Archive | 2014

15 Underrated Classics for the Nintendo GameCube

kirby-air-ride-title3The Nintendo GameCube is one of my favourite consoles. It has an extensive library of great games, although the majority of these have admittedly received the recognition they deserve. Mario is awesome, Zelda is awesome and Metroid is awesome. You probably already know this. However, over the console’s lifetime a small handful of great games went unnoticed, and today I’ve gathered together a list of my favourite underrated GameCube classics.

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Review: Persona 4 The Golden Animation

Persona 4 The Golden AnimationI won’t deny that I approached Persona 4 The Golden Animation with an initial air of scepticism. We do, after all, already have a perfectly enjoyably anime retelling of the game’s story, and it’s only three years old. What sets this new show apart is a focus on the extra content found in 2012’s ‘Golden’ version of the game for PlayStation Vita. Because of this it exists comfortably alongside the original, and provides something that feels well tailored for existing fans of the series.

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This Week’s Purchase: Japanese Xbox 360 + import CAVE shmups

titleThis week I bought a Japanese Xbox 360 and a selection of import games. Most of these are made by CAVE, who specialise in manic shooters and have ported their arcade classics to the console. With few of their titles making their way out of Japan, and many enforcing a region lockout, their library is perhaps the main reason for purchasing a Japanese system. Today I will look at the advantages and disadvantages of importing, as well as some of the games doing so will give you access to.

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Review: Black Butler: Book of Circus

Black Butler Book of CircusNot all good things have to come to an end. Black Butler is one such thing, and the latest anime to suffer from a divergence in plot with its manga counterpart after overtaking the source material. Whilst this third series disregards over half of the currently aired episodes as ‘non-canon’, this risky move somehow pays off and Book of Circus proves itself to be the most compelling Black Butler story arc yet.

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Review: Super Time Force

Super Time ForceTime travel doesn’t have to be used responsibly. This is the ethos of Super Time Force, and a sentiment felt across both its story and gameplay. Whilst a humorous and nonsensical narrative gives the game great character, the way the its unique mechanics mirror this chaos is only clever until it results in pure frustration. For better and for worse, time travel isn’t the exact science it should be.

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Review: Deathsmiles

DeathsmilesDeathsmiles is a manic shooter made by CAVE; the undeniable masters of the genre. It takes many of the concepts found in their DoDonPachi series but instead of space ships and tanks you have a cast Gothic Lolita girls fighting evil demons with magic. Sure, it may be a little ‘Japanese’ for some, but underneath the weirdness (which you may actually quite like) you have an incredibly addictive, rewarding, and well made game designed to push you to your limits.

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Dracula’s Cave is one year old!

Black ButlerThat’s right, today is Dracula’s Cave’s first birthday! Thanks so much to everyone who’s checked out the site so far, I’ve met some really cool people and had a great year. Now let’s look forward to an awesome future!

Review: Harmful Park (Import)

Harmful ParkThe 1990s were a strange time. A game like Harmful Park should have been an instant classic, and lauded for its innovative level design, unique style and competent gameplay. Instead it never made its way out of Japan, and today is a rare gem usually selling for over £100 online. Ironically it’s a hugely accessible game that turns a niche genre into an experience any kind of gamer can enjoy.

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10 Classic Games that are also Completely Worthless

vice cityA lot of the time the value of a retro game is directly related to its quality; there’s higher demand for good games so naturally they should cost more. However, there are other factors at play too, for example rarity and desirability. There’s even a few great games that didn’t sell too well, and now there are more than enough copies to go around. Today I’ve gathered ten of my favourite titles that are not only brilliant, but for a variety of reasons are completely worthless too.

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Orange Cube trailer + screenshots

3A couple of weeks ago Dracula’s Cave made an exciting announcement; we’re making a game! Today we’re ready to show off Orange Cube, so please read on to check out loads of info about the game, as well as screenshots and a trailer.

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