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Sonic Advance: quite literally a blue blur

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I love the 2D Sonic games. The best is still Sonic 2, as in the Mega Drive game, but Sonic Mania runs it close. It probably helps that I’ve never played Sonic 4, which I know is almost universally derided – I know of only one person who liked it. Still, the Sonic Advance games are generally thought of as ‘good’ to ‘great’, and I’ve never played those either, and it’s time to rectify that – particularly because I’ve just bought a GBX Cart so can do things like back up saves and so on. I dug out my copy of Sonic Advance, my GBA SP, ordered a new USB charging cable, promptly found my old charging cable, and settled down to play.

How did we ever manage to actually use this?

The screen is incredibly hard to see, washed out colours, blurry, and it seems to have a refresh rate that doesn’t match the game. The picture above was taken in bright sunshine, and you can see that in order to get anything resembling a good picture you have to content with overly-reflective front glass. I was constantly having to contort myself to angle the screen just right, and whenever the sun went behind a cloud I had to squint to work out what was happening at all. Playing in the evening was even worse, with the house lights leading to a strong blue tint to the screen.

The game itself is actually really good. There’s not quite enough of a forward view to be able to run fast through the levels, so it feels a bit more exploratory than other Sonic games. I’ve not found out how to get to any sort of chaos emeralds or special stages yet, but the limitations of the physical hardware means that I’m very tempted to try playing this through emulation instead, once I’ve finished the first run through – so I won’t look up any other details until I try that.

Frog Detective (Switch): COMPLETED!

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Once a set of three separate games on Steam, all the Frog Detective games are now bundled together on the Nintendo Switch! Of course I bought it.

You’ll never guess the premise: you’re a frog, and you’re a detective. You know you’re a detective because you get a magnifying glass right at the start, although you never actually use it. But the point is, you’re ready to solve mysteries.

There are three mysteries in total, and each one is just as silly and low-stakes as the next. First, there’s a ghost in a hole. Then, there’s a party that’s been mysteriously trashed. And finally, you’re off to find out who’s been stealing hats. Your main job is to talk to different animal characters, ask them questions, and do a few simple point-and-click style puzzles. It’s not tough, but that’s what makes it fun and relaxing. You’re there for the characters and the humour, not the challenge.

And let me tell you, this game is absolutely full of charm and wit. It’s one of those games that you can tell was made with a sense of humour that doesn’t take itself too seriously. I know some people might look at it and say it’s “too cute” or dismiss it as “woke” because it’s wholesome and nonviolent, but honestly, who cares about those people?

So, if you’re looking for something that’ll make you smile and laugh with its ridiculous characters and silly storyline, grab your magnifying glass, even if you don’t need it, and get ready to solve some very silly mysteries.

A Fisherman’s Tale (Quest): COMPLETED!

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My second VR game completed! A Fisherman’s Tale is a first person point and click adventure game set inside a lighthouse. Only the twist is, inside the lighthouse is a model of the same lighthouse only that lighthouse is the lighthouse you’re in. In turn, the lighthouse you’re in is therefore inside a larger lighthouse.

A similar premise was used in the game Maquette, although the scope there was much larger, complicated, and not in VR. Being in VR it feels a lot more claustrophobic, partly because you’re right in the game but also because the lighthouse is pretty cramped.

Puzzles are mostly of the sort where you have to take an object and put it somewhere, but the various scales of lighthouses (lighthousen?) means that you sometimes have to shrink or grow them by dropping them and picking them up from a different lighthouse “level”. There’s a plot about fishing and storms and stuff, which are actually a metaphor for something else, and it’s clear that you’re not a real person but some sort of puppet lighthouse keeper which makes things a little surreal. That and the talking fish.

It’s a nice little game which can be a bit fiddly to navigate (mainly with moving around – it does that VR “teleport” thing which is tricky in an enclosed space), but is clever and funny.

Moss (Quest): COMPLETED!

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I was recently bought a Meta Quest 2, which – naturally – meant I needed to figure out what games work well on such a thing and which were worth my time playing. One that was recommended over and over was Moss, so here I am telling you about My First Ever Completed VR Game!

If you take VR out of the equation, Moss is a nice little platformer with some puzzles and sword fighting as you take your mouse through some pretty areas like woods, a deserted village and eventually a castle. But, being in VR, it all feels like a set of interactive dioramas that you can reach into and look over walls and round corners as you do so. I suppose it isn’t immersive in the way you’d “traditionally” expect a VR game to be, but it is wonderfully tactile and immersive, like a kid’s playset come to life.

The Quest 2 itself doesn’t quite have a comfortable level of resolution so everything feels a bit pixellated and/or blurry, but Moss doesn’t seem to be affected quite as much as the other demos and apps I’d tried before playing it. All the depth effects feel “right”, and although I’ve yet to feel any VR nausea (not even in the VR rollercoaster sims) I can appreciate that the mostly static stage “scenes” would probably go a long way to helping those who do.

Graphically it is quite lovely, with nice lighting effects and detailed characters. Some of the backgrounds are populated with large objects and creatures (there’s a fantastic stag in one section) which help make you feel mouse-sized. Moss herself is animated really well and I love how you can pat or stroke her and she responds. She even high-fives you after tricky sections. Well, providing you don’t leave her hanging.

The gameplay isn’t actually that novel or unique, although physically reaching for handles and buttons with your own hands does change things a bit from the norm. It’s the way it is presented, the polish and the animations that really make it stand out for me. The VR is understated but impressive, the puzzles are OK but nothing too taxing, and the combat is a little quirky (especially when you use one baddie to attack another), but the sum of the parts is a beautiful little game with a lot of heart.

Pepper Grinder (Switch): COMPLETED!

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I’ve often said that some games that are previewed too far in advance of release are not doing themselves any favours. For me, anyway. Pepper Grinder is one such game, that piqued my interest in a Nintendo Direct long, long ago and then when it came out I’d totally forgotten about it whereas if it was wowgoshlookithtis and it was released a couple of weeks later, I might have jumped on it immediately.

Then I saw it in an eShop games-on-sale roundup video somewhere and I was repiqued. So I bought it. And it was great!

The main gimmick is that you have a big ol’ drill bit which you use to not only mole your way through soft earth, but also to damage baddies and turn gears and stuff. Digging through the ground (and ground that’s, uh, in the sky) will sort of launch you when you break out of it, so much of the game is about aiming your drill so as to launch and land in the right place.

There are some puzzles in that certain things have to be drilled or activated in specific orders, and tricky platforming where angles and timing are key to success, but you’ve also got baddies everywhere, and some clever bosses where you often have to make alternate use of your drill to damage them. Oh, and sometime you get a MASSIVE GUN and there are also shops to buy upgrades with stuff you collect along the way,

It’s also got nice pixel art and feels like the sort of game you’d play on a Game Boy Advance only this game didn’t exist then. Was Drill Dozer similar? I never had the £££££ needed to buy that rarity.