed7c/attachments/6732eac1bb79084e79e70f31/previews/6732eac2bb79084e79e71829/download/bff71eb5-3861-4c4d-8a69-6b209b94144d.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Blue Revolver Double Action]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/blue-revolver-double-action/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/blue-revolver-double-action/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Feb 2025 19:24:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Stellar Circle, PC, 2024

Long-awaited revision to the highly-regarded and arcade-designed 2016 PC shooting game. Like Mushihimesama, this has three selectable difficulty courses presented as part of the standard credit flow. I hadn’t played any of …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6754dc1445c1bb875ae922b9/attachments/6754e036a8d5bf4cb3732797/previews/6754e037a8d5bf4cb373279f/download/GcXdB7YbwAAVX8X.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Strikers 1999]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/strikers-1999/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/strikers-1999/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 02 Feb 2025 23:25:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Psikyo, Arcade, 1999

Fantastic, as expected from this trilogy. 1999 here is of course very much in line with the first two games (which I talked about [here](/gamelog/2024/strikers-1945/ "‌") and [here](/gamelog/2024/strikers-1945-ii/ "‌")), only n…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/65482ad114b2f0f6b00101b1/attachments/654831bd81832e38670f26e0/previews/654831be81832e38670f27a3/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Lorelei and the Laser Eyes]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/lorelei-and-the-laser-eyes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/lorelei-and-the-laser-eyes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 02 Feb 2025 03:12:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Simogo, PC, 2024

A puzzle-focused adventure game where you unravel a mystery in a surreal old hotel. Coming from the Sayonara Wild Hearts studio the presentation is absolutely killer, but this is a more demanding adventure game than Sayonara Wild H…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/665d4a4e018c8dad2f6a657e/attachments/672d191472c61ffb1e57a80b/previews/672d191472c61ffb1e57a9e6/download/1dfe8252-d05f-4cf3-8b03-6604a0d2747d.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Go There]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/go-there/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/go-there/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 23 Jan 2025 01:06:59 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[いくちおすてご, PC, 2023

Cool little boss rush. Great visuals. The basic playthrough is a very quick tour up a mountain with really cool ancient dragon designs. There’s a post-game here that I’m unfortunately not that thrilled to see through, as I’m not t…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/667e2f4c774356fdbcf219b6/attachments/66e4e133a1bdce620416356d/previews/66e4e133a1bdce6204163578/download/library_600x900.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mean Streets]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/mean-streets/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/mean-streets/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 21 Jan 2025 03:58:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Access Software, MS-DOS, 1989

The adventure game that started the Tex Murphy series. This actually ruled. I was worried it would be cruel and stuffy and arcane, but it’s infinitely kinder than the 80s Sierra adventure games I’ve tried.

The main in…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67815e3fd96455b6c33790ad/attachments/67815e429a3912178dc0c982/previews/67815e439a3912178dc0c98e/download/6256962f-607b-4498-9cde-631e5ae498ed.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Overblood 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/overblood-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/overblood-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 18 Jan 2025 19:05:21 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Riverhillsoft, Playstation, 1998

A huge, lumbering, and ridiculously ambitious PS1 game with only the loosest ties to its predecessor. It’s a two-disc epic full of clunky 3D action-platforming, minigame sequences, light adventure game elements, pre…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6629b4864f3de0867118b152/attachments/6629b4a52b2e83b056de0539/previews/6629b4a62b2e83b056de06e3/download/e286ceff-a2ce-4c1f-b52c-1af2e1aea027.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Jewel Master]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/jewel-master/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/jewel-master/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 08 Jan 2025 18:57:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Mega Drive, 1991

This is another one of those early Mega Drive action games that basically serves as an arcade game due to its structure, its short length, and its strictly-limited continues. It reminds me a bit of Mega Drive ESWAT, Shadow Da…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6560ddaf370f0dbec61a415e/attachments/6560ddb335e5414e13720fa8/previews/6560ddb535e5414e137210d6/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Final Fight]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/final-fight/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/final-fight/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 01 Jan 2025 17:02:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Arcade, 1989

It’s so hard to believe that this was Capcom’s first take on belt-scrolling action. Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-kun basically established the genre 3.5 years prior, but even looking at other 1989 games Final Fight leaves them in the d…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/657fc6d1807302c2f04d5164/attachments/657fc71d9c3009ec0fedfb44/previews/657fc71e9c3009ec0fedfd54/download/e7bd59f2-eedd-4b5b-b4e7-d8a2dc10cb80-1.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Indiana Jones and the Great Circle]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/indiana-jones-and-the-great-circle/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/indiana-jones-and-the-great-circle/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 20 Dec 2024 22:54:23 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[MachineGames, PC, 2024

MachineGames is back. I didn’t really like The New Colossus and skipped Youngblood, so I’m glad that this game clicked with me.

Indiana Jones, as a setting, winds up being a good fit for the studio that spun off from Escape …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sol Cresta]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sol-cresta/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sol-cresta/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 25 Nov 2024 17:52:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[PlatinumGames and Hamster, PC, 2021

I really wish I enjoyed this more. I think there's a lot of mechanical creativity here, but it's also convoluted (the special input directional shots, the way you have a dodge at 1hp but not other times, etc), ha…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super H.Q. Criminal Chaser]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/super-hq-criminal-chaser/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/super-hq-criminal-chaser/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 24 Nov 2024 06:30:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Super Famicom, 1993

A console-exclusive entry in the Chase H.Q. series. The only other game I’ve played in this little subgenre is [Special Criminal Investigation](/gamelog/2022/special-criminal-investigation/ "‌"), which rules, but this is …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Slitterhead]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/slitterhead/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/slitterhead/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 22 Nov 2024 18:59:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bokeh Studios, PC, 2024

A horror-themed action game set in 90s Kowloon where you play as a spirit that hops between bodies to take down big gory monsters. It’s a lot to explain, pieced together from a lot of relatively unique elements, and I don’t …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[1000xResist]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/1000xresist/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/1000xresist/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 13 Nov 2024 22:17:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[sunset visitor, PC, 2024

A pretty dense and sweeping sci-fi visual novel. The premise here is pretty unique and confidently told, and it’s impressive how frequently the presentation is uprooted in service of the narrative. It reminds me of Fata Mor…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Earth Defense Force 6]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/earth-defense-force-6/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/earth-defense-force-6/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 13 Nov 2024 22:17:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sandlot, PC, 2024

Been a minute since I’ve played one of these but the appeal from EDF2 is still there. It’s still satisfying to blow up buildings and swathes of ants, but the enemy and scenario variety here is thankfully closer to EDF2 than EDF3. …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Black Myth Wukong]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/black-myth-wukong/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/black-myth-wukong/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Nov 2024 02:30:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Game Science, PC, 2024

Incredible melee action game. It’s a little bit like Sekiro as a starting point, but with a slightly more focused and linear world structure. Combat is fast, aggressive, and full of hugely satisfying slams once you unlock the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gemini Wing]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gemini-wing/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gemini-wing/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 28 Oct 2024 02:51:23 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tecmo, Arcade, 1987

An incredibly inventive and forward-thinking vertical STG. Initially it feels like a Hishouzame-style game with slow movement and a harsh player bullet limit, but the major standout mechanic comes from using the B button to fire…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/66d0f0e92988652c2fb09f71/attachments/66d0f21622fa1f238a0ba5e9/previews/66d0f21722fa1f238a0ba5f5/download/5bec38c1-a458-4b44-ac0a-8c319ac71e5c.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[JJ Squawkers]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/jj-squawkers/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/jj-squawkers/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 20 Oct 2024 01:03:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Athena, Arcade, 1993

A bright action-platformer with lush visuals and classic cartoon designs. The difficulty curve is pretty uneven and none of the weapons feel very good to use, so I was frustrated at the start, but I got into it once I started r…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/66d0f5934d5d7a9dd385bb4d/attachments/67144b52656f735936c269cf/previews/67144b54656f735936c269d7/download/jj_squawkers.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Aurail]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/aurail/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/aurail/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 20 Oct 2024 00:14:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Westone, Arcade, 1990

Sega must’ve sent this one out to die. There’s seemingly no promotional material for it, no snazzy flyer, and I never once heard anybody talk about it prior to Jotego’s System 16 MiSTer core release.

A shame, because it’s pre…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[ESP Ra.De.]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/esp-rade/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/esp-rade/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 15 Oct 2024 03:40:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 1998

Calice Cup 9, put some time into this to get another 1CC. I still mostly stand by [my 2021 impressions](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/esp-rade/ "‌") (and it’s still probably my least favorite mainline Cave shooter) but t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Legend of Zelda - Echoes of Wisdom]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-legend-of-zelda-echoes-of-wisdom/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-legend-of-zelda-echoes-of-wisdom/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 13 Oct 2024 04:45:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo, Switch, 2024

A new Zelda game using the visual style and perspective of the well-made 2019 remake of Link’s Awakening. You play as Princess Zelda in the role of a mage that can summon monsters and force-beam things around. Any kind of dir…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/66e4e09e8079f7005f81f0d8/attachments/66e4e0dba7b2e145fd0277a1/previews/66e4e0dca7b2e145fd0278bb/download/legend-of-zelda-echoes-of-wisdom-cover.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[R-Type Leo]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/r-type-leo/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/r-type-leo/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 09 Oct 2024 03:35:14 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nanao, Arcade, 1992

Very cool game. A Nanao-developed original shooter that was reworked mid-development into an R-Type game. This explains the big mechanical differences, but there’s still a good amount of overlap with the legendary series. Scroll…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[UFO 50]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/ufo-50/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/ufo-50/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 03 Oct 2024 17:46:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Mossmouth, PC, 2024

A new alternate-history collection of fifty 1980s games made for a fictional company’s gaming machine. Each title is accessible from the get-go, and the games run a pretty wide gamut: single-player games, (local) versus games, t…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/66eee0c846f62a6f186495fc/attachments/66f0943510d74fad874d57ca/previews/66f0943610d74fad874d57d6/download/logo_big.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The King of Dragons]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-king-of-dragons/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-king-of-dragons/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 29 Sep 2024 15:40:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Arcade, 1991

1CC'd with the Wizard.

A belt scroller released a couple years after Final Fight with a very D&D fantasy setting (only missing the license) and combat that strips the core mechanics down to a very raw level. The game uses two …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Crimson Diamond]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-crimson-diamond/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-crimson-diamond/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 21 Sep 2024 04:02:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Julia Minamata, PC, 2024

A new EGA-looking text-parsing adventure game centered about geology and murder in a 1910s Ontario ghost town, clearly inspired by The Colonel’s Bequest.

I had a really nice time with this. The setting, the environmentalis…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shadow of the Ninja - Reborn]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shadow-of-the-ninja-reborn/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shadow-of-the-ninja-reborn/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 06 Sep 2024 01:43:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tengo Project, PC, 2024

Can’t believe how much I liked this. Of all the Tengo Project games this is the biggest departure from the original. Level designs loosely follow old concepts, but the core mechanics, enemy designs, and visuals are radically…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Urban Reign]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/urban-reign/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/urban-reign/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 02 Sep 2024 15:53:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Namco Hometek, Playstation 2, 2005

Super unique melee action. This, Beat Down, and Final Fight: Streetwise have always been a blur in my head since they were all thematically similar and released at the same time, and this is the first of the three…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Strider Hiryu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/strider-hiryu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/strider-hiryu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 26 Aug 2024 01:04:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Arcade, 1989

A shockingly dense and messy action-platformer. Even by arcade standards it’s pretty terse (something like 18-ish minutes), and every moment is unique. It’s a super-fast series of inventive setpieces full of cool enemies and tr…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Zelda II: The Adventure of Link]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/zelda-ii-the-adventure-of-link/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/zelda-ii-the-adventure-of-link/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 19 Aug 2024 16:06:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo, NES and Famicom Disk System, 1988

Played the NES version, but I like the JP FDS box more.

The broad structure of the game is fascinating. I dabbled with this a little bit growing up so I knew it was a mixture of a world map and side-view…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Samurai Jack - Battle Through Time]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/samurai-jack-battle-through-time/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/samurai-jack-battle-through-time/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 16 Aug 2024 03:15:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Soleil, PC, 2020

A 3D melee action game with a pretty restrained scope. It feels like it had a tight budget, but there’s real Ninja Gaiden 2004 lineage here. I wasn’t looking for a huge commitment right now so I played through this on Normal, and u…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Strikers 1945 II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/strikers-1945-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/strikers-1945-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 15 Aug 2024 06:07:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Psikyo, Arcade, 1997

Played about as much of this as the first Strikers 1945, and it’s a pretty impressive step up from an already great game. Cooler plane variety, a new charge meter that limits the charge attacks but makes them faster to fire, an…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Volgarr the Viking]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/volgarr-the-viking/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/volgarr-the-viking/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 09 Aug 2024 16:00:32 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Crazy Viking Studios, PC, 2013

I really enjoyed my normal playthrough of this in 2013. It’s a tight, varied game with some well-paced high-tension checkpoints and fun core mechanics. I knew the game had a better ending involving an entirely  differ…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/66b50f6a42bd764574b03049/attachments/66b50f6dd9ac836197b2d70e/previews/66b50f6ed9ac836197b2d719/download/8d76b2f0-6730-480f-9a5d-036dcbdd1f7b.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shiren-the-wanderer-the-mystery-dungeon-of-serpentcoil-island/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shiren-the-wanderer-the-mystery-dungeon-of-serpentcoil-island/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 29 Jul 2024 05:03:26 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Spike Chunsoft, Nintendo Switch, 2024

This is my third Shiren game, after playing the fifth back on the Vita and then later playing the fan translation of the second on the Nintendo 64. I appreciate Serpentcoil’s shift in approach from 5, giving yo…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shinobi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shinobi/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shinobi/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 27 Jul 2024 15:29:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Arcade, 1987

I’ve played through most every home-original Shinobi game but decided I’d finally learn and 1CC the arcade original. It’s a pretty clear response to Rolling Thunder (a game I’ve only dabbled in), but there’s plenty of thematic an…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Contra: Operation Galuga]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/contra-operation-galuga/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/contra-operation-galuga/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 25 Jul 2024 18:39:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[WayForward, PC, 2024

WayForward’s second stab at the series. Being a modern HD game it doesn’t have two of Contra 4’s foundational issues: it’s not super claustrophobic (being widescreen instead of essentially 9:16), and it doesn’t have a super-biz…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dragon's Dogma 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/dragons-dogma-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/dragons-dogma-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 25 Jul 2024 18:39:39 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2024

Capcom’s second massive free-roaming fantasy action game feels like a beefier version of the original in an awful lot of ways, but it’s been a while since I played that first entry and I never wound up trying the expansion. The wor…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Helldivers II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/helldivers-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/helldivers-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 25 Jul 2024 18:39:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Arrowhead Game Studios, PC, 2024

A co-op third-person shooter about killing hordes of bugs and robots. Normally I’m not into horde-based games like this, but this has a lot of things going for it. The Starship Troopers theme is extremely well-execu…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gunforce]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gunforce/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gunforce/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 20 Jul 2024 21:54:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Arcade, 1991

A clear step on the road to Metal Slug, made by some Irem members that would go on to form Nazca. While there’s nothing too standout going on here, everything is snappy and breezy to learn, the presentation is sick, and the vehic…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Border Down]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/border-down/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/border-down/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 12 Jul 2024 00:09:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[G.Rev, Arcade, 2003

I’ve single-credit cleared another Naomi classic. I barely touched this back on release, but I put some time into it in 2022 and it’s been great to come back to.

Now that I’ve played through Metal Black, it seems like the clear…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Strikers 1945]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/strikers-1945/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/strikers-1945/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 10 Jul 2024 16:14:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Psikyo, Arcade, 1995

Psikyo’s classic vertical STG. I picked up a Strikers 1999 board and figured I’d put a little bit of time into the first two games before digging in, so I spent around 10-12 hours with this one. I know I’m skipping Gunbird here…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Boomerang X]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/boomerang-x/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/boomerang-x/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 09 Jul 2024 02:46:54 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[DANG!, PC, 2021

A neat first person action game about throwing and then launching yourself toward a boomerang. There’s a lot of slow motion, a lot of yanking yourself around these big arenas at high speeds, and a lot of lining up specific shots to …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[OverBlood]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/overblood/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/overblood/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 08 Jul 2024 06:09:23 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Riverhillsoft, Playstation, 1997

Was surprised by the pacing of this. It's a pretty slow adventure game set in a lot of bright, sterile sci-fi halls, but I was surprised at how effective the writing and small dashes of dashes of action were. It fee…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Case of the Golden Idol]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-case-of-the-golden-idol/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-case-of-the-golden-idol/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 04 Jul 2024 02:14:26 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Color Gray Games, PC, 2022

An excellent detective game in which you review a scene and piece together what happened by arranging words on a “thinking” sheet of text and visuals. It doesn’t sound like much, but the scenes are cleverly laid out, the …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ninja Kamui]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/ninja-kamui/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/ninja-kamui/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 01 Jul 2024 03:30:49 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[G.Rev, Nintendo Switch, 2024

G.Rev’s latest, an action-platformer based on an anime I’d never heard of. The movement and combo mechanics make me think of the action scenes in Sakuna a little bit, but it’s a focused six stages and it’s peppered with…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/elden-ring-shadow-of-the-erdtree/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/elden-ring-shadow-of-the-erdtree/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 30 Jun 2024 16:36:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[FromSoftware, PC, 2024

What an expansion. What a game. The entirety of the expansion takes place on a new “Shadow Realm” world map. The Shadow Realm is only accessible once you’re pretty deep into the base game, so leveling up through runes doesn’t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shinrei Jusatsushi Taromaru]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shinrei-jusatsushi-taromaru/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shinrei-jusatsushi-taromaru/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 29 Jun 2024 02:49:50 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Time Warner Interactive, Sega Saturn, 1997

A wild Edo-era action-platformer with a dark, violent tone. The presentation here is really spectacular. It’s full of a lot of no-nonsense realistically-proportioned pixel art characters (think Clock Tower…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Pulseman]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/pulseman/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/pulseman/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 25 Jun 2024 01:29:17 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Game Freak, Mega Drive, 1994

Pretty cool to try some pre-Pokemon Game Freak. Pulseman has a lot of the same spirit as Gunstar Heroes and a lot of similar character designs, but it feels a bit more stretched thin. There are some legit spectacular sc…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Magical Quest starring Mickey Mouse]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-magical-quest-starring-mickey-mouse/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-magical-quest-starring-mickey-mouse/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 20 Jun 2024 17:24:59 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Super Famicom, 1992

A polished, cute, and focused action-platformer where you play as Mickey as he gains new abilities (and thus entirely new outfits and animations) through the stages. There’s a lot of care here. It plays well to the hardw…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Alpha Protocol]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/alpha-protocol/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/alpha-protocol/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 19 Jun 2024 04:28:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Obsidian, PC, 2010

Lots of potential with the dialogue system and the way the campaign is designed around your choices. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get into the actual missions part. Lots of corner peeking as you either wait to sneak or wait to shoot…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Contra 4]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/contra-4/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/contra-4/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 18 Jun 2024 03:50:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Wayforward, Nintendo DS, 2007

Weird game. Weird pacing. Lots of very obnoxious immediate ankle shots. Screen ratio is fucked, sprites are huge, everything is claustrophobic… and that’s before we get to the physical screen gap. By treating the space…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gargoyle's Quest II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gargoyles-quest-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gargoyles-quest-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 11 Jun 2024 02:02:05 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Famicom, 1992

aka Red Arremer II

Better than the Game Boy game, but it still kinda runs at less than full speed the whole way through and I think the quest stuff wore thin too early this time around. The stage variety isn’t all that strong…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mushihimesama - Maniac]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/mushihimesama-maniac/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/mushihimesama-maniac/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Jun 2024 02:51:49 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2004

I cleared Original mode in 2015-ish, back when the Steam release dropped. I decided to go back and get the Maniac clear some nine years later and what a game! The time away helped the aesthetics feel completely fresh, and the Man…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/66024552f3261642b6a47cdf/attachments/66024576244b20854f94f612/previews/66024577244b20854f94f91c/download/80c1c4e0-7ec3-47c3-b676-ea69ae566be1.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Subnautica]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/subnautica/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/subnautica/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 31 May 2024 01:29:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Unknown Worlds, PC, 2016

An incredible game about exploring a vast alien ocean after surviving a spaceship crash. I was worried that I wouldn’t get into a something built around survival and crafting mechanics, but I’m glad I gave it a shot. It’s a…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/639a6b68c4cb7b010fb70bc9/attachments/663bdef1a2f985b6ee53cd10/previews/663bdef2a2f985b6ee53cdcf/download/dddeeaac-cbaf-4549-b446-c37091506ce0.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Crow Country]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/crow-country/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/crow-country/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 13 May 2024 15:37:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SBF Games, PC, 2024

Like Signalis, this is a great modern isometric take on classic Biohazard. Where Biohazard has its mansion and Signalis has its sci-fi facilities, Crow Country has its titular abandoned theme park.

The visuals are immediately s…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Viewtiful Joe]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/viewtiful-joe/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/viewtiful-joe/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 11 May 2024 01:15:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, GameCube, 2003

Kamiya’s third director credit. An action game with a similar structure to Devil May Cry. The presentation is bold and unique, with a cute tokusatsu film reel theme that leans hard into cel shading and pitch black shadows. St…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5515676e8dbd4c4d90423614/attachments/6637069b150cd5d5f4fb274a/previews/6637069c150cd5d5f4fb2776/download/f273334d-89d8-4c16-80f8-76082b7a73d6.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Children of the Sun]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/children-of-the-sun/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/children-of-the-sun/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 07 May 2024 01:45:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[René Rother, PC, 2024

A unique puzzle game about killing a bunch of cultists with one bullet. The game builds up rules around how the bullet can be controlled, and the stage complexity ramps up pretty well up to a solid and satisfying final stage. …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[War of Aero]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/war-of-aero/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/war-of-aero/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 05 May 2024 23:39:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Allumer, Arcade, 1993

look at this flyer lmao. Just flagrantly bootlegging Image Fight’s art. And the game is an Image Fight clone, but I suspect that Image Fight is much cooler. There’s an initial appeal to this, and there are some very neat touch…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Muchi Muchi Pork!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/muchi-muchi-pork/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/muchi-muchi-pork/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 30 Apr 2024 17:18:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2007

La Calice Cup 8 gave me a great reason to return to this. It’s been a little over 12 years since I cleared the Xbox 360 port’s easier “1.01” mode with Rafute. This time we’re playing the arcade original and I decided to shoot for…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Libros de Chilam Balam]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/libros-de-chilam-balam/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/libros-de-chilam-balam/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 29 Apr 2024 03:04:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Right Stuff, NEC PC-9801, 1992

The incredibly sick cover art got me interested. The opening was cool. And then… it was a traditional JRPG. A snappy enough one, but I didn’t like the characters and the towns/environments were pretty samey. I had to …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/65e5416fb4e06c43ee10c43f/attachments/65e54171b9dd96b5691f469c/previews/65e54172b9dd96b5691f47d1/download/99e1c9ce-47a1-46ab-91da-7dcd008653d1.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gadget: Invention, Travel, & Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gadget-invention-travel-and-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gadget-invention-travel-and-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 23 Apr 2024 01:40:10 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Synergy Inc, Macintosh, 1993

A Japanese CD-ROM adventure game released around a month after Myst. It’s got a similar early CG look and feel, but the environments are way more linear and there is, no joke, only a single puzzle in here. A comically h…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/65a1ad7227e328ed2a75090d/attachments/65a1b470cfa5c2b31369db56/previews/65a1b471cfa5c2b31369dbec/download/9161912-gadget-invention-travel-adventure-macintosh-front-cover.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Baldur's Gate 3]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/baldurs-gate-3/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/baldurs-gate-3/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 21 Apr 2024 01:34:33 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Larian, PC, 2023

A massive game to follow the Divinity: Original Sin duo. I only reached the end of Act 1, but that took over 20 hours so I figured I should give my impressions.

Famously this game has an interesting cast of characters with excelle…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dynamite Duke]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/dynamite-duke/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/dynamite-duke/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 19 Apr 2024 05:12:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Seibu Kaihatsu, 1989, Arcade

A fascinating Cabal-like with striking visuals. Big, detailed sprites and sick animations end to end. The main differentiating point here is the focus on melee, with boss fights almost feeling like a more analog version…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/64bed72f120ebb61bbea1046/attachments/64c84ff6f209e68686779778/previews/64c84ff7f209e6868677993a/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Salamander]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/salamander/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/salamander/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 26 Mar 2024 02:32:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1986

I put a handful of hours into this after clearing Gradius II, and I have to admit I didn’t know exactly how MUCH of a Gradius game this was. I had a great time with Salamander 2 a couple years back, and despite being ten years …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gradius II: GOFER no Yabou]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gradius-ii-gofer-no-yabou/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gradius-ii-gofer-no-yabou/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 26 Mar 2024 02:28:54 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1988

What a great sequel. The rough edges are filed down a little from the first game, but difficulty is way up all around. Rank management is a factor, but a simple one. You get a variety of ships to choose from, each unique enough…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/657fe00cccf59822fdfa0619/attachments/65eb7eee1878bbb6d990f62f/previews/65eb7ef01878bbb6d9910213/download/7c5f485b-ac02-4c78-90ca-b29a8440ba1a.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Star Wars: Dark Forces]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/star-wars-dark-forces/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/star-wars-dark-forces/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 21 Mar 2024 22:58:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[LucasArts, Windows, 1995

A Star Wars FPS with a very Doom-style raycasting engine. Even outside of the technology, though, Doom is the clear starting point. The movement is fast and slippery and the maps are big and striking. The presentation is pr…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/65fcb94b9ee0feb563ad8f20/attachments/65fcb96291c4e5afea066a1c/previews/65fcb96391c4e5afea066ac1/download/220b31ae-d2ae-423f-ad55-c05a3a6c2279.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Oni]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/oni/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/oni/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 13 Mar 2024 05:00:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bungie, PC, 2001

I have vague memories of Oni’s release, complete with it getting made fun of by Penny Arcade. Not long after I picked up a copy out of a bargain bin but only wound up playing the first level or so. Given how much belt scrollers and…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[G Darius]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/g-darius/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/g-darius/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 08 Mar 2024 21:13:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1997

This was the last of the main arcade Darius games for me to play, and I think it wound up being the best. It’s a standout in so many ways!

Despite the single-screen factor, the presentation is incredible. Immediately I was floo…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Disaster Report]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/disaster-report/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/disaster-report/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 02 Mar 2024 19:27:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Playstation 2, 2002

aka Zettai Zetsumei Toshi

This reminded me of something Human would make. Something like Septentrion or a little bit like Clock Tower. Your train gets derailed by a massive earthquake and you have to navigate the crumblin…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/643ded0f204b3a24dea1b0ec/attachments/643ded64eac24a5897fae202/previews/643ded65eac24a5897fae212/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tekken 8]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/tekken-8/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/tekken-8/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 28 Feb 2024 16:49:57 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bandai Namco, PC, 2024

We all know what’s going on here. Good music. Massively beefy hits. Characters and moves you’ve been seeing since 1995, but with some cool new redesigns. A new Heat system (not to be confused with Rage) that lets you enter a …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/i-have-no-mouth-and-i-must-scream/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/i-have-no-mouth-and-i-must-scream/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 27 Feb 2024 04:22:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cyber Dreams, MS-DOS, 1995

A unique adventure game where you play as five humans trapped by a hateful, planet-encompassing AI. It’s very uneven: interactions are awkward, cues sometimes feel more obscure than intended, the pacing is super jacked, a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Metal Black]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/metal-black/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/metal-black/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 25 Feb 2024 22:11:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1991

The presentation here is pretty monumental. The opening stage is set in the desolate ruins of a city, played alongside this beautiful and somber track.  You then rocket off into space (presented as a very flashy bonus stage) to …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bruce Lee (C64)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/bruce-lee-c64/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/bruce-lee-c64/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 18 Feb 2024 02:47:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Datasoft Inc, Commodore 64, 1984

An impressive early American action-platformer. Reminds me of Shadow of the Beast in that it’s terse, arcade-structured (complete with permadeath), and has a simple movelist. Surprisingly nice environment and obstac…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Almana no Kiseki]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/almana-no-kiseki/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/almana-no-kiseki/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 16 Feb 2024 23:27:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Famicom Disk System, 1987

An FDS action-platformer with a very goofy grappling hook mechanic. It’s not quite like Bionic Commando: you still have a small hop, there’s no swinging, the hook gets thrown out in a very rigid fashion, and you’re…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[DoDonPachi DaiOuJou]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/dodonpachi-daioujou/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/dodonpachi-daioujou/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Feb 2024 05:14:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2002

After about 50 hours of direct play time, I got the one-loop clear of the original “White Label” version of DoDonPachi DaiOuJou. My ship selection was B-Exy.

It’s a masterpiece. It has a reputation as one, and I think it’s easy …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Thunder Force V]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/thunder-force-v/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/thunder-force-v/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 09 Feb 2024 18:36:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tecno Soft, Saturn, 1997

I picked this up real cheap back in the 90s, during the brief period of time when Funcoland or EB or whatever was selling Japanese Saturn games. It was always incredibly cool to me. The music is sick, the stage openings are…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Advanced Busterhawk Gleylancer]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/advanced-busterhawk-gleylancer/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/advanced-busterhawk-gleylancer/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 09 Feb 2024 18:34:49 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Masaya, Mega Drive, 1992

A sick game. It might be Thunder Force III tier? Similar in difficulty to TF3, so nothing too difficult on Normal, but it’s got lots of cool stage designs (arguably better ones), great music, some really stunning background…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/like-a-dragon-infinite-wealth/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/like-a-dragon-infinite-wealth/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 09 Feb 2024 18:18:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, PC, 2024

This game’s inclusion of Spikeout as a minigame caused me to pull the trigger and I decided to give the main game an honest shot despite my history of not being able to get into traditional JRPGs. I tried. I think I’d…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tomb Raider II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/tomb-raider-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/tomb-raider-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 30 Jan 2024 02:55:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[CORE Design, Playstation, 1997

I liked the idea of Tomb Raider with a decent spread of stages outside of tombs, but unfortunately this wasn’t very fun in practice. It’s still Tomb Raider, it’s still a solid foundation, but these villa and industria…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Alan Wake II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/alan-wake-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/alan-wake-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 20 Jan 2024 22:41:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Remedy, PC, 2023

This is probably up there with Control as the two best post-Payne Remedy games, and it serves as a good compliment. Where Control is a game with a lot of dashing and hip-firing, this is more of a Resident Evil 4 with precision shoo…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Biohazard: Gun Survivor]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/biohazard-gun-survivor/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/biohazard-gun-survivor/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 08 Jan 2024 01:26:32 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[TOSE, Playstation, 2000

An ambitious attempt at making a free-movement first-person shooter with a light gun based control scheme. It’s kinda like an early 90s console game in that the whole thing is just a couple hours long, very linear, and you h…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Relics]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/relics/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/relics/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 01 Jan 2024 23:27:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bothtec, PC-98, 1986

Originally released on PC-98 but ported to other platforms shortly after. This is a pretty mysterious game, very deliberately not telling the player much and with a manual that encourages the player to explore, but I found the …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Finals]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-finals/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-finals/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 2023 23:28:58 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Embark Studios, PC, 2023

Traditional multiplayer FPS (as in, not BR or extraction) with teams of three, highly destructible maps, and a relatively long time to kill. The destruction is the main element that stands out, for sure, and it’s fun as hel…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/avatar-frontiers-of-pandora/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/avatar-frontiers-of-pandora/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 2023 22:27:49 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Massive Entertainment, PC, 2023

This is kinda Far Cry adjacent and it’s been a while since I’ve played one of those. The Na’vi movement is pretty cool, the mech enemies are formidable, the world is gorgeous, and the genre trappings are executed wit…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shinobi Non Grata]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shinobi-non-grata/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shinobi-non-grata/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 27 Dec 2023 05:14:10 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Studio PICO, PC, 2023

A tight action-platformer. Player movement is breezy, the animation is nice, and the special attacks you cycle through are pretty mechanically distinct and flavorful. The structure of the game is something like Alien Soldier o…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Jigoku Gokurakumaru]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/jigoku-gokurakumaru/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/jigoku-gokurakumaru/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 20 Dec 2023 05:38:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Human Entertainment, Famicom, 1990

A pretty solid action-platformer. It’s hard to say it’s one of the best on the system (that’s an incredibly high bar) but it’s got a cool theme, nice Batman-style environment art with a bit more guts factor, a fun…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Blood West]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/blood-west/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/blood-west/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 18 Dec 2023 01:24:54 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Hyperstrange, PC, 2023

A System Shock style first-person action game with a wild west horror theme. You’ve got a big inventory grid, leaning, stealth, and a skill tree. And from the lense of Shock-style design the game is pretty well-executed. Comb…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sonic Wings]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/sonic-wings/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/sonic-wings/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 17 Dec 2023 05:34:16 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Video Systems, Arcade, 1992

You can really see the beginning of Psikyo here. A focused shooting game with a fun cast of unique characters, early stage randomization, breakneck pacing, and huge, sick bosses. There are rough edges here that aren’t in…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hi-Fi Rush]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/hi-fi-rush/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/hi-fi-rush/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 11 Dec 2023 07:04:22 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tango Gameworks, PC, 2023

(Played on Very Hard, which I didn’t even have to unlock!)

Lead designer Masaaki Yamada uses Devil May Cry as a starting point (which he was a planner on back in the day) and adds all these little mechanics built around h…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Northern Journey]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/northern-journey/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/northern-journey/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:46 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Slid Studio, PC, 2021

This was a huge surprise. Not unlike Cruelty Squad it's pretty rough-edged, but not quite as hostile. There's a noisy visual style that holds up incredibly considering it's all done with a very vertex color approach. Some real…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[BOPPING DRIVE]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bopping-drive/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bopping-drive/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[David "Tain" Williams, PC, 2021

A nice exercise in keeping scope down and not stressing myself out. I set out to make something small and polished and I'm proud of the results.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Toree 3D + Toree 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/toree-3d-toree-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/toree-3d-toree-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Siactro, PC, 2021

A well-made basic linear 3D platformer with cute and clean visuals. There's not a ton noteworthy here, but the linear 3D platforming genre is still small enough to make this worth a quick runthrough. 

Sequel is largely the same, …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Halo Infinite (Versus)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/halo-infinite-versus/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/halo-infinite-versus/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[343i, PC, 2021

When it comes down to it, this is the first time I've played Halo consistently with a regular group of friends. I don't have a lot of knowledge about the competitive modes in older games. This has been fun as hell, though.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shiren the Wanderer 2: Oni Invasion! Shiren Castle!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/shiren-the-wanderer-2-oni-invasion-shiren-castle/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/shiren-the-wanderer-2-oni-invasion-shiren-castle/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:23 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Chunsoft, Nintendo 64, 2000

This one took ages, but what a game. I loved Shiren 5 back in 2016 when I played the English Vita release, but a fan translation of this appeared this year.

Being an N64 game the presentation is pretty drastically diffe…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Psychonauts 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/psychonauts-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/psychonauts-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Double Fine, PC, 2021

Surprisingly dense world. I like the lack of HUD highlights combined with the surplus of signposting. 

Game doesn't seem to do much layering of mechanics or make any real attempt at getting more difficult, sadly.

Extremely d…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Steel Assault]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/steel-assault/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/steel-assault/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Zenovia Interactive, PC, 2021

Fantastic action-platformer. Pretty top-tier aesthetically, with lots of smooth animation, gorgeous backgrounds, and a face-melting Thunderforce 4 style soundtrack. Stages are extremely dense, sometimes approaching a M…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Metroid Dread]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/metroid-dread/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/metroid-dread/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[MercurySteam, Switch, 2021

Dread winds up being a fantastic action game due to its constant, intense, and creative boss fights and overall excellent animation. Samus gets a lot of unique abilities and the bosses push you to use them in all sorts of…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Outer Wilds: Echoes of the Eye]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/outer-wilds-echoes-of-the-eye/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/outer-wilds-echoes-of-the-eye/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Mobius Digital, PC, 2021

A fantastic expansion to the original, fleshing out the universe's history a bit while having the player solve a detached but still grand mystery in an alien ring world. The structure set up by the original is here, and the…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Deathloop]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/deathloop/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/deathloop/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:29:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Arkane Studios, PC, 2021

This is an interesting one. At its core, it's a Dishonored-style action-stealth game but leaning more toward the action this time and for the better. The abilities are fun, mayhem is encouraged via dumb enemy AI and lots of…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Jupiter Hell]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/jupiter-hell/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/jupiter-hell/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:29:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[ChaosForge, PC, 2021

An incredible roguelike. This is a much smaller and more focused game than a lot of the western-made ASCII classics, but there's a ton of variety when it comes to viable character builds and the combat rules are elegant and wel…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Game Builder Garage]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/game-builder-garage/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/game-builder-garage/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:29:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo, Switch, 2021

As to be expected, this is an extremely cute game construction kit. Dreams is the obvious comparison, and while this doesn't give users anywhere near as much freedom, there's still plenty of power here and it comes with a cha…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cruelty Squad]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cruelty-squad/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cruelty-squad/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:29:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Consumer Softproducts, PC, 2021

it's 2021 and games are looking like shit on purpose. It's successful at looking and sounding repugnant, it's got a pretty fun theme, and there's an impressive amount of complexity to the stages. Extremely anachronis…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Guilty Gear Strive]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/guilty-gear-strive/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/guilty-gear-strive/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:29:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Arc System Works, PC, 2021…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Resident Evil 8]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/resident-evil-8/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/resident-evil-8/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:28:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2021

Great game. Built on 7 perfectly by being far more consistent and using a wonderful hub area to guide the player through a handful of mechanically and thematically varied dungeons. The cast of enemies is great and has a huge amount…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Nioh 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/nioh-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/nioh-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:28:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Team Ninja, PC, 2021

A step up from the first game for sure. Lots of cool bosses and great core combat mechanics. Unfortunately, it doesn't fix the major problem of the first game: it's stretched out far, far longer than it should be.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ghosts n Goblins Resurrection]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ghosts-n-goblins-resurrection/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ghosts-n-goblins-resurrection/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:28:22 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2021  
aka Kaettekita Makaimura

Great game. It's not an arcade-built game at all, but the divergences are well thought-out and deeply tied into the game's difficulty levels. You're encouraged to start by trying on Legend mode (both the …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bowser's Fury]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bowsers-fury/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bowsers-fury/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:28:17 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo, Switch, 2021

This was good. Probably the right length, and I wonder how they could build a game with the same core that holds up to be much longer, but the world this takes place in feels like it's made up of my favorite kind of side-cour…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cyber Shadow]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cyber-shadow/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cyber-shadow/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:28:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Aarne "MekaSkull" Hunziker, PC, 2021

This might have some of the best Famicom-style visuals of any modern game I can think of. It delivers visually on those Kickstarter shots of Steel Assault (where this game got its start before Steel Assault swit…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hitman 3]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/hitman-3/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/hitman-3/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:57 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[IO Interactive, PC, 2021

It's absolutely more of the same, but the six stages of Hitman 3 are mostly huge, all great, and have some high points for the trilogy. I love how the stages from the prior two Hitman releases are neatly merged into this on…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Midnight Suns]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/midnight-suns/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/midnight-suns/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Firaxis Games, PC, 2022

I think the core combat of this game is really, really cool. The positioning and environmental attack stuff is very fun and clever and super unique. Unfortunately, everything stringing the missions together feels like grind-…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[God of War: Ragnarock]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/god-of-war-ragnarock/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/god-of-war-ragnarock/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Santa Monica Studio, Playstation 4, 2022

This is good in the same areas that the first game is. The core combat is pretty fun and satisfying, they’ve added a cool new weapon in the spear, and they brought in some welcome enemy variety. There are pl…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Signalis]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/signalis/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/signalis/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:26 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[rose-engine, PC, 2022

A fantastic game in the style of the original Biohazard. Helping it stand out is an extremely unique look and atmosphere that leans heavily on blurring the line between pixel art and 3D. There’s an even stronger focus on puzzl…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bayonetta 3]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bayonetta-3/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bayonetta-3/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:22 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[PlatinumGames, Switch, 2022

Refreshing to play a game like this again. Lots of ideas crammed into this one (reflecting the long development time), but it’s all wrangled together very well. The kaiju mechanics help it stand out from the first two, E…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Scorn]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/scorn/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/scorn/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ebb Software, PC, 2022

This is an extremely visually accomplished game. Just a really thorough and stunning take on Giger's style. Unfortunately, the game's puzzles and combat are two mechanical halves that fit together terribly. If it had only one…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Kevin Costner's Waterworld]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/kevin-costners-waterworld/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/kevin-costners-waterworld/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Macaw45, PC, 2022

Macaw45's action game based on the Waterworld arcade game gag from The Simpsons. You take big steps one at a time, you have very specific punch timing, and the obstacles get very silly. Every time you die you have to manually inse…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Return to Monkey Island]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/return-to-monkey-island/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/return-to-monkey-island/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Terrible Toybox, PC, 2022  

Return to Monkey Island is really good. Visuals won me over in motion, it does just the right amount of streamlining, it's charming throughout with occasional genuinely funny moments, and I really liked the ending.

I th…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Last Call BBS]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/last-call-bbs/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/last-call-bbs/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Zachtronics, PC, 2022

It's not often that a development studio declares a game as their final release. This is a fascinating collection of games that are all solid ideas and well-polished, even if not always fully fleshed out. A couple highlights f…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rumbleverse]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rumbleverse/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rumbleverse/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Iron Galaxy, PC, 2022

What a unique thing. Really cool core mechanics. Endlessly fun to climb around, chuck items at people, slam people into cars, tackle people off of buildings, whip people to your friends, etc. Deceptively complex for sure, and …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[ROLLERDROME]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rollerdrome/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rollerdrome/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Roll7, PC, 2022

Really good Tony Hawk style skating game that manages to bring in a layer of bullet-time third-person shooting. The skating stuff is kind, not allowing you to bail and basically only having flip tricks and grinds, but the way the tr…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Paradise Killer]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/paradise-killer/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/paradise-killer/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:29 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Kaizen Game Works, PC, 2022

A neat adventure game where you hop around a vaporwave island of the gods using Quake controls to gather as much evidence as you feel like prior to initiating a trial. The music is wonderful and the visuals are pretty we…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[COMPOUND]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/compound/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/compound/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bevan McKechnie, PC VR, 2022

Cleared on Hard. Incredible. Fun to learn weapons, well-balanced between physical and artificial movement, tons of little quirks to learn about the enemies and environments they're placed in, and one of the best executi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Stray]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/stray/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/stray/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[BlueTwelve Studio, PC, 2022

Cute, gorgeous game. Mostly a very atmospheric walking sim with light puzzles and action.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Yurukill: The Calumniation Games]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/yurukill-the-calumniation-games/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/yurukill-the-calumniation-games/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[IzanagiGames and G.Rev, PC, 2022

What a unique game. The basic idea is that it's a Danganronpa-style visual novel only with the trial scenes replaced by a full-ass 2D shooting game designed by Border Down director Hiroyuki Maruyama. 

The VN side o…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Knight's Try]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/knights-try/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/knights-try/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Modus Interactive, PC, 2022

This might be a 3D platforming all-timer. 

You play as a goofy, tired, and faceless onion knight trying to ascend a massive floating course full of jumps, traps, and enemies. The core mechanics are simple: basic movemen…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/cuphead-the-delicious-last-course/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/cuphead-the-delicious-last-course/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Studio MDHR, PC, 2022

Really good expansion to the original. They went all out with most of these bosses, and the final boss in particular is incredible. Couldn't get into the new character's controls, but she does seem mechanically distinct.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Neon White]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/neon-white/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/neon-white/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Angel Matrix, PC, 2022

Very unique first-person action game featuring Trackmania-style stages strung together with visual novel sequences. 

Each stage has you running, jumping, and shooting around a porcelain course in the heavens. There are medal…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Drainus]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/drainus/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/drainus/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Team Ladybug, PC, 2022

Gorgeous gorgeous game but mechanically inelegant and largely about mashing absorb instead of dodging. I probably won't be going back to it.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/stranger-of-paradise-final-fantasy-origin/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/stranger-of-paradise-final-fantasy-origin/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Team Ninja, PC, 2022 

A Team Ninja game that serves as a prequel of sorts to the original Final Fantasy. I wasn't the biggest fan of Nioh or Nioh 2, but I enjoyed this a good amount more. 

The core combat here is pretty fun. The basis is a fairly …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ghostwire: Tokyo]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ghostwire-tokyo/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ghostwire-tokyo/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:21 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tango, PC, 2022

It's no TEW but there's something nice about the simple lock-on + parry combat between all the building-climbing. It's surprisingly distinct despite the broader open world structure. 

This is probably best on Tatari, where the game…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Elden Ring]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/elden-ring/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/elden-ring/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:14 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[FromSoftware, PC, 2022

Jesus Christ. This game is gigantic, yet consistently good. It's dense. There's something interesting in every nook and cranny. You'll see repeated bosses and other elements, but the game justifies it and changes plenty of ot…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Akai Katana Exa Label]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/akai-katana-exa-label/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/akai-katana-exa-label/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Team EXA-AM2, Arcade, 2022

Like with DoDonPachi Saidaioujou Exa Label, the Exa release of Akai Katana does an excellent job of porting the 2010 original by shedding the egregious slowdown, gathering existing arrange modes (one of which tastef…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The King of Fighters XV]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/the-king-of-fighters-xv/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/the-king-of-fighters-xv/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SNK, PC, 2022

I like the autocombos, I like the new characters, I like the visuals. I'm not going to play a ton of this but it seems good.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sifu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sifu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sifu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sloclap, PC, 2022  


The main draw here is this very unique, flashy, and stylish combat (kinda reminiscent of Arkham Asylum but with some GOD HAND thrown in) combined with a really high difficulty level. You'll learn all about weapons, crushing gua…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/serious-sam-siberian-mayhem/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/serious-sam-siberian-mayhem/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Timelock Studio, PC, 2022 

It's more of Sam 4, but with slightly tighter pacing (it's shorter overall) and better vehicle segments. It rules. Maybe the boss fights are a little weaker.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Robocop: Rogue City]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/robocop-rogue-city/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/robocop-rogue-city/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Teyon, PC, 2023

What a nice surprise this was. Absolutely has the energy of a Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay or a Wolfenstein: The New Order. It’s a focused and linear FPS that intelligently uses genre conventions without sticking t…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/like-a-dragon-gaiden-the-man-who-erased-his-name/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/like-a-dragon-gaiden-the-man-who-erased-his-name/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:50 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, PC, 2023

I liked the sound of a shorter Yakuza game going into this one, but in practice it’s a bit of a letdown. Too much time is spent introducing the player to side quest and minigame stuff and it all feels like leftovers. …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Air Twister]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/air-twister/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/air-twister/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ys Net, PC, 2023

Initially an Apple Arcade game, Yu Suzuki’s new rail shooter is now on PC and consoles. The presentation is surprisingly good! Environments look nice, enemy designs are inspired, and the soundtrack is all original ELO-ish stuff wit…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Mario Bros. Wonder]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/super-mario-bros-wonder/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/super-mario-bros-wonder/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo EPD, Nintendo Switch, 2023

Pretty good. Nothing too surprising, but it’s well-made and the new presentation is refreshing compared to New Super Mario Bros U. As always the new power-ups are fun and well-explored by the stages they’re place…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Slay the Princess]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/slay-the-princess/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/slay-the-princess/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Black Tabby Games, PC, 2023

A nice, terse visual novel with a very dynamic feel. Well-executed with a unique look and narration. I don’t want to say much about what actually goes on here, but by the end of the fairly short play time it winds up sat…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Trepang2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/trepang2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/trepang2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Trepang Studios, PC, 2023

A well-made successor to FEAR that, going by memory, turns all the dials up. Extremely satisfying weapons, environmental destruction, and hit reactions. Surprisingly good boss fights, especially the final boss. Thankfully,…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Void Stranger]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/void-stranger/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/void-stranger/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[System Erasure, PC, 2023

ZeroRanger is one of my favorite games of 2018 and one of the best home-exclusive 2D shooting games I can think of, so I had to immediately hop on Void Stranger despite it being a huge departure. It uses Game Boy classic Ca…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/armored-core-vi-fires-of-rubicon/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/armored-core-vi-fires-of-rubicon/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:27 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[FromSoftware, PC, 2023

A big new release that snuck up on me. My Armored Core experience prior to this consisted of playing the four 360-generation entries, which I generally enjoyed.

What struck me most about Armored Core 6 was how finely From ro…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[En Garde!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/en-garde/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/en-garde/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Fireplace Games, PC, 2023

A very charming third-person swashbuckling game. It’s a bit like Sifu, but with simpler (yet still very clear and slick-looking) swordfighting mechanics and none of the meta-layer inelegance. A particularly neat touch is t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bomb Rush Cyberfunk]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/bomb-rush-cyberfunk/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/bomb-rush-cyberfunk/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Team Reptile, PC, 2023

Wish I liked this more. This is clearly using Jet Set Radio Future as a starting point, and I’d say that it makes some clear improvements by changing up the structure a bit. The tricks and trick-related challenges are more fu…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Pseudoregalia]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/pseudoregalia/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/pseudoregalia/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:18 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[rittzler, PC, 2023

This is a nice time. I don't like it as much as Knight's Try when it comes to recent 3d platformer-adjacent stuff but it does a pretty good job of making a roughly Souls-style connected world with distinct-enough areas out of a t…]]></description>
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            <title><![CDATA[Protodroid Delta]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/protodroid-delta/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/protodroid-delta/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Adam Kareem, PC, 2023

This was a neat linear 3D action-platformer with well thought-out movement and combat. Charge attacks require energy that you can regenerate through melee, and there’s a lot of neat variety to the enemy behaviors. Dash-jumping…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Street Fighter 6]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/street-fighter-6/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/street-fighter-6/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:05 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2023

World Tour mode is pretty solid. It’s not great, not Tobal 2, but better than any fighting game campaign mode I can point to in the past couple decades. I don’t really like talking about fighting games in too much detail because I …]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo EAD, Switch, 2023

Something special. An improvement on BotW in so many ways. The deeply flexible and optional BotW campaign has been expanded on not primarily through more or better dungeons (though there are more and they are better), but…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Star Wars Jedi: Survivor]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/star-wars-jedi-survivor/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/star-wars-jedi-survivor/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:22:59 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Respawn, PC, 2023

A good iteration on Fallen Order. It’s bigger and has a more complex hub, but the main campaign doesn’t lose any of the focus from the first game. The hardest difficulty demanded a little too much perfection so I dropped it down t…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Lattice Rider NEPHILA]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/lattice-rider-nephila/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/lattice-rider-nephila/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:22:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[David “Tain” Williams, PC, 2023

I made this game over ten days for Bullet Hell Jam 2023. I wanted to practice low-fi 3D visuals and some 2D shooting game stage design, and overall I’m super happy with the results. If I made this into a full project…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Resident Evil 4 (2023)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/resident-evil-4-2023/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/resident-evil-4-2023/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:22:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2023

I loved the Resident Evil 2 remake largely because it built a fantastic new game using mostly just the skeleton of the original. It was a huge departure in tons of ways. This is a very well-made game, but it simply can’t be as exci…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Wanted: Dead]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/wanted-dead/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/wanted-dead/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:22:17 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Soleil, PC, 2023

A 3D melee action and third person shooter hybrid set in future Hong Kong, developed by some ex Team Ninja guys minus Itagaki. It doesn’t feel as much like Devil’s Third as I expected it to, and I think it does some key things bett…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/vengeful-guardian-moonrider/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/vengeful-guardian-moonrider/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:22:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[JoyMasher, PC, 2023

I was hoping this would be a lean and 1cc-focusable game like Blazing Chrome, but it turns out it’s more like Rockman X than anything else. The visuals are gorgeous and the theme is cool as hell, but both the stages and boss fig…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Lunacid]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/lunacid/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/lunacid/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:08:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[KIRA LLC, PC, 2023

I’ve only played the first and a bit of the second King’s Field games, which Lunacid takes a lot from, and it does an admirable job of creating that sense of mystery that pulls me through so many of From’s games. This is a little…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Baroque (Saturn)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/baroque-saturn/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/baroque-saturn/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 04:55:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sting, Saturn, 1998

Dark and moody action game with (and I don’t throw this term out lightly) roguelike elements. It’s basically like if Shiren the Wanderer had far slower and realtime first-person combat to space out all the cool decisions. It’s r…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gunbird]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/gunbird/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/gunbird/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 08 Dec 2023 17:53:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Psikyo, Arcade, 1994

This was a really fun game to learn. Being Psikyo’s second shooter it’s notably less complex than the games that would come later, but it’s also a pretty big step above their already-solid Sengoku Ace. You’ll see a lot of the P…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[D/Generation]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dgeneration/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dgeneration/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 03 Dec 2023 21:38:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Robert Cook, DOS, 1991

Played about half of this. It’s a pretty clever combination of small-scale room puzzles and action that leans into avoiding traps, but eventually the behavior of the Survivors really started to wear on me and there are some p…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dynamite Deka 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dynamite-deka-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dynamite-deka-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 11 Nov 2023 04:43:32 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM1, Arcade, 1998

Played both the Model 2 original and the Dreamcast port, which has a pretty different look to it.

Sequel to the 1996 masterpiece. Despite being a 1998 release this was built for the then-old but still powerful Model 2 arcade…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Magnetic Neo]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/super-magnetic-neo/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/super-magnetic-neo/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 11 Nov 2023 04:35:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Genki, Dreamcast, 2000

A surprisingly tough Crash Bandicoot style 3D platformer with a neat magnet polarity gimmick. Like with Crash there are some rough edges (stuff like not being able to magnetize while holding the run button), but overall I thi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Clock Tower 3]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/clock-tower-3/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/clock-tower-3/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 11 Nov 2023 04:35:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Playstation 2, 2003

I played Haunting Ground a lifetime ago and really liked it, and I’ve always loved the first Clock Tower game in particular, so I figured it was time to finally play this. It’s good! Being developed by a team from a diff…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Raiden DX]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/raiden-dx/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/raiden-dx/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 10 Nov 2023 02:13:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Seibu Kaihatsu, Arcade, 1994

An enhanced/arranged version of Raiden 2, often pointed to as the one to play. I didn’t clear it but put a good chunk of time into it for Calice Cup. It’s insanely lush, pretty tough, and has a ridiculous list of scorin…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Karateka]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/karateka/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/karateka/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 11 Oct 2023 03:50:22 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jordan Mechner, Apple II, 1984

A breakthrough game in terms of presentation, but I think it’s clear that Prince of Persia was the real masterpiece. The entire structure here is a brief, straight-shot left-to-right series of karate fights with a cou…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dr. Toppel's Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dr-toppels-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dr-toppels-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 11 Oct 2023 01:34:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Kaneko, Arcade, 1987

this is a rough STG man. Cute designs, a neat option-placement concept, and it’s kinda unique in how all the bullets are tiny and crawl real slow… but the sprites look crazy sparse with almost no animation, there’s zero time to…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gokujou Parodius]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/gokujou-parodius/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/gokujou-parodius/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 10 Oct 2023 20:51:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1994

Played for Calice Cup 7.

The second of the three arcade Parodius games. Normally I’d have preferred to put more time into the predecessor Parodius Da!, but I’m told this series got easier with each entry so maybe it’s for the …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dynamite Deka]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dynamite-deka/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dynamite-deka/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 28 Sep 2023 19:59:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM1, Arcade, 1996. aka Die Hard Arcade

It feels like Dynamite Deka is often considered a footnote, but I really think this is a milestone in 3D melee action.

Belt scrollers were always 3D in a mechanics sense, but being built fully around pol…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Deep Fear]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/deep-fear/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/deep-fear/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 21 Sep 2023 03:19:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega CS2, Saturn, 1998

Really wish this was good! Deep Fear is a Biohazard-style fixed camera horror game set in an undersea base. Cool premise, and much of it is pretty well-executed with detailed environments, smooth-moving gouraud-shaded charact…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Nosferatu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/nosferatu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/nosferatu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 19 Aug 2023 03:41:16 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SETA Co., Super Famicom, 1994

Unhinged and wonderful. The most concise way I can describe Nosferatu is that it’s like Prince of Persia with slightly more granular movement and an emphasis on a unique, hefty hand-to-hand combat system. The presentat…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Prince of Persia (PC-98)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/prince-of-persia-pc-98/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/prince-of-persia-pc-98/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 10 Aug 2023 04:28:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Broderbund Software and Arsys Software, PC-98, 1990

This is my first time fully playing any form of Prince of Persia. I landed on this version because it was one of the earliest ports, it adds a soundtrack, and the PC-98’s grimy audio hardware and …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Eliza]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/eliza/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/eliza/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 09 Aug 2023 21:05:29 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Zachtronics, PC, 2019

Obviously not the usual Zachtronics game and has a pretty distinct theme for a VN. Looking back I don’t know that it went where it needed to.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dracula Densetsu II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dracula-densetsu-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dracula-densetsu-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 09 Aug 2023 18:43:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Game Boy, 1991, aka Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge

This is a step up from the first Game Boy game in a lot of ways, but the most noticeable are the tech improvements. It looks nicer, with some seriously impressive backgrounds, and it mos…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Punisher]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-punisher/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-punisher/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 31 Jul 2023 04:18:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Arcade, 1993

So sick. The lush animation and excellent voice samples work hand-in-hand to make the heavy hits satisfying. I can’t think of any move in anything I’ve played recently that’s more fun to land than the Punisher’s perfectly-timed…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dangun Feveron]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dangun-feveron/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dangun-feveron/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 19 Jul 2023 17:27:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 1998

This is wonderful. As with Guwange, there’s nothing else in Cave’s library that feels like it. It’s the last of their games to primarily use traditional pixel art, and is utterly stuffed with awesome chunky-looking ships on top o…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Baldur's Gate]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/baldurs-gate/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/baldurs-gate/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 19 Jul 2023 00:24:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bioware, Windows, 1998

Playing the Enhanced Edition. This seems impressively flexible from the get-go and the game’s world feels pretty big. The real time combat is pretty breezy and helps keep things from feeling like a slog, but I think that the …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Flashback]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/flashback/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/flashback/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 14 Jul 2023 21:21:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Delphine Software International, Amiga, 1992

It’s striking how distinct this feels from Another World. Both made at the same studio, both using Prince of Persia as a starting point, both using flat colors to create gorgeous environments and fluid c…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Batman (Famicom)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/batman-famicom/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/batman-famicom/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 03 Jul 2023 03:27:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sunsoft, Famicom, 1989

After bouncing off of Future Wars I had to play something good and tight and familiar. This rules basically as much as it did when I beat the game in 2010-ish, though the final stage’s jump timing was even tighter than I reme…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Future Wars: Adventures in Time]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/future-wars-adventures-in-time/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/future-wars-adventures-in-time/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 03 Jul 2023 03:08:29 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Delphine Software, Amiga, 1989

Wanted to try this since Éric Chahi was behind most of the art. I bounced off of this, sadly. The opening scenes are gorgeous and the interface is pretty elegant for 1989, but the hotspots are the tiniest I’ve ever se…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Another World]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/another-world/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/another-world/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 27 Jun 2023 17:32:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Delphine Software, Amiga, 1991

Absolutely sick game. Having never seen beyond the intro when I was younger I'm very happy that I finally played through this. It’s an action platformer with fluid animation and grounded movement, like Prince of Persi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Fallout: New Vegas]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/fallout-new-vegas/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/fallout-new-vegas/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 26 Jun 2023 05:36:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Obsidian Entertainment, Windows, 2010

Best Bethesda-style game I've played. An easy standout. The Elder Scrolls games never did much for me and I bounced off of Fallout 3 in 2009, but I was pretty hooked to New Vegas. It has an impressively dynamic…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[System Shock]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/system-shock/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/system-shock/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Jun 2023 17:22:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Looking Glass Technologies, DOS, 1994

A staggeringly ambitious first person action game set in a big semi-linear space station. It’s all incredibly impressive for 1994. Movement mechanics let you lean, strafe, crouch, jump, and even go prone. Envir…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Galleon]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/galleon/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/galleon/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 05 Jun 2023 21:10:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Confounding Factor, Xbox, 2004

This was apparently directed by Toby Gard, one of the lead guys behind the original Tomb Raider that left Core prior to Tomb Raider II. You can definitely see a trajectory from that game to this. It’s still got plenty…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Fighting Force]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/fighting-force/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/fighting-force/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 23 May 2023 04:29:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Core Design, Playstation, 1997

A polygonal beat ‘em up by the Tomb Raider developers. I always thought this looked so cool as a kid and wished I could play it on Saturn, but despite all the times I got to try PS1 rentals at friends' houses I never …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Castlevania: The Adventure Rebirth]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/castlevania-the-adventure-rebirth/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/castlevania-the-adventure-rebirth/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 16 May 2023 17:34:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[M2, Wii, 2009

I think the visuals put me off on this back in the day, but now that I’ve actually sat down with it it’s pretty good! It’s a cool mix of mechanics from the original game (no stair jumping/landing for example) and some departures like …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Kick Master]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/kick-master/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/kick-master/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 25 Apr 2023 04:47:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[KID Corp, NES, 1992

Shinobu Yagawa as programmer. His third credit. No Japanese release.

This is a pretty interesting one. Every enemy kill sends three items up into the air and these items drop through the floor, so you often need to commit to gr…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Low G Man]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/low-g-man/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/low-g-man/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 23 Apr 2023 02:50:59 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[KID Corp, NES, 1992

Having your primary attacks be between a stun-only pistol and an up/down stab is a pretty cool setup. There are there’s a surprising amount of cool enemy designs in here, and pretty decent variety in stage design. On the other h…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shadowgate 64]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shadowgate-64/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shadowgate-64/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 22 Apr 2023 15:00:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[TNS Co., Nintendo 64, 1999

A first-person adventure game apparently developed by the studio behind Wachenroeder. Unfortunately super dry compared to the original. Cool atmosphere, nice (if subdued) music, but there are no silly deaths and the puzzl…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shadowgate]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shadowgate/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shadowgate/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 17 Apr 2023 02:23:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[ICOM and Kemco, NES, 1989

Unlike with Deja Vu, I decided to play Kemco’s NES adaptation over the Macintosh original after reading up on major differences. This is a larger and cooler game than Deja Vu, for sure, and while some of the puzzles are gr…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Comix Zone]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/comix-zone/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/comix-zone/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 15 Apr 2023 17:07:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega Technical Institute, Genesis, 1995

This is a wild one. It’s an action platformer where the premise is that you play as a 90’s comic book artist guy that gets sucked up into his own work. The presentation rules, honestly. Everything takes place…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Selection: Erabareshi Mono / The Sword of Hope]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/selection-erabareshi-mono-the-sword-of-hope/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/selection-erabareshi-mono-the-sword-of-hope/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Apr 2023 19:08:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Kemco, Game Boy, 1989

Kemco first adapted Deja Vu in '88, this being a year later. I figured I'd check this out since I liked the idea of an original Game Boy ICOM-style adventure game by Kemco themselves, but unfortunately this is more of a tradit…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Guwange]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/guwange/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/guwange/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Apr 2023 03:48:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 1999

It’s easy to think of Cave as sticking to a very tight set of mechanics and hardly ever deviating but this game stands way out. What a wild take on the genre. The core concept is basically an on-foot top-down STG with the usual C…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Deja Vu: A Nightmare Comes True!!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/deja-vu-a-nightmare-comes-true/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/deja-vu-a-nightmare-comes-true/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 07 Apr 2023 22:19:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[ICOM Simulations, Macintosh, 1985

Really impressive how this uses the Macintosh UI to do a lot of heavy lifting and deliver a very new kind of adventure game only a year after King’s Quest. The black and white art is really distinct and barring a c…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[El Viento]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/el-viento/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/el-viento/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 07 Apr 2023 22:19:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Wolf Team, Megadrive, 1991

This game’s definitely got rough edges, but it also has a really cool presentation, nice cutscene art, excellent music, a pretty unique setting, and honestly some decent action! It’s deeply silly and has a couple weak poi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[EX-RANZA]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/ex-ranza/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/ex-ranza/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 05 Apr 2023 15:14:58 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[GAU Entertainment, Megadrive, 1993. aka Ranger X.

Very cool. This was released about half a year after Valken and isn’t really dissimilar in structure and theme: it’s a side-view mech action-platformer where you have a health meter, every life is a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Mario: Yoshi Island]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/super-mario-yoshi-island/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/super-mario-yoshi-island/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 23 Mar 2023 23:54:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo EAD, Super Famicom, 1995

Gorgeous. Really really nice-looking, lots of cute designs all over the place, great music. The egg throwing is pretty fun, but as the stages sloooowly ramped up I found the flutter jump mechanic and the Mario reco…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Wild Guns]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/wild-guns/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/wild-guns/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 13 Mar 2023 01:15:28 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Natsume, Super Famicom, 1994

An easy entry into the absolute top tier of SFC action games. The theme rules, the art is incredible, the soundtrack is great, all of this stuff is basically perfect. And then you have this clever split between stationa…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Progear No Arashi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/progear-no-arashi/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/progear-no-arashi/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 13 Mar 2023 01:14:59 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade (CPS2), 2001

Very pumped that I got the first loop one credit clear of Progear no Arashi today. This wasn't as hard for me as Ikaruga, but I still found this tricky. Will probably never even see loop 2, lol. Really love this game. The …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[KiKi KaiKai: Nazo no Kuro Manto]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/kiki-kaikai-nazo-no-kuro-manto/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/kiki-kaikai-nazo-no-kuro-manto/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 06 Mar 2023 01:37:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Natsume, Super Famicom, 1992

I spent some time with this, learning to 1cc up to the final stage, and unfortunately I think the game’s kind of annoying. I don’t like the movement-is-aim orientation mechanics, the constant melee swipes against bullet…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[DoDonPachi SaiDaiOuJou Exa Label - Original Mode]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dodonpachi-saidaioujou-exa-label-original-mode/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dodonpachi-saidaioujou-exa-label-original-mode/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 02 Mar 2023 03:49:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2012

Playing as A-S. I have not 1cc’d this yet. I spent a few months off-and-on chipping away at this and I’ve finally just started seeing stage 5. This really feels like a clear step above the other one-loop Cave games difficulty-wis…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gungrave G.O.R.E.]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/gungrave-gore/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/gungrave-gore/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 26 Feb 2023 07:08:14 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Iggymob, PC, 2022

I like the look of this game a lot. Some real fun designs and animations delivered with a lot of detail and impact. Unfortunately the stages do nothing for me. Just gigantic amounts of little dudes that you blast through, occasion…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Space Channel 5 VR: Kinda Funky News Flash]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/space-channel-5-vr-kinda-funky-news-flash/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/space-channel-5-vr-kinda-funky-news-flash/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 25 Feb 2023 19:08:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Grounding, PC, 2020

What’s here is really good. It’s better than the old games in a lot of ways, but it’s also both shorter and easier. This wouldn’t be a big problem if they included a nice bonus challenge mode, but unfortunately no dice. Still, y…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Leisure Suit Larry goes Looking For Love (In Several Wrong Places)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/leisure-suit-larry-goes-looking-for-love-in-several-wrong-places/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/leisure-suit-larry-goes-looking-for-love-in-several-wrong-places/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 25 Feb 2023 03:06:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sierra On-Line, DOS, 1988

Big step down from the first one. The visuals are more detailed but less appealing, the world is bigger but more confusing, and the puzzles are some of the cruelest and softlock-iest I’ve seen in an adventure game. Kinda h…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-beast-within-a-gabriel-knight-mystery/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-beast-within-a-gabriel-knight-mystery/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 24 Feb 2023 03:06:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sierra, PC, 1995

Decided to play something chill like this while I was out with a nasty infection.

Compared to Phantasmagoria, this feels like a much more complete attempt at FMV-ifying Sierra’s traditional point and click setup. The sprites still…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Returnal]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/returnal/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/returnal/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 24 Feb 2023 03:06:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Housemarque, Playstation 5 and PC, 2021

This is a great time. Housemarque has adapted their chaotic twin-stick shooting action into a gorgeous and cutting-edge third-person shooter, deftly bringing along the lessons they’ve learned through the year…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[King's Quest]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/kings-quest/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/kings-quest/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 24 Feb 2023 02:26:19 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sierra On-Line, IBM PC, 1984

Not as breezy or as purposeful with its environments as Leisure Suit Larry, but it’s very obviously a groundbreaking release for its time. Like with LSL I was surprised at how kind the parser is, and the game has some m…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/leisure-suit-larry-in-the-land-of-the-lounge-lizards/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/leisure-suit-larry-in-the-land-of-the-lounge-lizards/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 24 Feb 2023 02:26:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sierra On-Line, DOS, 1987

I’ve been meaning to play through more old Sierra stuff for a while now. I grew up on LucasArts, and Sierra’s adventure games have mostly been a blind spot for me barring the first Gabriel Knight. King’s Quest seemed a lit…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Space Quest: Chapter I - The Sarien Encounter]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/space-quest-chapter-i-the-sarien-encounter/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/space-quest-chapter-i-the-sarien-encounter/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 19 Feb 2023 05:59:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sierra On-Line, DOS, 1986

Relative to the other Sierra series first entries I’ve played this year, this released between King’s Quest and Leisure Suit Larry. The theme here is really fun. There’s a nice variety to the settings that make it feel lik…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The GG Shinobi II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-gg-shinobi-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-gg-shinobi-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 08 Feb 2023 00:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Game Gear, 1992

I liked this more than the first one. The structure is similar but the main change is that in each of the four selectable stages you’ll have to beat their boss to unlock the Shinobi (with unique abilities) and then you’ll also…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shining Force: The Legacy of Great Intention]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shining-force-the-legacy-of-great-intention/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shining-force-the-legacy-of-great-intention/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 29 Jan 2023 20:24:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Climax Entertainment and Sonic Co., Mega Drive, 1992

I haven’t played many SRPGs so I figured I’d play through this for the Sega factor. From what little I know about the genre, the unique part of Shining Force seems to be that you have town segmen…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Wishbringer]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/wishbringer/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/wishbringer/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 25 Dec 2022 02:22:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Infocom, various PC platforms, 1985

Directed by Brian Moriarty (Loom, etc). Infocom themselves describes this as “introductory level” right on the box. Wishbringer basically does away with all of the stuff I disliked about Zork I. The world is much…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Jet Island]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/jet-island/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/jet-island/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 25 Dec 2022 02:13:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Master Indie, PC, 2018

This is a neat proof of concept where you Tribes-ski around an impossibly big island, make your way to the core of colossal moving robots, and blow 'em up. There isn't much to it outside of the movement and it's VERY motion-u…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Room VR]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/the-room-vr/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/the-room-vr/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 25 Dec 2022 02:13:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Fireproof Studios, PC, 2020

Really good VR adaptation and the tech fits so well. There aren’t any huge swerves from the flat-screen games, but there are plenty of standout puzzles and everything is paced well. Probably the best of the series.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bomberman 64]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bomberman-64/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bomberman-64/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 18 Dec 2022 00:25:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nice little campaign with some legit fun bosses and stages. There are some weird difficulty spikes, and the performance combined with the camera can get a little maddening, but it's a solid game overall.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[D no Shokutaku 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/d-no-shokutaku-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/d-no-shokutaku-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 16 Dec 2022 19:20:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[WARP, Dreamcast, 1999

This is WARP’s most fleshed-out game for sure. Taking place in snowy Canadian fields after a plane crash, the pre-rendered FMV has finally been relegated to occasional cutscenes and the adventure game scenes from the prior two…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shock Troopers]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/shock-troopers/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/shock-troopers/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:34:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Saurus, Arcade, 1997

Sick game. A surprisingly long one (wanna say my clear was like, idk, 30 minutes? 35?) but there's a lot of cool route selection stuff with a lot of clever re-use in design. Rolling through bullets to melee a dude is very satis…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Air Gallet]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/air-gallet/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/air-gallet/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:32:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Gazelle, Arcade, 1996

Cool game but a little uncanny, which makes sense given the Cave-sibling development history. Ship's just a little slow, hitbox maybe just a little big? Zako are mean as hell. First boss is overtuned. etc.

…but it's so sick v…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hishouzame]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/hishouzame/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/hishouzame/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:31:46 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Toaplan, Arcade, 1987

Wonderful game. I can see why this was such a monumental release, and it feels like it really paved the way for Raiden. There's a nice arc to learning how to lead all those fast bullets around, the bombs have a tricky delay th…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mahou Daisakusen]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/mahou-daisakusen/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/mahou-daisakusen/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:29:33 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Raizing, Arcade, 1993

I’ve loved this game ever since digging into it with the M2 release back in 2017. It’s not as relentlessly paced as a Cave game, but this gives it time to build out such a flavorful world for the genre’s standards. Each stage …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sin and Punishment]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sin-and-punishment/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sin-and-punishment/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:19:58 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Nintendo 64, 2000

This rules. I'm realizing that Cabal-style shooters and "forward-scrolling" shooters are largely the same thing, and this has to be near the top of that broader genre. I love the slight genre-bending parts, too, and ever…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Halo Infinite (Campaign)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/halo-infinite-campaign/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/halo-infinite-campaign/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:15:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[343i, PC, 2021

Played on Heroic.

Like in so many free-roaming games, there's a novelty to the world map that lasts for just an early portion of the campaign's length. In Infinite here, this map is full of little side battles. Since Halo has such a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Devil Daggers]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/devil-daggers/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/devil-daggers/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:11:17 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sorath, PC, 2016  

Devil Daggers has always seemed like a really good ultradense arcade-style game, but I've finally dug into it a little more. Once I learned that the gems can be absorbed by not firing and that you upgrade your firepower by collec…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Zork I]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/zork-i/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/zork-i/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 06:14:19 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Infocom, TRS-80, 1980

It’s easy to see why this was a big deal 40+ years ago. The map is big, the puzzles can be clever, there’s a nice sense of humor, and the interpreter is surprisingly smart. I got a kick out of how the combat was based on some …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hydlide]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/hydlide/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/hydlide/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:54:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[T&E Soft, PC-8800, 1984

A brief game full of grinding and designed around quicksaves. It's a hurdle to get into, of course, but I can certainly see why it'd be monumental in 1984. It's a cute adventure once you adjust, and it’s pretty staggering to…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ikari no Yousai (1993)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikari-no-yousai-1993/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikari-no-yousai-1993/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:52:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jaleco, Super Famicom, 1993

Thankfully, this is the best game in the trilogy. I have some nitpicks here (unskippable cutscenes and it's still slightly too mazey), but this is a great Valken-paced limited-continue action game with a really cool them…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Final Fantasy VII Remake]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/final-fantasy-vii-remake/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/final-fantasy-vii-remake/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:51:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Square Enix, Playstation 4, 2020

Enjoyed this. The main quest isn't overlong, the game is ridiculously gorgeous, and I really like what they did with the story. The combat is pretty brisk and flashy and fun, and really shines during some of the bos…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Natsuki Chronicles]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/natsuki-chronicles/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/natsuki-chronicles/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Qute, Xbox One, 2019

Really interesting setup here. The Story mode is genuinely pretty cool, giving you a pool of three lives per level that increases the more you have to retry the stage, and you upgrade weapons using credits earned throughout all…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Adventure of Little Ralph]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-adventure-of-little-ralph/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-adventure-of-little-ralph/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[New Corporation, Playstation, 1999

Fucking masterpiece.

Great visuals, tons of cool scenarios, incredibly good boss fights, and the fighting game genre twist is great. There are some tonal oddities that I don't like, but not enough of them to be a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ys III - Wanderers From Ys (PC-88)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ys-iii-wanderers-from-ys-pc-88/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ys-iii-wanderers-from-ys-pc-88/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nihon Falcom, PC-88, 1989

Played on Hard. The visuals, monster design, tight pacing, and excellent music are completely undeniable. The difficulty curve is also pretty tight considering the XP system, and while the bosses aren't particularly hard y…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Blazing Star]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/blazing-star/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/blazing-star/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:16 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Yumekobo, Arcade, 1998

This game fuckin rules. The CG sprites are certainly rough (which is excusable for 1998), but the scenes portrayed manage to be thrilling and unique nonetheless, and the fantastic soundtrack drives them perfectly as it hops b…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-great-ace-attorney-adventures/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-great-ace-attorney-adventures/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, 3DS, 2015

Been years since I've played one of these. It's really incredible how they handled the transition to 3D (like in AA...5?) and the new cast and setting were desperately needed. Tons of charming animations and a well-designed cast. …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Nikujin]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/nikujin/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/nikujin/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ikiki, PC, 2005

Brutal ninja platformer with a lot of wall running and occasional stealth elements. The movement and camera can get kind of erratic at times and you have to learn to not freak out during certain directional changes, but there's so m…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Daioh]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/daioh/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/daioh/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Very weird, but overall great. The game uses checkpoints, but it's kind with them by usually pushing you ahead of where you died and it actually eschews the checkpoints during boss fights. There's rank and a bit of rank management, but nothing too c…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Esp RaDe]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/esp-rade/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/esp-rade/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 1998

This is undoubtedly a great game, but upon revisiting and playing enough to get a clear, I think it's my least favorite mainline Cave game. Since I've already talked about the game's strengths, this is what I don't like:

* The f…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The House in Fata Morgana]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-house-in-fata-morgana/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-house-in-fata-morgana/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:46 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Novectacle, PC, 2012

This was incredible. A massive, massive story about lives tied to a mansion over centuries. I can't imagine the process of writing this or of localizing it. It's incredibly detailed, empathetic, sometimes heartbreaking, sometim…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sengoku Ace]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/sengoku-ace/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/sengoku-ace/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Psikyo, Arcade, 1993…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Espgaluda]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/espgaluda/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/espgaluda/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2003

You know how it is. It's a masterpiece. The final boss FINALLY clicked for me. There's so much to say about this game but it's late.

My favorite video game?…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bionic Commando (Game Boy)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bionic-commando-game-boy/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bionic-commando-game-boy/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Minakuchi Engineering, Game Boy, 1992  

Very much like the Ninja Ryukenden Game Boy game in the sense that it's very original, a bit shorter, and shockingly polished. A really good time, and the ending stretch is probably harder than the Famicom ga…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Darius II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/darius-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/darius-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:05 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1989

Beaten on "A" Difficulty ("Easy" on Switch collection).

This is a fascinating game. The move from three screens to two ultimately helps the pacing, cutting down on a lot of dead air at the expense of some novelty. A good decisi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Giga Wing]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/giga-wing/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/giga-wing/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Takumi and Capcom, Arcade, 1999

I loved this. This is the first Takumi game I've put time into, and the reflect mechanic is a blast. Just incredibly satisfying to get the barrier up, cut into a huge mass of bullets, and slam them back onto the enem…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Disco Elysium: The Final Cut]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/disco-elysium-the-final-cut/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/disco-elysium-the-final-cut/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:48:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[ZA/UM, PC, 2019

Incredibly unique game. It's mostly a very engaging and darkly funny detective story, packed with character progression and skill checks in a way that makes perfect sense in a tabletop setting but that you see rarely in a video game…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Actraiser 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/actraiser-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/actraiser-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:48:32 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Quintet and Ancient, Super Famicom, 1993

Really cool game. It's brutal, and there are unfortunately a couple lame segments that drag it down a little (a few mazes and some really questionable late fights), but the various jump mechanics are really …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ninja Five-O]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ninja-five-o/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ninja-five-o/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:48:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Game Boy Advance, 2003  
aka Ninja Cop

Sick, maddening, methodical game. Fun to learn the grapple controls. Very tight HP. Stages are slightly mazy but never too bad. Awesome bosses, amazing pixel art.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ankoku Densetsu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ankoku-densetsu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ankoku-densetsu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:47:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[RED, PC Engine, 1990  
aka The Legendary Axe II

A follow-up to Makyou Densetsu by a different team. Love the dark atmosphere of this game, love the boss designs. The core mechanics are pretty fun: you lose the satisfying axe charge attacks, but the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Perfect Dark Zero]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/perfect-dark-zero/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/perfect-dark-zero/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:47:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Rare, Xbox 360, 2005

This one's a jarring one to play in 2021. The style is hilarious (nu-metal Bond theme, everyone's clothing, the UI), it's kinda repugnant in terms of character design ("Mai Hem" are you kidding me), and the environments sincere…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ninja Ryukenden (Game Boy)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ninja-ryukenden-game-boy/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ninja-ryukenden-game-boy/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:47:16 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Natsume, Game Boy, 1991  
aka Ninja Gaiden

Very well-made action-platformer by Natsume, completely distinct from the arcade or Famicom games. This one plays more like Shatterhand, with Ryu moving at a slower pace to better fit the Game Boy's resolu…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sakura Wars]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sakura-wars/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sakura-wars/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:46:57 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[RED and Sega, Saturn, 1996

Played the fan translation. The combination of VN and tactics was pretty fun and novel, as was the 90s anime presentation. I appreciated how the fixed-length episodic structure of the game allowed for decently unique tact…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Atomic Runner Chelnov]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/atomic-runner-chelnov/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/atomic-runner-chelnov/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:46:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Data East, Arcade, 1988

This is such a neat game despite the roughness. The core forced-scrolling mechanics are super unique, fun to learn, and thoroughly explored. I particularly like the way that bouncing off of enemy heads works and is tied into…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Contra (Famicom)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/contra-famicom/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/contra-famicom/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:46:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Famicom, 1988  
aka Probotector

Been playing this lately and cleared the Famicom version today. Pretty clearly better than the arcade game of course, especially if you're playing the Famicom version with the extra BG animation. Has similar …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Xanadu Next]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/xanadu-next/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/xanadu-next/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:46:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nihon Falcom, Windows, 2005

An uneven game with a nice atmosphere. It feels very much like if one of the less-focused Ys games were built around mouse controls. It's generally enjoyable to run through the pretty environments, mow through monsters, …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/lands-of-lore-the-throne-of-chaos/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/lands-of-lore-the-throne-of-chaos/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:44:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Westwood Studios, MS-DOS, 1993

Excellent atmosphere and pixel art. Really friendly to get into. The mechanics, expectedly, don't hold up as you get into silly square-based dances and rapid equipment swapping, but I bet that's common for the genre.
…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Virtual Hydlide]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/virtual-hydlide/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/virtual-hydlide/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:44:47 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[T&E Soft, Saturn, 1995

a mess. 

The main programmer on this apparently worked on a bunch of golf games and I think that makes complete sense. There are a lot of ambitious things about this game: the environments are surprisingly detailed (even if …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ikaruga]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikaruga/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikaruga/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:42:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Arcade, 2001

I played some of Ikaruga in 2002. I bought it since it was a really cool-looking sendoff for the Dreamcast but didn't spend much time with it. I played some of the XBLA release in 2008 after falling in love with the idea of c…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/metal-gear-2-solid-snake/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/metal-gear-2-solid-snake/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:42:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, MSX2, 1991  

Really incredible. I heard going in that there was a lot of overlap between this and Metal Gear Solid and that's true (as it is with the first Metal Gear), but less so than I expected. Obviously the core mechanics are distinct …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sin & Punishment: Star Successor]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sin-and-punishment-star-successor/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sin-and-punishment-star-successor/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:41:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Wii, 2009

Still rules, and stands out from the original more than I remember. This one is about twice as long, and the result feels a bit closer to a game like Bayonetta than something arcade-ish. The IR aiming and near-constant flying al…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mischief Makers]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/mischief-makers/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/mischief-makers/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:41:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[This was pretty good. At it's core this is a 2D action-platformer about dashing all over the place, grabbing things, shaking things, and throwing things. Structurally it's a big series of 2-5 minute levels, and it very much feels like stage designer…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Radiant Silvergun]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/radiant-silvergun/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/radiant-silvergun/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:41:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Saturn, 1998

It's beautiful, I love the boss design, the player weapons are cool, and it's probably a top 3 in terms of presentation. The long runtime and arcane process of finding how much chaining I need for my ship to be viable, tho, k…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Alien Soldier]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/alien-soldier/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/alien-soldier/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:40:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Mega Drive, 1995

Alien Soldier is the real star of their MD lineup. 

I haven't beaten this yet (playing on its default "SUPERHARD" difficulty) but judging by the first half this is a masterpiece. Like in Gunstar there are a ton of things…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shenzhen I/O]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/shenzhen-io/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/shenzhen-io/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:40:19 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Zachtronics, PC, 2016

This game rules, but like so many Zachtronics games it's so dense. I hit a solid breaking point in the story (Avalon City), so I figured I'd shelve it for now.

The programming isn't too removed from TIS-100, but it does have …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Prop Cycle]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/prop-cycle/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/prop-cycle/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:39:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Namco, Arcade, 1996

What a beautiful game. Structured like a more elegant arcade take on Pilot Wings, but set in a clearly Ghibli-inspired world and with perfectly-tuned controls. Tough to learn but with a fun degree of freedom to find your route. …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Outer Wilds]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/outer-wilds/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/outer-wilds/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:37:58 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Mobius Digital, PC, 2019

Incredible. Really, really floored by this. Outer Wilds is crudely a first-person adventure game. It gives you an elegant set of actions and a space explorer's toolkit and tasks you with solving a complex mystery spread thr…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Makyou Densetsu - The Legendary Axe]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/makyou-densetsu-the-legendary-axe/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/makyou-densetsu-the-legendary-axe/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:37:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Victor Musical Industries, PC Engine, 1989  
aka The Legendary Axe

This game is fantastic, gotta be one of the best home action-platformers of its time. The axe charge up system is satisfying, and when you hit the second half of the game and start …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tomb Raider]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/tomb-raider/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/tomb-raider/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:37:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[CORE Design, Playstation, 1996

Played the PS1 version. Obviously the game was a big deal at the time due to its presentation and perspective, but its specific approach to 3D Prince of Persia style platforming is still pretty novel. It's a lot of fu…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Darius]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/darius/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/darius/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:37:28 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1987

Arcade, beat New Version but played a lot of Extra Version.

What a cool game. The big unique elements are, of course, the three-screen 4:1 aspect ratio and the massive 28-stage map. The aspect ratio certainly makes for a unique…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Steel Battalion]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/steel-battalion/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/steel-battalion/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:37:22 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom and Nude Maker, Xbox, 2002  
aka Tekki

Steel Battalion's controller is ridiculous, as everyone knows, and it's worth a quick rundown. The left-hand panel of the three-panel controller has a throttle for changing gear and a one-axis stick for…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Enemy Zero]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/enemy-zero/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/enemy-zero/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 03:35:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[WARP, Saturn, 1996

It’s crazy to me that this was only about a year and a half after D no Shokutaku. Aside from being set in space, the major differences between this and D are that it drops the time limit and adds surprisingly pretty polygonal fir…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[D no Shokutaku]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/d-no-shokutaku/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/d-no-shokutaku/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 12 Dec 2022 01:56:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[WARP, 3DO, 1995

A first-person adventure game with a pretty strong atmosphere, rigid-but-serviceable CG, and unbearably slow movement. Would have been way better if it were more static images like Myst. The two-hour time limit and lack of saving ar…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bujingai - The Forsaken City]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bujingai-the-forsaken-city/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bujingai-the-forsaken-city/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 22 Nov 2022 20:39:47 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[RED, Playstation 2, 2003

A surprisingly polished 3D action game by RED. It’s better than I remember Gungrave being. The animation is nice, the combo system is basic but fun to noodle around with, and there are some goofy movement options to mess wi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rastan Saga]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rastan-saga/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rastan-saga/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 04 Nov 2022 04:57:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1988

Very cool game with a fairly unique Japanese take on a barbarian theme. Plenty of jank, but the enemies and equipment are well thought-out and there are a surprising amount of different approaches you have to take with the traps…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/635e8741f38d2f05379dc22e/attachments/635e877608af550379b052f7/previews/635e877708af550379b05304/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Vermilion]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/vermilion/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/vermilion/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 21 Oct 2022 23:13:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM2, Mega Drive, 1989  
aka Sword of Vermilion

This game left a strong impression on me as a kid because of that cold initial town music. Revisiting it and putting a few hours into it I think it's pretty neat, but just a little too slow-paced …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631eae992f55d2033d7925c3/attachments/631eaea26dffef002f90027c/previews/631eaea26dffef002f900288/download/48210_front.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Chase the Express]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/chase-the-express/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/chase-the-express/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 19 Oct 2022 02:10:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sugar & Rockets, Playstation, 2000
a.k.a. Covert Ops: Nuclear Dawn

Very cool Biohazard-style game that takes place on a train. There's a shift in focus from puzzles to combat, but it's not too huge of one despite what the roll buttons suggest. Inst…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Yami no Shigotonin Kage]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/yami-no-shigotonin-kage/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/yami-no-shigotonin-kage/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 12 Oct 2022 20:35:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Natsume, Famicom, 1990

This is no Shatterhand, but you can tell they're on their way. It's got a super well-executed dark visual style like Batman or Gun-Dec and a similarly pumping soundtrack. There's a strict five-lives limit, and because of that…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Brightis]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/brightis/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/brightis/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 11 Oct 2022 01:31:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Quintet, Playstation, 1999

Shockingly modern 1999 PS1 game with a big polygonal world and complex (though not meaningfully so) combat. I had to shelve it like 2/3rds through (a little under 10 hours in) because the dungeons were getting a little to…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bionic Commando (2009)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bionic-commando-2009/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bionic-commando-2009/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 27 Sep 2022 02:06:28 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Grin, Xbox 360, 2009 

Better than it has any right to be, frankly. There are some annoyances, like a lack of feedback and kind of a slow start. But once you unlock some abilities and make it to some of the cooler areas swinging around and throwing …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Prodeus]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/prodeus/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/prodeus/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 24 Sep 2022 02:56:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[The core mechanics here feel pretty good and I think the visuals are a technically unique take on Doom 2016, but unfortunately the structure is kind of mess. Regardless of the difficulty, you get infinite respawns at a checkpoint without any rollbac…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Crash Bandicoot]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/crash-bandicoot/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/crash-bandicoot/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 17 Sep 2022 23:07:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Naughty Dog, Playstation, 1996  

Never fully played through this until now. I've always wanted this to be good, because I like the fundamental idea of a linear 3D platformer and felt it never got explored much in the 90s. I think this does a pretty…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shin-chan: Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation - The Endless Seven-Day Journey]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/shin-chan-me-and-the-professor-on-summer-vacation-the-endless-seven-day-journey/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/shin-chan-me-and-the-professor-on-summer-vacation-the-endless-seven-day-journey/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 16 Sep 2022 18:03:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Millennium Kitchen, Switch, 2021  
aka Crayon Shin-chan: Ora to Hakase no Natsuyasumi - Owaranai Nanokakan no Tabi

This is the lowest-stakes game I've played in years. Very chill and idyllic fixed-camera game with particularly gorgeous backgrounds.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/warhammer-40000-space-marine/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/warhammer-40000-space-marine/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 11 Sep 2022 22:55:46 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Relic Entertainment, Windows, 2011

Pretty good third person action game that takes a lot from Gears but omits the cover system and marries the shooting with Musou-style slashing. This isn't quite Gears 1 level, but it's a tight and well-paced campa…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Stretch Panic (PS2)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/stretch-panic-ps2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/stretch-panic-ps2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 20:08:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Playstation 2, 2001  
aka Hippa Linda, Freak Out

Defeated but did not exorcise every boss.

This is a slick-looking game with a lot of nice technical tricks in it, and it's surprisingly competent for a first-go at a third-person 3D game i…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gunstar Super Heroes]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/gunstar-super-heroes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/gunstar-super-heroes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Game Boy Advance, 2005

Like with AGH, this is better than the original. The stages feel like they're more mindfully built around the character's moves, the pixel art is nicer, the weapons seem more balanced, and enemies aren't just though…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Advance Guardian Heroes]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/advance-guardian-heroes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/advance-guardian-heroes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Game Boy Advance, 2004

Liked this better than the Saturn game for sure. Ditching the invincible AI partner, losing the 3-plane system, making block require a meter, and adding a fun parry are all big improvements. Battles are generally mo…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Astro Boy: Omega Factor]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/astro-boy-omega-factor/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/astro-boy-omega-factor/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Game Boy Advance, 2003

NA version. Definitely got the wrong impression of this back in the day. This is pretty good!  It takes the basic core side-view melee combat from Tiny Toons but refines it a whole lot and gives you an awful lot of …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hajime No Ippo: The Fighting!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/hajime-no-ippo-the-fighting/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/hajime-no-ippo-the-fighting/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Game Boy Advance, 2002

Very cool take on Punch-Out. Extremely good spritework and some cool mechanics twists (even if it's not as elegant or pattern-based).…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster's Bad Dream]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/tiny-toon-adventures-busters-bad-dream/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/tiny-toon-adventures-busters-bad-dream/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Game Boy Advance, 2002

This is kind of neat. There's a very satisfying set of core mechanics here: it's single-plane 2D, but you have a handful of simple combos and attacks and enemies easily get knocked into each other and cluster up on …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Silpheed: The Lost Planet]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/silpheed-the-lost-planet/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/silpheed-the-lost-planet/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Playstation 2, 2000

This is actually pretty good as far as console paced shooters go, I think. It's too slow and long to want to 1cc, but retrying the late chapters was fun. Nice graphics and some interesting boss designs.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bakuretsu Muteki Bangaioh (N64)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bakuretsu-muteki-bangaioh-n64/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bakuretsu-muteki-bangaioh-n64/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Nintendo 64, 2000

Liked it. It's very much like Mischief Makers in terms of structure and pacing, but with less standout cool moments unfortunately. On the other hand, the core mechanics are more fun to me with the constant system-halting…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rakugaki Showtime]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rakugaki-showtime/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rakugaki-showtime/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Playstation, 1999

Cute visuals, fun movement with a lot of homing dash stuff, fun item throwing and parrying. Real neat, and a big departure from their previous two party fighters.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Golden Axe: Beast Rider]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/golden-axe-beast-rider/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/golden-axe-beast-rider/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Xbox 360, 2008

This isn't a good game, but it's better than its reputation suggests. The presentation is hilarious, very edgy and embarrassing for 2008. Animation blending is jacked up all over the place. But the core combat is kinda fun, lar…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Silhouette Mirage]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/silhouette-mirage/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/silhouette-mirage/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Saturn, 1997

This has a lot of cool and creative stuff in it. Some genuinely funny boss fights, some clever little strategies to find. It's a got a huge core move set and the presentation reminds me of a better and more pixel art focused …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Guardian Heroes]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/guardian-heroes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/guardian-heroes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Saturn, 1996

I should trust my 2010 tastes more often. The multiplayer arena mode here seems neat enough in the same way that the Yu Yu Hakusho game is, and it's probably a good successor on that front. As a single-player beat 'em up, tho…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Yu Yu Hakusho - Maikyo Toitsusen]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/yu-yu-hakusho-maikyo-toitsusen/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/yu-yu-hakusho-maikyo-toitsusen/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Mega Drive, 1994

This one is pretty cool. I'm sure it's busted competitively but the presentation is great and it's very ambitious. Was probably pretty mind-blowing in 1994 with a multi-tap.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dynamite Headdy]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/dynamite-headdy/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/dynamite-headdy/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Mega Drive, 1994

Dynamite Headdy is a deeply annoying showcase of great pixel art and technical tricks. It's a million confusing gimmicks strung together. It's somehow a 1994 2D action platformer with too many cutscenes. I do not like thi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[McDonald's Treasure Land Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/mcdonalds-treasure-land-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/mcdonalds-treasure-land-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Mega Drive, 1993

would you believe that this is a very competent but also very unexciting action platformer? Pay those bills.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gunstar Heroes]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/gunstar-heroes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/gunstar-heroes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Mega Drive, 1993

I've always seen this as a pretty mid treasure game compared to Alien Soldier. Let's see where it lands.

Ok.

Played through Gunstar Heroes today. I had played scattered stages growing up but this was the first honest pl…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Eye of the Temple]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/eye-of-the-temple/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/eye-of-the-temple/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Rune Skovbo Johansen, PC, 2021

This is an interesting one. It's a room-scale VR game in the 2016 sense of the word, where you actually need 2x2m to play it. Room scale has largely fallen out of favor, and this game is a shining example why: the adm…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Her Story]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/her-story/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/her-story/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sam Barlow, PC, 2015

Clever, novel, well-acted.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ninja-gaiden-3-razors-edge/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ninja-gaiden-3-razors-edge/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Team Ninja, PC, 2012

I remember really hating vanilla NG3. Just a massive disappointment. This revision of the game never repulsed me quite like the original did, and ultimately I think it's worth playing through on Normal mode, but unlike masterpi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Prey (2006)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/prey-2006/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/prey-2006/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Human Head Studios, PC, 2006

Better puzzles than I expected, but the action is as bad as I feared. It's an already short game, but it'd do better with a Portal-style pace. Lots of dumb mid-2000s edgy shit, too, especially the ghost girls.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Floating Runner]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/floating-runner/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/floating-runner/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Xing Entertainment, Playstation, 1996

Unfortunate. Being a pre Mario64 3D platformer I expected jank, and it is. The core of the game is tank control movement, high jumping, and a very short-range gun to shoot enemies with. There are lots of cute d…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Death's Door]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/deaths-door/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/deaths-door/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Acid Nerve, PC, 2021

A surprisingly restrained game that uses some bare dodge-roll-slash combat. The dungeons aren't thrilling to explore, but they don't overstay their welcome and the bosses are pretty fun throughout. Definitely better than Titan …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Way of the Samurai]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/way-of-the-samurai/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/way-of-the-samurai/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Acquire, Playstation 2, 2002

Super novel structure, and it gets a lot of credit for having such a cool branching story, but unfortunately I can't enjoy the combat enough to tolerate the lack of skippable dialog bubbles.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Miracle Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/miracle-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/miracle-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Data East, Arcade, 1993  
aka Spinmaster

Pretty mid action-platformer. It's generally well constructed, with clean art and nice music, but the on-rails sections are boring if you aren't playing for score and there's very little to it all.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Special Criminal Investigation]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/special-criminal-investigation/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/special-criminal-investigation/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1989

Neat little Outrun/ChaseHQ style game. It's a pretty forgiving one overall, as the timer isn't very harsh and it won't take that many attempts to learn the stage tricks, but the chaining passes is neat and I like the precision-a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tenchu: Stealth Assassins]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/tenchu-stealth-assassins/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/tenchu-stealth-assassins/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Acquire, Playstation, 1998

Cool game to finally beat. It's obviously clunky in a lot of ways (especially compared to Metal Gear Solid), but the melee combat is surprisingly good for the context imo. The stages have a very Tomb Raider style 3D grid …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4885c77e840188357743/attachments/631a4887c77e8401883585b6/previews/631a4887c77e8401883585be/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dust: A Tale of the Wired West]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/dust-a-tale-of-the-wired-west/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/dust-a-tale-of-the-wired-west/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[CyberFlix, Windows 3.1, 1995 

I have some childhood memories of clicking around in this game and getting nowhere, and something made me want to revisit this recently. Getting Windows 3.1 running these days can be a pain.

This is a first-person adv…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Phantasy Star (Switch Sega Ages)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/phantasy-star-switch-sega-ages/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/phantasy-star-switch-sega-ages/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[M2 and Sega, Switch, 2018

Very cool theme. Nice art, nice music, nice three-planet setup. The dungeons are amazing technologically but managed to wear on me even with the map.

In no universe would I have ever beaten this without a guide. Even this…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4885c77e8401883577d6/attachments/631a4887c77e840188358707/previews/631a4887c77e84018835870d/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[X]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/x/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/x/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo and Argonaut Software, Game Boy, 1992

Super impressive tech showpiece for the Game Boy, and obviously reminiscent of Star Fox in some ways, but the structure is pretty unique. 

There's one general map that gets re-used across the games' t…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4889c77e84018835895e/attachments/631a488ac77e8401883597b0/previews/631a488ac77e8401883597b6/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Trespasser]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/trespasser/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/trespasser/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Dreamworks Interactive, PC, 1998

Of course it's bad. I can admire the attempt to change up how guns are fired in first person, but this sort of independent arm motion won't wind up feeling natural until VR.

I'd actually say that this early phase o…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dracula Densetsu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/dracula-densetsu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/dracula-densetsu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Game Boy, 1989  
aka Castlevania: The Adventure

Lots of baffling shit in this game. From a tech perspective it seems to NEVER run at full speed. There's a ridiculous amount of screen tearing for a fixed-hardware game, too. 

There are a few…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4889c77e840188358a30/attachments/631a488ac77e8401883599c3/previews/631a488ac77e8401883599c9/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/super-mario-land-2-6-golden-coins/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/super-mario-land-2-6-golden-coins/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo, Game Boy, 1992

Big step up from the first, obviously. Everything's nicer visually and the basic mechanics feel closer to the Famicom games (though not quite there). The way that you have to fight bosses again when you get a game over is p…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4889c77e840188358ac2/attachments/631a488bc77e840188359a38/previews/631a488bc77e840188359a3f/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rygar (NES)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rygar-nes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rygar-nes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tecmo, Famicom, 1987

There's something cool about the theme and the journey and some of the backgrounds here, but for the most part the action in this game is a mess. The bosses are a joke, the enemies have no thought to them, and two of the three …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Monster Hunter Rise]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/monster-hunter-rise/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/monster-hunter-rise/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2021

I don't know about the monster selection and post-game stuff just yet, but I AM loving the new maneuverability stuff and the new monster in-fighting mechanics. The village quests did go by pretty fast.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a486ec77e84018834f363/attachments/631a4870c77e84018834ffb1/previews/631a4870c77e84018834ffb7/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Inscryption]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/inscryption/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/inscryption/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Daniel Mullins Games, PC, 2021

Starts very strong. Builds up a good permadeath card game loop with a unique aesthetic, a lot of mystery, and some really neat core mechanics.

Once you beat this and realize this is just the first act, however, you'l…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Great Ace Attorney 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/the-great-ace-attorney-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/the-great-ace-attorney-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Switch, 2017

It's more of the same, but the structure was a little different in this one. It's a clear two-game story arc and the payoff was good, even if the cases felt a bit uneven.

These two games are as good as the original trilogy, I …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ikari no Yousai 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikari-no-yousai-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikari-no-yousai-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jaleco, Game Boy, 1992

This game improves on the action of the original in nearly every way. The healing item distribution is way more deliberate and character revivals are gone, making things tenser, and both characters can switch between three si…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ikari no Yousai (1991)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikari-no-yousai-1991/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikari-no-yousai-1991/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jaleco, Game Boy, 1991

Cool little room-by-room top-down action game. Slow movement like Gain Ground or something and a neat separation of character abilities. The combat isn't thrilling and usually boils down to decent positioning, but it doesn't …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Trip World]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/trip-world/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/trip-world/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 05:02:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sunsoft, Game Boy, 1992

An extremely cute game, but it's a strange platformer with very little threat and a lot of NPCs that kinda just push you around and don't damage you. The boss fights stand out like a sore thumb. Not a great game, but very ac…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631967fb0b3d6c020e89c23a/attachments/63197741af4a18018f2d61fe/previews/63197742af4a18018f2d6296/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Mario Land]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/super-mario-land/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/super-mario-land/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 05:01:28 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo, Game Boy, 1989

Very brief, and the mechanics don't feel as good as the console games, but it's a cute platformer with little STG stages and nothing lasts longer than it needs to.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Blue Stinger]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/blue-stinger/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/blue-stinger/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:55:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Climax Graphics, Dreamcast, 1999

Pretty neat game. The combat is surprisingly satisfying with the huge impact effects (that stun rod!), blocking, and monster limb removal stuff. There are some places where it's easy to get lost, objective-wise, and…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Runabout]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/runabout/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/runabout/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:53:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Climax Entertainment, Playstation, 1997

Pretty novel driving game. The courses are mostly linear, but you get these little selectable routes all over the place and the streets are filled with things to smash into and get points for. The car handlin…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cave Noire]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cave-noire/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cave-noire/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:52:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Game Boy, 1991

A cute and small-scale Game Boy roguelike from 1991. The structure is pretty unique: you play through dungeons that get larger in size (like Shiren), but there are four dungeon objective types for you to chip away at (each wi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Marathon]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/marathon/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/marathon/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:30:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bungie, Macintosh, 1994

This is an impressive game for 1994, and I think there are some cool and unique things that it does. The desolate space station is pretty moody. The alien designs are cool. I like the health station and save point structure …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Vimana]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/vimana/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/vimana/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:28:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Toaplan, Arcade, 1991

Some neat pixel art in here, but ultimately this is a pretty busted Toaplan STG that relies solely on autofire rate. It'll only take a couple tries to clear. Shame the music can't really be heard over the shots.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631967fe0b3d6c020e89d1d5/attachments/63196f7d96fc7802dadb8378/previews/63196f7e96fc7802dadb8380/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Teppodon]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/teppodon/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/teppodon/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:27:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ikiki, PC, 2004

VERY sick improvement on Teppoman. Cleaner controls (fixed up some climb+jump shit) and way cooler enemies and stages and visuals.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Teppoman]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/teppoman/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/teppoman/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:25:26 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ikiki, PC, 2003

Extremely short but well-made little action-platformer that involves limited-ammo weapons and some very minor stealth elements. Being an early freeware game it's visually sparse but clean and perfectly readable.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631967fe0b3d6c020e89d1a8/attachments/63196e85533cef01e354508c/previews/63196e85533cef01e3545099/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[...Iru!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/iru/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/iru/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:22:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Soft Machine, Playstation, 1998

A straightforward first-person adventure game that basically plays out like Clock Tower but worse. It's kinda novel looking in a "polished King's Field 1" sort of way.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968000b3d6c020e89e0bf/attachments/63196dea99bc01004d0ed689/previews/63196dec99bc01004d0ed6fe/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cabal]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cabal/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cabal/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[TAD Corporation, Arcade, 1988

Pretty simple game, and one wrecked by autofire, but it walked so Wild Guns could run. A useful dodge mechanic and satisfying destruction.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Banishing Racer]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/banishing-racer/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/banishing-racer/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jaleco, Game Boy, 1991

An extremely novel and cute Game Boy platformer. You control a car, complete with pretty sluggish acceleration and even more sluggish reverse (the sprite is always facing right). Stages are generally manually-scrolling, but t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dead Space]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dead-space/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dead-space/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Visceral Games, PC, 2008

Played on Hard.

This is a pretty good game that, unfortunately, drags too much in Act 2. I don't think the combat is particularly great, certainly not enough to justify the game length. But the abilities are kinda fun, the…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968020b3d6c020e89f015/attachments/631968030b3d6c020e89fcd5/previews/631968030b3d6c020e89fcdc/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Yakuza 6: The Song of Life]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/yakuza-6-the-song-of-life/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/yakuza-6-the-song-of-life/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Playstation 4, 2016

A surprisingly interesting game for being the sixth main entry in the series. Loved the Hiroshima setting and loved the relative brevity of a lot of the plot, but obviously we're in familiar territory here. Beat Takeshi is…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968000b3d6c020e89e0fb/attachments/631968010b3d6c020e89eded/previews/631968010b3d6c020e89edf4/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Titan Souls]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/titan-souls/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/titan-souls/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Acid Nerve, PC, 2015

Decided to play this because Death's Door looked cool. Unfortunately didn't like it overall. The core mechanics of firing and force-pulling a single arrow are neat, I like the way the world map is structured overall (the tiny p…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968020b3d6c020e89f043/attachments/631968030b3d6c020e89fd11/previews/631968030b3d6c020e89fd19/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Boogerman: A Pick and Flick Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/boogerman-a-pick-and-flick-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/boogerman-a-pick-and-flick-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Interplay, Genesis, 1994

okay it's not good but it's probably better than some of the Shiny games. Surprisingly decent boss fights, and the stages are a little convoluted but not mazelike. Still, not enough stage, enemy, or mechanical variety.

And…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968020b3d6c020e89f066/attachments/631968030b3d6c020e89fdae/previews/631968030b3d6c020e89fdb6/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ys IX: Monstrum Nox]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ys-ix-monstrum-nox/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ys-ix-monstrum-nox/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nihon Falcom, PC, 2019

This Flash Guard/Dodge model of Ys that's been around since 7 is still inherently satisfying albeit simple (learn animations, then Flash, then win). It's pretty fun to stack up dodge and flash repeatedly while pummelling on a…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968020b3d6c020e89f08f/attachments/631968040b3d6c020e89fe1b/previews/631968040b3d6c020e89fe22/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[10,000 Bullets]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/10000-bullets/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/10000-bullets/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Blue Moon Studio, Playstation 2, 2005  
aka Tsukiyo ni Saraba

This game sucks. It's a mess of a bullet time third-person shooter.

BUT

Most of the game is about the auto lock snapping to an enemy, shrinking, and then giving you a brief window for …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968020b3d6c020e89f097/attachments/631968040b3d6c020e89fe09/previews/631968040b3d6c020e89fe11/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Last Labyrinth]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/last-labyrinth/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/last-labyrinth/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Amata K.K., PC VR, 2019

A very polished puzzle game with some mystery to it. You're bound to a chair and have a laser pointer on your head and guide a girl through Saw-themed puzzles. The deaths can get pretty dark without being graphic. There are …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968030b3d6c020e89f09e/attachments/631968040b3d6c020e89fe12/previews/631968040b3d6c020e89fe19/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Castlevania: Lords of Shadow]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/castlevania-lords-of-shadow/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/castlevania-lords-of-shadow/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[MercurySteam, PC, 2010

Played on Hard. 

Better than I expected. Some pretty fun combat mechanics despite the "honesty" (lack of iframes), just takes some learning with less than obvious animations. Hard mode is appropriately tough. I'm not crazy a…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968030b3d6c020e89f0ad/attachments/631968040b3d6c020e89fe2d/previews/631968040b3d6c020e89fe35/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[R-Type]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/r-type/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/r-type/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Arcade, 1987

Decided to try credit feeding the arcade original. Some of the checkpoints in this game are particularly egregious, and there are enough of these to make it a no-miss game. I tried beating the stage 7 midpoint well, well over 100…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968050b3d6c020e8a00cd/attachments/631968060b3d6c020e8a0ed1/previews/631968060b3d6c020e8a0ed8/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Light Crusader]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/light-crusader/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/light-crusader/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Mega Drive, 1995

Late Treasure-developed Megadrive game. Almost certainly inspired by Landstalker. Unlike Landstalker it's one big dungeon and there isn't a lot in the way of exploration, which ultimately makes for a tighter game in this …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968080b3d6c020e8a10cf/attachments/631968090b3d6c020e8a1e24/previews/631968090b3d6c020e8a1e2c/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dark Savior]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dark-savior/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dark-savior/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Climax Entertainment, Saturn, 1996

A big step up from Landstalker. The Yoko Taro-ish parallel story setup keeps the pace brief while still having a lot to do and see, and the combat is ultimately more fun through slightly more complicated 1v1 fight…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tip Top]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/tip-top/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/tip-top/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SEGA, Arcade, 1983
aka Congo Bongo

This is pretty fascinating. It seems like it's clearly the first go at 3D platforming, and it's surprisingly pretty and varied for being that. Can't quite close out a loop.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968080b3d6c020e8a112b/attachments/631968090b3d6c020e8a1f7f/previews/631968090b3d6c020e8a1f86/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gunlord X]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/gunlord-x/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/gunlord-x/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[NGDEV, Switch, 2019

Turrican again but with a better health system, bosses, signposting. Sick pixel art. Weird control mechanics, feels like it must be a significant rebalancing from the MVS/AES original. Cool STG stages.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968080b3d6c020e8a1131/attachments/631968090b3d6c020e8a1f95/previews/631968090b3d6c020e8a1f9c/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[RoboSkate]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/roboskate/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/roboskate/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Matas Sakalauskas, PC, 2020

A simple QWOP-like game about a robot arm on a skateboard. Mind-bending to learn, lasts about exactly as long as it needs to.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968080b3d6c020e8a1137/attachments/6319680a0b3d6c020e8a1fce/previews/6319680a0b3d6c020e8a1fd4/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Castlevania 64]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/castlevania-64/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/castlevania-64/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Nintendo 64, 1999  
aka Akumajou Dracula Apocalypse

I actually kinda like the structure of this game. A linear sequence of slightly less linear levels that mix platforming, combat, and light puzzles. The combat is the weakest part of the ga…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Turrican (C64)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/turrican-c64/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/turrican-c64/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Rainbow Arts Software, Commodore 64, 1990

Certainly incredible from a tech perspective. There are a lot of rough edges here, but I found both the sweeping laser and the rolling ball to be a lot of fun to use, and the stages do a good job of riding …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Landstalker]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/landstalker/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/landstalker/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Climax Entertainment, Mega Drive, 1992

Gorgeous. Really stunning game for 1992. Impressive how complex the various dioramas are. 

The combat is simple, but the puzzles and the platforming elevate the game. Platforming in particular surprised me: i…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Beyond Oasis]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/beyond-oasis/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/beyond-oasis/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ancient, Mega Drive, 1994

Very modern-feeling visuals, almost looks like Xenocrisis. Flat colors, cool animation, big sprites. Excellent audio, too, with some surprisingly ambient tracks, directional sound effects, reverb.

This is kind of the oppo…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bucky O'Hare]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bucky-ohare/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bucky-ohare/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Famicom, 1992

A solid action platformer using Konami's multi character schtick. Some fun puzzle-y bosses, doesn't overstay its welcome. A surprisingly flat retry structure though, making it feel like a modern quicksave-style game at times.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dynamite Batman (Famicom)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dynamite-batman-famicom/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dynamite-batman-famicom/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sunsoft, Famicom, 1991  
aka Batman: Return of the Joker

Ridiculously gorgeous game, but unfortunately not quite as solid as the first.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Moon Crystal]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/moon-crystal/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/moon-crystal/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Hect, Famicom, 1992

Great animation and it's fun to learn the weird movement. Stages are tightly-designed and the environment art is nice. Cool cutscenes. 

Unfortunately, the bosses aren't as fun to fight as they are to look at, and there's an inc…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Crazy Taxi 3]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/crazy-taxi-3/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/crazy-taxi-3/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Hitmaker, Xbox, 2002

S-ranked West Coast and Small Apple, Awesome'd Glitter Oasis. I always loved what they did with the original arcade map in this release (adding a bunch of areas and the CT2 mechanics), and this definitely has the best mini-map …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Crazy Taxi 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/crazy-taxi-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/crazy-taxi-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Hitmaker, Dreamcast, 2001

Went back to this one and got S-Rank on the two cities and did most of the Crazy Pyramid. Overall it's not as good as the first game, definitely not, but the arrow is better-behaved than in home CT1's Original City and the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[GG Shinobi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/gg-shinobi/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/gg-shinobi/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SEGA, Game Gear, 1991

An overlooked Shinobi game released a couple years after Revenge. The structure is kinda unique and takes a little bit from Rockman, with the first four stages being selectable and having you rescuing color-coded comrades that…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dino Crisis 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dino-crisis-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dino-crisis-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Playstation, 2000

A pretty cool game, but ultimately probably merely better than the original Dino Crisis (which is probably the worst of the Capcom fixed-camera PS1 games). It's too simple mechanically to be a particularly good 3D action g…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Amid Evil]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/amid-evil/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/amid-evil/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Indefatigable, PC, 2018

A classic-style FPS that probably has more in common with Unreal than Doom or Quake. I don't think the weapons and enemies combine into combat that's nearly as enjoyable as something like DUSK, Doom 2016, or Serious Sam, but…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Metroid Prime]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/metroid-prime/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/metroid-prime/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Retro Studios, GameCube, 2002

This game is incredibly stylish and gorgeous. The pace combined with the z-target combat reminds me a bit of a OOT-era 3D Zelda. The movement upgrades in particular are a lot of fun to use. Unfortunately, despite being…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Perfect Dark]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/perfect-dark/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/perfect-dark/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Rare, Nintendo 64, 2000

Not a lot of surprises here. It's Goldeneye with a bit more to it and a Deus Ex theme. Some of the warts are a little more prominent in this game: more frequent extreme framerate dips, more annoying objective failures becaus…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Room 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-room-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-room-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Fireproof Games, PC, 2016

Extremely more of the same, of course. Fortunately the devs steered away from using the viewfinder all that often. It's good, but I'm not rushing to play the third.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Zwei: The Arges Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/zwei-the-arges-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/zwei-the-arges-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nihon Falcom, PC, 2001

Found the dungeons to be too repetitive in this one, didn't really like the structure. Very pretty game though.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Halo: ODST]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/halo-odst/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/halo-odst/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bungie, Xbox 360, 2009

It's better than Halo 4 and 5 campaigns because it doesn't have the lame silver and orange guys but it's worse than Halo 1-3 campaigns because it has a worse hub world and the whole game is 2008 brown. I don't need to see pol…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/star-wars-shadows-of-the-empire/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/star-wars-shadows-of-the-empire/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[LucasArts, Nintendo 64, 1996

Surely this game's weird third-person/first-person combat with extremely heavy autoaim was a big inspiration for Goldeneye 64 even if the floaty movement wasn't. The scope of a lot of these stages are pretty impressive …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Otogi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/otogi/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/otogi/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 25 Jun 2026 02:44:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[From Software, Xbox, 2002

I gave this game a brief try as a teenager and bounced off of it in just a mission or two, but some time in the 2010s I picked up a cheap used copy. I thought that I was surely missing something, given the praise the game …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mario vs Donkey Kong]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mario-vs-donkey-kong/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mario-vs-donkey-kong/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 21 Jun 2026 20:21:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo Software Technologies, Game Boy Advance, 2004

A successor to Donkey Kong ‘94 released ten years later.

Much of the game follows in the footsteps of the original, with similar small-scale stages and a similar core set of actions for Mario.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rising Zan]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/rising-zan/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/rising-zan/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 14 Jun 2026 22:05:16 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[UEP Systems, Playstation, 1999

A 3D katana-and-revolver wild west action game from the developers of Cool Boarders. Everything is played for laughs as your hot-headed cowboy swordsman main character slices up Fist of the North Star goobers, pretty …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Look Outside]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/look-outside/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/look-outside/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 13 Jun 2026 19:05:23 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Francis Coulombe, PC, 2025

A loosely traditional JRPG set inside an apartment building where looking outside causes people to morph into grotesque monsters thanks to a gigantic celestial body that suddenly appeared in the sky one day. The game ride…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Wonder Boy: Monster Land]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/wonder-boy-monster-land/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/wonder-boy-monster-land/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 11 Jun 2026 01:02:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Westone, Arcade, 1987

An extremely cool arcade action platformer with simple “RPG” trappings in the form of NPCs to talk to, stores to visit, and secret rooms. It’s a game I’ve wanted to put more time into since I first tried it in the Sega Ages 25…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tanuki Justice]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/tanuki-justice/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/tanuki-justice/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 05 Jun 2026 03:57:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Wonderboy Bobi, PC, 2021

A cute and no-nonsense Contra-style arcade-designed action platformer. Nice environments and enemy designs, mostly good readability, and some nice backgrounds and occasional big sprites. Aside from having omni-directional t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[007 First Light]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/007-first-light/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/007-first-light/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 04 Jun 2026 15:06:54 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[IO Interactive, PC, 2026

The modern Hitman games are probably some of the best around, so I was basically guaranteed to give this game a shot. Played on Hard (“Purist” or whatever).

IO went in a more Uncharted direction than a Hitman one here. The…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[DonPachi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/donpachi/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/donpachi/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 31 May 2026 05:06:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 1995

Cave’s debut masterpiece. I originally cleared this in 2020 but wanted to come back to it and get an on-stream clear. As far as I know this is the first shooting game with the idea of holding fire to get a focus laser that gives …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Battle Formula]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/battle-formula/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/battle-formula/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 26 May 2026 02:43:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sunsoft, Famicom, 1991. aka Super Spy Hunter

Top-down vertical-scrolling car shooting action. I’ve never played anything in this little Spy Hunter subgenre before so this is all new to me.

Having control of the car’s speed is the weirdest thing go…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Demon's Blazon]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/demons-blazon/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/demons-blazon/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 24 May 2026 14:58:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Super Famicom, 1994. aka Demon’s Crest

The third of the Red Arremer games, and safely the best of them. An incredibly gorgeous and moody action-platformer that takes the “quest” factor of the prior two games and refines it into a simple Mod…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[DoDonPachi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/dodonpachi/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/dodonpachi/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 24 May 2026 01:36:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 1997

Spent some time revisiting this, which I initially cleared in 2012. It’s as intense as I remember it being, and while I remember bomb usage being the key skill I’m surprised at how much trickier the game is with the type A ship. …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[DoDonPachi DaiFukkatsu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/dodonpachi-daifukkatsu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/dodonpachi-daifukkatsu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 21 May 2026 02:45:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2008

The fourth main DonPachi game. Gone is the bleak tone of DaiOuJou, replaced with bright and colorful environments, crisp EDM music, and boss vehicles that transform into robotic anime girls. Alongside the tonal shift are some ext…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gundam Side Story 0079 - Rise from the Ashes]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/gundam-side-story-0079-rise-from-the-ashes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/gundam-side-story-0079-rise-from-the-ashes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 20 May 2026 06:20:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[BEC, Dreamcast, 1999

A pretty huge step up from the Saturn trilogy in every way, I think. We get a full-length and substantial campaign that spans a variety of nice-looking plateaus, rolling hills (no more flat Saturn VDP2 terrain), cities, and mil…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Maken X]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/maken-x/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/maken-x/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 13 May 2026 20:36:57 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Atlus R&D1, Dreamcast, 1999

A striking first-person melee action game with Kazuma Kaneko art direction. That’s already plenty unique enough, but on top of that you play as a sentient sword that can hop from body to body. I remember renting this as …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Superlative Night Dreams: Cotton Rock'n'Roll]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/superlative-night-dreams-cotton-rocknroll/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/superlative-night-dreams-cotton-rocknroll/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 13 May 2026 00:46:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Studio Saizensen, Arcade, 2021

Played the Steam version. Pretty cool! A 180 from the original in that magic is incredibly useful now and in fact is almost something to mash out as much as you can. Thankfully despite the modernness, it has a similar…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story III]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mobile-suit-gundam-side-story-iii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mobile-suit-gundam-side-story-iii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 08 May 2026 04:44:33 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[BEC, Saturn, 1997

See [my thoughts on part II](/gamelog/2026/mobile-suit-gundam-side-story-ii/ "‌"). More of the same, of course, with a slight difficulty escalation and a couple more out-there mission concepts. Culminates in a lot of rapid dodge-f…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mobile-suit-gundam-side-story-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mobile-suit-gundam-side-story-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 07 May 2026 04:58:29 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[BEC, Saturn, 1996

The second entry in a trilogy of very brief first-person mech action games on the Saturn. I’ll just dig up what I said about the first game, which I played in 2020:

These are some of the best visual on Saturn, it's kinda wild. I …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Fantastic Night Dreams: Cotton]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/fantastic-night-dreams-cotton/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/fantastic-night-dreams-cotton/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 06 May 2026 23:55:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Success, Arcade, 1991

Pretty great game! Fun theme, cute character designs, great art, catchy music, dense with setpieces. I really like how it’s balanced. It’s relatively easy, but you’ll still have to learn most every step of the way and it’s all…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Crystalis]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/crystalis/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/crystalis/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 03 May 2026 23:02:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SNK, Famicom, 1990. aka GOD SLAYER

On paper this is a pretty well-executed take on Ys from SNK, but unfortunately it just didn’t get any claws into me. Annoying story triggers, sometimes-annoying dungeon design (having to switch swords using that c…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Pragmata]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/pragmata/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/pragmata/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 28 Apr 2026 19:51:47 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2026

An inventive third-person shooter about stranded moon colony worker Hugh teaming up with childlike android Diana in order to find their way through the colony's haywire robots and get back to Earth. The foundation of the game is a …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Guardians: Denjin Makai II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/guardians-denjin-makai-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/guardians-denjin-makai-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 28 Apr 2026 01:53:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Winkysoft, Arcade, 1995

A really cool belt scroller full of stuff. It’s got branching stage selection. It’s got eight characters. It’s got big movelists, meters, all the mobility options, long combo mechanics, and blocking.

…And maybe that’s part …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dynamite Deka]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/dynamite-deka/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/dynamite-deka/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 18 Apr 2026 20:43:18 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM1, Arcade, 1996. aka Die Hard Arcade

The 2026 revisit, years after [my last real try at single-credit clearing the game](/gamelog/2023/dynamite-deka/ "‌").

Everything I said back then still stands. This clear has reinforced the game’s statu…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mirrors]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mirrors/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mirrors/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 15:06:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Soft Studio Wing, NEC PC-8801, 1990

A PC-8801 visual novel that, fascinatingly, uses a CD-ROM despite the computer’s age. A 1990 CD-ROM adventure game for a computer platform that released in 1981 is wild to me, so I played the fan translation that…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6136456816009588f7ef3e26/attachments/61364569ecf22d09412b0ed8/previews/6136456aecf22d09412b0ee4/download/16309466268812686978515299045982.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Death Stranding 2: On the Beach]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/death-stranding-2-on-the-beach/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/death-stranding-2-on-the-beach/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 14 Apr 2026 21:29:57 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Kojima Productions, PC, 2026

Played on “to the wilder” difficulty.

Obviously a lot of overlap with the original. Maybe the most straightforward sequel of any Kojima game. Like in the original it’s fun to simply move around the world partially than…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/69ba120d807e0abca93dd584/attachments/69ba125e3b1cfe540aa872b1/previews/69ba125f3b1cfe540aa872cc/download/hero_capsule_2x.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[R-Type Delta]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/r-type-delta/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/r-type-delta/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 04 Apr 2026 01:23:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Playstation, 1998

‌I was worried after R-Type 3, which I found to be an over-long game with jacked pacing that was really unfun to try to 1CC and still kind of a slog to clear with continues. 

Fortunately, Irem kind of did the impossible her…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/699fc691711e1103cfffc303/attachments/699fc6aa54c0fa34317d8f4a/previews/699fc6ab54c0fa34317d8f67/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tobal No. 1]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/tobal-no-1/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/tobal-no-1/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 19 Mar 2026 01:36:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[DreamFactory, PS1, 1996

Very cool and polished 3D fighting game with a distinct gradient-heavy texture-light look and particularly spectacular animation. The Quest mode is the main draw for me here, mixing a traditional roguelike dungeon crawling e…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5f19e7fc4674ec26446665c5/attachments/65ad48117e6a7c579d96ae90/previews/65ad48117e6a7c579d96aec8/download/e4427282-d8d5-49bb-96e9-88deea816981.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Valusa no Fukushuu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/valusa-no-fukushuu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/valusa-no-fukushuu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 15 Mar 2026 00:02:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Zain Soft, X68000, 1990

A fantasy action-platformer starring a character that looks a bit like Adol. It’s a short and linear one, with no XP to speak of, and the pixel art, boss designs, and music all rule. The core mechanics are just a basic jump …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/61da4bf85134758483ad562e/attachments/694a067110f6edd23b509f77/previews/694a067210f6edd23b509f94/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[WinBack]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/winback/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/winback/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 10 Mar 2026 17:55:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Omega Force, Nintendo 64, 1999

A cool-looking third-person shooter that feels like an idea shot into someone’s brain simply because they saw Solid Snake pressed against a wall in Metal Gear Solid and wanted to be able to make him pop out from that …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5f190654c875223c13d400d8/attachments/69881f5ff9914a07ad9505bb/previews/69881f60f9914a07ad9505d3/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Fantasy Zone]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/fantasy-zone/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/fantasy-zone/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 07 Mar 2026 03:09:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Arcade, 1986

Classic bidirectional shooting game. This was one of the first arcade games I cleared, back in 2007, and I decided to revisit it today. 

Autofire mostly decimates it, but there's still some boss strategy that shines through and …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/69ab87ce2e41cb3deb9e1f27/attachments/69ab965b46dba44a6cae513d/previews/69ab965c46dba44a6cae514e/download/5257a38c-b9fc-4617-a6bf-4097f7609d67.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Splatterhouse]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/splatterhouse/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/splatterhouse/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 07 Mar 2026 03:02:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Namco, Arcade, 1988

A sick action-platformer focused on tight punching  and kicking with just a little dash of platforming. I haven't played a lot of Spartan X yet but I imagine this builds on it. The theme is a complete horror mishmash, but the pi…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/66ce840d63c16936a7254306/attachments/66ce8410fe8c7599c8085413/previews/66ce8411fe8c7599c80855e7/download/abc19a61-1ba9-45c3-8eb1-1aee1dcbc01a.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Resident Evil Requiem]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/resident-evil-requiem/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/resident-evil-requiem/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 05 Mar 2026 03:18:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2026

Reliable as always! Another excellent FPS, though this time Grace’s first-person creepy survival segments are split up with combat-focused third-person Leon segments. It feels like a natural evolution of all the hopping around in V…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/69a7ce3f47fcae01dfd10a99/attachments/69a7ce4434b222b4375407e3/previews/69a7ce4634b222b4375407f8/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Philosoma]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/philosoma/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/philosoma/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 26 Feb 2026 03:25:50 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[G-Artists, Playstation, 1995

A dark sci-fi scrolling shooter that rapidly changes perspective, surely serving as an inspiration for Astebreed. It’s a game full of neat designs and cutscenes, focusing on the spectacle part of the genre above readabi…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/68fad579469ef8c8e93c0a63/attachments/68fad58d0dc7df2cb6c3f06f/previews/68fad58e0dc7df2cb6c3f07e/download/r2_29485164-6bc0-4231-94e0-3ffb3e4e5f76.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ketsui: Kizuna Jigoku Tachi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/ketsui-kizuna-jigoku-tachi/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/ketsui-kizuna-jigoku-tachi/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 23 Feb 2026 17:56:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2003

A long time coming. I originally picked up a Japanese Xbox 360 to play this back in 2010. I put some real time into it, eventually reaching stage 4, but it was kicking my ass too thoroughly and I moved on. 16 years later I’ve com…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6294516009dd17751080bc37/attachments/696a69ccfa9e0184644bf975/previews/696a69ccfa9e0184644bf98e/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Romeo is a Dead Man]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/romeo-is-a-dead-man/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/romeo-is-a-dead-man/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 21 Feb 2026 19:43:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Grasshopper Manufacture, PC, 2026

A sci-fi melee action game mixed with third person shooting, probably closer to a Wanted Dead than it is a Killer is Dead.

Romeo’s foundation is melee slashing, i-frame dodging, and third-person shooting. The slas…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/698d4adbe06c672fee4c322f/attachments/698d4ade72e019a03fad4f14/previews/698d4adf72e019a03fad505c/download/hero_capsule_2x.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mansion of Hidden Souls]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mansion-of-hidden-souls/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mansion-of-hidden-souls/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 09 Feb 2026 20:41:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[System Sacom, Sega Mega-CD, 1993

aka Yumemi Mystery Mansion, Yumemi Yakata no Monogatari

An all-CG FMV first-person adventure game released right after Myst and Gadget where you play as a boy trying to prevent his sister from turning into a butter…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/69881e996c969abc6d7264ab/attachments/69881ea7c6d70b064d1e8bf8/previews/69881ea8c6d70b064d1e8c09/download/c71bad0a-cbdb-4b99-a9d1-dee48e3ad83f.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Lemmings]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/lemmings/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/lemmings/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 08 Feb 2026 01:47:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[DMA Design, MS-DOS, 1991

This is an interesting one. It’s a classic game, one I poked at as a kid but never got far in. I like the concept a lot, and the pixel art is surprisingly charming given how small these dudes are on-screen. I opted with the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Why I'm a Dweeb About Arcade Games]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/posts/why-im-a-dweeb-about-arcade-games/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/posts/why-im-a-dweeb-about-arcade-games/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 06 Feb 2026 20:14:57 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Any look at [my game log](/gamelog/2025/?highlights=true) should make it clear that I’m an arcade game head. I’ve been interested in them for most of my life, but things really kicked into high gear here in the 2020s. It’s a huge part of my time wit…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67eeb3b58202d028a01581b1/attachments/67eeb8ebce295cba33194776/previews/67eeb8ecce295cba3319477e/download/Mikado-Candy-cab.jpg.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shining the Holy Ark]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/shining-the-holy-ark/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/shining-the-holy-ark/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 04 Feb 2026 17:40:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Camelot and Sonic, Sega Saturn, 1996

I’ve said it a [few](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/grandia/ "‌") [times](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/shin-megami-tensei-strange-journey/ "‌") [now](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/like…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6969cbce2a98fc03d011e0b3/attachments/6969cbeedde79f063be093b6/previews/6969cbf0dde79f063be093c5/download/d39918c5-9b50-4912-ade9-ac9b6ef9f733.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Musha Aleste]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/musha-aleste/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/musha-aleste/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 25 Jan 2026 04:37:39 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Compile, Mega Drive, 1990

Took a break from getting my ass kicked by Ketsui and decided to spend a couple hours with this beloved Compile vertizontal STG and see how I felt about it. The only other Compile STG I’ve played through is Guardic Gaiden,…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/69744765d3a62d084890799a/attachments/6974477206efe17e891b10b5/previews/6974477406efe17e891b10c4/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Air Fortress]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/air-fortress/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/air-fortress/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 24 Jan 2026 01:19:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[HAL Laboratories, Famicom, 1987

A very cool and unique sci-fi action game. Stages start with horizontal scrolling shooting sequences to approach the fortress, and then it switches over to jetpack-ish action-platformer mode inside of the base. Durin…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/696a6895f63b250f42f46feb/attachments/696a689c0d4f02af645cd455/previews/696a689d0d4f02af645cd466/download/6be5aa6e-f709-430a-9e8a-cab1a5643a47.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Fight'N Rage]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/fightn-rage/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/fightn-rage/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 19 Jan 2026 21:07:49 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[sebagamesdev, PC, 2017

A belt scrolling action game from 2017. It’s pretty well-executed! Lush and fluid pixel art, great music, and a bunch of satisfying combat mechanics that are laid out elegantly. It’s got the usual genre foundations but you al…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/696a65bb15d044a23b88109c/attachments/696a65bf65069e06daf07f55/previews/696a65bf65069e06daf07f63/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[YAKYUKEN SLUGGER YAMADA]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/yakyuken-slugger-yamada/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/yakyuken-slugger-yamada/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 17 Jan 2026 22:56:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[デジメカ製作所 (Digimecha Manufacturing Co.?), PC, 2023

Wildly creative third-person action game themed around baseball. As you run around the game’s small stages an inning timer ticks away, and every time an inning ends you switch between using shooting …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/693b631d5bfb3889f2c2251e/attachments/693b6357a503548d5301f6be/previews/693b6357a503548d5301f6cc/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Red Dead Redemption II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/red-dead-redemption-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/red-dead-redemption-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 16 Jan 2026 04:05:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Rockstar Games, Playstation 4, 2018

A massive free-roaming action game set in the tail end of the 1800s, serving as a prequel to the 2010 predecessor.

When this first released seven years ago I assumed it wouldn’t be my kind of game. Rockstar’s GT…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Routine]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/routine/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/routine/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 23 Dec 2025 16:17:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Lunar Software, PC, 2025

A first person horror game set on an abandoned lunar base in a chunky 80s-tech world. The environments and technical designs are among the coolest I’ve seen in any first-person game and make the playthrough worth it on thei…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/68a4bba165f139c9f269ea30/attachments/6940ed421b179a877727dfc1/previews/6940ed431b179a877727dfd0/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Majou Densetsu II: Maze of Galious]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/majou-densetsu-ii-maze-of-galious/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/majou-densetsu-ii-maze-of-galious/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 23 Dec 2025 02:49:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, MSX, 1987
aka The Maze of Galious

Tried to dig into this again. The hurdles are high! The esoteric upgrade item placement and core action-platforming isn’t too bad, but I’m mostly floored at the insanely sluggish retry procedure. Losing Pop…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631eabcee94ad4012dc27a28/attachments/631eac4d9fef90231af52c79/previews/631eac4e9fef90231af52d29/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Terminator 2D - No Fate]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/terminator-2d-no-fate/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/terminator-2d-no-fate/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 18 Dec 2025 03:01:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bitmap Bureau, PC, 2025

A very polished action-platformer from the developers of Xenocrisis. This is pretty sick, taking a lot of inspiration from the right places. It’s got that Megadrive-era game length (a bit longer than an arcade game but not t…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6904d3b567c8586716d0570c/attachments/6904d3bf0c035c513ae9f3b6/previews/6904d3c00c035c513ae9f3c5/download/5a7ae00a42d26b22990488aed07047b811c62e9cea404080.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Skate Story]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/skate-story/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/skate-story/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 11 Dec 2025 19:07:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sam Eng, PC, 2025

A game where you play as a skateboarding demon made of glass. I was enamored by the reveal trailer for this years back, and fortunately the final release delivered.

The shape of the game surprised me. There are some substantial s…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/65a0b5f6cfe8fc8b84c70ebe/attachments/693b10871cf7ea5f821194de/previews/693b10881cf7ea5f821194eb/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Metal Garden]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/metal-garden/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/metal-garden/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 05 Dec 2025 05:49:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tinerasoft, PC, 2025

Quick and elegant first person shooter about exploring a vast desaturated alien world. Most of the game is low-gravity jumping through cool structures and landscapes, but there’s some serviceable combat in there as well. Kinda …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/693271035a11131b70832ec3/attachments/693271ef1d2ad77ec0013f51/previews/693271f01d2ad77ec0013f60/download/hero_capsule_2x.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Baby Steps]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/baby-steps/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/baby-steps/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 02 Dec 2025 21:27:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Gabe Cuzzillo, Maxi Boch, Bennett Foddy, PC, 2025

A game about exploring a vast surreal world by controlling your feet. And to be clear, I mean pulling a trigger to lift a foot, using an analog stick to position it, and then releasing the trigger t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Night Striker Gear]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/night-striker-gear/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/night-striker-gear/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 02 Dec 2025 02:18:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[M2, PC, 2025

Sick sequel to the 1989 game directed by none other than Hiroshi Iuchi (of Ikaruga fame). It’s a shorter game, only four stages deep on the branching stage tree, and the stuffy orchestral soundtrack is kinda weak compared to the synth …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Asura the Striker]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/asura-the-striker/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/asura-the-striker/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 30 Nov 2025 02:00:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[LeftOver, PC, 2025

A Space Harrier style game with reasonably modern polygonal visuals. Extremely anime character design that I’m not a huge fan of, but I think the environments, enemies, and music are great. It’s got a very powerful sense of speed…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Night Striker]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/night-striker/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/night-striker/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 29 Nov 2025 15:54:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1989

Night Striker is an insanely cool-looking and cool-sounding Taito rail shooter (as in, Space Harrier style) full of huge scaling sprites and Darius-style stage branching. Weirdly enough I haven’t cleared a lot of arcade games in…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Chronicles of the Wolf]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/chronicles-of-the-wolf/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/chronicles-of-the-wolf/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 28 Nov 2025 18:57:19 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Migami Games, PC, 2025

Wonderful Igavania-style game set in 1700s France. At first glance it feels in lockstep with those Iga games, but the way this game builds up and consistently surprises gives it such a distinct feel. For a surprisingly long s…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Psyvariar 2: The Will to Fabricate]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/psyvariar-2-the-will-to-fabricate/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/psyvariar-2-the-will-to-fabricate/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 27 Nov 2025 02:10:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SKonec, Arcade, 2003

Played for La Calice Cup 11. A Korean-developed Naomi vertical STG, and a follow-up to a couple Success-developed G-NET games I’ve never played.

Probably the weirdest thing in this game is that, while it has a standard shot an…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Neon Inferno]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/neon-inferno/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/neon-inferno/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 23 Nov 2025 21:22:05 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Zenovia Interactive, PC, 2025

Absolutely sick action-platformer from the studio behind [Steel Assault](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/steel-assault/ "‌").

The major standout trait here is that the action-platforming is combined with Wild G…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[TwinBee Yahho!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/twinbee-yahho/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/twinbee-yahho/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 18 Nov 2025 16:02:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1995

Playing the Normal course of the arcade version for Calice Cup 11. Having no prior TwinBee experience I was pretty pumped to get into this despite it being the third and last game in the arcade series. Great character designs, …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Beyond Citadel]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/beyond-citadel/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/beyond-citadel/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 16 Nov 2025 00:24:14 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[doekuramori, PC, 2025

A Japanese first-person shooter I’d been hearing praise for throughout the year. I decided to finally try it despite skipping 2020’s The Citadel.

All of the characters, weapons, and props in the game are “hand-drawn” sprites …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Caput Mortum]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/caput-mortum/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/caput-mortum/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 11 Nov 2025 03:56:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[WildArts Games, PC, 2025

A well-made first-person horror adventure game that makes you interact with everything by using the right thumbstick to move your character’s right hand. This means you’ve got to rotate with shoulder buttons, giving you som…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Earthion]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/earthion/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/earthion/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 10 Nov 2025 03:38:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ancient, Mega Drive, 2025

A new horizontal shooting game designed for Mega Drive hardware. It’s a stunning game technologically, with the kind of pumping music you’d expect from Yuzo Koshiro and setpieces that feel mostly inspired by Thunder Force …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Pilot Kids]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/pilot-kids/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/pilot-kids/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 10 Nov 2025 01:27:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Psikyo, Arcade, 1998

A pretty cool Psikyo horizontal STG released roughly a year after Zero Gunner, making it their second polygonal game in the genre. The visuals are complex and clean (as you’d expect from something running on Model 2), the livin…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[THRASHER]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/thrasher/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/thrasher/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Nov 2025 06:38:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Puddle, PC, 2025

I really enjoyed Thumper. I wish I enjoyed this more.

Thrasher maintains Thumper’s general style of presentation, placing you in vast menacing abstract spaces with slowly-building music. The mechanics are totally new, though: inst…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[J.B. Harold: Blue Chicago Blues]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/jb-harold-blue-chicago-blues/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/jb-harold-blue-chicago-blues/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Nov 2025 04:12:50 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[RiverHillSoft, 1994, Pioneer LaserActive Mega LD

An FMV adventure game for the newly-emulatable Pioneer LaserActive Mega LD. This is my first experience with the platform, and given that it’s basically a Megadrive that can finely seek through and d…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/690940cb85a7ec4cdf0af242/attachments/690940f85337cc65d6ab8e14/previews/690940f95337cc65d6ab8e23/download/2262a02c83aa083e0312fd462714dacf.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rabio Lepus]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/rabio-lepus/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/rabio-lepus/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 05 Nov 2025 19:02:54 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Video System, Arcade, 1987

Future Psikyo director Shin Nakamura’s first game, a horizontal-scrolling shooter with a robo-rabbit theme. This is pretty visually stunning for 1987, and thematically it’s such a goofy mix of cute popcorn enemies, cutsce…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Chouyoku Senki Estique]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/chouyoku-senki-estique/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/chouyoku-senki-estique/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 04 Nov 2025 03:40:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cat Hui Trading, Famicom, 2024

A new Famicom horizontal shooting game released in late 2024. Technologically this game is really marvelous, filling up a Famicom-powered screen in a way I think I haven’t seen since Recca. Backgrounds are gorgeous, t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Singou Breaka]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/singou-breaka/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/singou-breaka/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 04 Nov 2025 00:48:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[NEOタケトンボ, PC, 2025

A fast action puzzle game about sliding traffic lights together. The rules are elegant: 2x1 pieces spawn into the grid and you can slide them along their long axis. Each piece has one side lit up as “STOP” or “GO”, and connecting…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Replicube]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/replicube/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/replicube/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 01 Nov 2025 04:56:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Walaber, PC, 2025

Laser-targeted game to me. It’s a puzzle game about making 3D voxel-based shapes, so there’s inherent overlap in presentation with Jupiter’s 3D Picross games, but instead of solving nonograms you’re writing code that gets executed…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Battlefield 6]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/battlefield-6/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/battlefield-6/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 29 Oct 2025 15:06:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[DICE, PC, 2025

I haven’t played one of these since Battlefield 4 like a decade ago, so after 30-ish hours of playing with friends I don’t feel like I’ve got much to say about the specifics on balance or map design here outside of “seems good”. The …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tetris the Grandmaster 4]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/tetris-the-grandmaster-4/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/tetris-the-grandmaster-4/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 29 Oct 2025 03:49:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Arika, PC, 2025

I feel like I’m an awfully long way from clearing this game’s Master mode, but it’s nice to have a modern TGM release at home. And one with so much stuff in it! It’s easy to picture myself chipping away at this one for years, though…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ninja Gaiden 4]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/ninja-gaiden-4/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/ninja-gaiden-4/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 28 Oct 2025 17:13:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[PlatinumGames/Team Ninja, PC, 2025

I had no clue what to expect with this one. Obviously Ninja Gaiden Black and Ninja Gaiden 2 are two of the best 3D melee action games ever, and games that I like more than any of Platinum’s releases, but given the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rygar: The Legendary Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/rygar-the-legendary-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/rygar-the-legendary-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 19 Oct 2025 04:47:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tecmo, Playstation 2, 2002

Neat 3D melee action game that feels like a natural step toward Ninja Gaiden (despite not having a lot of direct staff overlap) and a very obvious inspiration for God of War. Nice-looking fixed camera angles, long-reachin…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cosmic Smash]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/cosmic-smash/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/cosmic-smash/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 14 Oct 2025 00:50:17 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega Rosso, Arcade, 2000

Dabbled with this game since I was a teenager but made it a point to get all the endings. It’s pretty awesome, mixing some Virtua Tennis/Power Smash racket-swinging with Breakout stages and some sick low-gravity animation. …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Consume Me]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/consume-me/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/consume-me/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 11 Oct 2025 04:14:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, and Ken "coda" Snyder, PC, 2025

A very earnest and polished semi-autobiographical “life sim” where you follow the day to day of a teenager named Jenny as she manages her relationship with food an…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Battle Garegga]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/battle-garegga/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/battle-garegga/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 08 Oct 2025 23:27:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Raizing, Arcade, 1996

Shinobu Yagawa’s star game. A vertical shooter that takes an awful lot of influence from Taito’s Gun Frontier, but with a theme that leans into an overcast future full of scrap metal instead of Gun Frontier’s cosmic wild west.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Silent Hill f]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/silent-hill-f/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/silent-hill-f/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 08 Oct 2025 15:01:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[NeoBards Entertainment, PC, 2025

An engaging horror game with a novel and well-realized 1960s rural Japanese setting. As you’d expect from the name you’ll get extremely moody environments, a beautiful soundtrack, nasty creature designs, lots of fog…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gray Matter]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/gray-matter/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/gray-matter/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 24 Sep 2025 03:14:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Wizarbox, PC, 2010

A point and click adventure game designed and written by Gabriel Knight creator Jane Jensen, seemingly stuck in development hell after being announced in 2003 and passed around multiple development studios but finally making it o…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Red Alert / Last Alert]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/red-alert-last-alert/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/red-alert-last-alert/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 14 Sep 2025 19:57:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Shin-Nihon Laser Soft, PC Engine CD-ROM, 1989

A pretty sick commando-themed top-down omnidirectional shooter. It’s always wild to play a CD-ROM game from this era, since you get a lot of sick-looking full-screen pixel art illustrations (especially …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6135a3edf3647b06bce90330/attachments/6314f0deb4d93900d171c7ab/previews/6314f0dfb4d93900d171c7b7/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Skyblazer/Karura Ou]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/skyblazerkarura-ou/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/skyblazerkarura-ou/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 14 Sep 2025 15:21:19 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ukiyotei Company Ltd, Super Famicom, 1994

A well-made action platformer with a focus on wall sticking/climbing and really short-range bare-handed melee attacks. It’s got a simple world map, lots of cool bosses (barring one), and fun magic attacks t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Drakengard]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/drakengard/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/drakengard/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 10 Sep 2025 18:28:47 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cavia, Playstation 2, 2003

Above all else, after bouncing off of Dynasty Warriors 2/Shin Sangokumusou earlier this year, this game takes that basic concept and builds something genuinely engaging to me on top of it. An interesting cast of character…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Donkey Kong Country]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/donkey-kong-country/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/donkey-kong-country/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 01 Sep 2025 19:54:16 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Rare, Super Nintendo, 1994

A surprisingly tricky game! Mario 3 seems to be the main inspiration here both in the moment-to-moment (big focus on momentum, enemy head bouncing, a run/pickup/throw button, “flow-y” levels) and in terms of the broader s…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/vampire-the-masquerade-bloodlines/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/vampire-the-masquerade-bloodlines/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 31 Aug 2025 15:14:50 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Troika Games, PC, 2004

Played with the now-official “unofficial patch” (without restored content).

If someone had told me it was loosely like Deus Ex I would've played it years ago. Take that baseline and give it an edgy vampire plot, more of a fo…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Majuuou]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/majuuou/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/majuuou/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 21 Aug 2025 05:55:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Eleven Co., Super Famicom, 1995

Small sprite excellence. A really sick action-platformer with a demon-Giger theme.  Everything is bloody and brooding, sprites have somewhat realistic proportions, and the camera is zoomed out to give the action plen…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[South of Midnight]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/south-of-midnight/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/south-of-midnight/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 20 Aug 2025 03:59:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Compulsion Games, PC, 2025

A linear action game with a striking visual style, nice character designs, and a loosely Psychonauts-like narrative in a fantastical southern folklore setting. There’s a small selection of scene archetypes the game too-ri…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Wuchang: Fallen Feathers]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/wuchang-fallen-feathers/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/wuchang-fallen-feathers/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 12 Aug 2025 21:54:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Lenzee Studios, PC, 2025

Reminiscent of Wukong in a lot of ways, but it isn’t hooking me nearly as much as that game did. Got a few hours and a few bosses in before deciding that I just wasn’t in the mood to continue. Might be a revisit down the li…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6665ef5ed02df9d70b3384a5/attachments/688659f4132d99a0995ceda5/previews/688659f5132d99a0995cedaf/download/b58f76e2-7ef3-4383-b983-ed4a8d469383.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Salamander 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/salamander-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/salamander-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 09 Aug 2025 03:00:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1996

‌I really love this game. It's better-balanced than I remember, the setpieces are sick, and what a soundtrack! The option-burning attack is crazy satisfying, and the bosses are more "honest" than anything in the first game. The…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6896aac4182445400998e4af/attachments/6896aaea9589301576f61d91/previews/6896aaec9589301576f61d9d/download/7cc0bf38-7561-47bb-a62e-72a8219b600a.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Salamander]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/salamander/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/salamander/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 09 Aug 2025 02:48:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1986

Dabbled in this a few years back, but with the new collection I revisited and had to get the 1-All. It's a cool divergence from Gradius with how it has in-place respawns and free-spawning power-ups. Sick visuals, great music, a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Salamander III]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/salamander-iii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/salamander-iii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 07 Aug 2025 01:21:10 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[M2, PC, 2025

A well-made successor to Salamander 2 that cranks up the enemy bullets and the raw spectacle of it all, throwing you against wild-looking and creative scenarios at a rapid pace. Salamander 2’s options-as-attacks button has been dropped…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6893fb721e75f5d3b5f06095/attachments/6893fb78c1ff48751af33c9a/previews/6893fb79c1ff48751af33ca4/download/salamander_iii.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Haunted Castle Revisited]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/haunted-castle-revisited/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/haunted-castle-revisited/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 05 Aug 2025 01:22:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[M2, PC, 2024

A shockingly good and loose remake of arcade Akumajou Dracula. Remakes tend to be best when the original game is kind of fucked up, I guess. M2 used the levels and bosses of the original as a loose guide and created prettier and expand…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/68915a41889eb15c00694931/attachments/68915a90a5d4ed406dbc225a/previews/68915a91a5d4ed406dbc2264/download/Haunted_Castle_Revisited_-_01.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Akumajou Dracula]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/akumajou-dracula/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/akumajou-dracula/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 04 Aug 2025 18:19:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1988

An often dunked-on early entry in the series, released between Dracula II/Simon’s Quest and Akumajou Densetsu/Castlevania 3. It’s honestly got great music and some pretty sick art (in that kinda chaotic late-80s Konami way), an…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/657fe02478e4737e3f8f4dd1/attachments/6890f88ef5a1a8dbc168b09e/previews/6890f88ff5a1a8dbc168b0a8/download/e6b5e197-65f3-4ee0-87b8-a1d1390901de.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Altered Beast / Juuouki]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/altered-beast-juuouki/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/altered-beast-juuouki/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 28 Jul 2025 17:21:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega Team Shinobi, Arcade, 1988

The arcade game probably most known in the US for being the origin of the Genesis launch pack-in title. Directed by Makoto Uchida, who would later direct Golden Axe and Dynamite Deka. It’s an action-platformer with a…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/657fe469e8bcd27ef5912d96/attachments/6886bf4771cf301a3d9c90c3/previews/6886bf4871cf301a3d9c90ca/download/altered_beast.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gotzendiener]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/gotzendiener/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/gotzendiener/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 27 Jul 2025 05:10:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Gainax and Studio Alex, PC Engine Super CD-ROM, 1994

A fascinating but flawed isometric action and exploration game. The cutscenes, designs, spritework, and lonely atmosphere are top-notch and I’m glad I played it for these elements alone. The whol…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6854aa0e397a1192cafe4822/attachments/6854aa1139bbad533123014a/previews/6854aa1239bbad5331230154/download/7b2aee43-cdae-4243-8133-5933968380be.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Game Tengoku - The Game Paradise]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/game-tengoku-the-game-paradise/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/game-tengoku-the-game-paradise/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 24 Jul 2025 04:07:26 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jaleco, Arcade, 1995

Pretty cool STG set inside… a game center? Other video games? A development workstation? Fun theme! You’ll fight arcade cabinets, claw game toys, and even Daytona USA cars. Colorful, varied, and way more Psikyo-like than I expe…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/tony-hawks-pro-skater-34/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/tony-hawks-pro-skater-34/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 21 Jul 2025 04:21:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Iron Galaxy, PC, 2025

THPS1+2 was a well-done remake with interesting decisions (like aging the game’s various stages by a few decades) that I only had a few qualms with outside of my usual beef with remakes. THPS3+4 here very seamlessly carries th…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Clockwork Knight]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/clockwork-knight/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/clockwork-knight/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 21 Jul 2025 04:21:29 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Sega Saturn, 1995

A really charming and elegant 2D platformer from near the Saturn’s Japanese launch. Being so early, it’s not too surprising that it represents a late Genesis platformer like Ristar: it’s of course not going to be arcade-tigh…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5f07ffb21d4c5a0f355033f2/attachments/687dbeaf2854287c3fb9e58b/previews/687dbeb32854287c3fb9e595/download/9a979a6a-5edf-43a8-9247-d9a5522afb0c.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Grandia]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/grandia/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/grandia/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 20 Jul 2025 23:58:33 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Game Arts, Sega Saturn, 1997

I played like half of the sequel to this back when it was a new release on Dreamcast and was kicking around the idea of returning to it. Thankfully the Saturn original has a fan translation, so I decided to start there.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rastan Saga]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/rastan-saga/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/rastan-saga/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 14 Jul 2025 00:57:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1988

Circled back to this one for Summer Yolympics 2025 after [playing for a bit a few years ago](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rastan-saga/ "‌"). It was pretty sick to get reacquainted with the unique combination of hefty j…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[R-Type III: The Third Lightning]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/r-type-iii-the-third-lightning/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/r-type-iii-the-third-lightning/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 26 Jun 2025 03:34:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Super Famicom, 1993

This drove me up the wall, man. I didn’t think it would given my arcade clears of R-Type and R-Type Leo, but there’s a lot of annoying shit in here. The gotchas are similar, but the latent difficulty outside of them is tot…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hagane]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/hagane/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/hagane/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 25 Jun 2025 02:08:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[CA Production, Super Famicom, 1994

Really spectacular action-platformer. Like Contra Spirits, this is very arcade-dense. Basically every stage segment is a totally unique scene that often has a distinct mechanical focus, and a no-death playthrough …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Silver Case]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/the-silver-case/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/the-silver-case/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 19 Jun 2025 22:31:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Grasshopper Manufacture, PC, 2016/1999

Early Suda51. A narrative-heavy adventure game with light first-person exploration and puzzle-solving. I played the 2016 remake for the localization, though it does seem to stick reasonably close to the origin…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Contra: Alien no Gyakushuu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/super-contra-alien-no-gyakushuu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/super-contra-alien-no-gyakushuu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 19 Jun 2025 00:25:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1988

Another goofy 3:4 horizontally-scrolling action-platformer like the original Contra. This time the perspective switch is to a more palatable top-down view and you get smart bombs replacing the jump button, which I thought was a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gun Frontier]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/gun-frontier/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/gun-frontier/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 15 Jun 2025 18:10:10 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1991

Landmark STG by the director that would immediately after work on [Metal Black](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/metal-black/ "‌"). The setting here is a sci-fi spin on the wild west and all of the vehicles show an over-th…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67a809df7399b22b9ccdc2cf/attachments/67a809e234421518a1e0e41f/previews/67a809e334421518a1e0e42b/download/58d20338-1f66-4ef6-8b56-08e4fb8f6b4f.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Elden Ring Nightreign]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/elden-ring-nightreign/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/elden-ring-nightreign/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 10 Jun 2025 01:39:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[From Software, PC, 2025

A weird one. Prior to release there was a lot of gun-jumping about what the game was even going to be, but ultimately it’s a roughly arcade-style game (“runs-based”, I suspect people are starting to say) built on top of Elde…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sonic Wings Reunion]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/sonic-wings-reunion/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/sonic-wings-reunion/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 29 May 2025 16:40:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Success, PC, 2025

I was rooting for this one, but unfortunately I can’t recommend it. The visuals are rough, the stage designs are bland, there aren’t any unique core mechanics beyond being able to essentially select two types of smartbomb, and the…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6707ef63eb5d00cd52901ef4/attachments/68158f70359fc5cd17b3fb12/previews/68158f71359fc5cd17b3fb1c/download/b327cf46b2afcf649850ff8afa61bfcb147da84c0bdf23a2.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Doom: The Dark Ages]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/doom-the-dark-ages/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/doom-the-dark-ages/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 27 May 2025 15:46:28 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[id Software, PC, 2025

I’m a pretty big fan of these nu-Doom games. Back in 2016 the first game was such a breath of fresh air. For decades I’d been dying to see FPSes experiment with mechanics that were outside of the 90s Texas genre lineage and he…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/68158f87e90b0f8d5979d0a3/attachments/68158fa49f1aaa2ca0924c7e/previews/68158fa69f1aaa2ca0924c88/download/1893e77387eec1591406d71c98f8d4074b7c32664c3bf5af.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ninja Hayate]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/ninja-hayate/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/ninja-hayate/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 18 May 2025 00:24:22 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1984

Never played an arcade LaserDisc game, figured these re-releases would be a good time to try one out. A lot of people understandably find the concept of these Dragon’s Lair style games to be silly, but I figured they might be pr…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/680a49c67b226ae5147787bb/attachments/680a4caf1d5acf73a132a5ba/previews/680a4cb01d5acf73a132aea8/download/library_600x900_2x.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[R-Type]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/r-type/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/r-type/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 16 May 2025 01:56:14 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Arcade, 1987

The space horror STG classic. I’ve been picking at this game for most of my life. I never really tried it until hearing about it as a teenager and checking it out in MAME, but it immediately became a go-to test ROM for any machin…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5511aba3f13892a3608c45b9/attachments/6329c621e2e52c01a2da5f9d/previews/6329c622e2e52c01a2da5fa9/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Stuntman]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/stuntman/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/stuntman/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 14 May 2025 04:09:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Reflections Interactive, Playstation 2, 2002

Such a sick idea. Every mission in the campaign is a course you drive through while trying to accomplish various stunts highlighted in-world and barked at you via radio. These scenes are grouped up by fi…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/62312458155ed44c7f2f46fd/attachments/68240ae3fea850f18a346a91/previews/68240ae4fea850f18a346a9b/download/50d53816-8e69-423e-bbb0-dd90caa985f8.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Espgaluda II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/espgaluda-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/espgaluda-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 09 May 2025 02:15:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2005

After wrapping up Calice Cup I returned to this for the first time since around 2021 and put time into it to get the clear. It’s a heavy one.

The original Esgaluda’s major standout mechanic is “Kakusei” mode, where you can press…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6121e266c6a0bf720e369a58/attachments/61fcc208b3d7b97d3d2186a7/previews/61fcc209b3d7b97d3d21891b/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Skin Deep]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/skin-deep/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/skin-deep/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 07 May 2025 03:42:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Blendo Games, PC, 2025

A well-made System Shock style first-person action game that, kind of like 2023’s [Blood West](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/blood-west/ "‌"), shakes up the usual structure a bit. Instead of using an open world or a …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/681acd110bacdee6982fd6cb/attachments/681ace64a6f4283c7ed0ee38/previews/681ace65a6f4283c7ed0ee3f/download/61e267565d12c4499e4ed19771e42360c7585d2c559e2fc85a19246350a25f98.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Armed Police Unit Gallop]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/armed-police-unit-gallop/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/armed-police-unit-gallop/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 25 Apr 2025 04:03:32 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Arcade, 1991

Super unique horizontal shooter where your ship’s positioning affects the stage scroll speed and you have a cooldown-based instant omnidirectional laser button (alongside the genre-standard shot + missile combo). It’s very lean, …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67ce545d19d62f45f8c16df3/attachments/67ce585518496068ebb34d81/previews/67ce585718496068ebb34d8d/download/fd76693a-af89-4264-b1d2-2678afe9b492.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/shin-megami-tensei-strange-journey/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/shin-megami-tensei-strange-journey/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 24 Apr 2025 15:18:39 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Atlus, Nintendo DS, 2010

I’ve said it a million times by now, but I’m not a big JRPG guy. I almost always get sick of the combat way before the game wraps up. I wish this wasn’t the case! There are so many games in the genre with an appealing sense…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hang-On]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/hang-on/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/hang-on/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 15 Apr 2025 17:37:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM2, Arcade, 1985

Goofy to play this after the 1987 sequel, but that's what Calice Cup called for. I heard the course I spent so long clearing in the sequel is the same layout as this first game’s lone course so I decided to go for it while it…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67fe976e6b9b71960a599c9f/attachments/67fe977412ab595a044f4473/previews/67fe977612ab595a044f4481/download/hangon.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Hang-On]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/super-hang-on/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/super-hang-on/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 15 Apr 2025 00:40:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM2, Arcade, 1987

Masterpiece. I’m not the biggest racing game guy but I absolutely could not put this down. The sense of speed is magical, the environments are gorgeous (and transition so smoothly), the boost mechanic is insanely satisfying, …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Slap Fight]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/slap-fight/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/slap-fight/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 10 Apr 2025 00:27:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Toaplan, Arcade, 1986

An interesting post-Gradius vertical STG. You’ll see the Gradius power-up meter, but it’s got fewer strict upgrades and more mutually-exclusive weapons to toy with. Designs are very boxy 80s but more appealing than Xevious. En…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67ce55b2cf79775accebd508/attachments/67e5928d961e8b8430bf32e9/previews/67e5928f961e8b8430bf32f6/download/6f46cc85-85e8-44ff-8641-e67863cde3f7.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Spacefortress Macross]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/super-spacefortress-macross/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/super-spacefortress-macross/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 09 Apr 2025 16:58:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[NMK, Arcade, 1992

A relatively breezy but super cool-looking vertical shooter. I don’t know anything about the license here, but the mech designs are sick and I particularly like how your whole sprite changes up depending on what weapon you’ve pick…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67ce56177c991c0310a42582/attachments/67ce5f8c420ad89eec9085b0/previews/67ce5f8d420ad89eec9085be/download/7759714a-3074-459e-81a1-58258af11fdd.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Secret Agent]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/secret-agent/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/secret-agent/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 05 Apr 2025 04:49:39 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Data East, Arcade, 1989

Goofy Data East action-platformer. It looks like Rolling Thunder at first glance, but you’ve got a big ol health bar and enemies tend to take a lot of shots to kill. There’s some charm here, but there’s also a stage 2 that d…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/657fd561c286536a44fd04e4/attachments/657fd7b18b71db31b1def3a3/previews/657fd7b38b71db31b1def6e6/download/037c4287-fe54-43ea-8700-010036ffeb57.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cambria Sword: Another Cry]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/cambria-sword-another-cry/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/cambria-sword-another-cry/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 30 Mar 2025 05:18:33 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Vagues Games, Arcade, 2025

A new arcade adaptation of/sequel to a ~3 hour long doujin STG from 2017. I hadn’t really played the original, but I’m completely blown away by this. It’s a massive game that reminds me of G-Darius in terms of its branchi…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67ca19c4be763d6a2047b954/attachments/67ca1a5b3ec56c3050395dc0/previews/67ca1a5c3ec56c3050395dcc/download/cambria-sword-ac-header-web.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Kamiwaza - Way of the Thief]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/kamiwaza-way-of-the-thief/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/kamiwaza-way-of-the-thief/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 20 Mar 2025 05:22:50 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Acquire, Playstation 2, 2006

I really love Shinobido Imashime, Acquire’s Tenchu successor where you select missions from three warring factions through a highly dynamic campaign. Shinobido isn’t the most polished or focused game, but I couldn’t put…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67ca1b11f3c6abb29a4a5f25/attachments/67ca1b1acfbb76aeb2b20336/previews/67ca1b1bcfbb76aeb2b2033d/download/e2791a44-8802-4f95-b3a0-21b89883bd02.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Monster Hunter Wilds]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/monster-hunter-wilds/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/monster-hunter-wilds/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 16 Mar 2025 00:55:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2025

I’ve been playing these games pretty casually since 3U and enjoyed each one, with this being no exception. Don’t really mind the lack of monster  tracking, I think the blurring of the lines between being in a village and being in a…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67ca1ba8feb4a4801ed25ed9/attachments/67ca1bab4fb7c4b64afe7121/previews/67ca1bad4fb7c4b64afe7f16/download/9b982960-12ab-4af0-b2ef-b91e97ad7a57.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Zombie Revenge]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/zombie-revenge/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/zombie-revenge/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Mar 2025 05:48:26 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM1, Arcade, 1999

Another crazy inventive arcade game from AM1, just a little over half a year after [Dynamite Deka 2](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dynamite-deka-2/ "‌"). Where Deka 2 feels like a game making questionable compromises…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/kunitsu-gami-path-of-the-goddess/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/kunitsu-gami-path-of-the-goddess/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 24 Feb 2025 15:51:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2024

I wasn’t sure how much I’d like this when I heard it described with the phrase “tower defense”, but I wound up really enjoying it. The basic premise is that you’re guiding an ever-dancing goddess along a path, setting up defenses b…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6732ea0f95fb72acec56ebce/attachments/6732ea2a4230a8b07449fd8a/previews/6732ea2c4230a8b07449fece/download/3628f2599138c53445c9e731ed34c75f037f40c39ea1a0e9.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Fatal Frame II - Crimson Butterfly]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/fatal-frame-ii-crimson-butterfly/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/fatal-frame-ii-crimson-butterfly/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 21 Feb 2025 23:39:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tecmo, Playstation 2, 2003

It’s been a long time since I’ve played the first Fatal Frame, but I remember liking it and this seems like everything you’d expect for a sequel. A darker tone, a somewhat longer runtime, slightly beefier mechanics, and a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tiny Bullets]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/tiny-bullets/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/tiny-bullets/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 13 Feb 2025 23:40:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Contrail, Playstation, 2000

I was interested in this because it looked like a Japanese 3D action platforming game that took some core mechanics from Tomb Raider. 3D platforming and ledge grabbing with tank controls. And early on it delivers on that…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shin Sangokumusou / Dynasty Warriors 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/shin-sangokumusou-dynasty-warriors-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/shin-sangokumusou-dynasty-warriors-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 13 Feb 2025 04:34:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Omega Force, Playstation 2, 2000

I'm told this isn't the best intro to the series and I see why. The actual combat here is kinda neat, with directional blocking and guard reversals and attack strings that have distinct uses, but I can't really get …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Devil Blade Reboot]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/devil-blade-reboot/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/devil-blade-reboot/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 13 Feb 2025 03:23:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SHIGATAKE GAMES, PC, 2024

Another arcade-tuned modern PC 2D shooter, this time a very loose remake of a Dezaemon Plus game the solo developer (an artist at Vanillaware these days) made back on Playstation. Hard mode seems like the baseline it was d…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6732eabf20fa1d18ffcbed7c/attachments/6732eac1bb79084e79e70f31/previews/6732eac2bb79084e79e71829/download/bff71eb5-3861-4c4d-8a69-6b209b94144d.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Blue Revolver Double Action]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/blue-revolver-double-action/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/blue-revolver-double-action/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Feb 2025 19:24:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Stellar Circle, PC, 2024

Long-awaited revision to the highly-regarded and arcade-designed 2016 PC shooting game. Like Mushihimesama, this has three selectable difficulty courses presented as part of the standard credit flow. I hadn’t played any of …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6754dc1445c1bb875ae922b9/attachments/6754e036a8d5bf4cb3732797/previews/6754e037a8d5bf4cb373279f/download/GcXdB7YbwAAVX8X.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Strikers 1999]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/strikers-1999/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/strikers-1999/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 02 Feb 2025 23:25:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Psikyo, Arcade, 1999

Fantastic, as expected from this trilogy. 1999 here is of course very much in line with the first two games (which I talked about [here](/gamelog/2024/strikers-1945/ "‌") and [here](/gamelog/2024/strikers-1945-ii/ "‌")), only n…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/65482ad114b2f0f6b00101b1/attachments/654831bd81832e38670f26e0/previews/654831be81832e38670f27a3/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Lorelei and the Laser Eyes]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/lorelei-and-the-laser-eyes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/lorelei-and-the-laser-eyes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 02 Feb 2025 03:12:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Simogo, PC, 2024

A puzzle-focused adventure game where you unravel a mystery in a surreal old hotel. Coming from the Sayonara Wild Hearts studio the presentation is absolutely killer, but this is a more demanding adventure game than Sayonara Wild H…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Go There]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/go-there/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/go-there/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 23 Jan 2025 01:06:59 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[いくちおすてご, PC, 2023

Cool little boss rush. Great visuals. The basic playthrough is a very quick tour up a mountain with really cool ancient dragon designs. There’s a post-game here that I’m unfortunately not that thrilled to see through, as I’m not t…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/667e2f4c774356fdbcf219b6/attachments/66e4e133a1bdce620416356d/previews/66e4e133a1bdce6204163578/download/library_600x900.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mean Streets]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/mean-streets/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/mean-streets/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 21 Jan 2025 03:58:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Access Software, MS-DOS, 1989

The adventure game that started the Tex Murphy series. This actually ruled. I was worried it would be cruel and stuffy and arcane, but it’s infinitely kinder than the 80s Sierra adventure games I’ve tried.

The main in…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Overblood 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/overblood-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/overblood-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 18 Jan 2025 19:05:21 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Riverhillsoft, Playstation, 1998

A huge, lumbering, and ridiculously ambitious PS1 game with only the loosest ties to its predecessor. It’s a two-disc epic full of clunky 3D action-platforming, minigame sequences, light adventure game elements, pre…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6629b4864f3de0867118b152/attachments/6629b4a52b2e83b056de0539/previews/6629b4a62b2e83b056de06e3/download/e286ceff-a2ce-4c1f-b52c-1af2e1aea027.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Jewel Master]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/jewel-master/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/jewel-master/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 08 Jan 2025 18:57:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Mega Drive, 1991

This is another one of those early Mega Drive action games that basically serves as an arcade game due to its structure, its short length, and its strictly-limited continues. It reminds me a bit of Mega Drive ESWAT, Shadow Da…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6560ddaf370f0dbec61a415e/attachments/6560ddb335e5414e13720fa8/previews/6560ddb535e5414e137210d6/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Final Fight]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/final-fight/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/final-fight/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 01 Jan 2025 17:02:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Arcade, 1989

It’s so hard to believe that this was Capcom’s first take on belt-scrolling action. Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-kun basically established the genre 3.5 years prior, but even looking at other 1989 games Final Fight leaves them in the d…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/657fc6d1807302c2f04d5164/attachments/657fc71d9c3009ec0fedfb44/previews/657fc71e9c3009ec0fedfd54/download/e7bd59f2-eedd-4b5b-b4e7-d8a2dc10cb80-1.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Indiana Jones and the Great Circle]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/indiana-jones-and-the-great-circle/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/indiana-jones-and-the-great-circle/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 20 Dec 2024 22:54:23 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[MachineGames, PC, 2024

MachineGames is back. I didn’t really like The New Colossus and skipped Youngblood, so I’m glad that this game clicked with me.

Indiana Jones, as a setting, winds up being a good fit for the studio that spun off from Escape …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sol Cresta]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sol-cresta/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sol-cresta/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 25 Nov 2024 17:52:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[PlatinumGames and Hamster, PC, 2021

I really wish I enjoyed this more. I think there's a lot of mechanical creativity here, but it's also convoluted (the special input directional shots, the way you have a dodge at 1hp but not other times, etc), ha…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super H.Q. Criminal Chaser]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/super-hq-criminal-chaser/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/super-hq-criminal-chaser/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 24 Nov 2024 06:30:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Super Famicom, 1993

A console-exclusive entry in the Chase H.Q. series. The only other game I’ve played in this little subgenre is [Special Criminal Investigation](/gamelog/2022/special-criminal-investigation/ "‌"), which rules, but this is …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/672197c3e9046ff244943e8f/attachments/672197cd6b6f171755ea1b7f/previews/672197d06b6f171755ea1b8d/download/a889ddfe-2020-4697-9583-14813753d8ff.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Slitterhead]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/slitterhead/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/slitterhead/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 22 Nov 2024 18:59:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bokeh Studios, PC, 2024

A horror-themed action game set in 90s Kowloon where you play as a spirit that hops between bodies to take down big gory monsters. It’s a lot to explain, pieced together from a lot of relatively unique elements, and I don’t …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/672fe20c45b0856201459982/attachments/672fe20f1a89c7dd150877e6/previews/672fe2111a89c7dd1508790e/download/17852e62122e551d9f37078938d2878cb9a569b5ccc0f727.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[1000xResist]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/1000xresist/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/1000xresist/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 13 Nov 2024 22:17:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[sunset visitor, PC, 2024

A pretty dense and sweeping sci-fi visual novel. The premise here is pretty unique and confidently told, and it’s impressive how frequently the presentation is uprooted in service of the narrative. It reminds me of Fata Mor…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Earth Defense Force 6]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/earth-defense-force-6/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/earth-defense-force-6/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 13 Nov 2024 22:17:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sandlot, PC, 2024

Been a minute since I’ve played one of these but the appeal from EDF2 is still there. It’s still satisfying to blow up buildings and swathes of ants, but the enemy and scenario variety here is thankfully closer to EDF2 than EDF3. …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Black Myth Wukong]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/black-myth-wukong/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/black-myth-wukong/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Nov 2024 02:30:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Game Science, PC, 2024

Incredible melee action game. It’s a little bit like Sekiro as a starting point, but with a slightly more focused and linear world structure. Combat is fast, aggressive, and full of hugely satisfying slams once you unlock the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gemini Wing]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gemini-wing/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gemini-wing/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 28 Oct 2024 02:51:23 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tecmo, Arcade, 1987

An incredibly inventive and forward-thinking vertical STG. Initially it feels like a Hishouzame-style game with slow movement and a harsh player bullet limit, but the major standout mechanic comes from using the B button to fire…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/66d0f0e92988652c2fb09f71/attachments/66d0f21622fa1f238a0ba5e9/previews/66d0f21722fa1f238a0ba5f5/download/5bec38c1-a458-4b44-ac0a-8c319ac71e5c.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[JJ Squawkers]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/jj-squawkers/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/jj-squawkers/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 20 Oct 2024 01:03:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Athena, Arcade, 1993

A bright action-platformer with lush visuals and classic cartoon designs. The difficulty curve is pretty uneven and none of the weapons feel very good to use, so I was frustrated at the start, but I got into it once I started r…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Aurail]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/aurail/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/aurail/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 20 Oct 2024 00:14:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Westone, Arcade, 1990

Sega must’ve sent this one out to die. There’s seemingly no promotional material for it, no snazzy flyer, and I never once heard anybody talk about it prior to Jotego’s System 16 MiSTer core release.

A shame, because it’s pre…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[ESP Ra.De.]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/esp-rade/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/esp-rade/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 15 Oct 2024 03:40:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 1998

Calice Cup 9, put some time into this to get another 1CC. I still mostly stand by [my 2021 impressions](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/esp-rade/ "‌") (and it’s still probably my least favorite mainline Cave shooter) but t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Legend of Zelda - Echoes of Wisdom]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-legend-of-zelda-echoes-of-wisdom/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-legend-of-zelda-echoes-of-wisdom/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 13 Oct 2024 04:45:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo, Switch, 2024

A new Zelda game using the visual style and perspective of the well-made 2019 remake of Link’s Awakening. You play as Princess Zelda in the role of a mage that can summon monsters and force-beam things around. Any kind of dir…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/66e4e09e8079f7005f81f0d8/attachments/66e4e0dba7b2e145fd0277a1/previews/66e4e0dca7b2e145fd0278bb/download/legend-of-zelda-echoes-of-wisdom-cover.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[R-Type Leo]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/r-type-leo/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/r-type-leo/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 09 Oct 2024 03:35:14 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nanao, Arcade, 1992

Very cool game. A Nanao-developed original shooter that was reworked mid-development into an R-Type game. This explains the big mechanical differences, but there’s still a good amount of overlap with the legendary series. Scroll…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/66d0f3107c4b9527e8133eb1/attachments/66d0f377049fab4c008c42b1/previews/66d0f378049fab4c008c477a/download/cde4af24-5e29-4a88-8b9c-a3af74059017.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[UFO 50]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/ufo-50/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/ufo-50/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 03 Oct 2024 17:46:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Mossmouth, PC, 2024

A new alternate-history collection of fifty 1980s games made for a fictional company’s gaming machine. Each title is accessible from the get-go, and the games run a pretty wide gamut: single-player games, (local) versus games, t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The King of Dragons]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-king-of-dragons/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-king-of-dragons/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 29 Sep 2024 15:40:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Arcade, 1991

1CC'd with the Wizard.

A belt scroller released a couple years after Final Fight with a very D&D fantasy setting (only missing the license) and combat that strips the core mechanics down to a very raw level. The game uses two …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Crimson Diamond]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-crimson-diamond/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-crimson-diamond/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 21 Sep 2024 04:02:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Julia Minamata, PC, 2024

A new EGA-looking text-parsing adventure game centered about geology and murder in a 1910s Ontario ghost town, clearly inspired by The Colonel’s Bequest.

I had a really nice time with this. The setting, the environmentalis…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shadow of the Ninja - Reborn]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shadow-of-the-ninja-reborn/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shadow-of-the-ninja-reborn/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 06 Sep 2024 01:43:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tengo Project, PC, 2024

Can’t believe how much I liked this. Of all the Tengo Project games this is the biggest departure from the original. Level designs loosely follow old concepts, but the core mechanics, enemy designs, and visuals are radically…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Urban Reign]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/urban-reign/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/urban-reign/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 02 Sep 2024 15:53:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Namco Hometek, Playstation 2, 2005

Super unique melee action. This, Beat Down, and Final Fight: Streetwise have always been a blur in my head since they were all thematically similar and released at the same time, and this is the first of the three…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Strider Hiryu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/strider-hiryu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/strider-hiryu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 26 Aug 2024 01:04:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Arcade, 1989

A shockingly dense and messy action-platformer. Even by arcade standards it’s pretty terse (something like 18-ish minutes), and every moment is unique. It’s a super-fast series of inventive setpieces full of cool enemies and tr…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Zelda II: The Adventure of Link]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/zelda-ii-the-adventure-of-link/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/zelda-ii-the-adventure-of-link/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 19 Aug 2024 16:06:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo, NES and Famicom Disk System, 1988

Played the NES version, but I like the JP FDS box more.

The broad structure of the game is fascinating. I dabbled with this a little bit growing up so I knew it was a mixture of a world map and side-view…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Samurai Jack - Battle Through Time]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/samurai-jack-battle-through-time/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/samurai-jack-battle-through-time/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 16 Aug 2024 03:15:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Soleil, PC, 2020

A 3D melee action game with a pretty restrained scope. It feels like it had a tight budget, but there’s real Ninja Gaiden 2004 lineage here. I wasn’t looking for a huge commitment right now so I played through this on Normal, and u…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Strikers 1945 II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/strikers-1945-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/strikers-1945-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 15 Aug 2024 06:07:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Psikyo, Arcade, 1997

Played about as much of this as the first Strikers 1945, and it’s a pretty impressive step up from an already great game. Cooler plane variety, a new charge meter that limits the charge attacks but makes them faster to fire, an…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Volgarr the Viking]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/volgarr-the-viking/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/volgarr-the-viking/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 09 Aug 2024 16:00:32 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Crazy Viking Studios, PC, 2013

I really enjoyed my normal playthrough of this in 2013. It’s a tight, varied game with some well-paced high-tension checkpoints and fun core mechanics. I knew the game had a better ending involving an entirely  differ…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shiren-the-wanderer-the-mystery-dungeon-of-serpentcoil-island/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shiren-the-wanderer-the-mystery-dungeon-of-serpentcoil-island/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 29 Jul 2024 05:03:26 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Spike Chunsoft, Nintendo Switch, 2024

This is my third Shiren game, after playing the fifth back on the Vita and then later playing the fan translation of the second on the Nintendo 64. I appreciate Serpentcoil’s shift in approach from 5, giving yo…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shinobi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shinobi/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shinobi/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 27 Jul 2024 15:29:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Arcade, 1987

I’ve played through most every home-original Shinobi game but decided I’d finally learn and 1CC the arcade original. It’s a pretty clear response to Rolling Thunder (a game I’ve only dabbled in), but there’s plenty of thematic an…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Contra: Operation Galuga]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/contra-operation-galuga/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/contra-operation-galuga/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 25 Jul 2024 18:39:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[WayForward, PC, 2024

WayForward’s second stab at the series. Being a modern HD game it doesn’t have two of Contra 4’s foundational issues: it’s not super claustrophobic (being widescreen instead of essentially 9:16), and it doesn’t have a super-biz…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dragon's Dogma 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/dragons-dogma-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/dragons-dogma-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 25 Jul 2024 18:39:39 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2024

Capcom’s second massive free-roaming fantasy action game feels like a beefier version of the original in an awful lot of ways, but it’s been a while since I played that first entry and I never wound up trying the expansion. The wor…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Helldivers II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/helldivers-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/helldivers-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 25 Jul 2024 18:39:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Arrowhead Game Studios, PC, 2024

A co-op third-person shooter about killing hordes of bugs and robots. Normally I’m not into horde-based games like this, but this has a lot of things going for it. The Starship Troopers theme is extremely well-execu…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gunforce]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gunforce/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gunforce/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 20 Jul 2024 21:54:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Arcade, 1991

A clear step on the road to Metal Slug, made by some Irem members that would go on to form Nazca. While there’s nothing too standout going on here, everything is snappy and breezy to learn, the presentation is sick, and the vehic…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Border Down]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/border-down/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/border-down/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 12 Jul 2024 00:09:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[G.Rev, Arcade, 2003

I’ve single-credit cleared another Naomi classic. I barely touched this back on release, but I put some time into it in 2022 and it’s been great to come back to.

Now that I’ve played through Metal Black, it seems like the clear…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Strikers 1945]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/strikers-1945/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/strikers-1945/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 10 Jul 2024 16:14:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Psikyo, Arcade, 1995

Psikyo’s classic vertical STG. I picked up a Strikers 1999 board and figured I’d put a little bit of time into the first two games before digging in, so I spent around 10-12 hours with this one. I know I’m skipping Gunbird here…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Boomerang X]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/boomerang-x/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/boomerang-x/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 09 Jul 2024 02:46:54 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[DANG!, PC, 2021

A neat first person action game about throwing and then launching yourself toward a boomerang. There’s a lot of slow motion, a lot of yanking yourself around these big arenas at high speeds, and a lot of lining up specific shots to …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[OverBlood]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/overblood/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/overblood/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 08 Jul 2024 06:09:23 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Riverhillsoft, Playstation, 1997

Was surprised by the pacing of this. It's a pretty slow adventure game set in a lot of bright, sterile sci-fi halls, but I was surprised at how effective the writing and small dashes of dashes of action were. It fee…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Case of the Golden Idol]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-case-of-the-golden-idol/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-case-of-the-golden-idol/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 04 Jul 2024 02:14:26 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Color Gray Games, PC, 2022

An excellent detective game in which you review a scene and piece together what happened by arranging words on a “thinking” sheet of text and visuals. It doesn’t sound like much, but the scenes are cleverly laid out, the …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ninja Kamui]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/ninja-kamui/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/ninja-kamui/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 01 Jul 2024 03:30:49 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[G.Rev, Nintendo Switch, 2024

G.Rev’s latest, an action-platformer based on an anime I’d never heard of. The movement and combo mechanics make me think of the action scenes in Sakuna a little bit, but it’s a focused six stages and it’s peppered with…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/elden-ring-shadow-of-the-erdtree/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/elden-ring-shadow-of-the-erdtree/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 30 Jun 2024 16:36:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[FromSoftware, PC, 2024

What an expansion. What a game. The entirety of the expansion takes place on a new “Shadow Realm” world map. The Shadow Realm is only accessible once you’re pretty deep into the base game, so leveling up through runes doesn’t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shinrei Jusatsushi Taromaru]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shinrei-jusatsushi-taromaru/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shinrei-jusatsushi-taromaru/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 29 Jun 2024 02:49:50 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Time Warner Interactive, Sega Saturn, 1997

A wild Edo-era action-platformer with a dark, violent tone. The presentation here is really spectacular. It’s full of a lot of no-nonsense realistically-proportioned pixel art characters (think Clock Tower…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5520dc2f475e3d1d6574d124/attachments/657884c44cce054231739dc0/previews/657884c54cce054231739ec2/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Pulseman]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/pulseman/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/pulseman/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 25 Jun 2024 01:29:17 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Game Freak, Mega Drive, 1994

Pretty cool to try some pre-Pokemon Game Freak. Pulseman has a lot of the same spirit as Gunstar Heroes and a lot of similar character designs, but it feels a bit more stretched thin. There are some legit spectacular sc…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Magical Quest starring Mickey Mouse]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-magical-quest-starring-mickey-mouse/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-magical-quest-starring-mickey-mouse/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 20 Jun 2024 17:24:59 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Super Famicom, 1992

A polished, cute, and focused action-platformer where you play as Mickey as he gains new abilities (and thus entirely new outfits and animations) through the stages. There’s a lot of care here. It plays well to the hardw…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Alpha Protocol]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/alpha-protocol/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/alpha-protocol/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 19 Jun 2024 04:28:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Obsidian, PC, 2010

Lots of potential with the dialogue system and the way the campaign is designed around your choices. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get into the actual missions part. Lots of corner peeking as you either wait to sneak or wait to shoot…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Contra 4]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/contra-4/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/contra-4/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 18 Jun 2024 03:50:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Wayforward, Nintendo DS, 2007

Weird game. Weird pacing. Lots of very obnoxious immediate ankle shots. Screen ratio is fucked, sprites are huge, everything is claustrophobic… and that’s before we get to the physical screen gap. By treating the space…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gargoyle's Quest II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gargoyles-quest-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gargoyles-quest-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 11 Jun 2024 02:02:05 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Famicom, 1992

aka Red Arremer II

Better than the Game Boy game, but it still kinda runs at less than full speed the whole way through and I think the quest stuff wore thin too early this time around. The stage variety isn’t all that strong…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mushihimesama - Maniac]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/mushihimesama-maniac/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/mushihimesama-maniac/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Jun 2024 02:51:49 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2004

I cleared Original mode in 2015-ish, back when the Steam release dropped. I decided to go back and get the Maniac clear some nine years later and what a game! The time away helped the aesthetics feel completely fresh, and the Man…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Subnautica]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/subnautica/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/subnautica/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 31 May 2024 01:29:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Unknown Worlds, PC, 2016

An incredible game about exploring a vast alien ocean after surviving a spaceship crash. I was worried that I wouldn’t get into a something built around survival and crafting mechanics, but I’m glad I gave it a shot. It’s a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Crow Country]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/crow-country/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/crow-country/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 13 May 2024 15:37:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SBF Games, PC, 2024

Like Signalis, this is a great modern isometric take on classic Biohazard. Where Biohazard has its mansion and Signalis has its sci-fi facilities, Crow Country has its titular abandoned theme park.

The visuals are immediately s…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Viewtiful Joe]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/viewtiful-joe/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/viewtiful-joe/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 11 May 2024 01:15:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, GameCube, 2003

Kamiya’s third director credit. An action game with a similar structure to Devil May Cry. The presentation is bold and unique, with a cute tokusatsu film reel theme that leans hard into cel shading and pitch black shadows. St…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Children of the Sun]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/children-of-the-sun/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/children-of-the-sun/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 07 May 2024 01:45:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[René Rother, PC, 2024

A unique puzzle game about killing a bunch of cultists with one bullet. The game builds up rules around how the bullet can be controlled, and the stage complexity ramps up pretty well up to a solid and satisfying final stage. …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[War of Aero]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/war-of-aero/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/war-of-aero/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 05 May 2024 23:39:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Allumer, Arcade, 1993

look at this flyer lmao. Just flagrantly bootlegging Image Fight’s art. And the game is an Image Fight clone, but I suspect that Image Fight is much cooler. There’s an initial appeal to this, and there are some very neat touch…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Muchi Muchi Pork!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/muchi-muchi-pork/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/muchi-muchi-pork/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 30 Apr 2024 17:18:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2007

La Calice Cup 8 gave me a great reason to return to this. It’s been a little over 12 years since I cleared the Xbox 360 port’s easier “1.01” mode with Rafute. This time we’re playing the arcade original and I decided to shoot for…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Libros de Chilam Balam]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/libros-de-chilam-balam/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/libros-de-chilam-balam/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 29 Apr 2024 03:04:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Right Stuff, NEC PC-9801, 1992

The incredibly sick cover art got me interested. The opening was cool. And then… it was a traditional JRPG. A snappy enough one, but I didn’t like the characters and the towns/environments were pretty samey. I had to …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gadget: Invention, Travel, & Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gadget-invention-travel-and-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gadget-invention-travel-and-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 23 Apr 2024 01:40:10 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Synergy Inc, Macintosh, 1993

A Japanese CD-ROM adventure game released around a month after Myst. It’s got a similar early CG look and feel, but the environments are way more linear and there is, no joke, only a single puzzle in here. A comically h…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Baldur's Gate 3]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/baldurs-gate-3/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/baldurs-gate-3/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 21 Apr 2024 01:34:33 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Larian, PC, 2023

A massive game to follow the Divinity: Original Sin duo. I only reached the end of Act 1, but that took over 20 hours so I figured I should give my impressions.

Famously this game has an interesting cast of characters with excelle…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dynamite Duke]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/dynamite-duke/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/dynamite-duke/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 19 Apr 2024 05:12:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Seibu Kaihatsu, 1989, Arcade

A fascinating Cabal-like with striking visuals. Big, detailed sprites and sick animations end to end. The main differentiating point here is the focus on melee, with boss fights almost feeling like a more analog version…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Salamander]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/salamander/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/salamander/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 26 Mar 2024 02:32:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1986

I put a handful of hours into this after clearing Gradius II, and I have to admit I didn’t know exactly how MUCH of a Gradius game this was. I had a great time with Salamander 2 a couple years back, and despite being ten years …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gradius II: GOFER no Yabou]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gradius-ii-gofer-no-yabou/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gradius-ii-gofer-no-yabou/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 26 Mar 2024 02:28:54 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1988

What a great sequel. The rough edges are filed down a little from the first game, but difficulty is way up all around. Rank management is a factor, but a simple one. You get a variety of ships to choose from, each unique enough…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Star Wars: Dark Forces]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/star-wars-dark-forces/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/star-wars-dark-forces/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 21 Mar 2024 22:58:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[LucasArts, Windows, 1995

A Star Wars FPS with a very Doom-style raycasting engine. Even outside of the technology, though, Doom is the clear starting point. The movement is fast and slippery and the maps are big and striking. The presentation is pr…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Oni]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/oni/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/oni/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 13 Mar 2024 05:00:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bungie, PC, 2001

I have vague memories of Oni’s release, complete with it getting made fun of by Penny Arcade. Not long after I picked up a copy out of a bargain bin but only wound up playing the first level or so. Given how much belt scrollers and…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[G Darius]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/g-darius/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/g-darius/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 08 Mar 2024 21:13:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1997

This was the last of the main arcade Darius games for me to play, and I think it wound up being the best. It’s a standout in so many ways!

Despite the single-screen factor, the presentation is incredible. Immediately I was floo…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Disaster Report]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/disaster-report/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/disaster-report/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 02 Mar 2024 19:27:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Playstation 2, 2002

aka Zettai Zetsumei Toshi

This reminded me of something Human would make. Something like Septentrion or a little bit like Clock Tower. Your train gets derailed by a massive earthquake and you have to navigate the crumblin…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tekken 8]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/tekken-8/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/tekken-8/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 28 Feb 2024 16:49:57 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bandai Namco, PC, 2024

We all know what’s going on here. Good music. Massively beefy hits. Characters and moves you’ve been seeing since 1995, but with some cool new redesigns. A new Heat system (not to be confused with Rage) that lets you enter a …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/i-have-no-mouth-and-i-must-scream/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/i-have-no-mouth-and-i-must-scream/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 27 Feb 2024 04:22:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cyber Dreams, MS-DOS, 1995

A unique adventure game where you play as five humans trapped by a hateful, planet-encompassing AI. It’s very uneven: interactions are awkward, cues sometimes feel more obscure than intended, the pacing is super jacked, a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Metal Black]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/metal-black/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/metal-black/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 25 Feb 2024 22:11:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1991

The presentation here is pretty monumental. The opening stage is set in the desolate ruins of a city, played alongside this beautiful and somber track.  You then rocket off into space (presented as a very flashy bonus stage) to …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bruce Lee (C64)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/bruce-lee-c64/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/bruce-lee-c64/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 18 Feb 2024 02:47:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Datasoft Inc, Commodore 64, 1984

An impressive early American action-platformer. Reminds me of Shadow of the Beast in that it’s terse, arcade-structured (complete with permadeath), and has a simple movelist. Surprisingly nice environment and obstac…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Almana no Kiseki]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/almana-no-kiseki/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/almana-no-kiseki/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 16 Feb 2024 23:27:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Famicom Disk System, 1987

An FDS action-platformer with a very goofy grappling hook mechanic. It’s not quite like Bionic Commando: you still have a small hop, there’s no swinging, the hook gets thrown out in a very rigid fashion, and you’re…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[DoDonPachi DaiOuJou]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/dodonpachi-daioujou/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/dodonpachi-daioujou/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Feb 2024 05:14:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2002

After about 50 hours of direct play time, I got the one-loop clear of the original “White Label” version of DoDonPachi DaiOuJou. My ship selection was B-Exy.

It’s a masterpiece. It has a reputation as one, and I think it’s easy …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Thunder Force V]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/thunder-force-v/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/thunder-force-v/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 09 Feb 2024 18:36:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tecno Soft, Saturn, 1997

I picked this up real cheap back in the 90s, during the brief period of time when Funcoland or EB or whatever was selling Japanese Saturn games. It was always incredibly cool to me. The music is sick, the stage openings are…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Advanced Busterhawk Gleylancer]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/advanced-busterhawk-gleylancer/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/advanced-busterhawk-gleylancer/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 09 Feb 2024 18:34:49 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Masaya, Mega Drive, 1992

A sick game. It might be Thunder Force III tier? Similar in difficulty to TF3, so nothing too difficult on Normal, but it’s got lots of cool stage designs (arguably better ones), great music, some really stunning background…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/like-a-dragon-infinite-wealth/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/like-a-dragon-infinite-wealth/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 09 Feb 2024 18:18:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, PC, 2024

This game’s inclusion of Spikeout as a minigame caused me to pull the trigger and I decided to give the main game an honest shot despite my history of not being able to get into traditional JRPGs. I tried. I think I’d…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tomb Raider II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/tomb-raider-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/tomb-raider-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 30 Jan 2024 02:55:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[CORE Design, Playstation, 1997

I liked the idea of Tomb Raider with a decent spread of stages outside of tombs, but unfortunately this wasn’t very fun in practice. It’s still Tomb Raider, it’s still a solid foundation, but these villa and industria…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Alan Wake II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/alan-wake-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/alan-wake-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 20 Jan 2024 22:41:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Remedy, PC, 2023

This is probably up there with Control as the two best post-Payne Remedy games, and it serves as a good compliment. Where Control is a game with a lot of dashing and hip-firing, this is more of a Resident Evil 4 with precision shoo…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Biohazard: Gun Survivor]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/biohazard-gun-survivor/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/biohazard-gun-survivor/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 08 Jan 2024 01:26:32 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[TOSE, Playstation, 2000

An ambitious attempt at making a free-movement first-person shooter with a light gun based control scheme. It’s kinda like an early 90s console game in that the whole thing is just a couple hours long, very linear, and you h…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Relics]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/relics/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/relics/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 01 Jan 2024 23:27:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bothtec, PC-98, 1986

Originally released on PC-98 but ported to other platforms shortly after. This is a pretty mysterious game, very deliberately not telling the player much and with a manual that encourages the player to explore, but I found the …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Finals]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-finals/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-finals/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 2023 23:28:58 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Embark Studios, PC, 2023

Traditional multiplayer FPS (as in, not BR or extraction) with teams of three, highly destructible maps, and a relatively long time to kill. The destruction is the main element that stands out, for sure, and it’s fun as hel…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/avatar-frontiers-of-pandora/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/avatar-frontiers-of-pandora/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 2023 22:27:49 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Massive Entertainment, PC, 2023

This is kinda Far Cry adjacent and it’s been a while since I’ve played one of those. The Na’vi movement is pretty cool, the mech enemies are formidable, the world is gorgeous, and the genre trappings are executed wit…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shinobi Non Grata]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shinobi-non-grata/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shinobi-non-grata/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 27 Dec 2023 05:14:10 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Studio PICO, PC, 2023

A tight action-platformer. Player movement is breezy, the animation is nice, and the special attacks you cycle through are pretty mechanically distinct and flavorful. The structure of the game is something like Alien Soldier o…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Jigoku Gokurakumaru]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/jigoku-gokurakumaru/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/jigoku-gokurakumaru/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 20 Dec 2023 05:38:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Human Entertainment, Famicom, 1990

A pretty solid action-platformer. It’s hard to say it’s one of the best on the system (that’s an incredibly high bar) but it’s got a cool theme, nice Batman-style environment art with a bit more guts factor, a fun…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Blood West]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/blood-west/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/blood-west/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 18 Dec 2023 01:24:54 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Hyperstrange, PC, 2023

A System Shock style first-person action game with a wild west horror theme. You’ve got a big inventory grid, leaning, stealth, and a skill tree. And from the lense of Shock-style design the game is pretty well-executed. Comb…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sonic Wings]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/sonic-wings/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/sonic-wings/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 17 Dec 2023 05:34:16 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Video Systems, Arcade, 1992

You can really see the beginning of Psikyo here. A focused shooting game with a fun cast of unique characters, early stage randomization, breakneck pacing, and huge, sick bosses. There are rough edges here that aren’t in…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hi-Fi Rush]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/hi-fi-rush/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/hi-fi-rush/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 11 Dec 2023 07:04:22 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tango Gameworks, PC, 2023

(Played on Very Hard, which I didn’t even have to unlock!)

Lead designer Masaaki Yamada uses Devil May Cry as a starting point (which he was a planner on back in the day) and adds all these little mechanics built around h…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Northern Journey]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/northern-journey/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/northern-journey/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:46 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Slid Studio, PC, 2021

This was a huge surprise. Not unlike Cruelty Squad it's pretty rough-edged, but not quite as hostile. There's a noisy visual style that holds up incredibly considering it's all done with a very vertex color approach. Some real…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[BOPPING DRIVE]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bopping-drive/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bopping-drive/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[David "Tain" Williams, PC, 2021

A nice exercise in keeping scope down and not stressing myself out. I set out to make something small and polished and I'm proud of the results.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Toree 3D + Toree 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/toree-3d-toree-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/toree-3d-toree-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Siactro, PC, 2021

A well-made basic linear 3D platformer with cute and clean visuals. There's not a ton noteworthy here, but the linear 3D platforming genre is still small enough to make this worth a quick runthrough. 

Sequel is largely the same, …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Halo Infinite (Versus)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/halo-infinite-versus/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/halo-infinite-versus/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[343i, PC, 2021

When it comes down to it, this is the first time I've played Halo consistently with a regular group of friends. I don't have a lot of knowledge about the competitive modes in older games. This has been fun as hell, though.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shiren the Wanderer 2: Oni Invasion! Shiren Castle!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/shiren-the-wanderer-2-oni-invasion-shiren-castle/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/shiren-the-wanderer-2-oni-invasion-shiren-castle/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:23 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Chunsoft, Nintendo 64, 2000

This one took ages, but what a game. I loved Shiren 5 back in 2016 when I played the English Vita release, but a fan translation of this appeared this year.

Being an N64 game the presentation is pretty drastically diffe…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Psychonauts 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/psychonauts-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/psychonauts-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Double Fine, PC, 2021

Surprisingly dense world. I like the lack of HUD highlights combined with the surplus of signposting. 

Game doesn't seem to do much layering of mechanics or make any real attempt at getting more difficult, sadly.

Extremely d…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Steel Assault]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/steel-assault/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/steel-assault/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Zenovia Interactive, PC, 2021

Fantastic action-platformer. Pretty top-tier aesthetically, with lots of smooth animation, gorgeous backgrounds, and a face-melting Thunderforce 4 style soundtrack. Stages are extremely dense, sometimes approaching a M…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Metroid Dread]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/metroid-dread/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/metroid-dread/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[MercurySteam, Switch, 2021

Dread winds up being a fantastic action game due to its constant, intense, and creative boss fights and overall excellent animation. Samus gets a lot of unique abilities and the bosses push you to use them in all sorts of…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Outer Wilds: Echoes of the Eye]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/outer-wilds-echoes-of-the-eye/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/outer-wilds-echoes-of-the-eye/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Mobius Digital, PC, 2021

A fantastic expansion to the original, fleshing out the universe's history a bit while having the player solve a detached but still grand mystery in an alien ring world. The structure set up by the original is here, and the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Deathloop]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/deathloop/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/deathloop/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:29:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Arkane Studios, PC, 2021

This is an interesting one. At its core, it's a Dishonored-style action-stealth game but leaning more toward the action this time and for the better. The abilities are fun, mayhem is encouraged via dumb enemy AI and lots of…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Jupiter Hell]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/jupiter-hell/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/jupiter-hell/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:29:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[ChaosForge, PC, 2021

An incredible roguelike. This is a much smaller and more focused game than a lot of the western-made ASCII classics, but there's a ton of variety when it comes to viable character builds and the combat rules are elegant and wel…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Game Builder Garage]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/game-builder-garage/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/game-builder-garage/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:29:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo, Switch, 2021

As to be expected, this is an extremely cute game construction kit. Dreams is the obvious comparison, and while this doesn't give users anywhere near as much freedom, there's still plenty of power here and it comes with a cha…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cruelty Squad]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cruelty-squad/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cruelty-squad/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:29:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Consumer Softproducts, PC, 2021

it's 2021 and games are looking like shit on purpose. It's successful at looking and sounding repugnant, it's got a pretty fun theme, and there's an impressive amount of complexity to the stages. Extremely anachronis…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Guilty Gear Strive]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/guilty-gear-strive/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/guilty-gear-strive/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:29:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Arc System Works, PC, 2021…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Resident Evil 8]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/resident-evil-8/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/resident-evil-8/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:28:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2021

Great game. Built on 7 perfectly by being far more consistent and using a wonderful hub area to guide the player through a handful of mechanically and thematically varied dungeons. The cast of enemies is great and has a huge amount…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Nioh 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/nioh-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/nioh-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:28:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Team Ninja, PC, 2021

A step up from the first game for sure. Lots of cool bosses and great core combat mechanics. Unfortunately, it doesn't fix the major problem of the first game: it's stretched out far, far longer than it should be.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ghosts n Goblins Resurrection]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ghosts-n-goblins-resurrection/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ghosts-n-goblins-resurrection/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:28:22 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2021  
aka Kaettekita Makaimura

Great game. It's not an arcade-built game at all, but the divergences are well thought-out and deeply tied into the game's difficulty levels. You're encouraged to start by trying on Legend mode (both the …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bowser's Fury]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bowsers-fury/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bowsers-fury/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:28:17 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo, Switch, 2021

This was good. Probably the right length, and I wonder how they could build a game with the same core that holds up to be much longer, but the world this takes place in feels like it's made up of my favorite kind of side-cour…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cyber Shadow]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cyber-shadow/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cyber-shadow/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:28:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Aarne "MekaSkull" Hunziker, PC, 2021

This might have some of the best Famicom-style visuals of any modern game I can think of. It delivers visually on those Kickstarter shots of Steel Assault (where this game got its start before Steel Assault swit…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hitman 3]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/hitman-3/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/hitman-3/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:57 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[IO Interactive, PC, 2021

It's absolutely more of the same, but the six stages of Hitman 3 are mostly huge, all great, and have some high points for the trilogy. I love how the stages from the prior two Hitman releases are neatly merged into this on…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Midnight Suns]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/midnight-suns/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/midnight-suns/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Firaxis Games, PC, 2022

I think the core combat of this game is really, really cool. The positioning and environmental attack stuff is very fun and clever and super unique. Unfortunately, everything stringing the missions together feels like grind-…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[God of War: Ragnarock]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/god-of-war-ragnarock/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/god-of-war-ragnarock/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Santa Monica Studio, Playstation 4, 2022

This is good in the same areas that the first game is. The core combat is pretty fun and satisfying, they’ve added a cool new weapon in the spear, and they brought in some welcome enemy variety. There are pl…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Signalis]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/signalis/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/signalis/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:26 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[rose-engine, PC, 2022

A fantastic game in the style of the original Biohazard. Helping it stand out is an extremely unique look and atmosphere that leans heavily on blurring the line between pixel art and 3D. There’s an even stronger focus on puzzl…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bayonetta 3]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bayonetta-3/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bayonetta-3/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:22 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[PlatinumGames, Switch, 2022

Refreshing to play a game like this again. Lots of ideas crammed into this one (reflecting the long development time), but it’s all wrangled together very well. The kaiju mechanics help it stand out from the first two, E…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Scorn]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/scorn/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/scorn/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ebb Software, PC, 2022

This is an extremely visually accomplished game. Just a really thorough and stunning take on Giger's style. Unfortunately, the game's puzzles and combat are two mechanical halves that fit together terribly. If it had only one…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Kevin Costner's Waterworld]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/kevin-costners-waterworld/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/kevin-costners-waterworld/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Macaw45, PC, 2022

Macaw45's action game based on the Waterworld arcade game gag from The Simpsons. You take big steps one at a time, you have very specific punch timing, and the obstacles get very silly. Every time you die you have to manually inse…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Return to Monkey Island]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/return-to-monkey-island/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/return-to-monkey-island/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Terrible Toybox, PC, 2022  

Return to Monkey Island is really good. Visuals won me over in motion, it does just the right amount of streamlining, it's charming throughout with occasional genuinely funny moments, and I really liked the ending.

I th…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Last Call BBS]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/last-call-bbs/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/last-call-bbs/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Zachtronics, PC, 2022

It's not often that a development studio declares a game as their final release. This is a fascinating collection of games that are all solid ideas and well-polished, even if not always fully fleshed out. A couple highlights f…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rumbleverse]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rumbleverse/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rumbleverse/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Iron Galaxy, PC, 2022

What a unique thing. Really cool core mechanics. Endlessly fun to climb around, chuck items at people, slam people into cars, tackle people off of buildings, whip people to your friends, etc. Deceptively complex for sure, and …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[ROLLERDROME]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rollerdrome/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rollerdrome/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Roll7, PC, 2022

Really good Tony Hawk style skating game that manages to bring in a layer of bullet-time third-person shooting. The skating stuff is kind, not allowing you to bail and basically only having flip tricks and grinds, but the way the tr…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Paradise Killer]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/paradise-killer/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/paradise-killer/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:29 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Kaizen Game Works, PC, 2022

A neat adventure game where you hop around a vaporwave island of the gods using Quake controls to gather as much evidence as you feel like prior to initiating a trial. The music is wonderful and the visuals are pretty we…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[COMPOUND]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/compound/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/compound/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bevan McKechnie, PC VR, 2022

Cleared on Hard. Incredible. Fun to learn weapons, well-balanced between physical and artificial movement, tons of little quirks to learn about the enemies and environments they're placed in, and one of the best executi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Stray]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/stray/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/stray/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[BlueTwelve Studio, PC, 2022

Cute, gorgeous game. Mostly a very atmospheric walking sim with light puzzles and action.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Yurukill: The Calumniation Games]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/yurukill-the-calumniation-games/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/yurukill-the-calumniation-games/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[IzanagiGames and G.Rev, PC, 2022

What a unique game. The basic idea is that it's a Danganronpa-style visual novel only with the trial scenes replaced by a full-ass 2D shooting game designed by Border Down director Hiroyuki Maruyama. 

The VN side o…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Knight's Try]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/knights-try/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/knights-try/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Modus Interactive, PC, 2022

This might be a 3D platforming all-timer. 

You play as a goofy, tired, and faceless onion knight trying to ascend a massive floating course full of jumps, traps, and enemies. The core mechanics are simple: basic movemen…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/cuphead-the-delicious-last-course/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/cuphead-the-delicious-last-course/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Studio MDHR, PC, 2022

Really good expansion to the original. They went all out with most of these bosses, and the final boss in particular is incredible. Couldn't get into the new character's controls, but she does seem mechanically distinct.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Neon White]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/neon-white/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/neon-white/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Angel Matrix, PC, 2022

Very unique first-person action game featuring Trackmania-style stages strung together with visual novel sequences. 

Each stage has you running, jumping, and shooting around a porcelain course in the heavens. There are medal…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Drainus]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/drainus/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/drainus/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Team Ladybug, PC, 2022

Gorgeous gorgeous game but mechanically inelegant and largely about mashing absorb instead of dodging. I probably won't be going back to it.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/stranger-of-paradise-final-fantasy-origin/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/stranger-of-paradise-final-fantasy-origin/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Team Ninja, PC, 2022 

A Team Ninja game that serves as a prequel of sorts to the original Final Fantasy. I wasn't the biggest fan of Nioh or Nioh 2, but I enjoyed this a good amount more. 

The core combat here is pretty fun. The basis is a fairly …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ghostwire: Tokyo]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ghostwire-tokyo/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ghostwire-tokyo/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:21 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tango, PC, 2022

It's no TEW but there's something nice about the simple lock-on + parry combat between all the building-climbing. It's surprisingly distinct despite the broader open world structure. 

This is probably best on Tatari, where the game…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Elden Ring]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/elden-ring/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/elden-ring/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:14 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[FromSoftware, PC, 2022

Jesus Christ. This game is gigantic, yet consistently good. It's dense. There's something interesting in every nook and cranny. You'll see repeated bosses and other elements, but the game justifies it and changes plenty of ot…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Akai Katana Exa Label]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/akai-katana-exa-label/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/akai-katana-exa-label/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Team EXA-AM2, Arcade, 2022

Like with DoDonPachi Saidaioujou Exa Label, the Exa release of Akai Katana does an excellent job of porting the 2010 original by shedding the egregious slowdown, gathering existing arrange modes (one of which tastef…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The King of Fighters XV]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/the-king-of-fighters-xv/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/the-king-of-fighters-xv/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SNK, PC, 2022

I like the autocombos, I like the new characters, I like the visuals. I'm not going to play a ton of this but it seems good.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sifu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sifu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sifu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sloclap, PC, 2022  


The main draw here is this very unique, flashy, and stylish combat (kinda reminiscent of Arkham Asylum but with some GOD HAND thrown in) combined with a really high difficulty level. You'll learn all about weapons, crushing gua…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/serious-sam-siberian-mayhem/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/serious-sam-siberian-mayhem/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Timelock Studio, PC, 2022 

It's more of Sam 4, but with slightly tighter pacing (it's shorter overall) and better vehicle segments. It rules. Maybe the boss fights are a little weaker.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Robocop: Rogue City]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/robocop-rogue-city/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/robocop-rogue-city/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Teyon, PC, 2023

What a nice surprise this was. Absolutely has the energy of a Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay or a Wolfenstein: The New Order. It’s a focused and linear FPS that intelligently uses genre conventions without sticking t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/like-a-dragon-gaiden-the-man-who-erased-his-name/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/like-a-dragon-gaiden-the-man-who-erased-his-name/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:50 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, PC, 2023

I liked the sound of a shorter Yakuza game going into this one, but in practice it’s a bit of a letdown. Too much time is spent introducing the player to side quest and minigame stuff and it all feels like leftovers. …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Air Twister]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/air-twister/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/air-twister/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ys Net, PC, 2023

Initially an Apple Arcade game, Yu Suzuki’s new rail shooter is now on PC and consoles. The presentation is surprisingly good! Environments look nice, enemy designs are inspired, and the soundtrack is all original ELO-ish stuff wit…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Mario Bros. Wonder]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/super-mario-bros-wonder/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/super-mario-bros-wonder/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo EPD, Nintendo Switch, 2023

Pretty good. Nothing too surprising, but it’s well-made and the new presentation is refreshing compared to New Super Mario Bros U. As always the new power-ups are fun and well-explored by the stages they’re place…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Slay the Princess]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/slay-the-princess/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/slay-the-princess/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Black Tabby Games, PC, 2023

A nice, terse visual novel with a very dynamic feel. Well-executed with a unique look and narration. I don’t want to say much about what actually goes on here, but by the end of the fairly short play time it winds up sat…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Trepang2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/trepang2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/trepang2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Trepang Studios, PC, 2023

A well-made successor to FEAR that, going by memory, turns all the dials up. Extremely satisfying weapons, environmental destruction, and hit reactions. Surprisingly good boss fights, especially the final boss. Thankfully,…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Void Stranger]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/void-stranger/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/void-stranger/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[System Erasure, PC, 2023

ZeroRanger is one of my favorite games of 2018 and one of the best home-exclusive 2D shooting games I can think of, so I had to immediately hop on Void Stranger despite it being a huge departure. It uses Game Boy classic Ca…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/armored-core-vi-fires-of-rubicon/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/armored-core-vi-fires-of-rubicon/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:27 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[FromSoftware, PC, 2023

A big new release that snuck up on me. My Armored Core experience prior to this consisted of playing the four 360-generation entries, which I generally enjoyed.

What struck me most about Armored Core 6 was how finely From ro…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[En Garde!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/en-garde/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/en-garde/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Fireplace Games, PC, 2023

A very charming third-person swashbuckling game. It’s a bit like Sifu, but with simpler (yet still very clear and slick-looking) swordfighting mechanics and none of the meta-layer inelegance. A particularly neat touch is t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bomb Rush Cyberfunk]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/bomb-rush-cyberfunk/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/bomb-rush-cyberfunk/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Team Reptile, PC, 2023

Wish I liked this more. This is clearly using Jet Set Radio Future as a starting point, and I’d say that it makes some clear improvements by changing up the structure a bit. The tricks and trick-related challenges are more fu…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Pseudoregalia]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/pseudoregalia/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/pseudoregalia/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:18 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[rittzler, PC, 2023

This is a nice time. I don't like it as much as Knight's Try when it comes to recent 3d platformer-adjacent stuff but it does a pretty good job of making a roughly Souls-style connected world with distinct-enough areas out of a t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Protodroid Delta]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/protodroid-delta/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/protodroid-delta/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Adam Kareem, PC, 2023

This was a neat linear 3D action-platformer with well thought-out movement and combat. Charge attacks require energy that you can regenerate through melee, and there’s a lot of neat variety to the enemy behaviors. Dash-jumping…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Street Fighter 6]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/street-fighter-6/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/street-fighter-6/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:05 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2023

World Tour mode is pretty solid. It’s not great, not Tobal 2, but better than any fighting game campaign mode I can point to in the past couple decades. I don’t really like talking about fighting games in too much detail because I …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo EAD, Switch, 2023

Something special. An improvement on BotW in so many ways. The deeply flexible and optional BotW campaign has been expanded on not primarily through more or better dungeons (though there are more and they are better), but…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Star Wars Jedi: Survivor]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/star-wars-jedi-survivor/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/star-wars-jedi-survivor/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:22:59 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Respawn, PC, 2023

A good iteration on Fallen Order. It’s bigger and has a more complex hub, but the main campaign doesn’t lose any of the focus from the first game. The hardest difficulty demanded a little too much perfection so I dropped it down t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Lattice Rider NEPHILA]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/lattice-rider-nephila/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/lattice-rider-nephila/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:22:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[David “Tain” Williams, PC, 2023

I made this game over ten days for Bullet Hell Jam 2023. I wanted to practice low-fi 3D visuals and some 2D shooting game stage design, and overall I’m super happy with the results. If I made this into a full project…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Resident Evil 4 (2023)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/resident-evil-4-2023/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/resident-evil-4-2023/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:22:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2023

I loved the Resident Evil 2 remake largely because it built a fantastic new game using mostly just the skeleton of the original. It was a huge departure in tons of ways. This is a very well-made game, but it simply can’t be as exci…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Wanted: Dead]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/wanted-dead/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/wanted-dead/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:22:17 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Soleil, PC, 2023

A 3D melee action and third person shooter hybrid set in future Hong Kong, developed by some ex Team Ninja guys minus Itagaki. It doesn’t feel as much like Devil’s Third as I expected it to, and I think it does some key things bett…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/vengeful-guardian-moonrider/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/vengeful-guardian-moonrider/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:22:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[JoyMasher, PC, 2023

I was hoping this would be a lean and 1cc-focusable game like Blazing Chrome, but it turns out it’s more like Rockman X than anything else. The visuals are gorgeous and the theme is cool as hell, but both the stages and boss fig…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Lunacid]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/lunacid/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/lunacid/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:08:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[KIRA LLC, PC, 2023

I’ve only played the first and a bit of the second King’s Field games, which Lunacid takes a lot from, and it does an admirable job of creating that sense of mystery that pulls me through so many of From’s games. This is a little…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Baroque (Saturn)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/baroque-saturn/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/baroque-saturn/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 04:55:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sting, Saturn, 1998

Dark and moody action game with (and I don’t throw this term out lightly) roguelike elements. It’s basically like if Shiren the Wanderer had far slower and realtime first-person combat to space out all the cool decisions. It’s r…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gunbird]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/gunbird/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/gunbird/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 08 Dec 2023 17:53:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Psikyo, Arcade, 1994

This was a really fun game to learn. Being Psikyo’s second shooter it’s notably less complex than the games that would come later, but it’s also a pretty big step above their already-solid Sengoku Ace. You’ll see a lot of the P…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[D/Generation]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dgeneration/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dgeneration/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 03 Dec 2023 21:38:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Robert Cook, DOS, 1991

Played about half of this. It’s a pretty clever combination of small-scale room puzzles and action that leans into avoiding traps, but eventually the behavior of the Survivors really started to wear on me and there are some p…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dynamite Deka 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dynamite-deka-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dynamite-deka-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 11 Nov 2023 04:43:32 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM1, Arcade, 1998

Played both the Model 2 original and the Dreamcast port, which has a pretty different look to it.

Sequel to the 1996 masterpiece. Despite being a 1998 release this was built for the then-old but still powerful Model 2 arcade…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Magnetic Neo]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/super-magnetic-neo/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/super-magnetic-neo/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 11 Nov 2023 04:35:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Genki, Dreamcast, 2000

A surprisingly tough Crash Bandicoot style 3D platformer with a neat magnet polarity gimmick. Like with Crash there are some rough edges (stuff like not being able to magnetize while holding the run button), but overall I thi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Clock Tower 3]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/clock-tower-3/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/clock-tower-3/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 11 Nov 2023 04:35:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Playstation 2, 2003

I played Haunting Ground a lifetime ago and really liked it, and I’ve always loved the first Clock Tower game in particular, so I figured it was time to finally play this. It’s good! Being developed by a team from a diff…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Raiden DX]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/raiden-dx/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/raiden-dx/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 10 Nov 2023 02:13:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Seibu Kaihatsu, Arcade, 1994

An enhanced/arranged version of Raiden 2, often pointed to as the one to play. I didn’t clear it but put a good chunk of time into it for Calice Cup. It’s insanely lush, pretty tough, and has a ridiculous list of scorin…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Karateka]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/karateka/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/karateka/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 11 Oct 2023 03:50:22 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jordan Mechner, Apple II, 1984

A breakthrough game in terms of presentation, but I think it’s clear that Prince of Persia was the real masterpiece. The entire structure here is a brief, straight-shot left-to-right series of karate fights with a cou…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dr. Toppel's Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dr-toppels-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dr-toppels-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 11 Oct 2023 01:34:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Kaneko, Arcade, 1987

this is a rough STG man. Cute designs, a neat option-placement concept, and it’s kinda unique in how all the bullets are tiny and crawl real slow… but the sprites look crazy sparse with almost no animation, there’s zero time to…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gokujou Parodius]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/gokujou-parodius/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/gokujou-parodius/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 10 Oct 2023 20:51:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1994

Played for Calice Cup 7.

The second of the three arcade Parodius games. Normally I’d have preferred to put more time into the predecessor Parodius Da!, but I’m told this series got easier with each entry so maybe it’s for the …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dynamite Deka]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dynamite-deka/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dynamite-deka/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 28 Sep 2023 19:59:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM1, Arcade, 1996. aka Die Hard Arcade

It feels like Dynamite Deka is often considered a footnote, but I really think this is a milestone in 3D melee action.

Belt scrollers were always 3D in a mechanics sense, but being built fully around pol…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Deep Fear]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/deep-fear/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/deep-fear/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 21 Sep 2023 03:19:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega CS2, Saturn, 1998

Really wish this was good! Deep Fear is a Biohazard-style fixed camera horror game set in an undersea base. Cool premise, and much of it is pretty well-executed with detailed environments, smooth-moving gouraud-shaded charact…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Nosferatu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/nosferatu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/nosferatu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 19 Aug 2023 03:41:16 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SETA Co., Super Famicom, 1994

Unhinged and wonderful. The most concise way I can describe Nosferatu is that it’s like Prince of Persia with slightly more granular movement and an emphasis on a unique, hefty hand-to-hand combat system. The presentat…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Prince of Persia (PC-98)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/prince-of-persia-pc-98/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/prince-of-persia-pc-98/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 10 Aug 2023 04:28:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Broderbund Software and Arsys Software, PC-98, 1990

This is my first time fully playing any form of Prince of Persia. I landed on this version because it was one of the earliest ports, it adds a soundtrack, and the PC-98’s grimy audio hardware and …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Eliza]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/eliza/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/eliza/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 09 Aug 2023 21:05:29 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Zachtronics, PC, 2019

Obviously not the usual Zachtronics game and has a pretty distinct theme for a VN. Looking back I don’t know that it went where it needed to.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dracula Densetsu II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dracula-densetsu-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dracula-densetsu-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 09 Aug 2023 18:43:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Game Boy, 1991, aka Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge

This is a step up from the first Game Boy game in a lot of ways, but the most noticeable are the tech improvements. It looks nicer, with some seriously impressive backgrounds, and it mos…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/61fcc332af3eeb3cd296a203/attachments/61fcc34dfef0a6743bd253b8/previews/61fcc34efef0a6743bd253f2/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Punisher]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-punisher/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-punisher/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 31 Jul 2023 04:18:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Arcade, 1993

So sick. The lush animation and excellent voice samples work hand-in-hand to make the heavy hits satisfying. I can’t think of any move in anything I’ve played recently that’s more fun to land than the Punisher’s perfectly-timed…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/64b82336f68b16bdf2ab7a01/attachments/64b824250f5bab138debddd9/previews/64b824270f5bab138debdf3e/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dangun Feveron]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dangun-feveron/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dangun-feveron/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 19 Jul 2023 17:27:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 1998

This is wonderful. As with Guwange, there’s nothing else in Cave’s library that feels like it. It’s the last of their games to primarily use traditional pixel art, and is utterly stuffed with awesome chunky-looking ships on top o…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/62944eec98c5f975395307bf/attachments/62944efe5a8cca58e38cf090/previews/62944f005a8cca58e38cf0b6/download/DangunFeveron_Flyer_front.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Baldur's Gate]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/baldurs-gate/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/baldurs-gate/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 19 Jul 2023 00:24:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bioware, Windows, 1998

Playing the Enhanced Edition. This seems impressively flexible from the get-go and the game’s world feels pretty big. The real time combat is pretty breezy and helps keep things from feeling like a slog, but I think that the …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Flashback]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/flashback/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/flashback/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 14 Jul 2023 21:21:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Delphine Software International, Amiga, 1992

It’s striking how distinct this feels from Another World. Both made at the same studio, both using Prince of Persia as a starting point, both using flat colors to create gorgeous environments and fluid c…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6499bf896409472a08bfc6c7/attachments/6499c21932d3c03def9a6fe5/previews/6499c21a32d3c03def9a7022/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Batman (Famicom)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/batman-famicom/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/batman-famicom/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 03 Jul 2023 03:27:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sunsoft, Famicom, 1989

After bouncing off of Future Wars I had to play something good and tight and familiar. This rules basically as much as it did when I beat the game in 2010-ish, though the final stage’s jump timing was even tighter than I reme…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Future Wars: Adventures in Time]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/future-wars-adventures-in-time/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/future-wars-adventures-in-time/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 03 Jul 2023 03:08:29 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Delphine Software, Amiga, 1989

Wanted to try this since Éric Chahi was behind most of the art. I bounced off of this, sadly. The opening scenes are gorgeous and the interface is pretty elegant for 1989, but the hotspots are the tiniest I’ve ever se…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Another World]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/another-world/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/another-world/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 27 Jun 2023 17:32:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Delphine Software, Amiga, 1991

Absolutely sick game. Having never seen beyond the intro when I was younger I'm very happy that I finally played through this. It’s an action platformer with fluid animation and grounded movement, like Prince of Persi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Fallout: New Vegas]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/fallout-new-vegas/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/fallout-new-vegas/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 26 Jun 2023 05:36:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Obsidian Entertainment, Windows, 2010

Best Bethesda-style game I've played. An easy standout. The Elder Scrolls games never did much for me and I bounced off of Fallout 3 in 2009, but I was pretty hooked to New Vegas. It has an impressively dynamic…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[System Shock]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/system-shock/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/system-shock/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Jun 2023 17:22:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Looking Glass Technologies, DOS, 1994

A staggeringly ambitious first person action game set in a big semi-linear space station. It’s all incredibly impressive for 1994. Movement mechanics let you lean, strafe, crouch, jump, and even go prone. Envir…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Galleon]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/galleon/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/galleon/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 05 Jun 2023 21:10:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Confounding Factor, Xbox, 2004

This was apparently directed by Toby Gard, one of the lead guys behind the original Tomb Raider that left Core prior to Tomb Raider II. You can definitely see a trajectory from that game to this. It’s still got plenty…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Fighting Force]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/fighting-force/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/fighting-force/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 23 May 2023 04:29:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Core Design, Playstation, 1997

A polygonal beat ‘em up by the Tomb Raider developers. I always thought this looked so cool as a kid and wished I could play it on Saturn, but despite all the times I got to try PS1 rentals at friends' houses I never …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Castlevania: The Adventure Rebirth]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/castlevania-the-adventure-rebirth/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/castlevania-the-adventure-rebirth/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 16 May 2023 17:34:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[M2, Wii, 2009

I think the visuals put me off on this back in the day, but now that I’ve actually sat down with it it’s pretty good! It’s a cool mix of mechanics from the original game (no stair jumping/landing for example) and some departures like …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Kick Master]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/kick-master/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/kick-master/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 25 Apr 2023 04:47:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[KID Corp, NES, 1992

Shinobu Yagawa as programmer. His third credit. No Japanese release.

This is a pretty interesting one. Every enemy kill sends three items up into the air and these items drop through the floor, so you often need to commit to gr…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Low G Man]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/low-g-man/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/low-g-man/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 23 Apr 2023 02:50:59 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[KID Corp, NES, 1992

Having your primary attacks be between a stun-only pistol and an up/down stab is a pretty cool setup. There are there’s a surprising amount of cool enemy designs in here, and pretty decent variety in stage design. On the other h…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6441ffd407fc6250ba5dedcd/attachments/644200e5f2c1aea45c5248b3/previews/644200e6f2c1aea45c5248f3/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shadowgate 64]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shadowgate-64/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shadowgate-64/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 22 Apr 2023 15:00:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[TNS Co., Nintendo 64, 1999

A first-person adventure game apparently developed by the studio behind Wachenroeder. Unfortunately super dry compared to the original. Cool atmosphere, nice (if subdued) music, but there are no silly deaths and the puzzl…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shadowgate]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shadowgate/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shadowgate/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 17 Apr 2023 02:23:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[ICOM and Kemco, NES, 1989

Unlike with Deja Vu, I decided to play Kemco’s NES adaptation over the Macintosh original after reading up on major differences. This is a larger and cooler game than Deja Vu, for sure, and while some of the puzzles are gr…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Comix Zone]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/comix-zone/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/comix-zone/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 15 Apr 2023 17:07:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega Technical Institute, Genesis, 1995

This is a wild one. It’s an action platformer where the premise is that you play as a 90’s comic book artist guy that gets sucked up into his own work. The presentation rules, honestly. Everything takes place…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Selection: Erabareshi Mono / The Sword of Hope]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/selection-erabareshi-mono-the-sword-of-hope/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/selection-erabareshi-mono-the-sword-of-hope/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Apr 2023 19:08:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Kemco, Game Boy, 1989

Kemco first adapted Deja Vu in '88, this being a year later. I figured I'd check this out since I liked the idea of an original Game Boy ICOM-style adventure game by Kemco themselves, but unfortunately this is more of a tradit…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Guwange]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/guwange/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/guwange/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Apr 2023 03:48:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 1999

It’s easy to think of Cave as sticking to a very tight set of mechanics and hardly ever deviating but this game stands way out. What a wild take on the genre. The core concept is basically an on-foot top-down STG with the usual C…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Deja Vu: A Nightmare Comes True!!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/deja-vu-a-nightmare-comes-true/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/deja-vu-a-nightmare-comes-true/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 07 Apr 2023 22:19:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[ICOM Simulations, Macintosh, 1985

Really impressive how this uses the Macintosh UI to do a lot of heavy lifting and deliver a very new kind of adventure game only a year after King’s Quest. The black and white art is really distinct and barring a c…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[El Viento]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/el-viento/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/el-viento/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 07 Apr 2023 22:19:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Wolf Team, Megadrive, 1991

This game’s definitely got rough edges, but it also has a really cool presentation, nice cutscene art, excellent music, a pretty unique setting, and honestly some decent action! It’s deeply silly and has a couple weak poi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[EX-RANZA]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/ex-ranza/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/ex-ranza/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 05 Apr 2023 15:14:58 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[GAU Entertainment, Megadrive, 1993. aka Ranger X.

Very cool. This was released about half a year after Valken and isn’t really dissimilar in structure and theme: it’s a side-view mech action-platformer where you have a health meter, every life is a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Mario: Yoshi Island]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/super-mario-yoshi-island/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/super-mario-yoshi-island/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 23 Mar 2023 23:54:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo EAD, Super Famicom, 1995

Gorgeous. Really really nice-looking, lots of cute designs all over the place, great music. The egg throwing is pretty fun, but as the stages sloooowly ramped up I found the flutter jump mechanic and the Mario reco…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Wild Guns]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/wild-guns/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/wild-guns/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 13 Mar 2023 01:15:28 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Natsume, Super Famicom, 1994

An easy entry into the absolute top tier of SFC action games. The theme rules, the art is incredible, the soundtrack is great, all of this stuff is basically perfect. And then you have this clever split between stationa…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Progear No Arashi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/progear-no-arashi/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/progear-no-arashi/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 13 Mar 2023 01:14:59 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade (CPS2), 2001

Very pumped that I got the first loop one credit clear of Progear no Arashi today. This wasn't as hard for me as Ikaruga, but I still found this tricky. Will probably never even see loop 2, lol. Really love this game. The …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[KiKi KaiKai: Nazo no Kuro Manto]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/kiki-kaikai-nazo-no-kuro-manto/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/kiki-kaikai-nazo-no-kuro-manto/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 06 Mar 2023 01:37:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Natsume, Super Famicom, 1992

I spent some time with this, learning to 1cc up to the final stage, and unfortunately I think the game’s kind of annoying. I don’t like the movement-is-aim orientation mechanics, the constant melee swipes against bullet…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[DoDonPachi SaiDaiOuJou Exa Label - Original Mode]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dodonpachi-saidaioujou-exa-label-original-mode/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dodonpachi-saidaioujou-exa-label-original-mode/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 02 Mar 2023 03:49:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2012

Playing as A-S. I have not 1cc’d this yet. I spent a few months off-and-on chipping away at this and I’ve finally just started seeing stage 5. This really feels like a clear step above the other one-loop Cave games difficulty-wis…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gungrave G.O.R.E.]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/gungrave-gore/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/gungrave-gore/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 26 Feb 2023 07:08:14 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Iggymob, PC, 2022

I like the look of this game a lot. Some real fun designs and animations delivered with a lot of detail and impact. Unfortunately the stages do nothing for me. Just gigantic amounts of little dudes that you blast through, occasion…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Space Channel 5 VR: Kinda Funky News Flash]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/space-channel-5-vr-kinda-funky-news-flash/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/space-channel-5-vr-kinda-funky-news-flash/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 25 Feb 2023 19:08:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Grounding, PC, 2020

What’s here is really good. It’s better than the old games in a lot of ways, but it’s also both shorter and easier. This wouldn’t be a big problem if they included a nice bonus challenge mode, but unfortunately no dice. Still, y…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Leisure Suit Larry goes Looking For Love (In Several Wrong Places)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/leisure-suit-larry-goes-looking-for-love-in-several-wrong-places/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/leisure-suit-larry-goes-looking-for-love-in-several-wrong-places/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 25 Feb 2023 03:06:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sierra On-Line, DOS, 1988

Big step down from the first one. The visuals are more detailed but less appealing, the world is bigger but more confusing, and the puzzles are some of the cruelest and softlock-iest I’ve seen in an adventure game. Kinda h…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-beast-within-a-gabriel-knight-mystery/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-beast-within-a-gabriel-knight-mystery/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 24 Feb 2023 03:06:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sierra, PC, 1995

Decided to play something chill like this while I was out with a nasty infection.

Compared to Phantasmagoria, this feels like a much more complete attempt at FMV-ifying Sierra’s traditional point and click setup. The sprites still…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Returnal]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/returnal/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/returnal/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 24 Feb 2023 03:06:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Housemarque, Playstation 5 and PC, 2021

This is a great time. Housemarque has adapted their chaotic twin-stick shooting action into a gorgeous and cutting-edge third-person shooter, deftly bringing along the lessons they’ve learned through the year…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[King's Quest]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/kings-quest/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/kings-quest/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 24 Feb 2023 02:26:19 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sierra On-Line, IBM PC, 1984

Not as breezy or as purposeful with its environments as Leisure Suit Larry, but it’s very obviously a groundbreaking release for its time. Like with LSL I was surprised at how kind the parser is, and the game has some m…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/leisure-suit-larry-in-the-land-of-the-lounge-lizards/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/leisure-suit-larry-in-the-land-of-the-lounge-lizards/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 24 Feb 2023 02:26:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sierra On-Line, DOS, 1987

I’ve been meaning to play through more old Sierra stuff for a while now. I grew up on LucasArts, and Sierra’s adventure games have mostly been a blind spot for me barring the first Gabriel Knight. King’s Quest seemed a lit…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Space Quest: Chapter I - The Sarien Encounter]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/space-quest-chapter-i-the-sarien-encounter/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/space-quest-chapter-i-the-sarien-encounter/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 19 Feb 2023 05:59:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sierra On-Line, DOS, 1986

Relative to the other Sierra series first entries I’ve played this year, this released between King’s Quest and Leisure Suit Larry. The theme here is really fun. There’s a nice variety to the settings that make it feel lik…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The GG Shinobi II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-gg-shinobi-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-gg-shinobi-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 08 Feb 2023 00:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Game Gear, 1992

I liked this more than the first one. The structure is similar but the main change is that in each of the four selectable stages you’ll have to beat their boss to unlock the Shinobi (with unique abilities) and then you’ll also…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shining Force: The Legacy of Great Intention]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shining-force-the-legacy-of-great-intention/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shining-force-the-legacy-of-great-intention/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 29 Jan 2023 20:24:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Climax Entertainment and Sonic Co., Mega Drive, 1992

I haven’t played many SRPGs so I figured I’d play through this for the Sega factor. From what little I know about the genre, the unique part of Shining Force seems to be that you have town segmen…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Wishbringer]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/wishbringer/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/wishbringer/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 25 Dec 2022 02:22:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Infocom, various PC platforms, 1985

Directed by Brian Moriarty (Loom, etc). Infocom themselves describes this as “introductory level” right on the box. Wishbringer basically does away with all of the stuff I disliked about Zork I. The world is much…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Jet Island]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/jet-island/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/jet-island/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 25 Dec 2022 02:13:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Master Indie, PC, 2018

This is a neat proof of concept where you Tribes-ski around an impossibly big island, make your way to the core of colossal moving robots, and blow 'em up. There isn't much to it outside of the movement and it's VERY motion-u…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Room VR]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/the-room-vr/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/the-room-vr/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 25 Dec 2022 02:13:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Fireproof Studios, PC, 2020

Really good VR adaptation and the tech fits so well. There aren’t any huge swerves from the flat-screen games, but there are plenty of standout puzzles and everything is paced well. Probably the best of the series.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bomberman 64]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bomberman-64/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bomberman-64/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 18 Dec 2022 00:25:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nice little campaign with some legit fun bosses and stages. There are some weird difficulty spikes, and the performance combined with the camera can get a little maddening, but it's a solid game overall.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[D no Shokutaku 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/d-no-shokutaku-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/d-no-shokutaku-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 16 Dec 2022 19:20:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[WARP, Dreamcast, 1999

This is WARP’s most fleshed-out game for sure. Taking place in snowy Canadian fields after a plane crash, the pre-rendered FMV has finally been relegated to occasional cutscenes and the adventure game scenes from the prior two…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shock Troopers]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/shock-troopers/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/shock-troopers/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:34:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Saurus, Arcade, 1997

Sick game. A surprisingly long one (wanna say my clear was like, idk, 30 minutes? 35?) but there's a lot of cool route selection stuff with a lot of clever re-use in design. Rolling through bullets to melee a dude is very satis…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Air Gallet]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/air-gallet/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/air-gallet/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:32:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Gazelle, Arcade, 1996

Cool game but a little uncanny, which makes sense given the Cave-sibling development history. Ship's just a little slow, hitbox maybe just a little big? Zako are mean as hell. First boss is overtuned. etc.

…but it's so sick v…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hishouzame]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/hishouzame/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/hishouzame/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:31:46 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Toaplan, Arcade, 1987

Wonderful game. I can see why this was such a monumental release, and it feels like it really paved the way for Raiden. There's a nice arc to learning how to lead all those fast bullets around, the bombs have a tricky delay th…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mahou Daisakusen]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/mahou-daisakusen/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/mahou-daisakusen/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:29:33 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Raizing, Arcade, 1993

I’ve loved this game ever since digging into it with the M2 release back in 2017. It’s not as relentlessly paced as a Cave game, but this gives it time to build out such a flavorful world for the genre’s standards. Each stage …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sin and Punishment]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sin-and-punishment/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sin-and-punishment/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:19:58 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Nintendo 64, 2000

This rules. I'm realizing that Cabal-style shooters and "forward-scrolling" shooters are largely the same thing, and this has to be near the top of that broader genre. I love the slight genre-bending parts, too, and ever…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Halo Infinite (Campaign)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/halo-infinite-campaign/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/halo-infinite-campaign/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:15:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[343i, PC, 2021

Played on Heroic.

Like in so many free-roaming games, there's a novelty to the world map that lasts for just an early portion of the campaign's length. In Infinite here, this map is full of little side battles. Since Halo has such a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Devil Daggers]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/devil-daggers/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/devil-daggers/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:11:17 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sorath, PC, 2016  

Devil Daggers has always seemed like a really good ultradense arcade-style game, but I've finally dug into it a little more. Once I learned that the gems can be absorbed by not firing and that you upgrade your firepower by collec…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Zork I]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/zork-i/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/zork-i/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 06:14:19 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Infocom, TRS-80, 1980

It’s easy to see why this was a big deal 40+ years ago. The map is big, the puzzles can be clever, there’s a nice sense of humor, and the interpreter is surprisingly smart. I got a kick out of how the combat was based on some …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hydlide]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/hydlide/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/hydlide/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:54:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[T&E Soft, PC-8800, 1984

A brief game full of grinding and designed around quicksaves. It's a hurdle to get into, of course, but I can certainly see why it'd be monumental in 1984. It's a cute adventure once you adjust, and it’s pretty staggering to…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ikari no Yousai (1993)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikari-no-yousai-1993/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikari-no-yousai-1993/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:52:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jaleco, Super Famicom, 1993

Thankfully, this is the best game in the trilogy. I have some nitpicks here (unskippable cutscenes and it's still slightly too mazey), but this is a great Valken-paced limited-continue action game with a really cool them…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Final Fantasy VII Remake]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/final-fantasy-vii-remake/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/final-fantasy-vii-remake/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:51:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Square Enix, Playstation 4, 2020

Enjoyed this. The main quest isn't overlong, the game is ridiculously gorgeous, and I really like what they did with the story. The combat is pretty brisk and flashy and fun, and really shines during some of the bos…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Natsuki Chronicles]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/natsuki-chronicles/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/natsuki-chronicles/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Qute, Xbox One, 2019

Really interesting setup here. The Story mode is genuinely pretty cool, giving you a pool of three lives per level that increases the more you have to retry the stage, and you upgrade weapons using credits earned throughout all…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Adventure of Little Ralph]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-adventure-of-little-ralph/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-adventure-of-little-ralph/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[New Corporation, Playstation, 1999

Fucking masterpiece.

Great visuals, tons of cool scenarios, incredibly good boss fights, and the fighting game genre twist is great. There are some tonal oddities that I don't like, but not enough of them to be a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ys III - Wanderers From Ys (PC-88)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ys-iii-wanderers-from-ys-pc-88/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ys-iii-wanderers-from-ys-pc-88/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nihon Falcom, PC-88, 1989

Played on Hard. The visuals, monster design, tight pacing, and excellent music are completely undeniable. The difficulty curve is also pretty tight considering the XP system, and while the bosses aren't particularly hard y…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Blazing Star]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/blazing-star/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/blazing-star/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:16 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Yumekobo, Arcade, 1998

This game fuckin rules. The CG sprites are certainly rough (which is excusable for 1998), but the scenes portrayed manage to be thrilling and unique nonetheless, and the fantastic soundtrack drives them perfectly as it hops b…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-great-ace-attorney-adventures/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-great-ace-attorney-adventures/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, 3DS, 2015

Been years since I've played one of these. It's really incredible how they handled the transition to 3D (like in AA...5?) and the new cast and setting were desperately needed. Tons of charming animations and a well-designed cast. …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Nikujin]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/nikujin/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/nikujin/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ikiki, PC, 2005

Brutal ninja platformer with a lot of wall running and occasional stealth elements. The movement and camera can get kind of erratic at times and you have to learn to not freak out during certain directional changes, but there's so m…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Daioh]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/daioh/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/daioh/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Very weird, but overall great. The game uses checkpoints, but it's kind with them by usually pushing you ahead of where you died and it actually eschews the checkpoints during boss fights. There's rank and a bit of rank management, but nothing too c…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Esp RaDe]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/esp-rade/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/esp-rade/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 1998

This is undoubtedly a great game, but upon revisiting and playing enough to get a clear, I think it's my least favorite mainline Cave game. Since I've already talked about the game's strengths, this is what I don't like:

* The f…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The House in Fata Morgana]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-house-in-fata-morgana/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-house-in-fata-morgana/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:46 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Novectacle, PC, 2012

This was incredible. A massive, massive story about lives tied to a mansion over centuries. I can't imagine the process of writing this or of localizing it. It's incredibly detailed, empathetic, sometimes heartbreaking, sometim…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sengoku Ace]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/sengoku-ace/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/sengoku-ace/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Psikyo, Arcade, 1993…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Espgaluda]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/espgaluda/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/espgaluda/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2003

You know how it is. It's a masterpiece. The final boss FINALLY clicked for me. There's so much to say about this game but it's late.

My favorite video game?…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bionic Commando (Game Boy)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bionic-commando-game-boy/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bionic-commando-game-boy/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Minakuchi Engineering, Game Boy, 1992  

Very much like the Ninja Ryukenden Game Boy game in the sense that it's very original, a bit shorter, and shockingly polished. A really good time, and the ending stretch is probably harder than the Famicom ga…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Darius II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/darius-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/darius-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:05 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1989

Beaten on "A" Difficulty ("Easy" on Switch collection).

This is a fascinating game. The move from three screens to two ultimately helps the pacing, cutting down on a lot of dead air at the expense of some novelty. A good decisi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Giga Wing]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/giga-wing/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/giga-wing/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Takumi and Capcom, Arcade, 1999

I loved this. This is the first Takumi game I've put time into, and the reflect mechanic is a blast. Just incredibly satisfying to get the barrier up, cut into a huge mass of bullets, and slam them back onto the enem…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Disco Elysium: The Final Cut]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/disco-elysium-the-final-cut/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/disco-elysium-the-final-cut/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:48:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[ZA/UM, PC, 2019

Incredibly unique game. It's mostly a very engaging and darkly funny detective story, packed with character progression and skill checks in a way that makes perfect sense in a tabletop setting but that you see rarely in a video game…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Actraiser 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/actraiser-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/actraiser-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:48:32 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Quintet and Ancient, Super Famicom, 1993

Really cool game. It's brutal, and there are unfortunately a couple lame segments that drag it down a little (a few mazes and some really questionable late fights), but the various jump mechanics are really …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ninja Five-O]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ninja-five-o/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ninja-five-o/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:48:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Game Boy Advance, 2003  
aka Ninja Cop

Sick, maddening, methodical game. Fun to learn the grapple controls. Very tight HP. Stages are slightly mazy but never too bad. Awesome bosses, amazing pixel art.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ankoku Densetsu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ankoku-densetsu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ankoku-densetsu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:47:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[RED, PC Engine, 1990  
aka The Legendary Axe II

A follow-up to Makyou Densetsu by a different team. Love the dark atmosphere of this game, love the boss designs. The core mechanics are pretty fun: you lose the satisfying axe charge attacks, but the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Perfect Dark Zero]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/perfect-dark-zero/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/perfect-dark-zero/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:47:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Rare, Xbox 360, 2005

This one's a jarring one to play in 2021. The style is hilarious (nu-metal Bond theme, everyone's clothing, the UI), it's kinda repugnant in terms of character design ("Mai Hem" are you kidding me), and the environments sincere…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ninja Ryukenden (Game Boy)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ninja-ryukenden-game-boy/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ninja-ryukenden-game-boy/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:47:16 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Natsume, Game Boy, 1991  
aka Ninja Gaiden

Very well-made action-platformer by Natsume, completely distinct from the arcade or Famicom games. This one plays more like Shatterhand, with Ryu moving at a slower pace to better fit the Game Boy's resolu…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sakura Wars]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sakura-wars/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sakura-wars/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:46:57 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[RED and Sega, Saturn, 1996

Played the fan translation. The combination of VN and tactics was pretty fun and novel, as was the 90s anime presentation. I appreciated how the fixed-length episodic structure of the game allowed for decently unique tact…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Atomic Runner Chelnov]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/atomic-runner-chelnov/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/atomic-runner-chelnov/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:46:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Data East, Arcade, 1988

This is such a neat game despite the roughness. The core forced-scrolling mechanics are super unique, fun to learn, and thoroughly explored. I particularly like the way that bouncing off of enemy heads works and is tied into…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Contra (Famicom)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/contra-famicom/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/contra-famicom/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:46:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Famicom, 1988  
aka Probotector

Been playing this lately and cleared the Famicom version today. Pretty clearly better than the arcade game of course, especially if you're playing the Famicom version with the extra BG animation. Has similar …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Xanadu Next]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/xanadu-next/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/xanadu-next/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:46:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nihon Falcom, Windows, 2005

An uneven game with a nice atmosphere. It feels very much like if one of the less-focused Ys games were built around mouse controls. It's generally enjoyable to run through the pretty environments, mow through monsters, …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/lands-of-lore-the-throne-of-chaos/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/lands-of-lore-the-throne-of-chaos/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:44:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Westwood Studios, MS-DOS, 1993

Excellent atmosphere and pixel art. Really friendly to get into. The mechanics, expectedly, don't hold up as you get into silly square-based dances and rapid equipment swapping, but I bet that's common for the genre.
…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Virtual Hydlide]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/virtual-hydlide/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/virtual-hydlide/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:44:47 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[T&E Soft, Saturn, 1995

a mess. 

The main programmer on this apparently worked on a bunch of golf games and I think that makes complete sense. There are a lot of ambitious things about this game: the environments are surprisingly detailed (even if …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ikaruga]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikaruga/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikaruga/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:42:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Arcade, 2001

I played some of Ikaruga in 2002. I bought it since it was a really cool-looking sendoff for the Dreamcast but didn't spend much time with it. I played some of the XBLA release in 2008 after falling in love with the idea of c…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/metal-gear-2-solid-snake/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/metal-gear-2-solid-snake/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:42:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, MSX2, 1991  

Really incredible. I heard going in that there was a lot of overlap between this and Metal Gear Solid and that's true (as it is with the first Metal Gear), but less so than I expected. Obviously the core mechanics are distinct …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sin & Punishment: Star Successor]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sin-and-punishment-star-successor/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sin-and-punishment-star-successor/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:41:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Wii, 2009

Still rules, and stands out from the original more than I remember. This one is about twice as long, and the result feels a bit closer to a game like Bayonetta than something arcade-ish. The IR aiming and near-constant flying al…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mischief Makers]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/mischief-makers/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/mischief-makers/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:41:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[This was pretty good. At it's core this is a 2D action-platformer about dashing all over the place, grabbing things, shaking things, and throwing things. Structurally it's a big series of 2-5 minute levels, and it very much feels like stage designer…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Radiant Silvergun]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/radiant-silvergun/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/radiant-silvergun/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:41:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Saturn, 1998

It's beautiful, I love the boss design, the player weapons are cool, and it's probably a top 3 in terms of presentation. The long runtime and arcane process of finding how much chaining I need for my ship to be viable, tho, k…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Alien Soldier]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/alien-soldier/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/alien-soldier/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:40:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Mega Drive, 1995

Alien Soldier is the real star of their MD lineup. 

I haven't beaten this yet (playing on its default "SUPERHARD" difficulty) but judging by the first half this is a masterpiece. Like in Gunstar there are a ton of things…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shenzhen I/O]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/shenzhen-io/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/shenzhen-io/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:40:19 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Zachtronics, PC, 2016

This game rules, but like so many Zachtronics games it's so dense. I hit a solid breaking point in the story (Avalon City), so I figured I'd shelve it for now.

The programming isn't too removed from TIS-100, but it does have …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Prop Cycle]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/prop-cycle/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/prop-cycle/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:39:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Namco, Arcade, 1996

What a beautiful game. Structured like a more elegant arcade take on Pilot Wings, but set in a clearly Ghibli-inspired world and with perfectly-tuned controls. Tough to learn but with a fun degree of freedom to find your route. …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Outer Wilds]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/outer-wilds/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/outer-wilds/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:37:58 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Mobius Digital, PC, 2019

Incredible. Really, really floored by this. Outer Wilds is crudely a first-person adventure game. It gives you an elegant set of actions and a space explorer's toolkit and tasks you with solving a complex mystery spread thr…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Makyou Densetsu - The Legendary Axe]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/makyou-densetsu-the-legendary-axe/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/makyou-densetsu-the-legendary-axe/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:37:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Victor Musical Industries, PC Engine, 1989  
aka The Legendary Axe

This game is fantastic, gotta be one of the best home action-platformers of its time. The axe charge up system is satisfying, and when you hit the second half of the game and start …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tomb Raider]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/tomb-raider/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/tomb-raider/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:37:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[CORE Design, Playstation, 1996

Played the PS1 version. Obviously the game was a big deal at the time due to its presentation and perspective, but its specific approach to 3D Prince of Persia style platforming is still pretty novel. It's a lot of fu…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Darius]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/darius/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/darius/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:37:28 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1987

Arcade, beat New Version but played a lot of Extra Version.

What a cool game. The big unique elements are, of course, the three-screen 4:1 aspect ratio and the massive 28-stage map. The aspect ratio certainly makes for a unique…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Steel Battalion]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/steel-battalion/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/steel-battalion/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:37:22 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom and Nude Maker, Xbox, 2002  
aka Tekki

Steel Battalion's controller is ridiculous, as everyone knows, and it's worth a quick rundown. The left-hand panel of the three-panel controller has a throttle for changing gear and a one-axis stick for…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631967f90b3d6c020e89b3c1/attachments/631967fa0b3d6c020e89c001/previews/631967fa0b3d6c020e89c007/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Enemy Zero]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/enemy-zero/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/enemy-zero/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 03:35:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[WARP, Saturn, 1996

It’s crazy to me that this was only about a year and a half after D no Shokutaku. Aside from being set in space, the major differences between this and D are that it drops the time limit and adds surprisingly pretty polygonal fir…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[D no Shokutaku]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/d-no-shokutaku/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/d-no-shokutaku/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 12 Dec 2022 01:56:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[WARP, 3DO, 1995

A first-person adventure game with a pretty strong atmosphere, rigid-but-serviceable CG, and unbearably slow movement. Would have been way better if it were more static images like Myst. The two-hour time limit and lack of saving ar…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bujingai - The Forsaken City]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bujingai-the-forsaken-city/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bujingai-the-forsaken-city/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 22 Nov 2022 20:39:47 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[RED, Playstation 2, 2003

A surprisingly polished 3D action game by RED. It’s better than I remember Gungrave being. The animation is nice, the combo system is basic but fun to noodle around with, and there are some goofy movement options to mess wi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rastan Saga]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rastan-saga/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rastan-saga/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 04 Nov 2022 04:57:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1988

Very cool game with a fairly unique Japanese take on a barbarian theme. Plenty of jank, but the enemies and equipment are well thought-out and there are a surprising amount of different approaches you have to take with the traps…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Vermilion]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/vermilion/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/vermilion/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 21 Oct 2022 23:13:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM2, Mega Drive, 1989  
aka Sword of Vermilion

This game left a strong impression on me as a kid because of that cold initial town music. Revisiting it and putting a few hours into it I think it's pretty neat, but just a little too slow-paced …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Chase the Express]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/chase-the-express/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/chase-the-express/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 19 Oct 2022 02:10:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sugar & Rockets, Playstation, 2000
a.k.a. Covert Ops: Nuclear Dawn

Very cool Biohazard-style game that takes place on a train. There's a shift in focus from puzzles to combat, but it's not too huge of one despite what the roll buttons suggest. Inst…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Yami no Shigotonin Kage]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/yami-no-shigotonin-kage/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/yami-no-shigotonin-kage/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 12 Oct 2022 20:35:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Natsume, Famicom, 1990

This is no Shatterhand, but you can tell they're on their way. It's got a super well-executed dark visual style like Batman or Gun-Dec and a similarly pumping soundtrack. There's a strict five-lives limit, and because of that…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Brightis]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/brightis/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/brightis/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 11 Oct 2022 01:31:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Quintet, Playstation, 1999

Shockingly modern 1999 PS1 game with a big polygonal world and complex (though not meaningfully so) combat. I had to shelve it like 2/3rds through (a little under 10 hours in) because the dungeons were getting a little to…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bionic Commando (2009)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bionic-commando-2009/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bionic-commando-2009/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 27 Sep 2022 02:06:28 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Grin, Xbox 360, 2009 

Better than it has any right to be, frankly. There are some annoyances, like a lack of feedback and kind of a slow start. But once you unlock some abilities and make it to some of the cooler areas swinging around and throwing …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Prodeus]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/prodeus/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/prodeus/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 24 Sep 2022 02:56:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[The core mechanics here feel pretty good and I think the visuals are a technically unique take on Doom 2016, but unfortunately the structure is kind of mess. Regardless of the difficulty, you get infinite respawns at a checkpoint without any rollbac…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Crash Bandicoot]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/crash-bandicoot/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/crash-bandicoot/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 17 Sep 2022 23:07:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Naughty Dog, Playstation, 1996  

Never fully played through this until now. I've always wanted this to be good, because I like the fundamental idea of a linear 3D platformer and felt it never got explored much in the 90s. I think this does a pretty…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shin-chan: Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation - The Endless Seven-Day Journey]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/shin-chan-me-and-the-professor-on-summer-vacation-the-endless-seven-day-journey/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/shin-chan-me-and-the-professor-on-summer-vacation-the-endless-seven-day-journey/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 16 Sep 2022 18:03:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Millennium Kitchen, Switch, 2021  
aka Crayon Shin-chan: Ora to Hakase no Natsuyasumi - Owaranai Nanokakan no Tabi

This is the lowest-stakes game I've played in years. Very chill and idyllic fixed-camera game with particularly gorgeous backgrounds.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/warhammer-40000-space-marine/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/warhammer-40000-space-marine/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 11 Sep 2022 22:55:46 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Relic Entertainment, Windows, 2011

Pretty good third person action game that takes a lot from Gears but omits the cover system and marries the shooting with Musou-style slashing. This isn't quite Gears 1 level, but it's a tight and well-paced campa…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Stretch Panic (PS2)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/stretch-panic-ps2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/stretch-panic-ps2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 20:08:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Playstation 2, 2001  
aka Hippa Linda, Freak Out

Defeated but did not exorcise every boss.

This is a slick-looking game with a lot of nice technical tricks in it, and it's surprisingly competent for a first-go at a third-person 3D game i…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gunstar Super Heroes]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/gunstar-super-heroes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/gunstar-super-heroes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Game Boy Advance, 2005

Like with AGH, this is better than the original. The stages feel like they're more mindfully built around the character's moves, the pixel art is nicer, the weapons seem more balanced, and enemies aren't just though…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Advance Guardian Heroes]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/advance-guardian-heroes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/advance-guardian-heroes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Game Boy Advance, 2004

Liked this better than the Saturn game for sure. Ditching the invincible AI partner, losing the 3-plane system, making block require a meter, and adding a fun parry are all big improvements. Battles are generally mo…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Astro Boy: Omega Factor]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/astro-boy-omega-factor/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/astro-boy-omega-factor/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Game Boy Advance, 2003

NA version. Definitely got the wrong impression of this back in the day. This is pretty good!  It takes the basic core side-view melee combat from Tiny Toons but refines it a whole lot and gives you an awful lot of …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hajime No Ippo: The Fighting!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/hajime-no-ippo-the-fighting/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/hajime-no-ippo-the-fighting/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Game Boy Advance, 2002

Very cool take on Punch-Out. Extremely good spritework and some cool mechanics twists (even if it's not as elegant or pattern-based).…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4874c77e840188351151/attachments/631a4875c77e840188351c71/previews/631a4875c77e840188351c78/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster's Bad Dream]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/tiny-toon-adventures-busters-bad-dream/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/tiny-toon-adventures-busters-bad-dream/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Game Boy Advance, 2002

This is kind of neat. There's a very satisfying set of core mechanics here: it's single-plane 2D, but you have a handful of simple combos and attacks and enemies easily get knocked into each other and cluster up on …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4874c77e8401883511aa/attachments/631a4875c77e840188351dcd/previews/631a4875c77e840188351dd3/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Silpheed: The Lost Planet]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/silpheed-the-lost-planet/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/silpheed-the-lost-planet/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Playstation 2, 2000

This is actually pretty good as far as console paced shooters go, I think. It's too slow and long to want to 1cc, but retrying the late chapters was fun. Nice graphics and some interesting boss designs.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4874c77e840188351247/attachments/631a4875c77e840188351f3e/previews/631a4875c77e840188351f44/download/Silpheed-_The_Lost_Planet_Japanese_Cover.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bakuretsu Muteki Bangaioh (N64)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bakuretsu-muteki-bangaioh-n64/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bakuretsu-muteki-bangaioh-n64/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Nintendo 64, 2000

Liked it. It's very much like Mischief Makers in terms of structure and pacing, but with less standout cool moments unfortunately. On the other hand, the core mechanics are more fun to me with the constant system-halting…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4877c77e8401883521f3/attachments/631a4878c77e840188352e72/previews/631a4878c77e840188352e78/download/Bangai-ON64Box.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rakugaki Showtime]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rakugaki-showtime/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rakugaki-showtime/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Playstation, 1999

Cute visuals, fun movement with a lot of homing dash stuff, fun item throwing and parrying. Real neat, and a big departure from their previous two party fighters.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4877c77e84018835220f/attachments/631a4878c77e840188352ecb/previews/631a4878c77e840188352ed2/download/Rakugaki_Showtime_cover.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Golden Axe: Beast Rider]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/golden-axe-beast-rider/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/golden-axe-beast-rider/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Xbox 360, 2008

This isn't a good game, but it's better than its reputation suggests. The presentation is hilarious, very edgy and embarrassing for 2008. Animation blending is jacked up all over the place. But the core combat is kinda fun, lar…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4877c77e840188352264/attachments/631a4878c77e840188352fc0/previews/631a4878c77e840188352fc8/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Silhouette Mirage]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/silhouette-mirage/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/silhouette-mirage/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Saturn, 1997

This has a lot of cool and creative stuff in it. Some genuinely funny boss fights, some clever little strategies to find. It's a got a huge core move set and the presentation reminds me of a better and more pixel art focused …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4877c77e84018835229c/attachments/631a4878c77e840188352fe7/previews/631a4878c77e840188352fee/download/SilhouetteMirage_Saturn_JP_Box_Front.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Guardian Heroes]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/guardian-heroes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/guardian-heroes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Saturn, 1996

I should trust my 2010 tastes more often. The multiplayer arena mode here seems neat enough in the same way that the Yu Yu Hakusho game is, and it's probably a good successor on that front. As a single-player beat 'em up, tho…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4877c77e8401883522ed/attachments/631a4879c77e84018835302d/previews/631a4879c77e840188353035/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Yu Yu Hakusho - Maikyo Toitsusen]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/yu-yu-hakusho-maikyo-toitsusen/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/yu-yu-hakusho-maikyo-toitsusen/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Mega Drive, 1994

This one is pretty cool. I'm sure it's busted competitively but the presentation is great and it's very ambitious. Was probably pretty mind-blowing in 1994 with a multi-tap.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a487ac77e84018835326f/attachments/631a487bc77e840188353e9d/previews/631a487bc77e840188353ea3/download/Makyou_Toitsusen_cover.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dynamite Headdy]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/dynamite-headdy/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/dynamite-headdy/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Mega Drive, 1994

Dynamite Headdy is a deeply annoying showcase of great pixel art and technical tricks. It's a million confusing gimmicks strung together. It's somehow a 1994 2D action platformer with too many cutscenes. I do not like thi…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a487ac77e8401883532a7/attachments/631a487bc77e840188353f5c/previews/631a487bc77e840188353f64/download/47312_front.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[McDonald's Treasure Land Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/mcdonalds-treasure-land-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/mcdonalds-treasure-land-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Mega Drive, 1993

would you believe that this is a very competent but also very unexciting action platformer? Pay those bills.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a487ac77e8401883532de/attachments/631a487bc77e840188353ff2/previews/631a487bc77e840188353ffa/download/s-l1600.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gunstar Heroes]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/gunstar-heroes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/gunstar-heroes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Mega Drive, 1993

I've always seen this as a pretty mid treasure game compared to Alien Soldier. Let's see where it lands.

Ok.

Played through Gunstar Heroes today. I had played scattered stages growing up but this was the first honest pl…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a487ac77e840188353328/attachments/631a487bc77e840188354065/previews/631a487bc77e84018835406a/download/s-l500.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Eye of the Temple]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/eye-of-the-temple/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/eye-of-the-temple/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Rune Skovbo Johansen, PC, 2021

This is an interesting one. It's a room-scale VR game in the 2016 sense of the word, where you actually need 2x2m to play it. Room scale has largely fallen out of favor, and this game is a shining example why: the adm…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a487cc77e840188354372/attachments/631a487ec77e8401883550e2/previews/631a487ec77e8401883550e8/download/library_600x900.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Her Story]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/her-story/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/her-story/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sam Barlow, PC, 2015

Clever, novel, well-acted.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a487fc77e84018835544c/attachments/631a4880c77e84018835627b/previews/631a4880c77e840188356281/download/library_600x900.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ninja-gaiden-3-razors-edge/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ninja-gaiden-3-razors-edge/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Team Ninja, PC, 2012

I remember really hating vanilla NG3. Just a massive disappointment. This revision of the game never repulsed me quite like the original did, and ultimately I think it's worth playing through on Normal mode, but unlike masterpi…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a487fc77e8401883554fb/attachments/631a4880c77e8401883562ea/previews/631a4880c77e8401883562f1/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Prey (2006)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/prey-2006/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/prey-2006/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Human Head Studios, PC, 2006

Better puzzles than I expected, but the action is as bad as I feared. It's an already short game, but it'd do better with a Portal-style pace. Lots of dumb mid-2000s edgy shit, too, especially the ghost girls.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4882c77e840188356537/attachments/631a4883c77e84018835739f/previews/631a4883c77e8401883573a5/download/header.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Floating Runner]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/floating-runner/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/floating-runner/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Xing Entertainment, Playstation, 1996

Unfortunate. Being a pre Mario64 3D platformer I expected jank, and it is. The core of the game is tank control movement, high jumping, and a very short-range gun to shoot enemies with. There are lots of cute d…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4882c77e840188356595/attachments/631a4884c77e840188357477/previews/631a4884c77e84018835747d/download/s-l400.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Death's Door]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/deaths-door/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/deaths-door/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Acid Nerve, PC, 2021

A surprisingly restrained game that uses some bare dodge-roll-slash combat. The dungeons aren't thrilling to explore, but they don't overstay their welcome and the bosses are pretty fun throughout. Definitely better than Titan …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Way of the Samurai]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/way-of-the-samurai/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/way-of-the-samurai/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Acquire, Playstation 2, 2002

Super novel structure, and it gets a lot of credit for having such a cool branching story, but unfortunately I can't enjoy the combat enough to tolerate the lack of skippable dialog bubbles.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4885c77e840188357668/attachments/631a4887c77e8401883582cd/previews/631a4887c77e8401883582d5/download/399892-way-of-the-samurai-playstation-2-front-cover.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Miracle Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/miracle-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/miracle-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Data East, Arcade, 1993  
aka Spinmaster

Pretty mid action-platformer. It's generally well constructed, with clean art and nice music, but the on-rails sections are boring if you aren't playing for score and there's very little to it all.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Special Criminal Investigation]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/special-criminal-investigation/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/special-criminal-investigation/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1989

Neat little Outrun/ChaseHQ style game. It's a pretty forgiving one overall, as the timer isn't very harsh and it won't take that many attempts to learn the stage tricks, but the chaining passes is neat and I like the precision-a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tenchu: Stealth Assassins]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/tenchu-stealth-assassins/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/tenchu-stealth-assassins/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Acquire, Playstation, 1998

Cool game to finally beat. It's obviously clunky in a lot of ways (especially compared to Metal Gear Solid), but the melee combat is surprisingly good for the context imo. The stages have a very Tomb Raider style 3D grid …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dust: A Tale of the Wired West]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/dust-a-tale-of-the-wired-west/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/dust-a-tale-of-the-wired-west/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[CyberFlix, Windows 3.1, 1995 

I have some childhood memories of clicking around in this game and getting nowhere, and something made me want to revisit this recently. Getting Windows 3.1 running these days can be a pain.

This is a first-person adv…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Phantasy Star (Switch Sega Ages)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/phantasy-star-switch-sega-ages/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/phantasy-star-switch-sega-ages/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[M2 and Sega, Switch, 2018

Very cool theme. Nice art, nice music, nice three-planet setup. The dungeons are amazing technologically but managed to wear on me even with the map.

In no universe would I have ever beaten this without a guide. Even this…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[X]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/x/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/x/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo and Argonaut Software, Game Boy, 1992

Super impressive tech showpiece for the Game Boy, and obviously reminiscent of Star Fox in some ways, but the structure is pretty unique. 

There's one general map that gets re-used across the games' t…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4889c77e84018835895e/attachments/631a488ac77e8401883597b0/previews/631a488ac77e8401883597b6/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Trespasser]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/trespasser/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/trespasser/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Dreamworks Interactive, PC, 1998

Of course it's bad. I can admire the attempt to change up how guns are fired in first person, but this sort of independent arm motion won't wind up feeling natural until VR.

I'd actually say that this early phase o…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dracula Densetsu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/dracula-densetsu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/dracula-densetsu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Game Boy, 1989  
aka Castlevania: The Adventure

Lots of baffling shit in this game. From a tech perspective it seems to NEVER run at full speed. There's a ridiculous amount of screen tearing for a fixed-hardware game, too. 

There are a few…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4889c77e840188358a30/attachments/631a488ac77e8401883599c3/previews/631a488ac77e8401883599c9/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/super-mario-land-2-6-golden-coins/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/super-mario-land-2-6-golden-coins/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo, Game Boy, 1992

Big step up from the first, obviously. Everything's nicer visually and the basic mechanics feel closer to the Famicom games (though not quite there). The way that you have to fight bosses again when you get a game over is p…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4889c77e840188358ac2/attachments/631a488bc77e840188359a38/previews/631a488bc77e840188359a3f/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rygar (NES)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rygar-nes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rygar-nes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tecmo, Famicom, 1987

There's something cool about the theme and the journey and some of the backgrounds here, but for the most part the action in this game is a mess. The bosses are a joke, the enemies have no thought to them, and two of the three …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Monster Hunter Rise]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/monster-hunter-rise/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/monster-hunter-rise/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2021

I don't know about the monster selection and post-game stuff just yet, but I AM loving the new maneuverability stuff and the new monster in-fighting mechanics. The village quests did go by pretty fast.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a486ec77e84018834f363/attachments/631a4870c77e84018834ffb1/previews/631a4870c77e84018834ffb7/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Inscryption]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/inscryption/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/inscryption/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Daniel Mullins Games, PC, 2021

Starts very strong. Builds up a good permadeath card game loop with a unique aesthetic, a lot of mystery, and some really neat core mechanics.

Once you beat this and realize this is just the first act, however, you'l…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Great Ace Attorney 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/the-great-ace-attorney-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/the-great-ace-attorney-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Switch, 2017

It's more of the same, but the structure was a little different in this one. It's a clear two-game story arc and the payoff was good, even if the cases felt a bit uneven.

These two games are as good as the original trilogy, I …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ikari no Yousai 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikari-no-yousai-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikari-no-yousai-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jaleco, Game Boy, 1992

This game improves on the action of the original in nearly every way. The healing item distribution is way more deliberate and character revivals are gone, making things tenser, and both characters can switch between three si…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ikari no Yousai (1991)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikari-no-yousai-1991/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikari-no-yousai-1991/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jaleco, Game Boy, 1991

Cool little room-by-room top-down action game. Slow movement like Gain Ground or something and a neat separation of character abilities. The combat isn't thrilling and usually boils down to decent positioning, but it doesn't …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Trip World]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/trip-world/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/trip-world/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 05:02:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sunsoft, Game Boy, 1992

An extremely cute game, but it's a strange platformer with very little threat and a lot of NPCs that kinda just push you around and don't damage you. The boss fights stand out like a sore thumb. Not a great game, but very ac…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Mario Land]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/super-mario-land/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/super-mario-land/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 05:01:28 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo, Game Boy, 1989

Very brief, and the mechanics don't feel as good as the console games, but it's a cute platformer with little STG stages and nothing lasts longer than it needs to.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Blue Stinger]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/blue-stinger/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/blue-stinger/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:55:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Climax Graphics, Dreamcast, 1999

Pretty neat game. The combat is surprisingly satisfying with the huge impact effects (that stun rod!), blocking, and monster limb removal stuff. There are some places where it's easy to get lost, objective-wise, and…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Runabout]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/runabout/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/runabout/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:53:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Climax Entertainment, Playstation, 1997

Pretty novel driving game. The courses are mostly linear, but you get these little selectable routes all over the place and the streets are filled with things to smash into and get points for. The car handlin…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cave Noire]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cave-noire/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cave-noire/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:52:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Game Boy, 1991

A cute and small-scale Game Boy roguelike from 1991. The structure is pretty unique: you play through dungeons that get larger in size (like Shiren), but there are four dungeon objective types for you to chip away at (each wi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Marathon]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/marathon/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/marathon/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:30:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bungie, Macintosh, 1994

This is an impressive game for 1994, and I think there are some cool and unique things that it does. The desolate space station is pretty moody. The alien designs are cool. I like the health station and save point structure …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Vimana]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/vimana/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/vimana/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:28:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Toaplan, Arcade, 1991

Some neat pixel art in here, but ultimately this is a pretty busted Toaplan STG that relies solely on autofire rate. It'll only take a couple tries to clear. Shame the music can't really be heard over the shots.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Teppodon]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/teppodon/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/teppodon/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:27:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ikiki, PC, 2004

VERY sick improvement on Teppoman. Cleaner controls (fixed up some climb+jump shit) and way cooler enemies and stages and visuals.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Teppoman]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/teppoman/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/teppoman/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:25:26 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ikiki, PC, 2003

Extremely short but well-made little action-platformer that involves limited-ammo weapons and some very minor stealth elements. Being an early freeware game it's visually sparse but clean and perfectly readable.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[...Iru!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/iru/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/iru/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:22:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Soft Machine, Playstation, 1998

A straightforward first-person adventure game that basically plays out like Clock Tower but worse. It's kinda novel looking in a "polished King's Field 1" sort of way.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cabal]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cabal/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cabal/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[TAD Corporation, Arcade, 1988

Pretty simple game, and one wrecked by autofire, but it walked so Wild Guns could run. A useful dodge mechanic and satisfying destruction.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Banishing Racer]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/banishing-racer/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/banishing-racer/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jaleco, Game Boy, 1991

An extremely novel and cute Game Boy platformer. You control a car, complete with pretty sluggish acceleration and even more sluggish reverse (the sprite is always facing right). Stages are generally manually-scrolling, but t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dead Space]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dead-space/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dead-space/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Visceral Games, PC, 2008

Played on Hard.

This is a pretty good game that, unfortunately, drags too much in Act 2. I don't think the combat is particularly great, certainly not enough to justify the game length. But the abilities are kinda fun, the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Yakuza 6: The Song of Life]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/yakuza-6-the-song-of-life/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/yakuza-6-the-song-of-life/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Playstation 4, 2016

A surprisingly interesting game for being the sixth main entry in the series. Loved the Hiroshima setting and loved the relative brevity of a lot of the plot, but obviously we're in familiar territory here. Beat Takeshi is…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Titan Souls]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/titan-souls/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/titan-souls/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Acid Nerve, PC, 2015

Decided to play this because Death's Door looked cool. Unfortunately didn't like it overall. The core mechanics of firing and force-pulling a single arrow are neat, I like the way the world map is structured overall (the tiny p…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Boogerman: A Pick and Flick Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/boogerman-a-pick-and-flick-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/boogerman-a-pick-and-flick-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Interplay, Genesis, 1994

okay it's not good but it's probably better than some of the Shiny games. Surprisingly decent boss fights, and the stages are a little convoluted but not mazelike. Still, not enough stage, enemy, or mechanical variety.

And…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ys IX: Monstrum Nox]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ys-ix-monstrum-nox/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ys-ix-monstrum-nox/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nihon Falcom, PC, 2019

This Flash Guard/Dodge model of Ys that's been around since 7 is still inherently satisfying albeit simple (learn animations, then Flash, then win). It's pretty fun to stack up dodge and flash repeatedly while pummelling on a…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968020b3d6c020e89f08f/attachments/631968040b3d6c020e89fe1b/previews/631968040b3d6c020e89fe22/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[10,000 Bullets]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/10000-bullets/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/10000-bullets/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Blue Moon Studio, Playstation 2, 2005  
aka Tsukiyo ni Saraba

This game sucks. It's a mess of a bullet time third-person shooter.

BUT

Most of the game is about the auto lock snapping to an enemy, shrinking, and then giving you a brief window for …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Last Labyrinth]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/last-labyrinth/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/last-labyrinth/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Amata K.K., PC VR, 2019

A very polished puzzle game with some mystery to it. You're bound to a chair and have a laser pointer on your head and guide a girl through Saw-themed puzzles. The deaths can get pretty dark without being graphic. There are …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Castlevania: Lords of Shadow]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/castlevania-lords-of-shadow/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/castlevania-lords-of-shadow/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[MercurySteam, PC, 2010

Played on Hard. 

Better than I expected. Some pretty fun combat mechanics despite the "honesty" (lack of iframes), just takes some learning with less than obvious animations. Hard mode is appropriately tough. I'm not crazy a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[R-Type]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/r-type/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/r-type/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Arcade, 1987

Decided to try credit feeding the arcade original. Some of the checkpoints in this game are particularly egregious, and there are enough of these to make it a no-miss game. I tried beating the stage 7 midpoint well, well over 100…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Light Crusader]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/light-crusader/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/light-crusader/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Mega Drive, 1995

Late Treasure-developed Megadrive game. Almost certainly inspired by Landstalker. Unlike Landstalker it's one big dungeon and there isn't a lot in the way of exploration, which ultimately makes for a tighter game in this …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dark Savior]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dark-savior/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dark-savior/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Climax Entertainment, Saturn, 1996

A big step up from Landstalker. The Yoko Taro-ish parallel story setup keeps the pace brief while still having a lot to do and see, and the combat is ultimately more fun through slightly more complicated 1v1 fight…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tip Top]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/tip-top/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/tip-top/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SEGA, Arcade, 1983
aka Congo Bongo

This is pretty fascinating. It seems like it's clearly the first go at 3D platforming, and it's surprisingly pretty and varied for being that. Can't quite close out a loop.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gunlord X]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/gunlord-x/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/gunlord-x/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[NGDEV, Switch, 2019

Turrican again but with a better health system, bosses, signposting. Sick pixel art. Weird control mechanics, feels like it must be a significant rebalancing from the MVS/AES original. Cool STG stages.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[RoboSkate]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/roboskate/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/roboskate/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Matas Sakalauskas, PC, 2020

A simple QWOP-like game about a robot arm on a skateboard. Mind-bending to learn, lasts about exactly as long as it needs to.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Castlevania 64]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/castlevania-64/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/castlevania-64/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Nintendo 64, 1999  
aka Akumajou Dracula Apocalypse

I actually kinda like the structure of this game. A linear sequence of slightly less linear levels that mix platforming, combat, and light puzzles. The combat is the weakest part of the ga…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Turrican (C64)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/turrican-c64/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/turrican-c64/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Rainbow Arts Software, Commodore 64, 1990

Certainly incredible from a tech perspective. There are a lot of rough edges here, but I found both the sweeping laser and the rolling ball to be a lot of fun to use, and the stages do a good job of riding …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Landstalker]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/landstalker/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/landstalker/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Climax Entertainment, Mega Drive, 1992

Gorgeous. Really stunning game for 1992. Impressive how complex the various dioramas are. 

The combat is simple, but the puzzles and the platforming elevate the game. Platforming in particular surprised me: i…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Beyond Oasis]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/beyond-oasis/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/beyond-oasis/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ancient, Mega Drive, 1994

Very modern-feeling visuals, almost looks like Xenocrisis. Flat colors, cool animation, big sprites. Excellent audio, too, with some surprisingly ambient tracks, directional sound effects, reverb.

This is kind of the oppo…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bucky O'Hare]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bucky-ohare/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bucky-ohare/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Famicom, 1992

A solid action platformer using Konami's multi character schtick. Some fun puzzle-y bosses, doesn't overstay its welcome. A surprisingly flat retry structure though, making it feel like a modern quicksave-style game at times.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dynamite Batman (Famicom)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dynamite-batman-famicom/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dynamite-batman-famicom/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sunsoft, Famicom, 1991  
aka Batman: Return of the Joker

Ridiculously gorgeous game, but unfortunately not quite as solid as the first.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Moon Crystal]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/moon-crystal/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/moon-crystal/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Hect, Famicom, 1992

Great animation and it's fun to learn the weird movement. Stages are tightly-designed and the environment art is nice. Cool cutscenes. 

Unfortunately, the bosses aren't as fun to fight as they are to look at, and there's an inc…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Crazy Taxi 3]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/crazy-taxi-3/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/crazy-taxi-3/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Hitmaker, Xbox, 2002

S-ranked West Coast and Small Apple, Awesome'd Glitter Oasis. I always loved what they did with the original arcade map in this release (adding a bunch of areas and the CT2 mechanics), and this definitely has the best mini-map …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Crazy Taxi 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/crazy-taxi-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/crazy-taxi-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Hitmaker, Dreamcast, 2001

Went back to this one and got S-Rank on the two cities and did most of the Crazy Pyramid. Overall it's not as good as the first game, definitely not, but the arrow is better-behaved than in home CT1's Original City and the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[GG Shinobi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/gg-shinobi/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/gg-shinobi/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SEGA, Game Gear, 1991

An overlooked Shinobi game released a couple years after Revenge. The structure is kinda unique and takes a little bit from Rockman, with the first four stages being selectable and having you rescuing color-coded comrades that…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dino Crisis 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dino-crisis-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dino-crisis-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Playstation, 2000

A pretty cool game, but ultimately probably merely better than the original Dino Crisis (which is probably the worst of the Capcom fixed-camera PS1 games). It's too simple mechanically to be a particularly good 3D action g…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Amid Evil]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/amid-evil/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/amid-evil/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Indefatigable, PC, 2018

A classic-style FPS that probably has more in common with Unreal than Doom or Quake. I don't think the weapons and enemies combine into combat that's nearly as enjoyable as something like DUSK, Doom 2016, or Serious Sam, but…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Metroid Prime]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/metroid-prime/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/metroid-prime/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Retro Studios, GameCube, 2002

This game is incredibly stylish and gorgeous. The pace combined with the z-target combat reminds me a bit of a OOT-era 3D Zelda. The movement upgrades in particular are a lot of fun to use. Unfortunately, despite being…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Perfect Dark]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/perfect-dark/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/perfect-dark/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Rare, Nintendo 64, 2000

Not a lot of surprises here. It's Goldeneye with a bit more to it and a Deus Ex theme. Some of the warts are a little more prominent in this game: more frequent extreme framerate dips, more annoying objective failures becaus…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Room 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-room-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-room-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Fireproof Games, PC, 2016

Extremely more of the same, of course. Fortunately the devs steered away from using the viewfinder all that often. It's good, but I'm not rushing to play the third.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Zwei: The Arges Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/zwei-the-arges-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/zwei-the-arges-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nihon Falcom, PC, 2001

Found the dungeons to be too repetitive in this one, didn't really like the structure. Very pretty game though.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Halo: ODST]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/halo-odst/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/halo-odst/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bungie, Xbox 360, 2009

It's better than Halo 4 and 5 campaigns because it doesn't have the lame silver and orange guys but it's worse than Halo 1-3 campaigns because it has a worse hub world and the whole game is 2008 brown. I don't need to see pol…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/star-wars-shadows-of-the-empire/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/star-wars-shadows-of-the-empire/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[LucasArts, Nintendo 64, 1996

Surely this game's weird third-person/first-person combat with extremely heavy autoaim was a big inspiration for Goldeneye 64 even if the floaty movement wasn't. The scope of a lot of these stages are pretty impressive …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Otogi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/otogi/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/otogi/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 25 Jun 2026 02:44:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[From Software, Xbox, 2002

I gave this game a brief try as a teenager and bounced off of it in just a mission or two, but some time in the 2010s I picked up a cheap used copy. I thought that I was surely missing something, given the praise the game …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mario vs Donkey Kong]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mario-vs-donkey-kong/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mario-vs-donkey-kong/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 21 Jun 2026 20:21:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo Software Technologies, Game Boy Advance, 2004

A successor to Donkey Kong ‘94 released ten years later.

Much of the game follows in the footsteps of the original, with similar small-scale stages and a similar core set of actions for Mario.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rising Zan]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/rising-zan/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/rising-zan/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 14 Jun 2026 22:05:16 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[UEP Systems, Playstation, 1999

A 3D katana-and-revolver wild west action game from the developers of Cool Boarders. Everything is played for laughs as your hot-headed cowboy swordsman main character slices up Fist of the North Star goobers, pretty …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Look Outside]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/look-outside/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/look-outside/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 13 Jun 2026 19:05:23 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Francis Coulombe, PC, 2025

A loosely traditional JRPG set inside an apartment building where looking outside causes people to morph into grotesque monsters thanks to a gigantic celestial body that suddenly appeared in the sky one day. The game ride…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Wonder Boy: Monster Land]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/wonder-boy-monster-land/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/wonder-boy-monster-land/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 11 Jun 2026 01:02:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Westone, Arcade, 1987

An extremely cool arcade action platformer with simple “RPG” trappings in the form of NPCs to talk to, stores to visit, and secret rooms. It’s a game I’ve wanted to put more time into since I first tried it in the Sega Ages 25…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tanuki Justice]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/tanuki-justice/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/tanuki-justice/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 05 Jun 2026 03:57:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Wonderboy Bobi, PC, 2021

A cute and no-nonsense Contra-style arcade-designed action platformer. Nice environments and enemy designs, mostly good readability, and some nice backgrounds and occasional big sprites. Aside from having omni-directional t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[007 First Light]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/007-first-light/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/007-first-light/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 04 Jun 2026 15:06:54 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[IO Interactive, PC, 2026

The modern Hitman games are probably some of the best around, so I was basically guaranteed to give this game a shot. Played on Hard (“Purist” or whatever).

IO went in a more Uncharted direction than a Hitman one here. The…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[DonPachi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/donpachi/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/donpachi/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 31 May 2026 05:06:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 1995

Cave’s debut masterpiece. I originally cleared this in 2020 but wanted to come back to it and get an on-stream clear. As far as I know this is the first shooting game with the idea of holding fire to get a focus laser that gives …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5e9bd0d42c518d3c2cc25995/attachments/6a13236ad0b87759945d30bb/previews/6a13236cd0b87759945d30cc/download/a43c7672-ccdc-434f-b450-98ce44e8f4d1.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Battle Formula]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/battle-formula/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/battle-formula/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 26 May 2026 02:43:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sunsoft, Famicom, 1991. aka Super Spy Hunter

Top-down vertical-scrolling car shooting action. I’ve never played anything in this little Spy Hunter subgenre before so this is all new to me.

Having control of the car’s speed is the weirdest thing go…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/671b13b236056409f96410d8/attachments/6a1503fc531746861cc16d71/previews/6a1503fd531746861cc16d98/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Demon's Blazon]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/demons-blazon/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/demons-blazon/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 24 May 2026 14:58:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Super Famicom, 1994. aka Demon’s Crest

The third of the Red Arremer games, and safely the best of them. An incredibly gorgeous and moody action-platformer that takes the “quest” factor of the prior two games and refines it into a simple Mod…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/577c9e8dcda600d9daecae86/attachments/65809bed0928c960ac9ab845/previews/65809bef0928c960ac9abb75/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[DoDonPachi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/dodonpachi/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/dodonpachi/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 24 May 2026 01:36:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 1997

Spent some time revisiting this, which I initially cleared in 2012. It’s as intense as I remember it being, and while I remember bomb usage being the key skill I’m surprised at how much trickier the game is with the type A ship. …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[DoDonPachi DaiFukkatsu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/dodonpachi-daifukkatsu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/dodonpachi-daifukkatsu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 21 May 2026 02:45:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2008

The fourth main DonPachi game. Gone is the bleak tone of DaiOuJou, replaced with bright and colorful environments, crisp EDM music, and boss vehicles that transform into robotic anime girls. Alongside the tonal shift are some ext…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/68878bc6b56637b35ce84719/attachments/68878bcab06f2578186d731e/previews/68878bcbb06f2578186d7674/download/4a53dfc6-fd41-444e-bed6-f90f5df1d029.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gundam Side Story 0079 - Rise from the Ashes]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/gundam-side-story-0079-rise-from-the-ashes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/gundam-side-story-0079-rise-from-the-ashes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 20 May 2026 06:20:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[BEC, Dreamcast, 1999

A pretty huge step up from the Saturn trilogy in every way, I think. We get a full-length and substantial campaign that spans a variety of nice-looking plateaus, rolling hills (no more flat Saturn VDP2 terrain), cities, and mil…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5f19b186a0d3e72f442c8fa6/attachments/65cb0fd9c9dca2d8d9ad0d81/previews/65cb0fdbc9dca2d8d9ad0fa7/download/21a0862a-477b-4811-b341-8dfe9f0e5cea.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Maken X]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/maken-x/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/maken-x/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 13 May 2026 20:36:57 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Atlus R&D1, Dreamcast, 1999

A striking first-person melee action game with Kazuma Kaneko art direction. That’s already plenty unique enough, but on top of that you play as a sentient sword that can hop from body to body. I remember renting this as …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/694a0975cf41026bfe2d0543/attachments/694a098776fa2ed74142dde0/previews/694a098876fa2ed74142e294/download/92a27c16-6cdd-47dc-b612-eb0ed246f640.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Superlative Night Dreams: Cotton Rock'n'Roll]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/superlative-night-dreams-cotton-rocknroll/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/superlative-night-dreams-cotton-rocknroll/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 13 May 2026 00:46:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Studio Saizensen, Arcade, 2021

Played the Steam version. Pretty cool! A 180 from the original in that magic is incredibly useful now and in fact is almost something to mash out as much as you can. Thankfully despite the modernness, it has a similar…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/63c4df956c7723035fc0fa3f/attachments/69feb74f6ea2f661542361dd/previews/69feb7506ea2f661542361fe/download/9741632.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story III]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mobile-suit-gundam-side-story-iii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mobile-suit-gundam-side-story-iii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 08 May 2026 04:44:33 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[BEC, Saturn, 1997

See [my thoughts on part II](/gamelog/2026/mobile-suit-gundam-side-story-ii/ "‌"). More of the same, of course, with a slight difficulty escalation and a couple more out-there mission concepts. Culminates in a lot of rapid dodge-f…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/607af53fff09b5399e232361/attachments/69fb5981b86415912a83096f/previews/69fb5982b86415912a830c93/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mobile-suit-gundam-side-story-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mobile-suit-gundam-side-story-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 07 May 2026 04:58:29 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[BEC, Saturn, 1996

The second entry in a trilogy of very brief first-person mech action games on the Saturn. I’ll just dig up what I said about the first game, which I played in 2020:

These are some of the best visual on Saturn, it's kinda wild. I …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Fantastic Night Dreams: Cotton]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/fantastic-night-dreams-cotton/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/fantastic-night-dreams-cotton/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 06 May 2026 23:55:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Success, Arcade, 1991

Pretty great game! Fun theme, cute character designs, great art, catchy music, dense with setpieces. I really like how it’s balanced. It’s relatively easy, but you’ll still have to learn most every step of the way and it’s all…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/657fe4c61f9d50c6ee436888/attachments/69fb57cfc82968fe4e6ac6c2/previews/69fb57cfc82968fe4e6ac6d3/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Crystalis]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/crystalis/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/crystalis/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 03 May 2026 23:02:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SNK, Famicom, 1990. aka GOD SLAYER

On paper this is a pretty well-executed take on Ys from SNK, but unfortunately it just didn’t get any claws into me. Annoying story triggers, sometimes-annoying dungeon design (having to switch swords using that c…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5514e4cf458815f9dcbaacd8/attachments/66be464d40480565f472ac0b/previews/66be464d40480565f472adeb/download/27001cf0-419d-46e3-bf93-d3d851a94786.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Pragmata]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/pragmata/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/pragmata/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 28 Apr 2026 19:51:47 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2026

An inventive third-person shooter about stranded moon colony worker Hugh teaming up with childlike android Diana in order to find their way through the colony's haywire robots and get back to Earth. The foundation of the game is a …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/69f0eb0029255a08d38af3a8/attachments/69f10ccd030e7e9e5cc6f3ad/previews/69f10cce030e7e9e5cc6f3c2/download/hero_capsule_2x.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Guardians: Denjin Makai II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/guardians-denjin-makai-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/guardians-denjin-makai-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 28 Apr 2026 01:53:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Winkysoft, Arcade, 1995

A really cool belt scroller full of stuff. It’s got branching stage selection. It’s got eight characters. It’s got big movelists, meters, all the mobility options, long combo mechanics, and blocking.

…And maybe that’s part …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/69f00af565eed076364be19d/attachments/69f00b4d17681e27b96b2b70/previews/69f00b4e17681e27b96b2b81/download/4e191167-5bc9-41a2-b0d9-e86ed0c03874.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dynamite Deka]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/dynamite-deka/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/dynamite-deka/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 18 Apr 2026 20:43:18 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM1, Arcade, 1996. aka Die Hard Arcade

The 2026 revisit, years after [my last real try at single-credit clearing the game](/gamelog/2023/dynamite-deka/ "‌").

Everything I said back then still stands. This clear has reinforced the game’s statu…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/69e2c490a56bf3e62db2d1df/attachments/69e2c4932e071a2210e136be/previews/69e2c4952e071a2210e136d1/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mirrors]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mirrors/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mirrors/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 15:06:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Soft Studio Wing, NEC PC-8801, 1990

A PC-8801 visual novel that, fascinatingly, uses a CD-ROM despite the computer’s age. A 1990 CD-ROM adventure game for a computer platform that released in 1981 is wild to me, so I played the fan translation that…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6136456816009588f7ef3e26/attachments/61364569ecf22d09412b0ed8/previews/6136456aecf22d09412b0ee4/download/16309466268812686978515299045982.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Death Stranding 2: On the Beach]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/death-stranding-2-on-the-beach/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/death-stranding-2-on-the-beach/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 14 Apr 2026 21:29:57 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Kojima Productions, PC, 2026

Played on “to the wilder” difficulty.

Obviously a lot of overlap with the original. Maybe the most straightforward sequel of any Kojima game. Like in the original it’s fun to simply move around the world partially than…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/69ba120d807e0abca93dd584/attachments/69ba125e3b1cfe540aa872b1/previews/69ba125f3b1cfe540aa872cc/download/hero_capsule_2x.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[R-Type Delta]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/r-type-delta/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/r-type-delta/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 04 Apr 2026 01:23:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Playstation, 1998

‌I was worried after R-Type 3, which I found to be an over-long game with jacked pacing that was really unfun to try to 1CC and still kind of a slog to clear with continues. 

Fortunately, Irem kind of did the impossible her…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/699fc691711e1103cfffc303/attachments/699fc6aa54c0fa34317d8f4a/previews/699fc6ab54c0fa34317d8f67/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tobal No. 1]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/tobal-no-1/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/tobal-no-1/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 19 Mar 2026 01:36:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[DreamFactory, PS1, 1996

Very cool and polished 3D fighting game with a distinct gradient-heavy texture-light look and particularly spectacular animation. The Quest mode is the main draw for me here, mixing a traditional roguelike dungeon crawling e…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5f19e7fc4674ec26446665c5/attachments/65ad48117e6a7c579d96ae90/previews/65ad48117e6a7c579d96aec8/download/e4427282-d8d5-49bb-96e9-88deea816981.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Valusa no Fukushuu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/valusa-no-fukushuu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/valusa-no-fukushuu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 15 Mar 2026 00:02:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Zain Soft, X68000, 1990

A fantasy action-platformer starring a character that looks a bit like Adol. It’s a short and linear one, with no XP to speak of, and the pixel art, boss designs, and music all rule. The core mechanics are just a basic jump …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/61da4bf85134758483ad562e/attachments/694a067110f6edd23b509f77/previews/694a067210f6edd23b509f94/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[WinBack]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/winback/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/winback/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 10 Mar 2026 17:55:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Omega Force, Nintendo 64, 1999

A cool-looking third-person shooter that feels like an idea shot into someone’s brain simply because they saw Solid Snake pressed against a wall in Metal Gear Solid and wanted to be able to make him pop out from that …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5f190654c875223c13d400d8/attachments/69881f5ff9914a07ad9505bb/previews/69881f60f9914a07ad9505d3/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Fantasy Zone]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/fantasy-zone/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/fantasy-zone/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 07 Mar 2026 03:09:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Arcade, 1986

Classic bidirectional shooting game. This was one of the first arcade games I cleared, back in 2007, and I decided to revisit it today. 

Autofire mostly decimates it, but there's still some boss strategy that shines through and …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/69ab87ce2e41cb3deb9e1f27/attachments/69ab965b46dba44a6cae513d/previews/69ab965c46dba44a6cae514e/download/5257a38c-b9fc-4617-a6bf-4097f7609d67.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Splatterhouse]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/splatterhouse/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/splatterhouse/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 07 Mar 2026 03:02:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Namco, Arcade, 1988

A sick action-platformer focused on tight punching  and kicking with just a little dash of platforming. I haven't played a lot of Spartan X yet but I imagine this builds on it. The theme is a complete horror mishmash, but the pi…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/66ce840d63c16936a7254306/attachments/66ce8410fe8c7599c8085413/previews/66ce8411fe8c7599c80855e7/download/abc19a61-1ba9-45c3-8eb1-1aee1dcbc01a.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Resident Evil Requiem]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/resident-evil-requiem/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/resident-evil-requiem/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 05 Mar 2026 03:18:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2026

Reliable as always! Another excellent FPS, though this time Grace’s first-person creepy survival segments are split up with combat-focused third-person Leon segments. It feels like a natural evolution of all the hopping around in V…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/69a7ce3f47fcae01dfd10a99/attachments/69a7ce4434b222b4375407e3/previews/69a7ce4634b222b4375407f8/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Philosoma]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/philosoma/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/philosoma/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 26 Feb 2026 03:25:50 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[G-Artists, Playstation, 1995

A dark sci-fi scrolling shooter that rapidly changes perspective, surely serving as an inspiration for Astebreed. It’s a game full of neat designs and cutscenes, focusing on the spectacle part of the genre above readabi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ketsui: Kizuna Jigoku Tachi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/ketsui-kizuna-jigoku-tachi/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/ketsui-kizuna-jigoku-tachi/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 23 Feb 2026 17:56:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2003

A long time coming. I originally picked up a Japanese Xbox 360 to play this back in 2010. I put some real time into it, eventually reaching stage 4, but it was kicking my ass too thoroughly and I moved on. 16 years later I’ve com…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6294516009dd17751080bc37/attachments/696a69ccfa9e0184644bf975/previews/696a69ccfa9e0184644bf98e/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Romeo is a Dead Man]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/romeo-is-a-dead-man/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/romeo-is-a-dead-man/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 21 Feb 2026 19:43:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Grasshopper Manufacture, PC, 2026

A sci-fi melee action game mixed with third person shooting, probably closer to a Wanted Dead than it is a Killer is Dead.

Romeo’s foundation is melee slashing, i-frame dodging, and third-person shooting. The slas…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mansion of Hidden Souls]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mansion-of-hidden-souls/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mansion-of-hidden-souls/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 09 Feb 2026 20:41:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[System Sacom, Sega Mega-CD, 1993

aka Yumemi Mystery Mansion, Yumemi Yakata no Monogatari

An all-CG FMV first-person adventure game released right after Myst and Gadget where you play as a boy trying to prevent his sister from turning into a butter…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Lemmings]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/lemmings/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/lemmings/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 08 Feb 2026 01:47:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[DMA Design, MS-DOS, 1991

This is an interesting one. It’s a classic game, one I poked at as a kid but never got far in. I like the concept a lot, and the pixel art is surprisingly charming given how small these dudes are on-screen. I opted with the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Why I'm a Dweeb About Arcade Games]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/posts/why-im-a-dweeb-about-arcade-games/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/posts/why-im-a-dweeb-about-arcade-games/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 06 Feb 2026 20:14:57 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Any look at [my game log](/gamelog/2025/?highlights=true) should make it clear that I’m an arcade game head. I’ve been interested in them for most of my life, but things really kicked into high gear here in the 2020s. It’s a huge part of my time wit…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shining the Holy Ark]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/shining-the-holy-ark/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/shining-the-holy-ark/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 04 Feb 2026 17:40:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Camelot and Sonic, Sega Saturn, 1996

I’ve said it a [few](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/grandia/ "‌") [times](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/shin-megami-tensei-strange-journey/ "‌") [now](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/like…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Musha Aleste]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/musha-aleste/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/musha-aleste/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 25 Jan 2026 04:37:39 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Compile, Mega Drive, 1990

Took a break from getting my ass kicked by Ketsui and decided to spend a couple hours with this beloved Compile vertizontal STG and see how I felt about it. The only other Compile STG I’ve played through is Guardic Gaiden,…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Air Fortress]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/air-fortress/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/air-fortress/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 24 Jan 2026 01:19:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[HAL Laboratories, Famicom, 1987

A very cool and unique sci-fi action game. Stages start with horizontal scrolling shooting sequences to approach the fortress, and then it switches over to jetpack-ish action-platformer mode inside of the base. Durin…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Fight'N Rage]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/fightn-rage/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/fightn-rage/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 19 Jan 2026 21:07:49 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[sebagamesdev, PC, 2017

A belt scrolling action game from 2017. It’s pretty well-executed! Lush and fluid pixel art, great music, and a bunch of satisfying combat mechanics that are laid out elegantly. It’s got the usual genre foundations but you al…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[YAKYUKEN SLUGGER YAMADA]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/yakyuken-slugger-yamada/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/yakyuken-slugger-yamada/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 17 Jan 2026 22:56:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[デジメカ製作所 (Digimecha Manufacturing Co.?), PC, 2023

Wildly creative third-person action game themed around baseball. As you run around the game’s small stages an inning timer ticks away, and every time an inning ends you switch between using shooting …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Red Dead Redemption II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/red-dead-redemption-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/red-dead-redemption-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 16 Jan 2026 04:05:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Rockstar Games, Playstation 4, 2018

A massive free-roaming action game set in the tail end of the 1800s, serving as a prequel to the 2010 predecessor.

When this first released seven years ago I assumed it wouldn’t be my kind of game. Rockstar’s GT…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Routine]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/routine/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/routine/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 23 Dec 2025 16:17:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Lunar Software, PC, 2025

A first person horror game set on an abandoned lunar base in a chunky 80s-tech world. The environments and technical designs are among the coolest I’ve seen in any first-person game and make the playthrough worth it on thei…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Majou Densetsu II: Maze of Galious]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/majou-densetsu-ii-maze-of-galious/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/majou-densetsu-ii-maze-of-galious/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 23 Dec 2025 02:49:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, MSX, 1987
aka The Maze of Galious

Tried to dig into this again. The hurdles are high! The esoteric upgrade item placement and core action-platforming isn’t too bad, but I’m mostly floored at the insanely sluggish retry procedure. Losing Pop…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Terminator 2D - No Fate]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/terminator-2d-no-fate/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/terminator-2d-no-fate/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 18 Dec 2025 03:01:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bitmap Bureau, PC, 2025

A very polished action-platformer from the developers of Xenocrisis. This is pretty sick, taking a lot of inspiration from the right places. It’s got that Megadrive-era game length (a bit longer than an arcade game but not t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Skate Story]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/skate-story/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/skate-story/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 11 Dec 2025 19:07:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sam Eng, PC, 2025

A game where you play as a skateboarding demon made of glass. I was enamored by the reveal trailer for this years back, and fortunately the final release delivered.

The shape of the game surprised me. There are some substantial s…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Metal Garden]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/metal-garden/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/metal-garden/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 05 Dec 2025 05:49:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tinerasoft, PC, 2025

Quick and elegant first person shooter about exploring a vast desaturated alien world. Most of the game is low-gravity jumping through cool structures and landscapes, but there’s some serviceable combat in there as well. Kinda …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Baby Steps]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/baby-steps/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/baby-steps/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 02 Dec 2025 21:27:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Gabe Cuzzillo, Maxi Boch, Bennett Foddy, PC, 2025

A game about exploring a vast surreal world by controlling your feet. And to be clear, I mean pulling a trigger to lift a foot, using an analog stick to position it, and then releasing the trigger t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Night Striker Gear]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/night-striker-gear/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/night-striker-gear/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 02 Dec 2025 02:18:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[M2, PC, 2025

Sick sequel to the 1989 game directed by none other than Hiroshi Iuchi (of Ikaruga fame). It’s a shorter game, only four stages deep on the branching stage tree, and the stuffy orchestral soundtrack is kinda weak compared to the synth …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Asura the Striker]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/asura-the-striker/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/asura-the-striker/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 30 Nov 2025 02:00:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[LeftOver, PC, 2025

A Space Harrier style game with reasonably modern polygonal visuals. Extremely anime character design that I’m not a huge fan of, but I think the environments, enemies, and music are great. It’s got a very powerful sense of speed…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Night Striker]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/night-striker/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/night-striker/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 29 Nov 2025 15:54:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1989

Night Striker is an insanely cool-looking and cool-sounding Taito rail shooter (as in, Space Harrier style) full of huge scaling sprites and Darius-style stage branching. Weirdly enough I haven’t cleared a lot of arcade games in…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Chronicles of the Wolf]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/chronicles-of-the-wolf/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/chronicles-of-the-wolf/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 28 Nov 2025 18:57:19 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Migami Games, PC, 2025

Wonderful Igavania-style game set in 1700s France. At first glance it feels in lockstep with those Iga games, but the way this game builds up and consistently surprises gives it such a distinct feel. For a surprisingly long s…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Psyvariar 2: The Will to Fabricate]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/psyvariar-2-the-will-to-fabricate/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/psyvariar-2-the-will-to-fabricate/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 27 Nov 2025 02:10:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SKonec, Arcade, 2003

Played for La Calice Cup 11. A Korean-developed Naomi vertical STG, and a follow-up to a couple Success-developed G-NET games I’ve never played.

Probably the weirdest thing in this game is that, while it has a standard shot an…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Neon Inferno]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/neon-inferno/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/neon-inferno/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 23 Nov 2025 21:22:05 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Zenovia Interactive, PC, 2025

Absolutely sick action-platformer from the studio behind [Steel Assault](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/steel-assault/ "‌").

The major standout trait here is that the action-platforming is combined with Wild G…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[TwinBee Yahho!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/twinbee-yahho/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/twinbee-yahho/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 18 Nov 2025 16:02:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1995

Playing the Normal course of the arcade version for Calice Cup 11. Having no prior TwinBee experience I was pretty pumped to get into this despite it being the third and last game in the arcade series. Great character designs, …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Beyond Citadel]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/beyond-citadel/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/beyond-citadel/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 16 Nov 2025 00:24:14 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[doekuramori, PC, 2025

A Japanese first-person shooter I’d been hearing praise for throughout the year. I decided to finally try it despite skipping 2020’s The Citadel.

All of the characters, weapons, and props in the game are “hand-drawn” sprites …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Caput Mortum]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/caput-mortum/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/caput-mortum/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 11 Nov 2025 03:56:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[WildArts Games, PC, 2025

A well-made first-person horror adventure game that makes you interact with everything by using the right thumbstick to move your character’s right hand. This means you’ve got to rotate with shoulder buttons, giving you som…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Earthion]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/earthion/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/earthion/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 10 Nov 2025 03:38:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ancient, Mega Drive, 2025

A new horizontal shooting game designed for Mega Drive hardware. It’s a stunning game technologically, with the kind of pumping music you’d expect from Yuzo Koshiro and setpieces that feel mostly inspired by Thunder Force …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Pilot Kids]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/pilot-kids/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/pilot-kids/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 10 Nov 2025 01:27:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Psikyo, Arcade, 1998

A pretty cool Psikyo horizontal STG released roughly a year after Zero Gunner, making it their second polygonal game in the genre. The visuals are complex and clean (as you’d expect from something running on Model 2), the livin…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[THRASHER]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/thrasher/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/thrasher/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Nov 2025 06:38:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Puddle, PC, 2025

I really enjoyed Thumper. I wish I enjoyed this more.

Thrasher maintains Thumper’s general style of presentation, placing you in vast menacing abstract spaces with slowly-building music. The mechanics are totally new, though: inst…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[J.B. Harold: Blue Chicago Blues]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/jb-harold-blue-chicago-blues/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/jb-harold-blue-chicago-blues/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Nov 2025 04:12:50 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[RiverHillSoft, 1994, Pioneer LaserActive Mega LD

An FMV adventure game for the newly-emulatable Pioneer LaserActive Mega LD. This is my first experience with the platform, and given that it’s basically a Megadrive that can finely seek through and d…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/690940cb85a7ec4cdf0af242/attachments/690940f85337cc65d6ab8e14/previews/690940f95337cc65d6ab8e23/download/2262a02c83aa083e0312fd462714dacf.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rabio Lepus]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/rabio-lepus/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/rabio-lepus/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 05 Nov 2025 19:02:54 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Video System, Arcade, 1987

Future Psikyo director Shin Nakamura’s first game, a horizontal-scrolling shooter with a robo-rabbit theme. This is pretty visually stunning for 1987, and thematically it’s such a goofy mix of cute popcorn enemies, cutsce…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/690b99e8a1c57aba221fd233/attachments/690b99f261943442a433ed7c/previews/690b99f361943442a433ed8b/download/c6201d0a-3e7c-414f-921e-c6984c7e6303.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Chouyoku Senki Estique]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/chouyoku-senki-estique/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/chouyoku-senki-estique/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 04 Nov 2025 03:40:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cat Hui Trading, Famicom, 2024

A new Famicom horizontal shooting game released in late 2024. Technologically this game is really marvelous, filling up a Famicom-powered screen in a way I think I haven’t seen since Recca. Backgrounds are gorgeous, t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Singou Breaka]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/singou-breaka/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/singou-breaka/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 04 Nov 2025 00:48:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[NEOタケトンボ, PC, 2025

A fast action puzzle game about sliding traffic lights together. The rules are elegant: 2x1 pieces spawn into the grid and you can slide them along their long axis. Each piece has one side lit up as “STOP” or “GO”, and connecting…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Replicube]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/replicube/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/replicube/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 01 Nov 2025 04:56:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Walaber, PC, 2025

Laser-targeted game to me. It’s a puzzle game about making 3D voxel-based shapes, so there’s inherent overlap in presentation with Jupiter’s 3D Picross games, but instead of solving nonograms you’re writing code that gets executed…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67dce1c3e8ee94ec3a5ff2e2/attachments/67dce1d1468ea32247739011/previews/67dce1d2468ea32247739397/download/hero_capsule_2x.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Battlefield 6]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/battlefield-6/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/battlefield-6/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 29 Oct 2025 15:06:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[DICE, PC, 2025

I haven’t played one of these since Battlefield 4 like a decade ago, so after 30-ish hours of playing with friends I don’t feel like I’ve got much to say about the specifics on balance or map design here outside of “seems good”. The …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tetris the Grandmaster 4]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/tetris-the-grandmaster-4/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/tetris-the-grandmaster-4/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 29 Oct 2025 03:49:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Arika, PC, 2025

I feel like I’m an awfully long way from clearing this game’s Master mode, but it’s nice to have a modern TGM release at home. And one with so much stuff in it! It’s easy to picture myself chipping away at this one for years, though…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ninja Gaiden 4]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/ninja-gaiden-4/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/ninja-gaiden-4/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 28 Oct 2025 17:13:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[PlatinumGames/Team Ninja, PC, 2025

I had no clue what to expect with this one. Obviously Ninja Gaiden Black and Ninja Gaiden 2 are two of the best 3D melee action games ever, and games that I like more than any of Platinum’s releases, but given the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rygar: The Legendary Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/rygar-the-legendary-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/rygar-the-legendary-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 19 Oct 2025 04:47:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tecmo, Playstation 2, 2002

Neat 3D melee action game that feels like a natural step toward Ninja Gaiden (despite not having a lot of direct staff overlap) and a very obvious inspiration for God of War. Nice-looking fixed camera angles, long-reachin…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cosmic Smash]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/cosmic-smash/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/cosmic-smash/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 14 Oct 2025 00:50:17 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega Rosso, Arcade, 2000

Dabbled with this game since I was a teenager but made it a point to get all the endings. It’s pretty awesome, mixing some Virtua Tennis/Power Smash racket-swinging with Breakout stages and some sick low-gravity animation. …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Consume Me]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/consume-me/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/consume-me/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 11 Oct 2025 04:14:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, and Ken "coda" Snyder, PC, 2025

A very earnest and polished semi-autobiographical “life sim” where you follow the day to day of a teenager named Jenny as she manages her relationship with food an…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Battle Garegga]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/battle-garegga/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/battle-garegga/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 08 Oct 2025 23:27:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Raizing, Arcade, 1996

Shinobu Yagawa’s star game. A vertical shooter that takes an awful lot of influence from Taito’s Gun Frontier, but with a theme that leans into an overcast future full of scrap metal instead of Gun Frontier’s cosmic wild west.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Silent Hill f]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/silent-hill-f/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/silent-hill-f/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 08 Oct 2025 15:01:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[NeoBards Entertainment, PC, 2025

An engaging horror game with a novel and well-realized 1960s rural Japanese setting. As you’d expect from the name you’ll get extremely moody environments, a beautiful soundtrack, nasty creature designs, lots of fog…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gray Matter]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/gray-matter/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/gray-matter/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 24 Sep 2025 03:14:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Wizarbox, PC, 2010

A point and click adventure game designed and written by Gabriel Knight creator Jane Jensen, seemingly stuck in development hell after being announced in 2003 and passed around multiple development studios but finally making it o…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Red Alert / Last Alert]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/red-alert-last-alert/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/red-alert-last-alert/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 14 Sep 2025 19:57:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Shin-Nihon Laser Soft, PC Engine CD-ROM, 1989

A pretty sick commando-themed top-down omnidirectional shooter. It’s always wild to play a CD-ROM game from this era, since you get a lot of sick-looking full-screen pixel art illustrations (especially …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Skyblazer/Karura Ou]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/skyblazerkarura-ou/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/skyblazerkarura-ou/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 14 Sep 2025 15:21:19 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ukiyotei Company Ltd, Super Famicom, 1994

A well-made action platformer with a focus on wall sticking/climbing and really short-range bare-handed melee attacks. It’s got a simple world map, lots of cool bosses (barring one), and fun magic attacks t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Drakengard]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/drakengard/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/drakengard/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 10 Sep 2025 18:28:47 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cavia, Playstation 2, 2003

Above all else, after bouncing off of Dynasty Warriors 2/Shin Sangokumusou earlier this year, this game takes that basic concept and builds something genuinely engaging to me on top of it. An interesting cast of character…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Donkey Kong Country]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/donkey-kong-country/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/donkey-kong-country/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 01 Sep 2025 19:54:16 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Rare, Super Nintendo, 1994

A surprisingly tricky game! Mario 3 seems to be the main inspiration here both in the moment-to-moment (big focus on momentum, enemy head bouncing, a run/pickup/throw button, “flow-y” levels) and in terms of the broader s…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/vampire-the-masquerade-bloodlines/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/vampire-the-masquerade-bloodlines/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 31 Aug 2025 15:14:50 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Troika Games, PC, 2004

Played with the now-official “unofficial patch” (without restored content).

If someone had told me it was loosely like Deus Ex I would've played it years ago. Take that baseline and give it an edgy vampire plot, more of a fo…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Majuuou]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/majuuou/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/majuuou/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 21 Aug 2025 05:55:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Eleven Co., Super Famicom, 1995

Small sprite excellence. A really sick action-platformer with a demon-Giger theme.  Everything is bloody and brooding, sprites have somewhat realistic proportions, and the camera is zoomed out to give the action plen…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[South of Midnight]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/south-of-midnight/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/south-of-midnight/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 20 Aug 2025 03:59:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Compulsion Games, PC, 2025

A linear action game with a striking visual style, nice character designs, and a loosely Psychonauts-like narrative in a fantastical southern folklore setting. There’s a small selection of scene archetypes the game too-ri…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Wuchang: Fallen Feathers]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/wuchang-fallen-feathers/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/wuchang-fallen-feathers/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 12 Aug 2025 21:54:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Lenzee Studios, PC, 2025

Reminiscent of Wukong in a lot of ways, but it isn’t hooking me nearly as much as that game did. Got a few hours and a few bosses in before deciding that I just wasn’t in the mood to continue. Might be a revisit down the li…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Salamander 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/salamander-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/salamander-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 09 Aug 2025 03:00:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1996

‌I really love this game. It's better-balanced than I remember, the setpieces are sick, and what a soundtrack! The option-burning attack is crazy satisfying, and the bosses are more "honest" than anything in the first game. The…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6896aac4182445400998e4af/attachments/6896aaea9589301576f61d91/previews/6896aaec9589301576f61d9d/download/7cc0bf38-7561-47bb-a62e-72a8219b600a.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Salamander]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/salamander/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/salamander/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 09 Aug 2025 02:48:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1986

Dabbled in this a few years back, but with the new collection I revisited and had to get the 1-All. It's a cool divergence from Gradius with how it has in-place respawns and free-spawning power-ups. Sick visuals, great music, a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Salamander III]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/salamander-iii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/salamander-iii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 07 Aug 2025 01:21:10 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[M2, PC, 2025

A well-made successor to Salamander 2 that cranks up the enemy bullets and the raw spectacle of it all, throwing you against wild-looking and creative scenarios at a rapid pace. Salamander 2’s options-as-attacks button has been dropped…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6893fb721e75f5d3b5f06095/attachments/6893fb78c1ff48751af33c9a/previews/6893fb79c1ff48751af33ca4/download/salamander_iii.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Haunted Castle Revisited]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/haunted-castle-revisited/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/haunted-castle-revisited/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 05 Aug 2025 01:22:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[M2, PC, 2024

A shockingly good and loose remake of arcade Akumajou Dracula. Remakes tend to be best when the original game is kind of fucked up, I guess. M2 used the levels and bosses of the original as a loose guide and created prettier and expand…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/68915a41889eb15c00694931/attachments/68915a90a5d4ed406dbc225a/previews/68915a91a5d4ed406dbc2264/download/Haunted_Castle_Revisited_-_01.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Akumajou Dracula]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/akumajou-dracula/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/akumajou-dracula/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 04 Aug 2025 18:19:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1988

An often dunked-on early entry in the series, released between Dracula II/Simon’s Quest and Akumajou Densetsu/Castlevania 3. It’s honestly got great music and some pretty sick art (in that kinda chaotic late-80s Konami way), an…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/657fe02478e4737e3f8f4dd1/attachments/6890f88ef5a1a8dbc168b09e/previews/6890f88ff5a1a8dbc168b0a8/download/e6b5e197-65f3-4ee0-87b8-a1d1390901de.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Altered Beast / Juuouki]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/altered-beast-juuouki/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/altered-beast-juuouki/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 28 Jul 2025 17:21:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega Team Shinobi, Arcade, 1988

The arcade game probably most known in the US for being the origin of the Genesis launch pack-in title. Directed by Makoto Uchida, who would later direct Golden Axe and Dynamite Deka. It’s an action-platformer with a…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/657fe469e8bcd27ef5912d96/attachments/6886bf4771cf301a3d9c90c3/previews/6886bf4871cf301a3d9c90ca/download/altered_beast.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gotzendiener]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/gotzendiener/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/gotzendiener/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 27 Jul 2025 05:10:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Gainax and Studio Alex, PC Engine Super CD-ROM, 1994

A fascinating but flawed isometric action and exploration game. The cutscenes, designs, spritework, and lonely atmosphere are top-notch and I’m glad I played it for these elements alone. The whol…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6854aa0e397a1192cafe4822/attachments/6854aa1139bbad533123014a/previews/6854aa1239bbad5331230154/download/7b2aee43-cdae-4243-8133-5933968380be.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Game Tengoku - The Game Paradise]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/game-tengoku-the-game-paradise/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/game-tengoku-the-game-paradise/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 24 Jul 2025 04:07:26 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jaleco, Arcade, 1995

Pretty cool STG set inside… a game center? Other video games? A development workstation? Fun theme! You’ll fight arcade cabinets, claw game toys, and even Daytona USA cars. Colorful, varied, and way more Psikyo-like than I expe…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/685eadbce71c806307fe5b4b/attachments/685eadcea8913efeea9d52da/previews/685eadcea8913efeea9d52e4/download/6997e54e-be01-4eec-9d56-b04f88922a29.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/tony-hawks-pro-skater-34/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/tony-hawks-pro-skater-34/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 21 Jul 2025 04:21:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Iron Galaxy, PC, 2025

THPS1+2 was a well-done remake with interesting decisions (like aging the game’s various stages by a few decades) that I only had a few qualms with outside of my usual beef with remakes. THPS3+4 here very seamlessly carries th…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/687d7b37e27d25e8f16cef34/attachments/687d7b3b3c01c30298c545f5/previews/687d7b3d3c01c30298c545ff/download/3619b97a03ae66e8a87684b166c96c659ab06404f689fa1f.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Clockwork Knight]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/clockwork-knight/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/clockwork-knight/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 21 Jul 2025 04:21:29 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Sega Saturn, 1995

A really charming and elegant 2D platformer from near the Saturn’s Japanese launch. Being so early, it’s not too surprising that it represents a late Genesis platformer like Ristar: it’s of course not going to be arcade-tigh…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5f07ffb21d4c5a0f355033f2/attachments/687dbeaf2854287c3fb9e58b/previews/687dbeb32854287c3fb9e595/download/9a979a6a-5edf-43a8-9247-d9a5522afb0c.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Grandia]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/grandia/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/grandia/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 20 Jul 2025 23:58:33 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Game Arts, Sega Saturn, 1997

I played like half of the sequel to this back when it was a new release on Dreamcast and was kicking around the idea of returning to it. Thankfully the Saturn original has a fan translation, so I decided to start there.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/68011e229478b2fe02804026/attachments/68011e26abdf318789a92d8d/previews/68011e27abdf318789a92d9b/download/54c9906d-c361-4937-b6e4-15f974af4091.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rastan Saga]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/rastan-saga/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/rastan-saga/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 14 Jul 2025 00:57:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1988

Circled back to this one for Summer Yolympics 2025 after [playing for a bit a few years ago](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rastan-saga/ "‌"). It was pretty sick to get reacquainted with the unique combination of hefty j…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/685ce38797fee6790bd08213/attachments/685ce38b9ce0e9da41f255eb/previews/685ce38c9ce0e9da41f255f5/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[R-Type III: The Third Lightning]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/r-type-iii-the-third-lightning/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/r-type-iii-the-third-lightning/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 26 Jun 2025 03:34:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Super Famicom, 1993

This drove me up the wall, man. I didn’t think it would given my arcade clears of R-Type and R-Type Leo, but there’s a lot of annoying shit in here. The gotchas are similar, but the latent difficulty outside of them is tot…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5514e57049af51334cd0bad7/attachments/685071b21871981c66f92ba9/previews/685071b41871981c66f92bb3/download/4c7e4a98-1ed3-46fb-bb5d-be390b88d202.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hagane]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/hagane/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/hagane/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 25 Jun 2025 02:08:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[CA Production, Super Famicom, 1994

Really spectacular action-platformer. Like Contra Spirits, this is very arcade-dense. Basically every stage segment is a totally unique scene that often has a distinct mechanical focus, and a no-death playthrough …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5514e5747cf5a8748483e358/attachments/66ac52b86064161cf8d5205d/previews/66ac52ba6064161cf8d52065/download/3731c0fb-f22b-40e6-85f8-dd423610c959.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Silver Case]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/the-silver-case/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/the-silver-case/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 19 Jun 2025 22:31:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Grasshopper Manufacture, PC, 2016/1999

Early Suda51. A narrative-heavy adventure game with light first-person exploration and puzzle-solving. I played the 2016 remake for the localization, though it does seem to stick reasonably close to the origin…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/68479b80411b4f921c8eabdb/attachments/68479bf3c6d26de491e38f6f/previews/68479bf3c6d26de491e38f76/download/9e13cd17-bad6-4f61-b4be-920bc89b4c26.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Contra: Alien no Gyakushuu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/super-contra-alien-no-gyakushuu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/super-contra-alien-no-gyakushuu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 19 Jun 2025 00:25:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1988

Another goofy 3:4 horizontally-scrolling action-platformer like the original Contra. This time the perspective switch is to a more palatable top-down view and you get smart bombs replacing the jump button, which I thought was a…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/657fe040f91ea1a3ff5e8a84/attachments/667d713575c39d2b217ad3cc/previews/667d713675c39d2b217ad627/download/2dabf789-c20a-4ea7-b375-c25220a320ea.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gun Frontier]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/gun-frontier/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/gun-frontier/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 15 Jun 2025 18:10:10 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1991

Landmark STG by the director that would immediately after work on [Metal Black](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/metal-black/ "‌"). The setting here is a sci-fi spin on the wild west and all of the vehicles show an over-th…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67a809df7399b22b9ccdc2cf/attachments/67a809e234421518a1e0e41f/previews/67a809e334421518a1e0e42b/download/58d20338-1f66-4ef6-8b56-08e4fb8f6b4f.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Elden Ring Nightreign]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/elden-ring-nightreign/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/elden-ring-nightreign/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 10 Jun 2025 01:39:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[From Software, PC, 2025

A weird one. Prior to release there was a lot of gun-jumping about what the game was even going to be, but ultimately it’s a roughly arcade-style game (“runs-based”, I suspect people are starting to say) built on top of Elde…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/675b8ea98fbde99fa9ace51d/attachments/68158f4582b9d0cc4fd8345e/previews/68158f4682b9d0cc4fd8350e/download/9ff4b9fde2b7dce20fa282961454b7a81695d598eb5c7404.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sonic Wings Reunion]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/sonic-wings-reunion/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/sonic-wings-reunion/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 29 May 2025 16:40:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Success, PC, 2025

I was rooting for this one, but unfortunately I can’t recommend it. The visuals are rough, the stage designs are bland, there aren’t any unique core mechanics beyond being able to essentially select two types of smartbomb, and the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Doom: The Dark Ages]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/doom-the-dark-ages/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/doom-the-dark-ages/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 27 May 2025 15:46:28 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[id Software, PC, 2025

I’m a pretty big fan of these nu-Doom games. Back in 2016 the first game was such a breath of fresh air. For decades I’d been dying to see FPSes experiment with mechanics that were outside of the 90s Texas genre lineage and he…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/68158f87e90b0f8d5979d0a3/attachments/68158fa49f1aaa2ca0924c7e/previews/68158fa69f1aaa2ca0924c88/download/1893e77387eec1591406d71c98f8d4074b7c32664c3bf5af.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ninja Hayate]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/ninja-hayate/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/ninja-hayate/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 18 May 2025 00:24:22 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1984

Never played an arcade LaserDisc game, figured these re-releases would be a good time to try one out. A lot of people understandably find the concept of these Dragon’s Lair style games to be silly, but I figured they might be pr…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/680a49c67b226ae5147787bb/attachments/680a4caf1d5acf73a132a5ba/previews/680a4cb01d5acf73a132aea8/download/library_600x900_2x.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[R-Type]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/r-type/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/r-type/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 16 May 2025 01:56:14 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Arcade, 1987

The space horror STG classic. I’ve been picking at this game for most of my life. I never really tried it until hearing about it as a teenager and checking it out in MAME, but it immediately became a go-to test ROM for any machin…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5511aba3f13892a3608c45b9/attachments/6329c621e2e52c01a2da5f9d/previews/6329c622e2e52c01a2da5fa9/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Stuntman]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/stuntman/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/stuntman/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 14 May 2025 04:09:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Reflections Interactive, Playstation 2, 2002

Such a sick idea. Every mission in the campaign is a course you drive through while trying to accomplish various stunts highlighted in-world and barked at you via radio. These scenes are grouped up by fi…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/62312458155ed44c7f2f46fd/attachments/68240ae3fea850f18a346a91/previews/68240ae4fea850f18a346a9b/download/50d53816-8e69-423e-bbb0-dd90caa985f8.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Espgaluda II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/espgaluda-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/espgaluda-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 09 May 2025 02:15:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2005

After wrapping up Calice Cup I returned to this for the first time since around 2021 and put time into it to get the clear. It’s a heavy one.

The original Esgaluda’s major standout mechanic is “Kakusei” mode, where you can press…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Skin Deep]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/skin-deep/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/skin-deep/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 07 May 2025 03:42:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Blendo Games, PC, 2025

A well-made System Shock style first-person action game that, kind of like 2023’s [Blood West](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/blood-west/ "‌"), shakes up the usual structure a bit. Instead of using an open world or a …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/681acd110bacdee6982fd6cb/attachments/681ace64a6f4283c7ed0ee38/previews/681ace65a6f4283c7ed0ee3f/download/61e267565d12c4499e4ed19771e42360c7585d2c559e2fc85a19246350a25f98.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Armed Police Unit Gallop]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/armed-police-unit-gallop/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/armed-police-unit-gallop/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 25 Apr 2025 04:03:32 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Arcade, 1991

Super unique horizontal shooter where your ship’s positioning affects the stage scroll speed and you have a cooldown-based instant omnidirectional laser button (alongside the genre-standard shot + missile combo). It’s very lean, …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/shin-megami-tensei-strange-journey/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/shin-megami-tensei-strange-journey/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 24 Apr 2025 15:18:39 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Atlus, Nintendo DS, 2010

I’ve said it a million times by now, but I’m not a big JRPG guy. I almost always get sick of the combat way before the game wraps up. I wish this wasn’t the case! There are so many games in the genre with an appealing sense…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hang-On]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/hang-on/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/hang-on/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 15 Apr 2025 17:37:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM2, Arcade, 1985

Goofy to play this after the 1987 sequel, but that's what Calice Cup called for. I heard the course I spent so long clearing in the sequel is the same layout as this first game’s lone course so I decided to go for it while it…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67fe976e6b9b71960a599c9f/attachments/67fe977412ab595a044f4473/previews/67fe977612ab595a044f4481/download/hangon.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Hang-On]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/super-hang-on/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/super-hang-on/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 15 Apr 2025 00:40:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM2, Arcade, 1987

Masterpiece. I’m not the biggest racing game guy but I absolutely could not put this down. The sense of speed is magical, the environments are gorgeous (and transition so smoothly), the boost mechanic is insanely satisfying, …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Slap Fight]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/slap-fight/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/slap-fight/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 10 Apr 2025 00:27:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Toaplan, Arcade, 1986

An interesting post-Gradius vertical STG. You’ll see the Gradius power-up meter, but it’s got fewer strict upgrades and more mutually-exclusive weapons to toy with. Designs are very boxy 80s but more appealing than Xevious. En…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Spacefortress Macross]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/super-spacefortress-macross/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/super-spacefortress-macross/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 09 Apr 2025 16:58:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[NMK, Arcade, 1992

A relatively breezy but super cool-looking vertical shooter. I don’t know anything about the license here, but the mech designs are sick and I particularly like how your whole sprite changes up depending on what weapon you’ve pick…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Secret Agent]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/secret-agent/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/secret-agent/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 05 Apr 2025 04:49:39 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Data East, Arcade, 1989

Goofy Data East action-platformer. It looks like Rolling Thunder at first glance, but you’ve got a big ol health bar and enemies tend to take a lot of shots to kill. There’s some charm here, but there’s also a stage 2 that d…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cambria Sword: Another Cry]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/cambria-sword-another-cry/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/cambria-sword-another-cry/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 30 Mar 2025 05:18:33 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Vagues Games, Arcade, 2025

A new arcade adaptation of/sequel to a ~3 hour long doujin STG from 2017. I hadn’t really played the original, but I’m completely blown away by this. It’s a massive game that reminds me of G-Darius in terms of its branchi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Kamiwaza - Way of the Thief]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/kamiwaza-way-of-the-thief/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/kamiwaza-way-of-the-thief/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 20 Mar 2025 05:22:50 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Acquire, Playstation 2, 2006

I really love Shinobido Imashime, Acquire’s Tenchu successor where you select missions from three warring factions through a highly dynamic campaign. Shinobido isn’t the most polished or focused game, but I couldn’t put…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Monster Hunter Wilds]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/monster-hunter-wilds/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/monster-hunter-wilds/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 16 Mar 2025 00:55:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2025

I’ve been playing these games pretty casually since 3U and enjoyed each one, with this being no exception. Don’t really mind the lack of monster  tracking, I think the blurring of the lines between being in a village and being in a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Zombie Revenge]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/zombie-revenge/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/zombie-revenge/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Mar 2025 05:48:26 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM1, Arcade, 1999

Another crazy inventive arcade game from AM1, just a little over half a year after [Dynamite Deka 2](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dynamite-deka-2/ "‌"). Where Deka 2 feels like a game making questionable compromises…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/kunitsu-gami-path-of-the-goddess/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/kunitsu-gami-path-of-the-goddess/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 24 Feb 2025 15:51:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2024

I wasn’t sure how much I’d like this when I heard it described with the phrase “tower defense”, but I wound up really enjoying it. The basic premise is that you’re guiding an ever-dancing goddess along a path, setting up defenses b…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Fatal Frame II - Crimson Butterfly]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/fatal-frame-ii-crimson-butterfly/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/fatal-frame-ii-crimson-butterfly/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 21 Feb 2025 23:39:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tecmo, Playstation 2, 2003

It’s been a long time since I’ve played the first Fatal Frame, but I remember liking it and this seems like everything you’d expect for a sequel. A darker tone, a somewhat longer runtime, slightly beefier mechanics, and a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tiny Bullets]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/tiny-bullets/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/tiny-bullets/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 13 Feb 2025 23:40:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Contrail, Playstation, 2000

I was interested in this because it looked like a Japanese 3D action platforming game that took some core mechanics from Tomb Raider. 3D platforming and ledge grabbing with tank controls. And early on it delivers on that…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shin Sangokumusou / Dynasty Warriors 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/shin-sangokumusou-dynasty-warriors-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/shin-sangokumusou-dynasty-warriors-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 13 Feb 2025 04:34:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Omega Force, Playstation 2, 2000

I'm told this isn't the best intro to the series and I see why. The actual combat here is kinda neat, with directional blocking and guard reversals and attack strings that have distinct uses, but I can't really get …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Devil Blade Reboot]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/devil-blade-reboot/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/devil-blade-reboot/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 13 Feb 2025 03:23:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SHIGATAKE GAMES, PC, 2024

Another arcade-tuned modern PC 2D shooter, this time a very loose remake of a Dezaemon Plus game the solo developer (an artist at Vanillaware these days) made back on Playstation. Hard mode seems like the baseline it was d…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Blue Revolver Double Action]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/blue-revolver-double-action/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/blue-revolver-double-action/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Feb 2025 19:24:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Stellar Circle, PC, 2024

Long-awaited revision to the highly-regarded and arcade-designed 2016 PC shooting game. Like Mushihimesama, this has three selectable difficulty courses presented as part of the standard credit flow. I hadn’t played any of …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Strikers 1999]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/strikers-1999/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/strikers-1999/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 02 Feb 2025 23:25:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Psikyo, Arcade, 1999

Fantastic, as expected from this trilogy. 1999 here is of course very much in line with the first two games (which I talked about [here](/gamelog/2024/strikers-1945/ "‌") and [here](/gamelog/2024/strikers-1945-ii/ "‌")), only n…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Lorelei and the Laser Eyes]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/lorelei-and-the-laser-eyes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/lorelei-and-the-laser-eyes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 02 Feb 2025 03:12:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Simogo, PC, 2024

A puzzle-focused adventure game where you unravel a mystery in a surreal old hotel. Coming from the Sayonara Wild Hearts studio the presentation is absolutely killer, but this is a more demanding adventure game than Sayonara Wild H…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Go There]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/go-there/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/go-there/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 23 Jan 2025 01:06:59 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[いくちおすてご, PC, 2023

Cool little boss rush. Great visuals. The basic playthrough is a very quick tour up a mountain with really cool ancient dragon designs. There’s a post-game here that I’m unfortunately not that thrilled to see through, as I’m not t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mean Streets]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/mean-streets/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/mean-streets/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 21 Jan 2025 03:58:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Access Software, MS-DOS, 1989

The adventure game that started the Tex Murphy series. This actually ruled. I was worried it would be cruel and stuffy and arcane, but it’s infinitely kinder than the 80s Sierra adventure games I’ve tried.

The main in…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Overblood 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/overblood-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/overblood-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 18 Jan 2025 19:05:21 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Riverhillsoft, Playstation, 1998

A huge, lumbering, and ridiculously ambitious PS1 game with only the loosest ties to its predecessor. It’s a two-disc epic full of clunky 3D action-platforming, minigame sequences, light adventure game elements, pre…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Jewel Master]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/jewel-master/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/jewel-master/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 08 Jan 2025 18:57:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Mega Drive, 1991

This is another one of those early Mega Drive action games that basically serves as an arcade game due to its structure, its short length, and its strictly-limited continues. It reminds me a bit of Mega Drive ESWAT, Shadow Da…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Final Fight]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/final-fight/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/final-fight/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 01 Jan 2025 17:02:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Arcade, 1989

It’s so hard to believe that this was Capcom’s first take on belt-scrolling action. Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-kun basically established the genre 3.5 years prior, but even looking at other 1989 games Final Fight leaves them in the d…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Indiana Jones and the Great Circle]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/indiana-jones-and-the-great-circle/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/indiana-jones-and-the-great-circle/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 20 Dec 2024 22:54:23 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[MachineGames, PC, 2024

MachineGames is back. I didn’t really like The New Colossus and skipped Youngblood, so I’m glad that this game clicked with me.

Indiana Jones, as a setting, winds up being a good fit for the studio that spun off from Escape …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sol Cresta]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sol-cresta/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sol-cresta/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 25 Nov 2024 17:52:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[PlatinumGames and Hamster, PC, 2021

I really wish I enjoyed this more. I think there's a lot of mechanical creativity here, but it's also convoluted (the special input directional shots, the way you have a dodge at 1hp but not other times, etc), ha…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super H.Q. Criminal Chaser]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/super-hq-criminal-chaser/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/super-hq-criminal-chaser/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 24 Nov 2024 06:30:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Super Famicom, 1993

A console-exclusive entry in the Chase H.Q. series. The only other game I’ve played in this little subgenre is [Special Criminal Investigation](/gamelog/2022/special-criminal-investigation/ "‌"), which rules, but this is …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Slitterhead]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/slitterhead/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/slitterhead/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 22 Nov 2024 18:59:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bokeh Studios, PC, 2024

A horror-themed action game set in 90s Kowloon where you play as a spirit that hops between bodies to take down big gory monsters. It’s a lot to explain, pieced together from a lot of relatively unique elements, and I don’t …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[1000xResist]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/1000xresist/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/1000xresist/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 13 Nov 2024 22:17:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[sunset visitor, PC, 2024

A pretty dense and sweeping sci-fi visual novel. The premise here is pretty unique and confidently told, and it’s impressive how frequently the presentation is uprooted in service of the narrative. It reminds me of Fata Mor…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Earth Defense Force 6]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/earth-defense-force-6/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/earth-defense-force-6/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 13 Nov 2024 22:17:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sandlot, PC, 2024

Been a minute since I’ve played one of these but the appeal from EDF2 is still there. It’s still satisfying to blow up buildings and swathes of ants, but the enemy and scenario variety here is thankfully closer to EDF2 than EDF3. …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Black Myth Wukong]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/black-myth-wukong/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/black-myth-wukong/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Nov 2024 02:30:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Game Science, PC, 2024

Incredible melee action game. It’s a little bit like Sekiro as a starting point, but with a slightly more focused and linear world structure. Combat is fast, aggressive, and full of hugely satisfying slams once you unlock the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gemini Wing]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gemini-wing/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gemini-wing/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 28 Oct 2024 02:51:23 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tecmo, Arcade, 1987

An incredibly inventive and forward-thinking vertical STG. Initially it feels like a Hishouzame-style game with slow movement and a harsh player bullet limit, but the major standout mechanic comes from using the B button to fire…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/66d0f0e92988652c2fb09f71/attachments/66d0f21622fa1f238a0ba5e9/previews/66d0f21722fa1f238a0ba5f5/download/5bec38c1-a458-4b44-ac0a-8c319ac71e5c.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[JJ Squawkers]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/jj-squawkers/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/jj-squawkers/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 20 Oct 2024 01:03:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Athena, Arcade, 1993

A bright action-platformer with lush visuals and classic cartoon designs. The difficulty curve is pretty uneven and none of the weapons feel very good to use, so I was frustrated at the start, but I got into it once I started r…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Aurail]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/aurail/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/aurail/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 20 Oct 2024 00:14:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Westone, Arcade, 1990

Sega must’ve sent this one out to die. There’s seemingly no promotional material for it, no snazzy flyer, and I never once heard anybody talk about it prior to Jotego’s System 16 MiSTer core release.

A shame, because it’s pre…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[ESP Ra.De.]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/esp-rade/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/esp-rade/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 15 Oct 2024 03:40:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 1998

Calice Cup 9, put some time into this to get another 1CC. I still mostly stand by [my 2021 impressions](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/esp-rade/ "‌") (and it’s still probably my least favorite mainline Cave shooter) but t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Legend of Zelda - Echoes of Wisdom]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-legend-of-zelda-echoes-of-wisdom/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-legend-of-zelda-echoes-of-wisdom/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 13 Oct 2024 04:45:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo, Switch, 2024

A new Zelda game using the visual style and perspective of the well-made 2019 remake of Link’s Awakening. You play as Princess Zelda in the role of a mage that can summon monsters and force-beam things around. Any kind of dir…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/66e4e09e8079f7005f81f0d8/attachments/66e4e0dba7b2e145fd0277a1/previews/66e4e0dca7b2e145fd0278bb/download/legend-of-zelda-echoes-of-wisdom-cover.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[R-Type Leo]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/r-type-leo/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/r-type-leo/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 09 Oct 2024 03:35:14 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nanao, Arcade, 1992

Very cool game. A Nanao-developed original shooter that was reworked mid-development into an R-Type game. This explains the big mechanical differences, but there’s still a good amount of overlap with the legendary series. Scroll…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[UFO 50]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/ufo-50/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/ufo-50/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 03 Oct 2024 17:46:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Mossmouth, PC, 2024

A new alternate-history collection of fifty 1980s games made for a fictional company’s gaming machine. Each title is accessible from the get-go, and the games run a pretty wide gamut: single-player games, (local) versus games, t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The King of Dragons]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-king-of-dragons/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-king-of-dragons/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 29 Sep 2024 15:40:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Arcade, 1991

1CC'd with the Wizard.

A belt scroller released a couple years after Final Fight with a very D&D fantasy setting (only missing the license) and combat that strips the core mechanics down to a very raw level. The game uses two …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Crimson Diamond]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-crimson-diamond/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-crimson-diamond/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 21 Sep 2024 04:02:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Julia Minamata, PC, 2024

A new EGA-looking text-parsing adventure game centered about geology and murder in a 1910s Ontario ghost town, clearly inspired by The Colonel’s Bequest.

I had a really nice time with this. The setting, the environmentalis…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shadow of the Ninja - Reborn]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shadow-of-the-ninja-reborn/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shadow-of-the-ninja-reborn/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 06 Sep 2024 01:43:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tengo Project, PC, 2024

Can’t believe how much I liked this. Of all the Tengo Project games this is the biggest departure from the original. Level designs loosely follow old concepts, but the core mechanics, enemy designs, and visuals are radically…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Urban Reign]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/urban-reign/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/urban-reign/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 02 Sep 2024 15:53:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Namco Hometek, Playstation 2, 2005

Super unique melee action. This, Beat Down, and Final Fight: Streetwise have always been a blur in my head since they were all thematically similar and released at the same time, and this is the first of the three…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Strider Hiryu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/strider-hiryu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/strider-hiryu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 26 Aug 2024 01:04:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Arcade, 1989

A shockingly dense and messy action-platformer. Even by arcade standards it’s pretty terse (something like 18-ish minutes), and every moment is unique. It’s a super-fast series of inventive setpieces full of cool enemies and tr…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Zelda II: The Adventure of Link]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/zelda-ii-the-adventure-of-link/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/zelda-ii-the-adventure-of-link/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 19 Aug 2024 16:06:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo, NES and Famicom Disk System, 1988

Played the NES version, but I like the JP FDS box more.

The broad structure of the game is fascinating. I dabbled with this a little bit growing up so I knew it was a mixture of a world map and side-view…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Samurai Jack - Battle Through Time]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/samurai-jack-battle-through-time/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/samurai-jack-battle-through-time/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 16 Aug 2024 03:15:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Soleil, PC, 2020

A 3D melee action game with a pretty restrained scope. It feels like it had a tight budget, but there’s real Ninja Gaiden 2004 lineage here. I wasn’t looking for a huge commitment right now so I played through this on Normal, and u…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Strikers 1945 II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/strikers-1945-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/strikers-1945-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 15 Aug 2024 06:07:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Psikyo, Arcade, 1997

Played about as much of this as the first Strikers 1945, and it’s a pretty impressive step up from an already great game. Cooler plane variety, a new charge meter that limits the charge attacks but makes them faster to fire, an…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Volgarr the Viking]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/volgarr-the-viking/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/volgarr-the-viking/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 09 Aug 2024 16:00:32 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Crazy Viking Studios, PC, 2013

I really enjoyed my normal playthrough of this in 2013. It’s a tight, varied game with some well-paced high-tension checkpoints and fun core mechanics. I knew the game had a better ending involving an entirely  differ…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shiren-the-wanderer-the-mystery-dungeon-of-serpentcoil-island/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shiren-the-wanderer-the-mystery-dungeon-of-serpentcoil-island/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 29 Jul 2024 05:03:26 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Spike Chunsoft, Nintendo Switch, 2024

This is my third Shiren game, after playing the fifth back on the Vita and then later playing the fan translation of the second on the Nintendo 64. I appreciate Serpentcoil’s shift in approach from 5, giving yo…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shinobi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shinobi/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shinobi/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 27 Jul 2024 15:29:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Arcade, 1987

I’ve played through most every home-original Shinobi game but decided I’d finally learn and 1CC the arcade original. It’s a pretty clear response to Rolling Thunder (a game I’ve only dabbled in), but there’s plenty of thematic an…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Contra: Operation Galuga]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/contra-operation-galuga/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/contra-operation-galuga/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 25 Jul 2024 18:39:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[WayForward, PC, 2024

WayForward’s second stab at the series. Being a modern HD game it doesn’t have two of Contra 4’s foundational issues: it’s not super claustrophobic (being widescreen instead of essentially 9:16), and it doesn’t have a super-biz…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dragon's Dogma 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/dragons-dogma-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/dragons-dogma-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 25 Jul 2024 18:39:39 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2024

Capcom’s second massive free-roaming fantasy action game feels like a beefier version of the original in an awful lot of ways, but it’s been a while since I played that first entry and I never wound up trying the expansion. The wor…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Helldivers II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/helldivers-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/helldivers-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 25 Jul 2024 18:39:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Arrowhead Game Studios, PC, 2024

A co-op third-person shooter about killing hordes of bugs and robots. Normally I’m not into horde-based games like this, but this has a lot of things going for it. The Starship Troopers theme is extremely well-execu…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gunforce]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gunforce/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gunforce/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 20 Jul 2024 21:54:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Arcade, 1991

A clear step on the road to Metal Slug, made by some Irem members that would go on to form Nazca. While there’s nothing too standout going on here, everything is snappy and breezy to learn, the presentation is sick, and the vehic…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Border Down]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/border-down/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/border-down/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 12 Jul 2024 00:09:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[G.Rev, Arcade, 2003

I’ve single-credit cleared another Naomi classic. I barely touched this back on release, but I put some time into it in 2022 and it’s been great to come back to.

Now that I’ve played through Metal Black, it seems like the clear…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Strikers 1945]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/strikers-1945/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/strikers-1945/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 10 Jul 2024 16:14:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Psikyo, Arcade, 1995

Psikyo’s classic vertical STG. I picked up a Strikers 1999 board and figured I’d put a little bit of time into the first two games before digging in, so I spent around 10-12 hours with this one. I know I’m skipping Gunbird here…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Boomerang X]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/boomerang-x/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/boomerang-x/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 09 Jul 2024 02:46:54 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[DANG!, PC, 2021

A neat first person action game about throwing and then launching yourself toward a boomerang. There’s a lot of slow motion, a lot of yanking yourself around these big arenas at high speeds, and a lot of lining up specific shots to …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[OverBlood]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/overblood/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/overblood/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 08 Jul 2024 06:09:23 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Riverhillsoft, Playstation, 1997

Was surprised by the pacing of this. It's a pretty slow adventure game set in a lot of bright, sterile sci-fi halls, but I was surprised at how effective the writing and small dashes of dashes of action were. It fee…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Case of the Golden Idol]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-case-of-the-golden-idol/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-case-of-the-golden-idol/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 04 Jul 2024 02:14:26 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Color Gray Games, PC, 2022

An excellent detective game in which you review a scene and piece together what happened by arranging words on a “thinking” sheet of text and visuals. It doesn’t sound like much, but the scenes are cleverly laid out, the …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ninja Kamui]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/ninja-kamui/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/ninja-kamui/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 01 Jul 2024 03:30:49 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[G.Rev, Nintendo Switch, 2024

G.Rev’s latest, an action-platformer based on an anime I’d never heard of. The movement and combo mechanics make me think of the action scenes in Sakuna a little bit, but it’s a focused six stages and it’s peppered with…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/elden-ring-shadow-of-the-erdtree/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/elden-ring-shadow-of-the-erdtree/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 30 Jun 2024 16:36:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[FromSoftware, PC, 2024

What an expansion. What a game. The entirety of the expansion takes place on a new “Shadow Realm” world map. The Shadow Realm is only accessible once you’re pretty deep into the base game, so leveling up through runes doesn’t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shinrei Jusatsushi Taromaru]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shinrei-jusatsushi-taromaru/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shinrei-jusatsushi-taromaru/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 29 Jun 2024 02:49:50 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Time Warner Interactive, Sega Saturn, 1997

A wild Edo-era action-platformer with a dark, violent tone. The presentation here is really spectacular. It’s full of a lot of no-nonsense realistically-proportioned pixel art characters (think Clock Tower…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5520dc2f475e3d1d6574d124/attachments/657884c44cce054231739dc0/previews/657884c54cce054231739ec2/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Pulseman]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/pulseman/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/pulseman/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 25 Jun 2024 01:29:17 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Game Freak, Mega Drive, 1994

Pretty cool to try some pre-Pokemon Game Freak. Pulseman has a lot of the same spirit as Gunstar Heroes and a lot of similar character designs, but it feels a bit more stretched thin. There are some legit spectacular sc…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Magical Quest starring Mickey Mouse]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-magical-quest-starring-mickey-mouse/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-magical-quest-starring-mickey-mouse/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 20 Jun 2024 17:24:59 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Super Famicom, 1992

A polished, cute, and focused action-platformer where you play as Mickey as he gains new abilities (and thus entirely new outfits and animations) through the stages. There’s a lot of care here. It plays well to the hardw…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Alpha Protocol]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/alpha-protocol/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/alpha-protocol/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 19 Jun 2024 04:28:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Obsidian, PC, 2010

Lots of potential with the dialogue system and the way the campaign is designed around your choices. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get into the actual missions part. Lots of corner peeking as you either wait to sneak or wait to shoot…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Contra 4]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/contra-4/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/contra-4/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 18 Jun 2024 03:50:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Wayforward, Nintendo DS, 2007

Weird game. Weird pacing. Lots of very obnoxious immediate ankle shots. Screen ratio is fucked, sprites are huge, everything is claustrophobic… and that’s before we get to the physical screen gap. By treating the space…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gargoyle's Quest II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gargoyles-quest-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gargoyles-quest-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 11 Jun 2024 02:02:05 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Famicom, 1992

aka Red Arremer II

Better than the Game Boy game, but it still kinda runs at less than full speed the whole way through and I think the quest stuff wore thin too early this time around. The stage variety isn’t all that strong…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mushihimesama - Maniac]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/mushihimesama-maniac/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/mushihimesama-maniac/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Jun 2024 02:51:49 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2004

I cleared Original mode in 2015-ish, back when the Steam release dropped. I decided to go back and get the Maniac clear some nine years later and what a game! The time away helped the aesthetics feel completely fresh, and the Man…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Subnautica]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/subnautica/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/subnautica/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 31 May 2024 01:29:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Unknown Worlds, PC, 2016

An incredible game about exploring a vast alien ocean after surviving a spaceship crash. I was worried that I wouldn’t get into a something built around survival and crafting mechanics, but I’m glad I gave it a shot. It’s a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Crow Country]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/crow-country/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/crow-country/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 13 May 2024 15:37:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SBF Games, PC, 2024

Like Signalis, this is a great modern isometric take on classic Biohazard. Where Biohazard has its mansion and Signalis has its sci-fi facilities, Crow Country has its titular abandoned theme park.

The visuals are immediately s…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Viewtiful Joe]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/viewtiful-joe/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/viewtiful-joe/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 11 May 2024 01:15:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, GameCube, 2003

Kamiya’s third director credit. An action game with a similar structure to Devil May Cry. The presentation is bold and unique, with a cute tokusatsu film reel theme that leans hard into cel shading and pitch black shadows. St…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Children of the Sun]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/children-of-the-sun/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/children-of-the-sun/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 07 May 2024 01:45:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[René Rother, PC, 2024

A unique puzzle game about killing a bunch of cultists with one bullet. The game builds up rules around how the bullet can be controlled, and the stage complexity ramps up pretty well up to a solid and satisfying final stage. …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[War of Aero]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/war-of-aero/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/war-of-aero/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 05 May 2024 23:39:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Allumer, Arcade, 1993

look at this flyer lmao. Just flagrantly bootlegging Image Fight’s art. And the game is an Image Fight clone, but I suspect that Image Fight is much cooler. There’s an initial appeal to this, and there are some very neat touch…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Muchi Muchi Pork!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/muchi-muchi-pork/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/muchi-muchi-pork/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 30 Apr 2024 17:18:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2007

La Calice Cup 8 gave me a great reason to return to this. It’s been a little over 12 years since I cleared the Xbox 360 port’s easier “1.01” mode with Rafute. This time we’re playing the arcade original and I decided to shoot for…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Libros de Chilam Balam]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/libros-de-chilam-balam/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/libros-de-chilam-balam/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 29 Apr 2024 03:04:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Right Stuff, NEC PC-9801, 1992

The incredibly sick cover art got me interested. The opening was cool. And then… it was a traditional JRPG. A snappy enough one, but I didn’t like the characters and the towns/environments were pretty samey. I had to …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gadget: Invention, Travel, & Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gadget-invention-travel-and-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gadget-invention-travel-and-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 23 Apr 2024 01:40:10 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Synergy Inc, Macintosh, 1993

A Japanese CD-ROM adventure game released around a month after Myst. It’s got a similar early CG look and feel, but the environments are way more linear and there is, no joke, only a single puzzle in here. A comically h…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Baldur's Gate 3]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/baldurs-gate-3/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/baldurs-gate-3/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 21 Apr 2024 01:34:33 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Larian, PC, 2023

A massive game to follow the Divinity: Original Sin duo. I only reached the end of Act 1, but that took over 20 hours so I figured I should give my impressions.

Famously this game has an interesting cast of characters with excelle…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dynamite Duke]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/dynamite-duke/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/dynamite-duke/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 19 Apr 2024 05:12:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Seibu Kaihatsu, 1989, Arcade

A fascinating Cabal-like with striking visuals. Big, detailed sprites and sick animations end to end. The main differentiating point here is the focus on melee, with boss fights almost feeling like a more analog version…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Salamander]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/salamander/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/salamander/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 26 Mar 2024 02:32:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1986

I put a handful of hours into this after clearing Gradius II, and I have to admit I didn’t know exactly how MUCH of a Gradius game this was. I had a great time with Salamander 2 a couple years back, and despite being ten years …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gradius II: GOFER no Yabou]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gradius-ii-gofer-no-yabou/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gradius-ii-gofer-no-yabou/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 26 Mar 2024 02:28:54 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1988

What a great sequel. The rough edges are filed down a little from the first game, but difficulty is way up all around. Rank management is a factor, but a simple one. You get a variety of ships to choose from, each unique enough…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Star Wars: Dark Forces]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/star-wars-dark-forces/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/star-wars-dark-forces/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 21 Mar 2024 22:58:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[LucasArts, Windows, 1995

A Star Wars FPS with a very Doom-style raycasting engine. Even outside of the technology, though, Doom is the clear starting point. The movement is fast and slippery and the maps are big and striking. The presentation is pr…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Oni]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/oni/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/oni/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 13 Mar 2024 05:00:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bungie, PC, 2001

I have vague memories of Oni’s release, complete with it getting made fun of by Penny Arcade. Not long after I picked up a copy out of a bargain bin but only wound up playing the first level or so. Given how much belt scrollers and…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[G Darius]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/g-darius/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/g-darius/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 08 Mar 2024 21:13:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1997

This was the last of the main arcade Darius games for me to play, and I think it wound up being the best. It’s a standout in so many ways!

Despite the single-screen factor, the presentation is incredible. Immediately I was floo…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Disaster Report]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/disaster-report/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/disaster-report/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 02 Mar 2024 19:27:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Playstation 2, 2002

aka Zettai Zetsumei Toshi

This reminded me of something Human would make. Something like Septentrion or a little bit like Clock Tower. Your train gets derailed by a massive earthquake and you have to navigate the crumblin…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tekken 8]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/tekken-8/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/tekken-8/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 28 Feb 2024 16:49:57 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bandai Namco, PC, 2024

We all know what’s going on here. Good music. Massively beefy hits. Characters and moves you’ve been seeing since 1995, but with some cool new redesigns. A new Heat system (not to be confused with Rage) that lets you enter a …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/i-have-no-mouth-and-i-must-scream/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/i-have-no-mouth-and-i-must-scream/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 27 Feb 2024 04:22:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cyber Dreams, MS-DOS, 1995

A unique adventure game where you play as five humans trapped by a hateful, planet-encompassing AI. It’s very uneven: interactions are awkward, cues sometimes feel more obscure than intended, the pacing is super jacked, a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Metal Black]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/metal-black/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/metal-black/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 25 Feb 2024 22:11:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1991

The presentation here is pretty monumental. The opening stage is set in the desolate ruins of a city, played alongside this beautiful and somber track.  You then rocket off into space (presented as a very flashy bonus stage) to …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bruce Lee (C64)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/bruce-lee-c64/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/bruce-lee-c64/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 18 Feb 2024 02:47:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Datasoft Inc, Commodore 64, 1984

An impressive early American action-platformer. Reminds me of Shadow of the Beast in that it’s terse, arcade-structured (complete with permadeath), and has a simple movelist. Surprisingly nice environment and obstac…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Almana no Kiseki]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/almana-no-kiseki/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/almana-no-kiseki/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 16 Feb 2024 23:27:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Famicom Disk System, 1987

An FDS action-platformer with a very goofy grappling hook mechanic. It’s not quite like Bionic Commando: you still have a small hop, there’s no swinging, the hook gets thrown out in a very rigid fashion, and you’re…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[DoDonPachi DaiOuJou]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/dodonpachi-daioujou/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/dodonpachi-daioujou/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Feb 2024 05:14:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2002

After about 50 hours of direct play time, I got the one-loop clear of the original “White Label” version of DoDonPachi DaiOuJou. My ship selection was B-Exy.

It’s a masterpiece. It has a reputation as one, and I think it’s easy …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Thunder Force V]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/thunder-force-v/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/thunder-force-v/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 09 Feb 2024 18:36:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tecno Soft, Saturn, 1997

I picked this up real cheap back in the 90s, during the brief period of time when Funcoland or EB or whatever was selling Japanese Saturn games. It was always incredibly cool to me. The music is sick, the stage openings are…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Advanced Busterhawk Gleylancer]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/advanced-busterhawk-gleylancer/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/advanced-busterhawk-gleylancer/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 09 Feb 2024 18:34:49 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Masaya, Mega Drive, 1992

A sick game. It might be Thunder Force III tier? Similar in difficulty to TF3, so nothing too difficult on Normal, but it’s got lots of cool stage designs (arguably better ones), great music, some really stunning background…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/like-a-dragon-infinite-wealth/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/like-a-dragon-infinite-wealth/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 09 Feb 2024 18:18:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, PC, 2024

This game’s inclusion of Spikeout as a minigame caused me to pull the trigger and I decided to give the main game an honest shot despite my history of not being able to get into traditional JRPGs. I tried. I think I’d…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tomb Raider II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/tomb-raider-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/tomb-raider-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 30 Jan 2024 02:55:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[CORE Design, Playstation, 1997

I liked the idea of Tomb Raider with a decent spread of stages outside of tombs, but unfortunately this wasn’t very fun in practice. It’s still Tomb Raider, it’s still a solid foundation, but these villa and industria…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Alan Wake II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/alan-wake-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/alan-wake-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 20 Jan 2024 22:41:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Remedy, PC, 2023

This is probably up there with Control as the two best post-Payne Remedy games, and it serves as a good compliment. Where Control is a game with a lot of dashing and hip-firing, this is more of a Resident Evil 4 with precision shoo…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Biohazard: Gun Survivor]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/biohazard-gun-survivor/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/biohazard-gun-survivor/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 08 Jan 2024 01:26:32 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[TOSE, Playstation, 2000

An ambitious attempt at making a free-movement first-person shooter with a light gun based control scheme. It’s kinda like an early 90s console game in that the whole thing is just a couple hours long, very linear, and you h…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Relics]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/relics/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/relics/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 01 Jan 2024 23:27:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bothtec, PC-98, 1986

Originally released on PC-98 but ported to other platforms shortly after. This is a pretty mysterious game, very deliberately not telling the player much and with a manual that encourages the player to explore, but I found the …]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Finals]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-finals/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-finals/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 2023 23:28:58 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Embark Studios, PC, 2023

Traditional multiplayer FPS (as in, not BR or extraction) with teams of three, highly destructible maps, and a relatively long time to kill. The destruction is the main element that stands out, for sure, and it’s fun as hel…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/avatar-frontiers-of-pandora/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/avatar-frontiers-of-pandora/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 2023 22:27:49 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Massive Entertainment, PC, 2023

This is kinda Far Cry adjacent and it’s been a while since I’ve played one of those. The Na’vi movement is pretty cool, the mech enemies are formidable, the world is gorgeous, and the genre trappings are executed wit…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shinobi Non Grata]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shinobi-non-grata/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shinobi-non-grata/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 27 Dec 2023 05:14:10 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Studio PICO, PC, 2023

A tight action-platformer. Player movement is breezy, the animation is nice, and the special attacks you cycle through are pretty mechanically distinct and flavorful. The structure of the game is something like Alien Soldier o…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Jigoku Gokurakumaru]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/jigoku-gokurakumaru/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/jigoku-gokurakumaru/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 20 Dec 2023 05:38:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Human Entertainment, Famicom, 1990

A pretty solid action-platformer. It’s hard to say it’s one of the best on the system (that’s an incredibly high bar) but it’s got a cool theme, nice Batman-style environment art with a bit more guts factor, a fun…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Blood West]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/blood-west/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/blood-west/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 18 Dec 2023 01:24:54 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Hyperstrange, PC, 2023

A System Shock style first-person action game with a wild west horror theme. You’ve got a big inventory grid, leaning, stealth, and a skill tree. And from the lense of Shock-style design the game is pretty well-executed. Comb…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sonic Wings]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/sonic-wings/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/sonic-wings/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 17 Dec 2023 05:34:16 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Video Systems, Arcade, 1992

You can really see the beginning of Psikyo here. A focused shooting game with a fun cast of unique characters, early stage randomization, breakneck pacing, and huge, sick bosses. There are rough edges here that aren’t in…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hi-Fi Rush]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/hi-fi-rush/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/hi-fi-rush/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 11 Dec 2023 07:04:22 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tango Gameworks, PC, 2023

(Played on Very Hard, which I didn’t even have to unlock!)

Lead designer Masaaki Yamada uses Devil May Cry as a starting point (which he was a planner on back in the day) and adds all these little mechanics built around h…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Northern Journey]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/northern-journey/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/northern-journey/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:46 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Slid Studio, PC, 2021

This was a huge surprise. Not unlike Cruelty Squad it's pretty rough-edged, but not quite as hostile. There's a noisy visual style that holds up incredibly considering it's all done with a very vertex color approach. Some real…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[BOPPING DRIVE]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bopping-drive/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bopping-drive/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[David "Tain" Williams, PC, 2021

A nice exercise in keeping scope down and not stressing myself out. I set out to make something small and polished and I'm proud of the results.…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Toree 3D + Toree 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/toree-3d-toree-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/toree-3d-toree-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Siactro, PC, 2021

A well-made basic linear 3D platformer with cute and clean visuals. There's not a ton noteworthy here, but the linear 3D platforming genre is still small enough to make this worth a quick runthrough. 

Sequel is largely the same, …]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Halo Infinite (Versus)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/halo-infinite-versus/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/halo-infinite-versus/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[343i, PC, 2021

When it comes down to it, this is the first time I've played Halo consistently with a regular group of friends. I don't have a lot of knowledge about the competitive modes in older games. This has been fun as hell, though.…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shiren the Wanderer 2: Oni Invasion! Shiren Castle!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/shiren-the-wanderer-2-oni-invasion-shiren-castle/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/shiren-the-wanderer-2-oni-invasion-shiren-castle/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:23 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Chunsoft, Nintendo 64, 2000

This one took ages, but what a game. I loved Shiren 5 back in 2016 when I played the English Vita release, but a fan translation of this appeared this year.

Being an N64 game the presentation is pretty drastically diffe…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Psychonauts 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/psychonauts-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/psychonauts-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Double Fine, PC, 2021

Surprisingly dense world. I like the lack of HUD highlights combined with the surplus of signposting. 

Game doesn't seem to do much layering of mechanics or make any real attempt at getting more difficult, sadly.

Extremely d…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Steel Assault]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/steel-assault/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/steel-assault/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Zenovia Interactive, PC, 2021

Fantastic action-platformer. Pretty top-tier aesthetically, with lots of smooth animation, gorgeous backgrounds, and a face-melting Thunderforce 4 style soundtrack. Stages are extremely dense, sometimes approaching a M…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Metroid Dread]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/metroid-dread/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/metroid-dread/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[MercurySteam, Switch, 2021

Dread winds up being a fantastic action game due to its constant, intense, and creative boss fights and overall excellent animation. Samus gets a lot of unique abilities and the bosses push you to use them in all sorts of…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Outer Wilds: Echoes of the Eye]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/outer-wilds-echoes-of-the-eye/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/outer-wilds-echoes-of-the-eye/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Mobius Digital, PC, 2021

A fantastic expansion to the original, fleshing out the universe's history a bit while having the player solve a detached but still grand mystery in an alien ring world. The structure set up by the original is here, and the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Deathloop]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/deathloop/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/deathloop/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:29:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Arkane Studios, PC, 2021

This is an interesting one. At its core, it's a Dishonored-style action-stealth game but leaning more toward the action this time and for the better. The abilities are fun, mayhem is encouraged via dumb enemy AI and lots of…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Jupiter Hell]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/jupiter-hell/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/jupiter-hell/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:29:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[ChaosForge, PC, 2021

An incredible roguelike. This is a much smaller and more focused game than a lot of the western-made ASCII classics, but there's a ton of variety when it comes to viable character builds and the combat rules are elegant and wel…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Game Builder Garage]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/game-builder-garage/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/game-builder-garage/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:29:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo, Switch, 2021

As to be expected, this is an extremely cute game construction kit. Dreams is the obvious comparison, and while this doesn't give users anywhere near as much freedom, there's still plenty of power here and it comes with a cha…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cruelty Squad]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cruelty-squad/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cruelty-squad/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:29:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Consumer Softproducts, PC, 2021

it's 2021 and games are looking like shit on purpose. It's successful at looking and sounding repugnant, it's got a pretty fun theme, and there's an impressive amount of complexity to the stages. Extremely anachronis…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Guilty Gear Strive]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/guilty-gear-strive/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/guilty-gear-strive/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:29:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Arc System Works, PC, 2021…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Resident Evil 8]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/resident-evil-8/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/resident-evil-8/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:28:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2021

Great game. Built on 7 perfectly by being far more consistent and using a wonderful hub area to guide the player through a handful of mechanically and thematically varied dungeons. The cast of enemies is great and has a huge amount…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Nioh 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/nioh-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/nioh-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:28:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Team Ninja, PC, 2021

A step up from the first game for sure. Lots of cool bosses and great core combat mechanics. Unfortunately, it doesn't fix the major problem of the first game: it's stretched out far, far longer than it should be.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ghosts n Goblins Resurrection]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ghosts-n-goblins-resurrection/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ghosts-n-goblins-resurrection/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:28:22 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2021  
aka Kaettekita Makaimura

Great game. It's not an arcade-built game at all, but the divergences are well thought-out and deeply tied into the game's difficulty levels. You're encouraged to start by trying on Legend mode (both the …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bowser's Fury]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bowsers-fury/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bowsers-fury/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:28:17 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo, Switch, 2021

This was good. Probably the right length, and I wonder how they could build a game with the same core that holds up to be much longer, but the world this takes place in feels like it's made up of my favorite kind of side-cour…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cyber Shadow]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cyber-shadow/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cyber-shadow/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:28:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Aarne "MekaSkull" Hunziker, PC, 2021

This might have some of the best Famicom-style visuals of any modern game I can think of. It delivers visually on those Kickstarter shots of Steel Assault (where this game got its start before Steel Assault swit…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hitman 3]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/hitman-3/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/hitman-3/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:57 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[IO Interactive, PC, 2021

It's absolutely more of the same, but the six stages of Hitman 3 are mostly huge, all great, and have some high points for the trilogy. I love how the stages from the prior two Hitman releases are neatly merged into this on…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Midnight Suns]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/midnight-suns/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/midnight-suns/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Firaxis Games, PC, 2022

I think the core combat of this game is really, really cool. The positioning and environmental attack stuff is very fun and clever and super unique. Unfortunately, everything stringing the missions together feels like grind-…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[God of War: Ragnarock]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/god-of-war-ragnarock/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/god-of-war-ragnarock/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Santa Monica Studio, Playstation 4, 2022

This is good in the same areas that the first game is. The core combat is pretty fun and satisfying, they’ve added a cool new weapon in the spear, and they brought in some welcome enemy variety. There are pl…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Signalis]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/signalis/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/signalis/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:26 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[rose-engine, PC, 2022

A fantastic game in the style of the original Biohazard. Helping it stand out is an extremely unique look and atmosphere that leans heavily on blurring the line between pixel art and 3D. There’s an even stronger focus on puzzl…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bayonetta 3]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bayonetta-3/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bayonetta-3/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:22 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[PlatinumGames, Switch, 2022

Refreshing to play a game like this again. Lots of ideas crammed into this one (reflecting the long development time), but it’s all wrangled together very well. The kaiju mechanics help it stand out from the first two, E…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Scorn]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/scorn/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/scorn/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ebb Software, PC, 2022

This is an extremely visually accomplished game. Just a really thorough and stunning take on Giger's style. Unfortunately, the game's puzzles and combat are two mechanical halves that fit together terribly. If it had only one…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Kevin Costner's Waterworld]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/kevin-costners-waterworld/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/kevin-costners-waterworld/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Macaw45, PC, 2022

Macaw45's action game based on the Waterworld arcade game gag from The Simpsons. You take big steps one at a time, you have very specific punch timing, and the obstacles get very silly. Every time you die you have to manually inse…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Return to Monkey Island]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/return-to-monkey-island/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/return-to-monkey-island/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Terrible Toybox, PC, 2022  

Return to Monkey Island is really good. Visuals won me over in motion, it does just the right amount of streamlining, it's charming throughout with occasional genuinely funny moments, and I really liked the ending.

I th…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Last Call BBS]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/last-call-bbs/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/last-call-bbs/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Zachtronics, PC, 2022

It's not often that a development studio declares a game as their final release. This is a fascinating collection of games that are all solid ideas and well-polished, even if not always fully fleshed out. A couple highlights f…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rumbleverse]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rumbleverse/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rumbleverse/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Iron Galaxy, PC, 2022

What a unique thing. Really cool core mechanics. Endlessly fun to climb around, chuck items at people, slam people into cars, tackle people off of buildings, whip people to your friends, etc. Deceptively complex for sure, and …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[ROLLERDROME]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rollerdrome/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rollerdrome/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Roll7, PC, 2022

Really good Tony Hawk style skating game that manages to bring in a layer of bullet-time third-person shooting. The skating stuff is kind, not allowing you to bail and basically only having flip tricks and grinds, but the way the tr…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Paradise Killer]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/paradise-killer/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/paradise-killer/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:29 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Kaizen Game Works, PC, 2022

A neat adventure game where you hop around a vaporwave island of the gods using Quake controls to gather as much evidence as you feel like prior to initiating a trial. The music is wonderful and the visuals are pretty we…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[COMPOUND]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/compound/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/compound/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bevan McKechnie, PC VR, 2022

Cleared on Hard. Incredible. Fun to learn weapons, well-balanced between physical and artificial movement, tons of little quirks to learn about the enemies and environments they're placed in, and one of the best executi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Stray]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/stray/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/stray/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[BlueTwelve Studio, PC, 2022

Cute, gorgeous game. Mostly a very atmospheric walking sim with light puzzles and action.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Yurukill: The Calumniation Games]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/yurukill-the-calumniation-games/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/yurukill-the-calumniation-games/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[IzanagiGames and G.Rev, PC, 2022

What a unique game. The basic idea is that it's a Danganronpa-style visual novel only with the trial scenes replaced by a full-ass 2D shooting game designed by Border Down director Hiroyuki Maruyama. 

The VN side o…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Knight's Try]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/knights-try/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/knights-try/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Modus Interactive, PC, 2022

This might be a 3D platforming all-timer. 

You play as a goofy, tired, and faceless onion knight trying to ascend a massive floating course full of jumps, traps, and enemies. The core mechanics are simple: basic movemen…]]></description>
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            <title><![CDATA[Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/cuphead-the-delicious-last-course/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/cuphead-the-delicious-last-course/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Studio MDHR, PC, 2022

Really good expansion to the original. They went all out with most of these bosses, and the final boss in particular is incredible. Couldn't get into the new character's controls, but she does seem mechanically distinct.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Neon White]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/neon-white/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/neon-white/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Angel Matrix, PC, 2022

Very unique first-person action game featuring Trackmania-style stages strung together with visual novel sequences. 

Each stage has you running, jumping, and shooting around a porcelain course in the heavens. There are medal…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Drainus]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/drainus/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/drainus/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Team Ladybug, PC, 2022

Gorgeous gorgeous game but mechanically inelegant and largely about mashing absorb instead of dodging. I probably won't be going back to it.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/stranger-of-paradise-final-fantasy-origin/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/stranger-of-paradise-final-fantasy-origin/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Team Ninja, PC, 2022 

A Team Ninja game that serves as a prequel of sorts to the original Final Fantasy. I wasn't the biggest fan of Nioh or Nioh 2, but I enjoyed this a good amount more. 

The core combat here is pretty fun. The basis is a fairly …]]></description>
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        </item>
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            <title><![CDATA[Ghostwire: Tokyo]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ghostwire-tokyo/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ghostwire-tokyo/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:21 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tango, PC, 2022

It's no TEW but there's something nice about the simple lock-on + parry combat between all the building-climbing. It's surprisingly distinct despite the broader open world structure. 

This is probably best on Tatari, where the game…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Elden Ring]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/elden-ring/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/elden-ring/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:14 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[FromSoftware, PC, 2022

Jesus Christ. This game is gigantic, yet consistently good. It's dense. There's something interesting in every nook and cranny. You'll see repeated bosses and other elements, but the game justifies it and changes plenty of ot…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Akai Katana Exa Label]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/akai-katana-exa-label/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/akai-katana-exa-label/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Team EXA-AM2, Arcade, 2022

Like with DoDonPachi Saidaioujou Exa Label, the Exa release of Akai Katana does an excellent job of porting the 2010 original by shedding the egregious slowdown, gathering existing arrange modes (one of which tastef…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The King of Fighters XV]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/the-king-of-fighters-xv/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/the-king-of-fighters-xv/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SNK, PC, 2022

I like the autocombos, I like the new characters, I like the visuals. I'm not going to play a ton of this but it seems good.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sifu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sifu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sifu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sloclap, PC, 2022  


The main draw here is this very unique, flashy, and stylish combat (kinda reminiscent of Arkham Asylum but with some GOD HAND thrown in) combined with a really high difficulty level. You'll learn all about weapons, crushing gua…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/serious-sam-siberian-mayhem/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/serious-sam-siberian-mayhem/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Timelock Studio, PC, 2022 

It's more of Sam 4, but with slightly tighter pacing (it's shorter overall) and better vehicle segments. It rules. Maybe the boss fights are a little weaker.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Robocop: Rogue City]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/robocop-rogue-city/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/robocop-rogue-city/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Teyon, PC, 2023

What a nice surprise this was. Absolutely has the energy of a Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay or a Wolfenstein: The New Order. It’s a focused and linear FPS that intelligently uses genre conventions without sticking t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/like-a-dragon-gaiden-the-man-who-erased-his-name/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/like-a-dragon-gaiden-the-man-who-erased-his-name/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:50 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, PC, 2023

I liked the sound of a shorter Yakuza game going into this one, but in practice it’s a bit of a letdown. Too much time is spent introducing the player to side quest and minigame stuff and it all feels like leftovers. …]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Air Twister]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/air-twister/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/air-twister/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ys Net, PC, 2023

Initially an Apple Arcade game, Yu Suzuki’s new rail shooter is now on PC and consoles. The presentation is surprisingly good! Environments look nice, enemy designs are inspired, and the soundtrack is all original ELO-ish stuff wit…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Mario Bros. Wonder]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/super-mario-bros-wonder/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/super-mario-bros-wonder/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo EPD, Nintendo Switch, 2023

Pretty good. Nothing too surprising, but it’s well-made and the new presentation is refreshing compared to New Super Mario Bros U. As always the new power-ups are fun and well-explored by the stages they’re place…]]></description>
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        </item>
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            <title><![CDATA[Slay the Princess]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/slay-the-princess/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/slay-the-princess/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Black Tabby Games, PC, 2023

A nice, terse visual novel with a very dynamic feel. Well-executed with a unique look and narration. I don’t want to say much about what actually goes on here, but by the end of the fairly short play time it winds up sat…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Trepang2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/trepang2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/trepang2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Trepang Studios, PC, 2023

A well-made successor to FEAR that, going by memory, turns all the dials up. Extremely satisfying weapons, environmental destruction, and hit reactions. Surprisingly good boss fights, especially the final boss. Thankfully,…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Void Stranger]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/void-stranger/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/void-stranger/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[System Erasure, PC, 2023

ZeroRanger is one of my favorite games of 2018 and one of the best home-exclusive 2D shooting games I can think of, so I had to immediately hop on Void Stranger despite it being a huge departure. It uses Game Boy classic Ca…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/armored-core-vi-fires-of-rubicon/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/armored-core-vi-fires-of-rubicon/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:27 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[FromSoftware, PC, 2023

A big new release that snuck up on me. My Armored Core experience prior to this consisted of playing the four 360-generation entries, which I generally enjoyed.

What struck me most about Armored Core 6 was how finely From ro…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[En Garde!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/en-garde/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/en-garde/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Fireplace Games, PC, 2023

A very charming third-person swashbuckling game. It’s a bit like Sifu, but with simpler (yet still very clear and slick-looking) swordfighting mechanics and none of the meta-layer inelegance. A particularly neat touch is t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bomb Rush Cyberfunk]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/bomb-rush-cyberfunk/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/bomb-rush-cyberfunk/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Team Reptile, PC, 2023

Wish I liked this more. This is clearly using Jet Set Radio Future as a starting point, and I’d say that it makes some clear improvements by changing up the structure a bit. The tricks and trick-related challenges are more fu…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Pseudoregalia]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/pseudoregalia/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/pseudoregalia/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:18 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[rittzler, PC, 2023

This is a nice time. I don't like it as much as Knight's Try when it comes to recent 3d platformer-adjacent stuff but it does a pretty good job of making a roughly Souls-style connected world with distinct-enough areas out of a t…]]></description>
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        </item>
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            <title><![CDATA[Protodroid Delta]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/protodroid-delta/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/protodroid-delta/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Adam Kareem, PC, 2023

This was a neat linear 3D action-platformer with well thought-out movement and combat. Charge attacks require energy that you can regenerate through melee, and there’s a lot of neat variety to the enemy behaviors. Dash-jumping…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Street Fighter 6]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/street-fighter-6/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/street-fighter-6/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:05 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2023

World Tour mode is pretty solid. It’s not great, not Tobal 2, but better than any fighting game campaign mode I can point to in the past couple decades. I don’t really like talking about fighting games in too much detail because I …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo EAD, Switch, 2023

Something special. An improvement on BotW in so many ways. The deeply flexible and optional BotW campaign has been expanded on not primarily through more or better dungeons (though there are more and they are better), but…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Star Wars Jedi: Survivor]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/star-wars-jedi-survivor/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/star-wars-jedi-survivor/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:22:59 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Respawn, PC, 2023

A good iteration on Fallen Order. It’s bigger and has a more complex hub, but the main campaign doesn’t lose any of the focus from the first game. The hardest difficulty demanded a little too much perfection so I dropped it down t…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Lattice Rider NEPHILA]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/lattice-rider-nephila/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/lattice-rider-nephila/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:22:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[David “Tain” Williams, PC, 2023

I made this game over ten days for Bullet Hell Jam 2023. I wanted to practice low-fi 3D visuals and some 2D shooting game stage design, and overall I’m super happy with the results. If I made this into a full project…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Resident Evil 4 (2023)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/resident-evil-4-2023/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/resident-evil-4-2023/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:22:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2023

I loved the Resident Evil 2 remake largely because it built a fantastic new game using mostly just the skeleton of the original. It was a huge departure in tons of ways. This is a very well-made game, but it simply can’t be as exci…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Wanted: Dead]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/wanted-dead/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/wanted-dead/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:22:17 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Soleil, PC, 2023

A 3D melee action and third person shooter hybrid set in future Hong Kong, developed by some ex Team Ninja guys minus Itagaki. It doesn’t feel as much like Devil’s Third as I expected it to, and I think it does some key things bett…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/vengeful-guardian-moonrider/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/vengeful-guardian-moonrider/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:22:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[JoyMasher, PC, 2023

I was hoping this would be a lean and 1cc-focusable game like Blazing Chrome, but it turns out it’s more like Rockman X than anything else. The visuals are gorgeous and the theme is cool as hell, but both the stages and boss fig…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Lunacid]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/lunacid/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/lunacid/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:08:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[KIRA LLC, PC, 2023

I’ve only played the first and a bit of the second King’s Field games, which Lunacid takes a lot from, and it does an admirable job of creating that sense of mystery that pulls me through so many of From’s games. This is a little…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Baroque (Saturn)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/baroque-saturn/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/baroque-saturn/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 04:55:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sting, Saturn, 1998

Dark and moody action game with (and I don’t throw this term out lightly) roguelike elements. It’s basically like if Shiren the Wanderer had far slower and realtime first-person combat to space out all the cool decisions. It’s r…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gunbird]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/gunbird/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/gunbird/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 08 Dec 2023 17:53:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Psikyo, Arcade, 1994

This was a really fun game to learn. Being Psikyo’s second shooter it’s notably less complex than the games that would come later, but it’s also a pretty big step above their already-solid Sengoku Ace. You’ll see a lot of the P…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[D/Generation]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dgeneration/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dgeneration/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 03 Dec 2023 21:38:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Robert Cook, DOS, 1991

Played about half of this. It’s a pretty clever combination of small-scale room puzzles and action that leans into avoiding traps, but eventually the behavior of the Survivors really started to wear on me and there are some p…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dynamite Deka 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dynamite-deka-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dynamite-deka-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 11 Nov 2023 04:43:32 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM1, Arcade, 1998

Played both the Model 2 original and the Dreamcast port, which has a pretty different look to it.

Sequel to the 1996 masterpiece. Despite being a 1998 release this was built for the then-old but still powerful Model 2 arcade…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Magnetic Neo]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/super-magnetic-neo/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/super-magnetic-neo/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 11 Nov 2023 04:35:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Genki, Dreamcast, 2000

A surprisingly tough Crash Bandicoot style 3D platformer with a neat magnet polarity gimmick. Like with Crash there are some rough edges (stuff like not being able to magnetize while holding the run button), but overall I thi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Clock Tower 3]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/clock-tower-3/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/clock-tower-3/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 11 Nov 2023 04:35:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Playstation 2, 2003

I played Haunting Ground a lifetime ago and really liked it, and I’ve always loved the first Clock Tower game in particular, so I figured it was time to finally play this. It’s good! Being developed by a team from a diff…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Raiden DX]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/raiden-dx/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/raiden-dx/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 10 Nov 2023 02:13:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Seibu Kaihatsu, Arcade, 1994

An enhanced/arranged version of Raiden 2, often pointed to as the one to play. I didn’t clear it but put a good chunk of time into it for Calice Cup. It’s insanely lush, pretty tough, and has a ridiculous list of scorin…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Karateka]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/karateka/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/karateka/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 11 Oct 2023 03:50:22 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jordan Mechner, Apple II, 1984

A breakthrough game in terms of presentation, but I think it’s clear that Prince of Persia was the real masterpiece. The entire structure here is a brief, straight-shot left-to-right series of karate fights with a cou…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dr. Toppel's Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dr-toppels-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dr-toppels-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 11 Oct 2023 01:34:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Kaneko, Arcade, 1987

this is a rough STG man. Cute designs, a neat option-placement concept, and it’s kinda unique in how all the bullets are tiny and crawl real slow… but the sprites look crazy sparse with almost no animation, there’s zero time to…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gokujou Parodius]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/gokujou-parodius/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/gokujou-parodius/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 10 Oct 2023 20:51:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1994

Played for Calice Cup 7.

The second of the three arcade Parodius games. Normally I’d have preferred to put more time into the predecessor Parodius Da!, but I’m told this series got easier with each entry so maybe it’s for the …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dynamite Deka]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dynamite-deka/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dynamite-deka/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 28 Sep 2023 19:59:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM1, Arcade, 1996. aka Die Hard Arcade

It feels like Dynamite Deka is often considered a footnote, but I really think this is a milestone in 3D melee action.

Belt scrollers were always 3D in a mechanics sense, but being built fully around pol…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Deep Fear]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/deep-fear/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/deep-fear/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 21 Sep 2023 03:19:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega CS2, Saturn, 1998

Really wish this was good! Deep Fear is a Biohazard-style fixed camera horror game set in an undersea base. Cool premise, and much of it is pretty well-executed with detailed environments, smooth-moving gouraud-shaded charact…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5f7e788c39918d1a09169da2/attachments/646c48f8438b54b0bb0b16dd/previews/646c48fa438b54b0bb0b16ee/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Nosferatu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/nosferatu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/nosferatu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 19 Aug 2023 03:41:16 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SETA Co., Super Famicom, 1994

Unhinged and wonderful. The most concise way I can describe Nosferatu is that it’s like Prince of Persia with slightly more granular movement and an emphasis on a unique, hefty hand-to-hand combat system. The presentat…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Prince of Persia (PC-98)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/prince-of-persia-pc-98/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/prince-of-persia-pc-98/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 10 Aug 2023 04:28:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Broderbund Software and Arsys Software, PC-98, 1990

This is my first time fully playing any form of Prince of Persia. I landed on this version because it was one of the earliest ports, it adds a soundtrack, and the PC-98’s grimy audio hardware and …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Eliza]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/eliza/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/eliza/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 09 Aug 2023 21:05:29 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Zachtronics, PC, 2019

Obviously not the usual Zachtronics game and has a pretty distinct theme for a VN. Looking back I don’t know that it went where it needed to.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dracula Densetsu II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dracula-densetsu-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dracula-densetsu-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 09 Aug 2023 18:43:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Game Boy, 1991, aka Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge

This is a step up from the first Game Boy game in a lot of ways, but the most noticeable are the tech improvements. It looks nicer, with some seriously impressive backgrounds, and it mos…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Punisher]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-punisher/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-punisher/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 31 Jul 2023 04:18:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Arcade, 1993

So sick. The lush animation and excellent voice samples work hand-in-hand to make the heavy hits satisfying. I can’t think of any move in anything I’ve played recently that’s more fun to land than the Punisher’s perfectly-timed…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dangun Feveron]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dangun-feveron/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dangun-feveron/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 19 Jul 2023 17:27:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 1998

This is wonderful. As with Guwange, there’s nothing else in Cave’s library that feels like it. It’s the last of their games to primarily use traditional pixel art, and is utterly stuffed with awesome chunky-looking ships on top o…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Baldur's Gate]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/baldurs-gate/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/baldurs-gate/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 19 Jul 2023 00:24:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bioware, Windows, 1998

Playing the Enhanced Edition. This seems impressively flexible from the get-go and the game’s world feels pretty big. The real time combat is pretty breezy and helps keep things from feeling like a slog, but I think that the …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Flashback]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/flashback/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/flashback/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 14 Jul 2023 21:21:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Delphine Software International, Amiga, 1992

It’s striking how distinct this feels from Another World. Both made at the same studio, both using Prince of Persia as a starting point, both using flat colors to create gorgeous environments and fluid c…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Batman (Famicom)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/batman-famicom/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/batman-famicom/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 03 Jul 2023 03:27:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sunsoft, Famicom, 1989

After bouncing off of Future Wars I had to play something good and tight and familiar. This rules basically as much as it did when I beat the game in 2010-ish, though the final stage’s jump timing was even tighter than I reme…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Future Wars: Adventures in Time]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/future-wars-adventures-in-time/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/future-wars-adventures-in-time/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 03 Jul 2023 03:08:29 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Delphine Software, Amiga, 1989

Wanted to try this since Éric Chahi was behind most of the art. I bounced off of this, sadly. The opening scenes are gorgeous and the interface is pretty elegant for 1989, but the hotspots are the tiniest I’ve ever se…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Another World]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/another-world/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/another-world/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 27 Jun 2023 17:32:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Delphine Software, Amiga, 1991

Absolutely sick game. Having never seen beyond the intro when I was younger I'm very happy that I finally played through this. It’s an action platformer with fluid animation and grounded movement, like Prince of Persi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Fallout: New Vegas]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/fallout-new-vegas/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/fallout-new-vegas/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 26 Jun 2023 05:36:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Obsidian Entertainment, Windows, 2010

Best Bethesda-style game I've played. An easy standout. The Elder Scrolls games never did much for me and I bounced off of Fallout 3 in 2009, but I was pretty hooked to New Vegas. It has an impressively dynamic…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[System Shock]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/system-shock/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/system-shock/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Jun 2023 17:22:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Looking Glass Technologies, DOS, 1994

A staggeringly ambitious first person action game set in a big semi-linear space station. It’s all incredibly impressive for 1994. Movement mechanics let you lean, strafe, crouch, jump, and even go prone. Envir…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Galleon]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/galleon/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/galleon/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 05 Jun 2023 21:10:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Confounding Factor, Xbox, 2004

This was apparently directed by Toby Gard, one of the lead guys behind the original Tomb Raider that left Core prior to Tomb Raider II. You can definitely see a trajectory from that game to this. It’s still got plenty…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Fighting Force]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/fighting-force/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/fighting-force/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 23 May 2023 04:29:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Core Design, Playstation, 1997

A polygonal beat ‘em up by the Tomb Raider developers. I always thought this looked so cool as a kid and wished I could play it on Saturn, but despite all the times I got to try PS1 rentals at friends' houses I never …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Castlevania: The Adventure Rebirth]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/castlevania-the-adventure-rebirth/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/castlevania-the-adventure-rebirth/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 16 May 2023 17:34:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[M2, Wii, 2009

I think the visuals put me off on this back in the day, but now that I’ve actually sat down with it it’s pretty good! It’s a cool mix of mechanics from the original game (no stair jumping/landing for example) and some departures like …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Kick Master]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/kick-master/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/kick-master/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 25 Apr 2023 04:47:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[KID Corp, NES, 1992

Shinobu Yagawa as programmer. His third credit. No Japanese release.

This is a pretty interesting one. Every enemy kill sends three items up into the air and these items drop through the floor, so you often need to commit to gr…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Low G Man]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/low-g-man/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/low-g-man/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 23 Apr 2023 02:50:59 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[KID Corp, NES, 1992

Having your primary attacks be between a stun-only pistol and an up/down stab is a pretty cool setup. There are there’s a surprising amount of cool enemy designs in here, and pretty decent variety in stage design. On the other h…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shadowgate 64]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shadowgate-64/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shadowgate-64/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 22 Apr 2023 15:00:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[TNS Co., Nintendo 64, 1999

A first-person adventure game apparently developed by the studio behind Wachenroeder. Unfortunately super dry compared to the original. Cool atmosphere, nice (if subdued) music, but there are no silly deaths and the puzzl…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shadowgate]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shadowgate/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shadowgate/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 17 Apr 2023 02:23:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[ICOM and Kemco, NES, 1989

Unlike with Deja Vu, I decided to play Kemco’s NES adaptation over the Macintosh original after reading up on major differences. This is a larger and cooler game than Deja Vu, for sure, and while some of the puzzles are gr…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Comix Zone]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/comix-zone/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/comix-zone/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 15 Apr 2023 17:07:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega Technical Institute, Genesis, 1995

This is a wild one. It’s an action platformer where the premise is that you play as a 90’s comic book artist guy that gets sucked up into his own work. The presentation rules, honestly. Everything takes place…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Selection: Erabareshi Mono / The Sword of Hope]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/selection-erabareshi-mono-the-sword-of-hope/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/selection-erabareshi-mono-the-sword-of-hope/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Apr 2023 19:08:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Kemco, Game Boy, 1989

Kemco first adapted Deja Vu in '88, this being a year later. I figured I'd check this out since I liked the idea of an original Game Boy ICOM-style adventure game by Kemco themselves, but unfortunately this is more of a tradit…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Guwange]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/guwange/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/guwange/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Apr 2023 03:48:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 1999

It’s easy to think of Cave as sticking to a very tight set of mechanics and hardly ever deviating but this game stands way out. What a wild take on the genre. The core concept is basically an on-foot top-down STG with the usual C…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Deja Vu: A Nightmare Comes True!!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/deja-vu-a-nightmare-comes-true/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/deja-vu-a-nightmare-comes-true/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 07 Apr 2023 22:19:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[ICOM Simulations, Macintosh, 1985

Really impressive how this uses the Macintosh UI to do a lot of heavy lifting and deliver a very new kind of adventure game only a year after King’s Quest. The black and white art is really distinct and barring a c…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[El Viento]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/el-viento/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/el-viento/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 07 Apr 2023 22:19:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Wolf Team, Megadrive, 1991

This game’s definitely got rough edges, but it also has a really cool presentation, nice cutscene art, excellent music, a pretty unique setting, and honestly some decent action! It’s deeply silly and has a couple weak poi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[EX-RANZA]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/ex-ranza/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/ex-ranza/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 05 Apr 2023 15:14:58 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[GAU Entertainment, Megadrive, 1993. aka Ranger X.

Very cool. This was released about half a year after Valken and isn’t really dissimilar in structure and theme: it’s a side-view mech action-platformer where you have a health meter, every life is a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Mario: Yoshi Island]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/super-mario-yoshi-island/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/super-mario-yoshi-island/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 23 Mar 2023 23:54:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo EAD, Super Famicom, 1995

Gorgeous. Really really nice-looking, lots of cute designs all over the place, great music. The egg throwing is pretty fun, but as the stages sloooowly ramped up I found the flutter jump mechanic and the Mario reco…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Wild Guns]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/wild-guns/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/wild-guns/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 13 Mar 2023 01:15:28 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Natsume, Super Famicom, 1994

An easy entry into the absolute top tier of SFC action games. The theme rules, the art is incredible, the soundtrack is great, all of this stuff is basically perfect. And then you have this clever split between stationa…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Progear No Arashi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/progear-no-arashi/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/progear-no-arashi/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 13 Mar 2023 01:14:59 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade (CPS2), 2001

Very pumped that I got the first loop one credit clear of Progear no Arashi today. This wasn't as hard for me as Ikaruga, but I still found this tricky. Will probably never even see loop 2, lol. Really love this game. The …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[KiKi KaiKai: Nazo no Kuro Manto]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/kiki-kaikai-nazo-no-kuro-manto/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/kiki-kaikai-nazo-no-kuro-manto/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 06 Mar 2023 01:37:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Natsume, Super Famicom, 1992

I spent some time with this, learning to 1cc up to the final stage, and unfortunately I think the game’s kind of annoying. I don’t like the movement-is-aim orientation mechanics, the constant melee swipes against bullet…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[DoDonPachi SaiDaiOuJou Exa Label - Original Mode]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dodonpachi-saidaioujou-exa-label-original-mode/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dodonpachi-saidaioujou-exa-label-original-mode/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 02 Mar 2023 03:49:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2012

Playing as A-S. I have not 1cc’d this yet. I spent a few months off-and-on chipping away at this and I’ve finally just started seeing stage 5. This really feels like a clear step above the other one-loop Cave games difficulty-wis…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gungrave G.O.R.E.]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/gungrave-gore/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/gungrave-gore/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 26 Feb 2023 07:08:14 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Iggymob, PC, 2022

I like the look of this game a lot. Some real fun designs and animations delivered with a lot of detail and impact. Unfortunately the stages do nothing for me. Just gigantic amounts of little dudes that you blast through, occasion…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Space Channel 5 VR: Kinda Funky News Flash]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/space-channel-5-vr-kinda-funky-news-flash/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/space-channel-5-vr-kinda-funky-news-flash/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 25 Feb 2023 19:08:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Grounding, PC, 2020

What’s here is really good. It’s better than the old games in a lot of ways, but it’s also both shorter and easier. This wouldn’t be a big problem if they included a nice bonus challenge mode, but unfortunately no dice. Still, y…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Leisure Suit Larry goes Looking For Love (In Several Wrong Places)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/leisure-suit-larry-goes-looking-for-love-in-several-wrong-places/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/leisure-suit-larry-goes-looking-for-love-in-several-wrong-places/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 25 Feb 2023 03:06:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sierra On-Line, DOS, 1988

Big step down from the first one. The visuals are more detailed but less appealing, the world is bigger but more confusing, and the puzzles are some of the cruelest and softlock-iest I’ve seen in an adventure game. Kinda h…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-beast-within-a-gabriel-knight-mystery/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-beast-within-a-gabriel-knight-mystery/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 24 Feb 2023 03:06:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sierra, PC, 1995

Decided to play something chill like this while I was out with a nasty infection.

Compared to Phantasmagoria, this feels like a much more complete attempt at FMV-ifying Sierra’s traditional point and click setup. The sprites still…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Returnal]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/returnal/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/returnal/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 24 Feb 2023 03:06:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Housemarque, Playstation 5 and PC, 2021

This is a great time. Housemarque has adapted their chaotic twin-stick shooting action into a gorgeous and cutting-edge third-person shooter, deftly bringing along the lessons they’ve learned through the year…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[King's Quest]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/kings-quest/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/kings-quest/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 24 Feb 2023 02:26:19 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sierra On-Line, IBM PC, 1984

Not as breezy or as purposeful with its environments as Leisure Suit Larry, but it’s very obviously a groundbreaking release for its time. Like with LSL I was surprised at how kind the parser is, and the game has some m…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/leisure-suit-larry-in-the-land-of-the-lounge-lizards/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/leisure-suit-larry-in-the-land-of-the-lounge-lizards/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 24 Feb 2023 02:26:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sierra On-Line, DOS, 1987

I’ve been meaning to play through more old Sierra stuff for a while now. I grew up on LucasArts, and Sierra’s adventure games have mostly been a blind spot for me barring the first Gabriel Knight. King’s Quest seemed a lit…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Space Quest: Chapter I - The Sarien Encounter]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/space-quest-chapter-i-the-sarien-encounter/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/space-quest-chapter-i-the-sarien-encounter/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 19 Feb 2023 05:59:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sierra On-Line, DOS, 1986

Relative to the other Sierra series first entries I’ve played this year, this released between King’s Quest and Leisure Suit Larry. The theme here is really fun. There’s a nice variety to the settings that make it feel lik…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The GG Shinobi II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-gg-shinobi-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-gg-shinobi-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 08 Feb 2023 00:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Game Gear, 1992

I liked this more than the first one. The structure is similar but the main change is that in each of the four selectable stages you’ll have to beat their boss to unlock the Shinobi (with unique abilities) and then you’ll also…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shining Force: The Legacy of Great Intention]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shining-force-the-legacy-of-great-intention/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shining-force-the-legacy-of-great-intention/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 29 Jan 2023 20:24:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Climax Entertainment and Sonic Co., Mega Drive, 1992

I haven’t played many SRPGs so I figured I’d play through this for the Sega factor. From what little I know about the genre, the unique part of Shining Force seems to be that you have town segmen…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Wishbringer]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/wishbringer/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/wishbringer/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 25 Dec 2022 02:22:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Infocom, various PC platforms, 1985

Directed by Brian Moriarty (Loom, etc). Infocom themselves describes this as “introductory level” right on the box. Wishbringer basically does away with all of the stuff I disliked about Zork I. The world is much…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Jet Island]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/jet-island/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/jet-island/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 25 Dec 2022 02:13:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Master Indie, PC, 2018

This is a neat proof of concept where you Tribes-ski around an impossibly big island, make your way to the core of colossal moving robots, and blow 'em up. There isn't much to it outside of the movement and it's VERY motion-u…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Room VR]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/the-room-vr/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/the-room-vr/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 25 Dec 2022 02:13:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Fireproof Studios, PC, 2020

Really good VR adaptation and the tech fits so well. There aren’t any huge swerves from the flat-screen games, but there are plenty of standout puzzles and everything is paced well. Probably the best of the series.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bomberman 64]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bomberman-64/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bomberman-64/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 18 Dec 2022 00:25:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nice little campaign with some legit fun bosses and stages. There are some weird difficulty spikes, and the performance combined with the camera can get a little maddening, but it's a solid game overall.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[D no Shokutaku 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/d-no-shokutaku-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/d-no-shokutaku-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 16 Dec 2022 19:20:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[WARP, Dreamcast, 1999

This is WARP’s most fleshed-out game for sure. Taking place in snowy Canadian fields after a plane crash, the pre-rendered FMV has finally been relegated to occasional cutscenes and the adventure game scenes from the prior two…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shock Troopers]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/shock-troopers/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/shock-troopers/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:34:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Saurus, Arcade, 1997

Sick game. A surprisingly long one (wanna say my clear was like, idk, 30 minutes? 35?) but there's a lot of cool route selection stuff with a lot of clever re-use in design. Rolling through bullets to melee a dude is very satis…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Air Gallet]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/air-gallet/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/air-gallet/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:32:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Gazelle, Arcade, 1996

Cool game but a little uncanny, which makes sense given the Cave-sibling development history. Ship's just a little slow, hitbox maybe just a little big? Zako are mean as hell. First boss is overtuned. etc.

…but it's so sick v…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hishouzame]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/hishouzame/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/hishouzame/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:31:46 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Toaplan, Arcade, 1987

Wonderful game. I can see why this was such a monumental release, and it feels like it really paved the way for Raiden. There's a nice arc to learning how to lead all those fast bullets around, the bombs have a tricky delay th…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mahou Daisakusen]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/mahou-daisakusen/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/mahou-daisakusen/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:29:33 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Raizing, Arcade, 1993

I’ve loved this game ever since digging into it with the M2 release back in 2017. It’s not as relentlessly paced as a Cave game, but this gives it time to build out such a flavorful world for the genre’s standards. Each stage …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sin and Punishment]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sin-and-punishment/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sin-and-punishment/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:19:58 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Nintendo 64, 2000

This rules. I'm realizing that Cabal-style shooters and "forward-scrolling" shooters are largely the same thing, and this has to be near the top of that broader genre. I love the slight genre-bending parts, too, and ever…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Halo Infinite (Campaign)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/halo-infinite-campaign/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/halo-infinite-campaign/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:15:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[343i, PC, 2021

Played on Heroic.

Like in so many free-roaming games, there's a novelty to the world map that lasts for just an early portion of the campaign's length. In Infinite here, this map is full of little side battles. Since Halo has such a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Devil Daggers]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/devil-daggers/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/devil-daggers/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:11:17 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sorath, PC, 2016  

Devil Daggers has always seemed like a really good ultradense arcade-style game, but I've finally dug into it a little more. Once I learned that the gems can be absorbed by not firing and that you upgrade your firepower by collec…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Zork I]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/zork-i/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/zork-i/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 06:14:19 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Infocom, TRS-80, 1980

It’s easy to see why this was a big deal 40+ years ago. The map is big, the puzzles can be clever, there’s a nice sense of humor, and the interpreter is surprisingly smart. I got a kick out of how the combat was based on some …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hydlide]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/hydlide/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/hydlide/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:54:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[T&E Soft, PC-8800, 1984

A brief game full of grinding and designed around quicksaves. It's a hurdle to get into, of course, but I can certainly see why it'd be monumental in 1984. It's a cute adventure once you adjust, and it’s pretty staggering to…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ikari no Yousai (1993)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikari-no-yousai-1993/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikari-no-yousai-1993/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:52:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jaleco, Super Famicom, 1993

Thankfully, this is the best game in the trilogy. I have some nitpicks here (unskippable cutscenes and it's still slightly too mazey), but this is a great Valken-paced limited-continue action game with a really cool them…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Final Fantasy VII Remake]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/final-fantasy-vii-remake/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/final-fantasy-vii-remake/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:51:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Square Enix, Playstation 4, 2020

Enjoyed this. The main quest isn't overlong, the game is ridiculously gorgeous, and I really like what they did with the story. The combat is pretty brisk and flashy and fun, and really shines during some of the bos…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Natsuki Chronicles]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/natsuki-chronicles/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/natsuki-chronicles/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Qute, Xbox One, 2019

Really interesting setup here. The Story mode is genuinely pretty cool, giving you a pool of three lives per level that increases the more you have to retry the stage, and you upgrade weapons using credits earned throughout all…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Adventure of Little Ralph]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-adventure-of-little-ralph/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-adventure-of-little-ralph/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[New Corporation, Playstation, 1999

Fucking masterpiece.

Great visuals, tons of cool scenarios, incredibly good boss fights, and the fighting game genre twist is great. There are some tonal oddities that I don't like, but not enough of them to be a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ys III - Wanderers From Ys (PC-88)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ys-iii-wanderers-from-ys-pc-88/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ys-iii-wanderers-from-ys-pc-88/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nihon Falcom, PC-88, 1989

Played on Hard. The visuals, monster design, tight pacing, and excellent music are completely undeniable. The difficulty curve is also pretty tight considering the XP system, and while the bosses aren't particularly hard y…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Blazing Star]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/blazing-star/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/blazing-star/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:16 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Yumekobo, Arcade, 1998

This game fuckin rules. The CG sprites are certainly rough (which is excusable for 1998), but the scenes portrayed manage to be thrilling and unique nonetheless, and the fantastic soundtrack drives them perfectly as it hops b…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-great-ace-attorney-adventures/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-great-ace-attorney-adventures/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, 3DS, 2015

Been years since I've played one of these. It's really incredible how they handled the transition to 3D (like in AA...5?) and the new cast and setting were desperately needed. Tons of charming animations and a well-designed cast. …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Nikujin]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/nikujin/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/nikujin/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ikiki, PC, 2005

Brutal ninja platformer with a lot of wall running and occasional stealth elements. The movement and camera can get kind of erratic at times and you have to learn to not freak out during certain directional changes, but there's so m…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Daioh]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/daioh/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/daioh/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Very weird, but overall great. The game uses checkpoints, but it's kind with them by usually pushing you ahead of where you died and it actually eschews the checkpoints during boss fights. There's rank and a bit of rank management, but nothing too c…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Esp RaDe]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/esp-rade/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/esp-rade/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 1998

This is undoubtedly a great game, but upon revisiting and playing enough to get a clear, I think it's my least favorite mainline Cave game. Since I've already talked about the game's strengths, this is what I don't like:

* The f…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The House in Fata Morgana]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-house-in-fata-morgana/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-house-in-fata-morgana/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:46 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Novectacle, PC, 2012

This was incredible. A massive, massive story about lives tied to a mansion over centuries. I can't imagine the process of writing this or of localizing it. It's incredibly detailed, empathetic, sometimes heartbreaking, sometim…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sengoku Ace]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/sengoku-ace/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/sengoku-ace/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Psikyo, Arcade, 1993…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Espgaluda]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/espgaluda/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/espgaluda/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2003

You know how it is. It's a masterpiece. The final boss FINALLY clicked for me. There's so much to say about this game but it's late.

My favorite video game?…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bionic Commando (Game Boy)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bionic-commando-game-boy/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bionic-commando-game-boy/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Minakuchi Engineering, Game Boy, 1992  

Very much like the Ninja Ryukenden Game Boy game in the sense that it's very original, a bit shorter, and shockingly polished. A really good time, and the ending stretch is probably harder than the Famicom ga…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Darius II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/darius-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/darius-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:05 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1989

Beaten on "A" Difficulty ("Easy" on Switch collection).

This is a fascinating game. The move from three screens to two ultimately helps the pacing, cutting down on a lot of dead air at the expense of some novelty. A good decisi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Giga Wing]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/giga-wing/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/giga-wing/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Takumi and Capcom, Arcade, 1999

I loved this. This is the first Takumi game I've put time into, and the reflect mechanic is a blast. Just incredibly satisfying to get the barrier up, cut into a huge mass of bullets, and slam them back onto the enem…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Disco Elysium: The Final Cut]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/disco-elysium-the-final-cut/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/disco-elysium-the-final-cut/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:48:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[ZA/UM, PC, 2019

Incredibly unique game. It's mostly a very engaging and darkly funny detective story, packed with character progression and skill checks in a way that makes perfect sense in a tabletop setting but that you see rarely in a video game…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Actraiser 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/actraiser-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/actraiser-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:48:32 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Quintet and Ancient, Super Famicom, 1993

Really cool game. It's brutal, and there are unfortunately a couple lame segments that drag it down a little (a few mazes and some really questionable late fights), but the various jump mechanics are really …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ninja Five-O]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ninja-five-o/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ninja-five-o/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:48:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Game Boy Advance, 2003  
aka Ninja Cop

Sick, maddening, methodical game. Fun to learn the grapple controls. Very tight HP. Stages are slightly mazy but never too bad. Awesome bosses, amazing pixel art.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ankoku Densetsu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ankoku-densetsu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ankoku-densetsu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:47:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[RED, PC Engine, 1990  
aka The Legendary Axe II

A follow-up to Makyou Densetsu by a different team. Love the dark atmosphere of this game, love the boss designs. The core mechanics are pretty fun: you lose the satisfying axe charge attacks, but the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Perfect Dark Zero]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/perfect-dark-zero/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/perfect-dark-zero/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:47:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Rare, Xbox 360, 2005

This one's a jarring one to play in 2021. The style is hilarious (nu-metal Bond theme, everyone's clothing, the UI), it's kinda repugnant in terms of character design ("Mai Hem" are you kidding me), and the environments sincere…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ninja Ryukenden (Game Boy)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ninja-ryukenden-game-boy/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ninja-ryukenden-game-boy/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:47:16 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Natsume, Game Boy, 1991  
aka Ninja Gaiden

Very well-made action-platformer by Natsume, completely distinct from the arcade or Famicom games. This one plays more like Shatterhand, with Ryu moving at a slower pace to better fit the Game Boy's resolu…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sakura Wars]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sakura-wars/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sakura-wars/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:46:57 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[RED and Sega, Saturn, 1996

Played the fan translation. The combination of VN and tactics was pretty fun and novel, as was the 90s anime presentation. I appreciated how the fixed-length episodic structure of the game allowed for decently unique tact…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Atomic Runner Chelnov]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/atomic-runner-chelnov/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/atomic-runner-chelnov/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:46:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Data East, Arcade, 1988

This is such a neat game despite the roughness. The core forced-scrolling mechanics are super unique, fun to learn, and thoroughly explored. I particularly like the way that bouncing off of enemy heads works and is tied into…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Contra (Famicom)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/contra-famicom/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/contra-famicom/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:46:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Famicom, 1988  
aka Probotector

Been playing this lately and cleared the Famicom version today. Pretty clearly better than the arcade game of course, especially if you're playing the Famicom version with the extra BG animation. Has similar …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Xanadu Next]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/xanadu-next/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/xanadu-next/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:46:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nihon Falcom, Windows, 2005

An uneven game with a nice atmosphere. It feels very much like if one of the less-focused Ys games were built around mouse controls. It's generally enjoyable to run through the pretty environments, mow through monsters, …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/lands-of-lore-the-throne-of-chaos/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/lands-of-lore-the-throne-of-chaos/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:44:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Westwood Studios, MS-DOS, 1993

Excellent atmosphere and pixel art. Really friendly to get into. The mechanics, expectedly, don't hold up as you get into silly square-based dances and rapid equipment swapping, but I bet that's common for the genre.
…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Virtual Hydlide]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/virtual-hydlide/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/virtual-hydlide/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:44:47 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[T&E Soft, Saturn, 1995

a mess. 

The main programmer on this apparently worked on a bunch of golf games and I think that makes complete sense. There are a lot of ambitious things about this game: the environments are surprisingly detailed (even if …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ikaruga]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikaruga/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikaruga/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:42:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Arcade, 2001

I played some of Ikaruga in 2002. I bought it since it was a really cool-looking sendoff for the Dreamcast but didn't spend much time with it. I played some of the XBLA release in 2008 after falling in love with the idea of c…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/metal-gear-2-solid-snake/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/metal-gear-2-solid-snake/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:42:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, MSX2, 1991  

Really incredible. I heard going in that there was a lot of overlap between this and Metal Gear Solid and that's true (as it is with the first Metal Gear), but less so than I expected. Obviously the core mechanics are distinct …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sin & Punishment: Star Successor]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sin-and-punishment-star-successor/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sin-and-punishment-star-successor/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:41:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Wii, 2009

Still rules, and stands out from the original more than I remember. This one is about twice as long, and the result feels a bit closer to a game like Bayonetta than something arcade-ish. The IR aiming and near-constant flying al…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mischief Makers]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/mischief-makers/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/mischief-makers/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:41:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[This was pretty good. At it's core this is a 2D action-platformer about dashing all over the place, grabbing things, shaking things, and throwing things. Structurally it's a big series of 2-5 minute levels, and it very much feels like stage designer…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Radiant Silvergun]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/radiant-silvergun/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/radiant-silvergun/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:41:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Saturn, 1998

It's beautiful, I love the boss design, the player weapons are cool, and it's probably a top 3 in terms of presentation. The long runtime and arcane process of finding how much chaining I need for my ship to be viable, tho, k…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Alien Soldier]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/alien-soldier/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/alien-soldier/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:40:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Mega Drive, 1995

Alien Soldier is the real star of their MD lineup. 

I haven't beaten this yet (playing on its default "SUPERHARD" difficulty) but judging by the first half this is a masterpiece. Like in Gunstar there are a ton of things…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shenzhen I/O]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/shenzhen-io/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/shenzhen-io/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:40:19 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Zachtronics, PC, 2016

This game rules, but like so many Zachtronics games it's so dense. I hit a solid breaking point in the story (Avalon City), so I figured I'd shelve it for now.

The programming isn't too removed from TIS-100, but it does have …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Prop Cycle]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/prop-cycle/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/prop-cycle/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:39:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Namco, Arcade, 1996

What a beautiful game. Structured like a more elegant arcade take on Pilot Wings, but set in a clearly Ghibli-inspired world and with perfectly-tuned controls. Tough to learn but with a fun degree of freedom to find your route. …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Outer Wilds]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/outer-wilds/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/outer-wilds/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:37:58 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Mobius Digital, PC, 2019

Incredible. Really, really floored by this. Outer Wilds is crudely a first-person adventure game. It gives you an elegant set of actions and a space explorer's toolkit and tasks you with solving a complex mystery spread thr…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Makyou Densetsu - The Legendary Axe]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/makyou-densetsu-the-legendary-axe/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/makyou-densetsu-the-legendary-axe/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:37:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Victor Musical Industries, PC Engine, 1989  
aka The Legendary Axe

This game is fantastic, gotta be one of the best home action-platformers of its time. The axe charge up system is satisfying, and when you hit the second half of the game and start …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tomb Raider]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/tomb-raider/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/tomb-raider/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:37:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[CORE Design, Playstation, 1996

Played the PS1 version. Obviously the game was a big deal at the time due to its presentation and perspective, but its specific approach to 3D Prince of Persia style platforming is still pretty novel. It's a lot of fu…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Darius]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/darius/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/darius/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:37:28 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1987

Arcade, beat New Version but played a lot of Extra Version.

What a cool game. The big unique elements are, of course, the three-screen 4:1 aspect ratio and the massive 28-stage map. The aspect ratio certainly makes for a unique…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Steel Battalion]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/steel-battalion/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/steel-battalion/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:37:22 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom and Nude Maker, Xbox, 2002  
aka Tekki

Steel Battalion's controller is ridiculous, as everyone knows, and it's worth a quick rundown. The left-hand panel of the three-panel controller has a throttle for changing gear and a one-axis stick for…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631967f90b3d6c020e89b3c1/attachments/631967fa0b3d6c020e89c001/previews/631967fa0b3d6c020e89c007/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Enemy Zero]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/enemy-zero/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/enemy-zero/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 03:35:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[WARP, Saturn, 1996

It’s crazy to me that this was only about a year and a half after D no Shokutaku. Aside from being set in space, the major differences between this and D are that it drops the time limit and adds surprisingly pretty polygonal fir…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6396ae8a23ee7f051bf1f547/attachments/6397e9a835713c015d5a7da6/previews/6397e9a935713c015d5a841c/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[D no Shokutaku]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/d-no-shokutaku/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/d-no-shokutaku/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 12 Dec 2022 01:56:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[WARP, 3DO, 1995

A first-person adventure game with a pretty strong atmosphere, rigid-but-serviceable CG, and unbearably slow movement. Would have been way better if it were more static images like Myst. The two-hour time limit and lack of saving ar…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/639686d4e2575001dde2c997/attachments/639686d8201c9403fddd134b/previews/639686d9201c9403fddd1358/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bujingai - The Forsaken City]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bujingai-the-forsaken-city/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bujingai-the-forsaken-city/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 22 Nov 2022 20:39:47 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[RED, Playstation 2, 2003

A surprisingly polished 3D action game by RED. It’s better than I remember Gungrave being. The animation is nice, the combo system is basic but fun to noodle around with, and there are some goofy movement options to mess wi…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/63607b6680d70000fbad533f/attachments/637262e93515b9001d3884b6/previews/637262eb3515b9001d3884c2/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rastan Saga]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rastan-saga/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rastan-saga/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 04 Nov 2022 04:57:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1988

Very cool game with a fairly unique Japanese take on a barbarian theme. Plenty of jank, but the enemies and equipment are well thought-out and there are a surprising amount of different approaches you have to take with the traps…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/635e8741f38d2f05379dc22e/attachments/635e877608af550379b052f7/previews/635e877708af550379b05304/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Vermilion]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/vermilion/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/vermilion/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 21 Oct 2022 23:13:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM2, Mega Drive, 1989  
aka Sword of Vermilion

This game left a strong impression on me as a kid because of that cold initial town music. Revisiting it and putting a few hours into it I think it's pretty neat, but just a little too slow-paced …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631eae992f55d2033d7925c3/attachments/631eaea26dffef002f90027c/previews/631eaea26dffef002f900288/download/48210_front.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Chase the Express]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/chase-the-express/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/chase-the-express/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 19 Oct 2022 02:10:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sugar & Rockets, Playstation, 2000
a.k.a. Covert Ops: Nuclear Dawn

Very cool Biohazard-style game that takes place on a train. There's a shift in focus from puzzles to combat, but it's not too huge of one despite what the roll buttons suggest. Inst…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6344c916adfc9300af103937/attachments/634754d0ee888303718837fe/previews/634754d1ee8883037188382f/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Yami no Shigotonin Kage]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/yami-no-shigotonin-kage/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/yami-no-shigotonin-kage/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 12 Oct 2022 20:35:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Natsume, Famicom, 1990

This is no Shatterhand, but you can tell they're on their way. It's got a super well-executed dark visual style like Batman or Gun-Dec and a similarly pumping soundtrack. There's a strict five-lives limit, and because of that…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/62768ba3b78db53acafc143b/attachments/627fe0176a6d0d8aec03e078/previews/627fe0176a6d0d8aec03e089/download/kage.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Brightis]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/brightis/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/brightis/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 11 Oct 2022 01:31:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Quintet, Playstation, 1999

Shockingly modern 1999 PS1 game with a big polygonal world and complex (though not meaningfully so) combat. I had to shelve it like 2/3rds through (a little under 10 hours in) because the dungeons were getting a little to…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6333185f26ab7705760fe440/attachments/6333187938770f01335f7583/previews/6333187a38770f01335f758c/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bionic Commando (2009)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bionic-commando-2009/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bionic-commando-2009/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 27 Sep 2022 02:06:28 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Grin, Xbox 360, 2009 

Better than it has any right to be, frankly. There are some annoyances, like a lack of feedback and kind of a slow start. But once you unlock some abilities and make it to some of the cooler areas swinging around and throwing …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/62cef51b45eb746dfea41676/attachments/63325a9f36be4c022e2a5537/previews/63325aa036be4c022e2a5540/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Prodeus]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/prodeus/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/prodeus/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 24 Sep 2022 02:56:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[The core mechanics here feel pretty good and I think the visuals are a technically unique take on Doom 2016, but unfortunately the structure is kind of mess. Regardless of the difficulty, you get infinite respawns at a checkpoint without any rollbac…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/632e24f2d663fe00521f55e4/attachments/632e71f2417529014fbc40b0/previews/632e71f3417529014fbc40bd/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Crash Bandicoot]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/crash-bandicoot/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/crash-bandicoot/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 17 Sep 2022 23:07:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Naughty Dog, Playstation, 1996  

Never fully played through this until now. I've always wanted this to be good, because I like the fundamental idea of a linear 3D platformer and felt it never got explored much in the 90s. I think this does a pretty…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/63265237c7f5e600fa097a9f/attachments/63265294499a2f0069f1e093/previews/63265296499a2f0069f1e1cb/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shin-chan: Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation - The Endless Seven-Day Journey]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/shin-chan-me-and-the-professor-on-summer-vacation-the-endless-seven-day-journey/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/shin-chan-me-and-the-professor-on-summer-vacation-the-endless-seven-day-journey/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 16 Sep 2022 18:03:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Millennium Kitchen, Switch, 2021  
aka Crayon Shin-chan: Ora to Hakase no Natsuyasumi - Owaranai Nanokakan no Tabi

This is the lowest-stakes game I've played in years. Very chill and idyllic fixed-camera game with particularly gorgeous backgrounds.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6314e20d4d77c301b9c0d512/attachments/6323b93a25dab002dbaff4b0/previews/6323b93b25dab002dbaff4bc/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/warhammer-40000-space-marine/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/warhammer-40000-space-marine/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 11 Sep 2022 22:55:46 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Relic Entertainment, Windows, 2011

Pretty good third person action game that takes a lot from Gears but omits the cover system and marries the shooting with Musou-style slashing. This isn't quite Gears 1 level, but it's a tight and well-paced campa…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a487fc77e8401883553f6/attachments/631e676d405cd7001712d9ff/previews/631e676e405cd7001712da07/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Stretch Panic (PS2)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/stretch-panic-ps2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/stretch-panic-ps2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 20:08:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Playstation 2, 2001  
aka Hippa Linda, Freak Out

Defeated but did not exorcise every boss.

This is a slick-looking game with a lot of nice technical tricks in it, and it's surprisingly competent for a first-go at a third-person 3D game i…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4874c77e840188351237/attachments/631a4ba14df03a02d919af12/previews/631a4ba24df03a02d919af1b/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gunstar Super Heroes]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/gunstar-super-heroes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/gunstar-super-heroes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Game Boy Advance, 2005

Like with AGH, this is better than the original. The stages feel like they're more mindfully built around the character's moves, the pixel art is nicer, the weapons seem more balanced, and enemies aren't just though…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Advance Guardian Heroes]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/advance-guardian-heroes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/advance-guardian-heroes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Game Boy Advance, 2004

Liked this better than the Saturn game for sure. Ditching the invincible AI partner, losing the 3-plane system, making block require a meter, and adding a fun parry are all big improvements. Battles are generally mo…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4871c77e8401883502af/attachments/631a4872c77e840188350f42/previews/631a4872c77e840188350f49/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Astro Boy: Omega Factor]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/astro-boy-omega-factor/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/astro-boy-omega-factor/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Game Boy Advance, 2003

NA version. Definitely got the wrong impression of this back in the day. This is pretty good!  It takes the basic core side-view melee combat from Tiny Toons but refines it a whole lot and gives you an awful lot of …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4871c77e8401883502ec/attachments/631a4873c77e840188350f5d/previews/631a4873c77e840188350f64/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hajime No Ippo: The Fighting!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/hajime-no-ippo-the-fighting/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/hajime-no-ippo-the-fighting/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Game Boy Advance, 2002

Very cool take on Punch-Out. Extremely good spritework and some cool mechanics twists (even if it's not as elegant or pattern-based).…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4874c77e840188351151/attachments/631a4875c77e840188351c71/previews/631a4875c77e840188351c78/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster's Bad Dream]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/tiny-toon-adventures-busters-bad-dream/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/tiny-toon-adventures-busters-bad-dream/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Game Boy Advance, 2002

This is kind of neat. There's a very satisfying set of core mechanics here: it's single-plane 2D, but you have a handful of simple combos and attacks and enemies easily get knocked into each other and cluster up on …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4874c77e8401883511aa/attachments/631a4875c77e840188351dcd/previews/631a4875c77e840188351dd3/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Silpheed: The Lost Planet]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/silpheed-the-lost-planet/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/silpheed-the-lost-planet/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Playstation 2, 2000

This is actually pretty good as far as console paced shooters go, I think. It's too slow and long to want to 1cc, but retrying the late chapters was fun. Nice graphics and some interesting boss designs.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4874c77e840188351247/attachments/631a4875c77e840188351f3e/previews/631a4875c77e840188351f44/download/Silpheed-_The_Lost_Planet_Japanese_Cover.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bakuretsu Muteki Bangaioh (N64)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bakuretsu-muteki-bangaioh-n64/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bakuretsu-muteki-bangaioh-n64/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Nintendo 64, 2000

Liked it. It's very much like Mischief Makers in terms of structure and pacing, but with less standout cool moments unfortunately. On the other hand, the core mechanics are more fun to me with the constant system-halting…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4877c77e8401883521f3/attachments/631a4878c77e840188352e72/previews/631a4878c77e840188352e78/download/Bangai-ON64Box.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rakugaki Showtime]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rakugaki-showtime/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rakugaki-showtime/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Playstation, 1999

Cute visuals, fun movement with a lot of homing dash stuff, fun item throwing and parrying. Real neat, and a big departure from their previous two party fighters.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4877c77e84018835220f/attachments/631a4878c77e840188352ecb/previews/631a4878c77e840188352ed2/download/Rakugaki_Showtime_cover.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Golden Axe: Beast Rider]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/golden-axe-beast-rider/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/golden-axe-beast-rider/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Xbox 360, 2008

This isn't a good game, but it's better than its reputation suggests. The presentation is hilarious, very edgy and embarrassing for 2008. Animation blending is jacked up all over the place. But the core combat is kinda fun, lar…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Silhouette Mirage]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/silhouette-mirage/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/silhouette-mirage/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Saturn, 1997

This has a lot of cool and creative stuff in it. Some genuinely funny boss fights, some clever little strategies to find. It's a got a huge core move set and the presentation reminds me of a better and more pixel art focused …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4877c77e84018835229c/attachments/631a4878c77e840188352fe7/previews/631a4878c77e840188352fee/download/SilhouetteMirage_Saturn_JP_Box_Front.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Guardian Heroes]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/guardian-heroes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/guardian-heroes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Saturn, 1996

I should trust my 2010 tastes more often. The multiplayer arena mode here seems neat enough in the same way that the Yu Yu Hakusho game is, and it's probably a good successor on that front. As a single-player beat 'em up, tho…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4877c77e8401883522ed/attachments/631a4879c77e84018835302d/previews/631a4879c77e840188353035/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Yu Yu Hakusho - Maikyo Toitsusen]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/yu-yu-hakusho-maikyo-toitsusen/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/yu-yu-hakusho-maikyo-toitsusen/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Mega Drive, 1994

This one is pretty cool. I'm sure it's busted competitively but the presentation is great and it's very ambitious. Was probably pretty mind-blowing in 1994 with a multi-tap.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a487ac77e84018835326f/attachments/631a487bc77e840188353e9d/previews/631a487bc77e840188353ea3/download/Makyou_Toitsusen_cover.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dynamite Headdy]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/dynamite-headdy/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/dynamite-headdy/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Mega Drive, 1994

Dynamite Headdy is a deeply annoying showcase of great pixel art and technical tricks. It's a million confusing gimmicks strung together. It's somehow a 1994 2D action platformer with too many cutscenes. I do not like thi…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a487ac77e8401883532a7/attachments/631a487bc77e840188353f5c/previews/631a487bc77e840188353f64/download/47312_front.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[McDonald's Treasure Land Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/mcdonalds-treasure-land-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/mcdonalds-treasure-land-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Mega Drive, 1993

would you believe that this is a very competent but also very unexciting action platformer? Pay those bills.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gunstar Heroes]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/gunstar-heroes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/gunstar-heroes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Mega Drive, 1993

I've always seen this as a pretty mid treasure game compared to Alien Soldier. Let's see where it lands.

Ok.

Played through Gunstar Heroes today. I had played scattered stages growing up but this was the first honest pl…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Eye of the Temple]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/eye-of-the-temple/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/eye-of-the-temple/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Rune Skovbo Johansen, PC, 2021

This is an interesting one. It's a room-scale VR game in the 2016 sense of the word, where you actually need 2x2m to play it. Room scale has largely fallen out of favor, and this game is a shining example why: the adm…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Her Story]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/her-story/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/her-story/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sam Barlow, PC, 2015

Clever, novel, well-acted.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ninja-gaiden-3-razors-edge/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ninja-gaiden-3-razors-edge/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Team Ninja, PC, 2012

I remember really hating vanilla NG3. Just a massive disappointment. This revision of the game never repulsed me quite like the original did, and ultimately I think it's worth playing through on Normal mode, but unlike masterpi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Prey (2006)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/prey-2006/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/prey-2006/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Human Head Studios, PC, 2006

Better puzzles than I expected, but the action is as bad as I feared. It's an already short game, but it'd do better with a Portal-style pace. Lots of dumb mid-2000s edgy shit, too, especially the ghost girls.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Floating Runner]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/floating-runner/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/floating-runner/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Xing Entertainment, Playstation, 1996

Unfortunate. Being a pre Mario64 3D platformer I expected jank, and it is. The core of the game is tank control movement, high jumping, and a very short-range gun to shoot enemies with. There are lots of cute d…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Death's Door]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/deaths-door/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/deaths-door/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Acid Nerve, PC, 2021

A surprisingly restrained game that uses some bare dodge-roll-slash combat. The dungeons aren't thrilling to explore, but they don't overstay their welcome and the bosses are pretty fun throughout. Definitely better than Titan …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Way of the Samurai]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/way-of-the-samurai/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/way-of-the-samurai/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Acquire, Playstation 2, 2002

Super novel structure, and it gets a lot of credit for having such a cool branching story, but unfortunately I can't enjoy the combat enough to tolerate the lack of skippable dialog bubbles.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Miracle Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/miracle-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/miracle-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Data East, Arcade, 1993  
aka Spinmaster

Pretty mid action-platformer. It's generally well constructed, with clean art and nice music, but the on-rails sections are boring if you aren't playing for score and there's very little to it all.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Special Criminal Investigation]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/special-criminal-investigation/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/special-criminal-investigation/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1989

Neat little Outrun/ChaseHQ style game. It's a pretty forgiving one overall, as the timer isn't very harsh and it won't take that many attempts to learn the stage tricks, but the chaining passes is neat and I like the precision-a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tenchu: Stealth Assassins]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/tenchu-stealth-assassins/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/tenchu-stealth-assassins/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Acquire, Playstation, 1998

Cool game to finally beat. It's obviously clunky in a lot of ways (especially compared to Metal Gear Solid), but the melee combat is surprisingly good for the context imo. The stages have a very Tomb Raider style 3D grid …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dust: A Tale of the Wired West]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/dust-a-tale-of-the-wired-west/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/dust-a-tale-of-the-wired-west/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[CyberFlix, Windows 3.1, 1995 

I have some childhood memories of clicking around in this game and getting nowhere, and something made me want to revisit this recently. Getting Windows 3.1 running these days can be a pain.

This is a first-person adv…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Phantasy Star (Switch Sega Ages)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/phantasy-star-switch-sega-ages/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/phantasy-star-switch-sega-ages/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[M2 and Sega, Switch, 2018

Very cool theme. Nice art, nice music, nice three-planet setup. The dungeons are amazing technologically but managed to wear on me even with the map.

In no universe would I have ever beaten this without a guide. Even this…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[X]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/x/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/x/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo and Argonaut Software, Game Boy, 1992

Super impressive tech showpiece for the Game Boy, and obviously reminiscent of Star Fox in some ways, but the structure is pretty unique. 

There's one general map that gets re-used across the games' t…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4889c77e84018835895e/attachments/631a488ac77e8401883597b0/previews/631a488ac77e8401883597b6/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Trespasser]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/trespasser/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/trespasser/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Dreamworks Interactive, PC, 1998

Of course it's bad. I can admire the attempt to change up how guns are fired in first person, but this sort of independent arm motion won't wind up feeling natural until VR.

I'd actually say that this early phase o…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dracula Densetsu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/dracula-densetsu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/dracula-densetsu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Game Boy, 1989  
aka Castlevania: The Adventure

Lots of baffling shit in this game. From a tech perspective it seems to NEVER run at full speed. There's a ridiculous amount of screen tearing for a fixed-hardware game, too. 

There are a few…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/super-mario-land-2-6-golden-coins/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/super-mario-land-2-6-golden-coins/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo, Game Boy, 1992

Big step up from the first, obviously. Everything's nicer visually and the basic mechanics feel closer to the Famicom games (though not quite there). The way that you have to fight bosses again when you get a game over is p…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rygar (NES)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rygar-nes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rygar-nes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tecmo, Famicom, 1987

There's something cool about the theme and the journey and some of the backgrounds here, but for the most part the action in this game is a mess. The bosses are a joke, the enemies have no thought to them, and two of the three …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Monster Hunter Rise]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/monster-hunter-rise/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/monster-hunter-rise/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2021

I don't know about the monster selection and post-game stuff just yet, but I AM loving the new maneuverability stuff and the new monster in-fighting mechanics. The village quests did go by pretty fast.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Inscryption]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/inscryption/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/inscryption/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Daniel Mullins Games, PC, 2021

Starts very strong. Builds up a good permadeath card game loop with a unique aesthetic, a lot of mystery, and some really neat core mechanics.

Once you beat this and realize this is just the first act, however, you'l…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Great Ace Attorney 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/the-great-ace-attorney-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/the-great-ace-attorney-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Switch, 2017

It's more of the same, but the structure was a little different in this one. It's a clear two-game story arc and the payoff was good, even if the cases felt a bit uneven.

These two games are as good as the original trilogy, I …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ikari no Yousai 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikari-no-yousai-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikari-no-yousai-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jaleco, Game Boy, 1992

This game improves on the action of the original in nearly every way. The healing item distribution is way more deliberate and character revivals are gone, making things tenser, and both characters can switch between three si…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ikari no Yousai (1991)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikari-no-yousai-1991/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikari-no-yousai-1991/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jaleco, Game Boy, 1991

Cool little room-by-room top-down action game. Slow movement like Gain Ground or something and a neat separation of character abilities. The combat isn't thrilling and usually boils down to decent positioning, but it doesn't …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Trip World]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/trip-world/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/trip-world/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 05:02:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sunsoft, Game Boy, 1992

An extremely cute game, but it's a strange platformer with very little threat and a lot of NPCs that kinda just push you around and don't damage you. The boss fights stand out like a sore thumb. Not a great game, but very ac…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631967fb0b3d6c020e89c23a/attachments/63197741af4a18018f2d61fe/previews/63197742af4a18018f2d6296/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Mario Land]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/super-mario-land/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/super-mario-land/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 05:01:28 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo, Game Boy, 1989

Very brief, and the mechanics don't feel as good as the console games, but it's a cute platformer with little STG stages and nothing lasts longer than it needs to.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Blue Stinger]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/blue-stinger/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/blue-stinger/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:55:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Climax Graphics, Dreamcast, 1999

Pretty neat game. The combat is surprisingly satisfying with the huge impact effects (that stun rod!), blocking, and monster limb removal stuff. There are some places where it's easy to get lost, objective-wise, and…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Runabout]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/runabout/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/runabout/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:53:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Climax Entertainment, Playstation, 1997

Pretty novel driving game. The courses are mostly linear, but you get these little selectable routes all over the place and the streets are filled with things to smash into and get points for. The car handlin…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cave Noire]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cave-noire/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cave-noire/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:52:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Game Boy, 1991

A cute and small-scale Game Boy roguelike from 1991. The structure is pretty unique: you play through dungeons that get larger in size (like Shiren), but there are four dungeon objective types for you to chip away at (each wi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Marathon]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/marathon/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/marathon/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:30:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bungie, Macintosh, 1994

This is an impressive game for 1994, and I think there are some cool and unique things that it does. The desolate space station is pretty moody. The alien designs are cool. I like the health station and save point structure …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631967fe0b3d6c020e89d176/attachments/63196fbab94548009afe76c9/previews/63196fbcb94548009afe7730/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Vimana]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/vimana/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/vimana/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:28:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Toaplan, Arcade, 1991

Some neat pixel art in here, but ultimately this is a pretty busted Toaplan STG that relies solely on autofire rate. It'll only take a couple tries to clear. Shame the music can't really be heard over the shots.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631967fe0b3d6c020e89d1d5/attachments/63196f7d96fc7802dadb8378/previews/63196f7e96fc7802dadb8380/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Teppodon]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/teppodon/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/teppodon/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:27:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ikiki, PC, 2004

VERY sick improvement on Teppoman. Cleaner controls (fixed up some climb+jump shit) and way cooler enemies and stages and visuals.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631967fe0b3d6c020e89d18a/attachments/63196ee32db64400932a2bfb/previews/63196ee32db64400932a2c47/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Teppoman]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/teppoman/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/teppoman/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:25:26 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ikiki, PC, 2003

Extremely short but well-made little action-platformer that involves limited-ammo weapons and some very minor stealth elements. Being an early freeware game it's visually sparse but clean and perfectly readable.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631967fe0b3d6c020e89d1a8/attachments/63196e85533cef01e354508c/previews/63196e85533cef01e3545099/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[...Iru!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/iru/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/iru/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:22:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Soft Machine, Playstation, 1998

A straightforward first-person adventure game that basically plays out like Clock Tower but worse. It's kinda novel looking in a "polished King's Field 1" sort of way.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968000b3d6c020e89e0bf/attachments/63196dea99bc01004d0ed689/previews/63196dec99bc01004d0ed6fe/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cabal]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cabal/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cabal/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[TAD Corporation, Arcade, 1988

Pretty simple game, and one wrecked by autofire, but it walked so Wild Guns could run. A useful dodge mechanic and satisfying destruction.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968000b3d6c020e89e0a1/attachments/631968010b3d6c020e89ed9c/previews/631968010b3d6c020e89eda4/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Banishing Racer]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/banishing-racer/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/banishing-racer/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jaleco, Game Boy, 1991

An extremely novel and cute Game Boy platformer. You control a car, complete with pretty sluggish acceleration and even more sluggish reverse (the sprite is always facing right). Stages are generally manually-scrolling, but t…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968000b3d6c020e89e0c0/attachments/631968010b3d6c020e89eda5/previews/631968010b3d6c020e89edad/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dead Space]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dead-space/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dead-space/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Visceral Games, PC, 2008

Played on Hard.

This is a pretty good game that, unfortunately, drags too much in Act 2. I don't think the combat is particularly great, certainly not enough to justify the game length. But the abilities are kinda fun, the…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968020b3d6c020e89f015/attachments/631968030b3d6c020e89fcd5/previews/631968030b3d6c020e89fcdc/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Yakuza 6: The Song of Life]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/yakuza-6-the-song-of-life/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/yakuza-6-the-song-of-life/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Playstation 4, 2016

A surprisingly interesting game for being the sixth main entry in the series. Loved the Hiroshima setting and loved the relative brevity of a lot of the plot, but obviously we're in familiar territory here. Beat Takeshi is…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968000b3d6c020e89e0fb/attachments/631968010b3d6c020e89eded/previews/631968010b3d6c020e89edf4/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Titan Souls]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/titan-souls/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/titan-souls/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Acid Nerve, PC, 2015

Decided to play this because Death's Door looked cool. Unfortunately didn't like it overall. The core mechanics of firing and force-pulling a single arrow are neat, I like the way the world map is structured overall (the tiny p…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968020b3d6c020e89f043/attachments/631968030b3d6c020e89fd11/previews/631968030b3d6c020e89fd19/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Boogerman: A Pick and Flick Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/boogerman-a-pick-and-flick-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/boogerman-a-pick-and-flick-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Interplay, Genesis, 1994

okay it's not good but it's probably better than some of the Shiny games. Surprisingly decent boss fights, and the stages are a little convoluted but not mazelike. Still, not enough stage, enemy, or mechanical variety.

And…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968020b3d6c020e89f066/attachments/631968030b3d6c020e89fdae/previews/631968030b3d6c020e89fdb6/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ys IX: Monstrum Nox]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ys-ix-monstrum-nox/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ys-ix-monstrum-nox/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nihon Falcom, PC, 2019

This Flash Guard/Dodge model of Ys that's been around since 7 is still inherently satisfying albeit simple (learn animations, then Flash, then win). It's pretty fun to stack up dodge and flash repeatedly while pummelling on a…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968020b3d6c020e89f08f/attachments/631968040b3d6c020e89fe1b/previews/631968040b3d6c020e89fe22/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[10,000 Bullets]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/10000-bullets/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/10000-bullets/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Blue Moon Studio, Playstation 2, 2005  
aka Tsukiyo ni Saraba

This game sucks. It's a mess of a bullet time third-person shooter.

BUT

Most of the game is about the auto lock snapping to an enemy, shrinking, and then giving you a brief window for …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968020b3d6c020e89f097/attachments/631968040b3d6c020e89fe09/previews/631968040b3d6c020e89fe11/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Last Labyrinth]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/last-labyrinth/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/last-labyrinth/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Amata K.K., PC VR, 2019

A very polished puzzle game with some mystery to it. You're bound to a chair and have a laser pointer on your head and guide a girl through Saw-themed puzzles. The deaths can get pretty dark without being graphic. There are …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968030b3d6c020e89f09e/attachments/631968040b3d6c020e89fe12/previews/631968040b3d6c020e89fe19/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Castlevania: Lords of Shadow]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/castlevania-lords-of-shadow/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/castlevania-lords-of-shadow/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[MercurySteam, PC, 2010

Played on Hard. 

Better than I expected. Some pretty fun combat mechanics despite the "honesty" (lack of iframes), just takes some learning with less than obvious animations. Hard mode is appropriately tough. I'm not crazy a…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968030b3d6c020e89f0ad/attachments/631968040b3d6c020e89fe2d/previews/631968040b3d6c020e89fe35/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[R-Type]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/r-type/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/r-type/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Arcade, 1987

Decided to try credit feeding the arcade original. Some of the checkpoints in this game are particularly egregious, and there are enough of these to make it a no-miss game. I tried beating the stage 7 midpoint well, well over 100…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968050b3d6c020e8a00cd/attachments/631968060b3d6c020e8a0ed1/previews/631968060b3d6c020e8a0ed8/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Light Crusader]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/light-crusader/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/light-crusader/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Mega Drive, 1995

Late Treasure-developed Megadrive game. Almost certainly inspired by Landstalker. Unlike Landstalker it's one big dungeon and there isn't a lot in the way of exploration, which ultimately makes for a tighter game in this …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968080b3d6c020e8a10cf/attachments/631968090b3d6c020e8a1e24/previews/631968090b3d6c020e8a1e2c/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dark Savior]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dark-savior/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dark-savior/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Climax Entertainment, Saturn, 1996

A big step up from Landstalker. The Yoko Taro-ish parallel story setup keeps the pace brief while still having a lot to do and see, and the combat is ultimately more fun through slightly more complicated 1v1 fight…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968080b3d6c020e8a1159/attachments/6319680a0b3d6c020e8a200f/previews/6319680a0b3d6c020e8a2016/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tip Top]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/tip-top/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/tip-top/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SEGA, Arcade, 1983
aka Congo Bongo

This is pretty fascinating. It seems like it's clearly the first go at 3D platforming, and it's surprisingly pretty and varied for being that. Can't quite close out a loop.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968080b3d6c020e8a112b/attachments/631968090b3d6c020e8a1f7f/previews/631968090b3d6c020e8a1f86/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gunlord X]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/gunlord-x/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/gunlord-x/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[NGDEV, Switch, 2019

Turrican again but with a better health system, bosses, signposting. Sick pixel art. Weird control mechanics, feels like it must be a significant rebalancing from the MVS/AES original. Cool STG stages.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968080b3d6c020e8a1131/attachments/631968090b3d6c020e8a1f95/previews/631968090b3d6c020e8a1f9c/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[RoboSkate]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/roboskate/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/roboskate/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Matas Sakalauskas, PC, 2020

A simple QWOP-like game about a robot arm on a skateboard. Mind-bending to learn, lasts about exactly as long as it needs to.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968080b3d6c020e8a1137/attachments/6319680a0b3d6c020e8a1fce/previews/6319680a0b3d6c020e8a1fd4/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Castlevania 64]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/castlevania-64/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/castlevania-64/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Nintendo 64, 1999  
aka Akumajou Dracula Apocalypse

I actually kinda like the structure of this game. A linear sequence of slightly less linear levels that mix platforming, combat, and light puzzles. The combat is the weakest part of the ga…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968080b3d6c020e8a116f/attachments/6319680a0b3d6c020e8a2022/previews/6319680a0b3d6c020e8a2029/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Turrican (C64)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/turrican-c64/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/turrican-c64/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Rainbow Arts Software, Commodore 64, 1990

Certainly incredible from a tech perspective. There are a lot of rough edges here, but I found both the sweeping laser and the rolling ball to be a lot of fun to use, and the stages do a good job of riding …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968080b3d6c020e8a1179/attachments/6319680a0b3d6c020e8a2045/previews/6319680a0b3d6c020e8a204d/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Landstalker]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/landstalker/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/landstalker/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Climax Entertainment, Mega Drive, 1992

Gorgeous. Really stunning game for 1992. Impressive how complex the various dioramas are. 

The combat is simple, but the puzzles and the platforming elevate the game. Platforming in particular surprised me: i…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968080b3d6c020e8a116e/attachments/6319680a0b3d6c020e8a2034/previews/6319680a0b3d6c020e8a203b/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Beyond Oasis]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/beyond-oasis/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/beyond-oasis/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ancient, Mega Drive, 1994

Very modern-feeling visuals, almost looks like Xenocrisis. Flat colors, cool animation, big sprites. Excellent audio, too, with some surprisingly ambient tracks, directional sound effects, reverb.

This is kind of the oppo…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968080b3d6c020e8a116d/attachments/6319680a0b3d6c020e8a202b/previews/6319680a0b3d6c020e8a2033/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bucky O'Hare]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bucky-ohare/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bucky-ohare/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Famicom, 1992

A solid action platformer using Konami's multi character schtick. Some fun puzzle-y bosses, doesn't overstay its welcome. A surprisingly flat retry structure though, making it feel like a modern quicksave-style game at times.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6319680b0b3d6c020e8a223c/attachments/6319680c0b3d6c020e8a2f3c/previews/6319680c0b3d6c020e8a2f44/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dynamite Batman (Famicom)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dynamite-batman-famicom/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dynamite-batman-famicom/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sunsoft, Famicom, 1991  
aka Batman: Return of the Joker

Ridiculously gorgeous game, but unfortunately not quite as solid as the first.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6319680b0b3d6c020e8a22de/attachments/6319680d0b3d6c020e8a31c6/previews/6319680d0b3d6c020e8a31cc/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Moon Crystal]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/moon-crystal/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/moon-crystal/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Hect, Famicom, 1992

Great animation and it's fun to learn the weird movement. Stages are tightly-designed and the environment art is nice. Cool cutscenes. 

Unfortunately, the bosses aren't as fun to fight as they are to look at, and there's an inc…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Crazy Taxi 3]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/crazy-taxi-3/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/crazy-taxi-3/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Hitmaker, Xbox, 2002

S-ranked West Coast and Small Apple, Awesome'd Glitter Oasis. I always loved what they did with the original arcade map in this release (adding a bunch of areas and the CT2 mechanics), and this definitely has the best mini-map …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Crazy Taxi 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/crazy-taxi-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/crazy-taxi-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Hitmaker, Dreamcast, 2001

Went back to this one and got S-Rank on the two cities and did most of the Crazy Pyramid. Overall it's not as good as the first game, definitely not, but the arrow is better-behaved than in home CT1's Original City and the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[GG Shinobi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/gg-shinobi/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/gg-shinobi/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SEGA, Game Gear, 1991

An overlooked Shinobi game released a couple years after Revenge. The structure is kinda unique and takes a little bit from Rockman, with the first four stages being selectable and having you rescuing color-coded comrades that…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6319680b0b3d6c020e8a22f2/attachments/6319680d0b3d6c020e8a31d9/previews/6319680d0b3d6c020e8a31e0/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dino Crisis 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dino-crisis-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dino-crisis-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Playstation, 2000

A pretty cool game, but ultimately probably merely better than the original Dino Crisis (which is probably the worst of the Capcom fixed-camera PS1 games). It's too simple mechanically to be a particularly good 3D action g…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Amid Evil]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/amid-evil/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/amid-evil/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Indefatigable, PC, 2018

A classic-style FPS that probably has more in common with Unreal than Doom or Quake. I don't think the weapons and enemies combine into combat that's nearly as enjoyable as something like DUSK, Doom 2016, or Serious Sam, but…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Metroid Prime]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/metroid-prime/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/metroid-prime/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Retro Studios, GameCube, 2002

This game is incredibly stylish and gorgeous. The pace combined with the z-target combat reminds me a bit of a OOT-era 3D Zelda. The movement upgrades in particular are a lot of fun to use. Unfortunately, despite being…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Perfect Dark]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/perfect-dark/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/perfect-dark/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Rare, Nintendo 64, 2000

Not a lot of surprises here. It's Goldeneye with a bit more to it and a Deus Ex theme. Some of the warts are a little more prominent in this game: more frequent extreme framerate dips, more annoying objective failures becaus…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Room 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-room-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-room-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Fireproof Games, PC, 2016

Extremely more of the same, of course. Fortunately the devs steered away from using the viewfinder all that often. It's good, but I'm not rushing to play the third.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Zwei: The Arges Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/zwei-the-arges-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/zwei-the-arges-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nihon Falcom, PC, 2001

Found the dungeons to be too repetitive in this one, didn't really like the structure. Very pretty game though.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Halo: ODST]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/halo-odst/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/halo-odst/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bungie, Xbox 360, 2009

It's better than Halo 4 and 5 campaigns because it doesn't have the lame silver and orange guys but it's worse than Halo 1-3 campaigns because it has a worse hub world and the whole game is 2008 brown. I don't need to see pol…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631967f90b3d6c020e89b3c8/attachments/631967fa0b3d6c020e89bfc1/previews/631967fa0b3d6c020e89bfc9/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/star-wars-shadows-of-the-empire/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/star-wars-shadows-of-the-empire/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[LucasArts, Nintendo 64, 1996

Surely this game's weird third-person/first-person combat with extremely heavy autoaim was a big inspiration for Goldeneye 64 even if the floaty movement wasn't. The scope of a lot of these stages are pretty impressive …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Otogi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/otogi/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/otogi/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 25 Jun 2026 02:44:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[From Software, Xbox, 2002

I gave this game a brief try as a teenager and bounced off of it in just a mission or two, but some time in the 2010s I picked up a cheap used copy. I thought that I was surely missing something, given the praise the game …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mario vs Donkey Kong]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mario-vs-donkey-kong/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mario-vs-donkey-kong/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 21 Jun 2026 20:21:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo Software Technologies, Game Boy Advance, 2004

A successor to Donkey Kong ‘94 released ten years later.

Much of the game follows in the footsteps of the original, with similar small-scale stages and a similar core set of actions for Mario.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/69ba0f41d1e04a563d8c5100/attachments/69ba0f483fcc86d338f9d578/previews/69ba0f493fcc86d338f9d910/download/7fe85b64-8c18-4c2a-82d1-d0de329d08e5.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rising Zan]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/rising-zan/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/rising-zan/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 14 Jun 2026 22:05:16 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[UEP Systems, Playstation, 1999

A 3D katana-and-revolver wild west action game from the developers of Cool Boarders. Everything is played for laughs as your hot-headed cowboy swordsman main character slices up Fist of the North Star goobers, pretty …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Look Outside]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/look-outside/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/look-outside/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 13 Jun 2026 19:05:23 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Francis Coulombe, PC, 2025

A loosely traditional JRPG set inside an apartment building where looking outside causes people to morph into grotesque monsters thanks to a gigantic celestial body that suddenly appeared in the sky one day. The game ride…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Wonder Boy: Monster Land]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/wonder-boy-monster-land/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/wonder-boy-monster-land/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 11 Jun 2026 01:02:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Westone, Arcade, 1987

An extremely cool arcade action platformer with simple “RPG” trappings in the form of NPCs to talk to, stores to visit, and secret rooms. It’s a game I’ve wanted to put more time into since I first tried it in the Sega Ages 25…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tanuki Justice]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/tanuki-justice/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/tanuki-justice/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 05 Jun 2026 03:57:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Wonderboy Bobi, PC, 2021

A cute and no-nonsense Contra-style arcade-designed action platformer. Nice environments and enemy designs, mostly good readability, and some nice backgrounds and occasional big sprites. Aside from having omni-directional t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[007 First Light]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/007-first-light/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/007-first-light/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 04 Jun 2026 15:06:54 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[IO Interactive, PC, 2026

The modern Hitman games are probably some of the best around, so I was basically guaranteed to give this game a shot. Played on Hard (“Purist” or whatever).

IO went in a more Uncharted direction than a Hitman one here. The…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[DonPachi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/donpachi/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/donpachi/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 31 May 2026 05:06:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 1995

Cave’s debut masterpiece. I originally cleared this in 2020 but wanted to come back to it and get an on-stream clear. As far as I know this is the first shooting game with the idea of holding fire to get a focus laser that gives …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Battle Formula]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/battle-formula/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/battle-formula/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 26 May 2026 02:43:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sunsoft, Famicom, 1991. aka Super Spy Hunter

Top-down vertical-scrolling car shooting action. I’ve never played anything in this little Spy Hunter subgenre before so this is all new to me.

Having control of the car’s speed is the weirdest thing go…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Demon's Blazon]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/demons-blazon/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/demons-blazon/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 24 May 2026 14:58:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Super Famicom, 1994. aka Demon’s Crest

The third of the Red Arremer games, and safely the best of them. An incredibly gorgeous and moody action-platformer that takes the “quest” factor of the prior two games and refines it into a simple Mod…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[DoDonPachi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/dodonpachi/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/dodonpachi/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 24 May 2026 01:36:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 1997

Spent some time revisiting this, which I initially cleared in 2012. It’s as intense as I remember it being, and while I remember bomb usage being the key skill I’m surprised at how much trickier the game is with the type A ship. …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[DoDonPachi DaiFukkatsu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/dodonpachi-daifukkatsu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/dodonpachi-daifukkatsu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 21 May 2026 02:45:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2008

The fourth main DonPachi game. Gone is the bleak tone of DaiOuJou, replaced with bright and colorful environments, crisp EDM music, and boss vehicles that transform into robotic anime girls. Alongside the tonal shift are some ext…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gundam Side Story 0079 - Rise from the Ashes]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/gundam-side-story-0079-rise-from-the-ashes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/gundam-side-story-0079-rise-from-the-ashes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 20 May 2026 06:20:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[BEC, Dreamcast, 1999

A pretty huge step up from the Saturn trilogy in every way, I think. We get a full-length and substantial campaign that spans a variety of nice-looking plateaus, rolling hills (no more flat Saturn VDP2 terrain), cities, and mil…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Maken X]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/maken-x/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/maken-x/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 13 May 2026 20:36:57 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Atlus R&D1, Dreamcast, 1999

A striking first-person melee action game with Kazuma Kaneko art direction. That’s already plenty unique enough, but on top of that you play as a sentient sword that can hop from body to body. I remember renting this as …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Superlative Night Dreams: Cotton Rock'n'Roll]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/superlative-night-dreams-cotton-rocknroll/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/superlative-night-dreams-cotton-rocknroll/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 13 May 2026 00:46:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Studio Saizensen, Arcade, 2021

Played the Steam version. Pretty cool! A 180 from the original in that magic is incredibly useful now and in fact is almost something to mash out as much as you can. Thankfully despite the modernness, it has a similar…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story III]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mobile-suit-gundam-side-story-iii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mobile-suit-gundam-side-story-iii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 08 May 2026 04:44:33 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[BEC, Saturn, 1997

See [my thoughts on part II](/gamelog/2026/mobile-suit-gundam-side-story-ii/ "‌"). More of the same, of course, with a slight difficulty escalation and a couple more out-there mission concepts. Culminates in a lot of rapid dodge-f…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mobile-suit-gundam-side-story-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mobile-suit-gundam-side-story-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 07 May 2026 04:58:29 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[BEC, Saturn, 1996

The second entry in a trilogy of very brief first-person mech action games on the Saturn. I’ll just dig up what I said about the first game, which I played in 2020:

These are some of the best visual on Saturn, it's kinda wild. I …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Fantastic Night Dreams: Cotton]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/fantastic-night-dreams-cotton/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/fantastic-night-dreams-cotton/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 06 May 2026 23:55:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Success, Arcade, 1991

Pretty great game! Fun theme, cute character designs, great art, catchy music, dense with setpieces. I really like how it’s balanced. It’s relatively easy, but you’ll still have to learn most every step of the way and it’s all…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Crystalis]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/crystalis/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/crystalis/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 03 May 2026 23:02:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SNK, Famicom, 1990. aka GOD SLAYER

On paper this is a pretty well-executed take on Ys from SNK, but unfortunately it just didn’t get any claws into me. Annoying story triggers, sometimes-annoying dungeon design (having to switch swords using that c…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5514e4cf458815f9dcbaacd8/attachments/66be464d40480565f472ac0b/previews/66be464d40480565f472adeb/download/27001cf0-419d-46e3-bf93-d3d851a94786.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Pragmata]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/pragmata/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/pragmata/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 28 Apr 2026 19:51:47 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2026

An inventive third-person shooter about stranded moon colony worker Hugh teaming up with childlike android Diana in order to find their way through the colony's haywire robots and get back to Earth. The foundation of the game is a …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/69f0eb0029255a08d38af3a8/attachments/69f10ccd030e7e9e5cc6f3ad/previews/69f10cce030e7e9e5cc6f3c2/download/hero_capsule_2x.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Guardians: Denjin Makai II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/guardians-denjin-makai-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/guardians-denjin-makai-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 28 Apr 2026 01:53:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Winkysoft, Arcade, 1995

A really cool belt scroller full of stuff. It’s got branching stage selection. It’s got eight characters. It’s got big movelists, meters, all the mobility options, long combo mechanics, and blocking.

…And maybe that’s part …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dynamite Deka]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/dynamite-deka/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/dynamite-deka/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 18 Apr 2026 20:43:18 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM1, Arcade, 1996. aka Die Hard Arcade

The 2026 revisit, years after [my last real try at single-credit clearing the game](/gamelog/2023/dynamite-deka/ "‌").

Everything I said back then still stands. This clear has reinforced the game’s statu…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/69e2c490a56bf3e62db2d1df/attachments/69e2c4932e071a2210e136be/previews/69e2c4952e071a2210e136d1/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mirrors]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mirrors/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mirrors/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 15:06:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Soft Studio Wing, NEC PC-8801, 1990

A PC-8801 visual novel that, fascinatingly, uses a CD-ROM despite the computer’s age. A 1990 CD-ROM adventure game for a computer platform that released in 1981 is wild to me, so I played the fan translation that…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6136456816009588f7ef3e26/attachments/61364569ecf22d09412b0ed8/previews/6136456aecf22d09412b0ee4/download/16309466268812686978515299045982.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Death Stranding 2: On the Beach]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/death-stranding-2-on-the-beach/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/death-stranding-2-on-the-beach/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 14 Apr 2026 21:29:57 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Kojima Productions, PC, 2026

Played on “to the wilder” difficulty.

Obviously a lot of overlap with the original. Maybe the most straightforward sequel of any Kojima game. Like in the original it’s fun to simply move around the world partially than…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/69ba120d807e0abca93dd584/attachments/69ba125e3b1cfe540aa872b1/previews/69ba125f3b1cfe540aa872cc/download/hero_capsule_2x.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[R-Type Delta]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/r-type-delta/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/r-type-delta/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 04 Apr 2026 01:23:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Playstation, 1998

‌I was worried after R-Type 3, which I found to be an over-long game with jacked pacing that was really unfun to try to 1CC and still kind of a slog to clear with continues. 

Fortunately, Irem kind of did the impossible her…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tobal No. 1]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/tobal-no-1/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/tobal-no-1/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 19 Mar 2026 01:36:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[DreamFactory, PS1, 1996

Very cool and polished 3D fighting game with a distinct gradient-heavy texture-light look and particularly spectacular animation. The Quest mode is the main draw for me here, mixing a traditional roguelike dungeon crawling e…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5f19e7fc4674ec26446665c5/attachments/65ad48117e6a7c579d96ae90/previews/65ad48117e6a7c579d96aec8/download/e4427282-d8d5-49bb-96e9-88deea816981.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Valusa no Fukushuu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/valusa-no-fukushuu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/valusa-no-fukushuu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 15 Mar 2026 00:02:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Zain Soft, X68000, 1990

A fantasy action-platformer starring a character that looks a bit like Adol. It’s a short and linear one, with no XP to speak of, and the pixel art, boss designs, and music all rule. The core mechanics are just a basic jump …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/61da4bf85134758483ad562e/attachments/694a067110f6edd23b509f77/previews/694a067210f6edd23b509f94/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[WinBack]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/winback/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/winback/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 10 Mar 2026 17:55:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Omega Force, Nintendo 64, 1999

A cool-looking third-person shooter that feels like an idea shot into someone’s brain simply because they saw Solid Snake pressed against a wall in Metal Gear Solid and wanted to be able to make him pop out from that …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5f190654c875223c13d400d8/attachments/69881f5ff9914a07ad9505bb/previews/69881f60f9914a07ad9505d3/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Fantasy Zone]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/fantasy-zone/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/fantasy-zone/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 07 Mar 2026 03:09:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Arcade, 1986

Classic bidirectional shooting game. This was one of the first arcade games I cleared, back in 2007, and I decided to revisit it today. 

Autofire mostly decimates it, but there's still some boss strategy that shines through and …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/69ab87ce2e41cb3deb9e1f27/attachments/69ab965b46dba44a6cae513d/previews/69ab965c46dba44a6cae514e/download/5257a38c-b9fc-4617-a6bf-4097f7609d67.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Splatterhouse]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/splatterhouse/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/splatterhouse/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 07 Mar 2026 03:02:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Namco, Arcade, 1988

A sick action-platformer focused on tight punching  and kicking with just a little dash of platforming. I haven't played a lot of Spartan X yet but I imagine this builds on it. The theme is a complete horror mishmash, but the pi…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/66ce840d63c16936a7254306/attachments/66ce8410fe8c7599c8085413/previews/66ce8411fe8c7599c80855e7/download/abc19a61-1ba9-45c3-8eb1-1aee1dcbc01a.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Resident Evil Requiem]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/resident-evil-requiem/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/resident-evil-requiem/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 05 Mar 2026 03:18:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2026

Reliable as always! Another excellent FPS, though this time Grace’s first-person creepy survival segments are split up with combat-focused third-person Leon segments. It feels like a natural evolution of all the hopping around in V…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/69a7ce3f47fcae01dfd10a99/attachments/69a7ce4434b222b4375407e3/previews/69a7ce4634b222b4375407f8/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Philosoma]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/philosoma/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/philosoma/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 26 Feb 2026 03:25:50 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[G-Artists, Playstation, 1995

A dark sci-fi scrolling shooter that rapidly changes perspective, surely serving as an inspiration for Astebreed. It’s a game full of neat designs and cutscenes, focusing on the spectacle part of the genre above readabi…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/68fad579469ef8c8e93c0a63/attachments/68fad58d0dc7df2cb6c3f06f/previews/68fad58e0dc7df2cb6c3f07e/download/r2_29485164-6bc0-4231-94e0-3ffb3e4e5f76.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ketsui: Kizuna Jigoku Tachi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/ketsui-kizuna-jigoku-tachi/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/ketsui-kizuna-jigoku-tachi/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 23 Feb 2026 17:56:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2003

A long time coming. I originally picked up a Japanese Xbox 360 to play this back in 2010. I put some real time into it, eventually reaching stage 4, but it was kicking my ass too thoroughly and I moved on. 16 years later I’ve com…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6294516009dd17751080bc37/attachments/696a69ccfa9e0184644bf975/previews/696a69ccfa9e0184644bf98e/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Romeo is a Dead Man]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/romeo-is-a-dead-man/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/romeo-is-a-dead-man/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 21 Feb 2026 19:43:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Grasshopper Manufacture, PC, 2026

A sci-fi melee action game mixed with third person shooting, probably closer to a Wanted Dead than it is a Killer is Dead.

Romeo’s foundation is melee slashing, i-frame dodging, and third-person shooting. The slas…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/698d4adbe06c672fee4c322f/attachments/698d4ade72e019a03fad4f14/previews/698d4adf72e019a03fad505c/download/hero_capsule_2x.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mansion of Hidden Souls]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mansion-of-hidden-souls/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mansion-of-hidden-souls/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 09 Feb 2026 20:41:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[System Sacom, Sega Mega-CD, 1993

aka Yumemi Mystery Mansion, Yumemi Yakata no Monogatari

An all-CG FMV first-person adventure game released right after Myst and Gadget where you play as a boy trying to prevent his sister from turning into a butter…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/69881e996c969abc6d7264ab/attachments/69881ea7c6d70b064d1e8bf8/previews/69881ea8c6d70b064d1e8c09/download/c71bad0a-cbdb-4b99-a9d1-dee48e3ad83f.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Lemmings]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/lemmings/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/lemmings/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 08 Feb 2026 01:47:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[DMA Design, MS-DOS, 1991

This is an interesting one. It’s a classic game, one I poked at as a kid but never got far in. I like the concept a lot, and the pixel art is surprisingly charming given how small these dudes are on-screen. I opted with the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Why I'm a Dweeb About Arcade Games]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/posts/why-im-a-dweeb-about-arcade-games/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/posts/why-im-a-dweeb-about-arcade-games/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 06 Feb 2026 20:14:57 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Any look at [my game log](/gamelog/2025/?highlights=true) should make it clear that I’m an arcade game head. I’ve been interested in them for most of my life, but things really kicked into high gear here in the 2020s. It’s a huge part of my time wit…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shining the Holy Ark]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/shining-the-holy-ark/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/shining-the-holy-ark/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 04 Feb 2026 17:40:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Camelot and Sonic, Sega Saturn, 1996

I’ve said it a [few](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/grandia/ "‌") [times](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/shin-megami-tensei-strange-journey/ "‌") [now](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/like…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6969cbce2a98fc03d011e0b3/attachments/6969cbeedde79f063be093b6/previews/6969cbf0dde79f063be093c5/download/d39918c5-9b50-4912-ade9-ac9b6ef9f733.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Musha Aleste]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/musha-aleste/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/musha-aleste/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 25 Jan 2026 04:37:39 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Compile, Mega Drive, 1990

Took a break from getting my ass kicked by Ketsui and decided to spend a couple hours with this beloved Compile vertizontal STG and see how I felt about it. The only other Compile STG I’ve played through is Guardic Gaiden,…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Air Fortress]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/air-fortress/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/air-fortress/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 24 Jan 2026 01:19:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[HAL Laboratories, Famicom, 1987

A very cool and unique sci-fi action game. Stages start with horizontal scrolling shooting sequences to approach the fortress, and then it switches over to jetpack-ish action-platformer mode inside of the base. Durin…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/696a6895f63b250f42f46feb/attachments/696a689c0d4f02af645cd455/previews/696a689d0d4f02af645cd466/download/6be5aa6e-f709-430a-9e8a-cab1a5643a47.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Fight'N Rage]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/fightn-rage/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/fightn-rage/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 19 Jan 2026 21:07:49 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[sebagamesdev, PC, 2017

A belt scrolling action game from 2017. It’s pretty well-executed! Lush and fluid pixel art, great music, and a bunch of satisfying combat mechanics that are laid out elegantly. It’s got the usual genre foundations but you al…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/696a65bb15d044a23b88109c/attachments/696a65bf65069e06daf07f55/previews/696a65bf65069e06daf07f63/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[YAKYUKEN SLUGGER YAMADA]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/yakyuken-slugger-yamada/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/yakyuken-slugger-yamada/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 17 Jan 2026 22:56:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[デジメカ製作所 (Digimecha Manufacturing Co.?), PC, 2023

Wildly creative third-person action game themed around baseball. As you run around the game’s small stages an inning timer ticks away, and every time an inning ends you switch between using shooting …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/693b631d5bfb3889f2c2251e/attachments/693b6357a503548d5301f6be/previews/693b6357a503548d5301f6cc/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Red Dead Redemption II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/red-dead-redemption-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/red-dead-redemption-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 16 Jan 2026 04:05:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Rockstar Games, Playstation 4, 2018

A massive free-roaming action game set in the tail end of the 1800s, serving as a prequel to the 2010 predecessor.

When this first released seven years ago I assumed it wouldn’t be my kind of game. Rockstar’s GT…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Routine]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/routine/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/routine/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 23 Dec 2025 16:17:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Lunar Software, PC, 2025

A first person horror game set on an abandoned lunar base in a chunky 80s-tech world. The environments and technical designs are among the coolest I’ve seen in any first-person game and make the playthrough worth it on thei…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Majou Densetsu II: Maze of Galious]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/majou-densetsu-ii-maze-of-galious/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/majou-densetsu-ii-maze-of-galious/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 23 Dec 2025 02:49:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, MSX, 1987
aka The Maze of Galious

Tried to dig into this again. The hurdles are high! The esoteric upgrade item placement and core action-platforming isn’t too bad, but I’m mostly floored at the insanely sluggish retry procedure. Losing Pop…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Terminator 2D - No Fate]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/terminator-2d-no-fate/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/terminator-2d-no-fate/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 18 Dec 2025 03:01:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bitmap Bureau, PC, 2025

A very polished action-platformer from the developers of Xenocrisis. This is pretty sick, taking a lot of inspiration from the right places. It’s got that Megadrive-era game length (a bit longer than an arcade game but not t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Skate Story]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/skate-story/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/skate-story/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 11 Dec 2025 19:07:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sam Eng, PC, 2025

A game where you play as a skateboarding demon made of glass. I was enamored by the reveal trailer for this years back, and fortunately the final release delivered.

The shape of the game surprised me. There are some substantial s…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Metal Garden]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/metal-garden/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/metal-garden/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 05 Dec 2025 05:49:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tinerasoft, PC, 2025

Quick and elegant first person shooter about exploring a vast desaturated alien world. Most of the game is low-gravity jumping through cool structures and landscapes, but there’s some serviceable combat in there as well. Kinda …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Baby Steps]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/baby-steps/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/baby-steps/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 02 Dec 2025 21:27:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Gabe Cuzzillo, Maxi Boch, Bennett Foddy, PC, 2025

A game about exploring a vast surreal world by controlling your feet. And to be clear, I mean pulling a trigger to lift a foot, using an analog stick to position it, and then releasing the trigger t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Night Striker Gear]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/night-striker-gear/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/night-striker-gear/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 02 Dec 2025 02:18:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[M2, PC, 2025

Sick sequel to the 1989 game directed by none other than Hiroshi Iuchi (of Ikaruga fame). It’s a shorter game, only four stages deep on the branching stage tree, and the stuffy orchestral soundtrack is kinda weak compared to the synth …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Asura the Striker]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/asura-the-striker/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/asura-the-striker/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 30 Nov 2025 02:00:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[LeftOver, PC, 2025

A Space Harrier style game with reasonably modern polygonal visuals. Extremely anime character design that I’m not a huge fan of, but I think the environments, enemies, and music are great. It’s got a very powerful sense of speed…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Night Striker]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/night-striker/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/night-striker/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 29 Nov 2025 15:54:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1989

Night Striker is an insanely cool-looking and cool-sounding Taito rail shooter (as in, Space Harrier style) full of huge scaling sprites and Darius-style stage branching. Weirdly enough I haven’t cleared a lot of arcade games in…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Chronicles of the Wolf]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/chronicles-of-the-wolf/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/chronicles-of-the-wolf/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 28 Nov 2025 18:57:19 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Migami Games, PC, 2025

Wonderful Igavania-style game set in 1700s France. At first glance it feels in lockstep with those Iga games, but the way this game builds up and consistently surprises gives it such a distinct feel. For a surprisingly long s…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Psyvariar 2: The Will to Fabricate]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/psyvariar-2-the-will-to-fabricate/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/psyvariar-2-the-will-to-fabricate/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 27 Nov 2025 02:10:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SKonec, Arcade, 2003

Played for La Calice Cup 11. A Korean-developed Naomi vertical STG, and a follow-up to a couple Success-developed G-NET games I’ve never played.

Probably the weirdest thing in this game is that, while it has a standard shot an…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Neon Inferno]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/neon-inferno/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/neon-inferno/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 23 Nov 2025 21:22:05 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Zenovia Interactive, PC, 2025

Absolutely sick action-platformer from the studio behind [Steel Assault](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/steel-assault/ "‌").

The major standout trait here is that the action-platforming is combined with Wild G…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[TwinBee Yahho!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/twinbee-yahho/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/twinbee-yahho/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 18 Nov 2025 16:02:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1995

Playing the Normal course of the arcade version for Calice Cup 11. Having no prior TwinBee experience I was pretty pumped to get into this despite it being the third and last game in the arcade series. Great character designs, …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Beyond Citadel]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/beyond-citadel/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/beyond-citadel/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 16 Nov 2025 00:24:14 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[doekuramori, PC, 2025

A Japanese first-person shooter I’d been hearing praise for throughout the year. I decided to finally try it despite skipping 2020’s The Citadel.

All of the characters, weapons, and props in the game are “hand-drawn” sprites …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Caput Mortum]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/caput-mortum/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/caput-mortum/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 11 Nov 2025 03:56:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[WildArts Games, PC, 2025

A well-made first-person horror adventure game that makes you interact with everything by using the right thumbstick to move your character’s right hand. This means you’ve got to rotate with shoulder buttons, giving you som…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Earthion]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/earthion/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/earthion/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 10 Nov 2025 03:38:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ancient, Mega Drive, 2025

A new horizontal shooting game designed for Mega Drive hardware. It’s a stunning game technologically, with the kind of pumping music you’d expect from Yuzo Koshiro and setpieces that feel mostly inspired by Thunder Force …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Pilot Kids]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/pilot-kids/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/pilot-kids/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 10 Nov 2025 01:27:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Psikyo, Arcade, 1998

A pretty cool Psikyo horizontal STG released roughly a year after Zero Gunner, making it their second polygonal game in the genre. The visuals are complex and clean (as you’d expect from something running on Model 2), the livin…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[THRASHER]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/thrasher/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/thrasher/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Nov 2025 06:38:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Puddle, PC, 2025

I really enjoyed Thumper. I wish I enjoyed this more.

Thrasher maintains Thumper’s general style of presentation, placing you in vast menacing abstract spaces with slowly-building music. The mechanics are totally new, though: inst…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[J.B. Harold: Blue Chicago Blues]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/jb-harold-blue-chicago-blues/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/jb-harold-blue-chicago-blues/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Nov 2025 04:12:50 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[RiverHillSoft, 1994, Pioneer LaserActive Mega LD

An FMV adventure game for the newly-emulatable Pioneer LaserActive Mega LD. This is my first experience with the platform, and given that it’s basically a Megadrive that can finely seek through and d…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rabio Lepus]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/rabio-lepus/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/rabio-lepus/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 05 Nov 2025 19:02:54 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Video System, Arcade, 1987

Future Psikyo director Shin Nakamura’s first game, a horizontal-scrolling shooter with a robo-rabbit theme. This is pretty visually stunning for 1987, and thematically it’s such a goofy mix of cute popcorn enemies, cutsce…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Chouyoku Senki Estique]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/chouyoku-senki-estique/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/chouyoku-senki-estique/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 04 Nov 2025 03:40:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cat Hui Trading, Famicom, 2024

A new Famicom horizontal shooting game released in late 2024. Technologically this game is really marvelous, filling up a Famicom-powered screen in a way I think I haven’t seen since Recca. Backgrounds are gorgeous, t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Singou Breaka]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/singou-breaka/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/singou-breaka/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 04 Nov 2025 00:48:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[NEOタケトンボ, PC, 2025

A fast action puzzle game about sliding traffic lights together. The rules are elegant: 2x1 pieces spawn into the grid and you can slide them along their long axis. Each piece has one side lit up as “STOP” or “GO”, and connecting…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Replicube]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/replicube/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/replicube/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 01 Nov 2025 04:56:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Walaber, PC, 2025

Laser-targeted game to me. It’s a puzzle game about making 3D voxel-based shapes, so there’s inherent overlap in presentation with Jupiter’s 3D Picross games, but instead of solving nonograms you’re writing code that gets executed…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Battlefield 6]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/battlefield-6/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/battlefield-6/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 29 Oct 2025 15:06:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[DICE, PC, 2025

I haven’t played one of these since Battlefield 4 like a decade ago, so after 30-ish hours of playing with friends I don’t feel like I’ve got much to say about the specifics on balance or map design here outside of “seems good”. The …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tetris the Grandmaster 4]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/tetris-the-grandmaster-4/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/tetris-the-grandmaster-4/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 29 Oct 2025 03:49:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Arika, PC, 2025

I feel like I’m an awfully long way from clearing this game’s Master mode, but it’s nice to have a modern TGM release at home. And one with so much stuff in it! It’s easy to picture myself chipping away at this one for years, though…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ninja Gaiden 4]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/ninja-gaiden-4/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/ninja-gaiden-4/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 28 Oct 2025 17:13:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[PlatinumGames/Team Ninja, PC, 2025

I had no clue what to expect with this one. Obviously Ninja Gaiden Black and Ninja Gaiden 2 are two of the best 3D melee action games ever, and games that I like more than any of Platinum’s releases, but given the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rygar: The Legendary Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/rygar-the-legendary-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/rygar-the-legendary-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 19 Oct 2025 04:47:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tecmo, Playstation 2, 2002

Neat 3D melee action game that feels like a natural step toward Ninja Gaiden (despite not having a lot of direct staff overlap) and a very obvious inspiration for God of War. Nice-looking fixed camera angles, long-reachin…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cosmic Smash]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/cosmic-smash/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/cosmic-smash/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 14 Oct 2025 00:50:17 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega Rosso, Arcade, 2000

Dabbled with this game since I was a teenager but made it a point to get all the endings. It’s pretty awesome, mixing some Virtua Tennis/Power Smash racket-swinging with Breakout stages and some sick low-gravity animation. …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Consume Me]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/consume-me/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/consume-me/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 11 Oct 2025 04:14:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, and Ken "coda" Snyder, PC, 2025

A very earnest and polished semi-autobiographical “life sim” where you follow the day to day of a teenager named Jenny as she manages her relationship with food an…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Battle Garegga]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/battle-garegga/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/battle-garegga/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 08 Oct 2025 23:27:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Raizing, Arcade, 1996

Shinobu Yagawa’s star game. A vertical shooter that takes an awful lot of influence from Taito’s Gun Frontier, but with a theme that leans into an overcast future full of scrap metal instead of Gun Frontier’s cosmic wild west.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Silent Hill f]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/silent-hill-f/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/silent-hill-f/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 08 Oct 2025 15:01:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[NeoBards Entertainment, PC, 2025

An engaging horror game with a novel and well-realized 1960s rural Japanese setting. As you’d expect from the name you’ll get extremely moody environments, a beautiful soundtrack, nasty creature designs, lots of fog…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/68ac9a5ce4e7ae224e40ecbc/attachments/68ac9a5e4bac1db40ff2ce85/previews/68ac9a604bac1db40ff2ce8f/download/e81b1e0b80b2001d8a5070c5c465cbc7246e02d1da39fe76.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gray Matter]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/gray-matter/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/gray-matter/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 24 Sep 2025 03:14:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Wizarbox, PC, 2010

A point and click adventure game designed and written by Gabriel Knight creator Jane Jensen, seemingly stuck in development hell after being announced in 2003 and passed around multiple development studios but finally making it o…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/68c2413dce65a34e54c1feed/attachments/68c2414b3d37cbdb2ef04fe5/previews/68c2414c3d37cbdb2ef05233/download/6ceca8ab-743b-479f-a4c6-a8fb929db06b.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Red Alert / Last Alert]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/red-alert-last-alert/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/red-alert-last-alert/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 14 Sep 2025 19:57:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Shin-Nihon Laser Soft, PC Engine CD-ROM, 1989

A pretty sick commando-themed top-down omnidirectional shooter. It’s always wild to play a CD-ROM game from this era, since you get a lot of sick-looking full-screen pixel art illustrations (especially …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6135a3edf3647b06bce90330/attachments/6314f0deb4d93900d171c7ab/previews/6314f0dfb4d93900d171c7b7/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Skyblazer/Karura Ou]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/skyblazerkarura-ou/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/skyblazerkarura-ou/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 14 Sep 2025 15:21:19 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ukiyotei Company Ltd, Super Famicom, 1994

A well-made action platformer with a focus on wall sticking/climbing and really short-range bare-handed melee attacks. It’s got a simple world map, lots of cool bosses (barring one), and fun magic attacks t…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/61d36913d95ac14bf700c398/attachments/66ac52d1fbe7741545a89e11/previews/66ac52d3fbe7741545a89e1b/download/0a36adc9-9c45-4709-976b-fcbcc66fbdac.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Drakengard]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/drakengard/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/drakengard/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 10 Sep 2025 18:28:47 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cavia, Playstation 2, 2003

Above all else, after bouncing off of Dynasty Warriors 2/Shin Sangokumusou earlier this year, this game takes that basic concept and builds something genuinely engaging to me on top of it. An interesting cast of character…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6318a39876783f03f8e9fdd4/attachments/6318a3ba8315a91323c6701c/previews/6318a3bb8315a91323c67094/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Donkey Kong Country]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/donkey-kong-country/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/donkey-kong-country/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 01 Sep 2025 19:54:16 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Rare, Super Nintendo, 1994

A surprisingly tricky game! Mario 3 seems to be the main inspiration here both in the moment-to-moment (big focus on momentum, enemy head bouncing, a run/pickup/throw button, “flow-y” levels) and in terms of the broader s…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/68b5f024611026f7a7a93faa/attachments/68b5f027ac98396f478d02a5/previews/68b5f02aac98396f478d02af/download/de45a6fe-0418-4b04-8c5f-5595f6a9bfa7.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/vampire-the-masquerade-bloodlines/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/vampire-the-masquerade-bloodlines/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 31 Aug 2025 15:14:50 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Troika Games, PC, 2004

Played with the now-official “unofficial patch” (without restored content).

If someone had told me it was loosely like Deus Ex I would've played it years ago. Take that baseline and give it an edgy vampire plot, more of a fo…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Majuuou]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/majuuou/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/majuuou/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 21 Aug 2025 05:55:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Eleven Co., Super Famicom, 1995

Small sprite excellence. A really sick action-platformer with a demon-Giger theme.  Everything is bloody and brooding, sprites have somewhat realistic proportions, and the camera is zoomed out to give the action plen…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5f22630820d0094fc7b95a1f/attachments/66ac53048e3acb070f7179df/previews/66ac53068e3acb070f717a39/download/d57a2299-f408-442c-8e60-deb58fa5e2c0.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[South of Midnight]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/south-of-midnight/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/south-of-midnight/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 20 Aug 2025 03:59:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Compulsion Games, PC, 2025

A linear action game with a striking visual style, nice character designs, and a loosely Psychonauts-like narrative in a fantastical southern folklore setting. There’s a small selection of scene archetypes the game too-ri…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Wuchang: Fallen Feathers]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/wuchang-fallen-feathers/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/wuchang-fallen-feathers/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 12 Aug 2025 21:54:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Lenzee Studios, PC, 2025

Reminiscent of Wukong in a lot of ways, but it isn’t hooking me nearly as much as that game did. Got a few hours and a few bosses in before deciding that I just wasn’t in the mood to continue. Might be a revisit down the li…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6665ef5ed02df9d70b3384a5/attachments/688659f4132d99a0995ceda5/previews/688659f5132d99a0995cedaf/download/b58f76e2-7ef3-4383-b983-ed4a8d469383.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Salamander 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/salamander-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/salamander-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 09 Aug 2025 03:00:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1996

‌I really love this game. It's better-balanced than I remember, the setpieces are sick, and what a soundtrack! The option-burning attack is crazy satisfying, and the bosses are more "honest" than anything in the first game. The…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6896aac4182445400998e4af/attachments/6896aaea9589301576f61d91/previews/6896aaec9589301576f61d9d/download/7cc0bf38-7561-47bb-a62e-72a8219b600a.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Salamander]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/salamander/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/salamander/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 09 Aug 2025 02:48:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1986

Dabbled in this a few years back, but with the new collection I revisited and had to get the 1-All. It's a cool divergence from Gradius with how it has in-place respawns and free-spawning power-ups. Sick visuals, great music, a…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6896aac134711e12003a0806/attachments/6896aac8e726c2863ebfac77/previews/6896aac9e726c2863ebfac81/download/13f96063-ce21-4032-bf03-35172fafbc8a.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Salamander III]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/salamander-iii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/salamander-iii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 07 Aug 2025 01:21:10 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[M2, PC, 2025

A well-made successor to Salamander 2 that cranks up the enemy bullets and the raw spectacle of it all, throwing you against wild-looking and creative scenarios at a rapid pace. Salamander 2’s options-as-attacks button has been dropped…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6893fb721e75f5d3b5f06095/attachments/6893fb78c1ff48751af33c9a/previews/6893fb79c1ff48751af33ca4/download/salamander_iii.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Haunted Castle Revisited]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/haunted-castle-revisited/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/haunted-castle-revisited/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 05 Aug 2025 01:22:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[M2, PC, 2024

A shockingly good and loose remake of arcade Akumajou Dracula. Remakes tend to be best when the original game is kind of fucked up, I guess. M2 used the levels and bosses of the original as a loose guide and created prettier and expand…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/68915a41889eb15c00694931/attachments/68915a90a5d4ed406dbc225a/previews/68915a91a5d4ed406dbc2264/download/Haunted_Castle_Revisited_-_01.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Akumajou Dracula]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/akumajou-dracula/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/akumajou-dracula/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 04 Aug 2025 18:19:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1988

An often dunked-on early entry in the series, released between Dracula II/Simon’s Quest and Akumajou Densetsu/Castlevania 3. It’s honestly got great music and some pretty sick art (in that kinda chaotic late-80s Konami way), an…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/657fe02478e4737e3f8f4dd1/attachments/6890f88ef5a1a8dbc168b09e/previews/6890f88ff5a1a8dbc168b0a8/download/e6b5e197-65f3-4ee0-87b8-a1d1390901de.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Altered Beast / Juuouki]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/altered-beast-juuouki/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/altered-beast-juuouki/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 28 Jul 2025 17:21:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega Team Shinobi, Arcade, 1988

The arcade game probably most known in the US for being the origin of the Genesis launch pack-in title. Directed by Makoto Uchida, who would later direct Golden Axe and Dynamite Deka. It’s an action-platformer with a…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/657fe469e8bcd27ef5912d96/attachments/6886bf4771cf301a3d9c90c3/previews/6886bf4871cf301a3d9c90ca/download/altered_beast.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gotzendiener]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/gotzendiener/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/gotzendiener/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 27 Jul 2025 05:10:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Gainax and Studio Alex, PC Engine Super CD-ROM, 1994

A fascinating but flawed isometric action and exploration game. The cutscenes, designs, spritework, and lonely atmosphere are top-notch and I’m glad I played it for these elements alone. The whol…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6854aa0e397a1192cafe4822/attachments/6854aa1139bbad533123014a/previews/6854aa1239bbad5331230154/download/7b2aee43-cdae-4243-8133-5933968380be.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Game Tengoku - The Game Paradise]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/game-tengoku-the-game-paradise/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/game-tengoku-the-game-paradise/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 24 Jul 2025 04:07:26 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jaleco, Arcade, 1995

Pretty cool STG set inside… a game center? Other video games? A development workstation? Fun theme! You’ll fight arcade cabinets, claw game toys, and even Daytona USA cars. Colorful, varied, and way more Psikyo-like than I expe…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/tony-hawks-pro-skater-34/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/tony-hawks-pro-skater-34/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 21 Jul 2025 04:21:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Iron Galaxy, PC, 2025

THPS1+2 was a well-done remake with interesting decisions (like aging the game’s various stages by a few decades) that I only had a few qualms with outside of my usual beef with remakes. THPS3+4 here very seamlessly carries th…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Clockwork Knight]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/clockwork-knight/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/clockwork-knight/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 21 Jul 2025 04:21:29 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Sega Saturn, 1995

A really charming and elegant 2D platformer from near the Saturn’s Japanese launch. Being so early, it’s not too surprising that it represents a late Genesis platformer like Ristar: it’s of course not going to be arcade-tigh…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5f07ffb21d4c5a0f355033f2/attachments/687dbeaf2854287c3fb9e58b/previews/687dbeb32854287c3fb9e595/download/9a979a6a-5edf-43a8-9247-d9a5522afb0c.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Grandia]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/grandia/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/grandia/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 20 Jul 2025 23:58:33 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Game Arts, Sega Saturn, 1997

I played like half of the sequel to this back when it was a new release on Dreamcast and was kicking around the idea of returning to it. Thankfully the Saturn original has a fan translation, so I decided to start there.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rastan Saga]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/rastan-saga/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/rastan-saga/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 14 Jul 2025 00:57:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1988

Circled back to this one for Summer Yolympics 2025 after [playing for a bit a few years ago](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rastan-saga/ "‌"). It was pretty sick to get reacquainted with the unique combination of hefty j…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[R-Type III: The Third Lightning]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/r-type-iii-the-third-lightning/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/r-type-iii-the-third-lightning/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 26 Jun 2025 03:34:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Super Famicom, 1993

This drove me up the wall, man. I didn’t think it would given my arcade clears of R-Type and R-Type Leo, but there’s a lot of annoying shit in here. The gotchas are similar, but the latent difficulty outside of them is tot…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hagane]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/hagane/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/hagane/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 25 Jun 2025 02:08:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[CA Production, Super Famicom, 1994

Really spectacular action-platformer. Like Contra Spirits, this is very arcade-dense. Basically every stage segment is a totally unique scene that often has a distinct mechanical focus, and a no-death playthrough …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5514e5747cf5a8748483e358/attachments/66ac52b86064161cf8d5205d/previews/66ac52ba6064161cf8d52065/download/3731c0fb-f22b-40e6-85f8-dd423610c959.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Silver Case]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/the-silver-case/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/the-silver-case/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 19 Jun 2025 22:31:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Grasshopper Manufacture, PC, 2016/1999

Early Suda51. A narrative-heavy adventure game with light first-person exploration and puzzle-solving. I played the 2016 remake for the localization, though it does seem to stick reasonably close to the origin…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/68479b80411b4f921c8eabdb/attachments/68479bf3c6d26de491e38f6f/previews/68479bf3c6d26de491e38f76/download/9e13cd17-bad6-4f61-b4be-920bc89b4c26.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Contra: Alien no Gyakushuu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/super-contra-alien-no-gyakushuu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/super-contra-alien-no-gyakushuu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 19 Jun 2025 00:25:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1988

Another goofy 3:4 horizontally-scrolling action-platformer like the original Contra. This time the perspective switch is to a more palatable top-down view and you get smart bombs replacing the jump button, which I thought was a…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/657fe040f91ea1a3ff5e8a84/attachments/667d713575c39d2b217ad3cc/previews/667d713675c39d2b217ad627/download/2dabf789-c20a-4ea7-b375-c25220a320ea.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gun Frontier]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/gun-frontier/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/gun-frontier/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 15 Jun 2025 18:10:10 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1991

Landmark STG by the director that would immediately after work on [Metal Black](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/metal-black/ "‌"). The setting here is a sci-fi spin on the wild west and all of the vehicles show an over-th…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67a809df7399b22b9ccdc2cf/attachments/67a809e234421518a1e0e41f/previews/67a809e334421518a1e0e42b/download/58d20338-1f66-4ef6-8b56-08e4fb8f6b4f.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Elden Ring Nightreign]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/elden-ring-nightreign/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/elden-ring-nightreign/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 10 Jun 2025 01:39:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[From Software, PC, 2025

A weird one. Prior to release there was a lot of gun-jumping about what the game was even going to be, but ultimately it’s a roughly arcade-style game (“runs-based”, I suspect people are starting to say) built on top of Elde…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/675b8ea98fbde99fa9ace51d/attachments/68158f4582b9d0cc4fd8345e/previews/68158f4682b9d0cc4fd8350e/download/9ff4b9fde2b7dce20fa282961454b7a81695d598eb5c7404.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sonic Wings Reunion]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/sonic-wings-reunion/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/sonic-wings-reunion/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 29 May 2025 16:40:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Success, PC, 2025

I was rooting for this one, but unfortunately I can’t recommend it. The visuals are rough, the stage designs are bland, there aren’t any unique core mechanics beyond being able to essentially select two types of smartbomb, and the…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6707ef63eb5d00cd52901ef4/attachments/68158f70359fc5cd17b3fb12/previews/68158f71359fc5cd17b3fb1c/download/b327cf46b2afcf649850ff8afa61bfcb147da84c0bdf23a2.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Doom: The Dark Ages]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/doom-the-dark-ages/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/doom-the-dark-ages/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 27 May 2025 15:46:28 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[id Software, PC, 2025

I’m a pretty big fan of these nu-Doom games. Back in 2016 the first game was such a breath of fresh air. For decades I’d been dying to see FPSes experiment with mechanics that were outside of the 90s Texas genre lineage and he…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/68158f87e90b0f8d5979d0a3/attachments/68158fa49f1aaa2ca0924c7e/previews/68158fa69f1aaa2ca0924c88/download/1893e77387eec1591406d71c98f8d4074b7c32664c3bf5af.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ninja Hayate]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/ninja-hayate/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/ninja-hayate/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 18 May 2025 00:24:22 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1984

Never played an arcade LaserDisc game, figured these re-releases would be a good time to try one out. A lot of people understandably find the concept of these Dragon’s Lair style games to be silly, but I figured they might be pr…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/680a49c67b226ae5147787bb/attachments/680a4caf1d5acf73a132a5ba/previews/680a4cb01d5acf73a132aea8/download/library_600x900_2x.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[R-Type]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/r-type/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/r-type/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 16 May 2025 01:56:14 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Arcade, 1987

The space horror STG classic. I’ve been picking at this game for most of my life. I never really tried it until hearing about it as a teenager and checking it out in MAME, but it immediately became a go-to test ROM for any machin…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5511aba3f13892a3608c45b9/attachments/6329c621e2e52c01a2da5f9d/previews/6329c622e2e52c01a2da5fa9/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Stuntman]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/stuntman/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/stuntman/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 14 May 2025 04:09:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Reflections Interactive, Playstation 2, 2002

Such a sick idea. Every mission in the campaign is a course you drive through while trying to accomplish various stunts highlighted in-world and barked at you via radio. These scenes are grouped up by fi…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/62312458155ed44c7f2f46fd/attachments/68240ae3fea850f18a346a91/previews/68240ae4fea850f18a346a9b/download/50d53816-8e69-423e-bbb0-dd90caa985f8.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Espgaluda II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/espgaluda-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/espgaluda-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 09 May 2025 02:15:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2005

After wrapping up Calice Cup I returned to this for the first time since around 2021 and put time into it to get the clear. It’s a heavy one.

The original Esgaluda’s major standout mechanic is “Kakusei” mode, where you can press…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6121e266c6a0bf720e369a58/attachments/61fcc208b3d7b97d3d2186a7/previews/61fcc209b3d7b97d3d21891b/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Skin Deep]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/skin-deep/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/skin-deep/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 07 May 2025 03:42:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Blendo Games, PC, 2025

A well-made System Shock style first-person action game that, kind of like 2023’s [Blood West](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/blood-west/ "‌"), shakes up the usual structure a bit. Instead of using an open world or a …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/681acd110bacdee6982fd6cb/attachments/681ace64a6f4283c7ed0ee38/previews/681ace65a6f4283c7ed0ee3f/download/61e267565d12c4499e4ed19771e42360c7585d2c559e2fc85a19246350a25f98.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Armed Police Unit Gallop]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/armed-police-unit-gallop/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/armed-police-unit-gallop/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 25 Apr 2025 04:03:32 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Arcade, 1991

Super unique horizontal shooter where your ship’s positioning affects the stage scroll speed and you have a cooldown-based instant omnidirectional laser button (alongside the genre-standard shot + missile combo). It’s very lean, …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67ce545d19d62f45f8c16df3/attachments/67ce585518496068ebb34d81/previews/67ce585718496068ebb34d8d/download/fd76693a-af89-4264-b1d2-2678afe9b492.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/shin-megami-tensei-strange-journey/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/shin-megami-tensei-strange-journey/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 24 Apr 2025 15:18:39 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Atlus, Nintendo DS, 2010

I’ve said it a million times by now, but I’m not a big JRPG guy. I almost always get sick of the combat way before the game wraps up. I wish this wasn’t the case! There are so many games in the genre with an appealing sense…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hang-On]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/hang-on/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/hang-on/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 15 Apr 2025 17:37:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM2, Arcade, 1985

Goofy to play this after the 1987 sequel, but that's what Calice Cup called for. I heard the course I spent so long clearing in the sequel is the same layout as this first game’s lone course so I decided to go for it while it…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67fe976e6b9b71960a599c9f/attachments/67fe977412ab595a044f4473/previews/67fe977612ab595a044f4481/download/hangon.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Hang-On]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/super-hang-on/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/super-hang-on/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 15 Apr 2025 00:40:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM2, Arcade, 1987

Masterpiece. I’m not the biggest racing game guy but I absolutely could not put this down. The sense of speed is magical, the environments are gorgeous (and transition so smoothly), the boost mechanic is insanely satisfying, …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Slap Fight]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/slap-fight/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/slap-fight/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 10 Apr 2025 00:27:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Toaplan, Arcade, 1986

An interesting post-Gradius vertical STG. You’ll see the Gradius power-up meter, but it’s got fewer strict upgrades and more mutually-exclusive weapons to toy with. Designs are very boxy 80s but more appealing than Xevious. En…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Spacefortress Macross]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/super-spacefortress-macross/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/super-spacefortress-macross/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 09 Apr 2025 16:58:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[NMK, Arcade, 1992

A relatively breezy but super cool-looking vertical shooter. I don’t know anything about the license here, but the mech designs are sick and I particularly like how your whole sprite changes up depending on what weapon you’ve pick…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Secret Agent]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/secret-agent/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/secret-agent/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 05 Apr 2025 04:49:39 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Data East, Arcade, 1989

Goofy Data East action-platformer. It looks like Rolling Thunder at first glance, but you’ve got a big ol health bar and enemies tend to take a lot of shots to kill. There’s some charm here, but there’s also a stage 2 that d…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/657fd561c286536a44fd04e4/attachments/657fd7b18b71db31b1def3a3/previews/657fd7b38b71db31b1def6e6/download/037c4287-fe54-43ea-8700-010036ffeb57.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cambria Sword: Another Cry]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/cambria-sword-another-cry/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/cambria-sword-another-cry/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 30 Mar 2025 05:18:33 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Vagues Games, Arcade, 2025

A new arcade adaptation of/sequel to a ~3 hour long doujin STG from 2017. I hadn’t really played the original, but I’m completely blown away by this. It’s a massive game that reminds me of G-Darius in terms of its branchi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Kamiwaza - Way of the Thief]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/kamiwaza-way-of-the-thief/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/kamiwaza-way-of-the-thief/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 20 Mar 2025 05:22:50 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Acquire, Playstation 2, 2006

I really love Shinobido Imashime, Acquire’s Tenchu successor where you select missions from three warring factions through a highly dynamic campaign. Shinobido isn’t the most polished or focused game, but I couldn’t put…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Monster Hunter Wilds]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/monster-hunter-wilds/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/monster-hunter-wilds/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 16 Mar 2025 00:55:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2025

I’ve been playing these games pretty casually since 3U and enjoyed each one, with this being no exception. Don’t really mind the lack of monster  tracking, I think the blurring of the lines between being in a village and being in a…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67ca1ba8feb4a4801ed25ed9/attachments/67ca1bab4fb7c4b64afe7121/previews/67ca1bad4fb7c4b64afe7f16/download/9b982960-12ab-4af0-b2ef-b91e97ad7a57.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Zombie Revenge]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/zombie-revenge/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/zombie-revenge/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Mar 2025 05:48:26 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM1, Arcade, 1999

Another crazy inventive arcade game from AM1, just a little over half a year after [Dynamite Deka 2](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dynamite-deka-2/ "‌"). Where Deka 2 feels like a game making questionable compromises…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/kunitsu-gami-path-of-the-goddess/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/kunitsu-gami-path-of-the-goddess/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 24 Feb 2025 15:51:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2024

I wasn’t sure how much I’d like this when I heard it described with the phrase “tower defense”, but I wound up really enjoying it. The basic premise is that you’re guiding an ever-dancing goddess along a path, setting up defenses b…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6732ea0f95fb72acec56ebce/attachments/6732ea2a4230a8b07449fd8a/previews/6732ea2c4230a8b07449fece/download/3628f2599138c53445c9e731ed34c75f037f40c39ea1a0e9.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Fatal Frame II - Crimson Butterfly]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/fatal-frame-ii-crimson-butterfly/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/fatal-frame-ii-crimson-butterfly/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 21 Feb 2025 23:39:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tecmo, Playstation 2, 2003

It’s been a long time since I’ve played the first Fatal Frame, but I remember liking it and this seems like everything you’d expect for a sequel. A darker tone, a somewhat longer runtime, slightly beefier mechanics, and a…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/66d5d5e806176e9dc70105aa/attachments/66d5d6070b6bf5f410611e0f/previews/66d5d6080b6bf5f410611e1b/download/8e7310be-bf32-405e-80bb-0c10a3d57f22.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tiny Bullets]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/tiny-bullets/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/tiny-bullets/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 13 Feb 2025 23:40:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Contrail, Playstation, 2000

I was interested in this because it looked like a Japanese 3D action platforming game that took some core mechanics from Tomb Raider. 3D platforming and ledge grabbing with tank controls. And early on it delivers on that…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/66425d4d0ae1d4a12211fa1c/attachments/66425d586706119532ea2685/previews/66425d596706119532ea27e2/download/75eb21a3-61ba-41f8-a32c-d0dcea137d32.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shin Sangokumusou / Dynasty Warriors 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/shin-sangokumusou-dynasty-warriors-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/shin-sangokumusou-dynasty-warriors-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 13 Feb 2025 04:34:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Omega Force, Playstation 2, 2000

I'm told this isn't the best intro to the series and I see why. The actual combat here is kinda neat, with directional blocking and guard reversals and attack strings that have distinct uses, but I can't really get …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6318a3e5dce24e00bd6e827a/attachments/6318a44d1fae4102371b6908/previews/6318a44e1fae4102371b6912/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Devil Blade Reboot]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/devil-blade-reboot/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/devil-blade-reboot/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 13 Feb 2025 03:23:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SHIGATAKE GAMES, PC, 2024

Another arcade-tuned modern PC 2D shooter, this time a very loose remake of a Dezaemon Plus game the solo developer (an artist at Vanillaware these days) made back on Playstation. Hard mode seems like the baseline it was d…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6732eabf20fa1d18ffcbed7c/attachments/6732eac1bb79084e79e70f31/previews/6732eac2bb79084e79e71829/download/bff71eb5-3861-4c4d-8a69-6b209b94144d.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Blue Revolver Double Action]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/blue-revolver-double-action/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/blue-revolver-double-action/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Feb 2025 19:24:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Stellar Circle, PC, 2024

Long-awaited revision to the highly-regarded and arcade-designed 2016 PC shooting game. Like Mushihimesama, this has three selectable difficulty courses presented as part of the standard credit flow. I hadn’t played any of …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6754dc1445c1bb875ae922b9/attachments/6754e036a8d5bf4cb3732797/previews/6754e037a8d5bf4cb373279f/download/GcXdB7YbwAAVX8X.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Strikers 1999]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/strikers-1999/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/strikers-1999/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 02 Feb 2025 23:25:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Psikyo, Arcade, 1999

Fantastic, as expected from this trilogy. 1999 here is of course very much in line with the first two games (which I talked about [here](/gamelog/2024/strikers-1945/ "‌") and [here](/gamelog/2024/strikers-1945-ii/ "‌")), only n…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/65482ad114b2f0f6b00101b1/attachments/654831bd81832e38670f26e0/previews/654831be81832e38670f27a3/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Lorelei and the Laser Eyes]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/lorelei-and-the-laser-eyes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/lorelei-and-the-laser-eyes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 02 Feb 2025 03:12:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Simogo, PC, 2024

A puzzle-focused adventure game where you unravel a mystery in a surreal old hotel. Coming from the Sayonara Wild Hearts studio the presentation is absolutely killer, but this is a more demanding adventure game than Sayonara Wild H…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/665d4a4e018c8dad2f6a657e/attachments/672d191472c61ffb1e57a80b/previews/672d191472c61ffb1e57a9e6/download/1dfe8252-d05f-4cf3-8b03-6604a0d2747d.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Go There]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/go-there/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/go-there/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 23 Jan 2025 01:06:59 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[いくちおすてご, PC, 2023

Cool little boss rush. Great visuals. The basic playthrough is a very quick tour up a mountain with really cool ancient dragon designs. There’s a post-game here that I’m unfortunately not that thrilled to see through, as I’m not t…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/667e2f4c774356fdbcf219b6/attachments/66e4e133a1bdce620416356d/previews/66e4e133a1bdce6204163578/download/library_600x900.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mean Streets]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/mean-streets/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/mean-streets/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 21 Jan 2025 03:58:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Access Software, MS-DOS, 1989

The adventure game that started the Tex Murphy series. This actually ruled. I was worried it would be cruel and stuffy and arcane, but it’s infinitely kinder than the 80s Sierra adventure games I’ve tried.

The main in…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67815e3fd96455b6c33790ad/attachments/67815e429a3912178dc0c982/previews/67815e439a3912178dc0c98e/download/6256962f-607b-4498-9cde-631e5ae498ed.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Overblood 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/overblood-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/overblood-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 18 Jan 2025 19:05:21 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Riverhillsoft, Playstation, 1998

A huge, lumbering, and ridiculously ambitious PS1 game with only the loosest ties to its predecessor. It’s a two-disc epic full of clunky 3D action-platforming, minigame sequences, light adventure game elements, pre…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6629b4864f3de0867118b152/attachments/6629b4a52b2e83b056de0539/previews/6629b4a62b2e83b056de06e3/download/e286ceff-a2ce-4c1f-b52c-1af2e1aea027.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Jewel Master]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/jewel-master/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/jewel-master/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 08 Jan 2025 18:57:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Mega Drive, 1991

This is another one of those early Mega Drive action games that basically serves as an arcade game due to its structure, its short length, and its strictly-limited continues. It reminds me a bit of Mega Drive ESWAT, Shadow Da…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6560ddaf370f0dbec61a415e/attachments/6560ddb335e5414e13720fa8/previews/6560ddb535e5414e137210d6/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Final Fight]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/final-fight/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/final-fight/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 01 Jan 2025 17:02:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Arcade, 1989

It’s so hard to believe that this was Capcom’s first take on belt-scrolling action. Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-kun basically established the genre 3.5 years prior, but even looking at other 1989 games Final Fight leaves them in the d…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/657fc6d1807302c2f04d5164/attachments/657fc71d9c3009ec0fedfb44/previews/657fc71e9c3009ec0fedfd54/download/e7bd59f2-eedd-4b5b-b4e7-d8a2dc10cb80-1.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Indiana Jones and the Great Circle]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/indiana-jones-and-the-great-circle/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/indiana-jones-and-the-great-circle/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 20 Dec 2024 22:54:23 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[MachineGames, PC, 2024

MachineGames is back. I didn’t really like The New Colossus and skipped Youngblood, so I’m glad that this game clicked with me.

Indiana Jones, as a setting, winds up being a good fit for the studio that spun off from Escape …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sol Cresta]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sol-cresta/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sol-cresta/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 25 Nov 2024 17:52:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[PlatinumGames and Hamster, PC, 2021

I really wish I enjoyed this more. I think there's a lot of mechanical creativity here, but it's also convoluted (the special input directional shots, the way you have a dodge at 1hp but not other times, etc), ha…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super H.Q. Criminal Chaser]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/super-hq-criminal-chaser/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/super-hq-criminal-chaser/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 24 Nov 2024 06:30:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Super Famicom, 1993

A console-exclusive entry in the Chase H.Q. series. The only other game I’ve played in this little subgenre is [Special Criminal Investigation](/gamelog/2022/special-criminal-investigation/ "‌"), which rules, but this is …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Slitterhead]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/slitterhead/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/slitterhead/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 22 Nov 2024 18:59:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bokeh Studios, PC, 2024

A horror-themed action game set in 90s Kowloon where you play as a spirit that hops between bodies to take down big gory monsters. It’s a lot to explain, pieced together from a lot of relatively unique elements, and I don’t …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[1000xResist]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/1000xresist/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/1000xresist/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 13 Nov 2024 22:17:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[sunset visitor, PC, 2024

A pretty dense and sweeping sci-fi visual novel. The premise here is pretty unique and confidently told, and it’s impressive how frequently the presentation is uprooted in service of the narrative. It reminds me of Fata Mor…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Earth Defense Force 6]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/earth-defense-force-6/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/earth-defense-force-6/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 13 Nov 2024 22:17:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sandlot, PC, 2024

Been a minute since I’ve played one of these but the appeal from EDF2 is still there. It’s still satisfying to blow up buildings and swathes of ants, but the enemy and scenario variety here is thankfully closer to EDF2 than EDF3. …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Black Myth Wukong]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/black-myth-wukong/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/black-myth-wukong/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Nov 2024 02:30:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Game Science, PC, 2024

Incredible melee action game. It’s a little bit like Sekiro as a starting point, but with a slightly more focused and linear world structure. Combat is fast, aggressive, and full of hugely satisfying slams once you unlock the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gemini Wing]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gemini-wing/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gemini-wing/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 28 Oct 2024 02:51:23 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tecmo, Arcade, 1987

An incredibly inventive and forward-thinking vertical STG. Initially it feels like a Hishouzame-style game with slow movement and a harsh player bullet limit, but the major standout mechanic comes from using the B button to fire…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/66d0f0e92988652c2fb09f71/attachments/66d0f21622fa1f238a0ba5e9/previews/66d0f21722fa1f238a0ba5f5/download/5bec38c1-a458-4b44-ac0a-8c319ac71e5c.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[JJ Squawkers]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/jj-squawkers/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/jj-squawkers/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 20 Oct 2024 01:03:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Athena, Arcade, 1993

A bright action-platformer with lush visuals and classic cartoon designs. The difficulty curve is pretty uneven and none of the weapons feel very good to use, so I was frustrated at the start, but I got into it once I started r…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Aurail]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/aurail/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/aurail/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 20 Oct 2024 00:14:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Westone, Arcade, 1990

Sega must’ve sent this one out to die. There’s seemingly no promotional material for it, no snazzy flyer, and I never once heard anybody talk about it prior to Jotego’s System 16 MiSTer core release.

A shame, because it’s pre…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[ESP Ra.De.]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/esp-rade/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/esp-rade/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 15 Oct 2024 03:40:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 1998

Calice Cup 9, put some time into this to get another 1CC. I still mostly stand by [my 2021 impressions](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/esp-rade/ "‌") (and it’s still probably my least favorite mainline Cave shooter) but t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Legend of Zelda - Echoes of Wisdom]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-legend-of-zelda-echoes-of-wisdom/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-legend-of-zelda-echoes-of-wisdom/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 13 Oct 2024 04:45:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo, Switch, 2024

A new Zelda game using the visual style and perspective of the well-made 2019 remake of Link’s Awakening. You play as Princess Zelda in the role of a mage that can summon monsters and force-beam things around. Any kind of dir…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/66e4e09e8079f7005f81f0d8/attachments/66e4e0dba7b2e145fd0277a1/previews/66e4e0dca7b2e145fd0278bb/download/legend-of-zelda-echoes-of-wisdom-cover.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[R-Type Leo]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/r-type-leo/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/r-type-leo/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 09 Oct 2024 03:35:14 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nanao, Arcade, 1992

Very cool game. A Nanao-developed original shooter that was reworked mid-development into an R-Type game. This explains the big mechanical differences, but there’s still a good amount of overlap with the legendary series. Scroll…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/66d0f3107c4b9527e8133eb1/attachments/66d0f377049fab4c008c42b1/previews/66d0f378049fab4c008c477a/download/cde4af24-5e29-4a88-8b9c-a3af74059017.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[UFO 50]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/ufo-50/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/ufo-50/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 03 Oct 2024 17:46:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Mossmouth, PC, 2024

A new alternate-history collection of fifty 1980s games made for a fictional company’s gaming machine. Each title is accessible from the get-go, and the games run a pretty wide gamut: single-player games, (local) versus games, t…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/66eee0c846f62a6f186495fc/attachments/66f0943510d74fad874d57ca/previews/66f0943610d74fad874d57d6/download/logo_big.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The King of Dragons]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-king-of-dragons/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-king-of-dragons/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 29 Sep 2024 15:40:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Arcade, 1991

1CC'd with the Wizard.

A belt scroller released a couple years after Final Fight with a very D&D fantasy setting (only missing the license) and combat that strips the core mechanics down to a very raw level. The game uses two …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Crimson Diamond]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-crimson-diamond/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-crimson-diamond/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 21 Sep 2024 04:02:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Julia Minamata, PC, 2024

A new EGA-looking text-parsing adventure game centered about geology and murder in a 1910s Ontario ghost town, clearly inspired by The Colonel’s Bequest.

I had a really nice time with this. The setting, the environmentalis…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shadow of the Ninja - Reborn]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shadow-of-the-ninja-reborn/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shadow-of-the-ninja-reborn/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 06 Sep 2024 01:43:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tengo Project, PC, 2024

Can’t believe how much I liked this. Of all the Tengo Project games this is the biggest departure from the original. Level designs loosely follow old concepts, but the core mechanics, enemy designs, and visuals are radically…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Urban Reign]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/urban-reign/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/urban-reign/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 02 Sep 2024 15:53:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Namco Hometek, Playstation 2, 2005

Super unique melee action. This, Beat Down, and Final Fight: Streetwise have always been a blur in my head since they were all thematically similar and released at the same time, and this is the first of the three…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Strider Hiryu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/strider-hiryu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/strider-hiryu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 26 Aug 2024 01:04:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Arcade, 1989

A shockingly dense and messy action-platformer. Even by arcade standards it’s pretty terse (something like 18-ish minutes), and every moment is unique. It’s a super-fast series of inventive setpieces full of cool enemies and tr…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Zelda II: The Adventure of Link]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/zelda-ii-the-adventure-of-link/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/zelda-ii-the-adventure-of-link/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 19 Aug 2024 16:06:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo, NES and Famicom Disk System, 1988

Played the NES version, but I like the JP FDS box more.

The broad structure of the game is fascinating. I dabbled with this a little bit growing up so I knew it was a mixture of a world map and side-view…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Samurai Jack - Battle Through Time]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/samurai-jack-battle-through-time/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/samurai-jack-battle-through-time/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 16 Aug 2024 03:15:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Soleil, PC, 2020

A 3D melee action game with a pretty restrained scope. It feels like it had a tight budget, but there’s real Ninja Gaiden 2004 lineage here. I wasn’t looking for a huge commitment right now so I played through this on Normal, and u…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Strikers 1945 II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/strikers-1945-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/strikers-1945-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 15 Aug 2024 06:07:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Psikyo, Arcade, 1997

Played about as much of this as the first Strikers 1945, and it’s a pretty impressive step up from an already great game. Cooler plane variety, a new charge meter that limits the charge attacks but makes them faster to fire, an…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Volgarr the Viking]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/volgarr-the-viking/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/volgarr-the-viking/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 09 Aug 2024 16:00:32 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Crazy Viking Studios, PC, 2013

I really enjoyed my normal playthrough of this in 2013. It’s a tight, varied game with some well-paced high-tension checkpoints and fun core mechanics. I knew the game had a better ending involving an entirely  differ…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shiren-the-wanderer-the-mystery-dungeon-of-serpentcoil-island/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shiren-the-wanderer-the-mystery-dungeon-of-serpentcoil-island/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 29 Jul 2024 05:03:26 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Spike Chunsoft, Nintendo Switch, 2024

This is my third Shiren game, after playing the fifth back on the Vita and then later playing the fan translation of the second on the Nintendo 64. I appreciate Serpentcoil’s shift in approach from 5, giving yo…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/66914ec2aa49636c092a1689/attachments/66914f041127efcfac23586b/previews/66914f051127efcfac235878/download/a5ccf14637181f65fd2e8fb5c946310e27e3438725f78dc45af7d57a589f3403.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shinobi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shinobi/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shinobi/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 27 Jul 2024 15:29:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Arcade, 1987

I’ve played through most every home-original Shinobi game but decided I’d finally learn and 1CC the arcade original. It’s a pretty clear response to Rolling Thunder (a game I’ve only dabbled in), but there’s plenty of thematic an…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Contra: Operation Galuga]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/contra-operation-galuga/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/contra-operation-galuga/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 25 Jul 2024 18:39:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[WayForward, PC, 2024

WayForward’s second stab at the series. Being a modern HD game it doesn’t have two of Contra 4’s foundational issues: it’s not super claustrophobic (being widescreen instead of essentially 9:16), and it doesn’t have a super-biz…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dragon's Dogma 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/dragons-dogma-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/dragons-dogma-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 25 Jul 2024 18:39:39 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2024

Capcom’s second massive free-roaming fantasy action game feels like a beefier version of the original in an awful lot of ways, but it’s been a while since I played that first entry and I never wound up trying the expansion. The wor…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Helldivers II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/helldivers-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/helldivers-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 25 Jul 2024 18:39:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Arrowhead Game Studios, PC, 2024

A co-op third-person shooter about killing hordes of bugs and robots. Normally I’m not into horde-based games like this, but this has a lot of things going for it. The Starship Troopers theme is extremely well-execu…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gunforce]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gunforce/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gunforce/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 20 Jul 2024 21:54:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Arcade, 1991

A clear step on the road to Metal Slug, made by some Irem members that would go on to form Nazca. While there’s nothing too standout going on here, everything is snappy and breezy to learn, the presentation is sick, and the vehic…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/66948c42dd9a6f1cd6149912/attachments/66948c529c4fe1cc0fbff2b0/previews/66948c549c4fe1cc0fbff2bd/download/67cc2dfe-28ca-45ff-a058-d16cb02099e9.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Border Down]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/border-down/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/border-down/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 12 Jul 2024 00:09:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[G.Rev, Arcade, 2003

I’ve single-credit cleared another Naomi classic. I barely touched this back on release, but I put some time into it in 2022 and it’s been great to come back to.

Now that I’ve played through Metal Black, it seems like the clear…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Strikers 1945]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/strikers-1945/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/strikers-1945/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 10 Jul 2024 16:14:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Psikyo, Arcade, 1995

Psikyo’s classic vertical STG. I picked up a Strikers 1999 board and figured I’d put a little bit of time into the first two games before digging in, so I spent around 10-12 hours with this one. I know I’m skipping Gunbird here…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Boomerang X]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/boomerang-x/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/boomerang-x/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 09 Jul 2024 02:46:54 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[DANG!, PC, 2021

A neat first person action game about throwing and then launching yourself toward a boomerang. There’s a lot of slow motion, a lot of yanking yourself around these big arenas at high speeds, and a lot of lining up specific shots to …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[OverBlood]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/overblood/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/overblood/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 08 Jul 2024 06:09:23 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Riverhillsoft, Playstation, 1997

Was surprised by the pacing of this. It's a pretty slow adventure game set in a lot of bright, sterile sci-fi halls, but I was surprised at how effective the writing and small dashes of dashes of action were. It fee…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6629b484fd506d88b3017c2a/attachments/6629b49c1bb6e8f71d2750eb/previews/6629b49d1bb6e8f71d2751f9/download/98d06758-3bcf-402b-a2f7-db2a71965125.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Case of the Golden Idol]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-case-of-the-golden-idol/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-case-of-the-golden-idol/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 04 Jul 2024 02:14:26 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Color Gray Games, PC, 2022

An excellent detective game in which you review a scene and piece together what happened by arranging words on a “thinking” sheet of text and visuals. It doesn’t sound like much, but the scenes are cleverly laid out, the …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ninja Kamui]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/ninja-kamui/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/ninja-kamui/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 01 Jul 2024 03:30:49 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[G.Rev, Nintendo Switch, 2024

G.Rev’s latest, an action-platformer based on an anime I’d never heard of. The movement and combo mechanics make me think of the action scenes in Sakuna a little bit, but it’s a focused six stages and it’s peppered with…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/elden-ring-shadow-of-the-erdtree/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/elden-ring-shadow-of-the-erdtree/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 30 Jun 2024 16:36:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[FromSoftware, PC, 2024

What an expansion. What a game. The entirety of the expansion takes place on a new “Shadow Realm” world map. The Shadow Realm is only accessible once you’re pretty deep into the base game, so leveling up through runes doesn’t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shinrei Jusatsushi Taromaru]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shinrei-jusatsushi-taromaru/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shinrei-jusatsushi-taromaru/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 29 Jun 2024 02:49:50 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Time Warner Interactive, Sega Saturn, 1997

A wild Edo-era action-platformer with a dark, violent tone. The presentation here is really spectacular. It’s full of a lot of no-nonsense realistically-proportioned pixel art characters (think Clock Tower…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5520dc2f475e3d1d6574d124/attachments/657884c44cce054231739dc0/previews/657884c54cce054231739ec2/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Pulseman]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/pulseman/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/pulseman/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 25 Jun 2024 01:29:17 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Game Freak, Mega Drive, 1994

Pretty cool to try some pre-Pokemon Game Freak. Pulseman has a lot of the same spirit as Gunstar Heroes and a lot of similar character designs, but it feels a bit more stretched thin. There are some legit spectacular sc…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/667a1a9eaaa0db8735bdb5e9/attachments/667a1d1fb4757e8931776463/previews/667a1d20b4757e893177656b/download/03cfbdcc-6cfd-4b8f-9aea-a76a0636c483.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Magical Quest starring Mickey Mouse]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-magical-quest-starring-mickey-mouse/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-magical-quest-starring-mickey-mouse/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 20 Jun 2024 17:24:59 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Super Famicom, 1992

A polished, cute, and focused action-platformer where you play as Mickey as he gains new abilities (and thus entirely new outfits and animations) through the stages. There’s a lot of care here. It plays well to the hardw…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6674609987641448a0843632/attachments/6674622464417a210ad0eebd/previews/6674622664417a210ad0f184/download/39b268ef-0bbe-40c5-b9d2-abf3f0539e57.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Alpha Protocol]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/alpha-protocol/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/alpha-protocol/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 19 Jun 2024 04:28:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Obsidian, PC, 2010

Lots of potential with the dialogue system and the way the campaign is designed around your choices. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get into the actual missions part. Lots of corner peeking as you either wait to sneak or wait to shoot…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Contra 4]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/contra-4/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/contra-4/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 18 Jun 2024 03:50:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Wayforward, Nintendo DS, 2007

Weird game. Weird pacing. Lots of very obnoxious immediate ankle shots. Screen ratio is fucked, sprites are huge, everything is claustrophobic… and that’s before we get to the physical screen gap. By treating the space…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/65f13616fd65985aba539ca3/attachments/65f1361b8e589f59eb3fa3cd/previews/65f1361c8e589f59eb3fa43b/download/e51f31b6-4518-4e53-8b0a-4b2c00c14d6f.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gargoyle's Quest II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gargoyles-quest-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gargoyles-quest-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 11 Jun 2024 02:02:05 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Famicom, 1992

aka Red Arremer II

Better than the Game Boy game, but it still kinda runs at less than full speed the whole way through and I think the quest stuff wore thin too early this time around. The stage variety isn’t all that strong…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mushihimesama - Maniac]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/mushihimesama-maniac/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/mushihimesama-maniac/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Jun 2024 02:51:49 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2004

I cleared Original mode in 2015-ish, back when the Steam release dropped. I decided to go back and get the Maniac clear some nine years later and what a game! The time away helped the aesthetics feel completely fresh, and the Man…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Subnautica]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/subnautica/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/subnautica/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 31 May 2024 01:29:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Unknown Worlds, PC, 2016

An incredible game about exploring a vast alien ocean after surviving a spaceship crash. I was worried that I wouldn’t get into a something built around survival and crafting mechanics, but I’m glad I gave it a shot. It’s a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Crow Country]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/crow-country/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/crow-country/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 13 May 2024 15:37:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SBF Games, PC, 2024

Like Signalis, this is a great modern isometric take on classic Biohazard. Where Biohazard has its mansion and Signalis has its sci-fi facilities, Crow Country has its titular abandoned theme park.

The visuals are immediately s…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Viewtiful Joe]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/viewtiful-joe/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/viewtiful-joe/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 11 May 2024 01:15:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, GameCube, 2003

Kamiya’s third director credit. An action game with a similar structure to Devil May Cry. The presentation is bold and unique, with a cute tokusatsu film reel theme that leans hard into cel shading and pitch black shadows. St…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Children of the Sun]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/children-of-the-sun/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/children-of-the-sun/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 07 May 2024 01:45:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[René Rother, PC, 2024

A unique puzzle game about killing a bunch of cultists with one bullet. The game builds up rules around how the bullet can be controlled, and the stage complexity ramps up pretty well up to a solid and satisfying final stage. …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[War of Aero]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/war-of-aero/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/war-of-aero/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 05 May 2024 23:39:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Allumer, Arcade, 1993

look at this flyer lmao. Just flagrantly bootlegging Image Fight’s art. And the game is an Image Fight clone, but I suspect that Image Fight is much cooler. There’s an initial appeal to this, and there are some very neat touch…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Muchi Muchi Pork!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/muchi-muchi-pork/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/muchi-muchi-pork/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 30 Apr 2024 17:18:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2007

La Calice Cup 8 gave me a great reason to return to this. It’s been a little over 12 years since I cleared the Xbox 360 port’s easier “1.01” mode with Rafute. This time we’re playing the arcade original and I decided to shoot for…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Libros de Chilam Balam]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/libros-de-chilam-balam/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/libros-de-chilam-balam/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 29 Apr 2024 03:04:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Right Stuff, NEC PC-9801, 1992

The incredibly sick cover art got me interested. The opening was cool. And then… it was a traditional JRPG. A snappy enough one, but I didn’t like the characters and the towns/environments were pretty samey. I had to …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gadget: Invention, Travel, & Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gadget-invention-travel-and-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gadget-invention-travel-and-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 23 Apr 2024 01:40:10 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Synergy Inc, Macintosh, 1993

A Japanese CD-ROM adventure game released around a month after Myst. It’s got a similar early CG look and feel, but the environments are way more linear and there is, no joke, only a single puzzle in here. A comically h…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Baldur's Gate 3]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/baldurs-gate-3/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/baldurs-gate-3/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 21 Apr 2024 01:34:33 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Larian, PC, 2023

A massive game to follow the Divinity: Original Sin duo. I only reached the end of Act 1, but that took over 20 hours so I figured I should give my impressions.

Famously this game has an interesting cast of characters with excelle…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dynamite Duke]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/dynamite-duke/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/dynamite-duke/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 19 Apr 2024 05:12:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Seibu Kaihatsu, 1989, Arcade

A fascinating Cabal-like with striking visuals. Big, detailed sprites and sick animations end to end. The main differentiating point here is the focus on melee, with boss fights almost feeling like a more analog version…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Salamander]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/salamander/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/salamander/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 26 Mar 2024 02:32:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1986

I put a handful of hours into this after clearing Gradius II, and I have to admit I didn’t know exactly how MUCH of a Gradius game this was. I had a great time with Salamander 2 a couple years back, and despite being ten years …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gradius II: GOFER no Yabou]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gradius-ii-gofer-no-yabou/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gradius-ii-gofer-no-yabou/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 26 Mar 2024 02:28:54 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1988

What a great sequel. The rough edges are filed down a little from the first game, but difficulty is way up all around. Rank management is a factor, but a simple one. You get a variety of ships to choose from, each unique enough…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Star Wars: Dark Forces]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/star-wars-dark-forces/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/star-wars-dark-forces/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 21 Mar 2024 22:58:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[LucasArts, Windows, 1995

A Star Wars FPS with a very Doom-style raycasting engine. Even outside of the technology, though, Doom is the clear starting point. The movement is fast and slippery and the maps are big and striking. The presentation is pr…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Oni]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/oni/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/oni/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 13 Mar 2024 05:00:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bungie, PC, 2001

I have vague memories of Oni’s release, complete with it getting made fun of by Penny Arcade. Not long after I picked up a copy out of a bargain bin but only wound up playing the first level or so. Given how much belt scrollers and…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[G Darius]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/g-darius/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/g-darius/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 08 Mar 2024 21:13:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1997

This was the last of the main arcade Darius games for me to play, and I think it wound up being the best. It’s a standout in so many ways!

Despite the single-screen factor, the presentation is incredible. Immediately I was floo…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Disaster Report]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/disaster-report/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/disaster-report/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 02 Mar 2024 19:27:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Playstation 2, 2002

aka Zettai Zetsumei Toshi

This reminded me of something Human would make. Something like Septentrion or a little bit like Clock Tower. Your train gets derailed by a massive earthquake and you have to navigate the crumblin…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tekken 8]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/tekken-8/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/tekken-8/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 28 Feb 2024 16:49:57 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bandai Namco, PC, 2024

We all know what’s going on here. Good music. Massively beefy hits. Characters and moves you’ve been seeing since 1995, but with some cool new redesigns. A new Heat system (not to be confused with Rage) that lets you enter a …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/i-have-no-mouth-and-i-must-scream/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/i-have-no-mouth-and-i-must-scream/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 27 Feb 2024 04:22:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cyber Dreams, MS-DOS, 1995

A unique adventure game where you play as five humans trapped by a hateful, planet-encompassing AI. It’s very uneven: interactions are awkward, cues sometimes feel more obscure than intended, the pacing is super jacked, a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Metal Black]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/metal-black/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/metal-black/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 25 Feb 2024 22:11:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1991

The presentation here is pretty monumental. The opening stage is set in the desolate ruins of a city, played alongside this beautiful and somber track.  You then rocket off into space (presented as a very flashy bonus stage) to …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bruce Lee (C64)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/bruce-lee-c64/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/bruce-lee-c64/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 18 Feb 2024 02:47:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Datasoft Inc, Commodore 64, 1984

An impressive early American action-platformer. Reminds me of Shadow of the Beast in that it’s terse, arcade-structured (complete with permadeath), and has a simple movelist. Surprisingly nice environment and obstac…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Almana no Kiseki]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/almana-no-kiseki/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/almana-no-kiseki/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 16 Feb 2024 23:27:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Famicom Disk System, 1987

An FDS action-platformer with a very goofy grappling hook mechanic. It’s not quite like Bionic Commando: you still have a small hop, there’s no swinging, the hook gets thrown out in a very rigid fashion, and you’re…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[DoDonPachi DaiOuJou]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/dodonpachi-daioujou/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/dodonpachi-daioujou/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Feb 2024 05:14:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2002

After about 50 hours of direct play time, I got the one-loop clear of the original “White Label” version of DoDonPachi DaiOuJou. My ship selection was B-Exy.

It’s a masterpiece. It has a reputation as one, and I think it’s easy …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Thunder Force V]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/thunder-force-v/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/thunder-force-v/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 09 Feb 2024 18:36:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tecno Soft, Saturn, 1997

I picked this up real cheap back in the 90s, during the brief period of time when Funcoland or EB or whatever was selling Japanese Saturn games. It was always incredibly cool to me. The music is sick, the stage openings are…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Advanced Busterhawk Gleylancer]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/advanced-busterhawk-gleylancer/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/advanced-busterhawk-gleylancer/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 09 Feb 2024 18:34:49 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Masaya, Mega Drive, 1992

A sick game. It might be Thunder Force III tier? Similar in difficulty to TF3, so nothing too difficult on Normal, but it’s got lots of cool stage designs (arguably better ones), great music, some really stunning background…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/like-a-dragon-infinite-wealth/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/like-a-dragon-infinite-wealth/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 09 Feb 2024 18:18:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, PC, 2024

This game’s inclusion of Spikeout as a minigame caused me to pull the trigger and I decided to give the main game an honest shot despite my history of not being able to get into traditional JRPGs. I tried. I think I’d…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tomb Raider II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/tomb-raider-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/tomb-raider-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 30 Jan 2024 02:55:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[CORE Design, Playstation, 1997

I liked the idea of Tomb Raider with a decent spread of stages outside of tombs, but unfortunately this wasn’t very fun in practice. It’s still Tomb Raider, it’s still a solid foundation, but these villa and industria…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Alan Wake II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/alan-wake-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/alan-wake-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 20 Jan 2024 22:41:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Remedy, PC, 2023

This is probably up there with Control as the two best post-Payne Remedy games, and it serves as a good compliment. Where Control is a game with a lot of dashing and hip-firing, this is more of a Resident Evil 4 with precision shoo…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Biohazard: Gun Survivor]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/biohazard-gun-survivor/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/biohazard-gun-survivor/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 08 Jan 2024 01:26:32 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[TOSE, Playstation, 2000

An ambitious attempt at making a free-movement first-person shooter with a light gun based control scheme. It’s kinda like an early 90s console game in that the whole thing is just a couple hours long, very linear, and you h…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Relics]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/relics/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/relics/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 01 Jan 2024 23:27:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bothtec, PC-98, 1986

Originally released on PC-98 but ported to other platforms shortly after. This is a pretty mysterious game, very deliberately not telling the player much and with a manual that encourages the player to explore, but I found the …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Finals]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-finals/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-finals/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 2023 23:28:58 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Embark Studios, PC, 2023

Traditional multiplayer FPS (as in, not BR or extraction) with teams of three, highly destructible maps, and a relatively long time to kill. The destruction is the main element that stands out, for sure, and it’s fun as hel…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/avatar-frontiers-of-pandora/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/avatar-frontiers-of-pandora/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 2023 22:27:49 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Massive Entertainment, PC, 2023

This is kinda Far Cry adjacent and it’s been a while since I’ve played one of those. The Na’vi movement is pretty cool, the mech enemies are formidable, the world is gorgeous, and the genre trappings are executed wit…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shinobi Non Grata]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shinobi-non-grata/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shinobi-non-grata/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 27 Dec 2023 05:14:10 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Studio PICO, PC, 2023

A tight action-platformer. Player movement is breezy, the animation is nice, and the special attacks you cycle through are pretty mechanically distinct and flavorful. The structure of the game is something like Alien Soldier o…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Jigoku Gokurakumaru]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/jigoku-gokurakumaru/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/jigoku-gokurakumaru/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 20 Dec 2023 05:38:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Human Entertainment, Famicom, 1990

A pretty solid action-platformer. It’s hard to say it’s one of the best on the system (that’s an incredibly high bar) but it’s got a cool theme, nice Batman-style environment art with a bit more guts factor, a fun…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Blood West]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/blood-west/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/blood-west/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 18 Dec 2023 01:24:54 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Hyperstrange, PC, 2023

A System Shock style first-person action game with a wild west horror theme. You’ve got a big inventory grid, leaning, stealth, and a skill tree. And from the lense of Shock-style design the game is pretty well-executed. Comb…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sonic Wings]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/sonic-wings/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/sonic-wings/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 17 Dec 2023 05:34:16 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Video Systems, Arcade, 1992

You can really see the beginning of Psikyo here. A focused shooting game with a fun cast of unique characters, early stage randomization, breakneck pacing, and huge, sick bosses. There are rough edges here that aren’t in…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hi-Fi Rush]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/hi-fi-rush/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/hi-fi-rush/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 11 Dec 2023 07:04:22 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tango Gameworks, PC, 2023

(Played on Very Hard, which I didn’t even have to unlock!)

Lead designer Masaaki Yamada uses Devil May Cry as a starting point (which he was a planner on back in the day) and adds all these little mechanics built around h…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Northern Journey]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/northern-journey/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/northern-journey/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:46 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Slid Studio, PC, 2021

This was a huge surprise. Not unlike Cruelty Squad it's pretty rough-edged, but not quite as hostile. There's a noisy visual style that holds up incredibly considering it's all done with a very vertex color approach. Some real…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[BOPPING DRIVE]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bopping-drive/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bopping-drive/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[David "Tain" Williams, PC, 2021

A nice exercise in keeping scope down and not stressing myself out. I set out to make something small and polished and I'm proud of the results.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Toree 3D + Toree 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/toree-3d-toree-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/toree-3d-toree-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Siactro, PC, 2021

A well-made basic linear 3D platformer with cute and clean visuals. There's not a ton noteworthy here, but the linear 3D platforming genre is still small enough to make this worth a quick runthrough. 

Sequel is largely the same, …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Halo Infinite (Versus)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/halo-infinite-versus/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/halo-infinite-versus/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[343i, PC, 2021

When it comes down to it, this is the first time I've played Halo consistently with a regular group of friends. I don't have a lot of knowledge about the competitive modes in older games. This has been fun as hell, though.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shiren the Wanderer 2: Oni Invasion! Shiren Castle!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/shiren-the-wanderer-2-oni-invasion-shiren-castle/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/shiren-the-wanderer-2-oni-invasion-shiren-castle/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:23 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Chunsoft, Nintendo 64, 2000

This one took ages, but what a game. I loved Shiren 5 back in 2016 when I played the English Vita release, but a fan translation of this appeared this year.

Being an N64 game the presentation is pretty drastically diffe…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Psychonauts 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/psychonauts-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/psychonauts-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Double Fine, PC, 2021

Surprisingly dense world. I like the lack of HUD highlights combined with the surplus of signposting. 

Game doesn't seem to do much layering of mechanics or make any real attempt at getting more difficult, sadly.

Extremely d…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Steel Assault]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/steel-assault/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/steel-assault/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Zenovia Interactive, PC, 2021

Fantastic action-platformer. Pretty top-tier aesthetically, with lots of smooth animation, gorgeous backgrounds, and a face-melting Thunderforce 4 style soundtrack. Stages are extremely dense, sometimes approaching a M…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Metroid Dread]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/metroid-dread/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/metroid-dread/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[MercurySteam, Switch, 2021

Dread winds up being a fantastic action game due to its constant, intense, and creative boss fights and overall excellent animation. Samus gets a lot of unique abilities and the bosses push you to use them in all sorts of…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Outer Wilds: Echoes of the Eye]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/outer-wilds-echoes-of-the-eye/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/outer-wilds-echoes-of-the-eye/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Mobius Digital, PC, 2021

A fantastic expansion to the original, fleshing out the universe's history a bit while having the player solve a detached but still grand mystery in an alien ring world. The structure set up by the original is here, and the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Deathloop]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/deathloop/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/deathloop/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:29:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Arkane Studios, PC, 2021

This is an interesting one. At its core, it's a Dishonored-style action-stealth game but leaning more toward the action this time and for the better. The abilities are fun, mayhem is encouraged via dumb enemy AI and lots of…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Jupiter Hell]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/jupiter-hell/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/jupiter-hell/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:29:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[ChaosForge, PC, 2021

An incredible roguelike. This is a much smaller and more focused game than a lot of the western-made ASCII classics, but there's a ton of variety when it comes to viable character builds and the combat rules are elegant and wel…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Game Builder Garage]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/game-builder-garage/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/game-builder-garage/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:29:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo, Switch, 2021

As to be expected, this is an extremely cute game construction kit. Dreams is the obvious comparison, and while this doesn't give users anywhere near as much freedom, there's still plenty of power here and it comes with a cha…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cruelty Squad]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cruelty-squad/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cruelty-squad/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:29:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Consumer Softproducts, PC, 2021

it's 2021 and games are looking like shit on purpose. It's successful at looking and sounding repugnant, it's got a pretty fun theme, and there's an impressive amount of complexity to the stages. Extremely anachronis…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Guilty Gear Strive]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/guilty-gear-strive/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/guilty-gear-strive/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:29:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Arc System Works, PC, 2021…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Resident Evil 8]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/resident-evil-8/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/resident-evil-8/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:28:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2021

Great game. Built on 7 perfectly by being far more consistent and using a wonderful hub area to guide the player through a handful of mechanically and thematically varied dungeons. The cast of enemies is great and has a huge amount…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Nioh 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/nioh-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/nioh-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:28:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Team Ninja, PC, 2021

A step up from the first game for sure. Lots of cool bosses and great core combat mechanics. Unfortunately, it doesn't fix the major problem of the first game: it's stretched out far, far longer than it should be.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ghosts n Goblins Resurrection]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ghosts-n-goblins-resurrection/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ghosts-n-goblins-resurrection/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:28:22 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2021  
aka Kaettekita Makaimura

Great game. It's not an arcade-built game at all, but the divergences are well thought-out and deeply tied into the game's difficulty levels. You're encouraged to start by trying on Legend mode (both the …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bowser's Fury]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bowsers-fury/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bowsers-fury/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:28:17 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo, Switch, 2021

This was good. Probably the right length, and I wonder how they could build a game with the same core that holds up to be much longer, but the world this takes place in feels like it's made up of my favorite kind of side-cour…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cyber Shadow]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cyber-shadow/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cyber-shadow/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:28:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Aarne "MekaSkull" Hunziker, PC, 2021

This might have some of the best Famicom-style visuals of any modern game I can think of. It delivers visually on those Kickstarter shots of Steel Assault (where this game got its start before Steel Assault swit…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hitman 3]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/hitman-3/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/hitman-3/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:57 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[IO Interactive, PC, 2021

It's absolutely more of the same, but the six stages of Hitman 3 are mostly huge, all great, and have some high points for the trilogy. I love how the stages from the prior two Hitman releases are neatly merged into this on…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Midnight Suns]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/midnight-suns/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/midnight-suns/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Firaxis Games, PC, 2022

I think the core combat of this game is really, really cool. The positioning and environmental attack stuff is very fun and clever and super unique. Unfortunately, everything stringing the missions together feels like grind-…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[God of War: Ragnarock]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/god-of-war-ragnarock/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/god-of-war-ragnarock/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Santa Monica Studio, Playstation 4, 2022

This is good in the same areas that the first game is. The core combat is pretty fun and satisfying, they’ve added a cool new weapon in the spear, and they brought in some welcome enemy variety. There are pl…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Signalis]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/signalis/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/signalis/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:26 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[rose-engine, PC, 2022

A fantastic game in the style of the original Biohazard. Helping it stand out is an extremely unique look and atmosphere that leans heavily on blurring the line between pixel art and 3D. There’s an even stronger focus on puzzl…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bayonetta 3]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bayonetta-3/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bayonetta-3/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:22 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[PlatinumGames, Switch, 2022

Refreshing to play a game like this again. Lots of ideas crammed into this one (reflecting the long development time), but it’s all wrangled together very well. The kaiju mechanics help it stand out from the first two, E…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Scorn]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/scorn/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/scorn/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ebb Software, PC, 2022

This is an extremely visually accomplished game. Just a really thorough and stunning take on Giger's style. Unfortunately, the game's puzzles and combat are two mechanical halves that fit together terribly. If it had only one…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Kevin Costner's Waterworld]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/kevin-costners-waterworld/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/kevin-costners-waterworld/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Macaw45, PC, 2022

Macaw45's action game based on the Waterworld arcade game gag from The Simpsons. You take big steps one at a time, you have very specific punch timing, and the obstacles get very silly. Every time you die you have to manually inse…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Return to Monkey Island]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/return-to-monkey-island/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/return-to-monkey-island/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Terrible Toybox, PC, 2022  

Return to Monkey Island is really good. Visuals won me over in motion, it does just the right amount of streamlining, it's charming throughout with occasional genuinely funny moments, and I really liked the ending.

I th…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Last Call BBS]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/last-call-bbs/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/last-call-bbs/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Zachtronics, PC, 2022

It's not often that a development studio declares a game as their final release. This is a fascinating collection of games that are all solid ideas and well-polished, even if not always fully fleshed out. A couple highlights f…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rumbleverse]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rumbleverse/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rumbleverse/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Iron Galaxy, PC, 2022

What a unique thing. Really cool core mechanics. Endlessly fun to climb around, chuck items at people, slam people into cars, tackle people off of buildings, whip people to your friends, etc. Deceptively complex for sure, and …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[ROLLERDROME]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rollerdrome/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rollerdrome/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Roll7, PC, 2022

Really good Tony Hawk style skating game that manages to bring in a layer of bullet-time third-person shooting. The skating stuff is kind, not allowing you to bail and basically only having flip tricks and grinds, but the way the tr…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Paradise Killer]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/paradise-killer/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/paradise-killer/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:29 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Kaizen Game Works, PC, 2022

A neat adventure game where you hop around a vaporwave island of the gods using Quake controls to gather as much evidence as you feel like prior to initiating a trial. The music is wonderful and the visuals are pretty we…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[COMPOUND]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/compound/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/compound/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bevan McKechnie, PC VR, 2022

Cleared on Hard. Incredible. Fun to learn weapons, well-balanced between physical and artificial movement, tons of little quirks to learn about the enemies and environments they're placed in, and one of the best executi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Stray]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/stray/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/stray/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[BlueTwelve Studio, PC, 2022

Cute, gorgeous game. Mostly a very atmospheric walking sim with light puzzles and action.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Yurukill: The Calumniation Games]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/yurukill-the-calumniation-games/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/yurukill-the-calumniation-games/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[IzanagiGames and G.Rev, PC, 2022

What a unique game. The basic idea is that it's a Danganronpa-style visual novel only with the trial scenes replaced by a full-ass 2D shooting game designed by Border Down director Hiroyuki Maruyama. 

The VN side o…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Knight's Try]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/knights-try/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/knights-try/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Modus Interactive, PC, 2022

This might be a 3D platforming all-timer. 

You play as a goofy, tired, and faceless onion knight trying to ascend a massive floating course full of jumps, traps, and enemies. The core mechanics are simple: basic movemen…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/cuphead-the-delicious-last-course/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/cuphead-the-delicious-last-course/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Studio MDHR, PC, 2022

Really good expansion to the original. They went all out with most of these bosses, and the final boss in particular is incredible. Couldn't get into the new character's controls, but she does seem mechanically distinct.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Neon White]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/neon-white/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/neon-white/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Angel Matrix, PC, 2022

Very unique first-person action game featuring Trackmania-style stages strung together with visual novel sequences. 

Each stage has you running, jumping, and shooting around a porcelain course in the heavens. There are medal…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Drainus]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/drainus/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/drainus/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Team Ladybug, PC, 2022

Gorgeous gorgeous game but mechanically inelegant and largely about mashing absorb instead of dodging. I probably won't be going back to it.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/stranger-of-paradise-final-fantasy-origin/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/stranger-of-paradise-final-fantasy-origin/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Team Ninja, PC, 2022 

A Team Ninja game that serves as a prequel of sorts to the original Final Fantasy. I wasn't the biggest fan of Nioh or Nioh 2, but I enjoyed this a good amount more. 

The core combat here is pretty fun. The basis is a fairly …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ghostwire: Tokyo]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ghostwire-tokyo/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ghostwire-tokyo/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:21 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tango, PC, 2022

It's no TEW but there's something nice about the simple lock-on + parry combat between all the building-climbing. It's surprisingly distinct despite the broader open world structure. 

This is probably best on Tatari, where the game…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Elden Ring]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/elden-ring/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/elden-ring/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:14 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[FromSoftware, PC, 2022

Jesus Christ. This game is gigantic, yet consistently good. It's dense. There's something interesting in every nook and cranny. You'll see repeated bosses and other elements, but the game justifies it and changes plenty of ot…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Akai Katana Exa Label]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/akai-katana-exa-label/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/akai-katana-exa-label/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Team EXA-AM2, Arcade, 2022

Like with DoDonPachi Saidaioujou Exa Label, the Exa release of Akai Katana does an excellent job of porting the 2010 original by shedding the egregious slowdown, gathering existing arrange modes (one of which tastef…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The King of Fighters XV]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/the-king-of-fighters-xv/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/the-king-of-fighters-xv/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SNK, PC, 2022

I like the autocombos, I like the new characters, I like the visuals. I'm not going to play a ton of this but it seems good.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sifu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sifu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sifu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sloclap, PC, 2022  


The main draw here is this very unique, flashy, and stylish combat (kinda reminiscent of Arkham Asylum but with some GOD HAND thrown in) combined with a really high difficulty level. You'll learn all about weapons, crushing gua…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/serious-sam-siberian-mayhem/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/serious-sam-siberian-mayhem/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Timelock Studio, PC, 2022 

It's more of Sam 4, but with slightly tighter pacing (it's shorter overall) and better vehicle segments. It rules. Maybe the boss fights are a little weaker.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Robocop: Rogue City]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/robocop-rogue-city/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/robocop-rogue-city/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Teyon, PC, 2023

What a nice surprise this was. Absolutely has the energy of a Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay or a Wolfenstein: The New Order. It’s a focused and linear FPS that intelligently uses genre conventions without sticking t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/like-a-dragon-gaiden-the-man-who-erased-his-name/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/like-a-dragon-gaiden-the-man-who-erased-his-name/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:50 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, PC, 2023

I liked the sound of a shorter Yakuza game going into this one, but in practice it’s a bit of a letdown. Too much time is spent introducing the player to side quest and minigame stuff and it all feels like leftovers. …]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Air Twister]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/air-twister/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/air-twister/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ys Net, PC, 2023

Initially an Apple Arcade game, Yu Suzuki’s new rail shooter is now on PC and consoles. The presentation is surprisingly good! Environments look nice, enemy designs are inspired, and the soundtrack is all original ELO-ish stuff wit…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Mario Bros. Wonder]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/super-mario-bros-wonder/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/super-mario-bros-wonder/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo EPD, Nintendo Switch, 2023

Pretty good. Nothing too surprising, but it’s well-made and the new presentation is refreshing compared to New Super Mario Bros U. As always the new power-ups are fun and well-explored by the stages they’re place…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Slay the Princess]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/slay-the-princess/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/slay-the-princess/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Black Tabby Games, PC, 2023

A nice, terse visual novel with a very dynamic feel. Well-executed with a unique look and narration. I don’t want to say much about what actually goes on here, but by the end of the fairly short play time it winds up sat…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Trepang2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/trepang2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/trepang2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Trepang Studios, PC, 2023

A well-made successor to FEAR that, going by memory, turns all the dials up. Extremely satisfying weapons, environmental destruction, and hit reactions. Surprisingly good boss fights, especially the final boss. Thankfully,…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Void Stranger]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/void-stranger/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/void-stranger/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[System Erasure, PC, 2023

ZeroRanger is one of my favorite games of 2018 and one of the best home-exclusive 2D shooting games I can think of, so I had to immediately hop on Void Stranger despite it being a huge departure. It uses Game Boy classic Ca…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/armored-core-vi-fires-of-rubicon/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/armored-core-vi-fires-of-rubicon/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:27 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[FromSoftware, PC, 2023

A big new release that snuck up on me. My Armored Core experience prior to this consisted of playing the four 360-generation entries, which I generally enjoyed.

What struck me most about Armored Core 6 was how finely From ro…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[En Garde!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/en-garde/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/en-garde/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Fireplace Games, PC, 2023

A very charming third-person swashbuckling game. It’s a bit like Sifu, but with simpler (yet still very clear and slick-looking) swordfighting mechanics and none of the meta-layer inelegance. A particularly neat touch is t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bomb Rush Cyberfunk]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/bomb-rush-cyberfunk/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/bomb-rush-cyberfunk/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Team Reptile, PC, 2023

Wish I liked this more. This is clearly using Jet Set Radio Future as a starting point, and I’d say that it makes some clear improvements by changing up the structure a bit. The tricks and trick-related challenges are more fu…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Pseudoregalia]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/pseudoregalia/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/pseudoregalia/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:18 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[rittzler, PC, 2023

This is a nice time. I don't like it as much as Knight's Try when it comes to recent 3d platformer-adjacent stuff but it does a pretty good job of making a roughly Souls-style connected world with distinct-enough areas out of a t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Protodroid Delta]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/protodroid-delta/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/protodroid-delta/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Adam Kareem, PC, 2023

This was a neat linear 3D action-platformer with well thought-out movement and combat. Charge attacks require energy that you can regenerate through melee, and there’s a lot of neat variety to the enemy behaviors. Dash-jumping…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Street Fighter 6]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/street-fighter-6/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/street-fighter-6/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:05 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2023

World Tour mode is pretty solid. It’s not great, not Tobal 2, but better than any fighting game campaign mode I can point to in the past couple decades. I don’t really like talking about fighting games in too much detail because I …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo EAD, Switch, 2023

Something special. An improvement on BotW in so many ways. The deeply flexible and optional BotW campaign has been expanded on not primarily through more or better dungeons (though there are more and they are better), but…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Star Wars Jedi: Survivor]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/star-wars-jedi-survivor/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/star-wars-jedi-survivor/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:22:59 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Respawn, PC, 2023

A good iteration on Fallen Order. It’s bigger and has a more complex hub, but the main campaign doesn’t lose any of the focus from the first game. The hardest difficulty demanded a little too much perfection so I dropped it down t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Lattice Rider NEPHILA]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/lattice-rider-nephila/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/lattice-rider-nephila/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:22:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[David “Tain” Williams, PC, 2023

I made this game over ten days for Bullet Hell Jam 2023. I wanted to practice low-fi 3D visuals and some 2D shooting game stage design, and overall I’m super happy with the results. If I made this into a full project…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Resident Evil 4 (2023)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/resident-evil-4-2023/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/resident-evil-4-2023/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:22:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2023

I loved the Resident Evil 2 remake largely because it built a fantastic new game using mostly just the skeleton of the original. It was a huge departure in tons of ways. This is a very well-made game, but it simply can’t be as exci…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Wanted: Dead]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/wanted-dead/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/wanted-dead/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:22:17 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Soleil, PC, 2023

A 3D melee action and third person shooter hybrid set in future Hong Kong, developed by some ex Team Ninja guys minus Itagaki. It doesn’t feel as much like Devil’s Third as I expected it to, and I think it does some key things bett…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/vengeful-guardian-moonrider/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/vengeful-guardian-moonrider/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:22:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[JoyMasher, PC, 2023

I was hoping this would be a lean and 1cc-focusable game like Blazing Chrome, but it turns out it’s more like Rockman X than anything else. The visuals are gorgeous and the theme is cool as hell, but both the stages and boss fig…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Lunacid]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/lunacid/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/lunacid/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:08:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[KIRA LLC, PC, 2023

I’ve only played the first and a bit of the second King’s Field games, which Lunacid takes a lot from, and it does an admirable job of creating that sense of mystery that pulls me through so many of From’s games. This is a little…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Baroque (Saturn)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/baroque-saturn/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/baroque-saturn/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 04:55:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sting, Saturn, 1998

Dark and moody action game with (and I don’t throw this term out lightly) roguelike elements. It’s basically like if Shiren the Wanderer had far slower and realtime first-person combat to space out all the cool decisions. It’s r…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gunbird]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/gunbird/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/gunbird/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 08 Dec 2023 17:53:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Psikyo, Arcade, 1994

This was a really fun game to learn. Being Psikyo’s second shooter it’s notably less complex than the games that would come later, but it’s also a pretty big step above their already-solid Sengoku Ace. You’ll see a lot of the P…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[D/Generation]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dgeneration/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dgeneration/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 03 Dec 2023 21:38:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Robert Cook, DOS, 1991

Played about half of this. It’s a pretty clever combination of small-scale room puzzles and action that leans into avoiding traps, but eventually the behavior of the Survivors really started to wear on me and there are some p…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dynamite Deka 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dynamite-deka-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dynamite-deka-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 11 Nov 2023 04:43:32 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM1, Arcade, 1998

Played both the Model 2 original and the Dreamcast port, which has a pretty different look to it.

Sequel to the 1996 masterpiece. Despite being a 1998 release this was built for the then-old but still powerful Model 2 arcade…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Magnetic Neo]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/super-magnetic-neo/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/super-magnetic-neo/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 11 Nov 2023 04:35:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Genki, Dreamcast, 2000

A surprisingly tough Crash Bandicoot style 3D platformer with a neat magnet polarity gimmick. Like with Crash there are some rough edges (stuff like not being able to magnetize while holding the run button), but overall I thi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Clock Tower 3]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/clock-tower-3/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/clock-tower-3/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 11 Nov 2023 04:35:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Playstation 2, 2003

I played Haunting Ground a lifetime ago and really liked it, and I’ve always loved the first Clock Tower game in particular, so I figured it was time to finally play this. It’s good! Being developed by a team from a diff…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Raiden DX]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/raiden-dx/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/raiden-dx/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 10 Nov 2023 02:13:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Seibu Kaihatsu, Arcade, 1994

An enhanced/arranged version of Raiden 2, often pointed to as the one to play. I didn’t clear it but put a good chunk of time into it for Calice Cup. It’s insanely lush, pretty tough, and has a ridiculous list of scorin…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Karateka]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/karateka/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/karateka/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 11 Oct 2023 03:50:22 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jordan Mechner, Apple II, 1984

A breakthrough game in terms of presentation, but I think it’s clear that Prince of Persia was the real masterpiece. The entire structure here is a brief, straight-shot left-to-right series of karate fights with a cou…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dr. Toppel's Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dr-toppels-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dr-toppels-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 11 Oct 2023 01:34:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Kaneko, Arcade, 1987

this is a rough STG man. Cute designs, a neat option-placement concept, and it’s kinda unique in how all the bullets are tiny and crawl real slow… but the sprites look crazy sparse with almost no animation, there’s zero time to…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gokujou Parodius]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/gokujou-parodius/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/gokujou-parodius/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 10 Oct 2023 20:51:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1994

Played for Calice Cup 7.

The second of the three arcade Parodius games. Normally I’d have preferred to put more time into the predecessor Parodius Da!, but I’m told this series got easier with each entry so maybe it’s for the …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dynamite Deka]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dynamite-deka/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dynamite-deka/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 28 Sep 2023 19:59:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM1, Arcade, 1996. aka Die Hard Arcade

It feels like Dynamite Deka is often considered a footnote, but I really think this is a milestone in 3D melee action.

Belt scrollers were always 3D in a mechanics sense, but being built fully around pol…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Deep Fear]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/deep-fear/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/deep-fear/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 21 Sep 2023 03:19:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega CS2, Saturn, 1998

Really wish this was good! Deep Fear is a Biohazard-style fixed camera horror game set in an undersea base. Cool premise, and much of it is pretty well-executed with detailed environments, smooth-moving gouraud-shaded charact…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5f7e788c39918d1a09169da2/attachments/646c48f8438b54b0bb0b16dd/previews/646c48fa438b54b0bb0b16ee/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Nosferatu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/nosferatu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/nosferatu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 19 Aug 2023 03:41:16 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SETA Co., Super Famicom, 1994

Unhinged and wonderful. The most concise way I can describe Nosferatu is that it’s like Prince of Persia with slightly more granular movement and an emphasis on a unique, hefty hand-to-hand combat system. The presentat…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Prince of Persia (PC-98)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/prince-of-persia-pc-98/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/prince-of-persia-pc-98/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 10 Aug 2023 04:28:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Broderbund Software and Arsys Software, PC-98, 1990

This is my first time fully playing any form of Prince of Persia. I landed on this version because it was one of the earliest ports, it adds a soundtrack, and the PC-98’s grimy audio hardware and …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Eliza]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/eliza/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/eliza/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 09 Aug 2023 21:05:29 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Zachtronics, PC, 2019

Obviously not the usual Zachtronics game and has a pretty distinct theme for a VN. Looking back I don’t know that it went where it needed to.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6319680b0b3d6c020e8a2300/attachments/6319680d0b3d6c020e8a31e3/previews/6319680d0b3d6c020e8a31e9/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dracula Densetsu II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dracula-densetsu-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dracula-densetsu-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 09 Aug 2023 18:43:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Game Boy, 1991, aka Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge

This is a step up from the first Game Boy game in a lot of ways, but the most noticeable are the tech improvements. It looks nicer, with some seriously impressive backgrounds, and it mos…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/61fcc332af3eeb3cd296a203/attachments/61fcc34dfef0a6743bd253b8/previews/61fcc34efef0a6743bd253f2/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Punisher]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-punisher/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-punisher/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 31 Jul 2023 04:18:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Arcade, 1993

So sick. The lush animation and excellent voice samples work hand-in-hand to make the heavy hits satisfying. I can’t think of any move in anything I’ve played recently that’s more fun to land than the Punisher’s perfectly-timed…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dangun Feveron]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dangun-feveron/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dangun-feveron/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 19 Jul 2023 17:27:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 1998

This is wonderful. As with Guwange, there’s nothing else in Cave’s library that feels like it. It’s the last of their games to primarily use traditional pixel art, and is utterly stuffed with awesome chunky-looking ships on top o…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/62944eec98c5f975395307bf/attachments/62944efe5a8cca58e38cf090/previews/62944f005a8cca58e38cf0b6/download/DangunFeveron_Flyer_front.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Baldur's Gate]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/baldurs-gate/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/baldurs-gate/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 19 Jul 2023 00:24:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bioware, Windows, 1998

Playing the Enhanced Edition. This seems impressively flexible from the get-go and the game’s world feels pretty big. The real time combat is pretty breezy and helps keep things from feeling like a slog, but I think that the …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Flashback]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/flashback/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/flashback/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 14 Jul 2023 21:21:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Delphine Software International, Amiga, 1992

It’s striking how distinct this feels from Another World. Both made at the same studio, both using Prince of Persia as a starting point, both using flat colors to create gorgeous environments and fluid c…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Batman (Famicom)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/batman-famicom/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/batman-famicom/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 03 Jul 2023 03:27:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sunsoft, Famicom, 1989

After bouncing off of Future Wars I had to play something good and tight and familiar. This rules basically as much as it did when I beat the game in 2010-ish, though the final stage’s jump timing was even tighter than I reme…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Future Wars: Adventures in Time]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/future-wars-adventures-in-time/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/future-wars-adventures-in-time/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 03 Jul 2023 03:08:29 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Delphine Software, Amiga, 1989

Wanted to try this since Éric Chahi was behind most of the art. I bounced off of this, sadly. The opening scenes are gorgeous and the interface is pretty elegant for 1989, but the hotspots are the tiniest I’ve ever se…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Another World]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/another-world/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/another-world/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 27 Jun 2023 17:32:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Delphine Software, Amiga, 1991

Absolutely sick game. Having never seen beyond the intro when I was younger I'm very happy that I finally played through this. It’s an action platformer with fluid animation and grounded movement, like Prince of Persi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Fallout: New Vegas]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/fallout-new-vegas/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/fallout-new-vegas/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 26 Jun 2023 05:36:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Obsidian Entertainment, Windows, 2010

Best Bethesda-style game I've played. An easy standout. The Elder Scrolls games never did much for me and I bounced off of Fallout 3 in 2009, but I was pretty hooked to New Vegas. It has an impressively dynamic…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[System Shock]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/system-shock/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/system-shock/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Jun 2023 17:22:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Looking Glass Technologies, DOS, 1994

A staggeringly ambitious first person action game set in a big semi-linear space station. It’s all incredibly impressive for 1994. Movement mechanics let you lean, strafe, crouch, jump, and even go prone. Envir…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Galleon]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/galleon/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/galleon/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 05 Jun 2023 21:10:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Confounding Factor, Xbox, 2004

This was apparently directed by Toby Gard, one of the lead guys behind the original Tomb Raider that left Core prior to Tomb Raider II. You can definitely see a trajectory from that game to this. It’s still got plenty…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Fighting Force]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/fighting-force/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/fighting-force/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 23 May 2023 04:29:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Core Design, Playstation, 1997

A polygonal beat ‘em up by the Tomb Raider developers. I always thought this looked so cool as a kid and wished I could play it on Saturn, but despite all the times I got to try PS1 rentals at friends' houses I never …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Castlevania: The Adventure Rebirth]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/castlevania-the-adventure-rebirth/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/castlevania-the-adventure-rebirth/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 16 May 2023 17:34:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[M2, Wii, 2009

I think the visuals put me off on this back in the day, but now that I’ve actually sat down with it it’s pretty good! It’s a cool mix of mechanics from the original game (no stair jumping/landing for example) and some departures like …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Kick Master]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/kick-master/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/kick-master/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 25 Apr 2023 04:47:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[KID Corp, NES, 1992

Shinobu Yagawa as programmer. His third credit. No Japanese release.

This is a pretty interesting one. Every enemy kill sends three items up into the air and these items drop through the floor, so you often need to commit to gr…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Low G Man]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/low-g-man/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/low-g-man/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 23 Apr 2023 02:50:59 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[KID Corp, NES, 1992

Having your primary attacks be between a stun-only pistol and an up/down stab is a pretty cool setup. There are there’s a surprising amount of cool enemy designs in here, and pretty decent variety in stage design. On the other h…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shadowgate 64]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shadowgate-64/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shadowgate-64/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 22 Apr 2023 15:00:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[TNS Co., Nintendo 64, 1999

A first-person adventure game apparently developed by the studio behind Wachenroeder. Unfortunately super dry compared to the original. Cool atmosphere, nice (if subdued) music, but there are no silly deaths and the puzzl…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shadowgate]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shadowgate/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shadowgate/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 17 Apr 2023 02:23:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[ICOM and Kemco, NES, 1989

Unlike with Deja Vu, I decided to play Kemco’s NES adaptation over the Macintosh original after reading up on major differences. This is a larger and cooler game than Deja Vu, for sure, and while some of the puzzles are gr…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Comix Zone]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/comix-zone/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/comix-zone/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 15 Apr 2023 17:07:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega Technical Institute, Genesis, 1995

This is a wild one. It’s an action platformer where the premise is that you play as a 90’s comic book artist guy that gets sucked up into his own work. The presentation rules, honestly. Everything takes place…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Selection: Erabareshi Mono / The Sword of Hope]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/selection-erabareshi-mono-the-sword-of-hope/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/selection-erabareshi-mono-the-sword-of-hope/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Apr 2023 19:08:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Kemco, Game Boy, 1989

Kemco first adapted Deja Vu in '88, this being a year later. I figured I'd check this out since I liked the idea of an original Game Boy ICOM-style adventure game by Kemco themselves, but unfortunately this is more of a tradit…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6430fc96d434070e4bab8570/attachments/6430fca450e3f321c24a44f2/previews/6430fca550e3f321c24a4503/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Guwange]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/guwange/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/guwange/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Apr 2023 03:48:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 1999

It’s easy to think of Cave as sticking to a very tight set of mechanics and hardly ever deviating but this game stands way out. What a wild take on the genre. The core concept is basically an on-foot top-down STG with the usual C…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/62944f0e41eca420d08133f9/attachments/62944f22bc74de8227ad9d5b/previews/62944f24bc74de8227ad9d9c/download/Guwange_Flyer_front.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Deja Vu: A Nightmare Comes True!!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/deja-vu-a-nightmare-comes-true/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/deja-vu-a-nightmare-comes-true/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 07 Apr 2023 22:19:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[ICOM Simulations, Macintosh, 1985

Really impressive how this uses the Macintosh UI to do a lot of heavy lifting and deliver a very new kind of adventure game only a year after King’s Quest. The black and white art is really distinct and barring a c…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6427a15709745a0fbd6e4050/attachments/6427a1702c8d0fdf97a27317/previews/6427a1712c8d0fdf97a27327/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[El Viento]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/el-viento/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/el-viento/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 07 Apr 2023 22:19:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Wolf Team, Megadrive, 1991

This game’s definitely got rough edges, but it also has a really cool presentation, nice cutscene art, excellent music, a pretty unique setting, and honestly some decent action! It’s deeply silly and has a couple weak poi…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/642b9713e4a9d5d90578ef7e/attachments/642b9756379340a4568d2b5d/previews/642b9758379340a4568d2b6b/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[EX-RANZA]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/ex-ranza/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/ex-ranza/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 05 Apr 2023 15:14:58 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[GAU Entertainment, Megadrive, 1993. aka Ranger X.

Very cool. This was released about half a year after Valken and isn’t really dissimilar in structure and theme: it’s a side-view mech action-platformer where you have a health meter, every life is a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Mario: Yoshi Island]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/super-mario-yoshi-island/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/super-mario-yoshi-island/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 23 Mar 2023 23:54:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo EAD, Super Famicom, 1995

Gorgeous. Really really nice-looking, lots of cute designs all over the place, great music. The egg throwing is pretty fun, but as the stages sloooowly ramped up I found the flutter jump mechanic and the Mario reco…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Wild Guns]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/wild-guns/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/wild-guns/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 13 Mar 2023 01:15:28 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Natsume, Super Famicom, 1994

An easy entry into the absolute top tier of SFC action games. The theme rules, the art is incredible, the soundtrack is great, all of this stuff is basically perfect. And then you have this clever split between stationa…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Progear No Arashi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/progear-no-arashi/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/progear-no-arashi/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 13 Mar 2023 01:14:59 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade (CPS2), 2001

Very pumped that I got the first loop one credit clear of Progear no Arashi today. This wasn't as hard for me as Ikaruga, but I still found this tricky. Will probably never even see loop 2, lol. Really love this game. The …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[KiKi KaiKai: Nazo no Kuro Manto]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/kiki-kaikai-nazo-no-kuro-manto/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/kiki-kaikai-nazo-no-kuro-manto/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 06 Mar 2023 01:37:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Natsume, Super Famicom, 1992

I spent some time with this, learning to 1cc up to the final stage, and unfortunately I think the game’s kind of annoying. I don’t like the movement-is-aim orientation mechanics, the constant melee swipes against bullet…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[DoDonPachi SaiDaiOuJou Exa Label - Original Mode]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dodonpachi-saidaioujou-exa-label-original-mode/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dodonpachi-saidaioujou-exa-label-original-mode/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 02 Mar 2023 03:49:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2012

Playing as A-S. I have not 1cc’d this yet. I spent a few months off-and-on chipping away at this and I’ve finally just started seeing stage 5. This really feels like a clear step above the other one-loop Cave games difficulty-wis…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gungrave G.O.R.E.]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/gungrave-gore/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/gungrave-gore/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 26 Feb 2023 07:08:14 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Iggymob, PC, 2022

I like the look of this game a lot. Some real fun designs and animations delivered with a lot of detail and impact. Unfortunately the stages do nothing for me. Just gigantic amounts of little dudes that you blast through, occasion…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Space Channel 5 VR: Kinda Funky News Flash]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/space-channel-5-vr-kinda-funky-news-flash/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/space-channel-5-vr-kinda-funky-news-flash/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 25 Feb 2023 19:08:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Grounding, PC, 2020

What’s here is really good. It’s better than the old games in a lot of ways, but it’s also both shorter and easier. This wouldn’t be a big problem if they included a nice bonus challenge mode, but unfortunately no dice. Still, y…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Leisure Suit Larry goes Looking For Love (In Several Wrong Places)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/leisure-suit-larry-goes-looking-for-love-in-several-wrong-places/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/leisure-suit-larry-goes-looking-for-love-in-several-wrong-places/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 25 Feb 2023 03:06:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sierra On-Line, DOS, 1988

Big step down from the first one. The visuals are more detailed but less appealing, the world is bigger but more confusing, and the puzzles are some of the cruelest and softlock-iest I’ve seen in an adventure game. Kinda h…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-beast-within-a-gabriel-knight-mystery/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-beast-within-a-gabriel-knight-mystery/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 24 Feb 2023 03:06:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sierra, PC, 1995

Decided to play something chill like this while I was out with a nasty infection.

Compared to Phantasmagoria, this feels like a much more complete attempt at FMV-ifying Sierra’s traditional point and click setup. The sprites still…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Returnal]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/returnal/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/returnal/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 24 Feb 2023 03:06:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Housemarque, Playstation 5 and PC, 2021

This is a great time. Housemarque has adapted their chaotic twin-stick shooting action into a gorgeous and cutting-edge third-person shooter, deftly bringing along the lessons they’ve learned through the year…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[King's Quest]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/kings-quest/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/kings-quest/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 24 Feb 2023 02:26:19 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sierra On-Line, IBM PC, 1984

Not as breezy or as purposeful with its environments as Leisure Suit Larry, but it’s very obviously a groundbreaking release for its time. Like with LSL I was surprised at how kind the parser is, and the game has some m…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/leisure-suit-larry-in-the-land-of-the-lounge-lizards/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/leisure-suit-larry-in-the-land-of-the-lounge-lizards/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 24 Feb 2023 02:26:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sierra On-Line, DOS, 1987

I’ve been meaning to play through more old Sierra stuff for a while now. I grew up on LucasArts, and Sierra’s adventure games have mostly been a blind spot for me barring the first Gabriel Knight. King’s Quest seemed a lit…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Space Quest: Chapter I - The Sarien Encounter]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/space-quest-chapter-i-the-sarien-encounter/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/space-quest-chapter-i-the-sarien-encounter/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 19 Feb 2023 05:59:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sierra On-Line, DOS, 1986

Relative to the other Sierra series first entries I’ve played this year, this released between King’s Quest and Leisure Suit Larry. The theme here is really fun. There’s a nice variety to the settings that make it feel lik…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The GG Shinobi II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-gg-shinobi-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-gg-shinobi-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 08 Feb 2023 00:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Game Gear, 1992

I liked this more than the first one. The structure is similar but the main change is that in each of the four selectable stages you’ll have to beat their boss to unlock the Shinobi (with unique abilities) and then you’ll also…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shining Force: The Legacy of Great Intention]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shining-force-the-legacy-of-great-intention/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shining-force-the-legacy-of-great-intention/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 29 Jan 2023 20:24:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Climax Entertainment and Sonic Co., Mega Drive, 1992

I haven’t played many SRPGs so I figured I’d play through this for the Sega factor. From what little I know about the genre, the unique part of Shining Force seems to be that you have town segmen…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Wishbringer]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/wishbringer/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/wishbringer/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 25 Dec 2022 02:22:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Infocom, various PC platforms, 1985

Directed by Brian Moriarty (Loom, etc). Infocom themselves describes this as “introductory level” right on the box. Wishbringer basically does away with all of the stuff I disliked about Zork I. The world is much…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Jet Island]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/jet-island/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/jet-island/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 25 Dec 2022 02:13:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Master Indie, PC, 2018

This is a neat proof of concept where you Tribes-ski around an impossibly big island, make your way to the core of colossal moving robots, and blow 'em up. There isn't much to it outside of the movement and it's VERY motion-u…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Room VR]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/the-room-vr/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/the-room-vr/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 25 Dec 2022 02:13:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Fireproof Studios, PC, 2020

Really good VR adaptation and the tech fits so well. There aren’t any huge swerves from the flat-screen games, but there are plenty of standout puzzles and everything is paced well. Probably the best of the series.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bomberman 64]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bomberman-64/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bomberman-64/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 18 Dec 2022 00:25:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nice little campaign with some legit fun bosses and stages. There are some weird difficulty spikes, and the performance combined with the camera can get a little maddening, but it's a solid game overall.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[D no Shokutaku 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/d-no-shokutaku-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/d-no-shokutaku-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 16 Dec 2022 19:20:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[WARP, Dreamcast, 1999

This is WARP’s most fleshed-out game for sure. Taking place in snowy Canadian fields after a plane crash, the pre-rendered FMV has finally been relegated to occasional cutscenes and the adventure game scenes from the prior two…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shock Troopers]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/shock-troopers/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/shock-troopers/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:34:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Saurus, Arcade, 1997

Sick game. A surprisingly long one (wanna say my clear was like, idk, 30 minutes? 35?) but there's a lot of cool route selection stuff with a lot of clever re-use in design. Rolling through bullets to melee a dude is very satis…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Air Gallet]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/air-gallet/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/air-gallet/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:32:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Gazelle, Arcade, 1996

Cool game but a little uncanny, which makes sense given the Cave-sibling development history. Ship's just a little slow, hitbox maybe just a little big? Zako are mean as hell. First boss is overtuned. etc.

…but it's so sick v…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hishouzame]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/hishouzame/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/hishouzame/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:31:46 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Toaplan, Arcade, 1987

Wonderful game. I can see why this was such a monumental release, and it feels like it really paved the way for Raiden. There's a nice arc to learning how to lead all those fast bullets around, the bombs have a tricky delay th…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mahou Daisakusen]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/mahou-daisakusen/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/mahou-daisakusen/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:29:33 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Raizing, Arcade, 1993

I’ve loved this game ever since digging into it with the M2 release back in 2017. It’s not as relentlessly paced as a Cave game, but this gives it time to build out such a flavorful world for the genre’s standards. Each stage …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sin and Punishment]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sin-and-punishment/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sin-and-punishment/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:19:58 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Nintendo 64, 2000

This rules. I'm realizing that Cabal-style shooters and "forward-scrolling" shooters are largely the same thing, and this has to be near the top of that broader genre. I love the slight genre-bending parts, too, and ever…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Halo Infinite (Campaign)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/halo-infinite-campaign/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/halo-infinite-campaign/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:15:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[343i, PC, 2021

Played on Heroic.

Like in so many free-roaming games, there's a novelty to the world map that lasts for just an early portion of the campaign's length. In Infinite here, this map is full of little side battles. Since Halo has such a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Devil Daggers]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/devil-daggers/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/devil-daggers/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:11:17 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sorath, PC, 2016  

Devil Daggers has always seemed like a really good ultradense arcade-style game, but I've finally dug into it a little more. Once I learned that the gems can be absorbed by not firing and that you upgrade your firepower by collec…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Zork I]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/zork-i/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/zork-i/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 06:14:19 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Infocom, TRS-80, 1980

It’s easy to see why this was a big deal 40+ years ago. The map is big, the puzzles can be clever, there’s a nice sense of humor, and the interpreter is surprisingly smart. I got a kick out of how the combat was based on some …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hydlide]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/hydlide/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/hydlide/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:54:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[T&E Soft, PC-8800, 1984

A brief game full of grinding and designed around quicksaves. It's a hurdle to get into, of course, but I can certainly see why it'd be monumental in 1984. It's a cute adventure once you adjust, and it’s pretty staggering to…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ikari no Yousai (1993)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikari-no-yousai-1993/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikari-no-yousai-1993/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:52:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jaleco, Super Famicom, 1993

Thankfully, this is the best game in the trilogy. I have some nitpicks here (unskippable cutscenes and it's still slightly too mazey), but this is a great Valken-paced limited-continue action game with a really cool them…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a486ec77e84018834f357/attachments/631a4870c77e84018834ffbf/previews/631a4870c77e84018834ffc7/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Final Fantasy VII Remake]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/final-fantasy-vii-remake/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/final-fantasy-vii-remake/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:51:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Square Enix, Playstation 4, 2020

Enjoyed this. The main quest isn't overlong, the game is ridiculously gorgeous, and I really like what they did with the story. The combat is pretty brisk and flashy and fun, and really shines during some of the bos…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Natsuki Chronicles]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/natsuki-chronicles/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/natsuki-chronicles/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Qute, Xbox One, 2019

Really interesting setup here. The Story mode is genuinely pretty cool, giving you a pool of three lives per level that increases the more you have to retry the stage, and you upgrade weapons using credits earned throughout all…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631967f90b3d6c020e89b3c2/attachments/631972e968f0a001197268ba/previews/631972ea68f0a00119726920/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Adventure of Little Ralph]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-adventure-of-little-ralph/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-adventure-of-little-ralph/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[New Corporation, Playstation, 1999

Fucking masterpiece.

Great visuals, tons of cool scenarios, incredibly good boss fights, and the fighting game genre twist is great. There are some tonal oddities that I don't like, but not enough of them to be a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ys III - Wanderers From Ys (PC-88)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ys-iii-wanderers-from-ys-pc-88/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ys-iii-wanderers-from-ys-pc-88/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nihon Falcom, PC-88, 1989

Played on Hard. The visuals, monster design, tight pacing, and excellent music are completely undeniable. The difficulty curve is also pretty tight considering the XP system, and while the bosses aren't particularly hard y…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631967fe0b3d6c020e89d175/attachments/6319710c7e62d103c0815670/previews/6319710e7e62d103c0815678/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Blazing Star]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/blazing-star/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/blazing-star/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:16 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Yumekobo, Arcade, 1998

This game fuckin rules. The CG sprites are certainly rough (which is excusable for 1998), but the scenes portrayed manage to be thrilling and unique nonetheless, and the fantastic soundtrack drives them perfectly as it hops b…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631967fe0b3d6c020e89d189/attachments/63196fe03ba434008c76d29a/previews/63196fe13ba434008c76d2a2/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-great-ace-attorney-adventures/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-great-ace-attorney-adventures/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, 3DS, 2015

Been years since I've played one of these. It's really incredible how they handled the transition to 3D (like in AA...5?) and the new cast and setting were desperately needed. Tons of charming animations and a well-designed cast. …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Nikujin]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/nikujin/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/nikujin/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ikiki, PC, 2005

Brutal ninja platformer with a lot of wall running and occasional stealth elements. The movement and camera can get kind of erratic at times and you have to learn to not freak out during certain directional changes, but there's so m…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Daioh]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/daioh/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/daioh/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Very weird, but overall great. The game uses checkpoints, but it's kind with them by usually pushing you ahead of where you died and it actually eschews the checkpoints during boss fights. There's rank and a bit of rank management, but nothing too c…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Esp RaDe]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/esp-rade/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/esp-rade/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 1998

This is undoubtedly a great game, but upon revisiting and playing enough to get a clear, I think it's my least favorite mainline Cave game. Since I've already talked about the game's strengths, this is what I don't like:

* The f…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The House in Fata Morgana]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-house-in-fata-morgana/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-house-in-fata-morgana/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:46 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Novectacle, PC, 2012

This was incredible. A massive, massive story about lives tied to a mansion over centuries. I can't imagine the process of writing this or of localizing it. It's incredibly detailed, empathetic, sometimes heartbreaking, sometim…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sengoku Ace]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/sengoku-ace/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/sengoku-ace/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Psikyo, Arcade, 1993…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Espgaluda]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/espgaluda/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/espgaluda/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2003

You know how it is. It's a masterpiece. The final boss FINALLY clicked for me. There's so much to say about this game but it's late.

My favorite video game?…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bionic Commando (Game Boy)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bionic-commando-game-boy/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bionic-commando-game-boy/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Minakuchi Engineering, Game Boy, 1992  

Very much like the Ninja Ryukenden Game Boy game in the sense that it's very original, a bit shorter, and shockingly polished. A really good time, and the ending stretch is probably harder than the Famicom ga…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Darius II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/darius-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/darius-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:05 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1989

Beaten on "A" Difficulty ("Easy" on Switch collection).

This is a fascinating game. The move from three screens to two ultimately helps the pacing, cutting down on a lot of dead air at the expense of some novelty. A good decisi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Giga Wing]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/giga-wing/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/giga-wing/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Takumi and Capcom, Arcade, 1999

I loved this. This is the first Takumi game I've put time into, and the reflect mechanic is a blast. Just incredibly satisfying to get the barrier up, cut into a huge mass of bullets, and slam them back onto the enem…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Disco Elysium: The Final Cut]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/disco-elysium-the-final-cut/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/disco-elysium-the-final-cut/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:48:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[ZA/UM, PC, 2019

Incredibly unique game. It's mostly a very engaging and darkly funny detective story, packed with character progression and skill checks in a way that makes perfect sense in a tabletop setting but that you see rarely in a video game…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Actraiser 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/actraiser-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/actraiser-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:48:32 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Quintet and Ancient, Super Famicom, 1993

Really cool game. It's brutal, and there are unfortunately a couple lame segments that drag it down a little (a few mazes and some really questionable late fights), but the various jump mechanics are really …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ninja Five-O]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ninja-five-o/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ninja-five-o/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:48:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Game Boy Advance, 2003  
aka Ninja Cop

Sick, maddening, methodical game. Fun to learn the grapple controls. Very tight HP. Stages are slightly mazy but never too bad. Awesome bosses, amazing pixel art.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ankoku Densetsu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ankoku-densetsu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ankoku-densetsu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:47:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[RED, PC Engine, 1990  
aka The Legendary Axe II

A follow-up to Makyou Densetsu by a different team. Love the dark atmosphere of this game, love the boss designs. The core mechanics are pretty fun: you lose the satisfying axe charge attacks, but the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Perfect Dark Zero]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/perfect-dark-zero/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/perfect-dark-zero/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:47:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Rare, Xbox 360, 2005

This one's a jarring one to play in 2021. The style is hilarious (nu-metal Bond theme, everyone's clothing, the UI), it's kinda repugnant in terms of character design ("Mai Hem" are you kidding me), and the environments sincere…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ninja Ryukenden (Game Boy)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ninja-ryukenden-game-boy/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ninja-ryukenden-game-boy/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:47:16 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Natsume, Game Boy, 1991  
aka Ninja Gaiden

Very well-made action-platformer by Natsume, completely distinct from the arcade or Famicom games. This one plays more like Shatterhand, with Ryu moving at a slower pace to better fit the Game Boy's resolu…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sakura Wars]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sakura-wars/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sakura-wars/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:46:57 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[RED and Sega, Saturn, 1996

Played the fan translation. The combination of VN and tactics was pretty fun and novel, as was the 90s anime presentation. I appreciated how the fixed-length episodic structure of the game allowed for decently unique tact…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Atomic Runner Chelnov]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/atomic-runner-chelnov/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/atomic-runner-chelnov/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:46:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Data East, Arcade, 1988

This is such a neat game despite the roughness. The core forced-scrolling mechanics are super unique, fun to learn, and thoroughly explored. I particularly like the way that bouncing off of enemy heads works and is tied into…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Contra (Famicom)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/contra-famicom/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/contra-famicom/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:46:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Famicom, 1988  
aka Probotector

Been playing this lately and cleared the Famicom version today. Pretty clearly better than the arcade game of course, especially if you're playing the Famicom version with the extra BG animation. Has similar …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Xanadu Next]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/xanadu-next/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/xanadu-next/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:46:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nihon Falcom, Windows, 2005

An uneven game with a nice atmosphere. It feels very much like if one of the less-focused Ys games were built around mouse controls. It's generally enjoyable to run through the pretty environments, mow through monsters, …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/lands-of-lore-the-throne-of-chaos/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/lands-of-lore-the-throne-of-chaos/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:44:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Westwood Studios, MS-DOS, 1993

Excellent atmosphere and pixel art. Really friendly to get into. The mechanics, expectedly, don't hold up as you get into silly square-based dances and rapid equipment swapping, but I bet that's common for the genre.
…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Virtual Hydlide]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/virtual-hydlide/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/virtual-hydlide/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:44:47 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[T&E Soft, Saturn, 1995

a mess. 

The main programmer on this apparently worked on a bunch of golf games and I think that makes complete sense. There are a lot of ambitious things about this game: the environments are surprisingly detailed (even if …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ikaruga]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikaruga/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikaruga/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:42:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Arcade, 2001

I played some of Ikaruga in 2002. I bought it since it was a really cool-looking sendoff for the Dreamcast but didn't spend much time with it. I played some of the XBLA release in 2008 after falling in love with the idea of c…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/metal-gear-2-solid-snake/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/metal-gear-2-solid-snake/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:42:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, MSX2, 1991  

Really incredible. I heard going in that there was a lot of overlap between this and Metal Gear Solid and that's true (as it is with the first Metal Gear), but less so than I expected. Obviously the core mechanics are distinct …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sin & Punishment: Star Successor]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sin-and-punishment-star-successor/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sin-and-punishment-star-successor/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:41:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Wii, 2009

Still rules, and stands out from the original more than I remember. This one is about twice as long, and the result feels a bit closer to a game like Bayonetta than something arcade-ish. The IR aiming and near-constant flying al…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mischief Makers]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/mischief-makers/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/mischief-makers/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:41:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[This was pretty good. At it's core this is a 2D action-platformer about dashing all over the place, grabbing things, shaking things, and throwing things. Structurally it's a big series of 2-5 minute levels, and it very much feels like stage designer…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Radiant Silvergun]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/radiant-silvergun/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/radiant-silvergun/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:41:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Saturn, 1998

It's beautiful, I love the boss design, the player weapons are cool, and it's probably a top 3 in terms of presentation. The long runtime and arcane process of finding how much chaining I need for my ship to be viable, tho, k…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Alien Soldier]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/alien-soldier/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/alien-soldier/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:40:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Mega Drive, 1995

Alien Soldier is the real star of their MD lineup. 

I haven't beaten this yet (playing on its default "SUPERHARD" difficulty) but judging by the first half this is a masterpiece. Like in Gunstar there are a ton of things…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shenzhen I/O]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/shenzhen-io/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/shenzhen-io/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:40:19 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Zachtronics, PC, 2016

This game rules, but like so many Zachtronics games it's so dense. I hit a solid breaking point in the story (Avalon City), so I figured I'd shelve it for now.

The programming isn't too removed from TIS-100, but it does have …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Prop Cycle]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/prop-cycle/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/prop-cycle/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:39:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Namco, Arcade, 1996

What a beautiful game. Structured like a more elegant arcade take on Pilot Wings, but set in a clearly Ghibli-inspired world and with perfectly-tuned controls. Tough to learn but with a fun degree of freedom to find your route. …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Outer Wilds]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/outer-wilds/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/outer-wilds/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:37:58 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Mobius Digital, PC, 2019

Incredible. Really, really floored by this. Outer Wilds is crudely a first-person adventure game. It gives you an elegant set of actions and a space explorer's toolkit and tasks you with solving a complex mystery spread thr…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Makyou Densetsu - The Legendary Axe]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/makyou-densetsu-the-legendary-axe/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/makyou-densetsu-the-legendary-axe/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:37:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Victor Musical Industries, PC Engine, 1989  
aka The Legendary Axe

This game is fantastic, gotta be one of the best home action-platformers of its time. The axe charge up system is satisfying, and when you hit the second half of the game and start …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tomb Raider]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/tomb-raider/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/tomb-raider/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:37:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[CORE Design, Playstation, 1996

Played the PS1 version. Obviously the game was a big deal at the time due to its presentation and perspective, but its specific approach to 3D Prince of Persia style platforming is still pretty novel. It's a lot of fu…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Darius]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/darius/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/darius/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:37:28 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1987

Arcade, beat New Version but played a lot of Extra Version.

What a cool game. The big unique elements are, of course, the three-screen 4:1 aspect ratio and the massive 28-stage map. The aspect ratio certainly makes for a unique…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Steel Battalion]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/steel-battalion/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/steel-battalion/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:37:22 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom and Nude Maker, Xbox, 2002  
aka Tekki

Steel Battalion's controller is ridiculous, as everyone knows, and it's worth a quick rundown. The left-hand panel of the three-panel controller has a throttle for changing gear and a one-axis stick for…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Enemy Zero]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/enemy-zero/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/enemy-zero/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 03:35:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[WARP, Saturn, 1996

It’s crazy to me that this was only about a year and a half after D no Shokutaku. Aside from being set in space, the major differences between this and D are that it drops the time limit and adds surprisingly pretty polygonal fir…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[D no Shokutaku]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/d-no-shokutaku/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/d-no-shokutaku/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 12 Dec 2022 01:56:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[WARP, 3DO, 1995

A first-person adventure game with a pretty strong atmosphere, rigid-but-serviceable CG, and unbearably slow movement. Would have been way better if it were more static images like Myst. The two-hour time limit and lack of saving ar…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bujingai - The Forsaken City]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bujingai-the-forsaken-city/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bujingai-the-forsaken-city/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 22 Nov 2022 20:39:47 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[RED, Playstation 2, 2003

A surprisingly polished 3D action game by RED. It’s better than I remember Gungrave being. The animation is nice, the combo system is basic but fun to noodle around with, and there are some goofy movement options to mess wi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rastan Saga]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rastan-saga/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rastan-saga/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 04 Nov 2022 04:57:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1988

Very cool game with a fairly unique Japanese take on a barbarian theme. Plenty of jank, but the enemies and equipment are well thought-out and there are a surprising amount of different approaches you have to take with the traps…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Vermilion]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/vermilion/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/vermilion/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 21 Oct 2022 23:13:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM2, Mega Drive, 1989  
aka Sword of Vermilion

This game left a strong impression on me as a kid because of that cold initial town music. Revisiting it and putting a few hours into it I think it's pretty neat, but just a little too slow-paced …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Chase the Express]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/chase-the-express/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/chase-the-express/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 19 Oct 2022 02:10:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sugar & Rockets, Playstation, 2000
a.k.a. Covert Ops: Nuclear Dawn

Very cool Biohazard-style game that takes place on a train. There's a shift in focus from puzzles to combat, but it's not too huge of one despite what the roll buttons suggest. Inst…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Yami no Shigotonin Kage]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/yami-no-shigotonin-kage/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/yami-no-shigotonin-kage/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 12 Oct 2022 20:35:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Natsume, Famicom, 1990

This is no Shatterhand, but you can tell they're on their way. It's got a super well-executed dark visual style like Batman or Gun-Dec and a similarly pumping soundtrack. There's a strict five-lives limit, and because of that…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Brightis]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/brightis/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/brightis/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 11 Oct 2022 01:31:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Quintet, Playstation, 1999

Shockingly modern 1999 PS1 game with a big polygonal world and complex (though not meaningfully so) combat. I had to shelve it like 2/3rds through (a little under 10 hours in) because the dungeons were getting a little to…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bionic Commando (2009)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bionic-commando-2009/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bionic-commando-2009/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 27 Sep 2022 02:06:28 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Grin, Xbox 360, 2009 

Better than it has any right to be, frankly. There are some annoyances, like a lack of feedback and kind of a slow start. But once you unlock some abilities and make it to some of the cooler areas swinging around and throwing …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Prodeus]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/prodeus/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/prodeus/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 24 Sep 2022 02:56:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[The core mechanics here feel pretty good and I think the visuals are a technically unique take on Doom 2016, but unfortunately the structure is kind of mess. Regardless of the difficulty, you get infinite respawns at a checkpoint without any rollbac…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Crash Bandicoot]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/crash-bandicoot/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/crash-bandicoot/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 17 Sep 2022 23:07:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Naughty Dog, Playstation, 1996  

Never fully played through this until now. I've always wanted this to be good, because I like the fundamental idea of a linear 3D platformer and felt it never got explored much in the 90s. I think this does a pretty…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shin-chan: Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation - The Endless Seven-Day Journey]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/shin-chan-me-and-the-professor-on-summer-vacation-the-endless-seven-day-journey/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/shin-chan-me-and-the-professor-on-summer-vacation-the-endless-seven-day-journey/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 16 Sep 2022 18:03:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Millennium Kitchen, Switch, 2021  
aka Crayon Shin-chan: Ora to Hakase no Natsuyasumi - Owaranai Nanokakan no Tabi

This is the lowest-stakes game I've played in years. Very chill and idyllic fixed-camera game with particularly gorgeous backgrounds.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/warhammer-40000-space-marine/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/warhammer-40000-space-marine/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 11 Sep 2022 22:55:46 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Relic Entertainment, Windows, 2011

Pretty good third person action game that takes a lot from Gears but omits the cover system and marries the shooting with Musou-style slashing. This isn't quite Gears 1 level, but it's a tight and well-paced campa…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Stretch Panic (PS2)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/stretch-panic-ps2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/stretch-panic-ps2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 20:08:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Playstation 2, 2001  
aka Hippa Linda, Freak Out

Defeated but did not exorcise every boss.

This is a slick-looking game with a lot of nice technical tricks in it, and it's surprisingly competent for a first-go at a third-person 3D game i…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gunstar Super Heroes]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/gunstar-super-heroes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/gunstar-super-heroes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Game Boy Advance, 2005

Like with AGH, this is better than the original. The stages feel like they're more mindfully built around the character's moves, the pixel art is nicer, the weapons seem more balanced, and enemies aren't just though…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Advance Guardian Heroes]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/advance-guardian-heroes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/advance-guardian-heroes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Game Boy Advance, 2004

Liked this better than the Saturn game for sure. Ditching the invincible AI partner, losing the 3-plane system, making block require a meter, and adding a fun parry are all big improvements. Battles are generally mo…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Astro Boy: Omega Factor]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/astro-boy-omega-factor/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/astro-boy-omega-factor/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Game Boy Advance, 2003

NA version. Definitely got the wrong impression of this back in the day. This is pretty good!  It takes the basic core side-view melee combat from Tiny Toons but refines it a whole lot and gives you an awful lot of …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hajime No Ippo: The Fighting!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/hajime-no-ippo-the-fighting/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/hajime-no-ippo-the-fighting/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Game Boy Advance, 2002

Very cool take on Punch-Out. Extremely good spritework and some cool mechanics twists (even if it's not as elegant or pattern-based).…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster's Bad Dream]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/tiny-toon-adventures-busters-bad-dream/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/tiny-toon-adventures-busters-bad-dream/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Game Boy Advance, 2002

This is kind of neat. There's a very satisfying set of core mechanics here: it's single-plane 2D, but you have a handful of simple combos and attacks and enemies easily get knocked into each other and cluster up on …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Silpheed: The Lost Planet]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/silpheed-the-lost-planet/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/silpheed-the-lost-planet/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Playstation 2, 2000

This is actually pretty good as far as console paced shooters go, I think. It's too slow and long to want to 1cc, but retrying the late chapters was fun. Nice graphics and some interesting boss designs.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4874c77e840188351247/attachments/631a4875c77e840188351f3e/previews/631a4875c77e840188351f44/download/Silpheed-_The_Lost_Planet_Japanese_Cover.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bakuretsu Muteki Bangaioh (N64)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bakuretsu-muteki-bangaioh-n64/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bakuretsu-muteki-bangaioh-n64/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Nintendo 64, 2000

Liked it. It's very much like Mischief Makers in terms of structure and pacing, but with less standout cool moments unfortunately. On the other hand, the core mechanics are more fun to me with the constant system-halting…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4877c77e8401883521f3/attachments/631a4878c77e840188352e72/previews/631a4878c77e840188352e78/download/Bangai-ON64Box.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rakugaki Showtime]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rakugaki-showtime/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rakugaki-showtime/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Playstation, 1999

Cute visuals, fun movement with a lot of homing dash stuff, fun item throwing and parrying. Real neat, and a big departure from their previous two party fighters.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4877c77e84018835220f/attachments/631a4878c77e840188352ecb/previews/631a4878c77e840188352ed2/download/Rakugaki_Showtime_cover.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Golden Axe: Beast Rider]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/golden-axe-beast-rider/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/golden-axe-beast-rider/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Xbox 360, 2008

This isn't a good game, but it's better than its reputation suggests. The presentation is hilarious, very edgy and embarrassing for 2008. Animation blending is jacked up all over the place. But the core combat is kinda fun, lar…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Silhouette Mirage]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/silhouette-mirage/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/silhouette-mirage/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Saturn, 1997

This has a lot of cool and creative stuff in it. Some genuinely funny boss fights, some clever little strategies to find. It's a got a huge core move set and the presentation reminds me of a better and more pixel art focused …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4877c77e84018835229c/attachments/631a4878c77e840188352fe7/previews/631a4878c77e840188352fee/download/SilhouetteMirage_Saturn_JP_Box_Front.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Guardian Heroes]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/guardian-heroes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/guardian-heroes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Saturn, 1996

I should trust my 2010 tastes more often. The multiplayer arena mode here seems neat enough in the same way that the Yu Yu Hakusho game is, and it's probably a good successor on that front. As a single-player beat 'em up, tho…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Yu Yu Hakusho - Maikyo Toitsusen]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/yu-yu-hakusho-maikyo-toitsusen/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/yu-yu-hakusho-maikyo-toitsusen/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Mega Drive, 1994

This one is pretty cool. I'm sure it's busted competitively but the presentation is great and it's very ambitious. Was probably pretty mind-blowing in 1994 with a multi-tap.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a487ac77e84018835326f/attachments/631a487bc77e840188353e9d/previews/631a487bc77e840188353ea3/download/Makyou_Toitsusen_cover.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dynamite Headdy]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/dynamite-headdy/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/dynamite-headdy/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Mega Drive, 1994

Dynamite Headdy is a deeply annoying showcase of great pixel art and technical tricks. It's a million confusing gimmicks strung together. It's somehow a 1994 2D action platformer with too many cutscenes. I do not like thi…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a487ac77e8401883532a7/attachments/631a487bc77e840188353f5c/previews/631a487bc77e840188353f64/download/47312_front.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[McDonald's Treasure Land Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/mcdonalds-treasure-land-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/mcdonalds-treasure-land-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Mega Drive, 1993

would you believe that this is a very competent but also very unexciting action platformer? Pay those bills.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gunstar Heroes]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/gunstar-heroes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/gunstar-heroes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Mega Drive, 1993

I've always seen this as a pretty mid treasure game compared to Alien Soldier. Let's see where it lands.

Ok.

Played through Gunstar Heroes today. I had played scattered stages growing up but this was the first honest pl…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Eye of the Temple]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/eye-of-the-temple/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/eye-of-the-temple/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Rune Skovbo Johansen, PC, 2021

This is an interesting one. It's a room-scale VR game in the 2016 sense of the word, where you actually need 2x2m to play it. Room scale has largely fallen out of favor, and this game is a shining example why: the adm…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Her Story]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/her-story/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/her-story/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sam Barlow, PC, 2015

Clever, novel, well-acted.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ninja-gaiden-3-razors-edge/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ninja-gaiden-3-razors-edge/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Team Ninja, PC, 2012

I remember really hating vanilla NG3. Just a massive disappointment. This revision of the game never repulsed me quite like the original did, and ultimately I think it's worth playing through on Normal mode, but unlike masterpi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Prey (2006)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/prey-2006/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/prey-2006/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Human Head Studios, PC, 2006

Better puzzles than I expected, but the action is as bad as I feared. It's an already short game, but it'd do better with a Portal-style pace. Lots of dumb mid-2000s edgy shit, too, especially the ghost girls.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Floating Runner]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/floating-runner/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/floating-runner/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Xing Entertainment, Playstation, 1996

Unfortunate. Being a pre Mario64 3D platformer I expected jank, and it is. The core of the game is tank control movement, high jumping, and a very short-range gun to shoot enemies with. There are lots of cute d…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Death's Door]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/deaths-door/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/deaths-door/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Acid Nerve, PC, 2021

A surprisingly restrained game that uses some bare dodge-roll-slash combat. The dungeons aren't thrilling to explore, but they don't overstay their welcome and the bosses are pretty fun throughout. Definitely better than Titan …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Way of the Samurai]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/way-of-the-samurai/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/way-of-the-samurai/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Acquire, Playstation 2, 2002

Super novel structure, and it gets a lot of credit for having such a cool branching story, but unfortunately I can't enjoy the combat enough to tolerate the lack of skippable dialog bubbles.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Miracle Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/miracle-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/miracle-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Data East, Arcade, 1993  
aka Spinmaster

Pretty mid action-platformer. It's generally well constructed, with clean art and nice music, but the on-rails sections are boring if you aren't playing for score and there's very little to it all.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Special Criminal Investigation]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/special-criminal-investigation/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/special-criminal-investigation/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1989

Neat little Outrun/ChaseHQ style game. It's a pretty forgiving one overall, as the timer isn't very harsh and it won't take that many attempts to learn the stage tricks, but the chaining passes is neat and I like the precision-a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tenchu: Stealth Assassins]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/tenchu-stealth-assassins/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/tenchu-stealth-assassins/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Acquire, Playstation, 1998

Cool game to finally beat. It's obviously clunky in a lot of ways (especially compared to Metal Gear Solid), but the melee combat is surprisingly good for the context imo. The stages have a very Tomb Raider style 3D grid …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dust: A Tale of the Wired West]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/dust-a-tale-of-the-wired-west/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/dust-a-tale-of-the-wired-west/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[CyberFlix, Windows 3.1, 1995 

I have some childhood memories of clicking around in this game and getting nowhere, and something made me want to revisit this recently. Getting Windows 3.1 running these days can be a pain.

This is a first-person adv…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Phantasy Star (Switch Sega Ages)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/phantasy-star-switch-sega-ages/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/phantasy-star-switch-sega-ages/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[M2 and Sega, Switch, 2018

Very cool theme. Nice art, nice music, nice three-planet setup. The dungeons are amazing technologically but managed to wear on me even with the map.

In no universe would I have ever beaten this without a guide. Even this…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[X]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/x/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/x/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo and Argonaut Software, Game Boy, 1992

Super impressive tech showpiece for the Game Boy, and obviously reminiscent of Star Fox in some ways, but the structure is pretty unique. 

There's one general map that gets re-used across the games' t…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4889c77e84018835895e/attachments/631a488ac77e8401883597b0/previews/631a488ac77e8401883597b6/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Trespasser]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/trespasser/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/trespasser/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Dreamworks Interactive, PC, 1998

Of course it's bad. I can admire the attempt to change up how guns are fired in first person, but this sort of independent arm motion won't wind up feeling natural until VR.

I'd actually say that this early phase o…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dracula Densetsu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/dracula-densetsu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/dracula-densetsu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Game Boy, 1989  
aka Castlevania: The Adventure

Lots of baffling shit in this game. From a tech perspective it seems to NEVER run at full speed. There's a ridiculous amount of screen tearing for a fixed-hardware game, too. 

There are a few…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4889c77e840188358a30/attachments/631a488ac77e8401883599c3/previews/631a488ac77e8401883599c9/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/super-mario-land-2-6-golden-coins/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/super-mario-land-2-6-golden-coins/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo, Game Boy, 1992

Big step up from the first, obviously. Everything's nicer visually and the basic mechanics feel closer to the Famicom games (though not quite there). The way that you have to fight bosses again when you get a game over is p…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4889c77e840188358ac2/attachments/631a488bc77e840188359a38/previews/631a488bc77e840188359a3f/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rygar (NES)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rygar-nes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rygar-nes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tecmo, Famicom, 1987

There's something cool about the theme and the journey and some of the backgrounds here, but for the most part the action in this game is a mess. The bosses are a joke, the enemies have no thought to them, and two of the three …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Monster Hunter Rise]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/monster-hunter-rise/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/monster-hunter-rise/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2021

I don't know about the monster selection and post-game stuff just yet, but I AM loving the new maneuverability stuff and the new monster in-fighting mechanics. The village quests did go by pretty fast.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a486ec77e84018834f363/attachments/631a4870c77e84018834ffb1/previews/631a4870c77e84018834ffb7/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Inscryption]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/inscryption/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/inscryption/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Daniel Mullins Games, PC, 2021

Starts very strong. Builds up a good permadeath card game loop with a unique aesthetic, a lot of mystery, and some really neat core mechanics.

Once you beat this and realize this is just the first act, however, you'l…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Great Ace Attorney 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/the-great-ace-attorney-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/the-great-ace-attorney-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Switch, 2017

It's more of the same, but the structure was a little different in this one. It's a clear two-game story arc and the payoff was good, even if the cases felt a bit uneven.

These two games are as good as the original trilogy, I …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a486ec77e84018834f358/attachments/631a4870c77e84018834ff73/previews/631a4870c77e84018834ff7a/download/latest.jpeg.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ikari no Yousai 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikari-no-yousai-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikari-no-yousai-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jaleco, Game Boy, 1992

This game improves on the action of the original in nearly every way. The healing item distribution is way more deliberate and character revivals are gone, making things tenser, and both characters can switch between three si…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ikari no Yousai (1991)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikari-no-yousai-1991/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikari-no-yousai-1991/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jaleco, Game Boy, 1991

Cool little room-by-room top-down action game. Slow movement like Gain Ground or something and a neat separation of character abilities. The combat isn't thrilling and usually boils down to decent positioning, but it doesn't …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Trip World]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/trip-world/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/trip-world/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 05:02:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sunsoft, Game Boy, 1992

An extremely cute game, but it's a strange platformer with very little threat and a lot of NPCs that kinda just push you around and don't damage you. The boss fights stand out like a sore thumb. Not a great game, but very ac…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Mario Land]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/super-mario-land/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/super-mario-land/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 05:01:28 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo, Game Boy, 1989

Very brief, and the mechanics don't feel as good as the console games, but it's a cute platformer with little STG stages and nothing lasts longer than it needs to.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Blue Stinger]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/blue-stinger/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/blue-stinger/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:55:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Climax Graphics, Dreamcast, 1999

Pretty neat game. The combat is surprisingly satisfying with the huge impact effects (that stun rod!), blocking, and monster limb removal stuff. There are some places where it's easy to get lost, objective-wise, and…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Runabout]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/runabout/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/runabout/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:53:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Climax Entertainment, Playstation, 1997

Pretty novel driving game. The courses are mostly linear, but you get these little selectable routes all over the place and the streets are filled with things to smash into and get points for. The car handlin…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cave Noire]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cave-noire/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cave-noire/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:52:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Game Boy, 1991

A cute and small-scale Game Boy roguelike from 1991. The structure is pretty unique: you play through dungeons that get larger in size (like Shiren), but there are four dungeon objective types for you to chip away at (each wi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Marathon]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/marathon/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/marathon/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:30:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bungie, Macintosh, 1994

This is an impressive game for 1994, and I think there are some cool and unique things that it does. The desolate space station is pretty moody. The alien designs are cool. I like the health station and save point structure …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Vimana]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/vimana/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/vimana/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:28:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Toaplan, Arcade, 1991

Some neat pixel art in here, but ultimately this is a pretty busted Toaplan STG that relies solely on autofire rate. It'll only take a couple tries to clear. Shame the music can't really be heard over the shots.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Teppodon]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/teppodon/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/teppodon/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:27:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ikiki, PC, 2004

VERY sick improvement on Teppoman. Cleaner controls (fixed up some climb+jump shit) and way cooler enemies and stages and visuals.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Teppoman]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/teppoman/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/teppoman/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:25:26 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ikiki, PC, 2003

Extremely short but well-made little action-platformer that involves limited-ammo weapons and some very minor stealth elements. Being an early freeware game it's visually sparse but clean and perfectly readable.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631967fe0b3d6c020e89d1a8/attachments/63196e85533cef01e354508c/previews/63196e85533cef01e3545099/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[...Iru!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/iru/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/iru/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:22:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Soft Machine, Playstation, 1998

A straightforward first-person adventure game that basically plays out like Clock Tower but worse. It's kinda novel looking in a "polished King's Field 1" sort of way.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cabal]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cabal/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cabal/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[TAD Corporation, Arcade, 1988

Pretty simple game, and one wrecked by autofire, but it walked so Wild Guns could run. A useful dodge mechanic and satisfying destruction.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Banishing Racer]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/banishing-racer/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/banishing-racer/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jaleco, Game Boy, 1991

An extremely novel and cute Game Boy platformer. You control a car, complete with pretty sluggish acceleration and even more sluggish reverse (the sprite is always facing right). Stages are generally manually-scrolling, but t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dead Space]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dead-space/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dead-space/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Visceral Games, PC, 2008

Played on Hard.

This is a pretty good game that, unfortunately, drags too much in Act 2. I don't think the combat is particularly great, certainly not enough to justify the game length. But the abilities are kinda fun, the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Yakuza 6: The Song of Life]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/yakuza-6-the-song-of-life/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/yakuza-6-the-song-of-life/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Playstation 4, 2016

A surprisingly interesting game for being the sixth main entry in the series. Loved the Hiroshima setting and loved the relative brevity of a lot of the plot, but obviously we're in familiar territory here. Beat Takeshi is…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Titan Souls]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/titan-souls/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/titan-souls/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Acid Nerve, PC, 2015

Decided to play this because Death's Door looked cool. Unfortunately didn't like it overall. The core mechanics of firing and force-pulling a single arrow are neat, I like the way the world map is structured overall (the tiny p…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Boogerman: A Pick and Flick Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/boogerman-a-pick-and-flick-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/boogerman-a-pick-and-flick-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Interplay, Genesis, 1994

okay it's not good but it's probably better than some of the Shiny games. Surprisingly decent boss fights, and the stages are a little convoluted but not mazelike. Still, not enough stage, enemy, or mechanical variety.

And…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ys IX: Monstrum Nox]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ys-ix-monstrum-nox/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ys-ix-monstrum-nox/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nihon Falcom, PC, 2019

This Flash Guard/Dodge model of Ys that's been around since 7 is still inherently satisfying albeit simple (learn animations, then Flash, then win). It's pretty fun to stack up dodge and flash repeatedly while pummelling on a…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968020b3d6c020e89f08f/attachments/631968040b3d6c020e89fe1b/previews/631968040b3d6c020e89fe22/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[10,000 Bullets]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/10000-bullets/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/10000-bullets/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Blue Moon Studio, Playstation 2, 2005  
aka Tsukiyo ni Saraba

This game sucks. It's a mess of a bullet time third-person shooter.

BUT

Most of the game is about the auto lock snapping to an enemy, shrinking, and then giving you a brief window for …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Last Labyrinth]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/last-labyrinth/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/last-labyrinth/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Amata K.K., PC VR, 2019

A very polished puzzle game with some mystery to it. You're bound to a chair and have a laser pointer on your head and guide a girl through Saw-themed puzzles. The deaths can get pretty dark without being graphic. There are …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Castlevania: Lords of Shadow]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/castlevania-lords-of-shadow/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/castlevania-lords-of-shadow/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[MercurySteam, PC, 2010

Played on Hard. 

Better than I expected. Some pretty fun combat mechanics despite the "honesty" (lack of iframes), just takes some learning with less than obvious animations. Hard mode is appropriately tough. I'm not crazy a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[R-Type]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/r-type/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/r-type/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Arcade, 1987

Decided to try credit feeding the arcade original. Some of the checkpoints in this game are particularly egregious, and there are enough of these to make it a no-miss game. I tried beating the stage 7 midpoint well, well over 100…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Light Crusader]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/light-crusader/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/light-crusader/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Mega Drive, 1995

Late Treasure-developed Megadrive game. Almost certainly inspired by Landstalker. Unlike Landstalker it's one big dungeon and there isn't a lot in the way of exploration, which ultimately makes for a tighter game in this …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dark Savior]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dark-savior/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dark-savior/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Climax Entertainment, Saturn, 1996

A big step up from Landstalker. The Yoko Taro-ish parallel story setup keeps the pace brief while still having a lot to do and see, and the combat is ultimately more fun through slightly more complicated 1v1 fight…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tip Top]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/tip-top/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/tip-top/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SEGA, Arcade, 1983
aka Congo Bongo

This is pretty fascinating. It seems like it's clearly the first go at 3D platforming, and it's surprisingly pretty and varied for being that. Can't quite close out a loop.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gunlord X]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/gunlord-x/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/gunlord-x/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[NGDEV, Switch, 2019

Turrican again but with a better health system, bosses, signposting. Sick pixel art. Weird control mechanics, feels like it must be a significant rebalancing from the MVS/AES original. Cool STG stages.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[RoboSkate]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/roboskate/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/roboskate/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Matas Sakalauskas, PC, 2020

A simple QWOP-like game about a robot arm on a skateboard. Mind-bending to learn, lasts about exactly as long as it needs to.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Castlevania 64]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/castlevania-64/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/castlevania-64/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Nintendo 64, 1999  
aka Akumajou Dracula Apocalypse

I actually kinda like the structure of this game. A linear sequence of slightly less linear levels that mix platforming, combat, and light puzzles. The combat is the weakest part of the ga…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968080b3d6c020e8a116f/attachments/6319680a0b3d6c020e8a2022/previews/6319680a0b3d6c020e8a2029/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Turrican (C64)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/turrican-c64/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/turrican-c64/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Rainbow Arts Software, Commodore 64, 1990

Certainly incredible from a tech perspective. There are a lot of rough edges here, but I found both the sweeping laser and the rolling ball to be a lot of fun to use, and the stages do a good job of riding …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Landstalker]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/landstalker/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/landstalker/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Climax Entertainment, Mega Drive, 1992

Gorgeous. Really stunning game for 1992. Impressive how complex the various dioramas are. 

The combat is simple, but the puzzles and the platforming elevate the game. Platforming in particular surprised me: i…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Beyond Oasis]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/beyond-oasis/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/beyond-oasis/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ancient, Mega Drive, 1994

Very modern-feeling visuals, almost looks like Xenocrisis. Flat colors, cool animation, big sprites. Excellent audio, too, with some surprisingly ambient tracks, directional sound effects, reverb.

This is kind of the oppo…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bucky O'Hare]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bucky-ohare/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bucky-ohare/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Famicom, 1992

A solid action platformer using Konami's multi character schtick. Some fun puzzle-y bosses, doesn't overstay its welcome. A surprisingly flat retry structure though, making it feel like a modern quicksave-style game at times.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dynamite Batman (Famicom)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dynamite-batman-famicom/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dynamite-batman-famicom/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sunsoft, Famicom, 1991  
aka Batman: Return of the Joker

Ridiculously gorgeous game, but unfortunately not quite as solid as the first.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Moon Crystal]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/moon-crystal/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/moon-crystal/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Hect, Famicom, 1992

Great animation and it's fun to learn the weird movement. Stages are tightly-designed and the environment art is nice. Cool cutscenes. 

Unfortunately, the bosses aren't as fun to fight as they are to look at, and there's an inc…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Crazy Taxi 3]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/crazy-taxi-3/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/crazy-taxi-3/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Hitmaker, Xbox, 2002

S-ranked West Coast and Small Apple, Awesome'd Glitter Oasis. I always loved what they did with the original arcade map in this release (adding a bunch of areas and the CT2 mechanics), and this definitely has the best mini-map …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Crazy Taxi 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/crazy-taxi-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/crazy-taxi-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Hitmaker, Dreamcast, 2001

Went back to this one and got S-Rank on the two cities and did most of the Crazy Pyramid. Overall it's not as good as the first game, definitely not, but the arrow is better-behaved than in home CT1's Original City and the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[GG Shinobi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/gg-shinobi/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/gg-shinobi/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SEGA, Game Gear, 1991

An overlooked Shinobi game released a couple years after Revenge. The structure is kinda unique and takes a little bit from Rockman, with the first four stages being selectable and having you rescuing color-coded comrades that…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dino Crisis 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dino-crisis-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dino-crisis-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Playstation, 2000

A pretty cool game, but ultimately probably merely better than the original Dino Crisis (which is probably the worst of the Capcom fixed-camera PS1 games). It's too simple mechanically to be a particularly good 3D action g…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Amid Evil]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/amid-evil/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/amid-evil/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Indefatigable, PC, 2018

A classic-style FPS that probably has more in common with Unreal than Doom or Quake. I don't think the weapons and enemies combine into combat that's nearly as enjoyable as something like DUSK, Doom 2016, or Serious Sam, but…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Metroid Prime]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/metroid-prime/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/metroid-prime/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Retro Studios, GameCube, 2002

This game is incredibly stylish and gorgeous. The pace combined with the z-target combat reminds me a bit of a OOT-era 3D Zelda. The movement upgrades in particular are a lot of fun to use. Unfortunately, despite being…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Perfect Dark]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/perfect-dark/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/perfect-dark/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Rare, Nintendo 64, 2000

Not a lot of surprises here. It's Goldeneye with a bit more to it and a Deus Ex theme. Some of the warts are a little more prominent in this game: more frequent extreme framerate dips, more annoying objective failures becaus…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Room 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-room-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-room-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Fireproof Games, PC, 2016

Extremely more of the same, of course. Fortunately the devs steered away from using the viewfinder all that often. It's good, but I'm not rushing to play the third.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Zwei: The Arges Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/zwei-the-arges-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/zwei-the-arges-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nihon Falcom, PC, 2001

Found the dungeons to be too repetitive in this one, didn't really like the structure. Very pretty game though.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Halo: ODST]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/halo-odst/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/halo-odst/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bungie, Xbox 360, 2009

It's better than Halo 4 and 5 campaigns because it doesn't have the lame silver and orange guys but it's worse than Halo 1-3 campaigns because it has a worse hub world and the whole game is 2008 brown. I don't need to see pol…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/star-wars-shadows-of-the-empire/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/star-wars-shadows-of-the-empire/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[LucasArts, Nintendo 64, 1996

Surely this game's weird third-person/first-person combat with extremely heavy autoaim was a big inspiration for Goldeneye 64 even if the floaty movement wasn't. The scope of a lot of these stages are pretty impressive …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Otogi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/otogi/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/otogi/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 25 Jun 2026 02:44:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[From Software, Xbox, 2002

I gave this game a brief try as a teenager and bounced off of it in just a mission or two, but some time in the 2010s I picked up a cheap used copy. I thought that I was surely missing something, given the praise the game …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mario vs Donkey Kong]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mario-vs-donkey-kong/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mario-vs-donkey-kong/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 21 Jun 2026 20:21:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo Software Technologies, Game Boy Advance, 2004

A successor to Donkey Kong ‘94 released ten years later.

Much of the game follows in the footsteps of the original, with similar small-scale stages and a similar core set of actions for Mario.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rising Zan]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/rising-zan/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/rising-zan/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 14 Jun 2026 22:05:16 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[UEP Systems, Playstation, 1999

A 3D katana-and-revolver wild west action game from the developers of Cool Boarders. Everything is played for laughs as your hot-headed cowboy swordsman main character slices up Fist of the North Star goobers, pretty …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5fcfe7ebfbb5203ad1f937d2/attachments/6a2f11bc103b407b1551a954/previews/6a2f11bd103b407b1551abb5/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Look Outside]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/look-outside/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/look-outside/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 13 Jun 2026 19:05:23 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Francis Coulombe, PC, 2025

A loosely traditional JRPG set inside an apartment building where looking outside causes people to morph into grotesque monsters thanks to a gigantic celestial body that suddenly appeared in the sky one day. The game ride…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6a15d42d58b2be4243ec939f/attachments/6a15d42ff89407afceb5ecbd/previews/6a15d42ff89407afceb5ecd1/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Wonder Boy: Monster Land]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/wonder-boy-monster-land/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/wonder-boy-monster-land/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 11 Jun 2026 01:02:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Westone, Arcade, 1987

An extremely cool arcade action platformer with simple “RPG” trappings in the form of NPCs to talk to, stores to visit, and secret rooms. It’s a game I’ve wanted to put more time into since I first tried it in the Sega Ages 25…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/657fe4590e1281c01ec28f25/attachments/69feb5be97a81334572a1f21/previews/69feb5bf97a81334572a1f4e/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tanuki Justice]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/tanuki-justice/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/tanuki-justice/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 05 Jun 2026 03:57:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Wonderboy Bobi, PC, 2021

A cute and no-nonsense Contra-style arcade-designed action platformer. Nice environments and enemy designs, mostly good readability, and some nice backgrounds and occasional big sprites. Aside from having omni-directional t…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5fd9516d265f753dffadbf43/attachments/6a224806b37b4a9f144ff69c/previews/6a224807b37b4a9f144ff9d4/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[007 First Light]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/007-first-light/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/007-first-light/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 04 Jun 2026 15:06:54 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[IO Interactive, PC, 2026

The modern Hitman games are probably some of the best around, so I was basically guaranteed to give this game a shot. Played on Hard (“Purist” or whatever).

IO went in a more Uncharted direction than a Hitman one here. The…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[DonPachi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/donpachi/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/donpachi/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 31 May 2026 05:06:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 1995

Cave’s debut masterpiece. I originally cleared this in 2020 but wanted to come back to it and get an on-stream clear. As far as I know this is the first shooting game with the idea of holding fire to get a focus laser that gives …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5e9bd0d42c518d3c2cc25995/attachments/6a13236ad0b87759945d30bb/previews/6a13236cd0b87759945d30cc/download/a43c7672-ccdc-434f-b450-98ce44e8f4d1.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Battle Formula]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/battle-formula/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/battle-formula/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 26 May 2026 02:43:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sunsoft, Famicom, 1991. aka Super Spy Hunter

Top-down vertical-scrolling car shooting action. I’ve never played anything in this little Spy Hunter subgenre before so this is all new to me.

Having control of the car’s speed is the weirdest thing go…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/671b13b236056409f96410d8/attachments/6a1503fc531746861cc16d71/previews/6a1503fd531746861cc16d98/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Demon's Blazon]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/demons-blazon/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/demons-blazon/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 24 May 2026 14:58:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Super Famicom, 1994. aka Demon’s Crest

The third of the Red Arremer games, and safely the best of them. An incredibly gorgeous and moody action-platformer that takes the “quest” factor of the prior two games and refines it into a simple Mod…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/577c9e8dcda600d9daecae86/attachments/65809bed0928c960ac9ab845/previews/65809bef0928c960ac9abb75/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[DoDonPachi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/dodonpachi/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/dodonpachi/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 24 May 2026 01:36:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 1997

Spent some time revisiting this, which I initially cleared in 2012. It’s as intense as I remember it being, and while I remember bomb usage being the key skill I’m surprised at how much trickier the game is with the type A ship. …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[DoDonPachi DaiFukkatsu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/dodonpachi-daifukkatsu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/dodonpachi-daifukkatsu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 21 May 2026 02:45:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2008

The fourth main DonPachi game. Gone is the bleak tone of DaiOuJou, replaced with bright and colorful environments, crisp EDM music, and boss vehicles that transform into robotic anime girls. Alongside the tonal shift are some ext…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/68878bc6b56637b35ce84719/attachments/68878bcab06f2578186d731e/previews/68878bcbb06f2578186d7674/download/4a53dfc6-fd41-444e-bed6-f90f5df1d029.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gundam Side Story 0079 - Rise from the Ashes]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/gundam-side-story-0079-rise-from-the-ashes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/gundam-side-story-0079-rise-from-the-ashes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 20 May 2026 06:20:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[BEC, Dreamcast, 1999

A pretty huge step up from the Saturn trilogy in every way, I think. We get a full-length and substantial campaign that spans a variety of nice-looking plateaus, rolling hills (no more flat Saturn VDP2 terrain), cities, and mil…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5f19b186a0d3e72f442c8fa6/attachments/65cb0fd9c9dca2d8d9ad0d81/previews/65cb0fdbc9dca2d8d9ad0fa7/download/21a0862a-477b-4811-b341-8dfe9f0e5cea.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Maken X]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/maken-x/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/maken-x/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 13 May 2026 20:36:57 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Atlus R&D1, Dreamcast, 1999

A striking first-person melee action game with Kazuma Kaneko art direction. That’s already plenty unique enough, but on top of that you play as a sentient sword that can hop from body to body. I remember renting this as …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/694a0975cf41026bfe2d0543/attachments/694a098776fa2ed74142dde0/previews/694a098876fa2ed74142e294/download/92a27c16-6cdd-47dc-b612-eb0ed246f640.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Superlative Night Dreams: Cotton Rock'n'Roll]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/superlative-night-dreams-cotton-rocknroll/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/superlative-night-dreams-cotton-rocknroll/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 13 May 2026 00:46:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Studio Saizensen, Arcade, 2021

Played the Steam version. Pretty cool! A 180 from the original in that magic is incredibly useful now and in fact is almost something to mash out as much as you can. Thankfully despite the modernness, it has a similar…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story III]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mobile-suit-gundam-side-story-iii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mobile-suit-gundam-side-story-iii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 08 May 2026 04:44:33 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[BEC, Saturn, 1997

See [my thoughts on part II](/gamelog/2026/mobile-suit-gundam-side-story-ii/ "‌"). More of the same, of course, with a slight difficulty escalation and a couple more out-there mission concepts. Culminates in a lot of rapid dodge-f…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/607af53fff09b5399e232361/attachments/69fb5981b86415912a83096f/previews/69fb5982b86415912a830c93/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mobile-suit-gundam-side-story-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mobile-suit-gundam-side-story-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 07 May 2026 04:58:29 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[BEC, Saturn, 1996

The second entry in a trilogy of very brief first-person mech action games on the Saturn. I’ll just dig up what I said about the first game, which I played in 2020:

These are some of the best visual on Saturn, it's kinda wild. I …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Fantastic Night Dreams: Cotton]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/fantastic-night-dreams-cotton/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/fantastic-night-dreams-cotton/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 06 May 2026 23:55:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Success, Arcade, 1991

Pretty great game! Fun theme, cute character designs, great art, catchy music, dense with setpieces. I really like how it’s balanced. It’s relatively easy, but you’ll still have to learn most every step of the way and it’s all…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/657fe4c61f9d50c6ee436888/attachments/69fb57cfc82968fe4e6ac6c2/previews/69fb57cfc82968fe4e6ac6d3/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Crystalis]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/crystalis/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/crystalis/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 03 May 2026 23:02:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SNK, Famicom, 1990. aka GOD SLAYER

On paper this is a pretty well-executed take on Ys from SNK, but unfortunately it just didn’t get any claws into me. Annoying story triggers, sometimes-annoying dungeon design (having to switch swords using that c…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5514e4cf458815f9dcbaacd8/attachments/66be464d40480565f472ac0b/previews/66be464d40480565f472adeb/download/27001cf0-419d-46e3-bf93-d3d851a94786.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Pragmata]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/pragmata/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/pragmata/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 28 Apr 2026 19:51:47 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2026

An inventive third-person shooter about stranded moon colony worker Hugh teaming up with childlike android Diana in order to find their way through the colony's haywire robots and get back to Earth. The foundation of the game is a …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Guardians: Denjin Makai II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/guardians-denjin-makai-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/guardians-denjin-makai-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 28 Apr 2026 01:53:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Winkysoft, Arcade, 1995

A really cool belt scroller full of stuff. It’s got branching stage selection. It’s got eight characters. It’s got big movelists, meters, all the mobility options, long combo mechanics, and blocking.

…And maybe that’s part …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dynamite Deka]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/dynamite-deka/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/dynamite-deka/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 18 Apr 2026 20:43:18 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM1, Arcade, 1996. aka Die Hard Arcade

The 2026 revisit, years after [my last real try at single-credit clearing the game](/gamelog/2023/dynamite-deka/ "‌").

Everything I said back then still stands. This clear has reinforced the game’s statu…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/69e2c490a56bf3e62db2d1df/attachments/69e2c4932e071a2210e136be/previews/69e2c4952e071a2210e136d1/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mirrors]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mirrors/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mirrors/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 15:06:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Soft Studio Wing, NEC PC-8801, 1990

A PC-8801 visual novel that, fascinatingly, uses a CD-ROM despite the computer’s age. A 1990 CD-ROM adventure game for a computer platform that released in 1981 is wild to me, so I played the fan translation that…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6136456816009588f7ef3e26/attachments/61364569ecf22d09412b0ed8/previews/6136456aecf22d09412b0ee4/download/16309466268812686978515299045982.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Death Stranding 2: On the Beach]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/death-stranding-2-on-the-beach/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/death-stranding-2-on-the-beach/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 14 Apr 2026 21:29:57 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Kojima Productions, PC, 2026

Played on “to the wilder” difficulty.

Obviously a lot of overlap with the original. Maybe the most straightforward sequel of any Kojima game. Like in the original it’s fun to simply move around the world partially than…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/69ba120d807e0abca93dd584/attachments/69ba125e3b1cfe540aa872b1/previews/69ba125f3b1cfe540aa872cc/download/hero_capsule_2x.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[R-Type Delta]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/r-type-delta/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/r-type-delta/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 04 Apr 2026 01:23:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Playstation, 1998

‌I was worried after R-Type 3, which I found to be an over-long game with jacked pacing that was really unfun to try to 1CC and still kind of a slog to clear with continues. 

Fortunately, Irem kind of did the impossible her…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/699fc691711e1103cfffc303/attachments/699fc6aa54c0fa34317d8f4a/previews/699fc6ab54c0fa34317d8f67/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tobal No. 1]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/tobal-no-1/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/tobal-no-1/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 19 Mar 2026 01:36:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[DreamFactory, PS1, 1996

Very cool and polished 3D fighting game with a distinct gradient-heavy texture-light look and particularly spectacular animation. The Quest mode is the main draw for me here, mixing a traditional roguelike dungeon crawling e…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5f19e7fc4674ec26446665c5/attachments/65ad48117e6a7c579d96ae90/previews/65ad48117e6a7c579d96aec8/download/e4427282-d8d5-49bb-96e9-88deea816981.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Valusa no Fukushuu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/valusa-no-fukushuu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/valusa-no-fukushuu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 15 Mar 2026 00:02:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Zain Soft, X68000, 1990

A fantasy action-platformer starring a character that looks a bit like Adol. It’s a short and linear one, with no XP to speak of, and the pixel art, boss designs, and music all rule. The core mechanics are just a basic jump …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/61da4bf85134758483ad562e/attachments/694a067110f6edd23b509f77/previews/694a067210f6edd23b509f94/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[WinBack]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/winback/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/winback/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 10 Mar 2026 17:55:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Omega Force, Nintendo 64, 1999

A cool-looking third-person shooter that feels like an idea shot into someone’s brain simply because they saw Solid Snake pressed against a wall in Metal Gear Solid and wanted to be able to make him pop out from that …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5f190654c875223c13d400d8/attachments/69881f5ff9914a07ad9505bb/previews/69881f60f9914a07ad9505d3/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Fantasy Zone]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/fantasy-zone/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/fantasy-zone/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 07 Mar 2026 03:09:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Arcade, 1986

Classic bidirectional shooting game. This was one of the first arcade games I cleared, back in 2007, and I decided to revisit it today. 

Autofire mostly decimates it, but there's still some boss strategy that shines through and …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Splatterhouse]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/splatterhouse/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/splatterhouse/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 07 Mar 2026 03:02:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Namco, Arcade, 1988

A sick action-platformer focused on tight punching  and kicking with just a little dash of platforming. I haven't played a lot of Spartan X yet but I imagine this builds on it. The theme is a complete horror mishmash, but the pi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Resident Evil Requiem]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/resident-evil-requiem/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/resident-evil-requiem/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 05 Mar 2026 03:18:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2026

Reliable as always! Another excellent FPS, though this time Grace’s first-person creepy survival segments are split up with combat-focused third-person Leon segments. It feels like a natural evolution of all the hopping around in V…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/69a7ce3f47fcae01dfd10a99/attachments/69a7ce4434b222b4375407e3/previews/69a7ce4634b222b4375407f8/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Philosoma]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/philosoma/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/philosoma/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 26 Feb 2026 03:25:50 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[G-Artists, Playstation, 1995

A dark sci-fi scrolling shooter that rapidly changes perspective, surely serving as an inspiration for Astebreed. It’s a game full of neat designs and cutscenes, focusing on the spectacle part of the genre above readabi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ketsui: Kizuna Jigoku Tachi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/ketsui-kizuna-jigoku-tachi/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/ketsui-kizuna-jigoku-tachi/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 23 Feb 2026 17:56:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2003

A long time coming. I originally picked up a Japanese Xbox 360 to play this back in 2010. I put some real time into it, eventually reaching stage 4, but it was kicking my ass too thoroughly and I moved on. 16 years later I’ve com…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Romeo is a Dead Man]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/romeo-is-a-dead-man/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/romeo-is-a-dead-man/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 21 Feb 2026 19:43:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Grasshopper Manufacture, PC, 2026

A sci-fi melee action game mixed with third person shooting, probably closer to a Wanted Dead than it is a Killer is Dead.

Romeo’s foundation is melee slashing, i-frame dodging, and third-person shooting. The slas…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mansion of Hidden Souls]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mansion-of-hidden-souls/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mansion-of-hidden-souls/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 09 Feb 2026 20:41:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[System Sacom, Sega Mega-CD, 1993

aka Yumemi Mystery Mansion, Yumemi Yakata no Monogatari

An all-CG FMV first-person adventure game released right after Myst and Gadget where you play as a boy trying to prevent his sister from turning into a butter…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Lemmings]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/lemmings/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/lemmings/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 08 Feb 2026 01:47:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[DMA Design, MS-DOS, 1991

This is an interesting one. It’s a classic game, one I poked at as a kid but never got far in. I like the concept a lot, and the pixel art is surprisingly charming given how small these dudes are on-screen. I opted with the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Why I'm a Dweeb About Arcade Games]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/posts/why-im-a-dweeb-about-arcade-games/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/posts/why-im-a-dweeb-about-arcade-games/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 06 Feb 2026 20:14:57 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Any look at [my game log](/gamelog/2025/?highlights=true) should make it clear that I’m an arcade game head. I’ve been interested in them for most of my life, but things really kicked into high gear here in the 2020s. It’s a huge part of my time wit…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shining the Holy Ark]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/shining-the-holy-ark/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/shining-the-holy-ark/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 04 Feb 2026 17:40:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Camelot and Sonic, Sega Saturn, 1996

I’ve said it a [few](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/grandia/ "‌") [times](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/shin-megami-tensei-strange-journey/ "‌") [now](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/like…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Musha Aleste]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/musha-aleste/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/musha-aleste/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 25 Jan 2026 04:37:39 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Compile, Mega Drive, 1990

Took a break from getting my ass kicked by Ketsui and decided to spend a couple hours with this beloved Compile vertizontal STG and see how I felt about it. The only other Compile STG I’ve played through is Guardic Gaiden,…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Air Fortress]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/air-fortress/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/air-fortress/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 24 Jan 2026 01:19:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[HAL Laboratories, Famicom, 1987

A very cool and unique sci-fi action game. Stages start with horizontal scrolling shooting sequences to approach the fortress, and then it switches over to jetpack-ish action-platformer mode inside of the base. Durin…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Fight'N Rage]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/fightn-rage/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/fightn-rage/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 19 Jan 2026 21:07:49 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[sebagamesdev, PC, 2017

A belt scrolling action game from 2017. It’s pretty well-executed! Lush and fluid pixel art, great music, and a bunch of satisfying combat mechanics that are laid out elegantly. It’s got the usual genre foundations but you al…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[YAKYUKEN SLUGGER YAMADA]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/yakyuken-slugger-yamada/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/yakyuken-slugger-yamada/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 17 Jan 2026 22:56:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[デジメカ製作所 (Digimecha Manufacturing Co.?), PC, 2023

Wildly creative third-person action game themed around baseball. As you run around the game’s small stages an inning timer ticks away, and every time an inning ends you switch between using shooting …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Red Dead Redemption II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/red-dead-redemption-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/red-dead-redemption-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 16 Jan 2026 04:05:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Rockstar Games, Playstation 4, 2018

A massive free-roaming action game set in the tail end of the 1800s, serving as a prequel to the 2010 predecessor.

When this first released seven years ago I assumed it wouldn’t be my kind of game. Rockstar’s GT…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Routine]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/routine/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/routine/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 23 Dec 2025 16:17:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Lunar Software, PC, 2025

A first person horror game set on an abandoned lunar base in a chunky 80s-tech world. The environments and technical designs are among the coolest I’ve seen in any first-person game and make the playthrough worth it on thei…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Majou Densetsu II: Maze of Galious]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/majou-densetsu-ii-maze-of-galious/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/majou-densetsu-ii-maze-of-galious/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 23 Dec 2025 02:49:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, MSX, 1987
aka The Maze of Galious

Tried to dig into this again. The hurdles are high! The esoteric upgrade item placement and core action-platforming isn’t too bad, but I’m mostly floored at the insanely sluggish retry procedure. Losing Pop…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Terminator 2D - No Fate]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/terminator-2d-no-fate/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/terminator-2d-no-fate/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 18 Dec 2025 03:01:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bitmap Bureau, PC, 2025

A very polished action-platformer from the developers of Xenocrisis. This is pretty sick, taking a lot of inspiration from the right places. It’s got that Megadrive-era game length (a bit longer than an arcade game but not t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Skate Story]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/skate-story/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/skate-story/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 11 Dec 2025 19:07:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sam Eng, PC, 2025

A game where you play as a skateboarding demon made of glass. I was enamored by the reveal trailer for this years back, and fortunately the final release delivered.

The shape of the game surprised me. There are some substantial s…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Metal Garden]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/metal-garden/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/metal-garden/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 05 Dec 2025 05:49:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tinerasoft, PC, 2025

Quick and elegant first person shooter about exploring a vast desaturated alien world. Most of the game is low-gravity jumping through cool structures and landscapes, but there’s some serviceable combat in there as well. Kinda …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Baby Steps]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/baby-steps/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/baby-steps/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 02 Dec 2025 21:27:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Gabe Cuzzillo, Maxi Boch, Bennett Foddy, PC, 2025

A game about exploring a vast surreal world by controlling your feet. And to be clear, I mean pulling a trigger to lift a foot, using an analog stick to position it, and then releasing the trigger t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Night Striker Gear]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/night-striker-gear/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/night-striker-gear/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 02 Dec 2025 02:18:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[M2, PC, 2025

Sick sequel to the 1989 game directed by none other than Hiroshi Iuchi (of Ikaruga fame). It’s a shorter game, only four stages deep on the branching stage tree, and the stuffy orchestral soundtrack is kinda weak compared to the synth …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Asura the Striker]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/asura-the-striker/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/asura-the-striker/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 30 Nov 2025 02:00:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[LeftOver, PC, 2025

A Space Harrier style game with reasonably modern polygonal visuals. Extremely anime character design that I’m not a huge fan of, but I think the environments, enemies, and music are great. It’s got a very powerful sense of speed…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Night Striker]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/night-striker/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/night-striker/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 29 Nov 2025 15:54:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1989

Night Striker is an insanely cool-looking and cool-sounding Taito rail shooter (as in, Space Harrier style) full of huge scaling sprites and Darius-style stage branching. Weirdly enough I haven’t cleared a lot of arcade games in…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Chronicles of the Wolf]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/chronicles-of-the-wolf/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/chronicles-of-the-wolf/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 28 Nov 2025 18:57:19 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Migami Games, PC, 2025

Wonderful Igavania-style game set in 1700s France. At first glance it feels in lockstep with those Iga games, but the way this game builds up and consistently surprises gives it such a distinct feel. For a surprisingly long s…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Psyvariar 2: The Will to Fabricate]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/psyvariar-2-the-will-to-fabricate/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/psyvariar-2-the-will-to-fabricate/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 27 Nov 2025 02:10:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SKonec, Arcade, 2003

Played for La Calice Cup 11. A Korean-developed Naomi vertical STG, and a follow-up to a couple Success-developed G-NET games I’ve never played.

Probably the weirdest thing in this game is that, while it has a standard shot an…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Neon Inferno]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/neon-inferno/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/neon-inferno/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 23 Nov 2025 21:22:05 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Zenovia Interactive, PC, 2025

Absolutely sick action-platformer from the studio behind [Steel Assault](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/steel-assault/ "‌").

The major standout trait here is that the action-platforming is combined with Wild G…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[TwinBee Yahho!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/twinbee-yahho/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/twinbee-yahho/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 18 Nov 2025 16:02:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1995

Playing the Normal course of the arcade version for Calice Cup 11. Having no prior TwinBee experience I was pretty pumped to get into this despite it being the third and last game in the arcade series. Great character designs, …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Beyond Citadel]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/beyond-citadel/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/beyond-citadel/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 16 Nov 2025 00:24:14 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[doekuramori, PC, 2025

A Japanese first-person shooter I’d been hearing praise for throughout the year. I decided to finally try it despite skipping 2020’s The Citadel.

All of the characters, weapons, and props in the game are “hand-drawn” sprites …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Caput Mortum]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/caput-mortum/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/caput-mortum/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 11 Nov 2025 03:56:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[WildArts Games, PC, 2025

A well-made first-person horror adventure game that makes you interact with everything by using the right thumbstick to move your character’s right hand. This means you’ve got to rotate with shoulder buttons, giving you som…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Earthion]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/earthion/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/earthion/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 10 Nov 2025 03:38:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ancient, Mega Drive, 2025

A new horizontal shooting game designed for Mega Drive hardware. It’s a stunning game technologically, with the kind of pumping music you’d expect from Yuzo Koshiro and setpieces that feel mostly inspired by Thunder Force …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Pilot Kids]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/pilot-kids/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/pilot-kids/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 10 Nov 2025 01:27:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Psikyo, Arcade, 1998

A pretty cool Psikyo horizontal STG released roughly a year after Zero Gunner, making it their second polygonal game in the genre. The visuals are complex and clean (as you’d expect from something running on Model 2), the livin…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[THRASHER]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/thrasher/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/thrasher/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Nov 2025 06:38:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Puddle, PC, 2025

I really enjoyed Thumper. I wish I enjoyed this more.

Thrasher maintains Thumper’s general style of presentation, placing you in vast menacing abstract spaces with slowly-building music. The mechanics are totally new, though: inst…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[J.B. Harold: Blue Chicago Blues]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/jb-harold-blue-chicago-blues/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/jb-harold-blue-chicago-blues/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Nov 2025 04:12:50 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[RiverHillSoft, 1994, Pioneer LaserActive Mega LD

An FMV adventure game for the newly-emulatable Pioneer LaserActive Mega LD. This is my first experience with the platform, and given that it’s basically a Megadrive that can finely seek through and d…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rabio Lepus]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/rabio-lepus/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/rabio-lepus/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 05 Nov 2025 19:02:54 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Video System, Arcade, 1987

Future Psikyo director Shin Nakamura’s first game, a horizontal-scrolling shooter with a robo-rabbit theme. This is pretty visually stunning for 1987, and thematically it’s such a goofy mix of cute popcorn enemies, cutsce…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Chouyoku Senki Estique]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/chouyoku-senki-estique/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/chouyoku-senki-estique/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 04 Nov 2025 03:40:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cat Hui Trading, Famicom, 2024

A new Famicom horizontal shooting game released in late 2024. Technologically this game is really marvelous, filling up a Famicom-powered screen in a way I think I haven’t seen since Recca. Backgrounds are gorgeous, t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Singou Breaka]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/singou-breaka/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/singou-breaka/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 04 Nov 2025 00:48:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[NEOタケトンボ, PC, 2025

A fast action puzzle game about sliding traffic lights together. The rules are elegant: 2x1 pieces spawn into the grid and you can slide them along their long axis. Each piece has one side lit up as “STOP” or “GO”, and connecting…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Replicube]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/replicube/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/replicube/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 01 Nov 2025 04:56:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Walaber, PC, 2025

Laser-targeted game to me. It’s a puzzle game about making 3D voxel-based shapes, so there’s inherent overlap in presentation with Jupiter’s 3D Picross games, but instead of solving nonograms you’re writing code that gets executed…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Battlefield 6]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/battlefield-6/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/battlefield-6/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 29 Oct 2025 15:06:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[DICE, PC, 2025

I haven’t played one of these since Battlefield 4 like a decade ago, so after 30-ish hours of playing with friends I don’t feel like I’ve got much to say about the specifics on balance or map design here outside of “seems good”. The …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tetris the Grandmaster 4]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/tetris-the-grandmaster-4/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/tetris-the-grandmaster-4/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 29 Oct 2025 03:49:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Arika, PC, 2025

I feel like I’m an awfully long way from clearing this game’s Master mode, but it’s nice to have a modern TGM release at home. And one with so much stuff in it! It’s easy to picture myself chipping away at this one for years, though…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ninja Gaiden 4]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/ninja-gaiden-4/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/ninja-gaiden-4/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 28 Oct 2025 17:13:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[PlatinumGames/Team Ninja, PC, 2025

I had no clue what to expect with this one. Obviously Ninja Gaiden Black and Ninja Gaiden 2 are two of the best 3D melee action games ever, and games that I like more than any of Platinum’s releases, but given the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rygar: The Legendary Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/rygar-the-legendary-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/rygar-the-legendary-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 19 Oct 2025 04:47:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tecmo, Playstation 2, 2002

Neat 3D melee action game that feels like a natural step toward Ninja Gaiden (despite not having a lot of direct staff overlap) and a very obvious inspiration for God of War. Nice-looking fixed camera angles, long-reachin…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cosmic Smash]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/cosmic-smash/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/cosmic-smash/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 14 Oct 2025 00:50:17 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega Rosso, Arcade, 2000

Dabbled with this game since I was a teenager but made it a point to get all the endings. It’s pretty awesome, mixing some Virtua Tennis/Power Smash racket-swinging with Breakout stages and some sick low-gravity animation. …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Consume Me]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/consume-me/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/consume-me/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 11 Oct 2025 04:14:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, and Ken "coda" Snyder, PC, 2025

A very earnest and polished semi-autobiographical “life sim” where you follow the day to day of a teenager named Jenny as she manages her relationship with food an…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Battle Garegga]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/battle-garegga/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/battle-garegga/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 08 Oct 2025 23:27:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Raizing, Arcade, 1996

Shinobu Yagawa’s star game. A vertical shooter that takes an awful lot of influence from Taito’s Gun Frontier, but with a theme that leans into an overcast future full of scrap metal instead of Gun Frontier’s cosmic wild west.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Silent Hill f]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/silent-hill-f/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/silent-hill-f/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 08 Oct 2025 15:01:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[NeoBards Entertainment, PC, 2025

An engaging horror game with a novel and well-realized 1960s rural Japanese setting. As you’d expect from the name you’ll get extremely moody environments, a beautiful soundtrack, nasty creature designs, lots of fog…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gray Matter]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/gray-matter/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/gray-matter/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 24 Sep 2025 03:14:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Wizarbox, PC, 2010

A point and click adventure game designed and written by Gabriel Knight creator Jane Jensen, seemingly stuck in development hell after being announced in 2003 and passed around multiple development studios but finally making it o…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Red Alert / Last Alert]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/red-alert-last-alert/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/red-alert-last-alert/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 14 Sep 2025 19:57:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Shin-Nihon Laser Soft, PC Engine CD-ROM, 1989

A pretty sick commando-themed top-down omnidirectional shooter. It’s always wild to play a CD-ROM game from this era, since you get a lot of sick-looking full-screen pixel art illustrations (especially …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Skyblazer/Karura Ou]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/skyblazerkarura-ou/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/skyblazerkarura-ou/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 14 Sep 2025 15:21:19 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ukiyotei Company Ltd, Super Famicom, 1994

A well-made action platformer with a focus on wall sticking/climbing and really short-range bare-handed melee attacks. It’s got a simple world map, lots of cool bosses (barring one), and fun magic attacks t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Drakengard]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/drakengard/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/drakengard/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 10 Sep 2025 18:28:47 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cavia, Playstation 2, 2003

Above all else, after bouncing off of Dynasty Warriors 2/Shin Sangokumusou earlier this year, this game takes that basic concept and builds something genuinely engaging to me on top of it. An interesting cast of character…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Donkey Kong Country]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/donkey-kong-country/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/donkey-kong-country/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 01 Sep 2025 19:54:16 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Rare, Super Nintendo, 1994

A surprisingly tricky game! Mario 3 seems to be the main inspiration here both in the moment-to-moment (big focus on momentum, enemy head bouncing, a run/pickup/throw button, “flow-y” levels) and in terms of the broader s…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/vampire-the-masquerade-bloodlines/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/vampire-the-masquerade-bloodlines/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 31 Aug 2025 15:14:50 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Troika Games, PC, 2004

Played with the now-official “unofficial patch” (without restored content).

If someone had told me it was loosely like Deus Ex I would've played it years ago. Take that baseline and give it an edgy vampire plot, more of a fo…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Majuuou]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/majuuou/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/majuuou/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 21 Aug 2025 05:55:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Eleven Co., Super Famicom, 1995

Small sprite excellence. A really sick action-platformer with a demon-Giger theme.  Everything is bloody and brooding, sprites have somewhat realistic proportions, and the camera is zoomed out to give the action plen…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[South of Midnight]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/south-of-midnight/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/south-of-midnight/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 20 Aug 2025 03:59:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Compulsion Games, PC, 2025

A linear action game with a striking visual style, nice character designs, and a loosely Psychonauts-like narrative in a fantastical southern folklore setting. There’s a small selection of scene archetypes the game too-ri…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Wuchang: Fallen Feathers]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/wuchang-fallen-feathers/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/wuchang-fallen-feathers/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 12 Aug 2025 21:54:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Lenzee Studios, PC, 2025

Reminiscent of Wukong in a lot of ways, but it isn’t hooking me nearly as much as that game did. Got a few hours and a few bosses in before deciding that I just wasn’t in the mood to continue. Might be a revisit down the li…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Salamander 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/salamander-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/salamander-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 09 Aug 2025 03:00:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1996

‌I really love this game. It's better-balanced than I remember, the setpieces are sick, and what a soundtrack! The option-burning attack is crazy satisfying, and the bosses are more "honest" than anything in the first game. The…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Salamander]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/salamander/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/salamander/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 09 Aug 2025 02:48:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1986

Dabbled in this a few years back, but with the new collection I revisited and had to get the 1-All. It's a cool divergence from Gradius with how it has in-place respawns and free-spawning power-ups. Sick visuals, great music, a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Salamander III]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/salamander-iii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/salamander-iii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 07 Aug 2025 01:21:10 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[M2, PC, 2025

A well-made successor to Salamander 2 that cranks up the enemy bullets and the raw spectacle of it all, throwing you against wild-looking and creative scenarios at a rapid pace. Salamander 2’s options-as-attacks button has been dropped…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6893fb721e75f5d3b5f06095/attachments/6893fb78c1ff48751af33c9a/previews/6893fb79c1ff48751af33ca4/download/salamander_iii.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Haunted Castle Revisited]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/haunted-castle-revisited/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/haunted-castle-revisited/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 05 Aug 2025 01:22:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[M2, PC, 2024

A shockingly good and loose remake of arcade Akumajou Dracula. Remakes tend to be best when the original game is kind of fucked up, I guess. M2 used the levels and bosses of the original as a loose guide and created prettier and expand…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/68915a41889eb15c00694931/attachments/68915a90a5d4ed406dbc225a/previews/68915a91a5d4ed406dbc2264/download/Haunted_Castle_Revisited_-_01.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Akumajou Dracula]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/akumajou-dracula/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/akumajou-dracula/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 04 Aug 2025 18:19:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1988

An often dunked-on early entry in the series, released between Dracula II/Simon’s Quest and Akumajou Densetsu/Castlevania 3. It’s honestly got great music and some pretty sick art (in that kinda chaotic late-80s Konami way), an…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/657fe02478e4737e3f8f4dd1/attachments/6890f88ef5a1a8dbc168b09e/previews/6890f88ff5a1a8dbc168b0a8/download/e6b5e197-65f3-4ee0-87b8-a1d1390901de.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Altered Beast / Juuouki]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/altered-beast-juuouki/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/altered-beast-juuouki/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 28 Jul 2025 17:21:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega Team Shinobi, Arcade, 1988

The arcade game probably most known in the US for being the origin of the Genesis launch pack-in title. Directed by Makoto Uchida, who would later direct Golden Axe and Dynamite Deka. It’s an action-platformer with a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gotzendiener]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/gotzendiener/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/gotzendiener/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 27 Jul 2025 05:10:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Gainax and Studio Alex, PC Engine Super CD-ROM, 1994

A fascinating but flawed isometric action and exploration game. The cutscenes, designs, spritework, and lonely atmosphere are top-notch and I’m glad I played it for these elements alone. The whol…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6854aa0e397a1192cafe4822/attachments/6854aa1139bbad533123014a/previews/6854aa1239bbad5331230154/download/7b2aee43-cdae-4243-8133-5933968380be.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Game Tengoku - The Game Paradise]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/game-tengoku-the-game-paradise/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/game-tengoku-the-game-paradise/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 24 Jul 2025 04:07:26 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jaleco, Arcade, 1995

Pretty cool STG set inside… a game center? Other video games? A development workstation? Fun theme! You’ll fight arcade cabinets, claw game toys, and even Daytona USA cars. Colorful, varied, and way more Psikyo-like than I expe…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/tony-hawks-pro-skater-34/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/tony-hawks-pro-skater-34/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 21 Jul 2025 04:21:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Iron Galaxy, PC, 2025

THPS1+2 was a well-done remake with interesting decisions (like aging the game’s various stages by a few decades) that I only had a few qualms with outside of my usual beef with remakes. THPS3+4 here very seamlessly carries th…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Clockwork Knight]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/clockwork-knight/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/clockwork-knight/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 21 Jul 2025 04:21:29 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Sega Saturn, 1995

A really charming and elegant 2D platformer from near the Saturn’s Japanese launch. Being so early, it’s not too surprising that it represents a late Genesis platformer like Ristar: it’s of course not going to be arcade-tigh…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5f07ffb21d4c5a0f355033f2/attachments/687dbeaf2854287c3fb9e58b/previews/687dbeb32854287c3fb9e595/download/9a979a6a-5edf-43a8-9247-d9a5522afb0c.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Grandia]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/grandia/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/grandia/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 20 Jul 2025 23:58:33 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Game Arts, Sega Saturn, 1997

I played like half of the sequel to this back when it was a new release on Dreamcast and was kicking around the idea of returning to it. Thankfully the Saturn original has a fan translation, so I decided to start there.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rastan Saga]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/rastan-saga/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/rastan-saga/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 14 Jul 2025 00:57:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1988

Circled back to this one for Summer Yolympics 2025 after [playing for a bit a few years ago](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rastan-saga/ "‌"). It was pretty sick to get reacquainted with the unique combination of hefty j…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[R-Type III: The Third Lightning]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/r-type-iii-the-third-lightning/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/r-type-iii-the-third-lightning/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 26 Jun 2025 03:34:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Super Famicom, 1993

This drove me up the wall, man. I didn’t think it would given my arcade clears of R-Type and R-Type Leo, but there’s a lot of annoying shit in here. The gotchas are similar, but the latent difficulty outside of them is tot…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hagane]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/hagane/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/hagane/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 25 Jun 2025 02:08:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[CA Production, Super Famicom, 1994

Really spectacular action-platformer. Like Contra Spirits, this is very arcade-dense. Basically every stage segment is a totally unique scene that often has a distinct mechanical focus, and a no-death playthrough …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Silver Case]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/the-silver-case/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/the-silver-case/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 19 Jun 2025 22:31:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Grasshopper Manufacture, PC, 2016/1999

Early Suda51. A narrative-heavy adventure game with light first-person exploration and puzzle-solving. I played the 2016 remake for the localization, though it does seem to stick reasonably close to the origin…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Contra: Alien no Gyakushuu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/super-contra-alien-no-gyakushuu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/super-contra-alien-no-gyakushuu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 19 Jun 2025 00:25:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1988

Another goofy 3:4 horizontally-scrolling action-platformer like the original Contra. This time the perspective switch is to a more palatable top-down view and you get smart bombs replacing the jump button, which I thought was a…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/657fe040f91ea1a3ff5e8a84/attachments/667d713575c39d2b217ad3cc/previews/667d713675c39d2b217ad627/download/2dabf789-c20a-4ea7-b375-c25220a320ea.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gun Frontier]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/gun-frontier/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/gun-frontier/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 15 Jun 2025 18:10:10 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1991

Landmark STG by the director that would immediately after work on [Metal Black](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/metal-black/ "‌"). The setting here is a sci-fi spin on the wild west and all of the vehicles show an over-th…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67a809df7399b22b9ccdc2cf/attachments/67a809e234421518a1e0e41f/previews/67a809e334421518a1e0e42b/download/58d20338-1f66-4ef6-8b56-08e4fb8f6b4f.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Elden Ring Nightreign]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/elden-ring-nightreign/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/elden-ring-nightreign/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 10 Jun 2025 01:39:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[From Software, PC, 2025

A weird one. Prior to release there was a lot of gun-jumping about what the game was even going to be, but ultimately it’s a roughly arcade-style game (“runs-based”, I suspect people are starting to say) built on top of Elde…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sonic Wings Reunion]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/sonic-wings-reunion/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/sonic-wings-reunion/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 29 May 2025 16:40:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Success, PC, 2025

I was rooting for this one, but unfortunately I can’t recommend it. The visuals are rough, the stage designs are bland, there aren’t any unique core mechanics beyond being able to essentially select two types of smartbomb, and the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Doom: The Dark Ages]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/doom-the-dark-ages/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/doom-the-dark-ages/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 27 May 2025 15:46:28 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[id Software, PC, 2025

I’m a pretty big fan of these nu-Doom games. Back in 2016 the first game was such a breath of fresh air. For decades I’d been dying to see FPSes experiment with mechanics that were outside of the 90s Texas genre lineage and he…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ninja Hayate]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/ninja-hayate/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/ninja-hayate/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 18 May 2025 00:24:22 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1984

Never played an arcade LaserDisc game, figured these re-releases would be a good time to try one out. A lot of people understandably find the concept of these Dragon’s Lair style games to be silly, but I figured they might be pr…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/680a49c67b226ae5147787bb/attachments/680a4caf1d5acf73a132a5ba/previews/680a4cb01d5acf73a132aea8/download/library_600x900_2x.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[R-Type]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/r-type/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/r-type/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 16 May 2025 01:56:14 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Arcade, 1987

The space horror STG classic. I’ve been picking at this game for most of my life. I never really tried it until hearing about it as a teenager and checking it out in MAME, but it immediately became a go-to test ROM for any machin…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Stuntman]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/stuntman/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/stuntman/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 14 May 2025 04:09:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Reflections Interactive, Playstation 2, 2002

Such a sick idea. Every mission in the campaign is a course you drive through while trying to accomplish various stunts highlighted in-world and barked at you via radio. These scenes are grouped up by fi…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/62312458155ed44c7f2f46fd/attachments/68240ae3fea850f18a346a91/previews/68240ae4fea850f18a346a9b/download/50d53816-8e69-423e-bbb0-dd90caa985f8.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Espgaluda II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/espgaluda-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/espgaluda-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 09 May 2025 02:15:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2005

After wrapping up Calice Cup I returned to this for the first time since around 2021 and put time into it to get the clear. It’s a heavy one.

The original Esgaluda’s major standout mechanic is “Kakusei” mode, where you can press…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Skin Deep]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/skin-deep/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/skin-deep/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 07 May 2025 03:42:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Blendo Games, PC, 2025

A well-made System Shock style first-person action game that, kind of like 2023’s [Blood West](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/blood-west/ "‌"), shakes up the usual structure a bit. Instead of using an open world or a …]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Armed Police Unit Gallop]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/armed-police-unit-gallop/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/armed-police-unit-gallop/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 25 Apr 2025 04:03:32 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Arcade, 1991

Super unique horizontal shooter where your ship’s positioning affects the stage scroll speed and you have a cooldown-based instant omnidirectional laser button (alongside the genre-standard shot + missile combo). It’s very lean, …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/shin-megami-tensei-strange-journey/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/shin-megami-tensei-strange-journey/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 24 Apr 2025 15:18:39 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Atlus, Nintendo DS, 2010

I’ve said it a million times by now, but I’m not a big JRPG guy. I almost always get sick of the combat way before the game wraps up. I wish this wasn’t the case! There are so many games in the genre with an appealing sense…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hang-On]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/hang-on/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/hang-on/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 15 Apr 2025 17:37:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM2, Arcade, 1985

Goofy to play this after the 1987 sequel, but that's what Calice Cup called for. I heard the course I spent so long clearing in the sequel is the same layout as this first game’s lone course so I decided to go for it while it…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67fe976e6b9b71960a599c9f/attachments/67fe977412ab595a044f4473/previews/67fe977612ab595a044f4481/download/hangon.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Hang-On]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/super-hang-on/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/super-hang-on/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 15 Apr 2025 00:40:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM2, Arcade, 1987

Masterpiece. I’m not the biggest racing game guy but I absolutely could not put this down. The sense of speed is magical, the environments are gorgeous (and transition so smoothly), the boost mechanic is insanely satisfying, …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Slap Fight]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/slap-fight/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/slap-fight/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 10 Apr 2025 00:27:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Toaplan, Arcade, 1986

An interesting post-Gradius vertical STG. You’ll see the Gradius power-up meter, but it’s got fewer strict upgrades and more mutually-exclusive weapons to toy with. Designs are very boxy 80s but more appealing than Xevious. En…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Spacefortress Macross]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/super-spacefortress-macross/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/super-spacefortress-macross/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 09 Apr 2025 16:58:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[NMK, Arcade, 1992

A relatively breezy but super cool-looking vertical shooter. I don’t know anything about the license here, but the mech designs are sick and I particularly like how your whole sprite changes up depending on what weapon you’ve pick…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67ce56177c991c0310a42582/attachments/67ce5f8c420ad89eec9085b0/previews/67ce5f8d420ad89eec9085be/download/7759714a-3074-459e-81a1-58258af11fdd.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Secret Agent]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/secret-agent/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/secret-agent/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 05 Apr 2025 04:49:39 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Data East, Arcade, 1989

Goofy Data East action-platformer. It looks like Rolling Thunder at first glance, but you’ve got a big ol health bar and enemies tend to take a lot of shots to kill. There’s some charm here, but there’s also a stage 2 that d…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cambria Sword: Another Cry]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/cambria-sword-another-cry/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/cambria-sword-another-cry/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 30 Mar 2025 05:18:33 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Vagues Games, Arcade, 2025

A new arcade adaptation of/sequel to a ~3 hour long doujin STG from 2017. I hadn’t really played the original, but I’m completely blown away by this. It’s a massive game that reminds me of G-Darius in terms of its branchi…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67ca19c4be763d6a2047b954/attachments/67ca1a5b3ec56c3050395dc0/previews/67ca1a5c3ec56c3050395dcc/download/cambria-sword-ac-header-web.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Kamiwaza - Way of the Thief]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/kamiwaza-way-of-the-thief/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/kamiwaza-way-of-the-thief/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 20 Mar 2025 05:22:50 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Acquire, Playstation 2, 2006

I really love Shinobido Imashime, Acquire’s Tenchu successor where you select missions from three warring factions through a highly dynamic campaign. Shinobido isn’t the most polished or focused game, but I couldn’t put…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Monster Hunter Wilds]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/monster-hunter-wilds/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/monster-hunter-wilds/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 16 Mar 2025 00:55:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2025

I’ve been playing these games pretty casually since 3U and enjoyed each one, with this being no exception. Don’t really mind the lack of monster  tracking, I think the blurring of the lines between being in a village and being in a…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67ca1ba8feb4a4801ed25ed9/attachments/67ca1bab4fb7c4b64afe7121/previews/67ca1bad4fb7c4b64afe7f16/download/9b982960-12ab-4af0-b2ef-b91e97ad7a57.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Zombie Revenge]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/zombie-revenge/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/zombie-revenge/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Mar 2025 05:48:26 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM1, Arcade, 1999

Another crazy inventive arcade game from AM1, just a little over half a year after [Dynamite Deka 2](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dynamite-deka-2/ "‌"). Where Deka 2 feels like a game making questionable compromises…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/kunitsu-gami-path-of-the-goddess/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/kunitsu-gami-path-of-the-goddess/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 24 Feb 2025 15:51:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2024

I wasn’t sure how much I’d like this when I heard it described with the phrase “tower defense”, but I wound up really enjoying it. The basic premise is that you’re guiding an ever-dancing goddess along a path, setting up defenses b…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6732ea0f95fb72acec56ebce/attachments/6732ea2a4230a8b07449fd8a/previews/6732ea2c4230a8b07449fece/download/3628f2599138c53445c9e731ed34c75f037f40c39ea1a0e9.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Fatal Frame II - Crimson Butterfly]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/fatal-frame-ii-crimson-butterfly/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/fatal-frame-ii-crimson-butterfly/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 21 Feb 2025 23:39:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tecmo, Playstation 2, 2003

It’s been a long time since I’ve played the first Fatal Frame, but I remember liking it and this seems like everything you’d expect for a sequel. A darker tone, a somewhat longer runtime, slightly beefier mechanics, and a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tiny Bullets]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/tiny-bullets/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/tiny-bullets/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 13 Feb 2025 23:40:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Contrail, Playstation, 2000

I was interested in this because it looked like a Japanese 3D action platforming game that took some core mechanics from Tomb Raider. 3D platforming and ledge grabbing with tank controls. And early on it delivers on that…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shin Sangokumusou / Dynasty Warriors 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/shin-sangokumusou-dynasty-warriors-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/shin-sangokumusou-dynasty-warriors-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 13 Feb 2025 04:34:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Omega Force, Playstation 2, 2000

I'm told this isn't the best intro to the series and I see why. The actual combat here is kinda neat, with directional blocking and guard reversals and attack strings that have distinct uses, but I can't really get …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Devil Blade Reboot]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/devil-blade-reboot/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/devil-blade-reboot/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 13 Feb 2025 03:23:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SHIGATAKE GAMES, PC, 2024

Another arcade-tuned modern PC 2D shooter, this time a very loose remake of a Dezaemon Plus game the solo developer (an artist at Vanillaware these days) made back on Playstation. Hard mode seems like the baseline it was d…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Blue Revolver Double Action]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/blue-revolver-double-action/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/blue-revolver-double-action/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Feb 2025 19:24:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Stellar Circle, PC, 2024

Long-awaited revision to the highly-regarded and arcade-designed 2016 PC shooting game. Like Mushihimesama, this has three selectable difficulty courses presented as part of the standard credit flow. I hadn’t played any of …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6754dc1445c1bb875ae922b9/attachments/6754e036a8d5bf4cb3732797/previews/6754e037a8d5bf4cb373279f/download/GcXdB7YbwAAVX8X.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Strikers 1999]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/strikers-1999/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/strikers-1999/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 02 Feb 2025 23:25:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Psikyo, Arcade, 1999

Fantastic, as expected from this trilogy. 1999 here is of course very much in line with the first two games (which I talked about [here](/gamelog/2024/strikers-1945/ "‌") and [here](/gamelog/2024/strikers-1945-ii/ "‌")), only n…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/65482ad114b2f0f6b00101b1/attachments/654831bd81832e38670f26e0/previews/654831be81832e38670f27a3/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Lorelei and the Laser Eyes]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/lorelei-and-the-laser-eyes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/lorelei-and-the-laser-eyes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 02 Feb 2025 03:12:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Simogo, PC, 2024

A puzzle-focused adventure game where you unravel a mystery in a surreal old hotel. Coming from the Sayonara Wild Hearts studio the presentation is absolutely killer, but this is a more demanding adventure game than Sayonara Wild H…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Go There]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/go-there/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/go-there/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 23 Jan 2025 01:06:59 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[いくちおすてご, PC, 2023

Cool little boss rush. Great visuals. The basic playthrough is a very quick tour up a mountain with really cool ancient dragon designs. There’s a post-game here that I’m unfortunately not that thrilled to see through, as I’m not t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mean Streets]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/mean-streets/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/mean-streets/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 21 Jan 2025 03:58:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Access Software, MS-DOS, 1989

The adventure game that started the Tex Murphy series. This actually ruled. I was worried it would be cruel and stuffy and arcane, but it’s infinitely kinder than the 80s Sierra adventure games I’ve tried.

The main in…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Overblood 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/overblood-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/overblood-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 18 Jan 2025 19:05:21 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Riverhillsoft, Playstation, 1998

A huge, lumbering, and ridiculously ambitious PS1 game with only the loosest ties to its predecessor. It’s a two-disc epic full of clunky 3D action-platforming, minigame sequences, light adventure game elements, pre…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6629b4864f3de0867118b152/attachments/6629b4a52b2e83b056de0539/previews/6629b4a62b2e83b056de06e3/download/e286ceff-a2ce-4c1f-b52c-1af2e1aea027.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Jewel Master]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/jewel-master/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/jewel-master/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 08 Jan 2025 18:57:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Mega Drive, 1991

This is another one of those early Mega Drive action games that basically serves as an arcade game due to its structure, its short length, and its strictly-limited continues. It reminds me a bit of Mega Drive ESWAT, Shadow Da…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6560ddaf370f0dbec61a415e/attachments/6560ddb335e5414e13720fa8/previews/6560ddb535e5414e137210d6/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Final Fight]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/final-fight/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/final-fight/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 01 Jan 2025 17:02:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Arcade, 1989

It’s so hard to believe that this was Capcom’s first take on belt-scrolling action. Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-kun basically established the genre 3.5 years prior, but even looking at other 1989 games Final Fight leaves them in the d…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/657fc6d1807302c2f04d5164/attachments/657fc71d9c3009ec0fedfb44/previews/657fc71e9c3009ec0fedfd54/download/e7bd59f2-eedd-4b5b-b4e7-d8a2dc10cb80-1.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Indiana Jones and the Great Circle]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/indiana-jones-and-the-great-circle/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/indiana-jones-and-the-great-circle/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 20 Dec 2024 22:54:23 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[MachineGames, PC, 2024

MachineGames is back. I didn’t really like The New Colossus and skipped Youngblood, so I’m glad that this game clicked with me.

Indiana Jones, as a setting, winds up being a good fit for the studio that spun off from Escape …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sol Cresta]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sol-cresta/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sol-cresta/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 25 Nov 2024 17:52:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[PlatinumGames and Hamster, PC, 2021

I really wish I enjoyed this more. I think there's a lot of mechanical creativity here, but it's also convoluted (the special input directional shots, the way you have a dodge at 1hp but not other times, etc), ha…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super H.Q. Criminal Chaser]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/super-hq-criminal-chaser/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/super-hq-criminal-chaser/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 24 Nov 2024 06:30:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Super Famicom, 1993

A console-exclusive entry in the Chase H.Q. series. The only other game I’ve played in this little subgenre is [Special Criminal Investigation](/gamelog/2022/special-criminal-investigation/ "‌"), which rules, but this is …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Slitterhead]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/slitterhead/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/slitterhead/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 22 Nov 2024 18:59:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bokeh Studios, PC, 2024

A horror-themed action game set in 90s Kowloon where you play as a spirit that hops between bodies to take down big gory monsters. It’s a lot to explain, pieced together from a lot of relatively unique elements, and I don’t …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[1000xResist]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/1000xresist/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/1000xresist/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 13 Nov 2024 22:17:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[sunset visitor, PC, 2024

A pretty dense and sweeping sci-fi visual novel. The premise here is pretty unique and confidently told, and it’s impressive how frequently the presentation is uprooted in service of the narrative. It reminds me of Fata Mor…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/66c5fa3fd5844a7a3413dc85/attachments/66c5fa41f6314eea4b907590/previews/66c5fa42f6314eea4b90776c/download/341ec158-051d-4dbf-8237-bda2d4b6bae5.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Earth Defense Force 6]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/earth-defense-force-6/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/earth-defense-force-6/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 13 Nov 2024 22:17:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sandlot, PC, 2024

Been a minute since I’ve played one of these but the appeal from EDF2 is still there. It’s still satisfying to blow up buildings and swathes of ants, but the enemy and scenario variety here is thankfully closer to EDF2 than EDF3. …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/66a0563f0abc61a9cd93016a/attachments/66a05670fc6e7e899503fc75/previews/66a05671fc6e7e899503fc82/download/7e044f25c7b10d161b3a1b20c80cbc98e6820e9ae037ed50.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Black Myth Wukong]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/black-myth-wukong/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/black-myth-wukong/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Nov 2024 02:30:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Game Science, PC, 2024

Incredible melee action game. It’s a little bit like Sekiro as a starting point, but with a slightly more focused and linear world structure. Combat is fast, aggressive, and full of hugely satisfying slams once you unlock the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gemini Wing]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gemini-wing/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gemini-wing/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 28 Oct 2024 02:51:23 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tecmo, Arcade, 1987

An incredibly inventive and forward-thinking vertical STG. Initially it feels like a Hishouzame-style game with slow movement and a harsh player bullet limit, but the major standout mechanic comes from using the B button to fire…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/66d0f0e92988652c2fb09f71/attachments/66d0f21622fa1f238a0ba5e9/previews/66d0f21722fa1f238a0ba5f5/download/5bec38c1-a458-4b44-ac0a-8c319ac71e5c.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[JJ Squawkers]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/jj-squawkers/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/jj-squawkers/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 20 Oct 2024 01:03:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Athena, Arcade, 1993

A bright action-platformer with lush visuals and classic cartoon designs. The difficulty curve is pretty uneven and none of the weapons feel very good to use, so I was frustrated at the start, but I got into it once I started r…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/66d0f5934d5d7a9dd385bb4d/attachments/67144b52656f735936c269cf/previews/67144b54656f735936c269d7/download/jj_squawkers.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Aurail]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/aurail/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/aurail/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 20 Oct 2024 00:14:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Westone, Arcade, 1990

Sega must’ve sent this one out to die. There’s seemingly no promotional material for it, no snazzy flyer, and I never once heard anybody talk about it prior to Jotego’s System 16 MiSTer core release.

A shame, because it’s pre…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[ESP Ra.De.]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/esp-rade/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/esp-rade/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 15 Oct 2024 03:40:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 1998

Calice Cup 9, put some time into this to get another 1CC. I still mostly stand by [my 2021 impressions](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/esp-rade/ "‌") (and it’s still probably my least favorite mainline Cave shooter) but t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Legend of Zelda - Echoes of Wisdom]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-legend-of-zelda-echoes-of-wisdom/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-legend-of-zelda-echoes-of-wisdom/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 13 Oct 2024 04:45:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo, Switch, 2024

A new Zelda game using the visual style and perspective of the well-made 2019 remake of Link’s Awakening. You play as Princess Zelda in the role of a mage that can summon monsters and force-beam things around. Any kind of dir…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/66e4e09e8079f7005f81f0d8/attachments/66e4e0dba7b2e145fd0277a1/previews/66e4e0dca7b2e145fd0278bb/download/legend-of-zelda-echoes-of-wisdom-cover.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[R-Type Leo]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/r-type-leo/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/r-type-leo/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 09 Oct 2024 03:35:14 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nanao, Arcade, 1992

Very cool game. A Nanao-developed original shooter that was reworked mid-development into an R-Type game. This explains the big mechanical differences, but there’s still a good amount of overlap with the legendary series. Scroll…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/66d0f3107c4b9527e8133eb1/attachments/66d0f377049fab4c008c42b1/previews/66d0f378049fab4c008c477a/download/cde4af24-5e29-4a88-8b9c-a3af74059017.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[UFO 50]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/ufo-50/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/ufo-50/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 03 Oct 2024 17:46:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Mossmouth, PC, 2024

A new alternate-history collection of fifty 1980s games made for a fictional company’s gaming machine. Each title is accessible from the get-go, and the games run a pretty wide gamut: single-player games, (local) versus games, t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The King of Dragons]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-king-of-dragons/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-king-of-dragons/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 29 Sep 2024 15:40:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Arcade, 1991

1CC'd with the Wizard.

A belt scroller released a couple years after Final Fight with a very D&D fantasy setting (only missing the license) and combat that strips the core mechanics down to a very raw level. The game uses two …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Crimson Diamond]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-crimson-diamond/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-crimson-diamond/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 21 Sep 2024 04:02:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Julia Minamata, PC, 2024

A new EGA-looking text-parsing adventure game centered about geology and murder in a 1910s Ontario ghost town, clearly inspired by The Colonel’s Bequest.

I had a really nice time with this. The setting, the environmentalis…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shadow of the Ninja - Reborn]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shadow-of-the-ninja-reborn/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shadow-of-the-ninja-reborn/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 06 Sep 2024 01:43:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tengo Project, PC, 2024

Can’t believe how much I liked this. Of all the Tengo Project games this is the biggest departure from the original. Level designs loosely follow old concepts, but the core mechanics, enemy designs, and visuals are radically…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/66be44633a11f42e314ebd4a/attachments/66be4534980b6ae4b2aa6110/previews/66be4536980b6ae4b2aa6174/download/675b55bb588d2505facf8b834ae6763c9ab7d56f7d8e3e08.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Urban Reign]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/urban-reign/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/urban-reign/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 02 Sep 2024 15:53:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Namco Hometek, Playstation 2, 2005

Super unique melee action. This, Beat Down, and Final Fight: Streetwise have always been a blur in my head since they were all thematically similar and released at the same time, and this is the first of the three…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Strider Hiryu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/strider-hiryu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/strider-hiryu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 26 Aug 2024 01:04:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Arcade, 1989

A shockingly dense and messy action-platformer. Even by arcade standards it’s pretty terse (something like 18-ish minutes), and every moment is unique. It’s a super-fast series of inventive setpieces full of cool enemies and tr…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/657fc82ae0b932c645cd0f67/attachments/657fc85ad209a45f6604d270/previews/657fc85cd209a45f6604d2e9/download/dd8b512d-b475-4ff8-bf4d-c40fcae5c437.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Zelda II: The Adventure of Link]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/zelda-ii-the-adventure-of-link/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/zelda-ii-the-adventure-of-link/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 19 Aug 2024 16:06:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo, NES and Famicom Disk System, 1988

Played the NES version, but I like the JP FDS box more.

The broad structure of the game is fascinating. I dabbled with this a little bit growing up so I knew it was a mixture of a world map and side-view…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Samurai Jack - Battle Through Time]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/samurai-jack-battle-through-time/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/samurai-jack-battle-through-time/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 16 Aug 2024 03:15:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Soleil, PC, 2020

A 3D melee action game with a pretty restrained scope. It feels like it had a tight budget, but there’s real Ninja Gaiden 2004 lineage here. I wasn’t looking for a huge commitment right now so I played through this on Normal, and u…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Strikers 1945 II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/strikers-1945-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/strikers-1945-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 15 Aug 2024 06:07:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Psikyo, Arcade, 1997

Played about as much of this as the first Strikers 1945, and it’s a pretty impressive step up from an already great game. Cooler plane variety, a new charge meter that limits the charge attacks but makes them faster to fire, an…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Volgarr the Viking]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/volgarr-the-viking/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/volgarr-the-viking/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 09 Aug 2024 16:00:32 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Crazy Viking Studios, PC, 2013

I really enjoyed my normal playthrough of this in 2013. It’s a tight, varied game with some well-paced high-tension checkpoints and fun core mechanics. I knew the game had a better ending involving an entirely  differ…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/66b50f6a42bd764574b03049/attachments/66b50f6dd9ac836197b2d70e/previews/66b50f6ed9ac836197b2d719/download/8d76b2f0-6730-480f-9a5d-036dcbdd1f7b.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shiren-the-wanderer-the-mystery-dungeon-of-serpentcoil-island/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shiren-the-wanderer-the-mystery-dungeon-of-serpentcoil-island/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 29 Jul 2024 05:03:26 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Spike Chunsoft, Nintendo Switch, 2024

This is my third Shiren game, after playing the fifth back on the Vita and then later playing the fan translation of the second on the Nintendo 64. I appreciate Serpentcoil’s shift in approach from 5, giving yo…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/66914ec2aa49636c092a1689/attachments/66914f041127efcfac23586b/previews/66914f051127efcfac235878/download/a5ccf14637181f65fd2e8fb5c946310e27e3438725f78dc45af7d57a589f3403.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shinobi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shinobi/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shinobi/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 27 Jul 2024 15:29:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Arcade, 1987

I’ve played through most every home-original Shinobi game but decided I’d finally learn and 1CC the arcade original. It’s a pretty clear response to Rolling Thunder (a game I’ve only dabbled in), but there’s plenty of thematic an…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Contra: Operation Galuga]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/contra-operation-galuga/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/contra-operation-galuga/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 25 Jul 2024 18:39:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[WayForward, PC, 2024

WayForward’s second stab at the series. Being a modern HD game it doesn’t have two of Contra 4’s foundational issues: it’s not super claustrophobic (being widescreen instead of essentially 9:16), and it doesn’t have a super-biz…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/65f135f6e1312bb735c853dd/attachments/65f136c6a9126c4af97aab94/previews/65f136c7a9126c4af97aac21/download/109386502694ab1273a2da0d8dac27e69d2a6c1337590262.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dragon's Dogma 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/dragons-dogma-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/dragons-dogma-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 25 Jul 2024 18:39:39 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2024

Capcom’s second massive free-roaming fantasy action game feels like a beefier version of the original in an awful lot of ways, but it’s been a while since I played that first entry and I never wound up trying the expansion. The wor…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Helldivers II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/helldivers-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/helldivers-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 25 Jul 2024 18:39:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Arrowhead Game Studios, PC, 2024

A co-op third-person shooter about killing hordes of bugs and robots. Normally I’m not into horde-based games like this, but this has a lot of things going for it. The Starship Troopers theme is extremely well-execu…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gunforce]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gunforce/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gunforce/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 20 Jul 2024 21:54:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Arcade, 1991

A clear step on the road to Metal Slug, made by some Irem members that would go on to form Nazca. While there’s nothing too standout going on here, everything is snappy and breezy to learn, the presentation is sick, and the vehic…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Border Down]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/border-down/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/border-down/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 12 Jul 2024 00:09:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[G.Rev, Arcade, 2003

I’ve single-credit cleared another Naomi classic. I barely touched this back on release, but I put some time into it in 2022 and it’s been great to come back to.

Now that I’ve played through Metal Black, it seems like the clear…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Strikers 1945]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/strikers-1945/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/strikers-1945/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 10 Jul 2024 16:14:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Psikyo, Arcade, 1995

Psikyo’s classic vertical STG. I picked up a Strikers 1999 board and figured I’d put a little bit of time into the first two games before digging in, so I spent around 10-12 hours with this one. I know I’m skipping Gunbird here…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Boomerang X]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/boomerang-x/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/boomerang-x/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 09 Jul 2024 02:46:54 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[DANG!, PC, 2021

A neat first person action game about throwing and then launching yourself toward a boomerang. There’s a lot of slow motion, a lot of yanking yourself around these big arenas at high speeds, and a lot of lining up specific shots to …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[OverBlood]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/overblood/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/overblood/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 08 Jul 2024 06:09:23 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Riverhillsoft, Playstation, 1997

Was surprised by the pacing of this. It's a pretty slow adventure game set in a lot of bright, sterile sci-fi halls, but I was surprised at how effective the writing and small dashes of dashes of action were. It fee…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Case of the Golden Idol]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-case-of-the-golden-idol/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-case-of-the-golden-idol/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 04 Jul 2024 02:14:26 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Color Gray Games, PC, 2022

An excellent detective game in which you review a scene and piece together what happened by arranging words on a “thinking” sheet of text and visuals. It doesn’t sound like much, but the scenes are cleverly laid out, the …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ninja Kamui]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/ninja-kamui/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/ninja-kamui/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 01 Jul 2024 03:30:49 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[G.Rev, Nintendo Switch, 2024

G.Rev’s latest, an action-platformer based on an anime I’d never heard of. The movement and combo mechanics make me think of the action scenes in Sakuna a little bit, but it’s a focused six stages and it’s peppered with…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/elden-ring-shadow-of-the-erdtree/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/elden-ring-shadow-of-the-erdtree/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 30 Jun 2024 16:36:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[FromSoftware, PC, 2024

What an expansion. What a game. The entirety of the expansion takes place on a new “Shadow Realm” world map. The Shadow Realm is only accessible once you’re pretty deep into the base game, so leveling up through runes doesn’t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shinrei Jusatsushi Taromaru]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shinrei-jusatsushi-taromaru/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shinrei-jusatsushi-taromaru/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 29 Jun 2024 02:49:50 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Time Warner Interactive, Sega Saturn, 1997

A wild Edo-era action-platformer with a dark, violent tone. The presentation here is really spectacular. It’s full of a lot of no-nonsense realistically-proportioned pixel art characters (think Clock Tower…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5520dc2f475e3d1d6574d124/attachments/657884c44cce054231739dc0/previews/657884c54cce054231739ec2/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Pulseman]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/pulseman/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/pulseman/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 25 Jun 2024 01:29:17 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Game Freak, Mega Drive, 1994

Pretty cool to try some pre-Pokemon Game Freak. Pulseman has a lot of the same spirit as Gunstar Heroes and a lot of similar character designs, but it feels a bit more stretched thin. There are some legit spectacular sc…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/667a1a9eaaa0db8735bdb5e9/attachments/667a1d1fb4757e8931776463/previews/667a1d20b4757e893177656b/download/03cfbdcc-6cfd-4b8f-9aea-a76a0636c483.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Magical Quest starring Mickey Mouse]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-magical-quest-starring-mickey-mouse/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-magical-quest-starring-mickey-mouse/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 20 Jun 2024 17:24:59 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Super Famicom, 1992

A polished, cute, and focused action-platformer where you play as Mickey as he gains new abilities (and thus entirely new outfits and animations) through the stages. There’s a lot of care here. It plays well to the hardw…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Alpha Protocol]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/alpha-protocol/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/alpha-protocol/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 19 Jun 2024 04:28:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Obsidian, PC, 2010

Lots of potential with the dialogue system and the way the campaign is designed around your choices. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get into the actual missions part. Lots of corner peeking as you either wait to sneak or wait to shoot…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Contra 4]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/contra-4/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/contra-4/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 18 Jun 2024 03:50:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Wayforward, Nintendo DS, 2007

Weird game. Weird pacing. Lots of very obnoxious immediate ankle shots. Screen ratio is fucked, sprites are huge, everything is claustrophobic… and that’s before we get to the physical screen gap. By treating the space…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/65f13616fd65985aba539ca3/attachments/65f1361b8e589f59eb3fa3cd/previews/65f1361c8e589f59eb3fa43b/download/e51f31b6-4518-4e53-8b0a-4b2c00c14d6f.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gargoyle's Quest II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gargoyles-quest-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gargoyles-quest-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 11 Jun 2024 02:02:05 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Famicom, 1992

aka Red Arremer II

Better than the Game Boy game, but it still kinda runs at less than full speed the whole way through and I think the quest stuff wore thin too early this time around. The stage variety isn’t all that strong…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mushihimesama - Maniac]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/mushihimesama-maniac/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/mushihimesama-maniac/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Jun 2024 02:51:49 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2004

I cleared Original mode in 2015-ish, back when the Steam release dropped. I decided to go back and get the Maniac clear some nine years later and what a game! The time away helped the aesthetics feel completely fresh, and the Man…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Subnautica]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/subnautica/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/subnautica/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 31 May 2024 01:29:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Unknown Worlds, PC, 2016

An incredible game about exploring a vast alien ocean after surviving a spaceship crash. I was worried that I wouldn’t get into a something built around survival and crafting mechanics, but I’m glad I gave it a shot. It’s a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Crow Country]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/crow-country/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/crow-country/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 13 May 2024 15:37:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SBF Games, PC, 2024

Like Signalis, this is a great modern isometric take on classic Biohazard. Where Biohazard has its mansion and Signalis has its sci-fi facilities, Crow Country has its titular abandoned theme park.

The visuals are immediately s…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Viewtiful Joe]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/viewtiful-joe/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/viewtiful-joe/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 11 May 2024 01:15:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, GameCube, 2003

Kamiya’s third director credit. An action game with a similar structure to Devil May Cry. The presentation is bold and unique, with a cute tokusatsu film reel theme that leans hard into cel shading and pitch black shadows. St…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Children of the Sun]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/children-of-the-sun/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/children-of-the-sun/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 07 May 2024 01:45:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[René Rother, PC, 2024

A unique puzzle game about killing a bunch of cultists with one bullet. The game builds up rules around how the bullet can be controlled, and the stage complexity ramps up pretty well up to a solid and satisfying final stage. …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[War of Aero]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/war-of-aero/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/war-of-aero/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 05 May 2024 23:39:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Allumer, Arcade, 1993

look at this flyer lmao. Just flagrantly bootlegging Image Fight’s art. And the game is an Image Fight clone, but I suspect that Image Fight is much cooler. There’s an initial appeal to this, and there are some very neat touch…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Muchi Muchi Pork!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/muchi-muchi-pork/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/muchi-muchi-pork/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 30 Apr 2024 17:18:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2007

La Calice Cup 8 gave me a great reason to return to this. It’s been a little over 12 years since I cleared the Xbox 360 port’s easier “1.01” mode with Rafute. This time we’re playing the arcade original and I decided to shoot for…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Libros de Chilam Balam]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/libros-de-chilam-balam/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/libros-de-chilam-balam/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 29 Apr 2024 03:04:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Right Stuff, NEC PC-9801, 1992

The incredibly sick cover art got me interested. The opening was cool. And then… it was a traditional JRPG. A snappy enough one, but I didn’t like the characters and the towns/environments were pretty samey. I had to …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/65e5416fb4e06c43ee10c43f/attachments/65e54171b9dd96b5691f469c/previews/65e54172b9dd96b5691f47d1/download/99e1c9ce-47a1-46ab-91da-7dcd008653d1.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gadget: Invention, Travel, & Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gadget-invention-travel-and-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gadget-invention-travel-and-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 23 Apr 2024 01:40:10 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Synergy Inc, Macintosh, 1993

A Japanese CD-ROM adventure game released around a month after Myst. It’s got a similar early CG look and feel, but the environments are way more linear and there is, no joke, only a single puzzle in here. A comically h…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Baldur's Gate 3]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/baldurs-gate-3/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/baldurs-gate-3/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 21 Apr 2024 01:34:33 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Larian, PC, 2023

A massive game to follow the Divinity: Original Sin duo. I only reached the end of Act 1, but that took over 20 hours so I figured I should give my impressions.

Famously this game has an interesting cast of characters with excelle…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dynamite Duke]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/dynamite-duke/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/dynamite-duke/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 19 Apr 2024 05:12:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Seibu Kaihatsu, 1989, Arcade

A fascinating Cabal-like with striking visuals. Big, detailed sprites and sick animations end to end. The main differentiating point here is the focus on melee, with boss fights almost feeling like a more analog version…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/64bed72f120ebb61bbea1046/attachments/64c84ff6f209e68686779778/previews/64c84ff7f209e6868677993a/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Salamander]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/salamander/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/salamander/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 26 Mar 2024 02:32:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1986

I put a handful of hours into this after clearing Gradius II, and I have to admit I didn’t know exactly how MUCH of a Gradius game this was. I had a great time with Salamander 2 a couple years back, and despite being ten years …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gradius II: GOFER no Yabou]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gradius-ii-gofer-no-yabou/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gradius-ii-gofer-no-yabou/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 26 Mar 2024 02:28:54 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1988

What a great sequel. The rough edges are filed down a little from the first game, but difficulty is way up all around. Rank management is a factor, but a simple one. You get a variety of ships to choose from, each unique enough…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Star Wars: Dark Forces]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/star-wars-dark-forces/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/star-wars-dark-forces/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 21 Mar 2024 22:58:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[LucasArts, Windows, 1995

A Star Wars FPS with a very Doom-style raycasting engine. Even outside of the technology, though, Doom is the clear starting point. The movement is fast and slippery and the maps are big and striking. The presentation is pr…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Oni]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/oni/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/oni/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 13 Mar 2024 05:00:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bungie, PC, 2001

I have vague memories of Oni’s release, complete with it getting made fun of by Penny Arcade. Not long after I picked up a copy out of a bargain bin but only wound up playing the first level or so. Given how much belt scrollers and…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[G Darius]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/g-darius/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/g-darius/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 08 Mar 2024 21:13:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1997

This was the last of the main arcade Darius games for me to play, and I think it wound up being the best. It’s a standout in so many ways!

Despite the single-screen factor, the presentation is incredible. Immediately I was floo…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Disaster Report]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/disaster-report/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/disaster-report/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 02 Mar 2024 19:27:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Playstation 2, 2002

aka Zettai Zetsumei Toshi

This reminded me of something Human would make. Something like Septentrion or a little bit like Clock Tower. Your train gets derailed by a massive earthquake and you have to navigate the crumblin…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/643ded0f204b3a24dea1b0ec/attachments/643ded64eac24a5897fae202/previews/643ded65eac24a5897fae212/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tekken 8]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/tekken-8/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/tekken-8/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 28 Feb 2024 16:49:57 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bandai Namco, PC, 2024

We all know what’s going on here. Good music. Massively beefy hits. Characters and moves you’ve been seeing since 1995, but with some cool new redesigns. A new Heat system (not to be confused with Rage) that lets you enter a …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/i-have-no-mouth-and-i-must-scream/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/i-have-no-mouth-and-i-must-scream/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 27 Feb 2024 04:22:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cyber Dreams, MS-DOS, 1995

A unique adventure game where you play as five humans trapped by a hateful, planet-encompassing AI. It’s very uneven: interactions are awkward, cues sometimes feel more obscure than intended, the pacing is super jacked, a…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5fa2d1aa380684392fbff008/attachments/65d58a29053c397ed2ac07de/previews/65d58a2a053c397ed2ac0908/download/f2a95ad0-64d5-4e05-ad17-b6cfc1f17171.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Metal Black]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/metal-black/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/metal-black/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 25 Feb 2024 22:11:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1991

The presentation here is pretty monumental. The opening stage is set in the desolate ruins of a city, played alongside this beautiful and somber track.  You then rocket off into space (presented as a very flashy bonus stage) to …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/65db9d36ccf9d4a111a686fc/attachments/65db9d4a54e7c82b81dbfcc7/previews/65db9d4b54e7c82b81dbfd54/download/8cf14345-ab1e-4e60-a5a2-8beb427b55a1.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bruce Lee (C64)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/bruce-lee-c64/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/bruce-lee-c64/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 18 Feb 2024 02:47:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Datasoft Inc, Commodore 64, 1984

An impressive early American action-platformer. Reminds me of Shadow of the Beast in that it’s terse, arcade-structured (complete with permadeath), and has a simple movelist. Surprisingly nice environment and obstac…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Almana no Kiseki]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/almana-no-kiseki/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/almana-no-kiseki/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 16 Feb 2024 23:27:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Famicom Disk System, 1987

An FDS action-platformer with a very goofy grappling hook mechanic. It’s not quite like Bionic Commando: you still have a small hop, there’s no swinging, the hook gets thrown out in a very rigid fashion, and you’re…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[DoDonPachi DaiOuJou]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/dodonpachi-daioujou/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/dodonpachi-daioujou/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Feb 2024 05:14:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2002

After about 50 hours of direct play time, I got the one-loop clear of the original “White Label” version of DoDonPachi DaiOuJou. My ship selection was B-Exy.

It’s a masterpiece. It has a reputation as one, and I think it’s easy …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Thunder Force V]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/thunder-force-v/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/thunder-force-v/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 09 Feb 2024 18:36:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tecno Soft, Saturn, 1997

I picked this up real cheap back in the 90s, during the brief period of time when Funcoland or EB or whatever was selling Japanese Saturn games. It was always incredibly cool to me. The music is sick, the stage openings are…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Advanced Busterhawk Gleylancer]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/advanced-busterhawk-gleylancer/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/advanced-busterhawk-gleylancer/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 09 Feb 2024 18:34:49 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Masaya, Mega Drive, 1992

A sick game. It might be Thunder Force III tier? Similar in difficulty to TF3, so nothing too difficult on Normal, but it’s got lots of cool stage designs (arguably better ones), great music, some really stunning background…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/like-a-dragon-infinite-wealth/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/like-a-dragon-infinite-wealth/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 09 Feb 2024 18:18:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, PC, 2024

This game’s inclusion of Spikeout as a minigame caused me to pull the trigger and I decided to give the main game an honest shot despite my history of not being able to get into traditional JRPGs. I tried. I think I’d…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tomb Raider II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/tomb-raider-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/tomb-raider-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 30 Jan 2024 02:55:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[CORE Design, Playstation, 1997

I liked the idea of Tomb Raider with a decent spread of stages outside of tombs, but unfortunately this wasn’t very fun in practice. It’s still Tomb Raider, it’s still a solid foundation, but these villa and industria…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Alan Wake II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/alan-wake-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/alan-wake-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 20 Jan 2024 22:41:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Remedy, PC, 2023

This is probably up there with Control as the two best post-Payne Remedy games, and it serves as a good compliment. Where Control is a game with a lot of dashing and hip-firing, this is more of a Resident Evil 4 with precision shoo…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Biohazard: Gun Survivor]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/biohazard-gun-survivor/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/biohazard-gun-survivor/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 08 Jan 2024 01:26:32 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[TOSE, Playstation, 2000

An ambitious attempt at making a free-movement first-person shooter with a light gun based control scheme. It’s kinda like an early 90s console game in that the whole thing is just a couple hours long, very linear, and you h…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Relics]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/relics/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/relics/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 01 Jan 2024 23:27:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bothtec, PC-98, 1986

Originally released on PC-98 but ported to other platforms shortly after. This is a pretty mysterious game, very deliberately not telling the player much and with a manual that encourages the player to explore, but I found the …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Finals]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-finals/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-finals/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 2023 23:28:58 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Embark Studios, PC, 2023

Traditional multiplayer FPS (as in, not BR or extraction) with teams of three, highly destructible maps, and a relatively long time to kill. The destruction is the main element that stands out, for sure, and it’s fun as hel…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/avatar-frontiers-of-pandora/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/avatar-frontiers-of-pandora/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 2023 22:27:49 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Massive Entertainment, PC, 2023

This is kinda Far Cry adjacent and it’s been a while since I’ve played one of those. The Na’vi movement is pretty cool, the mech enemies are formidable, the world is gorgeous, and the genre trappings are executed wit…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shinobi Non Grata]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shinobi-non-grata/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shinobi-non-grata/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 27 Dec 2023 05:14:10 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Studio PICO, PC, 2023

A tight action-platformer. Player movement is breezy, the animation is nice, and the special attacks you cycle through are pretty mechanically distinct and flavorful. The structure of the game is something like Alien Soldier o…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Jigoku Gokurakumaru]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/jigoku-gokurakumaru/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/jigoku-gokurakumaru/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 20 Dec 2023 05:38:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Human Entertainment, Famicom, 1990

A pretty solid action-platformer. It’s hard to say it’s one of the best on the system (that’s an incredibly high bar) but it’s got a cool theme, nice Batman-style environment art with a bit more guts factor, a fun…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Blood West]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/blood-west/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/blood-west/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 18 Dec 2023 01:24:54 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Hyperstrange, PC, 2023

A System Shock style first-person action game with a wild west horror theme. You’ve got a big inventory grid, leaning, stealth, and a skill tree. And from the lense of Shock-style design the game is pretty well-executed. Comb…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sonic Wings]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/sonic-wings/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/sonic-wings/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 17 Dec 2023 05:34:16 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Video Systems, Arcade, 1992

You can really see the beginning of Psikyo here. A focused shooting game with a fun cast of unique characters, early stage randomization, breakneck pacing, and huge, sick bosses. There are rough edges here that aren’t in…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hi-Fi Rush]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/hi-fi-rush/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/hi-fi-rush/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 11 Dec 2023 07:04:22 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tango Gameworks, PC, 2023

(Played on Very Hard, which I didn’t even have to unlock!)

Lead designer Masaaki Yamada uses Devil May Cry as a starting point (which he was a planner on back in the day) and adds all these little mechanics built around h…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Northern Journey]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/northern-journey/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/northern-journey/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:46 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Slid Studio, PC, 2021

This was a huge surprise. Not unlike Cruelty Squad it's pretty rough-edged, but not quite as hostile. There's a noisy visual style that holds up incredibly considering it's all done with a very vertex color approach. Some real…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[BOPPING DRIVE]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bopping-drive/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bopping-drive/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[David "Tain" Williams, PC, 2021

A nice exercise in keeping scope down and not stressing myself out. I set out to make something small and polished and I'm proud of the results.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Toree 3D + Toree 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/toree-3d-toree-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/toree-3d-toree-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Siactro, PC, 2021

A well-made basic linear 3D platformer with cute and clean visuals. There's not a ton noteworthy here, but the linear 3D platforming genre is still small enough to make this worth a quick runthrough. 

Sequel is largely the same, …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Halo Infinite (Versus)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/halo-infinite-versus/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/halo-infinite-versus/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[343i, PC, 2021

When it comes down to it, this is the first time I've played Halo consistently with a regular group of friends. I don't have a lot of knowledge about the competitive modes in older games. This has been fun as hell, though.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shiren the Wanderer 2: Oni Invasion! Shiren Castle!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/shiren-the-wanderer-2-oni-invasion-shiren-castle/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/shiren-the-wanderer-2-oni-invasion-shiren-castle/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:23 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Chunsoft, Nintendo 64, 2000

This one took ages, but what a game. I loved Shiren 5 back in 2016 when I played the English Vita release, but a fan translation of this appeared this year.

Being an N64 game the presentation is pretty drastically diffe…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Psychonauts 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/psychonauts-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/psychonauts-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Double Fine, PC, 2021

Surprisingly dense world. I like the lack of HUD highlights combined with the surplus of signposting. 

Game doesn't seem to do much layering of mechanics or make any real attempt at getting more difficult, sadly.

Extremely d…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Steel Assault]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/steel-assault/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/steel-assault/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Zenovia Interactive, PC, 2021

Fantastic action-platformer. Pretty top-tier aesthetically, with lots of smooth animation, gorgeous backgrounds, and a face-melting Thunderforce 4 style soundtrack. Stages are extremely dense, sometimes approaching a M…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Metroid Dread]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/metroid-dread/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/metroid-dread/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[MercurySteam, Switch, 2021

Dread winds up being a fantastic action game due to its constant, intense, and creative boss fights and overall excellent animation. Samus gets a lot of unique abilities and the bosses push you to use them in all sorts of…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Outer Wilds: Echoes of the Eye]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/outer-wilds-echoes-of-the-eye/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/outer-wilds-echoes-of-the-eye/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Mobius Digital, PC, 2021

A fantastic expansion to the original, fleshing out the universe's history a bit while having the player solve a detached but still grand mystery in an alien ring world. The structure set up by the original is here, and the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Deathloop]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/deathloop/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/deathloop/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:29:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Arkane Studios, PC, 2021

This is an interesting one. At its core, it's a Dishonored-style action-stealth game but leaning more toward the action this time and for the better. The abilities are fun, mayhem is encouraged via dumb enemy AI and lots of…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Jupiter Hell]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/jupiter-hell/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/jupiter-hell/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:29:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[ChaosForge, PC, 2021

An incredible roguelike. This is a much smaller and more focused game than a lot of the western-made ASCII classics, but there's a ton of variety when it comes to viable character builds and the combat rules are elegant and wel…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Game Builder Garage]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/game-builder-garage/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/game-builder-garage/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:29:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo, Switch, 2021

As to be expected, this is an extremely cute game construction kit. Dreams is the obvious comparison, and while this doesn't give users anywhere near as much freedom, there's still plenty of power here and it comes with a cha…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cruelty Squad]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cruelty-squad/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cruelty-squad/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:29:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Consumer Softproducts, PC, 2021

it's 2021 and games are looking like shit on purpose. It's successful at looking and sounding repugnant, it's got a pretty fun theme, and there's an impressive amount of complexity to the stages. Extremely anachronis…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Guilty Gear Strive]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/guilty-gear-strive/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/guilty-gear-strive/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:29:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Arc System Works, PC, 2021…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Resident Evil 8]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/resident-evil-8/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/resident-evil-8/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:28:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2021

Great game. Built on 7 perfectly by being far more consistent and using a wonderful hub area to guide the player through a handful of mechanically and thematically varied dungeons. The cast of enemies is great and has a huge amount…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Nioh 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/nioh-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/nioh-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:28:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Team Ninja, PC, 2021

A step up from the first game for sure. Lots of cool bosses and great core combat mechanics. Unfortunately, it doesn't fix the major problem of the first game: it's stretched out far, far longer than it should be.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ghosts n Goblins Resurrection]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ghosts-n-goblins-resurrection/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ghosts-n-goblins-resurrection/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:28:22 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2021  
aka Kaettekita Makaimura

Great game. It's not an arcade-built game at all, but the divergences are well thought-out and deeply tied into the game's difficulty levels. You're encouraged to start by trying on Legend mode (both the …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bowser's Fury]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bowsers-fury/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bowsers-fury/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:28:17 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo, Switch, 2021

This was good. Probably the right length, and I wonder how they could build a game with the same core that holds up to be much longer, but the world this takes place in feels like it's made up of my favorite kind of side-cour…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cyber Shadow]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cyber-shadow/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cyber-shadow/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:28:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Aarne "MekaSkull" Hunziker, PC, 2021

This might have some of the best Famicom-style visuals of any modern game I can think of. It delivers visually on those Kickstarter shots of Steel Assault (where this game got its start before Steel Assault swit…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hitman 3]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/hitman-3/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/hitman-3/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:57 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[IO Interactive, PC, 2021

It's absolutely more of the same, but the six stages of Hitman 3 are mostly huge, all great, and have some high points for the trilogy. I love how the stages from the prior two Hitman releases are neatly merged into this on…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Midnight Suns]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/midnight-suns/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/midnight-suns/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Firaxis Games, PC, 2022

I think the core combat of this game is really, really cool. The positioning and environmental attack stuff is very fun and clever and super unique. Unfortunately, everything stringing the missions together feels like grind-…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[God of War: Ragnarock]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/god-of-war-ragnarock/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/god-of-war-ragnarock/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Santa Monica Studio, Playstation 4, 2022

This is good in the same areas that the first game is. The core combat is pretty fun and satisfying, they’ve added a cool new weapon in the spear, and they brought in some welcome enemy variety. There are pl…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Signalis]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/signalis/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/signalis/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:26 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[rose-engine, PC, 2022

A fantastic game in the style of the original Biohazard. Helping it stand out is an extremely unique look and atmosphere that leans heavily on blurring the line between pixel art and 3D. There’s an even stronger focus on puzzl…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bayonetta 3]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bayonetta-3/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bayonetta-3/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:22 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[PlatinumGames, Switch, 2022

Refreshing to play a game like this again. Lots of ideas crammed into this one (reflecting the long development time), but it’s all wrangled together very well. The kaiju mechanics help it stand out from the first two, E…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Scorn]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/scorn/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/scorn/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ebb Software, PC, 2022

This is an extremely visually accomplished game. Just a really thorough and stunning take on Giger's style. Unfortunately, the game's puzzles and combat are two mechanical halves that fit together terribly. If it had only one…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Kevin Costner's Waterworld]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/kevin-costners-waterworld/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/kevin-costners-waterworld/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Macaw45, PC, 2022

Macaw45's action game based on the Waterworld arcade game gag from The Simpsons. You take big steps one at a time, you have very specific punch timing, and the obstacles get very silly. Every time you die you have to manually inse…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Return to Monkey Island]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/return-to-monkey-island/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/return-to-monkey-island/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Terrible Toybox, PC, 2022  

Return to Monkey Island is really good. Visuals won me over in motion, it does just the right amount of streamlining, it's charming throughout with occasional genuinely funny moments, and I really liked the ending.

I th…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Last Call BBS]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/last-call-bbs/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/last-call-bbs/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Zachtronics, PC, 2022

It's not often that a development studio declares a game as their final release. This is a fascinating collection of games that are all solid ideas and well-polished, even if not always fully fleshed out. A couple highlights f…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rumbleverse]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rumbleverse/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rumbleverse/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Iron Galaxy, PC, 2022

What a unique thing. Really cool core mechanics. Endlessly fun to climb around, chuck items at people, slam people into cars, tackle people off of buildings, whip people to your friends, etc. Deceptively complex for sure, and …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[ROLLERDROME]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rollerdrome/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rollerdrome/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Roll7, PC, 2022

Really good Tony Hawk style skating game that manages to bring in a layer of bullet-time third-person shooting. The skating stuff is kind, not allowing you to bail and basically only having flip tricks and grinds, but the way the tr…]]></description>
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            <title><![CDATA[Paradise Killer]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/paradise-killer/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/paradise-killer/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:29 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Kaizen Game Works, PC, 2022

A neat adventure game where you hop around a vaporwave island of the gods using Quake controls to gather as much evidence as you feel like prior to initiating a trial. The music is wonderful and the visuals are pretty we…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[COMPOUND]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/compound/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/compound/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bevan McKechnie, PC VR, 2022

Cleared on Hard. Incredible. Fun to learn weapons, well-balanced between physical and artificial movement, tons of little quirks to learn about the enemies and environments they're placed in, and one of the best executi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Stray]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/stray/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/stray/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[BlueTwelve Studio, PC, 2022

Cute, gorgeous game. Mostly a very atmospheric walking sim with light puzzles and action.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Yurukill: The Calumniation Games]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/yurukill-the-calumniation-games/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/yurukill-the-calumniation-games/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[IzanagiGames and G.Rev, PC, 2022

What a unique game. The basic idea is that it's a Danganronpa-style visual novel only with the trial scenes replaced by a full-ass 2D shooting game designed by Border Down director Hiroyuki Maruyama. 

The VN side o…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Knight's Try]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/knights-try/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/knights-try/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Modus Interactive, PC, 2022

This might be a 3D platforming all-timer. 

You play as a goofy, tired, and faceless onion knight trying to ascend a massive floating course full of jumps, traps, and enemies. The core mechanics are simple: basic movemen…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/cuphead-the-delicious-last-course/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/cuphead-the-delicious-last-course/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Studio MDHR, PC, 2022

Really good expansion to the original. They went all out with most of these bosses, and the final boss in particular is incredible. Couldn't get into the new character's controls, but she does seem mechanically distinct.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Neon White]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/neon-white/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/neon-white/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Angel Matrix, PC, 2022

Very unique first-person action game featuring Trackmania-style stages strung together with visual novel sequences. 

Each stage has you running, jumping, and shooting around a porcelain course in the heavens. There are medal…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Drainus]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/drainus/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/drainus/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Team Ladybug, PC, 2022

Gorgeous gorgeous game but mechanically inelegant and largely about mashing absorb instead of dodging. I probably won't be going back to it.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/stranger-of-paradise-final-fantasy-origin/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/stranger-of-paradise-final-fantasy-origin/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Team Ninja, PC, 2022 

A Team Ninja game that serves as a prequel of sorts to the original Final Fantasy. I wasn't the biggest fan of Nioh or Nioh 2, but I enjoyed this a good amount more. 

The core combat here is pretty fun. The basis is a fairly …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ghostwire: Tokyo]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ghostwire-tokyo/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ghostwire-tokyo/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:21 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tango, PC, 2022

It's no TEW but there's something nice about the simple lock-on + parry combat between all the building-climbing. It's surprisingly distinct despite the broader open world structure. 

This is probably best on Tatari, where the game…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Elden Ring]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/elden-ring/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/elden-ring/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:14 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[FromSoftware, PC, 2022

Jesus Christ. This game is gigantic, yet consistently good. It's dense. There's something interesting in every nook and cranny. You'll see repeated bosses and other elements, but the game justifies it and changes plenty of ot…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Akai Katana Exa Label]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/akai-katana-exa-label/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/akai-katana-exa-label/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Team EXA-AM2, Arcade, 2022

Like with DoDonPachi Saidaioujou Exa Label, the Exa release of Akai Katana does an excellent job of porting the 2010 original by shedding the egregious slowdown, gathering existing arrange modes (one of which tastef…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The King of Fighters XV]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/the-king-of-fighters-xv/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/the-king-of-fighters-xv/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SNK, PC, 2022

I like the autocombos, I like the new characters, I like the visuals. I'm not going to play a ton of this but it seems good.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sifu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sifu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sifu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sloclap, PC, 2022  


The main draw here is this very unique, flashy, and stylish combat (kinda reminiscent of Arkham Asylum but with some GOD HAND thrown in) combined with a really high difficulty level. You'll learn all about weapons, crushing gua…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/serious-sam-siberian-mayhem/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/serious-sam-siberian-mayhem/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Timelock Studio, PC, 2022 

It's more of Sam 4, but with slightly tighter pacing (it's shorter overall) and better vehicle segments. It rules. Maybe the boss fights are a little weaker.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Robocop: Rogue City]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/robocop-rogue-city/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/robocop-rogue-city/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Teyon, PC, 2023

What a nice surprise this was. Absolutely has the energy of a Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay or a Wolfenstein: The New Order. It’s a focused and linear FPS that intelligently uses genre conventions without sticking t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/like-a-dragon-gaiden-the-man-who-erased-his-name/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/like-a-dragon-gaiden-the-man-who-erased-his-name/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:50 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, PC, 2023

I liked the sound of a shorter Yakuza game going into this one, but in practice it’s a bit of a letdown. Too much time is spent introducing the player to side quest and minigame stuff and it all feels like leftovers. …]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Air Twister]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/air-twister/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/air-twister/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ys Net, PC, 2023

Initially an Apple Arcade game, Yu Suzuki’s new rail shooter is now on PC and consoles. The presentation is surprisingly good! Environments look nice, enemy designs are inspired, and the soundtrack is all original ELO-ish stuff wit…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Mario Bros. Wonder]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/super-mario-bros-wonder/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/super-mario-bros-wonder/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo EPD, Nintendo Switch, 2023

Pretty good. Nothing too surprising, but it’s well-made and the new presentation is refreshing compared to New Super Mario Bros U. As always the new power-ups are fun and well-explored by the stages they’re place…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Slay the Princess]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/slay-the-princess/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/slay-the-princess/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Black Tabby Games, PC, 2023

A nice, terse visual novel with a very dynamic feel. Well-executed with a unique look and narration. I don’t want to say much about what actually goes on here, but by the end of the fairly short play time it winds up sat…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Trepang2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/trepang2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/trepang2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Trepang Studios, PC, 2023

A well-made successor to FEAR that, going by memory, turns all the dials up. Extremely satisfying weapons, environmental destruction, and hit reactions. Surprisingly good boss fights, especially the final boss. Thankfully,…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Void Stranger]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/void-stranger/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/void-stranger/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[System Erasure, PC, 2023

ZeroRanger is one of my favorite games of 2018 and one of the best home-exclusive 2D shooting games I can think of, so I had to immediately hop on Void Stranger despite it being a huge departure. It uses Game Boy classic Ca…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/armored-core-vi-fires-of-rubicon/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/armored-core-vi-fires-of-rubicon/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:27 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[FromSoftware, PC, 2023

A big new release that snuck up on me. My Armored Core experience prior to this consisted of playing the four 360-generation entries, which I generally enjoyed.

What struck me most about Armored Core 6 was how finely From ro…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[En Garde!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/en-garde/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/en-garde/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Fireplace Games, PC, 2023

A very charming third-person swashbuckling game. It’s a bit like Sifu, but with simpler (yet still very clear and slick-looking) swordfighting mechanics and none of the meta-layer inelegance. A particularly neat touch is t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bomb Rush Cyberfunk]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/bomb-rush-cyberfunk/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/bomb-rush-cyberfunk/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Team Reptile, PC, 2023

Wish I liked this more. This is clearly using Jet Set Radio Future as a starting point, and I’d say that it makes some clear improvements by changing up the structure a bit. The tricks and trick-related challenges are more fu…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Pseudoregalia]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/pseudoregalia/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/pseudoregalia/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:18 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[rittzler, PC, 2023

This is a nice time. I don't like it as much as Knight's Try when it comes to recent 3d platformer-adjacent stuff but it does a pretty good job of making a roughly Souls-style connected world with distinct-enough areas out of a t…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Protodroid Delta]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/protodroid-delta/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/protodroid-delta/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Adam Kareem, PC, 2023

This was a neat linear 3D action-platformer with well thought-out movement and combat. Charge attacks require energy that you can regenerate through melee, and there’s a lot of neat variety to the enemy behaviors. Dash-jumping…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Street Fighter 6]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/street-fighter-6/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/street-fighter-6/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:05 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2023

World Tour mode is pretty solid. It’s not great, not Tobal 2, but better than any fighting game campaign mode I can point to in the past couple decades. I don’t really like talking about fighting games in too much detail because I …]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo EAD, Switch, 2023

Something special. An improvement on BotW in so many ways. The deeply flexible and optional BotW campaign has been expanded on not primarily through more or better dungeons (though there are more and they are better), but…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Star Wars Jedi: Survivor]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/star-wars-jedi-survivor/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/star-wars-jedi-survivor/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:22:59 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Respawn, PC, 2023

A good iteration on Fallen Order. It’s bigger and has a more complex hub, but the main campaign doesn’t lose any of the focus from the first game. The hardest difficulty demanded a little too much perfection so I dropped it down t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Lattice Rider NEPHILA]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/lattice-rider-nephila/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/lattice-rider-nephila/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:22:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[David “Tain” Williams, PC, 2023

I made this game over ten days for Bullet Hell Jam 2023. I wanted to practice low-fi 3D visuals and some 2D shooting game stage design, and overall I’m super happy with the results. If I made this into a full project…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Resident Evil 4 (2023)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/resident-evil-4-2023/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/resident-evil-4-2023/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:22:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2023

I loved the Resident Evil 2 remake largely because it built a fantastic new game using mostly just the skeleton of the original. It was a huge departure in tons of ways. This is a very well-made game, but it simply can’t be as exci…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Wanted: Dead]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/wanted-dead/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/wanted-dead/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:22:17 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Soleil, PC, 2023

A 3D melee action and third person shooter hybrid set in future Hong Kong, developed by some ex Team Ninja guys minus Itagaki. It doesn’t feel as much like Devil’s Third as I expected it to, and I think it does some key things bett…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/vengeful-guardian-moonrider/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/vengeful-guardian-moonrider/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:22:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[JoyMasher, PC, 2023

I was hoping this would be a lean and 1cc-focusable game like Blazing Chrome, but it turns out it’s more like Rockman X than anything else. The visuals are gorgeous and the theme is cool as hell, but both the stages and boss fig…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Lunacid]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/lunacid/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/lunacid/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:08:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[KIRA LLC, PC, 2023

I’ve only played the first and a bit of the second King’s Field games, which Lunacid takes a lot from, and it does an admirable job of creating that sense of mystery that pulls me through so many of From’s games. This is a little…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Baroque (Saturn)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/baroque-saturn/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/baroque-saturn/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 04:55:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sting, Saturn, 1998

Dark and moody action game with (and I don’t throw this term out lightly) roguelike elements. It’s basically like if Shiren the Wanderer had far slower and realtime first-person combat to space out all the cool decisions. It’s r…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gunbird]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/gunbird/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/gunbird/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 08 Dec 2023 17:53:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Psikyo, Arcade, 1994

This was a really fun game to learn. Being Psikyo’s second shooter it’s notably less complex than the games that would come later, but it’s also a pretty big step above their already-solid Sengoku Ace. You’ll see a lot of the P…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[D/Generation]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dgeneration/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dgeneration/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 03 Dec 2023 21:38:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Robert Cook, DOS, 1991

Played about half of this. It’s a pretty clever combination of small-scale room puzzles and action that leans into avoiding traps, but eventually the behavior of the Survivors really started to wear on me and there are some p…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dynamite Deka 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dynamite-deka-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dynamite-deka-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 11 Nov 2023 04:43:32 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM1, Arcade, 1998

Played both the Model 2 original and the Dreamcast port, which has a pretty different look to it.

Sequel to the 1996 masterpiece. Despite being a 1998 release this was built for the then-old but still powerful Model 2 arcade…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Magnetic Neo]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/super-magnetic-neo/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/super-magnetic-neo/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 11 Nov 2023 04:35:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Genki, Dreamcast, 2000

A surprisingly tough Crash Bandicoot style 3D platformer with a neat magnet polarity gimmick. Like with Crash there are some rough edges (stuff like not being able to magnetize while holding the run button), but overall I thi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Clock Tower 3]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/clock-tower-3/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/clock-tower-3/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 11 Nov 2023 04:35:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Playstation 2, 2003

I played Haunting Ground a lifetime ago and really liked it, and I’ve always loved the first Clock Tower game in particular, so I figured it was time to finally play this. It’s good! Being developed by a team from a diff…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Raiden DX]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/raiden-dx/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/raiden-dx/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 10 Nov 2023 02:13:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Seibu Kaihatsu, Arcade, 1994

An enhanced/arranged version of Raiden 2, often pointed to as the one to play. I didn’t clear it but put a good chunk of time into it for Calice Cup. It’s insanely lush, pretty tough, and has a ridiculous list of scorin…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Karateka]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/karateka/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/karateka/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 11 Oct 2023 03:50:22 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jordan Mechner, Apple II, 1984

A breakthrough game in terms of presentation, but I think it’s clear that Prince of Persia was the real masterpiece. The entire structure here is a brief, straight-shot left-to-right series of karate fights with a cou…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dr. Toppel's Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dr-toppels-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dr-toppels-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 11 Oct 2023 01:34:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Kaneko, Arcade, 1987

this is a rough STG man. Cute designs, a neat option-placement concept, and it’s kinda unique in how all the bullets are tiny and crawl real slow… but the sprites look crazy sparse with almost no animation, there’s zero time to…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gokujou Parodius]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/gokujou-parodius/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/gokujou-parodius/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 10 Oct 2023 20:51:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1994

Played for Calice Cup 7.

The second of the three arcade Parodius games. Normally I’d have preferred to put more time into the predecessor Parodius Da!, but I’m told this series got easier with each entry so maybe it’s for the …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dynamite Deka]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dynamite-deka/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dynamite-deka/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 28 Sep 2023 19:59:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM1, Arcade, 1996. aka Die Hard Arcade

It feels like Dynamite Deka is often considered a footnote, but I really think this is a milestone in 3D melee action.

Belt scrollers were always 3D in a mechanics sense, but being built fully around pol…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Deep Fear]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/deep-fear/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/deep-fear/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 21 Sep 2023 03:19:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega CS2, Saturn, 1998

Really wish this was good! Deep Fear is a Biohazard-style fixed camera horror game set in an undersea base. Cool premise, and much of it is pretty well-executed with detailed environments, smooth-moving gouraud-shaded charact…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Nosferatu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/nosferatu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/nosferatu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 19 Aug 2023 03:41:16 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SETA Co., Super Famicom, 1994

Unhinged and wonderful. The most concise way I can describe Nosferatu is that it’s like Prince of Persia with slightly more granular movement and an emphasis on a unique, hefty hand-to-hand combat system. The presentat…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Prince of Persia (PC-98)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/prince-of-persia-pc-98/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/prince-of-persia-pc-98/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 10 Aug 2023 04:28:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Broderbund Software and Arsys Software, PC-98, 1990

This is my first time fully playing any form of Prince of Persia. I landed on this version because it was one of the earliest ports, it adds a soundtrack, and the PC-98’s grimy audio hardware and …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Eliza]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/eliza/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/eliza/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 09 Aug 2023 21:05:29 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Zachtronics, PC, 2019

Obviously not the usual Zachtronics game and has a pretty distinct theme for a VN. Looking back I don’t know that it went where it needed to.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dracula Densetsu II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dracula-densetsu-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dracula-densetsu-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 09 Aug 2023 18:43:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Game Boy, 1991, aka Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge

This is a step up from the first Game Boy game in a lot of ways, but the most noticeable are the tech improvements. It looks nicer, with some seriously impressive backgrounds, and it mos…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Punisher]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-punisher/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-punisher/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 31 Jul 2023 04:18:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Arcade, 1993

So sick. The lush animation and excellent voice samples work hand-in-hand to make the heavy hits satisfying. I can’t think of any move in anything I’ve played recently that’s more fun to land than the Punisher’s perfectly-timed…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dangun Feveron]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dangun-feveron/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dangun-feveron/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 19 Jul 2023 17:27:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 1998

This is wonderful. As with Guwange, there’s nothing else in Cave’s library that feels like it. It’s the last of their games to primarily use traditional pixel art, and is utterly stuffed with awesome chunky-looking ships on top o…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/62944eec98c5f975395307bf/attachments/62944efe5a8cca58e38cf090/previews/62944f005a8cca58e38cf0b6/download/DangunFeveron_Flyer_front.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Baldur's Gate]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/baldurs-gate/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/baldurs-gate/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 19 Jul 2023 00:24:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bioware, Windows, 1998

Playing the Enhanced Edition. This seems impressively flexible from the get-go and the game’s world feels pretty big. The real time combat is pretty breezy and helps keep things from feeling like a slog, but I think that the …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Flashback]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/flashback/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/flashback/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 14 Jul 2023 21:21:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Delphine Software International, Amiga, 1992

It’s striking how distinct this feels from Another World. Both made at the same studio, both using Prince of Persia as a starting point, both using flat colors to create gorgeous environments and fluid c…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Batman (Famicom)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/batman-famicom/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/batman-famicom/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 03 Jul 2023 03:27:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sunsoft, Famicom, 1989

After bouncing off of Future Wars I had to play something good and tight and familiar. This rules basically as much as it did when I beat the game in 2010-ish, though the final stage’s jump timing was even tighter than I reme…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Future Wars: Adventures in Time]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/future-wars-adventures-in-time/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/future-wars-adventures-in-time/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 03 Jul 2023 03:08:29 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Delphine Software, Amiga, 1989

Wanted to try this since Éric Chahi was behind most of the art. I bounced off of this, sadly. The opening scenes are gorgeous and the interface is pretty elegant for 1989, but the hotspots are the tiniest I’ve ever se…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Another World]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/another-world/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/another-world/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 27 Jun 2023 17:32:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Delphine Software, Amiga, 1991

Absolutely sick game. Having never seen beyond the intro when I was younger I'm very happy that I finally played through this. It’s an action platformer with fluid animation and grounded movement, like Prince of Persi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Fallout: New Vegas]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/fallout-new-vegas/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/fallout-new-vegas/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 26 Jun 2023 05:36:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Obsidian Entertainment, Windows, 2010

Best Bethesda-style game I've played. An easy standout. The Elder Scrolls games never did much for me and I bounced off of Fallout 3 in 2009, but I was pretty hooked to New Vegas. It has an impressively dynamic…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[System Shock]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/system-shock/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/system-shock/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Jun 2023 17:22:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Looking Glass Technologies, DOS, 1994

A staggeringly ambitious first person action game set in a big semi-linear space station. It’s all incredibly impressive for 1994. Movement mechanics let you lean, strafe, crouch, jump, and even go prone. Envir…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Galleon]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/galleon/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/galleon/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 05 Jun 2023 21:10:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Confounding Factor, Xbox, 2004

This was apparently directed by Toby Gard, one of the lead guys behind the original Tomb Raider that left Core prior to Tomb Raider II. You can definitely see a trajectory from that game to this. It’s still got plenty…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Fighting Force]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/fighting-force/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/fighting-force/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 23 May 2023 04:29:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Core Design, Playstation, 1997

A polygonal beat ‘em up by the Tomb Raider developers. I always thought this looked so cool as a kid and wished I could play it on Saturn, but despite all the times I got to try PS1 rentals at friends' houses I never …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Castlevania: The Adventure Rebirth]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/castlevania-the-adventure-rebirth/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/castlevania-the-adventure-rebirth/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 16 May 2023 17:34:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[M2, Wii, 2009

I think the visuals put me off on this back in the day, but now that I’ve actually sat down with it it’s pretty good! It’s a cool mix of mechanics from the original game (no stair jumping/landing for example) and some departures like …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Kick Master]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/kick-master/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/kick-master/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 25 Apr 2023 04:47:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[KID Corp, NES, 1992

Shinobu Yagawa as programmer. His third credit. No Japanese release.

This is a pretty interesting one. Every enemy kill sends three items up into the air and these items drop through the floor, so you often need to commit to gr…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Low G Man]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/low-g-man/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/low-g-man/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 23 Apr 2023 02:50:59 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[KID Corp, NES, 1992

Having your primary attacks be between a stun-only pistol and an up/down stab is a pretty cool setup. There are there’s a surprising amount of cool enemy designs in here, and pretty decent variety in stage design. On the other h…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shadowgate 64]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shadowgate-64/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shadowgate-64/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 22 Apr 2023 15:00:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[TNS Co., Nintendo 64, 1999

A first-person adventure game apparently developed by the studio behind Wachenroeder. Unfortunately super dry compared to the original. Cool atmosphere, nice (if subdued) music, but there are no silly deaths and the puzzl…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shadowgate]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shadowgate/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shadowgate/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 17 Apr 2023 02:23:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[ICOM and Kemco, NES, 1989

Unlike with Deja Vu, I decided to play Kemco’s NES adaptation over the Macintosh original after reading up on major differences. This is a larger and cooler game than Deja Vu, for sure, and while some of the puzzles are gr…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Comix Zone]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/comix-zone/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/comix-zone/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 15 Apr 2023 17:07:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega Technical Institute, Genesis, 1995

This is a wild one. It’s an action platformer where the premise is that you play as a 90’s comic book artist guy that gets sucked up into his own work. The presentation rules, honestly. Everything takes place…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Selection: Erabareshi Mono / The Sword of Hope]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/selection-erabareshi-mono-the-sword-of-hope/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/selection-erabareshi-mono-the-sword-of-hope/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Apr 2023 19:08:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Kemco, Game Boy, 1989

Kemco first adapted Deja Vu in '88, this being a year later. I figured I'd check this out since I liked the idea of an original Game Boy ICOM-style adventure game by Kemco themselves, but unfortunately this is more of a tradit…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Guwange]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/guwange/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/guwange/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Apr 2023 03:48:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 1999

It’s easy to think of Cave as sticking to a very tight set of mechanics and hardly ever deviating but this game stands way out. What a wild take on the genre. The core concept is basically an on-foot top-down STG with the usual C…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Deja Vu: A Nightmare Comes True!!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/deja-vu-a-nightmare-comes-true/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/deja-vu-a-nightmare-comes-true/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 07 Apr 2023 22:19:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[ICOM Simulations, Macintosh, 1985

Really impressive how this uses the Macintosh UI to do a lot of heavy lifting and deliver a very new kind of adventure game only a year after King’s Quest. The black and white art is really distinct and barring a c…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[El Viento]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/el-viento/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/el-viento/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 07 Apr 2023 22:19:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Wolf Team, Megadrive, 1991

This game’s definitely got rough edges, but it also has a really cool presentation, nice cutscene art, excellent music, a pretty unique setting, and honestly some decent action! It’s deeply silly and has a couple weak poi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[EX-RANZA]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/ex-ranza/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/ex-ranza/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 05 Apr 2023 15:14:58 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[GAU Entertainment, Megadrive, 1993. aka Ranger X.

Very cool. This was released about half a year after Valken and isn’t really dissimilar in structure and theme: it’s a side-view mech action-platformer where you have a health meter, every life is a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Mario: Yoshi Island]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/super-mario-yoshi-island/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/super-mario-yoshi-island/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 23 Mar 2023 23:54:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo EAD, Super Famicom, 1995

Gorgeous. Really really nice-looking, lots of cute designs all over the place, great music. The egg throwing is pretty fun, but as the stages sloooowly ramped up I found the flutter jump mechanic and the Mario reco…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Wild Guns]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/wild-guns/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/wild-guns/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 13 Mar 2023 01:15:28 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Natsume, Super Famicom, 1994

An easy entry into the absolute top tier of SFC action games. The theme rules, the art is incredible, the soundtrack is great, all of this stuff is basically perfect. And then you have this clever split between stationa…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Progear No Arashi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/progear-no-arashi/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/progear-no-arashi/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 13 Mar 2023 01:14:59 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade (CPS2), 2001

Very pumped that I got the first loop one credit clear of Progear no Arashi today. This wasn't as hard for me as Ikaruga, but I still found this tricky. Will probably never even see loop 2, lol. Really love this game. The …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[KiKi KaiKai: Nazo no Kuro Manto]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/kiki-kaikai-nazo-no-kuro-manto/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/kiki-kaikai-nazo-no-kuro-manto/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 06 Mar 2023 01:37:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Natsume, Super Famicom, 1992

I spent some time with this, learning to 1cc up to the final stage, and unfortunately I think the game’s kind of annoying. I don’t like the movement-is-aim orientation mechanics, the constant melee swipes against bullet…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[DoDonPachi SaiDaiOuJou Exa Label - Original Mode]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dodonpachi-saidaioujou-exa-label-original-mode/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dodonpachi-saidaioujou-exa-label-original-mode/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 02 Mar 2023 03:49:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2012

Playing as A-S. I have not 1cc’d this yet. I spent a few months off-and-on chipping away at this and I’ve finally just started seeing stage 5. This really feels like a clear step above the other one-loop Cave games difficulty-wis…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gungrave G.O.R.E.]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/gungrave-gore/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/gungrave-gore/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 26 Feb 2023 07:08:14 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Iggymob, PC, 2022

I like the look of this game a lot. Some real fun designs and animations delivered with a lot of detail and impact. Unfortunately the stages do nothing for me. Just gigantic amounts of little dudes that you blast through, occasion…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Space Channel 5 VR: Kinda Funky News Flash]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/space-channel-5-vr-kinda-funky-news-flash/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/space-channel-5-vr-kinda-funky-news-flash/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 25 Feb 2023 19:08:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Grounding, PC, 2020

What’s here is really good. It’s better than the old games in a lot of ways, but it’s also both shorter and easier. This wouldn’t be a big problem if they included a nice bonus challenge mode, but unfortunately no dice. Still, y…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Leisure Suit Larry goes Looking For Love (In Several Wrong Places)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/leisure-suit-larry-goes-looking-for-love-in-several-wrong-places/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/leisure-suit-larry-goes-looking-for-love-in-several-wrong-places/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 25 Feb 2023 03:06:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sierra On-Line, DOS, 1988

Big step down from the first one. The visuals are more detailed but less appealing, the world is bigger but more confusing, and the puzzles are some of the cruelest and softlock-iest I’ve seen in an adventure game. Kinda h…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-beast-within-a-gabriel-knight-mystery/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-beast-within-a-gabriel-knight-mystery/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 24 Feb 2023 03:06:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sierra, PC, 1995

Decided to play something chill like this while I was out with a nasty infection.

Compared to Phantasmagoria, this feels like a much more complete attempt at FMV-ifying Sierra’s traditional point and click setup. The sprites still…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Returnal]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/returnal/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/returnal/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 24 Feb 2023 03:06:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Housemarque, Playstation 5 and PC, 2021

This is a great time. Housemarque has adapted their chaotic twin-stick shooting action into a gorgeous and cutting-edge third-person shooter, deftly bringing along the lessons they’ve learned through the year…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[King's Quest]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/kings-quest/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/kings-quest/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 24 Feb 2023 02:26:19 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sierra On-Line, IBM PC, 1984

Not as breezy or as purposeful with its environments as Leisure Suit Larry, but it’s very obviously a groundbreaking release for its time. Like with LSL I was surprised at how kind the parser is, and the game has some m…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/leisure-suit-larry-in-the-land-of-the-lounge-lizards/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/leisure-suit-larry-in-the-land-of-the-lounge-lizards/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 24 Feb 2023 02:26:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sierra On-Line, DOS, 1987

I’ve been meaning to play through more old Sierra stuff for a while now. I grew up on LucasArts, and Sierra’s adventure games have mostly been a blind spot for me barring the first Gabriel Knight. King’s Quest seemed a lit…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Space Quest: Chapter I - The Sarien Encounter]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/space-quest-chapter-i-the-sarien-encounter/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/space-quest-chapter-i-the-sarien-encounter/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 19 Feb 2023 05:59:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sierra On-Line, DOS, 1986

Relative to the other Sierra series first entries I’ve played this year, this released between King’s Quest and Leisure Suit Larry. The theme here is really fun. There’s a nice variety to the settings that make it feel lik…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The GG Shinobi II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-gg-shinobi-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-gg-shinobi-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 08 Feb 2023 00:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Game Gear, 1992

I liked this more than the first one. The structure is similar but the main change is that in each of the four selectable stages you’ll have to beat their boss to unlock the Shinobi (with unique abilities) and then you’ll also…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shining Force: The Legacy of Great Intention]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shining-force-the-legacy-of-great-intention/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shining-force-the-legacy-of-great-intention/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 29 Jan 2023 20:24:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Climax Entertainment and Sonic Co., Mega Drive, 1992

I haven’t played many SRPGs so I figured I’d play through this for the Sega factor. From what little I know about the genre, the unique part of Shining Force seems to be that you have town segmen…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Wishbringer]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/wishbringer/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/wishbringer/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 25 Dec 2022 02:22:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Infocom, various PC platforms, 1985

Directed by Brian Moriarty (Loom, etc). Infocom themselves describes this as “introductory level” right on the box. Wishbringer basically does away with all of the stuff I disliked about Zork I. The world is much…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Jet Island]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/jet-island/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/jet-island/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 25 Dec 2022 02:13:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Master Indie, PC, 2018

This is a neat proof of concept where you Tribes-ski around an impossibly big island, make your way to the core of colossal moving robots, and blow 'em up. There isn't much to it outside of the movement and it's VERY motion-u…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Room VR]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/the-room-vr/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/the-room-vr/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 25 Dec 2022 02:13:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Fireproof Studios, PC, 2020

Really good VR adaptation and the tech fits so well. There aren’t any huge swerves from the flat-screen games, but there are plenty of standout puzzles and everything is paced well. Probably the best of the series.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bomberman 64]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bomberman-64/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bomberman-64/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 18 Dec 2022 00:25:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nice little campaign with some legit fun bosses and stages. There are some weird difficulty spikes, and the performance combined with the camera can get a little maddening, but it's a solid game overall.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[D no Shokutaku 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/d-no-shokutaku-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/d-no-shokutaku-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 16 Dec 2022 19:20:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[WARP, Dreamcast, 1999

This is WARP’s most fleshed-out game for sure. Taking place in snowy Canadian fields after a plane crash, the pre-rendered FMV has finally been relegated to occasional cutscenes and the adventure game scenes from the prior two…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shock Troopers]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/shock-troopers/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/shock-troopers/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:34:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Saurus, Arcade, 1997

Sick game. A surprisingly long one (wanna say my clear was like, idk, 30 minutes? 35?) but there's a lot of cool route selection stuff with a lot of clever re-use in design. Rolling through bullets to melee a dude is very satis…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Air Gallet]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/air-gallet/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/air-gallet/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:32:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Gazelle, Arcade, 1996

Cool game but a little uncanny, which makes sense given the Cave-sibling development history. Ship's just a little slow, hitbox maybe just a little big? Zako are mean as hell. First boss is overtuned. etc.

…but it's so sick v…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hishouzame]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/hishouzame/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/hishouzame/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:31:46 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Toaplan, Arcade, 1987

Wonderful game. I can see why this was such a monumental release, and it feels like it really paved the way for Raiden. There's a nice arc to learning how to lead all those fast bullets around, the bombs have a tricky delay th…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mahou Daisakusen]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/mahou-daisakusen/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/mahou-daisakusen/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:29:33 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Raizing, Arcade, 1993

I’ve loved this game ever since digging into it with the M2 release back in 2017. It’s not as relentlessly paced as a Cave game, but this gives it time to build out such a flavorful world for the genre’s standards. Each stage …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sin and Punishment]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sin-and-punishment/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sin-and-punishment/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:19:58 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Nintendo 64, 2000

This rules. I'm realizing that Cabal-style shooters and "forward-scrolling" shooters are largely the same thing, and this has to be near the top of that broader genre. I love the slight genre-bending parts, too, and ever…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Halo Infinite (Campaign)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/halo-infinite-campaign/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/halo-infinite-campaign/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:15:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[343i, PC, 2021

Played on Heroic.

Like in so many free-roaming games, there's a novelty to the world map that lasts for just an early portion of the campaign's length. In Infinite here, this map is full of little side battles. Since Halo has such a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Devil Daggers]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/devil-daggers/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/devil-daggers/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:11:17 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sorath, PC, 2016  

Devil Daggers has always seemed like a really good ultradense arcade-style game, but I've finally dug into it a little more. Once I learned that the gems can be absorbed by not firing and that you upgrade your firepower by collec…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Zork I]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/zork-i/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/zork-i/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 06:14:19 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Infocom, TRS-80, 1980

It’s easy to see why this was a big deal 40+ years ago. The map is big, the puzzles can be clever, there’s a nice sense of humor, and the interpreter is surprisingly smart. I got a kick out of how the combat was based on some …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hydlide]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/hydlide/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/hydlide/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:54:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[T&E Soft, PC-8800, 1984

A brief game full of grinding and designed around quicksaves. It's a hurdle to get into, of course, but I can certainly see why it'd be monumental in 1984. It's a cute adventure once you adjust, and it’s pretty staggering to…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ikari no Yousai (1993)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikari-no-yousai-1993/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikari-no-yousai-1993/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:52:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jaleco, Super Famicom, 1993

Thankfully, this is the best game in the trilogy. I have some nitpicks here (unskippable cutscenes and it's still slightly too mazey), but this is a great Valken-paced limited-continue action game with a really cool them…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Final Fantasy VII Remake]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/final-fantasy-vii-remake/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/final-fantasy-vii-remake/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:51:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Square Enix, Playstation 4, 2020

Enjoyed this. The main quest isn't overlong, the game is ridiculously gorgeous, and I really like what they did with the story. The combat is pretty brisk and flashy and fun, and really shines during some of the bos…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Natsuki Chronicles]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/natsuki-chronicles/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/natsuki-chronicles/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Qute, Xbox One, 2019

Really interesting setup here. The Story mode is genuinely pretty cool, giving you a pool of three lives per level that increases the more you have to retry the stage, and you upgrade weapons using credits earned throughout all…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Adventure of Little Ralph]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-adventure-of-little-ralph/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-adventure-of-little-ralph/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[New Corporation, Playstation, 1999

Fucking masterpiece.

Great visuals, tons of cool scenarios, incredibly good boss fights, and the fighting game genre twist is great. There are some tonal oddities that I don't like, but not enough of them to be a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ys III - Wanderers From Ys (PC-88)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ys-iii-wanderers-from-ys-pc-88/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ys-iii-wanderers-from-ys-pc-88/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nihon Falcom, PC-88, 1989

Played on Hard. The visuals, monster design, tight pacing, and excellent music are completely undeniable. The difficulty curve is also pretty tight considering the XP system, and while the bosses aren't particularly hard y…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Blazing Star]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/blazing-star/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/blazing-star/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:16 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Yumekobo, Arcade, 1998

This game fuckin rules. The CG sprites are certainly rough (which is excusable for 1998), but the scenes portrayed manage to be thrilling and unique nonetheless, and the fantastic soundtrack drives them perfectly as it hops b…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-great-ace-attorney-adventures/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-great-ace-attorney-adventures/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, 3DS, 2015

Been years since I've played one of these. It's really incredible how they handled the transition to 3D (like in AA...5?) and the new cast and setting were desperately needed. Tons of charming animations and a well-designed cast. …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Nikujin]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/nikujin/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/nikujin/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ikiki, PC, 2005

Brutal ninja platformer with a lot of wall running and occasional stealth elements. The movement and camera can get kind of erratic at times and you have to learn to not freak out during certain directional changes, but there's so m…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Daioh]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/daioh/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/daioh/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Very weird, but overall great. The game uses checkpoints, but it's kind with them by usually pushing you ahead of where you died and it actually eschews the checkpoints during boss fights. There's rank and a bit of rank management, but nothing too c…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Esp RaDe]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/esp-rade/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/esp-rade/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 1998

This is undoubtedly a great game, but upon revisiting and playing enough to get a clear, I think it's my least favorite mainline Cave game. Since I've already talked about the game's strengths, this is what I don't like:

* The f…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The House in Fata Morgana]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-house-in-fata-morgana/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-house-in-fata-morgana/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:46 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Novectacle, PC, 2012

This was incredible. A massive, massive story about lives tied to a mansion over centuries. I can't imagine the process of writing this or of localizing it. It's incredibly detailed, empathetic, sometimes heartbreaking, sometim…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sengoku Ace]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/sengoku-ace/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/sengoku-ace/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Psikyo, Arcade, 1993…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Espgaluda]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/espgaluda/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/espgaluda/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2003

You know how it is. It's a masterpiece. The final boss FINALLY clicked for me. There's so much to say about this game but it's late.

My favorite video game?…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bionic Commando (Game Boy)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bionic-commando-game-boy/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bionic-commando-game-boy/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Minakuchi Engineering, Game Boy, 1992  

Very much like the Ninja Ryukenden Game Boy game in the sense that it's very original, a bit shorter, and shockingly polished. A really good time, and the ending stretch is probably harder than the Famicom ga…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Darius II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/darius-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/darius-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:05 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1989

Beaten on "A" Difficulty ("Easy" on Switch collection).

This is a fascinating game. The move from three screens to two ultimately helps the pacing, cutting down on a lot of dead air at the expense of some novelty. A good decisi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Giga Wing]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/giga-wing/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/giga-wing/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Takumi and Capcom, Arcade, 1999

I loved this. This is the first Takumi game I've put time into, and the reflect mechanic is a blast. Just incredibly satisfying to get the barrier up, cut into a huge mass of bullets, and slam them back onto the enem…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Disco Elysium: The Final Cut]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/disco-elysium-the-final-cut/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/disco-elysium-the-final-cut/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:48:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[ZA/UM, PC, 2019

Incredibly unique game. It's mostly a very engaging and darkly funny detective story, packed with character progression and skill checks in a way that makes perfect sense in a tabletop setting but that you see rarely in a video game…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Actraiser 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/actraiser-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/actraiser-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:48:32 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Quintet and Ancient, Super Famicom, 1993

Really cool game. It's brutal, and there are unfortunately a couple lame segments that drag it down a little (a few mazes and some really questionable late fights), but the various jump mechanics are really …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ninja Five-O]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ninja-five-o/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ninja-five-o/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:48:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Game Boy Advance, 2003  
aka Ninja Cop

Sick, maddening, methodical game. Fun to learn the grapple controls. Very tight HP. Stages are slightly mazy but never too bad. Awesome bosses, amazing pixel art.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ankoku Densetsu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ankoku-densetsu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ankoku-densetsu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:47:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[RED, PC Engine, 1990  
aka The Legendary Axe II

A follow-up to Makyou Densetsu by a different team. Love the dark atmosphere of this game, love the boss designs. The core mechanics are pretty fun: you lose the satisfying axe charge attacks, but the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Perfect Dark Zero]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/perfect-dark-zero/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/perfect-dark-zero/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:47:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Rare, Xbox 360, 2005

This one's a jarring one to play in 2021. The style is hilarious (nu-metal Bond theme, everyone's clothing, the UI), it's kinda repugnant in terms of character design ("Mai Hem" are you kidding me), and the environments sincere…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ninja Ryukenden (Game Boy)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ninja-ryukenden-game-boy/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ninja-ryukenden-game-boy/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:47:16 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Natsume, Game Boy, 1991  
aka Ninja Gaiden

Very well-made action-platformer by Natsume, completely distinct from the arcade or Famicom games. This one plays more like Shatterhand, with Ryu moving at a slower pace to better fit the Game Boy's resolu…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sakura Wars]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sakura-wars/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sakura-wars/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:46:57 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[RED and Sega, Saturn, 1996

Played the fan translation. The combination of VN and tactics was pretty fun and novel, as was the 90s anime presentation. I appreciated how the fixed-length episodic structure of the game allowed for decently unique tact…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Atomic Runner Chelnov]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/atomic-runner-chelnov/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/atomic-runner-chelnov/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:46:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Data East, Arcade, 1988

This is such a neat game despite the roughness. The core forced-scrolling mechanics are super unique, fun to learn, and thoroughly explored. I particularly like the way that bouncing off of enemy heads works and is tied into…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Contra (Famicom)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/contra-famicom/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/contra-famicom/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:46:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Famicom, 1988  
aka Probotector

Been playing this lately and cleared the Famicom version today. Pretty clearly better than the arcade game of course, especially if you're playing the Famicom version with the extra BG animation. Has similar …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Xanadu Next]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/xanadu-next/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/xanadu-next/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:46:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nihon Falcom, Windows, 2005

An uneven game with a nice atmosphere. It feels very much like if one of the less-focused Ys games were built around mouse controls. It's generally enjoyable to run through the pretty environments, mow through monsters, …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/lands-of-lore-the-throne-of-chaos/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/lands-of-lore-the-throne-of-chaos/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:44:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Westwood Studios, MS-DOS, 1993

Excellent atmosphere and pixel art. Really friendly to get into. The mechanics, expectedly, don't hold up as you get into silly square-based dances and rapid equipment swapping, but I bet that's common for the genre.
…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Virtual Hydlide]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/virtual-hydlide/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/virtual-hydlide/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:44:47 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[T&E Soft, Saturn, 1995

a mess. 

The main programmer on this apparently worked on a bunch of golf games and I think that makes complete sense. There are a lot of ambitious things about this game: the environments are surprisingly detailed (even if …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ikaruga]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikaruga/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikaruga/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:42:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Arcade, 2001

I played some of Ikaruga in 2002. I bought it since it was a really cool-looking sendoff for the Dreamcast but didn't spend much time with it. I played some of the XBLA release in 2008 after falling in love with the idea of c…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/metal-gear-2-solid-snake/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/metal-gear-2-solid-snake/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:42:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, MSX2, 1991  

Really incredible. I heard going in that there was a lot of overlap between this and Metal Gear Solid and that's true (as it is with the first Metal Gear), but less so than I expected. Obviously the core mechanics are distinct …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sin & Punishment: Star Successor]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sin-and-punishment-star-successor/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sin-and-punishment-star-successor/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:41:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Wii, 2009

Still rules, and stands out from the original more than I remember. This one is about twice as long, and the result feels a bit closer to a game like Bayonetta than something arcade-ish. The IR aiming and near-constant flying al…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mischief Makers]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/mischief-makers/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/mischief-makers/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:41:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[This was pretty good. At it's core this is a 2D action-platformer about dashing all over the place, grabbing things, shaking things, and throwing things. Structurally it's a big series of 2-5 minute levels, and it very much feels like stage designer…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Radiant Silvergun]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/radiant-silvergun/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/radiant-silvergun/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:41:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Saturn, 1998

It's beautiful, I love the boss design, the player weapons are cool, and it's probably a top 3 in terms of presentation. The long runtime and arcane process of finding how much chaining I need for my ship to be viable, tho, k…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Alien Soldier]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/alien-soldier/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/alien-soldier/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:40:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Mega Drive, 1995

Alien Soldier is the real star of their MD lineup. 

I haven't beaten this yet (playing on its default "SUPERHARD" difficulty) but judging by the first half this is a masterpiece. Like in Gunstar there are a ton of things…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shenzhen I/O]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/shenzhen-io/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/shenzhen-io/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:40:19 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Zachtronics, PC, 2016

This game rules, but like so many Zachtronics games it's so dense. I hit a solid breaking point in the story (Avalon City), so I figured I'd shelve it for now.

The programming isn't too removed from TIS-100, but it does have …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Prop Cycle]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/prop-cycle/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/prop-cycle/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:39:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Namco, Arcade, 1996

What a beautiful game. Structured like a more elegant arcade take on Pilot Wings, but set in a clearly Ghibli-inspired world and with perfectly-tuned controls. Tough to learn but with a fun degree of freedom to find your route. …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Outer Wilds]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/outer-wilds/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/outer-wilds/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:37:58 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Mobius Digital, PC, 2019

Incredible. Really, really floored by this. Outer Wilds is crudely a first-person adventure game. It gives you an elegant set of actions and a space explorer's toolkit and tasks you with solving a complex mystery spread thr…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Makyou Densetsu - The Legendary Axe]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/makyou-densetsu-the-legendary-axe/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/makyou-densetsu-the-legendary-axe/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:37:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Victor Musical Industries, PC Engine, 1989  
aka The Legendary Axe

This game is fantastic, gotta be one of the best home action-platformers of its time. The axe charge up system is satisfying, and when you hit the second half of the game and start …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6319680e0b3d6c020e8a34a6/attachments/631968100b3d6c020e8a43c0/previews/631968100b3d6c020e8a43c8/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tomb Raider]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/tomb-raider/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/tomb-raider/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:37:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[CORE Design, Playstation, 1996

Played the PS1 version. Obviously the game was a big deal at the time due to its presentation and perspective, but its specific approach to 3D Prince of Persia style platforming is still pretty novel. It's a lot of fu…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631967f90b3d6c020e89b3cb/attachments/631967fa0b3d6c020e89bfea/previews/631967fa0b3d6c020e89bff1/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Darius]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/darius/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/darius/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:37:28 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1987

Arcade, beat New Version but played a lot of Extra Version.

What a cool game. The big unique elements are, of course, the three-screen 4:1 aspect ratio and the massive 28-stage map. The aspect ratio certainly makes for a unique…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968050b3d6c020e8a008b/attachments/631968060b3d6c020e8a0e7c/previews/631968060b3d6c020e8a0e83/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Steel Battalion]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/steel-battalion/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/steel-battalion/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:37:22 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom and Nude Maker, Xbox, 2002  
aka Tekki

Steel Battalion's controller is ridiculous, as everyone knows, and it's worth a quick rundown. The left-hand panel of the three-panel controller has a throttle for changing gear and a one-axis stick for…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631967f90b3d6c020e89b3c1/attachments/631967fa0b3d6c020e89c001/previews/631967fa0b3d6c020e89c007/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Enemy Zero]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/enemy-zero/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/enemy-zero/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 03:35:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[WARP, Saturn, 1996

It’s crazy to me that this was only about a year and a half after D no Shokutaku. Aside from being set in space, the major differences between this and D are that it drops the time limit and adds surprisingly pretty polygonal fir…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6396ae8a23ee7f051bf1f547/attachments/6397e9a835713c015d5a7da6/previews/6397e9a935713c015d5a841c/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[D no Shokutaku]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/d-no-shokutaku/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/d-no-shokutaku/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 12 Dec 2022 01:56:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[WARP, 3DO, 1995

A first-person adventure game with a pretty strong atmosphere, rigid-but-serviceable CG, and unbearably slow movement. Would have been way better if it were more static images like Myst. The two-hour time limit and lack of saving ar…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/639686d4e2575001dde2c997/attachments/639686d8201c9403fddd134b/previews/639686d9201c9403fddd1358/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bujingai - The Forsaken City]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bujingai-the-forsaken-city/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bujingai-the-forsaken-city/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 22 Nov 2022 20:39:47 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[RED, Playstation 2, 2003

A surprisingly polished 3D action game by RED. It’s better than I remember Gungrave being. The animation is nice, the combo system is basic but fun to noodle around with, and there are some goofy movement options to mess wi…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/63607b6680d70000fbad533f/attachments/637262e93515b9001d3884b6/previews/637262eb3515b9001d3884c2/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rastan Saga]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rastan-saga/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rastan-saga/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 04 Nov 2022 04:57:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1988

Very cool game with a fairly unique Japanese take on a barbarian theme. Plenty of jank, but the enemies and equipment are well thought-out and there are a surprising amount of different approaches you have to take with the traps…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/635e8741f38d2f05379dc22e/attachments/635e877608af550379b052f7/previews/635e877708af550379b05304/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Vermilion]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/vermilion/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/vermilion/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 21 Oct 2022 23:13:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM2, Mega Drive, 1989  
aka Sword of Vermilion

This game left a strong impression on me as a kid because of that cold initial town music. Revisiting it and putting a few hours into it I think it's pretty neat, but just a little too slow-paced …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631eae992f55d2033d7925c3/attachments/631eaea26dffef002f90027c/previews/631eaea26dffef002f900288/download/48210_front.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Chase the Express]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/chase-the-express/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/chase-the-express/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 19 Oct 2022 02:10:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sugar & Rockets, Playstation, 2000
a.k.a. Covert Ops: Nuclear Dawn

Very cool Biohazard-style game that takes place on a train. There's a shift in focus from puzzles to combat, but it's not too huge of one despite what the roll buttons suggest. Inst…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6344c916adfc9300af103937/attachments/634754d0ee888303718837fe/previews/634754d1ee8883037188382f/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Yami no Shigotonin Kage]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/yami-no-shigotonin-kage/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/yami-no-shigotonin-kage/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 12 Oct 2022 20:35:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Natsume, Famicom, 1990

This is no Shatterhand, but you can tell they're on their way. It's got a super well-executed dark visual style like Batman or Gun-Dec and a similarly pumping soundtrack. There's a strict five-lives limit, and because of that…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/62768ba3b78db53acafc143b/attachments/627fe0176a6d0d8aec03e078/previews/627fe0176a6d0d8aec03e089/download/kage.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Brightis]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/brightis/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/brightis/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 11 Oct 2022 01:31:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Quintet, Playstation, 1999

Shockingly modern 1999 PS1 game with a big polygonal world and complex (though not meaningfully so) combat. I had to shelve it like 2/3rds through (a little under 10 hours in) because the dungeons were getting a little to…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6333185f26ab7705760fe440/attachments/6333187938770f01335f7583/previews/6333187a38770f01335f758c/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bionic Commando (2009)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bionic-commando-2009/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bionic-commando-2009/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 27 Sep 2022 02:06:28 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Grin, Xbox 360, 2009 

Better than it has any right to be, frankly. There are some annoyances, like a lack of feedback and kind of a slow start. But once you unlock some abilities and make it to some of the cooler areas swinging around and throwing …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/62cef51b45eb746dfea41676/attachments/63325a9f36be4c022e2a5537/previews/63325aa036be4c022e2a5540/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Prodeus]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/prodeus/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/prodeus/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 24 Sep 2022 02:56:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[The core mechanics here feel pretty good and I think the visuals are a technically unique take on Doom 2016, but unfortunately the structure is kind of mess. Regardless of the difficulty, you get infinite respawns at a checkpoint without any rollbac…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/632e24f2d663fe00521f55e4/attachments/632e71f2417529014fbc40b0/previews/632e71f3417529014fbc40bd/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Crash Bandicoot]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/crash-bandicoot/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/crash-bandicoot/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 17 Sep 2022 23:07:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Naughty Dog, Playstation, 1996  

Never fully played through this until now. I've always wanted this to be good, because I like the fundamental idea of a linear 3D platformer and felt it never got explored much in the 90s. I think this does a pretty…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/63265237c7f5e600fa097a9f/attachments/63265294499a2f0069f1e093/previews/63265296499a2f0069f1e1cb/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shin-chan: Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation - The Endless Seven-Day Journey]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/shin-chan-me-and-the-professor-on-summer-vacation-the-endless-seven-day-journey/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/shin-chan-me-and-the-professor-on-summer-vacation-the-endless-seven-day-journey/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 16 Sep 2022 18:03:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Millennium Kitchen, Switch, 2021  
aka Crayon Shin-chan: Ora to Hakase no Natsuyasumi - Owaranai Nanokakan no Tabi

This is the lowest-stakes game I've played in years. Very chill and idyllic fixed-camera game with particularly gorgeous backgrounds.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6314e20d4d77c301b9c0d512/attachments/6323b93a25dab002dbaff4b0/previews/6323b93b25dab002dbaff4bc/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/warhammer-40000-space-marine/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/warhammer-40000-space-marine/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 11 Sep 2022 22:55:46 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Relic Entertainment, Windows, 2011

Pretty good third person action game that takes a lot from Gears but omits the cover system and marries the shooting with Musou-style slashing. This isn't quite Gears 1 level, but it's a tight and well-paced campa…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a487fc77e8401883553f6/attachments/631e676d405cd7001712d9ff/previews/631e676e405cd7001712da07/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Stretch Panic (PS2)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/stretch-panic-ps2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/stretch-panic-ps2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 20:08:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Playstation 2, 2001  
aka Hippa Linda, Freak Out

Defeated but did not exorcise every boss.

This is a slick-looking game with a lot of nice technical tricks in it, and it's surprisingly competent for a first-go at a third-person 3D game i…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4874c77e840188351237/attachments/631a4ba14df03a02d919af12/previews/631a4ba24df03a02d919af1b/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gunstar Super Heroes]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/gunstar-super-heroes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/gunstar-super-heroes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Game Boy Advance, 2005

Like with AGH, this is better than the original. The stages feel like they're more mindfully built around the character's moves, the pixel art is nicer, the weapons seem more balanced, and enemies aren't just though…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4871c77e84018835029d/attachments/631a4872c77e840188350ee6/previews/631a4872c77e840188350eee/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Advance Guardian Heroes]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/advance-guardian-heroes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/advance-guardian-heroes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Game Boy Advance, 2004

Liked this better than the Saturn game for sure. Ditching the invincible AI partner, losing the 3-plane system, making block require a meter, and adding a fun parry are all big improvements. Battles are generally mo…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4871c77e8401883502af/attachments/631a4872c77e840188350f42/previews/631a4872c77e840188350f49/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Astro Boy: Omega Factor]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/astro-boy-omega-factor/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/astro-boy-omega-factor/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Game Boy Advance, 2003

NA version. Definitely got the wrong impression of this back in the day. This is pretty good!  It takes the basic core side-view melee combat from Tiny Toons but refines it a whole lot and gives you an awful lot of …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4871c77e8401883502ec/attachments/631a4873c77e840188350f5d/previews/631a4873c77e840188350f64/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hajime No Ippo: The Fighting!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/hajime-no-ippo-the-fighting/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/hajime-no-ippo-the-fighting/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Game Boy Advance, 2002

Very cool take on Punch-Out. Extremely good spritework and some cool mechanics twists (even if it's not as elegant or pattern-based).…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster's Bad Dream]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/tiny-toon-adventures-busters-bad-dream/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/tiny-toon-adventures-busters-bad-dream/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Game Boy Advance, 2002

This is kind of neat. There's a very satisfying set of core mechanics here: it's single-plane 2D, but you have a handful of simple combos and attacks and enemies easily get knocked into each other and cluster up on …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4874c77e8401883511aa/attachments/631a4875c77e840188351dcd/previews/631a4875c77e840188351dd3/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Silpheed: The Lost Planet]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/silpheed-the-lost-planet/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/silpheed-the-lost-planet/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Playstation 2, 2000

This is actually pretty good as far as console paced shooters go, I think. It's too slow and long to want to 1cc, but retrying the late chapters was fun. Nice graphics and some interesting boss designs.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4874c77e840188351247/attachments/631a4875c77e840188351f3e/previews/631a4875c77e840188351f44/download/Silpheed-_The_Lost_Planet_Japanese_Cover.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bakuretsu Muteki Bangaioh (N64)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bakuretsu-muteki-bangaioh-n64/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bakuretsu-muteki-bangaioh-n64/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Nintendo 64, 2000

Liked it. It's very much like Mischief Makers in terms of structure and pacing, but with less standout cool moments unfortunately. On the other hand, the core mechanics are more fun to me with the constant system-halting…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4877c77e8401883521f3/attachments/631a4878c77e840188352e72/previews/631a4878c77e840188352e78/download/Bangai-ON64Box.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rakugaki Showtime]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rakugaki-showtime/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rakugaki-showtime/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Playstation, 1999

Cute visuals, fun movement with a lot of homing dash stuff, fun item throwing and parrying. Real neat, and a big departure from their previous two party fighters.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Golden Axe: Beast Rider]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/golden-axe-beast-rider/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/golden-axe-beast-rider/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Xbox 360, 2008

This isn't a good game, but it's better than its reputation suggests. The presentation is hilarious, very edgy and embarrassing for 2008. Animation blending is jacked up all over the place. But the core combat is kinda fun, lar…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Silhouette Mirage]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/silhouette-mirage/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/silhouette-mirage/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Saturn, 1997

This has a lot of cool and creative stuff in it. Some genuinely funny boss fights, some clever little strategies to find. It's a got a huge core move set and the presentation reminds me of a better and more pixel art focused …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4877c77e84018835229c/attachments/631a4878c77e840188352fe7/previews/631a4878c77e840188352fee/download/SilhouetteMirage_Saturn_JP_Box_Front.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Guardian Heroes]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/guardian-heroes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/guardian-heroes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Saturn, 1996

I should trust my 2010 tastes more often. The multiplayer arena mode here seems neat enough in the same way that the Yu Yu Hakusho game is, and it's probably a good successor on that front. As a single-player beat 'em up, tho…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4877c77e8401883522ed/attachments/631a4879c77e84018835302d/previews/631a4879c77e840188353035/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Yu Yu Hakusho - Maikyo Toitsusen]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/yu-yu-hakusho-maikyo-toitsusen/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/yu-yu-hakusho-maikyo-toitsusen/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Mega Drive, 1994

This one is pretty cool. I'm sure it's busted competitively but the presentation is great and it's very ambitious. Was probably pretty mind-blowing in 1994 with a multi-tap.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a487ac77e84018835326f/attachments/631a487bc77e840188353e9d/previews/631a487bc77e840188353ea3/download/Makyou_Toitsusen_cover.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dynamite Headdy]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/dynamite-headdy/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/dynamite-headdy/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Mega Drive, 1994

Dynamite Headdy is a deeply annoying showcase of great pixel art and technical tricks. It's a million confusing gimmicks strung together. It's somehow a 1994 2D action platformer with too many cutscenes. I do not like thi…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a487ac77e8401883532a7/attachments/631a487bc77e840188353f5c/previews/631a487bc77e840188353f64/download/47312_front.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[McDonald's Treasure Land Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/mcdonalds-treasure-land-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/mcdonalds-treasure-land-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Mega Drive, 1993

would you believe that this is a very competent but also very unexciting action platformer? Pay those bills.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a487ac77e8401883532de/attachments/631a487bc77e840188353ff2/previews/631a487bc77e840188353ffa/download/s-l1600.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gunstar Heroes]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/gunstar-heroes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/gunstar-heroes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Mega Drive, 1993

I've always seen this as a pretty mid treasure game compared to Alien Soldier. Let's see where it lands.

Ok.

Played through Gunstar Heroes today. I had played scattered stages growing up but this was the first honest pl…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a487ac77e840188353328/attachments/631a487bc77e840188354065/previews/631a487bc77e84018835406a/download/s-l500.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Eye of the Temple]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/eye-of-the-temple/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/eye-of-the-temple/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Rune Skovbo Johansen, PC, 2021

This is an interesting one. It's a room-scale VR game in the 2016 sense of the word, where you actually need 2x2m to play it. Room scale has largely fallen out of favor, and this game is a shining example why: the adm…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a487cc77e840188354372/attachments/631a487ec77e8401883550e2/previews/631a487ec77e8401883550e8/download/library_600x900.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Her Story]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/her-story/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/her-story/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sam Barlow, PC, 2015

Clever, novel, well-acted.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a487fc77e84018835544c/attachments/631a4880c77e84018835627b/previews/631a4880c77e840188356281/download/library_600x900.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ninja-gaiden-3-razors-edge/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ninja-gaiden-3-razors-edge/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Team Ninja, PC, 2012

I remember really hating vanilla NG3. Just a massive disappointment. This revision of the game never repulsed me quite like the original did, and ultimately I think it's worth playing through on Normal mode, but unlike masterpi…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a487fc77e8401883554fb/attachments/631a4880c77e8401883562ea/previews/631a4880c77e8401883562f1/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Prey (2006)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/prey-2006/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/prey-2006/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Human Head Studios, PC, 2006

Better puzzles than I expected, but the action is as bad as I feared. It's an already short game, but it'd do better with a Portal-style pace. Lots of dumb mid-2000s edgy shit, too, especially the ghost girls.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4882c77e840188356537/attachments/631a4883c77e84018835739f/previews/631a4883c77e8401883573a5/download/header.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Floating Runner]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/floating-runner/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/floating-runner/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Xing Entertainment, Playstation, 1996

Unfortunate. Being a pre Mario64 3D platformer I expected jank, and it is. The core of the game is tank control movement, high jumping, and a very short-range gun to shoot enemies with. There are lots of cute d…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4882c77e840188356595/attachments/631a4884c77e840188357477/previews/631a4884c77e84018835747d/download/s-l400.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Death's Door]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/deaths-door/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/deaths-door/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Acid Nerve, PC, 2021

A surprisingly restrained game that uses some bare dodge-roll-slash combat. The dungeons aren't thrilling to explore, but they don't overstay their welcome and the bosses are pretty fun throughout. Definitely better than Titan …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4882c77e8401883565ab/attachments/631a4884c77e840188357490/previews/631a4884c77e840188357497/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Way of the Samurai]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/way-of-the-samurai/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/way-of-the-samurai/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Acquire, Playstation 2, 2002

Super novel structure, and it gets a lot of credit for having such a cool branching story, but unfortunately I can't enjoy the combat enough to tolerate the lack of skippable dialog bubbles.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4885c77e840188357668/attachments/631a4887c77e8401883582cd/previews/631a4887c77e8401883582d5/download/399892-way-of-the-samurai-playstation-2-front-cover.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Miracle Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/miracle-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/miracle-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Data East, Arcade, 1993  
aka Spinmaster

Pretty mid action-platformer. It's generally well constructed, with clean art and nice music, but the on-rails sections are boring if you aren't playing for score and there's very little to it all.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4882c77e8401883565cd/attachments/631a4884c77e8401883574bc/previews/631a4884c77e8401883574c2/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Special Criminal Investigation]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/special-criminal-investigation/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/special-criminal-investigation/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1989

Neat little Outrun/ChaseHQ style game. It's a pretty forgiving one overall, as the timer isn't very harsh and it won't take that many attempts to learn the stage tricks, but the chaining passes is neat and I like the precision-a…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4882c77e8401883565be/attachments/631a4884c77e840188357499/previews/631a4884c77e8401883574a0/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tenchu: Stealth Assassins]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/tenchu-stealth-assassins/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/tenchu-stealth-assassins/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Acquire, Playstation, 1998

Cool game to finally beat. It's obviously clunky in a lot of ways (especially compared to Metal Gear Solid), but the melee combat is surprisingly good for the context imo. The stages have a very Tomb Raider style 3D grid …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4885c77e840188357743/attachments/631a4887c77e8401883585b6/previews/631a4887c77e8401883585be/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dust: A Tale of the Wired West]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/dust-a-tale-of-the-wired-west/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/dust-a-tale-of-the-wired-west/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[CyberFlix, Windows 3.1, 1995 

I have some childhood memories of clicking around in this game and getting nowhere, and something made me want to revisit this recently. Getting Windows 3.1 running these days can be a pain.

This is a first-person adv…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4885c77e8401883577bc/attachments/631a4887c77e8401883586fa/previews/631a4887c77e840188358701/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Phantasy Star (Switch Sega Ages)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/phantasy-star-switch-sega-ages/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/phantasy-star-switch-sega-ages/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[M2 and Sega, Switch, 2018

Very cool theme. Nice art, nice music, nice three-planet setup. The dungeons are amazing technologically but managed to wear on me even with the map.

In no universe would I have ever beaten this without a guide. Even this…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4885c77e8401883577d6/attachments/631a4887c77e840188358707/previews/631a4887c77e84018835870d/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[X]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/x/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/x/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo and Argonaut Software, Game Boy, 1992

Super impressive tech showpiece for the Game Boy, and obviously reminiscent of Star Fox in some ways, but the structure is pretty unique. 

There's one general map that gets re-used across the games' t…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4889c77e84018835895e/attachments/631a488ac77e8401883597b0/previews/631a488ac77e8401883597b6/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Trespasser]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/trespasser/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/trespasser/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Dreamworks Interactive, PC, 1998

Of course it's bad. I can admire the attempt to change up how guns are fired in first person, but this sort of independent arm motion won't wind up feeling natural until VR.

I'd actually say that this early phase o…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dracula Densetsu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/dracula-densetsu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/dracula-densetsu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Game Boy, 1989  
aka Castlevania: The Adventure

Lots of baffling shit in this game. From a tech perspective it seems to NEVER run at full speed. There's a ridiculous amount of screen tearing for a fixed-hardware game, too. 

There are a few…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4889c77e840188358a30/attachments/631a488ac77e8401883599c3/previews/631a488ac77e8401883599c9/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/super-mario-land-2-6-golden-coins/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/super-mario-land-2-6-golden-coins/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo, Game Boy, 1992

Big step up from the first, obviously. Everything's nicer visually and the basic mechanics feel closer to the Famicom games (though not quite there). The way that you have to fight bosses again when you get a game over is p…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4889c77e840188358ac2/attachments/631a488bc77e840188359a38/previews/631a488bc77e840188359a3f/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rygar (NES)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rygar-nes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rygar-nes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tecmo, Famicom, 1987

There's something cool about the theme and the journey and some of the backgrounds here, but for the most part the action in this game is a mess. The bosses are a joke, the enemies have no thought to them, and two of the three …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a488cc77e840188359d72/attachments/631a488dc77e84018835a0b2/previews/631a488dc77e84018835a0b9/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Monster Hunter Rise]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/monster-hunter-rise/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/monster-hunter-rise/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2021

I don't know about the monster selection and post-game stuff just yet, but I AM loving the new maneuverability stuff and the new monster in-fighting mechanics. The village quests did go by pretty fast.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a486ec77e84018834f363/attachments/631a4870c77e84018834ffb1/previews/631a4870c77e84018834ffb7/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Inscryption]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/inscryption/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/inscryption/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Daniel Mullins Games, PC, 2021

Starts very strong. Builds up a good permadeath card game loop with a unique aesthetic, a lot of mystery, and some really neat core mechanics.

Once you beat this and realize this is just the first act, however, you'l…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a486ec77e84018834f362/attachments/631a4870c77e84018834ffb8/previews/631a4870c77e84018834ffbe/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Great Ace Attorney 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/the-great-ace-attorney-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/the-great-ace-attorney-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Switch, 2017

It's more of the same, but the structure was a little different in this one. It's a clear two-game story arc and the payoff was good, even if the cases felt a bit uneven.

These two games are as good as the original trilogy, I …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a486ec77e84018834f358/attachments/631a4870c77e84018834ff73/previews/631a4870c77e84018834ff7a/download/latest.jpeg.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ikari no Yousai 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikari-no-yousai-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikari-no-yousai-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jaleco, Game Boy, 1992

This game improves on the action of the original in nearly every way. The healing item distribution is way more deliberate and character revivals are gone, making things tenser, and both characters can switch between three si…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a486ec77e84018834f35a/attachments/631a4870c77e84018834ff7c/previews/631a4870c77e84018834ff83/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ikari no Yousai (1991)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikari-no-yousai-1991/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikari-no-yousai-1991/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jaleco, Game Boy, 1991

Cool little room-by-room top-down action game. Slow movement like Gain Ground or something and a neat separation of character abilities. The combat isn't thrilling and usually boils down to decent positioning, but it doesn't …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a486ec77e84018834f359/attachments/631a4870c77e84018834ff9b/previews/631a4870c77e84018834ffa2/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Trip World]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/trip-world/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/trip-world/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 05:02:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sunsoft, Game Boy, 1992

An extremely cute game, but it's a strange platformer with very little threat and a lot of NPCs that kinda just push you around and don't damage you. The boss fights stand out like a sore thumb. Not a great game, but very ac…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631967fb0b3d6c020e89c23a/attachments/63197741af4a18018f2d61fe/previews/63197742af4a18018f2d6296/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Mario Land]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/super-mario-land/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/super-mario-land/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 05:01:28 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo, Game Boy, 1989

Very brief, and the mechanics don't feel as good as the console games, but it's a cute platformer with little STG stages and nothing lasts longer than it needs to.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Blue Stinger]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/blue-stinger/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/blue-stinger/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:55:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Climax Graphics, Dreamcast, 1999

Pretty neat game. The combat is surprisingly satisfying with the huge impact effects (that stun rod!), blocking, and monster limb removal stuff. There are some places where it's easy to get lost, objective-wise, and…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Runabout]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/runabout/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/runabout/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:53:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Climax Entertainment, Playstation, 1997

Pretty novel driving game. The courses are mostly linear, but you get these little selectable routes all over the place and the streets are filled with things to smash into and get points for. The car handlin…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631967fb0b3d6c020e89c24c/attachments/63197545c1418c01d7374b28/previews/63197546c1418c01d7374b30/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cave Noire]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cave-noire/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cave-noire/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:52:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Game Boy, 1991

A cute and small-scale Game Boy roguelike from 1991. The structure is pretty unique: you play through dungeons that get larger in size (like Shiren), but there are four dungeon objective types for you to chip away at (each wi…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631967fb0b3d6c020e89c256/attachments/631974fa8fcf2404eca94494/previews/631974fa8fcf2404eca944b9/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Marathon]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/marathon/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/marathon/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:30:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bungie, Macintosh, 1994

This is an impressive game for 1994, and I think there are some cool and unique things that it does. The desolate space station is pretty moody. The alien designs are cool. I like the health station and save point structure …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631967fe0b3d6c020e89d176/attachments/63196fbab94548009afe76c9/previews/63196fbcb94548009afe7730/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Vimana]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/vimana/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/vimana/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:28:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Toaplan, Arcade, 1991

Some neat pixel art in here, but ultimately this is a pretty busted Toaplan STG that relies solely on autofire rate. It'll only take a couple tries to clear. Shame the music can't really be heard over the shots.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631967fe0b3d6c020e89d1d5/attachments/63196f7d96fc7802dadb8378/previews/63196f7e96fc7802dadb8380/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Teppodon]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/teppodon/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/teppodon/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:27:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ikiki, PC, 2004

VERY sick improvement on Teppoman. Cleaner controls (fixed up some climb+jump shit) and way cooler enemies and stages and visuals.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Teppoman]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/teppoman/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/teppoman/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:25:26 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ikiki, PC, 2003

Extremely short but well-made little action-platformer that involves limited-ammo weapons and some very minor stealth elements. Being an early freeware game it's visually sparse but clean and perfectly readable.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[...Iru!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/iru/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/iru/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:22:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Soft Machine, Playstation, 1998

A straightforward first-person adventure game that basically plays out like Clock Tower but worse. It's kinda novel looking in a "polished King's Field 1" sort of way.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968000b3d6c020e89e0bf/attachments/63196dea99bc01004d0ed689/previews/63196dec99bc01004d0ed6fe/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cabal]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cabal/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cabal/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[TAD Corporation, Arcade, 1988

Pretty simple game, and one wrecked by autofire, but it walked so Wild Guns could run. A useful dodge mechanic and satisfying destruction.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Banishing Racer]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/banishing-racer/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/banishing-racer/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jaleco, Game Boy, 1991

An extremely novel and cute Game Boy platformer. You control a car, complete with pretty sluggish acceleration and even more sluggish reverse (the sprite is always facing right). Stages are generally manually-scrolling, but t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dead Space]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dead-space/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dead-space/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Visceral Games, PC, 2008

Played on Hard.

This is a pretty good game that, unfortunately, drags too much in Act 2. I don't think the combat is particularly great, certainly not enough to justify the game length. But the abilities are kinda fun, the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Yakuza 6: The Song of Life]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/yakuza-6-the-song-of-life/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/yakuza-6-the-song-of-life/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Playstation 4, 2016

A surprisingly interesting game for being the sixth main entry in the series. Loved the Hiroshima setting and loved the relative brevity of a lot of the plot, but obviously we're in familiar territory here. Beat Takeshi is…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968000b3d6c020e89e0fb/attachments/631968010b3d6c020e89eded/previews/631968010b3d6c020e89edf4/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Titan Souls]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/titan-souls/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/titan-souls/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Acid Nerve, PC, 2015

Decided to play this because Death's Door looked cool. Unfortunately didn't like it overall. The core mechanics of firing and force-pulling a single arrow are neat, I like the way the world map is structured overall (the tiny p…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Boogerman: A Pick and Flick Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/boogerman-a-pick-and-flick-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/boogerman-a-pick-and-flick-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Interplay, Genesis, 1994

okay it's not good but it's probably better than some of the Shiny games. Surprisingly decent boss fights, and the stages are a little convoluted but not mazelike. Still, not enough stage, enemy, or mechanical variety.

And…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968020b3d6c020e89f066/attachments/631968030b3d6c020e89fdae/previews/631968030b3d6c020e89fdb6/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ys IX: Monstrum Nox]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ys-ix-monstrum-nox/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ys-ix-monstrum-nox/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nihon Falcom, PC, 2019

This Flash Guard/Dodge model of Ys that's been around since 7 is still inherently satisfying albeit simple (learn animations, then Flash, then win). It's pretty fun to stack up dodge and flash repeatedly while pummelling on a…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968020b3d6c020e89f08f/attachments/631968040b3d6c020e89fe1b/previews/631968040b3d6c020e89fe22/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[10,000 Bullets]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/10000-bullets/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/10000-bullets/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Blue Moon Studio, Playstation 2, 2005  
aka Tsukiyo ni Saraba

This game sucks. It's a mess of a bullet time third-person shooter.

BUT

Most of the game is about the auto lock snapping to an enemy, shrinking, and then giving you a brief window for …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968020b3d6c020e89f097/attachments/631968040b3d6c020e89fe09/previews/631968040b3d6c020e89fe11/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Last Labyrinth]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/last-labyrinth/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/last-labyrinth/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Amata K.K., PC VR, 2019

A very polished puzzle game with some mystery to it. You're bound to a chair and have a laser pointer on your head and guide a girl through Saw-themed puzzles. The deaths can get pretty dark without being graphic. There are …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Castlevania: Lords of Shadow]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/castlevania-lords-of-shadow/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/castlevania-lords-of-shadow/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[MercurySteam, PC, 2010

Played on Hard. 

Better than I expected. Some pretty fun combat mechanics despite the "honesty" (lack of iframes), just takes some learning with less than obvious animations. Hard mode is appropriately tough. I'm not crazy a…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968030b3d6c020e89f0ad/attachments/631968040b3d6c020e89fe2d/previews/631968040b3d6c020e89fe35/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[R-Type]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/r-type/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/r-type/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Arcade, 1987

Decided to try credit feeding the arcade original. Some of the checkpoints in this game are particularly egregious, and there are enough of these to make it a no-miss game. I tried beating the stage 7 midpoint well, well over 100…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968050b3d6c020e8a00cd/attachments/631968060b3d6c020e8a0ed1/previews/631968060b3d6c020e8a0ed8/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Light Crusader]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/light-crusader/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/light-crusader/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Mega Drive, 1995

Late Treasure-developed Megadrive game. Almost certainly inspired by Landstalker. Unlike Landstalker it's one big dungeon and there isn't a lot in the way of exploration, which ultimately makes for a tighter game in this …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968080b3d6c020e8a10cf/attachments/631968090b3d6c020e8a1e24/previews/631968090b3d6c020e8a1e2c/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dark Savior]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dark-savior/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dark-savior/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Climax Entertainment, Saturn, 1996

A big step up from Landstalker. The Yoko Taro-ish parallel story setup keeps the pace brief while still having a lot to do and see, and the combat is ultimately more fun through slightly more complicated 1v1 fight…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tip Top]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/tip-top/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/tip-top/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SEGA, Arcade, 1983
aka Congo Bongo

This is pretty fascinating. It seems like it's clearly the first go at 3D platforming, and it's surprisingly pretty and varied for being that. Can't quite close out a loop.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968080b3d6c020e8a112b/attachments/631968090b3d6c020e8a1f7f/previews/631968090b3d6c020e8a1f86/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gunlord X]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/gunlord-x/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/gunlord-x/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[NGDEV, Switch, 2019

Turrican again but with a better health system, bosses, signposting. Sick pixel art. Weird control mechanics, feels like it must be a significant rebalancing from the MVS/AES original. Cool STG stages.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968080b3d6c020e8a1131/attachments/631968090b3d6c020e8a1f95/previews/631968090b3d6c020e8a1f9c/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[RoboSkate]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/roboskate/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/roboskate/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Matas Sakalauskas, PC, 2020

A simple QWOP-like game about a robot arm on a skateboard. Mind-bending to learn, lasts about exactly as long as it needs to.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968080b3d6c020e8a1137/attachments/6319680a0b3d6c020e8a1fce/previews/6319680a0b3d6c020e8a1fd4/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Castlevania 64]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/castlevania-64/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/castlevania-64/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Nintendo 64, 1999  
aka Akumajou Dracula Apocalypse

I actually kinda like the structure of this game. A linear sequence of slightly less linear levels that mix platforming, combat, and light puzzles. The combat is the weakest part of the ga…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968080b3d6c020e8a116f/attachments/6319680a0b3d6c020e8a2022/previews/6319680a0b3d6c020e8a2029/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Turrican (C64)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/turrican-c64/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/turrican-c64/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Rainbow Arts Software, Commodore 64, 1990

Certainly incredible from a tech perspective. There are a lot of rough edges here, but I found both the sweeping laser and the rolling ball to be a lot of fun to use, and the stages do a good job of riding …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968080b3d6c020e8a1179/attachments/6319680a0b3d6c020e8a2045/previews/6319680a0b3d6c020e8a204d/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Landstalker]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/landstalker/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/landstalker/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Climax Entertainment, Mega Drive, 1992

Gorgeous. Really stunning game for 1992. Impressive how complex the various dioramas are. 

The combat is simple, but the puzzles and the platforming elevate the game. Platforming in particular surprised me: i…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Beyond Oasis]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/beyond-oasis/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/beyond-oasis/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ancient, Mega Drive, 1994

Very modern-feeling visuals, almost looks like Xenocrisis. Flat colors, cool animation, big sprites. Excellent audio, too, with some surprisingly ambient tracks, directional sound effects, reverb.

This is kind of the oppo…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bucky O'Hare]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bucky-ohare/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bucky-ohare/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Famicom, 1992

A solid action platformer using Konami's multi character schtick. Some fun puzzle-y bosses, doesn't overstay its welcome. A surprisingly flat retry structure though, making it feel like a modern quicksave-style game at times.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dynamite Batman (Famicom)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dynamite-batman-famicom/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dynamite-batman-famicom/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sunsoft, Famicom, 1991  
aka Batman: Return of the Joker

Ridiculously gorgeous game, but unfortunately not quite as solid as the first.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Moon Crystal]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/moon-crystal/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/moon-crystal/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Hect, Famicom, 1992

Great animation and it's fun to learn the weird movement. Stages are tightly-designed and the environment art is nice. Cool cutscenes. 

Unfortunately, the bosses aren't as fun to fight as they are to look at, and there's an inc…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Crazy Taxi 3]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/crazy-taxi-3/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/crazy-taxi-3/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Hitmaker, Xbox, 2002

S-ranked West Coast and Small Apple, Awesome'd Glitter Oasis. I always loved what they did with the original arcade map in this release (adding a bunch of areas and the CT2 mechanics), and this definitely has the best mini-map …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Crazy Taxi 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/crazy-taxi-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/crazy-taxi-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Hitmaker, Dreamcast, 2001

Went back to this one and got S-Rank on the two cities and did most of the Crazy Pyramid. Overall it's not as good as the first game, definitely not, but the arrow is better-behaved than in home CT1's Original City and the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[GG Shinobi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/gg-shinobi/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/gg-shinobi/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SEGA, Game Gear, 1991

An overlooked Shinobi game released a couple years after Revenge. The structure is kinda unique and takes a little bit from Rockman, with the first four stages being selectable and having you rescuing color-coded comrades that…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6319680b0b3d6c020e8a22f2/attachments/6319680d0b3d6c020e8a31d9/previews/6319680d0b3d6c020e8a31e0/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dino Crisis 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dino-crisis-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dino-crisis-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Playstation, 2000

A pretty cool game, but ultimately probably merely better than the original Dino Crisis (which is probably the worst of the Capcom fixed-camera PS1 games). It's too simple mechanically to be a particularly good 3D action g…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Amid Evil]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/amid-evil/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/amid-evil/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Indefatigable, PC, 2018

A classic-style FPS that probably has more in common with Unreal than Doom or Quake. I don't think the weapons and enemies combine into combat that's nearly as enjoyable as something like DUSK, Doom 2016, or Serious Sam, but…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Metroid Prime]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/metroid-prime/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/metroid-prime/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Retro Studios, GameCube, 2002

This game is incredibly stylish and gorgeous. The pace combined with the z-target combat reminds me a bit of a OOT-era 3D Zelda. The movement upgrades in particular are a lot of fun to use. Unfortunately, despite being…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Perfect Dark]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/perfect-dark/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/perfect-dark/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Rare, Nintendo 64, 2000

Not a lot of surprises here. It's Goldeneye with a bit more to it and a Deus Ex theme. Some of the warts are a little more prominent in this game: more frequent extreme framerate dips, more annoying objective failures becaus…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Room 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-room-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-room-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Fireproof Games, PC, 2016

Extremely more of the same, of course. Fortunately the devs steered away from using the viewfinder all that often. It's good, but I'm not rushing to play the third.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Zwei: The Arges Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/zwei-the-arges-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/zwei-the-arges-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nihon Falcom, PC, 2001

Found the dungeons to be too repetitive in this one, didn't really like the structure. Very pretty game though.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Halo: ODST]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/halo-odst/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/halo-odst/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bungie, Xbox 360, 2009

It's better than Halo 4 and 5 campaigns because it doesn't have the lame silver and orange guys but it's worse than Halo 1-3 campaigns because it has a worse hub world and the whole game is 2008 brown. I don't need to see pol…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/star-wars-shadows-of-the-empire/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/star-wars-shadows-of-the-empire/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[LucasArts, Nintendo 64, 1996

Surely this game's weird third-person/first-person combat with extremely heavy autoaim was a big inspiration for Goldeneye 64 even if the floaty movement wasn't. The scope of a lot of these stages are pretty impressive …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Otogi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/otogi/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/otogi/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 25 Jun 2026 02:44:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[From Software, Xbox, 2002

I gave this game a brief try as a teenager and bounced off of it in just a mission or two, but some time in the 2010s I picked up a cheap used copy. I thought that I was surely missing something, given the praise the game …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mario vs Donkey Kong]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mario-vs-donkey-kong/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mario-vs-donkey-kong/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 21 Jun 2026 20:21:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo Software Technologies, Game Boy Advance, 2004

A successor to Donkey Kong ‘94 released ten years later.

Much of the game follows in the footsteps of the original, with similar small-scale stages and a similar core set of actions for Mario.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/69ba0f41d1e04a563d8c5100/attachments/69ba0f483fcc86d338f9d578/previews/69ba0f493fcc86d338f9d910/download/7fe85b64-8c18-4c2a-82d1-d0de329d08e5.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rising Zan]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/rising-zan/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/rising-zan/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 14 Jun 2026 22:05:16 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[UEP Systems, Playstation, 1999

A 3D katana-and-revolver wild west action game from the developers of Cool Boarders. Everything is played for laughs as your hot-headed cowboy swordsman main character slices up Fist of the North Star goobers, pretty …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Look Outside]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/look-outside/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/look-outside/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 13 Jun 2026 19:05:23 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Francis Coulombe, PC, 2025

A loosely traditional JRPG set inside an apartment building where looking outside causes people to morph into grotesque monsters thanks to a gigantic celestial body that suddenly appeared in the sky one day. The game ride…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Wonder Boy: Monster Land]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/wonder-boy-monster-land/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/wonder-boy-monster-land/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 11 Jun 2026 01:02:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Westone, Arcade, 1987

An extremely cool arcade action platformer with simple “RPG” trappings in the form of NPCs to talk to, stores to visit, and secret rooms. It’s a game I’ve wanted to put more time into since I first tried it in the Sega Ages 25…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tanuki Justice]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/tanuki-justice/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/tanuki-justice/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 05 Jun 2026 03:57:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Wonderboy Bobi, PC, 2021

A cute and no-nonsense Contra-style arcade-designed action platformer. Nice environments and enemy designs, mostly good readability, and some nice backgrounds and occasional big sprites. Aside from having omni-directional t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[007 First Light]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/007-first-light/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/007-first-light/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 04 Jun 2026 15:06:54 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[IO Interactive, PC, 2026

The modern Hitman games are probably some of the best around, so I was basically guaranteed to give this game a shot. Played on Hard (“Purist” or whatever).

IO went in a more Uncharted direction than a Hitman one here. The…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[DonPachi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/donpachi/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/donpachi/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 31 May 2026 05:06:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 1995

Cave’s debut masterpiece. I originally cleared this in 2020 but wanted to come back to it and get an on-stream clear. As far as I know this is the first shooting game with the idea of holding fire to get a focus laser that gives …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Battle Formula]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/battle-formula/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/battle-formula/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 26 May 2026 02:43:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sunsoft, Famicom, 1991. aka Super Spy Hunter

Top-down vertical-scrolling car shooting action. I’ve never played anything in this little Spy Hunter subgenre before so this is all new to me.

Having control of the car’s speed is the weirdest thing go…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Demon's Blazon]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/demons-blazon/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/demons-blazon/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 24 May 2026 14:58:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Super Famicom, 1994. aka Demon’s Crest

The third of the Red Arremer games, and safely the best of them. An incredibly gorgeous and moody action-platformer that takes the “quest” factor of the prior two games and refines it into a simple Mod…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[DoDonPachi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/dodonpachi/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/dodonpachi/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 24 May 2026 01:36:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 1997

Spent some time revisiting this, which I initially cleared in 2012. It’s as intense as I remember it being, and while I remember bomb usage being the key skill I’m surprised at how much trickier the game is with the type A ship. …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[DoDonPachi DaiFukkatsu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/dodonpachi-daifukkatsu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/dodonpachi-daifukkatsu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 21 May 2026 02:45:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2008

The fourth main DonPachi game. Gone is the bleak tone of DaiOuJou, replaced with bright and colorful environments, crisp EDM music, and boss vehicles that transform into robotic anime girls. Alongside the tonal shift are some ext…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gundam Side Story 0079 - Rise from the Ashes]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/gundam-side-story-0079-rise-from-the-ashes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/gundam-side-story-0079-rise-from-the-ashes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 20 May 2026 06:20:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[BEC, Dreamcast, 1999

A pretty huge step up from the Saturn trilogy in every way, I think. We get a full-length and substantial campaign that spans a variety of nice-looking plateaus, rolling hills (no more flat Saturn VDP2 terrain), cities, and mil…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Maken X]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/maken-x/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/maken-x/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 13 May 2026 20:36:57 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Atlus R&D1, Dreamcast, 1999

A striking first-person melee action game with Kazuma Kaneko art direction. That’s already plenty unique enough, but on top of that you play as a sentient sword that can hop from body to body. I remember renting this as …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Superlative Night Dreams: Cotton Rock'n'Roll]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/superlative-night-dreams-cotton-rocknroll/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/superlative-night-dreams-cotton-rocknroll/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 13 May 2026 00:46:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Studio Saizensen, Arcade, 2021

Played the Steam version. Pretty cool! A 180 from the original in that magic is incredibly useful now and in fact is almost something to mash out as much as you can. Thankfully despite the modernness, it has a similar…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story III]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mobile-suit-gundam-side-story-iii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mobile-suit-gundam-side-story-iii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 08 May 2026 04:44:33 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[BEC, Saturn, 1997

See [my thoughts on part II](/gamelog/2026/mobile-suit-gundam-side-story-ii/ "‌"). More of the same, of course, with a slight difficulty escalation and a couple more out-there mission concepts. Culminates in a lot of rapid dodge-f…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mobile-suit-gundam-side-story-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mobile-suit-gundam-side-story-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 07 May 2026 04:58:29 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[BEC, Saturn, 1996

The second entry in a trilogy of very brief first-person mech action games on the Saturn. I’ll just dig up what I said about the first game, which I played in 2020:

These are some of the best visual on Saturn, it's kinda wild. I …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Fantastic Night Dreams: Cotton]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/fantastic-night-dreams-cotton/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/fantastic-night-dreams-cotton/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 06 May 2026 23:55:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Success, Arcade, 1991

Pretty great game! Fun theme, cute character designs, great art, catchy music, dense with setpieces. I really like how it’s balanced. It’s relatively easy, but you’ll still have to learn most every step of the way and it’s all…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Crystalis]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/crystalis/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/crystalis/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 03 May 2026 23:02:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SNK, Famicom, 1990. aka GOD SLAYER

On paper this is a pretty well-executed take on Ys from SNK, but unfortunately it just didn’t get any claws into me. Annoying story triggers, sometimes-annoying dungeon design (having to switch swords using that c…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Pragmata]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/pragmata/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/pragmata/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 28 Apr 2026 19:51:47 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2026

An inventive third-person shooter about stranded moon colony worker Hugh teaming up with childlike android Diana in order to find their way through the colony's haywire robots and get back to Earth. The foundation of the game is a …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Guardians: Denjin Makai II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/guardians-denjin-makai-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/guardians-denjin-makai-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 28 Apr 2026 01:53:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Winkysoft, Arcade, 1995

A really cool belt scroller full of stuff. It’s got branching stage selection. It’s got eight characters. It’s got big movelists, meters, all the mobility options, long combo mechanics, and blocking.

…And maybe that’s part …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dynamite Deka]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/dynamite-deka/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/dynamite-deka/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 18 Apr 2026 20:43:18 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM1, Arcade, 1996. aka Die Hard Arcade

The 2026 revisit, years after [my last real try at single-credit clearing the game](/gamelog/2023/dynamite-deka/ "‌").

Everything I said back then still stands. This clear has reinforced the game’s statu…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mirrors]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mirrors/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mirrors/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 15:06:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Soft Studio Wing, NEC PC-8801, 1990

A PC-8801 visual novel that, fascinatingly, uses a CD-ROM despite the computer’s age. A 1990 CD-ROM adventure game for a computer platform that released in 1981 is wild to me, so I played the fan translation that…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Death Stranding 2: On the Beach]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/death-stranding-2-on-the-beach/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/death-stranding-2-on-the-beach/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 14 Apr 2026 21:29:57 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Kojima Productions, PC, 2026

Played on “to the wilder” difficulty.

Obviously a lot of overlap with the original. Maybe the most straightforward sequel of any Kojima game. Like in the original it’s fun to simply move around the world partially than…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[R-Type Delta]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/r-type-delta/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/r-type-delta/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 04 Apr 2026 01:23:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Playstation, 1998

‌I was worried after R-Type 3, which I found to be an over-long game with jacked pacing that was really unfun to try to 1CC and still kind of a slog to clear with continues. 

Fortunately, Irem kind of did the impossible her…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tobal No. 1]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/tobal-no-1/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/tobal-no-1/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 19 Mar 2026 01:36:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[DreamFactory, PS1, 1996

Very cool and polished 3D fighting game with a distinct gradient-heavy texture-light look and particularly spectacular animation. The Quest mode is the main draw for me here, mixing a traditional roguelike dungeon crawling e…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5f19e7fc4674ec26446665c5/attachments/65ad48117e6a7c579d96ae90/previews/65ad48117e6a7c579d96aec8/download/e4427282-d8d5-49bb-96e9-88deea816981.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Valusa no Fukushuu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/valusa-no-fukushuu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/valusa-no-fukushuu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 15 Mar 2026 00:02:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Zain Soft, X68000, 1990

A fantasy action-platformer starring a character that looks a bit like Adol. It’s a short and linear one, with no XP to speak of, and the pixel art, boss designs, and music all rule. The core mechanics are just a basic jump …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/61da4bf85134758483ad562e/attachments/694a067110f6edd23b509f77/previews/694a067210f6edd23b509f94/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[WinBack]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/winback/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/winback/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 10 Mar 2026 17:55:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Omega Force, Nintendo 64, 1999

A cool-looking third-person shooter that feels like an idea shot into someone’s brain simply because they saw Solid Snake pressed against a wall in Metal Gear Solid and wanted to be able to make him pop out from that …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Fantasy Zone]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/fantasy-zone/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/fantasy-zone/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 07 Mar 2026 03:09:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Arcade, 1986

Classic bidirectional shooting game. This was one of the first arcade games I cleared, back in 2007, and I decided to revisit it today. 

Autofire mostly decimates it, but there's still some boss strategy that shines through and …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/69ab87ce2e41cb3deb9e1f27/attachments/69ab965b46dba44a6cae513d/previews/69ab965c46dba44a6cae514e/download/5257a38c-b9fc-4617-a6bf-4097f7609d67.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Splatterhouse]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/splatterhouse/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/splatterhouse/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 07 Mar 2026 03:02:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Namco, Arcade, 1988

A sick action-platformer focused on tight punching  and kicking with just a little dash of platforming. I haven't played a lot of Spartan X yet but I imagine this builds on it. The theme is a complete horror mishmash, but the pi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Resident Evil Requiem]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/resident-evil-requiem/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/resident-evil-requiem/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 05 Mar 2026 03:18:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2026

Reliable as always! Another excellent FPS, though this time Grace’s first-person creepy survival segments are split up with combat-focused third-person Leon segments. It feels like a natural evolution of all the hopping around in V…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Philosoma]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/philosoma/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/philosoma/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 26 Feb 2026 03:25:50 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[G-Artists, Playstation, 1995

A dark sci-fi scrolling shooter that rapidly changes perspective, surely serving as an inspiration for Astebreed. It’s a game full of neat designs and cutscenes, focusing on the spectacle part of the genre above readabi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ketsui: Kizuna Jigoku Tachi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/ketsui-kizuna-jigoku-tachi/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/ketsui-kizuna-jigoku-tachi/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 23 Feb 2026 17:56:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2003

A long time coming. I originally picked up a Japanese Xbox 360 to play this back in 2010. I put some real time into it, eventually reaching stage 4, but it was kicking my ass too thoroughly and I moved on. 16 years later I’ve com…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Romeo is a Dead Man]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/romeo-is-a-dead-man/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/romeo-is-a-dead-man/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 21 Feb 2026 19:43:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Grasshopper Manufacture, PC, 2026

A sci-fi melee action game mixed with third person shooting, probably closer to a Wanted Dead than it is a Killer is Dead.

Romeo’s foundation is melee slashing, i-frame dodging, and third-person shooting. The slas…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mansion of Hidden Souls]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mansion-of-hidden-souls/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/mansion-of-hidden-souls/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 09 Feb 2026 20:41:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[System Sacom, Sega Mega-CD, 1993

aka Yumemi Mystery Mansion, Yumemi Yakata no Monogatari

An all-CG FMV first-person adventure game released right after Myst and Gadget where you play as a boy trying to prevent his sister from turning into a butter…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Lemmings]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/lemmings/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/lemmings/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 08 Feb 2026 01:47:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[DMA Design, MS-DOS, 1991

This is an interesting one. It’s a classic game, one I poked at as a kid but never got far in. I like the concept a lot, and the pixel art is surprisingly charming given how small these dudes are on-screen. I opted with the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Why I'm a Dweeb About Arcade Games]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/posts/why-im-a-dweeb-about-arcade-games/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/posts/why-im-a-dweeb-about-arcade-games/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 06 Feb 2026 20:14:57 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Any look at [my game log](/gamelog/2025/?highlights=true) should make it clear that I’m an arcade game head. I’ve been interested in them for most of my life, but things really kicked into high gear here in the 2020s. It’s a huge part of my time wit…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shining the Holy Ark]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/shining-the-holy-ark/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/shining-the-holy-ark/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 04 Feb 2026 17:40:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Camelot and Sonic, Sega Saturn, 1996

I’ve said it a [few](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/grandia/ "‌") [times](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/shin-megami-tensei-strange-journey/ "‌") [now](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/like…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Musha Aleste]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/musha-aleste/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/musha-aleste/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 25 Jan 2026 04:37:39 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Compile, Mega Drive, 1990

Took a break from getting my ass kicked by Ketsui and decided to spend a couple hours with this beloved Compile vertizontal STG and see how I felt about it. The only other Compile STG I’ve played through is Guardic Gaiden,…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Air Fortress]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/air-fortress/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/air-fortress/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 24 Jan 2026 01:19:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[HAL Laboratories, Famicom, 1987

A very cool and unique sci-fi action game. Stages start with horizontal scrolling shooting sequences to approach the fortress, and then it switches over to jetpack-ish action-platformer mode inside of the base. Durin…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Fight'N Rage]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/fightn-rage/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/fightn-rage/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 19 Jan 2026 21:07:49 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[sebagamesdev, PC, 2017

A belt scrolling action game from 2017. It’s pretty well-executed! Lush and fluid pixel art, great music, and a bunch of satisfying combat mechanics that are laid out elegantly. It’s got the usual genre foundations but you al…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[YAKYUKEN SLUGGER YAMADA]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/yakyuken-slugger-yamada/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/yakyuken-slugger-yamada/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 17 Jan 2026 22:56:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[デジメカ製作所 (Digimecha Manufacturing Co.?), PC, 2023

Wildly creative third-person action game themed around baseball. As you run around the game’s small stages an inning timer ticks away, and every time an inning ends you switch between using shooting …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Red Dead Redemption II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/red-dead-redemption-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2026/red-dead-redemption-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 16 Jan 2026 04:05:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Rockstar Games, Playstation 4, 2018

A massive free-roaming action game set in the tail end of the 1800s, serving as a prequel to the 2010 predecessor.

When this first released seven years ago I assumed it wouldn’t be my kind of game. Rockstar’s GT…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Routine]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/routine/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/routine/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 23 Dec 2025 16:17:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Lunar Software, PC, 2025

A first person horror game set on an abandoned lunar base in a chunky 80s-tech world. The environments and technical designs are among the coolest I’ve seen in any first-person game and make the playthrough worth it on thei…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/68a4bba165f139c9f269ea30/attachments/6940ed421b179a877727dfc1/previews/6940ed431b179a877727dfd0/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Majou Densetsu II: Maze of Galious]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/majou-densetsu-ii-maze-of-galious/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/majou-densetsu-ii-maze-of-galious/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 23 Dec 2025 02:49:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, MSX, 1987
aka The Maze of Galious

Tried to dig into this again. The hurdles are high! The esoteric upgrade item placement and core action-platforming isn’t too bad, but I’m mostly floored at the insanely sluggish retry procedure. Losing Pop…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Terminator 2D - No Fate]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/terminator-2d-no-fate/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/terminator-2d-no-fate/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 18 Dec 2025 03:01:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bitmap Bureau, PC, 2025

A very polished action-platformer from the developers of Xenocrisis. This is pretty sick, taking a lot of inspiration from the right places. It’s got that Megadrive-era game length (a bit longer than an arcade game but not t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Skate Story]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/skate-story/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/skate-story/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 11 Dec 2025 19:07:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sam Eng, PC, 2025

A game where you play as a skateboarding demon made of glass. I was enamored by the reveal trailer for this years back, and fortunately the final release delivered.

The shape of the game surprised me. There are some substantial s…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Metal Garden]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/metal-garden/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/metal-garden/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 05 Dec 2025 05:49:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tinerasoft, PC, 2025

Quick and elegant first person shooter about exploring a vast desaturated alien world. Most of the game is low-gravity jumping through cool structures and landscapes, but there’s some serviceable combat in there as well. Kinda …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Baby Steps]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/baby-steps/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/baby-steps/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 02 Dec 2025 21:27:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Gabe Cuzzillo, Maxi Boch, Bennett Foddy, PC, 2025

A game about exploring a vast surreal world by controlling your feet. And to be clear, I mean pulling a trigger to lift a foot, using an analog stick to position it, and then releasing the trigger t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Night Striker Gear]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/night-striker-gear/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/night-striker-gear/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 02 Dec 2025 02:18:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[M2, PC, 2025

Sick sequel to the 1989 game directed by none other than Hiroshi Iuchi (of Ikaruga fame). It’s a shorter game, only four stages deep on the branching stage tree, and the stuffy orchestral soundtrack is kinda weak compared to the synth …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Asura the Striker]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/asura-the-striker/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/asura-the-striker/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 30 Nov 2025 02:00:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[LeftOver, PC, 2025

A Space Harrier style game with reasonably modern polygonal visuals. Extremely anime character design that I’m not a huge fan of, but I think the environments, enemies, and music are great. It’s got a very powerful sense of speed…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Night Striker]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/night-striker/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/night-striker/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 29 Nov 2025 15:54:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1989

Night Striker is an insanely cool-looking and cool-sounding Taito rail shooter (as in, Space Harrier style) full of huge scaling sprites and Darius-style stage branching. Weirdly enough I haven’t cleared a lot of arcade games in…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Chronicles of the Wolf]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/chronicles-of-the-wolf/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/chronicles-of-the-wolf/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 28 Nov 2025 18:57:19 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Migami Games, PC, 2025

Wonderful Igavania-style game set in 1700s France. At first glance it feels in lockstep with those Iga games, but the way this game builds up and consistently surprises gives it such a distinct feel. For a surprisingly long s…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Psyvariar 2: The Will to Fabricate]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/psyvariar-2-the-will-to-fabricate/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/psyvariar-2-the-will-to-fabricate/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 27 Nov 2025 02:10:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SKonec, Arcade, 2003

Played for La Calice Cup 11. A Korean-developed Naomi vertical STG, and a follow-up to a couple Success-developed G-NET games I’ve never played.

Probably the weirdest thing in this game is that, while it has a standard shot an…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Neon Inferno]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/neon-inferno/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/neon-inferno/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 23 Nov 2025 21:22:05 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Zenovia Interactive, PC, 2025

Absolutely sick action-platformer from the studio behind [Steel Assault](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/steel-assault/ "‌").

The major standout trait here is that the action-platforming is combined with Wild G…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[TwinBee Yahho!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/twinbee-yahho/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/twinbee-yahho/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 18 Nov 2025 16:02:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1995

Playing the Normal course of the arcade version for Calice Cup 11. Having no prior TwinBee experience I was pretty pumped to get into this despite it being the third and last game in the arcade series. Great character designs, …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Beyond Citadel]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/beyond-citadel/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/beyond-citadel/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 16 Nov 2025 00:24:14 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[doekuramori, PC, 2025

A Japanese first-person shooter I’d been hearing praise for throughout the year. I decided to finally try it despite skipping 2020’s The Citadel.

All of the characters, weapons, and props in the game are “hand-drawn” sprites …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Caput Mortum]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/caput-mortum/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/caput-mortum/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 11 Nov 2025 03:56:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[WildArts Games, PC, 2025

A well-made first-person horror adventure game that makes you interact with everything by using the right thumbstick to move your character’s right hand. This means you’ve got to rotate with shoulder buttons, giving you som…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Earthion]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/earthion/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/earthion/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 10 Nov 2025 03:38:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ancient, Mega Drive, 2025

A new horizontal shooting game designed for Mega Drive hardware. It’s a stunning game technologically, with the kind of pumping music you’d expect from Yuzo Koshiro and setpieces that feel mostly inspired by Thunder Force …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Pilot Kids]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/pilot-kids/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/pilot-kids/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 10 Nov 2025 01:27:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Psikyo, Arcade, 1998

A pretty cool Psikyo horizontal STG released roughly a year after Zero Gunner, making it their second polygonal game in the genre. The visuals are complex and clean (as you’d expect from something running on Model 2), the livin…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[THRASHER]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/thrasher/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/thrasher/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Nov 2025 06:38:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Puddle, PC, 2025

I really enjoyed Thumper. I wish I enjoyed this more.

Thrasher maintains Thumper’s general style of presentation, placing you in vast menacing abstract spaces with slowly-building music. The mechanics are totally new, though: inst…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[J.B. Harold: Blue Chicago Blues]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/jb-harold-blue-chicago-blues/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/jb-harold-blue-chicago-blues/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Nov 2025 04:12:50 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[RiverHillSoft, 1994, Pioneer LaserActive Mega LD

An FMV adventure game for the newly-emulatable Pioneer LaserActive Mega LD. This is my first experience with the platform, and given that it’s basically a Megadrive that can finely seek through and d…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rabio Lepus]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/rabio-lepus/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/rabio-lepus/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 05 Nov 2025 19:02:54 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Video System, Arcade, 1987

Future Psikyo director Shin Nakamura’s first game, a horizontal-scrolling shooter with a robo-rabbit theme. This is pretty visually stunning for 1987, and thematically it’s such a goofy mix of cute popcorn enemies, cutsce…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Chouyoku Senki Estique]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/chouyoku-senki-estique/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/chouyoku-senki-estique/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 04 Nov 2025 03:40:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cat Hui Trading, Famicom, 2024

A new Famicom horizontal shooting game released in late 2024. Technologically this game is really marvelous, filling up a Famicom-powered screen in a way I think I haven’t seen since Recca. Backgrounds are gorgeous, t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Singou Breaka]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/singou-breaka/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/singou-breaka/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 04 Nov 2025 00:48:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[NEOタケトンボ, PC, 2025

A fast action puzzle game about sliding traffic lights together. The rules are elegant: 2x1 pieces spawn into the grid and you can slide them along their long axis. Each piece has one side lit up as “STOP” or “GO”, and connecting…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Replicube]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/replicube/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/replicube/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 01 Nov 2025 04:56:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Walaber, PC, 2025

Laser-targeted game to me. It’s a puzzle game about making 3D voxel-based shapes, so there’s inherent overlap in presentation with Jupiter’s 3D Picross games, but instead of solving nonograms you’re writing code that gets executed…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Battlefield 6]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/battlefield-6/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/battlefield-6/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 29 Oct 2025 15:06:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[DICE, PC, 2025

I haven’t played one of these since Battlefield 4 like a decade ago, so after 30-ish hours of playing with friends I don’t feel like I’ve got much to say about the specifics on balance or map design here outside of “seems good”. The …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tetris the Grandmaster 4]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/tetris-the-grandmaster-4/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/tetris-the-grandmaster-4/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 29 Oct 2025 03:49:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Arika, PC, 2025

I feel like I’m an awfully long way from clearing this game’s Master mode, but it’s nice to have a modern TGM release at home. And one with so much stuff in it! It’s easy to picture myself chipping away at this one for years, though…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ninja Gaiden 4]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/ninja-gaiden-4/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/ninja-gaiden-4/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 28 Oct 2025 17:13:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[PlatinumGames/Team Ninja, PC, 2025

I had no clue what to expect with this one. Obviously Ninja Gaiden Black and Ninja Gaiden 2 are two of the best 3D melee action games ever, and games that I like more than any of Platinum’s releases, but given the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rygar: The Legendary Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/rygar-the-legendary-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/rygar-the-legendary-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 19 Oct 2025 04:47:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tecmo, Playstation 2, 2002

Neat 3D melee action game that feels like a natural step toward Ninja Gaiden (despite not having a lot of direct staff overlap) and a very obvious inspiration for God of War. Nice-looking fixed camera angles, long-reachin…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67a2a66b7745067aa8a6f1ce/attachments/67a2a67eaccd819a850e7d70/previews/67a2a67faccd819a850e7d7c/download/4cb05cf7-f68d-48d0-bc92-21604f7702aa.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cosmic Smash]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/cosmic-smash/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/cosmic-smash/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 14 Oct 2025 00:50:17 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega Rosso, Arcade, 2000

Dabbled with this game since I was a teenager but made it a point to get all the endings. It’s pretty awesome, mixing some Virtua Tennis/Power Smash racket-swinging with Breakout stages and some sick low-gravity animation. …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/68e9358d9dd6db72478670a1/attachments/68e935e240703bd1988a18fb/previews/68e935e340703bd1988a1905/download/r2_66d72ee5-b93a-4205-ae8b-fa93d63699d1.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Consume Me]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/consume-me/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/consume-me/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 11 Oct 2025 04:14:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, and Ken "coda" Snyder, PC, 2025

A very earnest and polished semi-autobiographical “life sim” where you follow the day to day of a teenager named Jenny as she manages her relationship with food an…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Battle Garegga]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/battle-garegga/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/battle-garegga/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 08 Oct 2025 23:27:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Raizing, Arcade, 1996

Shinobu Yagawa’s star game. A vertical shooter that takes an awful lot of influence from Taito’s Gun Frontier, but with a theme that leans into an overcast future full of scrap metal instead of Gun Frontier’s cosmic wild west.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Silent Hill f]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/silent-hill-f/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/silent-hill-f/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 08 Oct 2025 15:01:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[NeoBards Entertainment, PC, 2025

An engaging horror game with a novel and well-realized 1960s rural Japanese setting. As you’d expect from the name you’ll get extremely moody environments, a beautiful soundtrack, nasty creature designs, lots of fog…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gray Matter]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/gray-matter/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/gray-matter/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 24 Sep 2025 03:14:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Wizarbox, PC, 2010

A point and click adventure game designed and written by Gabriel Knight creator Jane Jensen, seemingly stuck in development hell after being announced in 2003 and passed around multiple development studios but finally making it o…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/68c2413dce65a34e54c1feed/attachments/68c2414b3d37cbdb2ef04fe5/previews/68c2414c3d37cbdb2ef05233/download/6ceca8ab-743b-479f-a4c6-a8fb929db06b.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Red Alert / Last Alert]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/red-alert-last-alert/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/red-alert-last-alert/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 14 Sep 2025 19:57:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Shin-Nihon Laser Soft, PC Engine CD-ROM, 1989

A pretty sick commando-themed top-down omnidirectional shooter. It’s always wild to play a CD-ROM game from this era, since you get a lot of sick-looking full-screen pixel art illustrations (especially …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Skyblazer/Karura Ou]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/skyblazerkarura-ou/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/skyblazerkarura-ou/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 14 Sep 2025 15:21:19 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ukiyotei Company Ltd, Super Famicom, 1994

A well-made action platformer with a focus on wall sticking/climbing and really short-range bare-handed melee attacks. It’s got a simple world map, lots of cool bosses (barring one), and fun magic attacks t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Drakengard]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/drakengard/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/drakengard/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 10 Sep 2025 18:28:47 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cavia, Playstation 2, 2003

Above all else, after bouncing off of Dynasty Warriors 2/Shin Sangokumusou earlier this year, this game takes that basic concept and builds something genuinely engaging to me on top of it. An interesting cast of character…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Donkey Kong Country]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/donkey-kong-country/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/donkey-kong-country/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 01 Sep 2025 19:54:16 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Rare, Super Nintendo, 1994

A surprisingly tricky game! Mario 3 seems to be the main inspiration here both in the moment-to-moment (big focus on momentum, enemy head bouncing, a run/pickup/throw button, “flow-y” levels) and in terms of the broader s…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/vampire-the-masquerade-bloodlines/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/vampire-the-masquerade-bloodlines/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 31 Aug 2025 15:14:50 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Troika Games, PC, 2004

Played with the now-official “unofficial patch” (without restored content).

If someone had told me it was loosely like Deus Ex I would've played it years ago. Take that baseline and give it an edgy vampire plot, more of a fo…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Majuuou]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/majuuou/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/majuuou/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 21 Aug 2025 05:55:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Eleven Co., Super Famicom, 1995

Small sprite excellence. A really sick action-platformer with a demon-Giger theme.  Everything is bloody and brooding, sprites have somewhat realistic proportions, and the camera is zoomed out to give the action plen…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[South of Midnight]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/south-of-midnight/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/south-of-midnight/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 20 Aug 2025 03:59:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Compulsion Games, PC, 2025

A linear action game with a striking visual style, nice character designs, and a loosely Psychonauts-like narrative in a fantastical southern folklore setting. There’s a small selection of scene archetypes the game too-ri…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Wuchang: Fallen Feathers]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/wuchang-fallen-feathers/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/wuchang-fallen-feathers/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 12 Aug 2025 21:54:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Lenzee Studios, PC, 2025

Reminiscent of Wukong in a lot of ways, but it isn’t hooking me nearly as much as that game did. Got a few hours and a few bosses in before deciding that I just wasn’t in the mood to continue. Might be a revisit down the li…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Salamander 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/salamander-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/salamander-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 09 Aug 2025 03:00:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1996

‌I really love this game. It's better-balanced than I remember, the setpieces are sick, and what a soundtrack! The option-burning attack is crazy satisfying, and the bosses are more "honest" than anything in the first game. The…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6896aac4182445400998e4af/attachments/6896aaea9589301576f61d91/previews/6896aaec9589301576f61d9d/download/7cc0bf38-7561-47bb-a62e-72a8219b600a.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Salamander]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/salamander/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/salamander/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 09 Aug 2025 02:48:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1986

Dabbled in this a few years back, but with the new collection I revisited and had to get the 1-All. It's a cool divergence from Gradius with how it has in-place respawns and free-spawning power-ups. Sick visuals, great music, a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Salamander III]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/salamander-iii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/salamander-iii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 07 Aug 2025 01:21:10 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[M2, PC, 2025

A well-made successor to Salamander 2 that cranks up the enemy bullets and the raw spectacle of it all, throwing you against wild-looking and creative scenarios at a rapid pace. Salamander 2’s options-as-attacks button has been dropped…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6893fb721e75f5d3b5f06095/attachments/6893fb78c1ff48751af33c9a/previews/6893fb79c1ff48751af33ca4/download/salamander_iii.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Haunted Castle Revisited]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/haunted-castle-revisited/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/haunted-castle-revisited/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 05 Aug 2025 01:22:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[M2, PC, 2024

A shockingly good and loose remake of arcade Akumajou Dracula. Remakes tend to be best when the original game is kind of fucked up, I guess. M2 used the levels and bosses of the original as a loose guide and created prettier and expand…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/68915a41889eb15c00694931/attachments/68915a90a5d4ed406dbc225a/previews/68915a91a5d4ed406dbc2264/download/Haunted_Castle_Revisited_-_01.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Akumajou Dracula]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/akumajou-dracula/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/akumajou-dracula/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 04 Aug 2025 18:19:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1988

An often dunked-on early entry in the series, released between Dracula II/Simon’s Quest and Akumajou Densetsu/Castlevania 3. It’s honestly got great music and some pretty sick art (in that kinda chaotic late-80s Konami way), an…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/657fe02478e4737e3f8f4dd1/attachments/6890f88ef5a1a8dbc168b09e/previews/6890f88ff5a1a8dbc168b0a8/download/e6b5e197-65f3-4ee0-87b8-a1d1390901de.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Altered Beast / Juuouki]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/altered-beast-juuouki/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/altered-beast-juuouki/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 28 Jul 2025 17:21:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega Team Shinobi, Arcade, 1988

The arcade game probably most known in the US for being the origin of the Genesis launch pack-in title. Directed by Makoto Uchida, who would later direct Golden Axe and Dynamite Deka. It’s an action-platformer with a…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/657fe469e8bcd27ef5912d96/attachments/6886bf4771cf301a3d9c90c3/previews/6886bf4871cf301a3d9c90ca/download/altered_beast.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gotzendiener]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/gotzendiener/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/gotzendiener/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 27 Jul 2025 05:10:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Gainax and Studio Alex, PC Engine Super CD-ROM, 1994

A fascinating but flawed isometric action and exploration game. The cutscenes, designs, spritework, and lonely atmosphere are top-notch and I’m glad I played it for these elements alone. The whol…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6854aa0e397a1192cafe4822/attachments/6854aa1139bbad533123014a/previews/6854aa1239bbad5331230154/download/7b2aee43-cdae-4243-8133-5933968380be.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Game Tengoku - The Game Paradise]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/game-tengoku-the-game-paradise/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/game-tengoku-the-game-paradise/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 24 Jul 2025 04:07:26 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jaleco, Arcade, 1995

Pretty cool STG set inside… a game center? Other video games? A development workstation? Fun theme! You’ll fight arcade cabinets, claw game toys, and even Daytona USA cars. Colorful, varied, and way more Psikyo-like than I expe…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/tony-hawks-pro-skater-34/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/tony-hawks-pro-skater-34/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 21 Jul 2025 04:21:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Iron Galaxy, PC, 2025

THPS1+2 was a well-done remake with interesting decisions (like aging the game’s various stages by a few decades) that I only had a few qualms with outside of my usual beef with remakes. THPS3+4 here very seamlessly carries th…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Clockwork Knight]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/clockwork-knight/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/clockwork-knight/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 21 Jul 2025 04:21:29 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Sega Saturn, 1995

A really charming and elegant 2D platformer from near the Saturn’s Japanese launch. Being so early, it’s not too surprising that it represents a late Genesis platformer like Ristar: it’s of course not going to be arcade-tigh…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5f07ffb21d4c5a0f355033f2/attachments/687dbeaf2854287c3fb9e58b/previews/687dbeb32854287c3fb9e595/download/9a979a6a-5edf-43a8-9247-d9a5522afb0c.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Grandia]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/grandia/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/grandia/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 20 Jul 2025 23:58:33 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Game Arts, Sega Saturn, 1997

I played like half of the sequel to this back when it was a new release on Dreamcast and was kicking around the idea of returning to it. Thankfully the Saturn original has a fan translation, so I decided to start there.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/68011e229478b2fe02804026/attachments/68011e26abdf318789a92d8d/previews/68011e27abdf318789a92d9b/download/54c9906d-c361-4937-b6e4-15f974af4091.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rastan Saga]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/rastan-saga/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/rastan-saga/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 14 Jul 2025 00:57:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1988

Circled back to this one for Summer Yolympics 2025 after [playing for a bit a few years ago](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rastan-saga/ "‌"). It was pretty sick to get reacquainted with the unique combination of hefty j…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/685ce38797fee6790bd08213/attachments/685ce38b9ce0e9da41f255eb/previews/685ce38c9ce0e9da41f255f5/download/image.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[R-Type III: The Third Lightning]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/r-type-iii-the-third-lightning/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/r-type-iii-the-third-lightning/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 26 Jun 2025 03:34:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Super Famicom, 1993

This drove me up the wall, man. I didn’t think it would given my arcade clears of R-Type and R-Type Leo, but there’s a lot of annoying shit in here. The gotchas are similar, but the latent difficulty outside of them is tot…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5514e57049af51334cd0bad7/attachments/685071b21871981c66f92ba9/previews/685071b41871981c66f92bb3/download/4c7e4a98-1ed3-46fb-bb5d-be390b88d202.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hagane]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/hagane/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/hagane/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 25 Jun 2025 02:08:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[CA Production, Super Famicom, 1994

Really spectacular action-platformer. Like Contra Spirits, this is very arcade-dense. Basically every stage segment is a totally unique scene that often has a distinct mechanical focus, and a no-death playthrough …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5514e5747cf5a8748483e358/attachments/66ac52b86064161cf8d5205d/previews/66ac52ba6064161cf8d52065/download/3731c0fb-f22b-40e6-85f8-dd423610c959.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Silver Case]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/the-silver-case/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/the-silver-case/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 19 Jun 2025 22:31:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Grasshopper Manufacture, PC, 2016/1999

Early Suda51. A narrative-heavy adventure game with light first-person exploration and puzzle-solving. I played the 2016 remake for the localization, though it does seem to stick reasonably close to the origin…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/68479b80411b4f921c8eabdb/attachments/68479bf3c6d26de491e38f6f/previews/68479bf3c6d26de491e38f76/download/9e13cd17-bad6-4f61-b4be-920bc89b4c26.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Contra: Alien no Gyakushuu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/super-contra-alien-no-gyakushuu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/super-contra-alien-no-gyakushuu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 19 Jun 2025 00:25:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1988

Another goofy 3:4 horizontally-scrolling action-platformer like the original Contra. This time the perspective switch is to a more palatable top-down view and you get smart bombs replacing the jump button, which I thought was a…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/657fe040f91ea1a3ff5e8a84/attachments/667d713575c39d2b217ad3cc/previews/667d713675c39d2b217ad627/download/2dabf789-c20a-4ea7-b375-c25220a320ea.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gun Frontier]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/gun-frontier/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/gun-frontier/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 15 Jun 2025 18:10:10 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1991

Landmark STG by the director that would immediately after work on [Metal Black](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/metal-black/ "‌"). The setting here is a sci-fi spin on the wild west and all of the vehicles show an over-th…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67a809df7399b22b9ccdc2cf/attachments/67a809e234421518a1e0e41f/previews/67a809e334421518a1e0e42b/download/58d20338-1f66-4ef6-8b56-08e4fb8f6b4f.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Elden Ring Nightreign]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/elden-ring-nightreign/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/elden-ring-nightreign/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 10 Jun 2025 01:39:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[From Software, PC, 2025

A weird one. Prior to release there was a lot of gun-jumping about what the game was even going to be, but ultimately it’s a roughly arcade-style game (“runs-based”, I suspect people are starting to say) built on top of Elde…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/675b8ea98fbde99fa9ace51d/attachments/68158f4582b9d0cc4fd8345e/previews/68158f4682b9d0cc4fd8350e/download/9ff4b9fde2b7dce20fa282961454b7a81695d598eb5c7404.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sonic Wings Reunion]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/sonic-wings-reunion/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/sonic-wings-reunion/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 29 May 2025 16:40:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Success, PC, 2025

I was rooting for this one, but unfortunately I can’t recommend it. The visuals are rough, the stage designs are bland, there aren’t any unique core mechanics beyond being able to essentially select two types of smartbomb, and the…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6707ef63eb5d00cd52901ef4/attachments/68158f70359fc5cd17b3fb12/previews/68158f71359fc5cd17b3fb1c/download/b327cf46b2afcf649850ff8afa61bfcb147da84c0bdf23a2.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Doom: The Dark Ages]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/doom-the-dark-ages/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/doom-the-dark-ages/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 27 May 2025 15:46:28 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[id Software, PC, 2025

I’m a pretty big fan of these nu-Doom games. Back in 2016 the first game was such a breath of fresh air. For decades I’d been dying to see FPSes experiment with mechanics that were outside of the 90s Texas genre lineage and he…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/68158f87e90b0f8d5979d0a3/attachments/68158fa49f1aaa2ca0924c7e/previews/68158fa69f1aaa2ca0924c88/download/1893e77387eec1591406d71c98f8d4074b7c32664c3bf5af.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ninja Hayate]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/ninja-hayate/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/ninja-hayate/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 18 May 2025 00:24:22 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1984

Never played an arcade LaserDisc game, figured these re-releases would be a good time to try one out. A lot of people understandably find the concept of these Dragon’s Lair style games to be silly, but I figured they might be pr…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/680a49c67b226ae5147787bb/attachments/680a4caf1d5acf73a132a5ba/previews/680a4cb01d5acf73a132aea8/download/library_600x900_2x.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[R-Type]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/r-type/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/r-type/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 16 May 2025 01:56:14 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Arcade, 1987

The space horror STG classic. I’ve been picking at this game for most of my life. I never really tried it until hearing about it as a teenager and checking it out in MAME, but it immediately became a go-to test ROM for any machin…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5511aba3f13892a3608c45b9/attachments/6329c621e2e52c01a2da5f9d/previews/6329c622e2e52c01a2da5fa9/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Stuntman]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/stuntman/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/stuntman/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 14 May 2025 04:09:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Reflections Interactive, Playstation 2, 2002

Such a sick idea. Every mission in the campaign is a course you drive through while trying to accomplish various stunts highlighted in-world and barked at you via radio. These scenes are grouped up by fi…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/62312458155ed44c7f2f46fd/attachments/68240ae3fea850f18a346a91/previews/68240ae4fea850f18a346a9b/download/50d53816-8e69-423e-bbb0-dd90caa985f8.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Espgaluda II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/espgaluda-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/espgaluda-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 09 May 2025 02:15:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2005

After wrapping up Calice Cup I returned to this for the first time since around 2021 and put time into it to get the clear. It’s a heavy one.

The original Esgaluda’s major standout mechanic is “Kakusei” mode, where you can press…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6121e266c6a0bf720e369a58/attachments/61fcc208b3d7b97d3d2186a7/previews/61fcc209b3d7b97d3d21891b/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Skin Deep]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/skin-deep/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/skin-deep/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 07 May 2025 03:42:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Blendo Games, PC, 2025

A well-made System Shock style first-person action game that, kind of like 2023’s [Blood West](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/blood-west/ "‌"), shakes up the usual structure a bit. Instead of using an open world or a …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/681acd110bacdee6982fd6cb/attachments/681ace64a6f4283c7ed0ee38/previews/681ace65a6f4283c7ed0ee3f/download/61e267565d12c4499e4ed19771e42360c7585d2c559e2fc85a19246350a25f98.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Armed Police Unit Gallop]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/armed-police-unit-gallop/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/armed-police-unit-gallop/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 25 Apr 2025 04:03:32 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Arcade, 1991

Super unique horizontal shooter where your ship’s positioning affects the stage scroll speed and you have a cooldown-based instant omnidirectional laser button (alongside the genre-standard shot + missile combo). It’s very lean, …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67ce545d19d62f45f8c16df3/attachments/67ce585518496068ebb34d81/previews/67ce585718496068ebb34d8d/download/fd76693a-af89-4264-b1d2-2678afe9b492.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/shin-megami-tensei-strange-journey/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/shin-megami-tensei-strange-journey/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 24 Apr 2025 15:18:39 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Atlus, Nintendo DS, 2010

I’ve said it a million times by now, but I’m not a big JRPG guy. I almost always get sick of the combat way before the game wraps up. I wish this wasn’t the case! There are so many games in the genre with an appealing sense…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hang-On]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/hang-on/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/hang-on/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 15 Apr 2025 17:37:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM2, Arcade, 1985

Goofy to play this after the 1987 sequel, but that's what Calice Cup called for. I heard the course I spent so long clearing in the sequel is the same layout as this first game’s lone course so I decided to go for it while it…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67fe976e6b9b71960a599c9f/attachments/67fe977412ab595a044f4473/previews/67fe977612ab595a044f4481/download/hangon.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Hang-On]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/super-hang-on/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/super-hang-on/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 15 Apr 2025 00:40:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM2, Arcade, 1987

Masterpiece. I’m not the biggest racing game guy but I absolutely could not put this down. The sense of speed is magical, the environments are gorgeous (and transition so smoothly), the boost mechanic is insanely satisfying, …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Slap Fight]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/slap-fight/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/slap-fight/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 10 Apr 2025 00:27:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Toaplan, Arcade, 1986

An interesting post-Gradius vertical STG. You’ll see the Gradius power-up meter, but it’s got fewer strict upgrades and more mutually-exclusive weapons to toy with. Designs are very boxy 80s but more appealing than Xevious. En…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67ce55b2cf79775accebd508/attachments/67e5928d961e8b8430bf32e9/previews/67e5928f961e8b8430bf32f6/download/6f46cc85-85e8-44ff-8641-e67863cde3f7.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Spacefortress Macross]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/super-spacefortress-macross/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/super-spacefortress-macross/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 09 Apr 2025 16:58:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[NMK, Arcade, 1992

A relatively breezy but super cool-looking vertical shooter. I don’t know anything about the license here, but the mech designs are sick and I particularly like how your whole sprite changes up depending on what weapon you’ve pick…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67ce56177c991c0310a42582/attachments/67ce5f8c420ad89eec9085b0/previews/67ce5f8d420ad89eec9085be/download/7759714a-3074-459e-81a1-58258af11fdd.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Secret Agent]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/secret-agent/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/secret-agent/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 05 Apr 2025 04:49:39 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Data East, Arcade, 1989

Goofy Data East action-platformer. It looks like Rolling Thunder at first glance, but you’ve got a big ol health bar and enemies tend to take a lot of shots to kill. There’s some charm here, but there’s also a stage 2 that d…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/657fd561c286536a44fd04e4/attachments/657fd7b18b71db31b1def3a3/previews/657fd7b38b71db31b1def6e6/download/037c4287-fe54-43ea-8700-010036ffeb57.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cambria Sword: Another Cry]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/cambria-sword-another-cry/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/cambria-sword-another-cry/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 30 Mar 2025 05:18:33 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Vagues Games, Arcade, 2025

A new arcade adaptation of/sequel to a ~3 hour long doujin STG from 2017. I hadn’t really played the original, but I’m completely blown away by this. It’s a massive game that reminds me of G-Darius in terms of its branchi…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67ca19c4be763d6a2047b954/attachments/67ca1a5b3ec56c3050395dc0/previews/67ca1a5c3ec56c3050395dcc/download/cambria-sword-ac-header-web.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Kamiwaza - Way of the Thief]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/kamiwaza-way-of-the-thief/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/kamiwaza-way-of-the-thief/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 20 Mar 2025 05:22:50 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Acquire, Playstation 2, 2006

I really love Shinobido Imashime, Acquire’s Tenchu successor where you select missions from three warring factions through a highly dynamic campaign. Shinobido isn’t the most polished or focused game, but I couldn’t put…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67ca1b11f3c6abb29a4a5f25/attachments/67ca1b1acfbb76aeb2b20336/previews/67ca1b1bcfbb76aeb2b2033d/download/e2791a44-8802-4f95-b3a0-21b89883bd02.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Monster Hunter Wilds]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/monster-hunter-wilds/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/monster-hunter-wilds/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 16 Mar 2025 00:55:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2025

I’ve been playing these games pretty casually since 3U and enjoyed each one, with this being no exception. Don’t really mind the lack of monster  tracking, I think the blurring of the lines between being in a village and being in a…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67ca1ba8feb4a4801ed25ed9/attachments/67ca1bab4fb7c4b64afe7121/previews/67ca1bad4fb7c4b64afe7f16/download/9b982960-12ab-4af0-b2ef-b91e97ad7a57.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Zombie Revenge]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/zombie-revenge/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/zombie-revenge/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Mar 2025 05:48:26 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM1, Arcade, 1999

Another crazy inventive arcade game from AM1, just a little over half a year after [Dynamite Deka 2](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dynamite-deka-2/ "‌"). Where Deka 2 feels like a game making questionable compromises…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/kunitsu-gami-path-of-the-goddess/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/kunitsu-gami-path-of-the-goddess/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 24 Feb 2025 15:51:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2024

I wasn’t sure how much I’d like this when I heard it described with the phrase “tower defense”, but I wound up really enjoying it. The basic premise is that you’re guiding an ever-dancing goddess along a path, setting up defenses b…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6732ea0f95fb72acec56ebce/attachments/6732ea2a4230a8b07449fd8a/previews/6732ea2c4230a8b07449fece/download/3628f2599138c53445c9e731ed34c75f037f40c39ea1a0e9.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Fatal Frame II - Crimson Butterfly]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/fatal-frame-ii-crimson-butterfly/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/fatal-frame-ii-crimson-butterfly/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 21 Feb 2025 23:39:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tecmo, Playstation 2, 2003

It’s been a long time since I’ve played the first Fatal Frame, but I remember liking it and this seems like everything you’d expect for a sequel. A darker tone, a somewhat longer runtime, slightly beefier mechanics, and a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tiny Bullets]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/tiny-bullets/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/tiny-bullets/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 13 Feb 2025 23:40:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Contrail, Playstation, 2000

I was interested in this because it looked like a Japanese 3D action platforming game that took some core mechanics from Tomb Raider. 3D platforming and ledge grabbing with tank controls. And early on it delivers on that…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/66425d4d0ae1d4a12211fa1c/attachments/66425d586706119532ea2685/previews/66425d596706119532ea27e2/download/75eb21a3-61ba-41f8-a32c-d0dcea137d32.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shin Sangokumusou / Dynasty Warriors 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/shin-sangokumusou-dynasty-warriors-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/shin-sangokumusou-dynasty-warriors-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 13 Feb 2025 04:34:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Omega Force, Playstation 2, 2000

I'm told this isn't the best intro to the series and I see why. The actual combat here is kinda neat, with directional blocking and guard reversals and attack strings that have distinct uses, but I can't really get …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Devil Blade Reboot]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/devil-blade-reboot/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/devil-blade-reboot/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 13 Feb 2025 03:23:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SHIGATAKE GAMES, PC, 2024

Another arcade-tuned modern PC 2D shooter, this time a very loose remake of a Dezaemon Plus game the solo developer (an artist at Vanillaware these days) made back on Playstation. Hard mode seems like the baseline it was d…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6732eabf20fa1d18ffcbed7c/attachments/6732eac1bb79084e79e70f31/previews/6732eac2bb79084e79e71829/download/bff71eb5-3861-4c4d-8a69-6b209b94144d.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Blue Revolver Double Action]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/blue-revolver-double-action/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/blue-revolver-double-action/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Feb 2025 19:24:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Stellar Circle, PC, 2024

Long-awaited revision to the highly-regarded and arcade-designed 2016 PC shooting game. Like Mushihimesama, this has three selectable difficulty courses presented as part of the standard credit flow. I hadn’t played any of …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6754dc1445c1bb875ae922b9/attachments/6754e036a8d5bf4cb3732797/previews/6754e037a8d5bf4cb373279f/download/GcXdB7YbwAAVX8X.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Strikers 1999]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/strikers-1999/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/strikers-1999/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 02 Feb 2025 23:25:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Psikyo, Arcade, 1999

Fantastic, as expected from this trilogy. 1999 here is of course very much in line with the first two games (which I talked about [here](/gamelog/2024/strikers-1945/ "‌") and [here](/gamelog/2024/strikers-1945-ii/ "‌")), only n…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/65482ad114b2f0f6b00101b1/attachments/654831bd81832e38670f26e0/previews/654831be81832e38670f27a3/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Lorelei and the Laser Eyes]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/lorelei-and-the-laser-eyes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/lorelei-and-the-laser-eyes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 02 Feb 2025 03:12:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Simogo, PC, 2024

A puzzle-focused adventure game where you unravel a mystery in a surreal old hotel. Coming from the Sayonara Wild Hearts studio the presentation is absolutely killer, but this is a more demanding adventure game than Sayonara Wild H…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/665d4a4e018c8dad2f6a657e/attachments/672d191472c61ffb1e57a80b/previews/672d191472c61ffb1e57a9e6/download/1dfe8252-d05f-4cf3-8b03-6604a0d2747d.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Go There]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/go-there/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/go-there/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 23 Jan 2025 01:06:59 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[いくちおすてご, PC, 2023

Cool little boss rush. Great visuals. The basic playthrough is a very quick tour up a mountain with really cool ancient dragon designs. There’s a post-game here that I’m unfortunately not that thrilled to see through, as I’m not t…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/667e2f4c774356fdbcf219b6/attachments/66e4e133a1bdce620416356d/previews/66e4e133a1bdce6204163578/download/library_600x900.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mean Streets]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/mean-streets/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/mean-streets/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 21 Jan 2025 03:58:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Access Software, MS-DOS, 1989

The adventure game that started the Tex Murphy series. This actually ruled. I was worried it would be cruel and stuffy and arcane, but it’s infinitely kinder than the 80s Sierra adventure games I’ve tried.

The main in…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/67815e3fd96455b6c33790ad/attachments/67815e429a3912178dc0c982/previews/67815e439a3912178dc0c98e/download/6256962f-607b-4498-9cde-631e5ae498ed.webp" length="0" type="image/webp"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Overblood 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/overblood-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/overblood-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 18 Jan 2025 19:05:21 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Riverhillsoft, Playstation, 1998

A huge, lumbering, and ridiculously ambitious PS1 game with only the loosest ties to its predecessor. It’s a two-disc epic full of clunky 3D action-platforming, minigame sequences, light adventure game elements, pre…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6629b4864f3de0867118b152/attachments/6629b4a52b2e83b056de0539/previews/6629b4a62b2e83b056de06e3/download/e286ceff-a2ce-4c1f-b52c-1af2e1aea027.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Jewel Master]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/jewel-master/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2025/jewel-master/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 08 Jan 2025 18:57:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Mega Drive, 1991

This is another one of those early Mega Drive action games that basically serves as an arcade game due to its structure, its short length, and its strictly-limited continues. It reminds me a bit of Mega Drive ESWAT, Shadow Da…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Final Fight]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/final-fight/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/final-fight/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 01 Jan 2025 17:02:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Arcade, 1989

It’s so hard to believe that this was Capcom’s first take on belt-scrolling action. Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-kun basically established the genre 3.5 years prior, but even looking at other 1989 games Final Fight leaves them in the d…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Indiana Jones and the Great Circle]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/indiana-jones-and-the-great-circle/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/indiana-jones-and-the-great-circle/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 20 Dec 2024 22:54:23 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[MachineGames, PC, 2024

MachineGames is back. I didn’t really like The New Colossus and skipped Youngblood, so I’m glad that this game clicked with me.

Indiana Jones, as a setting, winds up being a good fit for the studio that spun off from Escape …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sol Cresta]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sol-cresta/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sol-cresta/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 25 Nov 2024 17:52:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[PlatinumGames and Hamster, PC, 2021

I really wish I enjoyed this more. I think there's a lot of mechanical creativity here, but it's also convoluted (the special input directional shots, the way you have a dodge at 1hp but not other times, etc), ha…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super H.Q. Criminal Chaser]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/super-hq-criminal-chaser/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/super-hq-criminal-chaser/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 24 Nov 2024 06:30:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Super Famicom, 1993

A console-exclusive entry in the Chase H.Q. series. The only other game I’ve played in this little subgenre is [Special Criminal Investigation](/gamelog/2022/special-criminal-investigation/ "‌"), which rules, but this is …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Slitterhead]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/slitterhead/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/slitterhead/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 22 Nov 2024 18:59:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bokeh Studios, PC, 2024

A horror-themed action game set in 90s Kowloon where you play as a spirit that hops between bodies to take down big gory monsters. It’s a lot to explain, pieced together from a lot of relatively unique elements, and I don’t …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[1000xResist]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/1000xresist/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/1000xresist/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 13 Nov 2024 22:17:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[sunset visitor, PC, 2024

A pretty dense and sweeping sci-fi visual novel. The premise here is pretty unique and confidently told, and it’s impressive how frequently the presentation is uprooted in service of the narrative. It reminds me of Fata Mor…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Earth Defense Force 6]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/earth-defense-force-6/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/earth-defense-force-6/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 13 Nov 2024 22:17:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sandlot, PC, 2024

Been a minute since I’ve played one of these but the appeal from EDF2 is still there. It’s still satisfying to blow up buildings and swathes of ants, but the enemy and scenario variety here is thankfully closer to EDF2 than EDF3. …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Black Myth Wukong]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/black-myth-wukong/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/black-myth-wukong/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Nov 2024 02:30:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Game Science, PC, 2024

Incredible melee action game. It’s a little bit like Sekiro as a starting point, but with a slightly more focused and linear world structure. Combat is fast, aggressive, and full of hugely satisfying slams once you unlock the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gemini Wing]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gemini-wing/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gemini-wing/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 28 Oct 2024 02:51:23 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tecmo, Arcade, 1987

An incredibly inventive and forward-thinking vertical STG. Initially it feels like a Hishouzame-style game with slow movement and a harsh player bullet limit, but the major standout mechanic comes from using the B button to fire…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[JJ Squawkers]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/jj-squawkers/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/jj-squawkers/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 20 Oct 2024 01:03:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Athena, Arcade, 1993

A bright action-platformer with lush visuals and classic cartoon designs. The difficulty curve is pretty uneven and none of the weapons feel very good to use, so I was frustrated at the start, but I got into it once I started r…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Aurail]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/aurail/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/aurail/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 20 Oct 2024 00:14:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Westone, Arcade, 1990

Sega must’ve sent this one out to die. There’s seemingly no promotional material for it, no snazzy flyer, and I never once heard anybody talk about it prior to Jotego’s System 16 MiSTer core release.

A shame, because it’s pre…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[ESP Ra.De.]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/esp-rade/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/esp-rade/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 15 Oct 2024 03:40:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 1998

Calice Cup 9, put some time into this to get another 1CC. I still mostly stand by [my 2021 impressions](https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/esp-rade/ "‌") (and it’s still probably my least favorite mainline Cave shooter) but t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Legend of Zelda - Echoes of Wisdom]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-legend-of-zelda-echoes-of-wisdom/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-legend-of-zelda-echoes-of-wisdom/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 13 Oct 2024 04:45:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo, Switch, 2024

A new Zelda game using the visual style and perspective of the well-made 2019 remake of Link’s Awakening. You play as Princess Zelda in the role of a mage that can summon monsters and force-beam things around. Any kind of dir…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[R-Type Leo]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/r-type-leo/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/r-type-leo/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 09 Oct 2024 03:35:14 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nanao, Arcade, 1992

Very cool game. A Nanao-developed original shooter that was reworked mid-development into an R-Type game. This explains the big mechanical differences, but there’s still a good amount of overlap with the legendary series. Scroll…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[UFO 50]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/ufo-50/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/ufo-50/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 03 Oct 2024 17:46:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Mossmouth, PC, 2024

A new alternate-history collection of fifty 1980s games made for a fictional company’s gaming machine. Each title is accessible from the get-go, and the games run a pretty wide gamut: single-player games, (local) versus games, t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The King of Dragons]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-king-of-dragons/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-king-of-dragons/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 29 Sep 2024 15:40:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Arcade, 1991

1CC'd with the Wizard.

A belt scroller released a couple years after Final Fight with a very D&D fantasy setting (only missing the license) and combat that strips the core mechanics down to a very raw level. The game uses two …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Crimson Diamond]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-crimson-diamond/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-crimson-diamond/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 21 Sep 2024 04:02:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Julia Minamata, PC, 2024

A new EGA-looking text-parsing adventure game centered about geology and murder in a 1910s Ontario ghost town, clearly inspired by The Colonel’s Bequest.

I had a really nice time with this. The setting, the environmentalis…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shadow of the Ninja - Reborn]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shadow-of-the-ninja-reborn/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shadow-of-the-ninja-reborn/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 06 Sep 2024 01:43:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tengo Project, PC, 2024

Can’t believe how much I liked this. Of all the Tengo Project games this is the biggest departure from the original. Level designs loosely follow old concepts, but the core mechanics, enemy designs, and visuals are radically…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Urban Reign]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/urban-reign/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/urban-reign/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 02 Sep 2024 15:53:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Namco Hometek, Playstation 2, 2005

Super unique melee action. This, Beat Down, and Final Fight: Streetwise have always been a blur in my head since they were all thematically similar and released at the same time, and this is the first of the three…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Strider Hiryu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/strider-hiryu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/strider-hiryu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 26 Aug 2024 01:04:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Arcade, 1989

A shockingly dense and messy action-platformer. Even by arcade standards it’s pretty terse (something like 18-ish minutes), and every moment is unique. It’s a super-fast series of inventive setpieces full of cool enemies and tr…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Zelda II: The Adventure of Link]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/zelda-ii-the-adventure-of-link/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/zelda-ii-the-adventure-of-link/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 19 Aug 2024 16:06:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo, NES and Famicom Disk System, 1988

Played the NES version, but I like the JP FDS box more.

The broad structure of the game is fascinating. I dabbled with this a little bit growing up so I knew it was a mixture of a world map and side-view…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Samurai Jack - Battle Through Time]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/samurai-jack-battle-through-time/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/samurai-jack-battle-through-time/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 16 Aug 2024 03:15:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Soleil, PC, 2020

A 3D melee action game with a pretty restrained scope. It feels like it had a tight budget, but there’s real Ninja Gaiden 2004 lineage here. I wasn’t looking for a huge commitment right now so I played through this on Normal, and u…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Strikers 1945 II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/strikers-1945-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/strikers-1945-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 15 Aug 2024 06:07:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Psikyo, Arcade, 1997

Played about as much of this as the first Strikers 1945, and it’s a pretty impressive step up from an already great game. Cooler plane variety, a new charge meter that limits the charge attacks but makes them faster to fire, an…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Volgarr the Viking]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/volgarr-the-viking/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/volgarr-the-viking/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 09 Aug 2024 16:00:32 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Crazy Viking Studios, PC, 2013

I really enjoyed my normal playthrough of this in 2013. It’s a tight, varied game with some well-paced high-tension checkpoints and fun core mechanics. I knew the game had a better ending involving an entirely  differ…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shiren-the-wanderer-the-mystery-dungeon-of-serpentcoil-island/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shiren-the-wanderer-the-mystery-dungeon-of-serpentcoil-island/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 29 Jul 2024 05:03:26 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Spike Chunsoft, Nintendo Switch, 2024

This is my third Shiren game, after playing the fifth back on the Vita and then later playing the fan translation of the second on the Nintendo 64. I appreciate Serpentcoil’s shift in approach from 5, giving yo…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shinobi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shinobi/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shinobi/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 27 Jul 2024 15:29:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Arcade, 1987

I’ve played through most every home-original Shinobi game but decided I’d finally learn and 1CC the arcade original. It’s a pretty clear response to Rolling Thunder (a game I’ve only dabbled in), but there’s plenty of thematic an…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Contra: Operation Galuga]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/contra-operation-galuga/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/contra-operation-galuga/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 25 Jul 2024 18:39:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[WayForward, PC, 2024

WayForward’s second stab at the series. Being a modern HD game it doesn’t have two of Contra 4’s foundational issues: it’s not super claustrophobic (being widescreen instead of essentially 9:16), and it doesn’t have a super-biz…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dragon's Dogma 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/dragons-dogma-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/dragons-dogma-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 25 Jul 2024 18:39:39 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2024

Capcom’s second massive free-roaming fantasy action game feels like a beefier version of the original in an awful lot of ways, but it’s been a while since I played that first entry and I never wound up trying the expansion. The wor…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Helldivers II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/helldivers-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/helldivers-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 25 Jul 2024 18:39:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Arrowhead Game Studios, PC, 2024

A co-op third-person shooter about killing hordes of bugs and robots. Normally I’m not into horde-based games like this, but this has a lot of things going for it. The Starship Troopers theme is extremely well-execu…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/65caff34cd086313f61f6cf5/attachments/65caff3b2d8061788d0d322a/previews/65caff3c2d8061788d0d3360/download/83bdbd3396c8eba7e3fb67409da4968a4da3ca80.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gunforce]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gunforce/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gunforce/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 20 Jul 2024 21:54:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Arcade, 1991

A clear step on the road to Metal Slug, made by some Irem members that would go on to form Nazca. While there’s nothing too standout going on here, everything is snappy and breezy to learn, the presentation is sick, and the vehic…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Border Down]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/border-down/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/border-down/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 12 Jul 2024 00:09:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[G.Rev, Arcade, 2003

I’ve single-credit cleared another Naomi classic. I barely touched this back on release, but I put some time into it in 2022 and it’s been great to come back to.

Now that I’ve played through Metal Black, it seems like the clear…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Strikers 1945]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/strikers-1945/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/strikers-1945/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 10 Jul 2024 16:14:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Psikyo, Arcade, 1995

Psikyo’s classic vertical STG. I picked up a Strikers 1999 board and figured I’d put a little bit of time into the first two games before digging in, so I spent around 10-12 hours with this one. I know I’m skipping Gunbird here…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Boomerang X]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/boomerang-x/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/boomerang-x/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 09 Jul 2024 02:46:54 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[DANG!, PC, 2021

A neat first person action game about throwing and then launching yourself toward a boomerang. There’s a lot of slow motion, a lot of yanking yourself around these big arenas at high speeds, and a lot of lining up specific shots to …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[OverBlood]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/overblood/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/overblood/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 08 Jul 2024 06:09:23 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Riverhillsoft, Playstation, 1997

Was surprised by the pacing of this. It's a pretty slow adventure game set in a lot of bright, sterile sci-fi halls, but I was surprised at how effective the writing and small dashes of dashes of action were. It fee…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Case of the Golden Idol]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-case-of-the-golden-idol/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-case-of-the-golden-idol/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 04 Jul 2024 02:14:26 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Color Gray Games, PC, 2022

An excellent detective game in which you review a scene and piece together what happened by arranging words on a “thinking” sheet of text and visuals. It doesn’t sound like much, but the scenes are cleverly laid out, the …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ninja Kamui]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/ninja-kamui/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/ninja-kamui/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 01 Jul 2024 03:30:49 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[G.Rev, Nintendo Switch, 2024

G.Rev’s latest, an action-platformer based on an anime I’d never heard of. The movement and combo mechanics make me think of the action scenes in Sakuna a little bit, but it’s a focused six stages and it’s peppered with…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/elden-ring-shadow-of-the-erdtree/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/elden-ring-shadow-of-the-erdtree/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 30 Jun 2024 16:36:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[FromSoftware, PC, 2024

What an expansion. What a game. The entirety of the expansion takes place on a new “Shadow Realm” world map. The Shadow Realm is only accessible once you’re pretty deep into the base game, so leveling up through runes doesn’t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shinrei Jusatsushi Taromaru]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shinrei-jusatsushi-taromaru/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/shinrei-jusatsushi-taromaru/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 29 Jun 2024 02:49:50 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Time Warner Interactive, Sega Saturn, 1997

A wild Edo-era action-platformer with a dark, violent tone. The presentation here is really spectacular. It’s full of a lot of no-nonsense realistically-proportioned pixel art characters (think Clock Tower…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Pulseman]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/pulseman/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/pulseman/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 25 Jun 2024 01:29:17 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Game Freak, Mega Drive, 1994

Pretty cool to try some pre-Pokemon Game Freak. Pulseman has a lot of the same spirit as Gunstar Heroes and a lot of similar character designs, but it feels a bit more stretched thin. There are some legit spectacular sc…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Magical Quest starring Mickey Mouse]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-magical-quest-starring-mickey-mouse/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/the-magical-quest-starring-mickey-mouse/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 20 Jun 2024 17:24:59 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Super Famicom, 1992

A polished, cute, and focused action-platformer where you play as Mickey as he gains new abilities (and thus entirely new outfits and animations) through the stages. There’s a lot of care here. It plays well to the hardw…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Alpha Protocol]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/alpha-protocol/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/alpha-protocol/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 19 Jun 2024 04:28:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Obsidian, PC, 2010

Lots of potential with the dialogue system and the way the campaign is designed around your choices. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get into the actual missions part. Lots of corner peeking as you either wait to sneak or wait to shoot…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Contra 4]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/contra-4/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/contra-4/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 18 Jun 2024 03:50:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Wayforward, Nintendo DS, 2007

Weird game. Weird pacing. Lots of very obnoxious immediate ankle shots. Screen ratio is fucked, sprites are huge, everything is claustrophobic… and that’s before we get to the physical screen gap. By treating the space…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gargoyle's Quest II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gargoyles-quest-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gargoyles-quest-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 11 Jun 2024 02:02:05 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Famicom, 1992

aka Red Arremer II

Better than the Game Boy game, but it still kinda runs at less than full speed the whole way through and I think the quest stuff wore thin too early this time around. The stage variety isn’t all that strong…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mushihimesama - Maniac]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/mushihimesama-maniac/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/mushihimesama-maniac/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Jun 2024 02:51:49 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2004

I cleared Original mode in 2015-ish, back when the Steam release dropped. I decided to go back and get the Maniac clear some nine years later and what a game! The time away helped the aesthetics feel completely fresh, and the Man…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Subnautica]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/subnautica/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/subnautica/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 31 May 2024 01:29:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Unknown Worlds, PC, 2016

An incredible game about exploring a vast alien ocean after surviving a spaceship crash. I was worried that I wouldn’t get into a something built around survival and crafting mechanics, but I’m glad I gave it a shot. It’s a…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/639a6b68c4cb7b010fb70bc9/attachments/663bdef1a2f985b6ee53cd10/previews/663bdef2a2f985b6ee53cdcf/download/dddeeaac-cbaf-4549-b446-c37091506ce0.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Crow Country]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/crow-country/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/crow-country/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 13 May 2024 15:37:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SBF Games, PC, 2024

Like Signalis, this is a great modern isometric take on classic Biohazard. Where Biohazard has its mansion and Signalis has its sci-fi facilities, Crow Country has its titular abandoned theme park.

The visuals are immediately s…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Viewtiful Joe]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/viewtiful-joe/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/viewtiful-joe/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 11 May 2024 01:15:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, GameCube, 2003

Kamiya’s third director credit. An action game with a similar structure to Devil May Cry. The presentation is bold and unique, with a cute tokusatsu film reel theme that leans hard into cel shading and pitch black shadows. St…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Children of the Sun]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/children-of-the-sun/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/children-of-the-sun/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 07 May 2024 01:45:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[René Rother, PC, 2024

A unique puzzle game about killing a bunch of cultists with one bullet. The game builds up rules around how the bullet can be controlled, and the stage complexity ramps up pretty well up to a solid and satisfying final stage. …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[War of Aero]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/war-of-aero/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/war-of-aero/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 05 May 2024 23:39:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Allumer, Arcade, 1993

look at this flyer lmao. Just flagrantly bootlegging Image Fight’s art. And the game is an Image Fight clone, but I suspect that Image Fight is much cooler. There’s an initial appeal to this, and there are some very neat touch…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Muchi Muchi Pork!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/muchi-muchi-pork/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/muchi-muchi-pork/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 30 Apr 2024 17:18:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2007

La Calice Cup 8 gave me a great reason to return to this. It’s been a little over 12 years since I cleared the Xbox 360 port’s easier “1.01” mode with Rafute. This time we’re playing the arcade original and I decided to shoot for…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Libros de Chilam Balam]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/libros-de-chilam-balam/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/libros-de-chilam-balam/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 29 Apr 2024 03:04:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Right Stuff, NEC PC-9801, 1992

The incredibly sick cover art got me interested. The opening was cool. And then… it was a traditional JRPG. A snappy enough one, but I didn’t like the characters and the towns/environments were pretty samey. I had to …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gadget: Invention, Travel, & Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gadget-invention-travel-and-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gadget-invention-travel-and-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 23 Apr 2024 01:40:10 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Synergy Inc, Macintosh, 1993

A Japanese CD-ROM adventure game released around a month after Myst. It’s got a similar early CG look and feel, but the environments are way more linear and there is, no joke, only a single puzzle in here. A comically h…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Baldur's Gate 3]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/baldurs-gate-3/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/baldurs-gate-3/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 21 Apr 2024 01:34:33 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Larian, PC, 2023

A massive game to follow the Divinity: Original Sin duo. I only reached the end of Act 1, but that took over 20 hours so I figured I should give my impressions.

Famously this game has an interesting cast of characters with excelle…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dynamite Duke]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/dynamite-duke/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/dynamite-duke/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 19 Apr 2024 05:12:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Seibu Kaihatsu, 1989, Arcade

A fascinating Cabal-like with striking visuals. Big, detailed sprites and sick animations end to end. The main differentiating point here is the focus on melee, with boss fights almost feeling like a more analog version…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Salamander]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/salamander/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/salamander/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 26 Mar 2024 02:32:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1986

I put a handful of hours into this after clearing Gradius II, and I have to admit I didn’t know exactly how MUCH of a Gradius game this was. I had a great time with Salamander 2 a couple years back, and despite being ten years …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gradius II: GOFER no Yabou]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gradius-ii-gofer-no-yabou/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/gradius-ii-gofer-no-yabou/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 26 Mar 2024 02:28:54 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1988

What a great sequel. The rough edges are filed down a little from the first game, but difficulty is way up all around. Rank management is a factor, but a simple one. You get a variety of ships to choose from, each unique enough…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Star Wars: Dark Forces]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/star-wars-dark-forces/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/star-wars-dark-forces/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 21 Mar 2024 22:58:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[LucasArts, Windows, 1995

A Star Wars FPS with a very Doom-style raycasting engine. Even outside of the technology, though, Doom is the clear starting point. The movement is fast and slippery and the maps are big and striking. The presentation is pr…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Oni]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/oni/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/oni/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 13 Mar 2024 05:00:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bungie, PC, 2001

I have vague memories of Oni’s release, complete with it getting made fun of by Penny Arcade. Not long after I picked up a copy out of a bargain bin but only wound up playing the first level or so. Given how much belt scrollers and…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[G Darius]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/g-darius/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/g-darius/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 08 Mar 2024 21:13:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1997

This was the last of the main arcade Darius games for me to play, and I think it wound up being the best. It’s a standout in so many ways!

Despite the single-screen factor, the presentation is incredible. Immediately I was floo…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Disaster Report]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/disaster-report/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/disaster-report/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 02 Mar 2024 19:27:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Playstation 2, 2002

aka Zettai Zetsumei Toshi

This reminded me of something Human would make. Something like Septentrion or a little bit like Clock Tower. Your train gets derailed by a massive earthquake and you have to navigate the crumblin…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tekken 8]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/tekken-8/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/tekken-8/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 28 Feb 2024 16:49:57 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bandai Namco, PC, 2024

We all know what’s going on here. Good music. Massively beefy hits. Characters and moves you’ve been seeing since 1995, but with some cool new redesigns. A new Heat system (not to be confused with Rage) that lets you enter a …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/i-have-no-mouth-and-i-must-scream/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/i-have-no-mouth-and-i-must-scream/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 27 Feb 2024 04:22:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cyber Dreams, MS-DOS, 1995

A unique adventure game where you play as five humans trapped by a hateful, planet-encompassing AI. It’s very uneven: interactions are awkward, cues sometimes feel more obscure than intended, the pacing is super jacked, a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Metal Black]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/metal-black/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/metal-black/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 25 Feb 2024 22:11:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1991

The presentation here is pretty monumental. The opening stage is set in the desolate ruins of a city, played alongside this beautiful and somber track.  You then rocket off into space (presented as a very flashy bonus stage) to …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bruce Lee (C64)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/bruce-lee-c64/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/bruce-lee-c64/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 18 Feb 2024 02:47:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Datasoft Inc, Commodore 64, 1984

An impressive early American action-platformer. Reminds me of Shadow of the Beast in that it’s terse, arcade-structured (complete with permadeath), and has a simple movelist. Surprisingly nice environment and obstac…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5fa2c9cf7aee707a54c669a1/attachments/64cab76c1e144e2fa910bf97/previews/64cab76d1e144e2fa910bfeb/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Almana no Kiseki]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/almana-no-kiseki/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/almana-no-kiseki/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 16 Feb 2024 23:27:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Famicom Disk System, 1987

An FDS action-platformer with a very goofy grappling hook mechanic. It’s not quite like Bionic Commando: you still have a small hop, there’s no swinging, the hook gets thrown out in a very rigid fashion, and you’re…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[DoDonPachi DaiOuJou]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/dodonpachi-daioujou/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/dodonpachi-daioujou/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Feb 2024 05:14:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2002

After about 50 hours of direct play time, I got the one-loop clear of the original “White Label” version of DoDonPachi DaiOuJou. My ship selection was B-Exy.

It’s a masterpiece. It has a reputation as one, and I think it’s easy …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Thunder Force V]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/thunder-force-v/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/thunder-force-v/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 09 Feb 2024 18:36:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tecno Soft, Saturn, 1997

I picked this up real cheap back in the 90s, during the brief period of time when Funcoland or EB or whatever was selling Japanese Saturn games. It was always incredibly cool to me. The music is sick, the stage openings are…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Advanced Busterhawk Gleylancer]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/advanced-busterhawk-gleylancer/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/advanced-busterhawk-gleylancer/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 09 Feb 2024 18:34:49 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Masaya, Mega Drive, 1992

A sick game. It might be Thunder Force III tier? Similar in difficulty to TF3, so nothing too difficult on Normal, but it’s got lots of cool stage designs (arguably better ones), great music, some really stunning background…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/like-a-dragon-infinite-wealth/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/like-a-dragon-infinite-wealth/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 09 Feb 2024 18:18:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, PC, 2024

This game’s inclusion of Spikeout as a minigame caused me to pull the trigger and I decided to give the main game an honest shot despite my history of not being able to get into traditional JRPGs. I tried. I think I’d…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tomb Raider II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/tomb-raider-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/tomb-raider-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 30 Jan 2024 02:55:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[CORE Design, Playstation, 1997

I liked the idea of Tomb Raider with a decent spread of stages outside of tombs, but unfortunately this wasn’t very fun in practice. It’s still Tomb Raider, it’s still a solid foundation, but these villa and industria…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Alan Wake II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/alan-wake-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/alan-wake-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 20 Jan 2024 22:41:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Remedy, PC, 2023

This is probably up there with Control as the two best post-Payne Remedy games, and it serves as a good compliment. Where Control is a game with a lot of dashing and hip-firing, this is more of a Resident Evil 4 with precision shoo…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Biohazard: Gun Survivor]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/biohazard-gun-survivor/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/biohazard-gun-survivor/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 08 Jan 2024 01:26:32 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[TOSE, Playstation, 2000

An ambitious attempt at making a free-movement first-person shooter with a light gun based control scheme. It’s kinda like an early 90s console game in that the whole thing is just a couple hours long, very linear, and you h…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Relics]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/relics/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2024/relics/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 01 Jan 2024 23:27:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bothtec, PC-98, 1986

Originally released on PC-98 but ported to other platforms shortly after. This is a pretty mysterious game, very deliberately not telling the player much and with a manual that encourages the player to explore, but I found the …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Finals]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-finals/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-finals/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 2023 23:28:58 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Embark Studios, PC, 2023

Traditional multiplayer FPS (as in, not BR or extraction) with teams of three, highly destructible maps, and a relatively long time to kill. The destruction is the main element that stands out, for sure, and it’s fun as hel…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/avatar-frontiers-of-pandora/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/avatar-frontiers-of-pandora/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 2023 22:27:49 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Massive Entertainment, PC, 2023

This is kinda Far Cry adjacent and it’s been a while since I’ve played one of those. The Na’vi movement is pretty cool, the mech enemies are formidable, the world is gorgeous, and the genre trappings are executed wit…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shinobi Non Grata]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shinobi-non-grata/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shinobi-non-grata/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 27 Dec 2023 05:14:10 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Studio PICO, PC, 2023

A tight action-platformer. Player movement is breezy, the animation is nice, and the special attacks you cycle through are pretty mechanically distinct and flavorful. The structure of the game is something like Alien Soldier o…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Jigoku Gokurakumaru]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/jigoku-gokurakumaru/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/jigoku-gokurakumaru/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 20 Dec 2023 05:38:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Human Entertainment, Famicom, 1990

A pretty solid action-platformer. It’s hard to say it’s one of the best on the system (that’s an incredibly high bar) but it’s got a cool theme, nice Batman-style environment art with a bit more guts factor, a fun…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Blood West]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/blood-west/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/blood-west/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 18 Dec 2023 01:24:54 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Hyperstrange, PC, 2023

A System Shock style first-person action game with a wild west horror theme. You’ve got a big inventory grid, leaning, stealth, and a skill tree. And from the lense of Shock-style design the game is pretty well-executed. Comb…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sonic Wings]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/sonic-wings/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/sonic-wings/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 17 Dec 2023 05:34:16 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Video Systems, Arcade, 1992

You can really see the beginning of Psikyo here. A focused shooting game with a fun cast of unique characters, early stage randomization, breakneck pacing, and huge, sick bosses. There are rough edges here that aren’t in…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hi-Fi Rush]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/hi-fi-rush/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/hi-fi-rush/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 11 Dec 2023 07:04:22 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tango Gameworks, PC, 2023

(Played on Very Hard, which I didn’t even have to unlock!)

Lead designer Masaaki Yamada uses Devil May Cry as a starting point (which he was a planner on back in the day) and adds all these little mechanics built around h…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Northern Journey]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/northern-journey/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/northern-journey/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:46 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Slid Studio, PC, 2021

This was a huge surprise. Not unlike Cruelty Squad it's pretty rough-edged, but not quite as hostile. There's a noisy visual style that holds up incredibly considering it's all done with a very vertex color approach. Some real…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[BOPPING DRIVE]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bopping-drive/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bopping-drive/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[David "Tain" Williams, PC, 2021

A nice exercise in keeping scope down and not stressing myself out. I set out to make something small and polished and I'm proud of the results.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Toree 3D + Toree 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/toree-3d-toree-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/toree-3d-toree-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Siactro, PC, 2021

A well-made basic linear 3D platformer with cute and clean visuals. There's not a ton noteworthy here, but the linear 3D platforming genre is still small enough to make this worth a quick runthrough. 

Sequel is largely the same, …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Halo Infinite (Versus)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/halo-infinite-versus/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/halo-infinite-versus/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[343i, PC, 2021

When it comes down to it, this is the first time I've played Halo consistently with a regular group of friends. I don't have a lot of knowledge about the competitive modes in older games. This has been fun as hell, though.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shiren the Wanderer 2: Oni Invasion! Shiren Castle!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/shiren-the-wanderer-2-oni-invasion-shiren-castle/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/shiren-the-wanderer-2-oni-invasion-shiren-castle/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:23 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Chunsoft, Nintendo 64, 2000

This one took ages, but what a game. I loved Shiren 5 back in 2016 when I played the English Vita release, but a fan translation of this appeared this year.

Being an N64 game the presentation is pretty drastically diffe…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Psychonauts 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/psychonauts-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/psychonauts-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Double Fine, PC, 2021

Surprisingly dense world. I like the lack of HUD highlights combined with the surplus of signposting. 

Game doesn't seem to do much layering of mechanics or make any real attempt at getting more difficult, sadly.

Extremely d…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Steel Assault]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/steel-assault/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/steel-assault/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Zenovia Interactive, PC, 2021

Fantastic action-platformer. Pretty top-tier aesthetically, with lots of smooth animation, gorgeous backgrounds, and a face-melting Thunderforce 4 style soundtrack. Stages are extremely dense, sometimes approaching a M…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Metroid Dread]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/metroid-dread/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/metroid-dread/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[MercurySteam, Switch, 2021

Dread winds up being a fantastic action game due to its constant, intense, and creative boss fights and overall excellent animation. Samus gets a lot of unique abilities and the bosses push you to use them in all sorts of…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Outer Wilds: Echoes of the Eye]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/outer-wilds-echoes-of-the-eye/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/outer-wilds-echoes-of-the-eye/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:30:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Mobius Digital, PC, 2021

A fantastic expansion to the original, fleshing out the universe's history a bit while having the player solve a detached but still grand mystery in an alien ring world. The structure set up by the original is here, and the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Deathloop]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/deathloop/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/deathloop/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:29:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Arkane Studios, PC, 2021

This is an interesting one. At its core, it's a Dishonored-style action-stealth game but leaning more toward the action this time and for the better. The abilities are fun, mayhem is encouraged via dumb enemy AI and lots of…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Jupiter Hell]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/jupiter-hell/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/jupiter-hell/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:29:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[ChaosForge, PC, 2021

An incredible roguelike. This is a much smaller and more focused game than a lot of the western-made ASCII classics, but there's a ton of variety when it comes to viable character builds and the combat rules are elegant and wel…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Game Builder Garage]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/game-builder-garage/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/game-builder-garage/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:29:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo, Switch, 2021

As to be expected, this is an extremely cute game construction kit. Dreams is the obvious comparison, and while this doesn't give users anywhere near as much freedom, there's still plenty of power here and it comes with a cha…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cruelty Squad]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cruelty-squad/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cruelty-squad/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:29:07 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Consumer Softproducts, PC, 2021

it's 2021 and games are looking like shit on purpose. It's successful at looking and sounding repugnant, it's got a pretty fun theme, and there's an impressive amount of complexity to the stages. Extremely anachronis…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Guilty Gear Strive]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/guilty-gear-strive/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/guilty-gear-strive/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:29:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Arc System Works, PC, 2021…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Resident Evil 8]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/resident-evil-8/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/resident-evil-8/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:28:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2021

Great game. Built on 7 perfectly by being far more consistent and using a wonderful hub area to guide the player through a handful of mechanically and thematically varied dungeons. The cast of enemies is great and has a huge amount…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Nioh 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/nioh-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/nioh-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:28:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Team Ninja, PC, 2021

A step up from the first game for sure. Lots of cool bosses and great core combat mechanics. Unfortunately, it doesn't fix the major problem of the first game: it's stretched out far, far longer than it should be.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ghosts n Goblins Resurrection]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ghosts-n-goblins-resurrection/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ghosts-n-goblins-resurrection/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:28:22 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2021  
aka Kaettekita Makaimura

Great game. It's not an arcade-built game at all, but the divergences are well thought-out and deeply tied into the game's difficulty levels. You're encouraged to start by trying on Legend mode (both the …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bowser's Fury]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bowsers-fury/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bowsers-fury/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:28:17 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo, Switch, 2021

This was good. Probably the right length, and I wonder how they could build a game with the same core that holds up to be much longer, but the world this takes place in feels like it's made up of my favorite kind of side-cour…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cyber Shadow]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cyber-shadow/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cyber-shadow/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:28:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Aarne "MekaSkull" Hunziker, PC, 2021

This might have some of the best Famicom-style visuals of any modern game I can think of. It delivers visually on those Kickstarter shots of Steel Assault (where this game got its start before Steel Assault swit…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hitman 3]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/hitman-3/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/hitman-3/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:57 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[IO Interactive, PC, 2021

It's absolutely more of the same, but the six stages of Hitman 3 are mostly huge, all great, and have some high points for the trilogy. I love how the stages from the prior two Hitman releases are neatly merged into this on…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Midnight Suns]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/midnight-suns/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/midnight-suns/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Firaxis Games, PC, 2022

I think the core combat of this game is really, really cool. The positioning and environmental attack stuff is very fun and clever and super unique. Unfortunately, everything stringing the missions together feels like grind-…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[God of War: Ragnarock]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/god-of-war-ragnarock/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/god-of-war-ragnarock/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Santa Monica Studio, Playstation 4, 2022

This is good in the same areas that the first game is. The core combat is pretty fun and satisfying, they’ve added a cool new weapon in the spear, and they brought in some welcome enemy variety. There are pl…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Signalis]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/signalis/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/signalis/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:26 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[rose-engine, PC, 2022

A fantastic game in the style of the original Biohazard. Helping it stand out is an extremely unique look and atmosphere that leans heavily on blurring the line between pixel art and 3D. There’s an even stronger focus on puzzl…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bayonetta 3]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bayonetta-3/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bayonetta-3/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:22 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[PlatinumGames, Switch, 2022

Refreshing to play a game like this again. Lots of ideas crammed into this one (reflecting the long development time), but it’s all wrangled together very well. The kaiju mechanics help it stand out from the first two, E…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Scorn]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/scorn/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/scorn/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ebb Software, PC, 2022

This is an extremely visually accomplished game. Just a really thorough and stunning take on Giger's style. Unfortunately, the game's puzzles and combat are two mechanical halves that fit together terribly. If it had only one…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Kevin Costner's Waterworld]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/kevin-costners-waterworld/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/kevin-costners-waterworld/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Macaw45, PC, 2022

Macaw45's action game based on the Waterworld arcade game gag from The Simpsons. You take big steps one at a time, you have very specific punch timing, and the obstacles get very silly. Every time you die you have to manually inse…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Return to Monkey Island]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/return-to-monkey-island/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/return-to-monkey-island/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:27:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Terrible Toybox, PC, 2022  

Return to Monkey Island is really good. Visuals won me over in motion, it does just the right amount of streamlining, it's charming throughout with occasional genuinely funny moments, and I really liked the ending.

I th…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Last Call BBS]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/last-call-bbs/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/last-call-bbs/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Zachtronics, PC, 2022

It's not often that a development studio declares a game as their final release. This is a fascinating collection of games that are all solid ideas and well-polished, even if not always fully fleshed out. A couple highlights f…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rumbleverse]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rumbleverse/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rumbleverse/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Iron Galaxy, PC, 2022

What a unique thing. Really cool core mechanics. Endlessly fun to climb around, chuck items at people, slam people into cars, tackle people off of buildings, whip people to your friends, etc. Deceptively complex for sure, and …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[ROLLERDROME]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rollerdrome/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rollerdrome/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Roll7, PC, 2022

Really good Tony Hawk style skating game that manages to bring in a layer of bullet-time third-person shooting. The skating stuff is kind, not allowing you to bail and basically only having flip tricks and grinds, but the way the tr…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Paradise Killer]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/paradise-killer/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/paradise-killer/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:29 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Kaizen Game Works, PC, 2022

A neat adventure game where you hop around a vaporwave island of the gods using Quake controls to gather as much evidence as you feel like prior to initiating a trial. The music is wonderful and the visuals are pretty we…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[COMPOUND]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/compound/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/compound/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bevan McKechnie, PC VR, 2022

Cleared on Hard. Incredible. Fun to learn weapons, well-balanced between physical and artificial movement, tons of little quirks to learn about the enemies and environments they're placed in, and one of the best executi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Stray]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/stray/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/stray/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[BlueTwelve Studio, PC, 2022

Cute, gorgeous game. Mostly a very atmospheric walking sim with light puzzles and action.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Yurukill: The Calumniation Games]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/yurukill-the-calumniation-games/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/yurukill-the-calumniation-games/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:26:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[IzanagiGames and G.Rev, PC, 2022

What a unique game. The basic idea is that it's a Danganronpa-style visual novel only with the trial scenes replaced by a full-ass 2D shooting game designed by Border Down director Hiroyuki Maruyama. 

The VN side o…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Knight's Try]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/knights-try/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/knights-try/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Modus Interactive, PC, 2022

This might be a 3D platforming all-timer. 

You play as a goofy, tired, and faceless onion knight trying to ascend a massive floating course full of jumps, traps, and enemies. The core mechanics are simple: basic movemen…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/cuphead-the-delicious-last-course/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/cuphead-the-delicious-last-course/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Studio MDHR, PC, 2022

Really good expansion to the original. They went all out with most of these bosses, and the final boss in particular is incredible. Couldn't get into the new character's controls, but she does seem mechanically distinct.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Neon White]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/neon-white/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/neon-white/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Angel Matrix, PC, 2022

Very unique first-person action game featuring Trackmania-style stages strung together with visual novel sequences. 

Each stage has you running, jumping, and shooting around a porcelain course in the heavens. There are medal…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Drainus]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/drainus/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/drainus/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Team Ladybug, PC, 2022

Gorgeous gorgeous game but mechanically inelegant and largely about mashing absorb instead of dodging. I probably won't be going back to it.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/stranger-of-paradise-final-fantasy-origin/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/stranger-of-paradise-final-fantasy-origin/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Team Ninja, PC, 2022 

A Team Ninja game that serves as a prequel of sorts to the original Final Fantasy. I wasn't the biggest fan of Nioh or Nioh 2, but I enjoyed this a good amount more. 

The core combat here is pretty fun. The basis is a fairly …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ghostwire: Tokyo]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ghostwire-tokyo/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ghostwire-tokyo/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:21 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tango, PC, 2022

It's no TEW but there's something nice about the simple lock-on + parry combat between all the building-climbing. It's surprisingly distinct despite the broader open world structure. 

This is probably best on Tatari, where the game…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Elden Ring]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/elden-ring/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/elden-ring/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:14 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[FromSoftware, PC, 2022

Jesus Christ. This game is gigantic, yet consistently good. It's dense. There's something interesting in every nook and cranny. You'll see repeated bosses and other elements, but the game justifies it and changes plenty of ot…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Akai Katana Exa Label]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/akai-katana-exa-label/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/akai-katana-exa-label/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Team EXA-AM2, Arcade, 2022

Like with DoDonPachi Saidaioujou Exa Label, the Exa release of Akai Katana does an excellent job of porting the 2010 original by shedding the egregious slowdown, gathering existing arrange modes (one of which tastef…]]></description>
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            <title><![CDATA[The King of Fighters XV]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/the-king-of-fighters-xv/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/the-king-of-fighters-xv/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SNK, PC, 2022

I like the autocombos, I like the new characters, I like the visuals. I'm not going to play a ton of this but it seems good.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sifu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sifu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sifu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sloclap, PC, 2022  


The main draw here is this very unique, flashy, and stylish combat (kinda reminiscent of Arkham Asylum but with some GOD HAND thrown in) combined with a really high difficulty level. You'll learn all about weapons, crushing gua…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/serious-sam-siberian-mayhem/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/serious-sam-siberian-mayhem/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:25:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Timelock Studio, PC, 2022 

It's more of Sam 4, but with slightly tighter pacing (it's shorter overall) and better vehicle segments. It rules. Maybe the boss fights are a little weaker.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Robocop: Rogue City]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/robocop-rogue-city/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/robocop-rogue-city/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Teyon, PC, 2023

What a nice surprise this was. Absolutely has the energy of a Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay or a Wolfenstein: The New Order. It’s a focused and linear FPS that intelligently uses genre conventions without sticking t…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/like-a-dragon-gaiden-the-man-who-erased-his-name/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/like-a-dragon-gaiden-the-man-who-erased-his-name/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:50 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, PC, 2023

I liked the sound of a shorter Yakuza game going into this one, but in practice it’s a bit of a letdown. Too much time is spent introducing the player to side quest and minigame stuff and it all feels like leftovers. …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Air Twister]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/air-twister/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/air-twister/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ys Net, PC, 2023

Initially an Apple Arcade game, Yu Suzuki’s new rail shooter is now on PC and consoles. The presentation is surprisingly good! Environments look nice, enemy designs are inspired, and the soundtrack is all original ELO-ish stuff wit…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Mario Bros. Wonder]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/super-mario-bros-wonder/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/super-mario-bros-wonder/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo EPD, Nintendo Switch, 2023

Pretty good. Nothing too surprising, but it’s well-made and the new presentation is refreshing compared to New Super Mario Bros U. As always the new power-ups are fun and well-explored by the stages they’re place…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Slay the Princess]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/slay-the-princess/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/slay-the-princess/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Black Tabby Games, PC, 2023

A nice, terse visual novel with a very dynamic feel. Well-executed with a unique look and narration. I don’t want to say much about what actually goes on here, but by the end of the fairly short play time it winds up sat…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Trepang2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/trepang2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/trepang2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Trepang Studios, PC, 2023

A well-made successor to FEAR that, going by memory, turns all the dials up. Extremely satisfying weapons, environmental destruction, and hit reactions. Surprisingly good boss fights, especially the final boss. Thankfully,…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Void Stranger]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/void-stranger/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/void-stranger/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[System Erasure, PC, 2023

ZeroRanger is one of my favorite games of 2018 and one of the best home-exclusive 2D shooting games I can think of, so I had to immediately hop on Void Stranger despite it being a huge departure. It uses Game Boy classic Ca…]]></description>
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            <title><![CDATA[Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/armored-core-vi-fires-of-rubicon/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/armored-core-vi-fires-of-rubicon/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:27 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[FromSoftware, PC, 2023

A big new release that snuck up on me. My Armored Core experience prior to this consisted of playing the four 360-generation entries, which I generally enjoyed.

What struck me most about Armored Core 6 was how finely From ro…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[En Garde!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/en-garde/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/en-garde/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Fireplace Games, PC, 2023

A very charming third-person swashbuckling game. It’s a bit like Sifu, but with simpler (yet still very clear and slick-looking) swordfighting mechanics and none of the meta-layer inelegance. A particularly neat touch is t…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bomb Rush Cyberfunk]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/bomb-rush-cyberfunk/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/bomb-rush-cyberfunk/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Team Reptile, PC, 2023

Wish I liked this more. This is clearly using Jet Set Radio Future as a starting point, and I’d say that it makes some clear improvements by changing up the structure a bit. The tricks and trick-related challenges are more fu…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Pseudoregalia]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/pseudoregalia/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/pseudoregalia/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:18 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[rittzler, PC, 2023

This is a nice time. I don't like it as much as Knight's Try when it comes to recent 3d platformer-adjacent stuff but it does a pretty good job of making a roughly Souls-style connected world with distinct-enough areas out of a t…]]></description>
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            <title><![CDATA[Protodroid Delta]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/protodroid-delta/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/protodroid-delta/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Adam Kareem, PC, 2023

This was a neat linear 3D action-platformer with well thought-out movement and combat. Charge attacks require energy that you can regenerate through melee, and there’s a lot of neat variety to the enemy behaviors. Dash-jumping…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Street Fighter 6]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/street-fighter-6/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/street-fighter-6/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:05 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2023

World Tour mode is pretty solid. It’s not great, not Tobal 2, but better than any fighting game campaign mode I can point to in the past couple decades. I don’t really like talking about fighting games in too much detail because I …]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:23:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo EAD, Switch, 2023

Something special. An improvement on BotW in so many ways. The deeply flexible and optional BotW campaign has been expanded on not primarily through more or better dungeons (though there are more and they are better), but…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Star Wars Jedi: Survivor]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/star-wars-jedi-survivor/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/star-wars-jedi-survivor/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:22:59 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Respawn, PC, 2023

A good iteration on Fallen Order. It’s bigger and has a more complex hub, but the main campaign doesn’t lose any of the focus from the first game. The hardest difficulty demanded a little too much perfection so I dropped it down t…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Lattice Rider NEPHILA]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/lattice-rider-nephila/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/lattice-rider-nephila/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:22:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[David “Tain” Williams, PC, 2023

I made this game over ten days for Bullet Hell Jam 2023. I wanted to practice low-fi 3D visuals and some 2D shooting game stage design, and overall I’m super happy with the results. If I made this into a full project…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Resident Evil 4 (2023)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/resident-evil-4-2023/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/resident-evil-4-2023/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:22:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2023

I loved the Resident Evil 2 remake largely because it built a fantastic new game using mostly just the skeleton of the original. It was a huge departure in tons of ways. This is a very well-made game, but it simply can’t be as exci…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Wanted: Dead]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/wanted-dead/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/wanted-dead/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:22:17 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Soleil, PC, 2023

A 3D melee action and third person shooter hybrid set in future Hong Kong, developed by some ex Team Ninja guys minus Itagaki. It doesn’t feel as much like Devil’s Third as I expected it to, and I think it does some key things bett…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/vengeful-guardian-moonrider/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/vengeful-guardian-moonrider/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:22:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[JoyMasher, PC, 2023

I was hoping this would be a lean and 1cc-focusable game like Blazing Chrome, but it turns out it’s more like Rockman X than anything else. The visuals are gorgeous and the theme is cool as hell, but both the stages and boss fig…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Lunacid]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/lunacid/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/lunacid/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:08:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[KIRA LLC, PC, 2023

I’ve only played the first and a bit of the second King’s Field games, which Lunacid takes a lot from, and it does an admirable job of creating that sense of mystery that pulls me through so many of From’s games. This is a little…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Baroque (Saturn)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/baroque-saturn/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/baroque-saturn/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2023 04:55:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sting, Saturn, 1998

Dark and moody action game with (and I don’t throw this term out lightly) roguelike elements. It’s basically like if Shiren the Wanderer had far slower and realtime first-person combat to space out all the cool decisions. It’s r…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gunbird]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/gunbird/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/gunbird/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 08 Dec 2023 17:53:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Psikyo, Arcade, 1994

This was a really fun game to learn. Being Psikyo’s second shooter it’s notably less complex than the games that would come later, but it’s also a pretty big step above their already-solid Sengoku Ace. You’ll see a lot of the P…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[D/Generation]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dgeneration/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dgeneration/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 03 Dec 2023 21:38:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Robert Cook, DOS, 1991

Played about half of this. It’s a pretty clever combination of small-scale room puzzles and action that leans into avoiding traps, but eventually the behavior of the Survivors really started to wear on me and there are some p…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dynamite Deka 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dynamite-deka-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dynamite-deka-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 11 Nov 2023 04:43:32 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM1, Arcade, 1998

Played both the Model 2 original and the Dreamcast port, which has a pretty different look to it.

Sequel to the 1996 masterpiece. Despite being a 1998 release this was built for the then-old but still powerful Model 2 arcade…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Magnetic Neo]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/super-magnetic-neo/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/super-magnetic-neo/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 11 Nov 2023 04:35:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Genki, Dreamcast, 2000

A surprisingly tough Crash Bandicoot style 3D platformer with a neat magnet polarity gimmick. Like with Crash there are some rough edges (stuff like not being able to magnetize while holding the run button), but overall I thi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Clock Tower 3]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/clock-tower-3/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/clock-tower-3/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 11 Nov 2023 04:35:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Playstation 2, 2003

I played Haunting Ground a lifetime ago and really liked it, and I’ve always loved the first Clock Tower game in particular, so I figured it was time to finally play this. It’s good! Being developed by a team from a diff…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Raiden DX]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/raiden-dx/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/raiden-dx/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 10 Nov 2023 02:13:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Seibu Kaihatsu, Arcade, 1994

An enhanced/arranged version of Raiden 2, often pointed to as the one to play. I didn’t clear it but put a good chunk of time into it for Calice Cup. It’s insanely lush, pretty tough, and has a ridiculous list of scorin…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Karateka]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/karateka/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/karateka/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 11 Oct 2023 03:50:22 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jordan Mechner, Apple II, 1984

A breakthrough game in terms of presentation, but I think it’s clear that Prince of Persia was the real masterpiece. The entire structure here is a brief, straight-shot left-to-right series of karate fights with a cou…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dr. Toppel's Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dr-toppels-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dr-toppels-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 11 Oct 2023 01:34:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Kaneko, Arcade, 1987

this is a rough STG man. Cute designs, a neat option-placement concept, and it’s kinda unique in how all the bullets are tiny and crawl real slow… but the sprites look crazy sparse with almost no animation, there’s zero time to…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gokujou Parodius]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/gokujou-parodius/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/gokujou-parodius/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 10 Oct 2023 20:51:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Arcade, 1994

Played for Calice Cup 7.

The second of the three arcade Parodius games. Normally I’d have preferred to put more time into the predecessor Parodius Da!, but I’m told this series got easier with each entry so maybe it’s for the …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dynamite Deka]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dynamite-deka/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dynamite-deka/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 28 Sep 2023 19:59:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM1, Arcade, 1996. aka Die Hard Arcade

It feels like Dynamite Deka is often considered a footnote, but I really think this is a milestone in 3D melee action.

Belt scrollers were always 3D in a mechanics sense, but being built fully around pol…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Deep Fear]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/deep-fear/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/deep-fear/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 21 Sep 2023 03:19:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega CS2, Saturn, 1998

Really wish this was good! Deep Fear is a Biohazard-style fixed camera horror game set in an undersea base. Cool premise, and much of it is pretty well-executed with detailed environments, smooth-moving gouraud-shaded charact…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5f7e788c39918d1a09169da2/attachments/646c48f8438b54b0bb0b16dd/previews/646c48fa438b54b0bb0b16ee/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Nosferatu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/nosferatu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/nosferatu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 19 Aug 2023 03:41:16 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SETA Co., Super Famicom, 1994

Unhinged and wonderful. The most concise way I can describe Nosferatu is that it’s like Prince of Persia with slightly more granular movement and an emphasis on a unique, hefty hand-to-hand combat system. The presentat…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Prince of Persia (PC-98)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/prince-of-persia-pc-98/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/prince-of-persia-pc-98/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 10 Aug 2023 04:28:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Broderbund Software and Arsys Software, PC-98, 1990

This is my first time fully playing any form of Prince of Persia. I landed on this version because it was one of the earliest ports, it adds a soundtrack, and the PC-98’s grimy audio hardware and …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Eliza]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/eliza/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/eliza/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 09 Aug 2023 21:05:29 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Zachtronics, PC, 2019

Obviously not the usual Zachtronics game and has a pretty distinct theme for a VN. Looking back I don’t know that it went where it needed to.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dracula Densetsu II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dracula-densetsu-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dracula-densetsu-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 09 Aug 2023 18:43:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Game Boy, 1991, aka Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge

This is a step up from the first Game Boy game in a lot of ways, but the most noticeable are the tech improvements. It looks nicer, with some seriously impressive backgrounds, and it mos…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Punisher]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-punisher/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-punisher/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 31 Jul 2023 04:18:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Arcade, 1993

So sick. The lush animation and excellent voice samples work hand-in-hand to make the heavy hits satisfying. I can’t think of any move in anything I’ve played recently that’s more fun to land than the Punisher’s perfectly-timed…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dangun Feveron]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dangun-feveron/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dangun-feveron/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 19 Jul 2023 17:27:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 1998

This is wonderful. As with Guwange, there’s nothing else in Cave’s library that feels like it. It’s the last of their games to primarily use traditional pixel art, and is utterly stuffed with awesome chunky-looking ships on top o…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Baldur's Gate]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/baldurs-gate/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/baldurs-gate/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 19 Jul 2023 00:24:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bioware, Windows, 1998

Playing the Enhanced Edition. This seems impressively flexible from the get-go and the game’s world feels pretty big. The real time combat is pretty breezy and helps keep things from feeling like a slog, but I think that the …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Flashback]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/flashback/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/flashback/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 14 Jul 2023 21:21:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Delphine Software International, Amiga, 1992

It’s striking how distinct this feels from Another World. Both made at the same studio, both using Prince of Persia as a starting point, both using flat colors to create gorgeous environments and fluid c…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Batman (Famicom)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/batman-famicom/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/batman-famicom/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 03 Jul 2023 03:27:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sunsoft, Famicom, 1989

After bouncing off of Future Wars I had to play something good and tight and familiar. This rules basically as much as it did when I beat the game in 2010-ish, though the final stage’s jump timing was even tighter than I reme…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Future Wars: Adventures in Time]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/future-wars-adventures-in-time/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/future-wars-adventures-in-time/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 03 Jul 2023 03:08:29 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Delphine Software, Amiga, 1989

Wanted to try this since Éric Chahi was behind most of the art. I bounced off of this, sadly. The opening scenes are gorgeous and the interface is pretty elegant for 1989, but the hotspots are the tiniest I’ve ever se…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Another World]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/another-world/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/another-world/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 27 Jun 2023 17:32:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Delphine Software, Amiga, 1991

Absolutely sick game. Having never seen beyond the intro when I was younger I'm very happy that I finally played through this. It’s an action platformer with fluid animation and grounded movement, like Prince of Persi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Fallout: New Vegas]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/fallout-new-vegas/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/fallout-new-vegas/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 26 Jun 2023 05:36:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Obsidian Entertainment, Windows, 2010

Best Bethesda-style game I've played. An easy standout. The Elder Scrolls games never did much for me and I bounced off of Fallout 3 in 2009, but I was pretty hooked to New Vegas. It has an impressively dynamic…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[System Shock]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/system-shock/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/system-shock/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Jun 2023 17:22:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Looking Glass Technologies, DOS, 1994

A staggeringly ambitious first person action game set in a big semi-linear space station. It’s all incredibly impressive for 1994. Movement mechanics let you lean, strafe, crouch, jump, and even go prone. Envir…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Galleon]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/galleon/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/galleon/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 05 Jun 2023 21:10:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Confounding Factor, Xbox, 2004

This was apparently directed by Toby Gard, one of the lead guys behind the original Tomb Raider that left Core prior to Tomb Raider II. You can definitely see a trajectory from that game to this. It’s still got plenty…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Fighting Force]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/fighting-force/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/fighting-force/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 23 May 2023 04:29:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Core Design, Playstation, 1997

A polygonal beat ‘em up by the Tomb Raider developers. I always thought this looked so cool as a kid and wished I could play it on Saturn, but despite all the times I got to try PS1 rentals at friends' houses I never …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Castlevania: The Adventure Rebirth]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/castlevania-the-adventure-rebirth/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/castlevania-the-adventure-rebirth/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 16 May 2023 17:34:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[M2, Wii, 2009

I think the visuals put me off on this back in the day, but now that I’ve actually sat down with it it’s pretty good! It’s a cool mix of mechanics from the original game (no stair jumping/landing for example) and some departures like …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Kick Master]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/kick-master/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/kick-master/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 25 Apr 2023 04:47:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[KID Corp, NES, 1992

Shinobu Yagawa as programmer. His third credit. No Japanese release.

This is a pretty interesting one. Every enemy kill sends three items up into the air and these items drop through the floor, so you often need to commit to gr…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Low G Man]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/low-g-man/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/low-g-man/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 23 Apr 2023 02:50:59 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[KID Corp, NES, 1992

Having your primary attacks be between a stun-only pistol and an up/down stab is a pretty cool setup. There are there’s a surprising amount of cool enemy designs in here, and pretty decent variety in stage design. On the other h…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shadowgate 64]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shadowgate-64/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shadowgate-64/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 22 Apr 2023 15:00:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[TNS Co., Nintendo 64, 1999

A first-person adventure game apparently developed by the studio behind Wachenroeder. Unfortunately super dry compared to the original. Cool atmosphere, nice (if subdued) music, but there are no silly deaths and the puzzl…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shadowgate]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shadowgate/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shadowgate/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 17 Apr 2023 02:23:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[ICOM and Kemco, NES, 1989

Unlike with Deja Vu, I decided to play Kemco’s NES adaptation over the Macintosh original after reading up on major differences. This is a larger and cooler game than Deja Vu, for sure, and while some of the puzzles are gr…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Comix Zone]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/comix-zone/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/comix-zone/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 15 Apr 2023 17:07:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega Technical Institute, Genesis, 1995

This is a wild one. It’s an action platformer where the premise is that you play as a 90’s comic book artist guy that gets sucked up into his own work. The presentation rules, honestly. Everything takes place…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Selection: Erabareshi Mono / The Sword of Hope]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/selection-erabareshi-mono-the-sword-of-hope/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/selection-erabareshi-mono-the-sword-of-hope/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Apr 2023 19:08:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Kemco, Game Boy, 1989

Kemco first adapted Deja Vu in '88, this being a year later. I figured I'd check this out since I liked the idea of an original Game Boy ICOM-style adventure game by Kemco themselves, but unfortunately this is more of a tradit…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Guwange]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/guwange/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/guwange/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 09 Apr 2023 03:48:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 1999

It’s easy to think of Cave as sticking to a very tight set of mechanics and hardly ever deviating but this game stands way out. What a wild take on the genre. The core concept is basically an on-foot top-down STG with the usual C…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Deja Vu: A Nightmare Comes True!!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/deja-vu-a-nightmare-comes-true/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/deja-vu-a-nightmare-comes-true/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 07 Apr 2023 22:19:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[ICOM Simulations, Macintosh, 1985

Really impressive how this uses the Macintosh UI to do a lot of heavy lifting and deliver a very new kind of adventure game only a year after King’s Quest. The black and white art is really distinct and barring a c…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[El Viento]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/el-viento/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/el-viento/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 07 Apr 2023 22:19:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Wolf Team, Megadrive, 1991

This game’s definitely got rough edges, but it also has a really cool presentation, nice cutscene art, excellent music, a pretty unique setting, and honestly some decent action! It’s deeply silly and has a couple weak poi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[EX-RANZA]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/ex-ranza/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/ex-ranza/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 05 Apr 2023 15:14:58 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[GAU Entertainment, Megadrive, 1993. aka Ranger X.

Very cool. This was released about half a year after Valken and isn’t really dissimilar in structure and theme: it’s a side-view mech action-platformer where you have a health meter, every life is a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Mario: Yoshi Island]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/super-mario-yoshi-island/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/super-mario-yoshi-island/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 23 Mar 2023 23:54:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo EAD, Super Famicom, 1995

Gorgeous. Really really nice-looking, lots of cute designs all over the place, great music. The egg throwing is pretty fun, but as the stages sloooowly ramped up I found the flutter jump mechanic and the Mario reco…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Wild Guns]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/wild-guns/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/wild-guns/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 13 Mar 2023 01:15:28 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Natsume, Super Famicom, 1994

An easy entry into the absolute top tier of SFC action games. The theme rules, the art is incredible, the soundtrack is great, all of this stuff is basically perfect. And then you have this clever split between stationa…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Progear No Arashi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/progear-no-arashi/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/progear-no-arashi/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 13 Mar 2023 01:14:59 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade (CPS2), 2001

Very pumped that I got the first loop one credit clear of Progear no Arashi today. This wasn't as hard for me as Ikaruga, but I still found this tricky. Will probably never even see loop 2, lol. Really love this game. The …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[KiKi KaiKai: Nazo no Kuro Manto]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/kiki-kaikai-nazo-no-kuro-manto/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/kiki-kaikai-nazo-no-kuro-manto/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 06 Mar 2023 01:37:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Natsume, Super Famicom, 1992

I spent some time with this, learning to 1cc up to the final stage, and unfortunately I think the game’s kind of annoying. I don’t like the movement-is-aim orientation mechanics, the constant melee swipes against bullet…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[DoDonPachi SaiDaiOuJou Exa Label - Original Mode]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dodonpachi-saidaioujou-exa-label-original-mode/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/dodonpachi-saidaioujou-exa-label-original-mode/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 02 Mar 2023 03:49:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2012

Playing as A-S. I have not 1cc’d this yet. I spent a few months off-and-on chipping away at this and I’ve finally just started seeing stage 5. This really feels like a clear step above the other one-loop Cave games difficulty-wis…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gungrave G.O.R.E.]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/gungrave-gore/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/gungrave-gore/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 26 Feb 2023 07:08:14 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Iggymob, PC, 2022

I like the look of this game a lot. Some real fun designs and animations delivered with a lot of detail and impact. Unfortunately the stages do nothing for me. Just gigantic amounts of little dudes that you blast through, occasion…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Space Channel 5 VR: Kinda Funky News Flash]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/space-channel-5-vr-kinda-funky-news-flash/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/space-channel-5-vr-kinda-funky-news-flash/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 25 Feb 2023 19:08:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Grounding, PC, 2020

What’s here is really good. It’s better than the old games in a lot of ways, but it’s also both shorter and easier. This wouldn’t be a big problem if they included a nice bonus challenge mode, but unfortunately no dice. Still, y…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Leisure Suit Larry goes Looking For Love (In Several Wrong Places)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/leisure-suit-larry-goes-looking-for-love-in-several-wrong-places/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/leisure-suit-larry-goes-looking-for-love-in-several-wrong-places/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 25 Feb 2023 03:06:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sierra On-Line, DOS, 1988

Big step down from the first one. The visuals are more detailed but less appealing, the world is bigger but more confusing, and the puzzles are some of the cruelest and softlock-iest I’ve seen in an adventure game. Kinda h…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-beast-within-a-gabriel-knight-mystery/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-beast-within-a-gabriel-knight-mystery/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 24 Feb 2023 03:06:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sierra, PC, 1995

Decided to play something chill like this while I was out with a nasty infection.

Compared to Phantasmagoria, this feels like a much more complete attempt at FMV-ifying Sierra’s traditional point and click setup. The sprites still…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Returnal]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/returnal/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/returnal/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 24 Feb 2023 03:06:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Housemarque, Playstation 5 and PC, 2021

This is a great time. Housemarque has adapted their chaotic twin-stick shooting action into a gorgeous and cutting-edge third-person shooter, deftly bringing along the lessons they’ve learned through the year…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[King's Quest]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/kings-quest/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/kings-quest/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 24 Feb 2023 02:26:19 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sierra On-Line, IBM PC, 1984

Not as breezy or as purposeful with its environments as Leisure Suit Larry, but it’s very obviously a groundbreaking release for its time. Like with LSL I was surprised at how kind the parser is, and the game has some m…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/leisure-suit-larry-in-the-land-of-the-lounge-lizards/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/leisure-suit-larry-in-the-land-of-the-lounge-lizards/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 24 Feb 2023 02:26:09 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sierra On-Line, DOS, 1987

I’ve been meaning to play through more old Sierra stuff for a while now. I grew up on LucasArts, and Sierra’s adventure games have mostly been a blind spot for me barring the first Gabriel Knight. King’s Quest seemed a lit…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Space Quest: Chapter I - The Sarien Encounter]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/space-quest-chapter-i-the-sarien-encounter/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/space-quest-chapter-i-the-sarien-encounter/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 19 Feb 2023 05:59:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sierra On-Line, DOS, 1986

Relative to the other Sierra series first entries I’ve played this year, this released between King’s Quest and Leisure Suit Larry. The theme here is really fun. There’s a nice variety to the settings that make it feel lik…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The GG Shinobi II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-gg-shinobi-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/the-gg-shinobi-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 08 Feb 2023 00:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Game Gear, 1992

I liked this more than the first one. The structure is similar but the main change is that in each of the four selectable stages you’ll have to beat their boss to unlock the Shinobi (with unique abilities) and then you’ll also…]]></description>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shining Force: The Legacy of Great Intention]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shining-force-the-legacy-of-great-intention/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2023/shining-force-the-legacy-of-great-intention/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 29 Jan 2023 20:24:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Climax Entertainment and Sonic Co., Mega Drive, 1992

I haven’t played many SRPGs so I figured I’d play through this for the Sega factor. From what little I know about the genre, the unique part of Shining Force seems to be that you have town segmen…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Wishbringer]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/wishbringer/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/wishbringer/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 25 Dec 2022 02:22:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Infocom, various PC platforms, 1985

Directed by Brian Moriarty (Loom, etc). Infocom themselves describes this as “introductory level” right on the box. Wishbringer basically does away with all of the stuff I disliked about Zork I. The world is much…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Jet Island]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/jet-island/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/jet-island/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 25 Dec 2022 02:13:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Master Indie, PC, 2018

This is a neat proof of concept where you Tribes-ski around an impossibly big island, make your way to the core of colossal moving robots, and blow 'em up. There isn't much to it outside of the movement and it's VERY motion-u…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Room VR]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/the-room-vr/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/the-room-vr/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 25 Dec 2022 02:13:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Fireproof Studios, PC, 2020

Really good VR adaptation and the tech fits so well. There aren’t any huge swerves from the flat-screen games, but there are plenty of standout puzzles and everything is paced well. Probably the best of the series.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bomberman 64]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bomberman-64/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bomberman-64/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 18 Dec 2022 00:25:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nice little campaign with some legit fun bosses and stages. There are some weird difficulty spikes, and the performance combined with the camera can get a little maddening, but it's a solid game overall.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[D no Shokutaku 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/d-no-shokutaku-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/d-no-shokutaku-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 16 Dec 2022 19:20:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[WARP, Dreamcast, 1999

This is WARP’s most fleshed-out game for sure. Taking place in snowy Canadian fields after a plane crash, the pre-rendered FMV has finally been relegated to occasional cutscenes and the adventure game scenes from the prior two…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shock Troopers]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/shock-troopers/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/shock-troopers/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:34:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Saurus, Arcade, 1997

Sick game. A surprisingly long one (wanna say my clear was like, idk, 30 minutes? 35?) but there's a lot of cool route selection stuff with a lot of clever re-use in design. Rolling through bullets to melee a dude is very satis…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Air Gallet]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/air-gallet/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/air-gallet/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:32:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Gazelle, Arcade, 1996

Cool game but a little uncanny, which makes sense given the Cave-sibling development history. Ship's just a little slow, hitbox maybe just a little big? Zako are mean as hell. First boss is overtuned. etc.

…but it's so sick v…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hishouzame]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/hishouzame/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/hishouzame/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:31:46 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Toaplan, Arcade, 1987

Wonderful game. I can see why this was such a monumental release, and it feels like it really paved the way for Raiden. There's a nice arc to learning how to lead all those fast bullets around, the bombs have a tricky delay th…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mahou Daisakusen]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/mahou-daisakusen/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/mahou-daisakusen/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:29:33 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Raizing, Arcade, 1993

I’ve loved this game ever since digging into it with the M2 release back in 2017. It’s not as relentlessly paced as a Cave game, but this gives it time to build out such a flavorful world for the genre’s standards. Each stage …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sin and Punishment]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sin-and-punishment/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sin-and-punishment/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:19:58 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Nintendo 64, 2000

This rules. I'm realizing that Cabal-style shooters and "forward-scrolling" shooters are largely the same thing, and this has to be near the top of that broader genre. I love the slight genre-bending parts, too, and ever…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Halo Infinite (Campaign)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/halo-infinite-campaign/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/halo-infinite-campaign/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:15:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[343i, PC, 2021

Played on Heroic.

Like in so many free-roaming games, there's a novelty to the world map that lasts for just an early portion of the campaign's length. In Infinite here, this map is full of little side battles. Since Halo has such a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Devil Daggers]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/devil-daggers/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/devil-daggers/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:11:17 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sorath, PC, 2016  

Devil Daggers has always seemed like a really good ultradense arcade-style game, but I've finally dug into it a little more. Once I learned that the gems can be absorbed by not firing and that you upgrade your firepower by collec…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Zork I]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/zork-i/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/zork-i/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 06:14:19 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Infocom, TRS-80, 1980

It’s easy to see why this was a big deal 40+ years ago. The map is big, the puzzles can be clever, there’s a nice sense of humor, and the interpreter is surprisingly smart. I got a kick out of how the combat was based on some …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hydlide]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/hydlide/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/hydlide/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:54:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[T&E Soft, PC-8800, 1984

A brief game full of grinding and designed around quicksaves. It's a hurdle to get into, of course, but I can certainly see why it'd be monumental in 1984. It's a cute adventure once you adjust, and it’s pretty staggering to…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ikari no Yousai (1993)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikari-no-yousai-1993/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikari-no-yousai-1993/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:52:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jaleco, Super Famicom, 1993

Thankfully, this is the best game in the trilogy. I have some nitpicks here (unskippable cutscenes and it's still slightly too mazey), but this is a great Valken-paced limited-continue action game with a really cool them…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Final Fantasy VII Remake]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/final-fantasy-vii-remake/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/final-fantasy-vii-remake/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:51:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Square Enix, Playstation 4, 2020

Enjoyed this. The main quest isn't overlong, the game is ridiculously gorgeous, and I really like what they did with the story. The combat is pretty brisk and flashy and fun, and really shines during some of the bos…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Natsuki Chronicles]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/natsuki-chronicles/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/natsuki-chronicles/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Qute, Xbox One, 2019

Really interesting setup here. The Story mode is genuinely pretty cool, giving you a pool of three lives per level that increases the more you have to retry the stage, and you upgrade weapons using credits earned throughout all…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Adventure of Little Ralph]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-adventure-of-little-ralph/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-adventure-of-little-ralph/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[New Corporation, Playstation, 1999

Fucking masterpiece.

Great visuals, tons of cool scenarios, incredibly good boss fights, and the fighting game genre twist is great. There are some tonal oddities that I don't like, but not enough of them to be a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ys III - Wanderers From Ys (PC-88)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ys-iii-wanderers-from-ys-pc-88/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ys-iii-wanderers-from-ys-pc-88/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nihon Falcom, PC-88, 1989

Played on Hard. The visuals, monster design, tight pacing, and excellent music are completely undeniable. The difficulty curve is also pretty tight considering the XP system, and while the bosses aren't particularly hard y…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Blazing Star]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/blazing-star/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/blazing-star/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:16 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Yumekobo, Arcade, 1998

This game fuckin rules. The CG sprites are certainly rough (which is excusable for 1998), but the scenes portrayed manage to be thrilling and unique nonetheless, and the fantastic soundtrack drives them perfectly as it hops b…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-great-ace-attorney-adventures/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-great-ace-attorney-adventures/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, 3DS, 2015

Been years since I've played one of these. It's really incredible how they handled the transition to 3D (like in AA...5?) and the new cast and setting were desperately needed. Tons of charming animations and a well-designed cast. …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Nikujin]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/nikujin/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/nikujin/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:06 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ikiki, PC, 2005

Brutal ninja platformer with a lot of wall running and occasional stealth elements. The movement and camera can get kind of erratic at times and you have to learn to not freak out during certain directional changes, but there's so m…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Daioh]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/daioh/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/daioh/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:50:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Very weird, but overall great. The game uses checkpoints, but it's kind with them by usually pushing you ahead of where you died and it actually eschews the checkpoints during boss fights. There's rank and a bit of rank management, but nothing too c…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Esp RaDe]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/esp-rade/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/esp-rade/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 1998

This is undoubtedly a great game, but upon revisiting and playing enough to get a clear, I think it's my least favorite mainline Cave game. Since I've already talked about the game's strengths, this is what I don't like:

* The f…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The House in Fata Morgana]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-house-in-fata-morgana/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-house-in-fata-morgana/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:46 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Novectacle, PC, 2012

This was incredible. A massive, massive story about lives tied to a mansion over centuries. I can't imagine the process of writing this or of localizing it. It's incredibly detailed, empathetic, sometimes heartbreaking, sometim…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sengoku Ace]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/sengoku-ace/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/sengoku-ace/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:45 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Psikyo, Arcade, 1993…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Espgaluda]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/espgaluda/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/espgaluda/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Cave, Arcade, 2003

You know how it is. It's a masterpiece. The final boss FINALLY clicked for me. There's so much to say about this game but it's late.

My favorite video game?…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bionic Commando (Game Boy)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bionic-commando-game-boy/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bionic-commando-game-boy/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Minakuchi Engineering, Game Boy, 1992  

Very much like the Ninja Ryukenden Game Boy game in the sense that it's very original, a bit shorter, and shockingly polished. A really good time, and the ending stretch is probably harder than the Famicom ga…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Darius II]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/darius-ii/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/darius-ii/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:05 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1989

Beaten on "A" Difficulty ("Easy" on Switch collection).

This is a fascinating game. The move from three screens to two ultimately helps the pacing, cutting down on a lot of dead air at the expense of some novelty. A good decisi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Giga Wing]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/giga-wing/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/giga-wing/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:49:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Takumi and Capcom, Arcade, 1999

I loved this. This is the first Takumi game I've put time into, and the reflect mechanic is a blast. Just incredibly satisfying to get the barrier up, cut into a huge mass of bullets, and slam them back onto the enem…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Disco Elysium: The Final Cut]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/disco-elysium-the-final-cut/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/disco-elysium-the-final-cut/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:48:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[ZA/UM, PC, 2019

Incredibly unique game. It's mostly a very engaging and darkly funny detective story, packed with character progression and skill checks in a way that makes perfect sense in a tabletop setting but that you see rarely in a video game…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Actraiser 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/actraiser-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/actraiser-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:48:32 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Quintet and Ancient, Super Famicom, 1993

Really cool game. It's brutal, and there are unfortunately a couple lame segments that drag it down a little (a few mazes and some really questionable late fights), but the various jump mechanics are really …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ninja Five-O]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ninja-five-o/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ninja-five-o/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:48:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Game Boy Advance, 2003  
aka Ninja Cop

Sick, maddening, methodical game. Fun to learn the grapple controls. Very tight HP. Stages are slightly mazy but never too bad. Awesome bosses, amazing pixel art.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ankoku Densetsu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ankoku-densetsu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ankoku-densetsu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:47:52 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[RED, PC Engine, 1990  
aka The Legendary Axe II

A follow-up to Makyou Densetsu by a different team. Love the dark atmosphere of this game, love the boss designs. The core mechanics are pretty fun: you lose the satisfying axe charge attacks, but the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Perfect Dark Zero]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/perfect-dark-zero/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/perfect-dark-zero/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:47:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Rare, Xbox 360, 2005

This one's a jarring one to play in 2021. The style is hilarious (nu-metal Bond theme, everyone's clothing, the UI), it's kinda repugnant in terms of character design ("Mai Hem" are you kidding me), and the environments sincere…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ninja Ryukenden (Game Boy)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ninja-ryukenden-game-boy/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ninja-ryukenden-game-boy/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:47:16 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Natsume, Game Boy, 1991  
aka Ninja Gaiden

Very well-made action-platformer by Natsume, completely distinct from the arcade or Famicom games. This one plays more like Shatterhand, with Ryu moving at a slower pace to better fit the Game Boy's resolu…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sakura Wars]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sakura-wars/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sakura-wars/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:46:57 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[RED and Sega, Saturn, 1996

Played the fan translation. The combination of VN and tactics was pretty fun and novel, as was the 90s anime presentation. I appreciated how the fixed-length episodic structure of the game allowed for decently unique tact…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6376d40807cb4100e7f6cf86/attachments/637d03112988dd01a9efdfc3/previews/637d03122988dd01a9efdfd0/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Atomic Runner Chelnov]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/atomic-runner-chelnov/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/atomic-runner-chelnov/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:46:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Data East, Arcade, 1988

This is such a neat game despite the roughness. The core forced-scrolling mechanics are super unique, fun to learn, and thoroughly explored. I particularly like the way that bouncing off of enemy heads works and is tied into…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Contra (Famicom)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/contra-famicom/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/contra-famicom/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:46:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Famicom, 1988  
aka Probotector

Been playing this lately and cleared the Famicom version today. Pretty clearly better than the arcade game of course, especially if you're playing the Famicom version with the extra BG animation. Has similar …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Xanadu Next]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/xanadu-next/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/xanadu-next/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:46:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nihon Falcom, Windows, 2005

An uneven game with a nice atmosphere. It feels very much like if one of the less-focused Ys games were built around mouse controls. It's generally enjoyable to run through the pretty environments, mow through monsters, …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/lands-of-lore-the-throne-of-chaos/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/lands-of-lore-the-throne-of-chaos/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:44:55 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Westwood Studios, MS-DOS, 1993

Excellent atmosphere and pixel art. Really friendly to get into. The mechanics, expectedly, don't hold up as you get into silly square-based dances and rapid equipment swapping, but I bet that's common for the genre.
…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Virtual Hydlide]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/virtual-hydlide/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/virtual-hydlide/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:44:47 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[T&E Soft, Saturn, 1995

a mess. 

The main programmer on this apparently worked on a bunch of golf games and I think that makes complete sense. There are a lot of ambitious things about this game: the environments are surprisingly detailed (even if …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ikaruga]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikaruga/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikaruga/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:42:15 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Arcade, 2001

I played some of Ikaruga in 2002. I bought it since it was a really cool-looking sendoff for the Dreamcast but didn't spend much time with it. I played some of the XBLA release in 2008 after falling in love with the idea of c…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/metal-gear-2-solid-snake/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/metal-gear-2-solid-snake/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:42:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, MSX2, 1991  

Really incredible. I heard going in that there was a lot of overlap between this and Metal Gear Solid and that's true (as it is with the first Metal Gear), but less so than I expected. Obviously the core mechanics are distinct …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/5fa2d001efeb8f4fdebedde5/attachments/631e67482e233b0018a9ea5e/previews/631e67492e233b0018a9ea69/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sin & Punishment: Star Successor]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sin-and-punishment-star-successor/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/sin-and-punishment-star-successor/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:41:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Wii, 2009

Still rules, and stands out from the original more than I remember. This one is about twice as long, and the result feels a bit closer to a game like Bayonetta than something arcade-ish. The IR aiming and near-constant flying al…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4871c77e840188350238/attachments/631a4af50629c000771ff1b0/previews/631a4af60629c000771ff251/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Mischief Makers]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/mischief-makers/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/mischief-makers/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:41:11 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[This was pretty good. At it's core this is a 2D action-platformer about dashing all over the place, grabbing things, shaking things, and throwing things. Structurally it's a big series of 2-5 minute levels, and it very much feels like stage designer…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Radiant Silvergun]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/radiant-silvergun/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/radiant-silvergun/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:41:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Saturn, 1998

It's beautiful, I love the boss design, the player weapons are cool, and it's probably a top 3 in terms of presentation. The long runtime and arcane process of finding how much chaining I need for my ship to be viable, tho, k…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Alien Soldier]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/alien-soldier/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/alien-soldier/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:40:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Mega Drive, 1995

Alien Soldier is the real star of their MD lineup. 

I haven't beaten this yet (playing on its default "SUPERHARD" difficulty) but judging by the first half this is a masterpiece. Like in Gunstar there are a ton of things…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shenzhen I/O]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/shenzhen-io/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/shenzhen-io/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:40:19 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Zachtronics, PC, 2016

This game rules, but like so many Zachtronics games it's so dense. I hit a solid breaking point in the story (Avalon City), so I figured I'd shelve it for now.

The programming isn't too removed from TIS-100, but it does have …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Prop Cycle]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/prop-cycle/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/prop-cycle/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:39:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Namco, Arcade, 1996

What a beautiful game. Structured like a more elegant arcade take on Pilot Wings, but set in a clearly Ghibli-inspired world and with perfectly-tuned controls. Tough to learn but with a fun degree of freedom to find your route. …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Outer Wilds]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/outer-wilds/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/outer-wilds/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:37:58 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Mobius Digital, PC, 2019

Incredible. Really, really floored by this. Outer Wilds is crudely a first-person adventure game. It gives you an elegant set of actions and a space explorer's toolkit and tasks you with solving a complex mystery spread thr…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Makyou Densetsu - The Legendary Axe]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/makyou-densetsu-the-legendary-axe/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/makyou-densetsu-the-legendary-axe/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:37:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Victor Musical Industries, PC Engine, 1989  
aka The Legendary Axe

This game is fantastic, gotta be one of the best home action-platformers of its time. The axe charge up system is satisfying, and when you hit the second half of the game and start …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tomb Raider]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/tomb-raider/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/tomb-raider/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:37:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[CORE Design, Playstation, 1996

Played the PS1 version. Obviously the game was a big deal at the time due to its presentation and perspective, but its specific approach to 3D Prince of Persia style platforming is still pretty novel. It's a lot of fu…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Darius]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/darius/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/darius/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:37:28 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1987

Arcade, beat New Version but played a lot of Extra Version.

What a cool game. The big unique elements are, of course, the three-screen 4:1 aspect ratio and the massive 28-stage map. The aspect ratio certainly makes for a unique…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Steel Battalion]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/steel-battalion/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/steel-battalion/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:37:22 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom and Nude Maker, Xbox, 2002  
aka Tekki

Steel Battalion's controller is ridiculous, as everyone knows, and it's worth a quick rundown. The left-hand panel of the three-panel controller has a throttle for changing gear and a one-axis stick for…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Enemy Zero]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/enemy-zero/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/enemy-zero/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 03:35:02 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[WARP, Saturn, 1996

It’s crazy to me that this was only about a year and a half after D no Shokutaku. Aside from being set in space, the major differences between this and D are that it drops the time limit and adds surprisingly pretty polygonal fir…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[D no Shokutaku]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/d-no-shokutaku/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/d-no-shokutaku/</guid>
            <pubDate>Mon, 12 Dec 2022 01:56:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[WARP, 3DO, 1995

A first-person adventure game with a pretty strong atmosphere, rigid-but-serviceable CG, and unbearably slow movement. Would have been way better if it were more static images like Myst. The two-hour time limit and lack of saving ar…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bujingai - The Forsaken City]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bujingai-the-forsaken-city/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bujingai-the-forsaken-city/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 22 Nov 2022 20:39:47 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[RED, Playstation 2, 2003

A surprisingly polished 3D action game by RED. It’s better than I remember Gungrave being. The animation is nice, the combo system is basic but fun to noodle around with, and there are some goofy movement options to mess wi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rastan Saga]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rastan-saga/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rastan-saga/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 04 Nov 2022 04:57:20 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1988

Very cool game with a fairly unique Japanese take on a barbarian theme. Plenty of jank, but the enemies and equipment are well thought-out and there are a surprising amount of different approaches you have to take with the traps…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Vermilion]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/vermilion/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/vermilion/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 21 Oct 2022 23:13:24 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega AM2, Mega Drive, 1989  
aka Sword of Vermilion

This game left a strong impression on me as a kid because of that cold initial town music. Revisiting it and putting a few hours into it I think it's pretty neat, but just a little too slow-paced …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631eae992f55d2033d7925c3/attachments/631eaea26dffef002f90027c/previews/631eaea26dffef002f900288/download/48210_front.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Chase the Express]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/chase-the-express/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/chase-the-express/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 19 Oct 2022 02:10:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sugar & Rockets, Playstation, 2000
a.k.a. Covert Ops: Nuclear Dawn

Very cool Biohazard-style game that takes place on a train. There's a shift in focus from puzzles to combat, but it's not too huge of one despite what the roll buttons suggest. Inst…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Yami no Shigotonin Kage]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/yami-no-shigotonin-kage/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/yami-no-shigotonin-kage/</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 12 Oct 2022 20:35:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Natsume, Famicom, 1990

This is no Shatterhand, but you can tell they're on their way. It's got a super well-executed dark visual style like Batman or Gun-Dec and a similarly pumping soundtrack. There's a strict five-lives limit, and because of that…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Brightis]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/brightis/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/brightis/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 11 Oct 2022 01:31:01 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Quintet, Playstation, 1999

Shockingly modern 1999 PS1 game with a big polygonal world and complex (though not meaningfully so) combat. I had to shelve it like 2/3rds through (a little under 10 hours in) because the dungeons were getting a little to…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bionic Commando (2009)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bionic-commando-2009/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bionic-commando-2009/</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 27 Sep 2022 02:06:28 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Grin, Xbox 360, 2009 

Better than it has any right to be, frankly. There are some annoyances, like a lack of feedback and kind of a slow start. But once you unlock some abilities and make it to some of the cooler areas swinging around and throwing …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/62cef51b45eb746dfea41676/attachments/63325a9f36be4c022e2a5537/previews/63325aa036be4c022e2a5540/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Prodeus]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/prodeus/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/prodeus/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 24 Sep 2022 02:56:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[The core mechanics here feel pretty good and I think the visuals are a technically unique take on Doom 2016, but unfortunately the structure is kind of mess. Regardless of the difficulty, you get infinite respawns at a checkpoint without any rollbac…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/632e24f2d663fe00521f55e4/attachments/632e71f2417529014fbc40b0/previews/632e71f3417529014fbc40bd/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Crash Bandicoot]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/crash-bandicoot/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/crash-bandicoot/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 17 Sep 2022 23:07:53 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Naughty Dog, Playstation, 1996  

Never fully played through this until now. I've always wanted this to be good, because I like the fundamental idea of a linear 3D platformer and felt it never got explored much in the 90s. I think this does a pretty…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Shin-chan: Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation - The Endless Seven-Day Journey]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/shin-chan-me-and-the-professor-on-summer-vacation-the-endless-seven-day-journey/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/shin-chan-me-and-the-professor-on-summer-vacation-the-endless-seven-day-journey/</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 16 Sep 2022 18:03:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Millennium Kitchen, Switch, 2021  
aka Crayon Shin-chan: Ora to Hakase no Natsuyasumi - Owaranai Nanokakan no Tabi

This is the lowest-stakes game I've played in years. Very chill and idyllic fixed-camera game with particularly gorgeous backgrounds.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/6314e20d4d77c301b9c0d512/attachments/6323b93a25dab002dbaff4b0/previews/6323b93b25dab002dbaff4bc/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/warhammer-40000-space-marine/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/warhammer-40000-space-marine/</guid>
            <pubDate>Sun, 11 Sep 2022 22:55:46 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Relic Entertainment, Windows, 2011

Pretty good third person action game that takes a lot from Gears but omits the cover system and marries the shooting with Musou-style slashing. This isn't quite Gears 1 level, but it's a tight and well-paced campa…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a487fc77e8401883553f6/attachments/631e676d405cd7001712d9ff/previews/631e676e405cd7001712da07/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Stretch Panic (PS2)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/stretch-panic-ps2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/stretch-panic-ps2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 20:08:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Playstation 2, 2001  
aka Hippa Linda, Freak Out

Defeated but did not exorcise every boss.

This is a slick-looking game with a lot of nice technical tricks in it, and it's surprisingly competent for a first-go at a third-person 3D game i…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4874c77e840188351237/attachments/631a4ba14df03a02d919af12/previews/631a4ba24df03a02d919af1b/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gunstar Super Heroes]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/gunstar-super-heroes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/gunstar-super-heroes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Game Boy Advance, 2005

Like with AGH, this is better than the original. The stages feel like they're more mindfully built around the character's moves, the pixel art is nicer, the weapons seem more balanced, and enemies aren't just though…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Advance Guardian Heroes]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/advance-guardian-heroes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/advance-guardian-heroes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Game Boy Advance, 2004

Liked this better than the Saturn game for sure. Ditching the invincible AI partner, losing the 3-plane system, making block require a meter, and adding a fun parry are all big improvements. Battles are generally mo…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4871c77e8401883502af/attachments/631a4872c77e840188350f42/previews/631a4872c77e840188350f49/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Astro Boy: Omega Factor]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/astro-boy-omega-factor/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/astro-boy-omega-factor/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Game Boy Advance, 2003

NA version. Definitely got the wrong impression of this back in the day. This is pretty good!  It takes the basic core side-view melee combat from Tiny Toons but refines it a whole lot and gives you an awful lot of …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4871c77e8401883502ec/attachments/631a4873c77e840188350f5d/previews/631a4873c77e840188350f64/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Hajime No Ippo: The Fighting!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/hajime-no-ippo-the-fighting/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/hajime-no-ippo-the-fighting/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Game Boy Advance, 2002

Very cool take on Punch-Out. Extremely good spritework and some cool mechanics twists (even if it's not as elegant or pattern-based).…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4874c77e840188351151/attachments/631a4875c77e840188351c71/previews/631a4875c77e840188351c78/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster's Bad Dream]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/tiny-toon-adventures-busters-bad-dream/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/tiny-toon-adventures-busters-bad-dream/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Game Boy Advance, 2002

This is kind of neat. There's a very satisfying set of core mechanics here: it's single-plane 2D, but you have a handful of simple combos and attacks and enemies easily get knocked into each other and cluster up on …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Silpheed: The Lost Planet]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/silpheed-the-lost-planet/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/silpheed-the-lost-planet/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Playstation 2, 2000

This is actually pretty good as far as console paced shooters go, I think. It's too slow and long to want to 1cc, but retrying the late chapters was fun. Nice graphics and some interesting boss designs.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4874c77e840188351247/attachments/631a4875c77e840188351f3e/previews/631a4875c77e840188351f44/download/Silpheed-_The_Lost_Planet_Japanese_Cover.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bakuretsu Muteki Bangaioh (N64)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bakuretsu-muteki-bangaioh-n64/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/bakuretsu-muteki-bangaioh-n64/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Nintendo 64, 2000

Liked it. It's very much like Mischief Makers in terms of structure and pacing, but with less standout cool moments unfortunately. On the other hand, the core mechanics are more fun to me with the constant system-halting…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4877c77e8401883521f3/attachments/631a4878c77e840188352e72/previews/631a4878c77e840188352e78/download/Bangai-ON64Box.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rakugaki Showtime]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rakugaki-showtime/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rakugaki-showtime/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Playstation, 1999

Cute visuals, fun movement with a lot of homing dash stuff, fun item throwing and parrying. Real neat, and a big departure from their previous two party fighters.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4877c77e84018835220f/attachments/631a4878c77e840188352ecb/previews/631a4878c77e840188352ed2/download/Rakugaki_Showtime_cover.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Golden Axe: Beast Rider]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/golden-axe-beast-rider/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/golden-axe-beast-rider/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Xbox 360, 2008

This isn't a good game, but it's better than its reputation suggests. The presentation is hilarious, very edgy and embarrassing for 2008. Animation blending is jacked up all over the place. But the core combat is kinda fun, lar…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Silhouette Mirage]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/silhouette-mirage/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/silhouette-mirage/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Saturn, 1997

This has a lot of cool and creative stuff in it. Some genuinely funny boss fights, some clever little strategies to find. It's a got a huge core move set and the presentation reminds me of a better and more pixel art focused …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4877c77e84018835229c/attachments/631a4878c77e840188352fe7/previews/631a4878c77e840188352fee/download/SilhouetteMirage_Saturn_JP_Box_Front.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Guardian Heroes]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/guardian-heroes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/guardian-heroes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Saturn, 1996

I should trust my 2010 tastes more often. The multiplayer arena mode here seems neat enough in the same way that the Yu Yu Hakusho game is, and it's probably a good successor on that front. As a single-player beat 'em up, tho…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Yu Yu Hakusho - Maikyo Toitsusen]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/yu-yu-hakusho-maikyo-toitsusen/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/yu-yu-hakusho-maikyo-toitsusen/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Mega Drive, 1994

This one is pretty cool. I'm sure it's busted competitively but the presentation is great and it's very ambitious. Was probably pretty mind-blowing in 1994 with a multi-tap.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a487ac77e84018835326f/attachments/631a487bc77e840188353e9d/previews/631a487bc77e840188353ea3/download/Makyou_Toitsusen_cover.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dynamite Headdy]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/dynamite-headdy/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/dynamite-headdy/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Mega Drive, 1994

Dynamite Headdy is a deeply annoying showcase of great pixel art and technical tricks. It's a million confusing gimmicks strung together. It's somehow a 1994 2D action platformer with too many cutscenes. I do not like thi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[McDonald's Treasure Land Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/mcdonalds-treasure-land-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/mcdonalds-treasure-land-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Mega Drive, 1993

would you believe that this is a very competent but also very unexciting action platformer? Pay those bills.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gunstar Heroes]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/gunstar-heroes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/gunstar-heroes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Mega Drive, 1993

I've always seen this as a pretty mid treasure game compared to Alien Soldier. Let's see where it lands.

Ok.

Played through Gunstar Heroes today. I had played scattered stages growing up but this was the first honest pl…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Eye of the Temple]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/eye-of-the-temple/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/eye-of-the-temple/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Rune Skovbo Johansen, PC, 2021

This is an interesting one. It's a room-scale VR game in the 2016 sense of the word, where you actually need 2x2m to play it. Room scale has largely fallen out of favor, and this game is a shining example why: the adm…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Her Story]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/her-story/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/her-story/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sam Barlow, PC, 2015

Clever, novel, well-acted.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ninja-gaiden-3-razors-edge/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ninja-gaiden-3-razors-edge/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Team Ninja, PC, 2012

I remember really hating vanilla NG3. Just a massive disappointment. This revision of the game never repulsed me quite like the original did, and ultimately I think it's worth playing through on Normal mode, but unlike masterpi…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Prey (2006)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/prey-2006/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/prey-2006/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Human Head Studios, PC, 2006

Better puzzles than I expected, but the action is as bad as I feared. It's an already short game, but it'd do better with a Portal-style pace. Lots of dumb mid-2000s edgy shit, too, especially the ghost girls.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Floating Runner]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/floating-runner/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/floating-runner/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Xing Entertainment, Playstation, 1996

Unfortunate. Being a pre Mario64 3D platformer I expected jank, and it is. The core of the game is tank control movement, high jumping, and a very short-range gun to shoot enemies with. There are lots of cute d…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4882c77e840188356595/attachments/631a4884c77e840188357477/previews/631a4884c77e84018835747d/download/s-l400.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Death's Door]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/deaths-door/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/deaths-door/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Acid Nerve, PC, 2021

A surprisingly restrained game that uses some bare dodge-roll-slash combat. The dungeons aren't thrilling to explore, but they don't overstay their welcome and the bosses are pretty fun throughout. Definitely better than Titan …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Way of the Samurai]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/way-of-the-samurai/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/way-of-the-samurai/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Acquire, Playstation 2, 2002

Super novel structure, and it gets a lot of credit for having such a cool branching story, but unfortunately I can't enjoy the combat enough to tolerate the lack of skippable dialog bubbles.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Miracle Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/miracle-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/miracle-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Data East, Arcade, 1993  
aka Spinmaster

Pretty mid action-platformer. It's generally well constructed, with clean art and nice music, but the on-rails sections are boring if you aren't playing for score and there's very little to it all.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Special Criminal Investigation]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/special-criminal-investigation/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/special-criminal-investigation/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Taito, Arcade, 1989

Neat little Outrun/ChaseHQ style game. It's a pretty forgiving one overall, as the timer isn't very harsh and it won't take that many attempts to learn the stage tricks, but the chaining passes is neat and I like the precision-a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tenchu: Stealth Assassins]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/tenchu-stealth-assassins/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/tenchu-stealth-assassins/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Acquire, Playstation, 1998

Cool game to finally beat. It's obviously clunky in a lot of ways (especially compared to Metal Gear Solid), but the melee combat is surprisingly good for the context imo. The stages have a very Tomb Raider style 3D grid …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dust: A Tale of the Wired West]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/dust-a-tale-of-the-wired-west/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/dust-a-tale-of-the-wired-west/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[CyberFlix, Windows 3.1, 1995 

I have some childhood memories of clicking around in this game and getting nowhere, and something made me want to revisit this recently. Getting Windows 3.1 running these days can be a pain.

This is a first-person adv…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Phantasy Star (Switch Sega Ages)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/phantasy-star-switch-sega-ages/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/phantasy-star-switch-sega-ages/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[M2 and Sega, Switch, 2018

Very cool theme. Nice art, nice music, nice three-planet setup. The dungeons are amazing technologically but managed to wear on me even with the map.

In no universe would I have ever beaten this without a guide. Even this…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4885c77e8401883577d6/attachments/631a4887c77e840188358707/previews/631a4887c77e84018835870d/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[X]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/x/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/x/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo and Argonaut Software, Game Boy, 1992

Super impressive tech showpiece for the Game Boy, and obviously reminiscent of Star Fox in some ways, but the structure is pretty unique. 

There's one general map that gets re-used across the games' t…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4889c77e84018835895e/attachments/631a488ac77e8401883597b0/previews/631a488ac77e8401883597b6/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Trespasser]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/trespasser/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/trespasser/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:35 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Dreamworks Interactive, PC, 1998

Of course it's bad. I can admire the attempt to change up how guns are fired in first person, but this sort of independent arm motion won't wind up feeling natural until VR.

I'd actually say that this early phase o…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dracula Densetsu]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/dracula-densetsu/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/dracula-densetsu/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Game Boy, 1989  
aka Castlevania: The Adventure

Lots of baffling shit in this game. From a tech perspective it seems to NEVER run at full speed. There's a ridiculous amount of screen tearing for a fixed-hardware game, too. 

There are a few…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4889c77e840188358a30/attachments/631a488ac77e8401883599c3/previews/631a488ac77e8401883599c9/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/super-mario-land-2-6-golden-coins/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/super-mario-land-2-6-golden-coins/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo, Game Boy, 1992

Big step up from the first, obviously. Everything's nicer visually and the basic mechanics feel closer to the Famicom games (though not quite there). The way that you have to fight bosses again when you get a game over is p…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a4889c77e840188358ac2/attachments/631a488bc77e840188359a38/previews/631a488bc77e840188359a3f/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Rygar (NES)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rygar-nes/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/rygar-nes/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Tecmo, Famicom, 1987

There's something cool about the theme and the journey and some of the backgrounds here, but for the most part the action in this game is a mess. The bosses are a joke, the enemies have no thought to them, and two of the three …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a488cc77e840188359d72/attachments/631a488dc77e84018835a0b2/previews/631a488dc77e84018835a0b9/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Monster Hunter Rise]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/monster-hunter-rise/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/monster-hunter-rise/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, PC, 2021

I don't know about the monster selection and post-game stuff just yet, but I AM loving the new maneuverability stuff and the new monster in-fighting mechanics. The village quests did go by pretty fast.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a486ec77e84018834f363/attachments/631a4870c77e84018834ffb1/previews/631a4870c77e84018834ffb7/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Inscryption]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/inscryption/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/inscryption/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Daniel Mullins Games, PC, 2021

Starts very strong. Builds up a good permadeath card game loop with a unique aesthetic, a lot of mystery, and some really neat core mechanics.

Once you beat this and realize this is just the first act, however, you'l…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Great Ace Attorney 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/the-great-ace-attorney-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/the-great-ace-attorney-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Switch, 2017

It's more of the same, but the structure was a little different in this one. It's a clear two-game story arc and the payoff was good, even if the cases felt a bit uneven.

These two games are as good as the original trilogy, I …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631a486ec77e84018834f358/attachments/631a4870c77e84018834ff73/previews/631a4870c77e84018834ff7a/download/latest.jpeg.jpg" length="0" type="image/jpg"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ikari no Yousai 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikari-no-yousai-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikari-no-yousai-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jaleco, Game Boy, 1992

This game improves on the action of the original in nearly every way. The healing item distribution is way more deliberate and character revivals are gone, making things tenser, and both characters can switch between three si…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ikari no Yousai (1991)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikari-no-yousai-1991/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2022/ikari-no-yousai-1991/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:56:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jaleco, Game Boy, 1991

Cool little room-by-room top-down action game. Slow movement like Gain Ground or something and a neat separation of character abilities. The combat isn't thrilling and usually boils down to decent positioning, but it doesn't …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Trip World]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/trip-world/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/trip-world/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 05:02:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sunsoft, Game Boy, 1992

An extremely cute game, but it's a strange platformer with very little threat and a lot of NPCs that kinda just push you around and don't damage you. The boss fights stand out like a sore thumb. Not a great game, but very ac…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631967fb0b3d6c020e89c23a/attachments/63197741af4a18018f2d61fe/previews/63197742af4a18018f2d6296/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Super Mario Land]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/super-mario-land/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/super-mario-land/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 05:01:28 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo, Game Boy, 1989

Very brief, and the mechanics don't feel as good as the console games, but it's a cute platformer with little STG stages and nothing lasts longer than it needs to.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631967fb0b3d6c020e89c23b/attachments/63197704d5919201970ea124/previews/63197705d5919201970ea16c/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Blue Stinger]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/blue-stinger/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/blue-stinger/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:55:13 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Climax Graphics, Dreamcast, 1999

Pretty neat game. The combat is surprisingly satisfying with the huge impact effects (that stun rod!), blocking, and monster limb removal stuff. There are some places where it's easy to get lost, objective-wise, and…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631967fb0b3d6c020e89c243/attachments/6319758c7a5b4f003f760815/previews/6319758d7a5b4f003f7608d5/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Runabout]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/runabout/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/runabout/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:53:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Climax Entertainment, Playstation, 1997

Pretty novel driving game. The courses are mostly linear, but you get these little selectable routes all over the place and the streets are filled with things to smash into and get points for. The car handlin…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631967fb0b3d6c020e89c24c/attachments/63197545c1418c01d7374b28/previews/63197546c1418c01d7374b30/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cave Noire]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cave-noire/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cave-noire/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:52:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Game Boy, 1991

A cute and small-scale Game Boy roguelike from 1991. The structure is pretty unique: you play through dungeons that get larger in size (like Shiren), but there are four dungeon objective types for you to chip away at (each wi…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631967fb0b3d6c020e89c256/attachments/631974fa8fcf2404eca94494/previews/631974fa8fcf2404eca944b9/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Marathon]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/marathon/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/marathon/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:30:03 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bungie, Macintosh, 1994

This is an impressive game for 1994, and I think there are some cool and unique things that it does. The desolate space station is pretty moody. The alien designs are cool. I like the health station and save point structure …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Vimana]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/vimana/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/vimana/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:28:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Toaplan, Arcade, 1991

Some neat pixel art in here, but ultimately this is a pretty busted Toaplan STG that relies solely on autofire rate. It'll only take a couple tries to clear. Shame the music can't really be heard over the shots.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631967fe0b3d6c020e89d1d5/attachments/63196f7d96fc7802dadb8378/previews/63196f7e96fc7802dadb8380/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Teppodon]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/teppodon/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/teppodon/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:27:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ikiki, PC, 2004

VERY sick improvement on Teppoman. Cleaner controls (fixed up some climb+jump shit) and way cooler enemies and stages and visuals.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631967fe0b3d6c020e89d18a/attachments/63196ee32db64400932a2bfb/previews/63196ee32db64400932a2c47/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Teppoman]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/teppoman/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/teppoman/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:25:26 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ikiki, PC, 2003

Extremely short but well-made little action-platformer that involves limited-ammo weapons and some very minor stealth elements. Being an early freeware game it's visually sparse but clean and perfectly readable.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631967fe0b3d6c020e89d1a8/attachments/63196e85533cef01e354508c/previews/63196e85533cef01e3545099/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[...Iru!]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/iru/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/iru/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:22:44 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Soft Machine, Playstation, 1998

A straightforward first-person adventure game that basically plays out like Clock Tower but worse. It's kinda novel looking in a "polished King's Field 1" sort of way.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968000b3d6c020e89e0bf/attachments/63196dea99bc01004d0ed689/previews/63196dec99bc01004d0ed6fe/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Cabal]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cabal/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/cabal/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[TAD Corporation, Arcade, 1988

Pretty simple game, and one wrecked by autofire, but it walked so Wild Guns could run. A useful dodge mechanic and satisfying destruction.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968000b3d6c020e89e0a1/attachments/631968010b3d6c020e89ed9c/previews/631968010b3d6c020e89eda4/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Banishing Racer]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/banishing-racer/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/banishing-racer/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Jaleco, Game Boy, 1991

An extremely novel and cute Game Boy platformer. You control a car, complete with pretty sluggish acceleration and even more sluggish reverse (the sprite is always facing right). Stages are generally manually-scrolling, but t…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dead Space]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dead-space/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dead-space/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Visceral Games, PC, 2008

Played on Hard.

This is a pretty good game that, unfortunately, drags too much in Act 2. I don't think the combat is particularly great, certainly not enough to justify the game length. But the abilities are kinda fun, the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Yakuza 6: The Song of Life]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/yakuza-6-the-song-of-life/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/yakuza-6-the-song-of-life/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:43 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sega, Playstation 4, 2016

A surprisingly interesting game for being the sixth main entry in the series. Loved the Hiroshima setting and loved the relative brevity of a lot of the plot, but obviously we're in familiar territory here. Beat Takeshi is…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Titan Souls]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/titan-souls/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/titan-souls/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Acid Nerve, PC, 2015

Decided to play this because Death's Door looked cool. Unfortunately didn't like it overall. The core mechanics of firing and force-pulling a single arrow are neat, I like the way the world map is structured overall (the tiny p…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Boogerman: A Pick and Flick Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/boogerman-a-pick-and-flick-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/boogerman-a-pick-and-flick-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Interplay, Genesis, 1994

okay it's not good but it's probably better than some of the Shiny games. Surprisingly decent boss fights, and the stages are a little convoluted but not mazelike. Still, not enough stage, enemy, or mechanical variety.

And…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Ys IX: Monstrum Nox]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ys-ix-monstrum-nox/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/ys-ix-monstrum-nox/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nihon Falcom, PC, 2019

This Flash Guard/Dodge model of Ys that's been around since 7 is still inherently satisfying albeit simple (learn animations, then Flash, then win). It's pretty fun to stack up dodge and flash repeatedly while pummelling on a…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968020b3d6c020e89f08f/attachments/631968040b3d6c020e89fe1b/previews/631968040b3d6c020e89fe22/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[10,000 Bullets]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/10000-bullets/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/10000-bullets/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Blue Moon Studio, Playstation 2, 2005  
aka Tsukiyo ni Saraba

This game sucks. It's a mess of a bullet time third-person shooter.

BUT

Most of the game is about the auto lock snapping to an enemy, shrinking, and then giving you a brief window for …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968020b3d6c020e89f097/attachments/631968040b3d6c020e89fe09/previews/631968040b3d6c020e89fe11/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Last Labyrinth]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/last-labyrinth/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/last-labyrinth/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Amata K.K., PC VR, 2019

A very polished puzzle game with some mystery to it. You're bound to a chair and have a laser pointer on your head and guide a girl through Saw-themed puzzles. The deaths can get pretty dark without being graphic. There are …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Castlevania: Lords of Shadow]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/castlevania-lords-of-shadow/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/castlevania-lords-of-shadow/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[MercurySteam, PC, 2010

Played on Hard. 

Better than I expected. Some pretty fun combat mechanics despite the "honesty" (lack of iframes), just takes some learning with less than obvious animations. Hard mode is appropriately tough. I'm not crazy a…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[R-Type]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/r-type/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/r-type/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Irem, Arcade, 1987

Decided to try credit feeding the arcade original. Some of the checkpoints in this game are particularly egregious, and there are enough of these to make it a no-miss game. I tried beating the stage 7 midpoint well, well over 100…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968050b3d6c020e8a00cd/attachments/631968060b3d6c020e8a0ed1/previews/631968060b3d6c020e8a0ed8/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Light Crusader]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/light-crusader/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/light-crusader/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Treasure, Mega Drive, 1995

Late Treasure-developed Megadrive game. Almost certainly inspired by Landstalker. Unlike Landstalker it's one big dungeon and there isn't a lot in the way of exploration, which ultimately makes for a tighter game in this …]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968080b3d6c020e8a10cf/attachments/631968090b3d6c020e8a1e24/previews/631968090b3d6c020e8a1e2c/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dark Savior]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dark-savior/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dark-savior/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Climax Entertainment, Saturn, 1996

A big step up from Landstalker. The Yoko Taro-ish parallel story setup keeps the pace brief while still having a lot to do and see, and the combat is ultimately more fun through slightly more complicated 1v1 fight…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Tip Top]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/tip-top/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/tip-top/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SEGA, Arcade, 1983
aka Congo Bongo

This is pretty fascinating. It seems like it's clearly the first go at 3D platforming, and it's surprisingly pretty and varied for being that. Can't quite close out a loop.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gunlord X]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/gunlord-x/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/gunlord-x/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[NGDEV, Switch, 2019

Turrican again but with a better health system, bosses, signposting. Sick pixel art. Weird control mechanics, feels like it must be a significant rebalancing from the MVS/AES original. Cool STG stages.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968080b3d6c020e8a1131/attachments/631968090b3d6c020e8a1f95/previews/631968090b3d6c020e8a1f9c/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[RoboSkate]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/roboskate/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/roboskate/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Matas Sakalauskas, PC, 2020

A simple QWOP-like game about a robot arm on a skateboard. Mind-bending to learn, lasts about exactly as long as it needs to.…]]></description>
            <enclosure url="https://trello.com/1/cards/631968080b3d6c020e8a1137/attachments/6319680a0b3d6c020e8a1fce/previews/6319680a0b3d6c020e8a1fd4/download/image.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Castlevania 64]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/castlevania-64/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/castlevania-64/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Nintendo 64, 1999  
aka Akumajou Dracula Apocalypse

I actually kinda like the structure of this game. A linear sequence of slightly less linear levels that mix platforming, combat, and light puzzles. The combat is the weakest part of the ga…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Turrican (C64)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/turrican-c64/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/turrican-c64/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Rainbow Arts Software, Commodore 64, 1990

Certainly incredible from a tech perspective. There are a lot of rough edges here, but I found both the sweeping laser and the rolling ball to be a lot of fun to use, and the stages do a good job of riding …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Landstalker]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/landstalker/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/landstalker/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Climax Entertainment, Mega Drive, 1992

Gorgeous. Really stunning game for 1992. Impressive how complex the various dioramas are. 

The combat is simple, but the puzzles and the platforming elevate the game. Platforming in particular surprised me: i…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Beyond Oasis]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/beyond-oasis/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/beyond-oasis/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Ancient, Mega Drive, 1994

Very modern-feeling visuals, almost looks like Xenocrisis. Flat colors, cool animation, big sprites. Excellent audio, too, with some surprisingly ambient tracks, directional sound effects, reverb.

This is kind of the oppo…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bucky O'Hare]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bucky-ohare/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/bucky-ohare/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Konami, Famicom, 1992

A solid action platformer using Konami's multi character schtick. Some fun puzzle-y bosses, doesn't overstay its welcome. A surprisingly flat retry structure though, making it feel like a modern quicksave-style game at times.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dynamite Batman (Famicom)]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dynamite-batman-famicom/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dynamite-batman-famicom/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Sunsoft, Famicom, 1991  
aka Batman: Return of the Joker

Ridiculously gorgeous game, but unfortunately not quite as solid as the first.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Moon Crystal]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/moon-crystal/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/moon-crystal/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Hect, Famicom, 1992

Great animation and it's fun to learn the weird movement. Stages are tightly-designed and the environment art is nice. Cool cutscenes. 

Unfortunately, the bosses aren't as fun to fight as they are to look at, and there's an inc…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Crazy Taxi 3]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/crazy-taxi-3/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/crazy-taxi-3/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Hitmaker, Xbox, 2002

S-ranked West Coast and Small Apple, Awesome'd Glitter Oasis. I always loved what they did with the original arcade map in this release (adding a bunch of areas and the CT2 mechanics), and this definitely has the best mini-map …]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Crazy Taxi 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/crazy-taxi-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/crazy-taxi-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Hitmaker, Dreamcast, 2001

Went back to this one and got S-Rank on the two cities and did most of the Crazy Pyramid. Overall it's not as good as the first game, definitely not, but the arrow is better-behaved than in home CT1's Original City and the…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[GG Shinobi]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/gg-shinobi/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/gg-shinobi/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[SEGA, Game Gear, 1991

An overlooked Shinobi game released a couple years after Revenge. The structure is kinda unique and takes a little bit from Rockman, with the first four stages being selectable and having you rescuing color-coded comrades that…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Dino Crisis 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dino-crisis-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/dino-crisis-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom, Playstation, 2000

A pretty cool game, but ultimately probably merely better than the original Dino Crisis (which is probably the worst of the Capcom fixed-camera PS1 games). It's too simple mechanically to be a particularly good 3D action g…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Amid Evil]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/amid-evil/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/amid-evil/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Indefatigable, PC, 2018

A classic-style FPS that probably has more in common with Unreal than Doom or Quake. I don't think the weapons and enemies combine into combat that's nearly as enjoyable as something like DUSK, Doom 2016, or Serious Sam, but…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Metroid Prime]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/metroid-prime/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/metroid-prime/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Retro Studios, GameCube, 2002

This game is incredibly stylish and gorgeous. The pace combined with the z-target combat reminds me a bit of a OOT-era 3D Zelda. The movement upgrades in particular are a lot of fun to use. Unfortunately, despite being…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Perfect Dark]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/perfect-dark/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/perfect-dark/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Rare, Nintendo 64, 2000

Not a lot of surprises here. It's Goldeneye with a bit more to it and a Deus Ex theme. Some of the warts are a little more prominent in this game: more frequent extreme framerate dips, more annoying objective failures becaus…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Room 2]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-room-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/the-room-2/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Fireproof Games, PC, 2016

Extremely more of the same, of course. Fortunately the devs steered away from using the viewfinder all that often. It's good, but I'm not rushing to play the third.…]]></description>
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        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Zwei: The Arges Adventure]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/zwei-the-arges-adventure/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/zwei-the-arges-adventure/</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Nihon Falcom, PC, 2001

Found the dungeons to be too repetitive in this one, didn't really like the structure. Very pretty game though.…]]></description>
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            <title><![CDATA[Halo: ODST]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/halo-odst/</link>
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            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Bungie, Xbox 360, 2009

It's better than Halo 4 and 5 campaigns because it doesn't have the lame silver and orange guys but it's worse than Halo 1-3 campaigns because it has a worse hub world and the whole game is 2008 brown. I don't need to see pol…]]></description>
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            <title><![CDATA[Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire]]></title>
            <link>https://davidwilliams.xyz/gamelog/2021/star-wars-shadows-of-the-empire/</link>
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            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2022 03:57:40 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[LucasArts, Nintendo 64, 1996

Surely this game's weird third-person/first-person combat with extremely heavy autoaim was a big inspiration for Goldeneye 64 even if the floaty movement wasn't. The scope of a lot of these stages are pretty impressive …]]></description>
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