Peter Tieryas

What’s Your Favorite Video Game Soundtrack?

Whenever I got a new Sega Genesis game, I used to plug in the earphones to the console’s headphone jack to play it. I felt an invisible bubble form around me as the game started and I listened to the music in stereo sound. It was like I’d jacked into my own private universe. There’s…

Ghost Trick Has One Of The Catchiest OSTs On The DS

Ghost Trick was one of my favorite games on the DS. A big part of what made it so good was the amazing music. The whole concept behind Ghost Trick is making ghostly possessions a game mechanic. That meant every object in an area was either a potential tool to be manipulated or a method…

Monster Asks Tough Questions About Morality, Fate, And Justice

An anime series based on a manga of the same name by Naoki Urasawa, Monster is a work that constantly forces you to question your sense of morality and ethics. Good and evil become a bloody mess through the series and rarely gives your wounds the time to coagulate, instead, seeping blood until all the…

Final Fantasy XV Has One Of The Best Endings In The Series

Every Final Fantasy game has had special meaning to me, even the more controversial ones like X-2 and XIII. While they have their flaws, their incredible production values and Square Enix’s desire to innovate on the series makes every iteration feel like a brand new experience. As much as I wanted to, I didn’t get…

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Was Arcade Co-Op Action At Its Finest

I miss arcades. I have so many fond memories of visiting them in my childhood, from playing Bubble Bobble and launching hundreds of bubbles to a World Wrestling Federation game whose title I can’t recall even though I can see it clearly in my head like it was yesterday. I went to a whole lot…

The Castlevania Anniversary Collection is on sale this weekend so I picked it up as it includes the Japanese editions of some of the classic games. I knew there was an array of differences between the US and Japanese versions, but it’s been neat seeing them directly. One of the most interesting is that in…

‘Shop Contest: The Poké Ball Guy Winners!

Last week, Zack asked everyone to “spread the horror of Poke Ball guy.” He’ll be back next week, but he graciously asked me to stand in as judge for this weekend’s shop contest. I got to say, it was hard as there’s so many great entries. Most of them made me burst into involuntary laughter.…

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

This weekend is for catching up on a million things, writing, cleaning up, and taking out the garbage. Oh, and squeezing in some Devil May Cry 5. Ever since I read the articles by Heather and Tim about DMC5, I’ve wanted to dive in. Devil May Cry 5 is just as amazing as I’d hoped…

Resident Evil 6 Isn’t That Bad

I’d read so many reviews bashing Resident Evil 6, I skipped it when it first came out. But when I saw it on sale in the PlayStation store, the curious part of me couldn’t resist. Was it really that bad? To my complete surprise, I really liked it. RE6 is more like an action game…

Chrono Cross Was A Bad Sequel, But A Brilliant Game

In many ways, the reason Chrono Cross is one of the most underrated JRPGs in gaming is because of the comparisons to its predecessor, Chrono Trigger. Chrono Cross is a somber and meditational work, exploring destiny, fate, and decisions in a way that is more philosophical in nature than Trigger. Cross lacks the quirky humor…

Final Fantasy VIII’s Surprise Twist Nearly Ruined It For Me

Final Fantasy VIII is easily one of the most action-packed and compelling games in the series. It was amazing when it first came out, and as I play through the recently-released remastered version, I’m enjoying it just as much. But even 20 years later, some of the choices made by FF8‘s story are still confusing.…

Naruto Has Some Of The Best Battles In Anime

I’m loving Naruto. I only recently started binge watching the show on Netflix. I’d always been aware of the anime series, but never knew what it was actually about. I’d wrongly assumed it was a kid’s show and didn’t think much of it, but on a whim, I started streaming it and have been hooked.…

The Original Street Fighter II Is Still My Favorite

I recently picked up the Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection and started playing through all the different games in the series. The original Street Fighter II alone had multiple updates that added new characters, abilities, and balance tweaks. I’ve always enjoyed the prequel to the series, Street Fighter Alpha, with its anime aesthetic, super combos,…

The First Suikoden Is An Underrated Gem For The PS1

If there’s one series I wish more gamers knew about, it’s Suikoden. A Japanese role-playing game with tactical strategy elements, it was developed by Konami and released on the original PlayStation. I’d actually played Suikoden II and III first, really enjoying both. Suikoden II was one of the best JRPGs on the PS1, a game…

Midnight Diner’s “Chicken Fried Rice” Episode Combines Good Food, Video Games, And Family

Midnight Diner is one of those shows I approach like a late night snack; I save it for special occasions, wait until I’m in the right mood, then savor its company. The new season just released on Netflix and as the first episode centered around a game director, I thought it was the perfect episode…

What Games Are You Most Thankful For?

This has been an interesting year for me personally with lots of ups and downs. I’ll be honest; I’m looking forward to saying goodbye to this year. Through it all, I’m grateful for the amazing games I got to play and revisit. The remasters of classic games for the latest generation of consoles makes it…

Chrono Trigger’s Campfire Scene Is A Meditation On Friendship, Regrets, And Time Itself

The opening of Chrono Trigger shows the pendulum of time, swinging away at the fractures breaking history apart. It’s been more than two decades since the game’s release, but many of its pivotal moments still stay with me, from the Trial of Crono for Marle’s kidnapping, to the confrontation with Magus at his castle, all…

Gradius III Was Fun And Hard As Bullet Hell

I grew up thinking space was infested with monsters, massive killer plants, and Easter Island Heads thanks in large part to the classic shmup (shoot em’ up) series, Gradius The Gradius games were spacer shooters developed by Konami that also made space faring hip with its retro tunes and vibrantly deadly depictions of space battles.…

Pokémon Games Can Be Strange If You’ve Never Played One Before

For the longest time, I’ve wanted to dive into a Pokémon game. I thought the recent release of Sword and Shield would be a good place to start. I’ve played about five hours of Shield, collected a bunch of Pokémon, and beat three gyms. I’m having a lot of fun, but I’m also baffled by…

Clash At Demonhead Is Like Playing A Ridiculously Fun 8-Bit Anime

Clash at Demonhead is 8-bit gaming at its most charmingly eclectic. Developed by Vic Tokai and known as Dengeki Big Bang! in Japan, Clash is a metroidvania-style game with open-world platforming and nonlinear progression through its quirky world. Unlike many of the earlier metroidvania games, it has an anime aesthetic and an intricate plot with…