Morning all, happy #RandomGameSaturday to everybody. New for 2004 it's Custom Robo for the Gamecube, the first game in the franchise to get localised. A strong art direction, well designed game mechanics and a trope filled plot makes for a memorable first impression.

Ugh. Companies already treat QA as if it's not worth investing in, which is one of the reasons games have only gotten buggier. As someone who is painfully aware of how badly treated people who take QA seriously already are, I am not exactly assured of the quality of Square Enix's future titles...

You're pretty good...

What a thrill, it's #RandomGameSaturday time again! I'll be at the Metal Gear Solid Delta concert in a few hours, so I figured I'd pick the original MGS3 for today's selection, laden in a slipcase adorned with Shinkawa artwork.

Good morning.

I've been feeling nostalgic about the jumbo jewel cases that games used to come in, so I decided to raid the Dreamcast collection for this week's #RandomGameSaturday. I was never any good at Metropolis Street Racer, but I really got into spiritual successor Project Gotham Racing and its sequels.

This reminds me that I recently learned there was a Neopets PS2 game which was apparently a real passion project for those involved. By all accounts it was janky but actually kind of charming? Definitely curious to give that one a try. This? Eh, maybe not so much.

As someone who probably last thought about Scooby-Doo back when they did the Johnny Bravo episode back in 1997 (!), learning that they've made 48 movies starring the dog and finding out some of them actually look good has given me a new perspective on the franchise. www.youtube.com/watch?v=YO7u...

A new phone means a new camera, just in time for #RandomGameSaturday! Today's pick is Cross Edge, a JRPG that combines characters from Idea Factory, Capcom, Gust and Nippon Ichi games in a massive multiversal crossover. It is also legitimately the most unfun RPG I've ever played. Oops.

Showing some love for shoot-em-ups for today's #RandomGameSaturday with Deathsmiles. The first Deathsmiles was my introduction to Cave's unique style of shoot-em-up and was charmed by its aesthetic. Got it on the Xbox 360 with a faceplate that still sits adorned on my first-gen Elite console.

Ah, time for today's "for fucks sake". Suffice it to say Bitmap Books will never see another penny from me. I genuinely don't understand why it's so hard for people to not be arseholes these days, but I find myself increasingly despairing at the world.

I just wanted to go one day without going "for fucks sake" at... *gesticulates wildly at everything* For the record: fuck hate speech and fuck anyone trying to justify it as "satire" or through strawman arguments. That shouldn't need to be said in 2025, but here we fucking are.

Today's pick for #RandomGameSaturday is El Shaddai, my favourite stylish action game based on Christian bible apocrypha. Every level has a unique look and boasts a beautiful soundtrack. It's also *really* weird and I have no idea how on earth it got greenlit. It makes for a memorable experience.

Utawarerumono: ZAN 2 coming to PC in English Publishers DMM Games and Shiravune, and developer AQUAPLUS will release Utawarerumono: ZAN 2 for PC via Steam, the companies announced. It will support English, Japanese, and Traditional Chinese language options.

Have been feeling rough all day, but dragged myself out of bed to grab something for #RandomGameSaturday and today's pick is Freak Out. Known as Stretch Panic in the US, it's definitely one of Treasure's lesser known titles. Make no mistake though, it's a Treasure-style boss rush game at heart.

Catching up on last night's PlayStation State of Play. Legitimately intrigued by the possibilities of Flight Simulator in VR. Genuinely excited about playing some classic Dynasty Warriors action. Oh, and I guess everything else looked alright...?

Misty Monday Morning.

Spent the weekend playing through Shining in the Darkness because I fancied a little RPG and I'd never played more than the first hour of the game before. It's definitely an early 90's dungeon crawler, but it's not as brutal as others in the genre and the classic fantasy anime vibes shine through.

Latest additions to the collection were literally just delivered, so in the spirit of #RandomGameSaturday I present Digital Eclipse's Gold Master Series. I appreciate that they put as much effort into preserving development material and making documentaries as emulating the games themselves.

It's been chucking it down all morning. Me and the dogs are completely soaked through, but clearly some birds don't mind the weather...

I'd snark that the only thing they can think to do with Danganronpa these days is retread old ground, but I'm one of those weirdos who actually liked Crystar so I'm willing to let them cook.

Another week, another #RandomGameSaturday. Today we're going back to the PS2 shelf for Onimusha 3. I always liked the slipcase this game came in. Definitely draws on the design language of the auteur director, which given the cinematic ambitions Onimusha 3 had was unlikely to be coincidental.

I hear Rayman got to celebrate his 30th anniversary recently, so for #RandomGameSaturday let's celebrate his 10th. With a, uh, compilation re-release. Yeah, turns out Ubisoft has never been able to figure out what to do with their mascot.

It's #RandomGameSaturday time and today my hands have landed on the Prince of Persia reboot, the first game I ever got a Platinum trophy in some 16 years ago. (!!!) I adored the art direction and I even think the simplified controls helped make for a good chill out game. Terrible ending though.

God damnit Hideo Kojima, I love you you mad bastard. (Currently playing through Death Stranding 2. No spoilers because it's still a relatively new release, but people who know me and have played the game probably know what I'm talking about and my inevitable reaction. And they'd have been right.)

Did somebody say Exhumed?! That gives me a nice excuse to pick PowerSlave Exhumed for #RandomGameSaturday and extol the virtues of both hidden gems from the Sega Saturn and the sterling work that Night Dive Studios do on their remasters.

This week for #RandomGameSaturday I've grabbed the Asterix & Obelix XXL Collection. I have fond memories of watching the Asterix cartoons as a kid and borrowing the comics from the library, so I've always had a soft spot for the plucky Gauls.

I was playing City Crisis last week and it's definitely one of the little hidden gems that the PS2 had so many of. Combining the thrill of rescue helicopter stunts like SimCopter with short arcade-like levels that definitely promote a one more go feeling, it was tough but never felt unfair.

New drip arrived in the post today.

I do wish Discotek distributed their titles in the UK, because I always see them picking up and putting out some amazing titles, and their enthusiasm and passion for classic anime is downright *infectious*.

Today's #RandomGameSaturday is Phantasy Star Nova, the tri-Ace developed, single player focused spin off of Phantasy Star Online 2. Given how safe Sega usually likes to play the Phantasy Star franchise, it's always neat to see something a bit more experimental.

I'm trying to play through Kingdom Hearts as I've never beaten it before. Got to the Deep Jungle boss and have hit a wall. Tried googling for tips. "Just level grind." OK, level grinding strats? "You don't need to level grind yet." I'm starting to remember why I've never finished this game.

Sounds like I'll need to go back and finish the platinum trophy before it becomes unobtainable then.

The developers behind the WWE series acquiring the company that basically created the visual novel genre is a headline I was not expecting to see this morning.

Random thought upon browsing Bluesky this morning: Both Sim City and Streets of Rage do the whole scrolling across the skyline thing for their intros. This... raises some unfortunate implications about the state of the city I built. I don't think I'll be re-elected as mayor.

My first memory of the PS1 was a demo disc. I was too young to remember the name of the game I played, but the memory of sky islands always stuck with me. Years later I saw footage of Jumping Flash and it was like that scene from Ratatouille. Thinking about it now, I'd love to play it in VR...

Today's pick for #RandomGameSaturday is Rabi-Ribi, a bullet hell metroidvania starring a bunny girl as its protagonist, which is probably about as niche a description as you can get. The platinum trophy proudly declares "You must be a bunny lover!" and you know what? They aren't wrong.

Today's #RandomGameSaturday is Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, a game with a prog rock style soundtrack and a genre of music I didn't care much for until this game made me go "oh, I get it now". My copy also came with a bonus DVD containing a bunch of trailers for Square Enix and Ubisoft games.

This attack in The First Descendant always reminded me of the Amiga Boing Ball. Despite, you know, never owning an Amiga. Funny how the mind works sometimes.

Today's #RandomGameSaturday is Sengoku Basara 3, Capcom's second attempt at bringing its "Warriors" competitor to the west. It has a much more faithful translation compared to the first game's "effort" and even has a dub by Funimation for that authentic shonen anime feel the series is known for.

With the announcement of EA shutting down Anthem's servers, I decided to get the Platinum trophy before it was too late. It is a BioWare game after all. I think the consensus is that it's a pretty game with great flight mechanics hampered by the live service grind. Alas, I'd say that's accurate.

I remember seeing Armored Core some 25 years ago and being impressed by the sheer amount of customisation available, the sense of weight and scale of the mechs in the world and the gameplay making you feel like a badass mercenary. Been following From Software ever since. #RandomGameSaturday

The original Phantasy Star Online is probably the game I watch the most on Twitch. It never brings in huge numbers of people, but someone is always streaming it. Something about that game that just resonates with people. Always delightful to meet another Phantasy Star fan in the wild.

For #RandomGameSaturday I went over to the Vita shelf and pulled out Virtue's Last Reward. The second game in the Zero Escape franchise, the first to be released in Europe and the first time I was introduced to the mad genius of Kotaro Uchikoshi, which was certainly a hell of an introduction...

Sasha repost got me thinking about .hack this morning, so today's #RandomGameSaturday is the first game in the franchise, INFECTION. Billed an "offline MMO" and released across four titles, each volume came with a bonus DVD detailing what was going on in the real world while you were busy playing.

Good morning.

You know, I defended Panzer Dragoon Remake. Sure, it was a little rough around the edges, but they were keeping long dormant IP's relevant and that in itself seemed noble. Seeing them resort to lowest common denominator gen AI nonsense just makes me feel embarrassed that I ever supported them.

Don't cut yourself on the edge of today's #RandomGameSaturday - "LODOSS: record of lodoss war" for the Dreamcast, which probably wins an award for the most "We've got Diablo at home" energy I'd ever seen in a console game up to this point. I mean, just look at that cover!

With great gameplay, superb writing and an excellent dub by the original actors, Dynasty Warriors: Gundam turned me from a kid watching Gundam Wing on Toonami with a passing interest to a mega fan of the whole Gundam franchise at large. I really do need to get back into working on my Gunpla...

As someone who values preservation (and a big Red Dwarf fan), the news that they're patching in the European dubs into the recently released Gex Trilogy has made for a good start to the day.