Quintet released some bangers on the SNES: ActRaiser, Soul Blazer, and Illusion of Gaia. How does their last one--Terranigma--measure up? And how much chill do you want in your journalism? Or, for that matter, your video games? Caitlin and Mark talk about Times & Galaxy.

What We're Playing

01:04 Mark: TMNT: Splintered Fate (Super Evil Megacorp, 2024)

07:30 Caitlin: Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail (Square Enix, 2024)

12:43 GOOF: Terranigma (Quintet, 1995)

26:51 Feature Game: Times & Galaxy (Copychaser Games, 2024)

37:55 Spoilers Begin

42:44 Spoilers End

SHOUT

49:37 Caitlin: Donkey Kong Country Returns HD (Retro Studios)

51:25 Mark: DNF Duel (Arc System Works)

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If you had told us that we would be loving speedrunning in a first-person platformer, i.e. Neon White, we would not have believed you. If you had told us that Caitlin would still be knee-deep in Unicorn Overlord and underimpressed by one of Mark's all-time favourites, we would have easily believed you. 

What We're Playing

03:19 Caitlin: Unicorn Overlord (Vanillaware, 2024)

04:48 Mark: Journey to the Savage Planet (Typhoon Studios, 2020)

GROB commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESsRiSbIuKM&pp=ygUham91cm5leSB0byB0aGUgc2F2YWdlIHBsYW5ldCBncm9i

10:56 GOOF: Prince of Persia (Broderbund, 1989)

24:30 Feature Game: Neon White (Angel Matrix, 2022)

SHOUT

55:17 Caitlin: The Garden Path (carrotcake)

56:36 Mark: Whisker Squadron: Survivor (Flippfly)

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Mark has many questions about many things Final Fantasy, and Caitlin is well-equipped to oblige--and Mark is able to recipocrate with a capsule biography of Firebrand, aka Red Arremer. The feature game is Firework, a horror/mystery story from China. Several things are mispronounced.

What We're Playing

00:46 Caitlin: Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail (Square Enix, 2024)

11:45 SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos (SNK Playmore, 2003)

16:58 Demon's Crest (Capcom, 1994)

30:28 Feature Game: Firework (Shiying Studio, 2021)

49:28 Spoilers Begin

1:03:29 Spoilers End

SHOUT

1:04:01 Caitlin: Ace Attorney Investigations Collection (Capcom)

1:05:21 Mark: Garou: City of the Wolves (SNK)

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We dip our toes into mobile games this week with a Pokémon sleep tracker and the latest from MiHoYo. The Quintet appreciation continues with Illusion of Gaia, and we check out Unicorn Overlord with some mixed results.

What We're Playing

01:35 Caitlin: Pokémon Sleep (Select Button, 2023)

07:01 Zenless Zone Zero (MiHoYo, 2024)

16:57 GOOF: Illusion of Gaia (Quintet, 1994)

27:47 Feature Game: Unicorn Overlord (Vanillaware, 2024)

SHOUT

50:14 Caitlin: Monster Hunter Wilds (Capcom)

52:14 Mark: Rogue Prince of Persia (Evil Empire)

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Whether The Lost Crown is your first Prince of Persia (as it is for Caitlin) or not (as it is for Mark), it's undeniably an influential series of platformers with combat sequences. We'll see how well this latest offering fares. Plus, Mark kind of sort of not really tries Final Fantasy XIV! Maybe. Almost.

What We're Playing

01:21 Caitlin: Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail (Square Enix, 2024)

09:02 Mark: Vanquish (Platinum, 2010)

18:39 GOOF: ActRaiser (Quintet, 1991)

31:09 Feature Game: Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (Ubisoft, 2024)

SHOUT

51:42 Caitlin: Timespinner 2: Unwoven Dream (Lunar Ray)

52:30 Mark: Tactical Breach Wizards (Suspicious Developments)

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Survival game Pacific Drive has crafting and personality, but we'll see whether that's a marriage that works, especially given the scant guidance you receive in navigating its world. Conversely, Pokémon Ranger offers far too much guidance for its own good.

What We're Playing

01:02 Mark: Fight'n Rage (sebagamesdev, 2017)

08:09 Caitlin: Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail (Square Enix, 2024)

19:23 GOOF: Pokémon Ranger (HAL Laboratory, 2006)

29:08 Feature Game: Pacific Drive (Ironwood Studios, 2024)

SHOUT

52:03 Caitlin: The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Nintendo)

54:00 Mark: Caves of Qud (Freehold)

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It is pretty depressing that Tango Gameworks' reward for the ebullient and excellent Hi-Fi Rush was closure, but we get our own closure by eulogizing their work. There's also much discussion of action RPGs this week, assuming a broad enough definition.

What We're Playing

01:02 Mark: Tales of Arise (Bandai Namco, 2021)

08:09 Caitlin: Diablo IV (Blizzard, 2023)

12:54 GOOF: Legacy of the Wizard (Nihon Falcom, 1989)

24:28 Feature Game: Hi-Fi Rush (Tango Gameworks, 2023)

SHOUT

48:27 Caitlin: Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred (Blizzard)

49:53 Mark: Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (From Software)

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We shot them up last week, and this week we are beating them up. One wonders what them did to deserve all this violence, but we move on to more pressing questions--such as, what ground food is best? And, how many mechanisms is too much, and how many light years past that is Astral Ascent? 

NB: The name of that weird creature in Golden Axe and Altered Beast is a "chicken leg." 

What We're Playing

00:55 Caitlin: Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead, 2024)

06:00 Mark: Streets of Rage 4 (Dotemu, 2020)

11:48 GOOF: Alien vs. Predator (Capcom, 1994)

19:37 Feature Game: Astral Ascent (Hibernia Workshop, 2023)

SHOUT

53:52 Caitlin: Dragon Age: The Veilguard (BioWare)

56:41 Mark: Metal Slug Tactics (SNK)

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Mark is some sort of degenerate killjoy who doesn't like Tolkien much, but can Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor win him over regardless? Caitlin's death-march through all the Final Fantasy games continues, as does the mining of classic titles from the NES to fuel GOOF.

What We're Playing

01:04 Caitlin: Final Fantasy II (Square)

07:26 Mark: Have a Nice Death (Magic Design Studios)

12 :17 GOOF: Dragon Spirit: The New Legend (Namco)

23 :53 Feature Game: Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor (Monolith)

44:23 Spoilers begin

50:04 Spoilers end

SHOUT

51:57 Caitlin: LEGO Horizon Adventures (Guerilla)

53:39 Mark: Dreamcast Capcom VS SNK 2 in English and Terry Bogard in Street Fighter 6 (Capcom and kind of SNK)

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Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice tackles the issue of having a mentally ill protagonist head-on. How successful is the portrayal? And how good is the game itself? And perhaps most importantly, can we all get on the same page and acknowledge that Cain from Final Fantasy II (or IV, for you purists) was a massive douche?

What We're Playing

01:12 Caitlin: Hellcard (Thing Trunk, 2024)

05:14 Mark: Cult of the Lamb (Massive Monster, 2022)

12:07 GOOF: Final Fantasy (yes, the FIRST one) (Square, 1987)

26:58 Feature Game: Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice (Ninja Theory, 2017)

52:42 Spoilers begin

1:06:14 Spoilers end

SHOUT

1:06:46 Caitlin: Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail (Square Enix)

1:08:20 Mark: Hades II (Supergiant)

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