Welcome to another Tuesday, everyone! January has, as usual, gotten off to a slow start, but that’s all changing with week three, thanks to a new entry in the Prince of Persia series with the side scrolling “metroidvania” The Lost Crown. Early reviews have been really positive from both critics and players, with Ubisoft deciding to give everyone a chance to play the game for free with a very robust demo. It isn’t the big, AAA game that we’ve all probably been wanting since the Sands of Time era, but it’s really great to see this franchise back.

Our other big release is a Nintendo Switch exclusive, Another Code: Recollection, an enchanced re-release of two titles, Trace Memory from the DS and Another Code: R, a Japan-only Wii title. Like The Lost Crown, you can download a demo of the opening chapter of the game, giving you a chance to check the game out for free.

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (PC/PS4/PS5/Switch/Xbox One/Series X|S) – Releases Jan. 18^th

Developed by: Ubisoft Montpellier
Published by: Ubisoft

Another Code: Recollection (Switch) – Releases Jan. 19^th

Developed by: Cing
Published by: Nintendo

In smaller game news, the Turnip Boy franchise grows by one, with the sequel Turnip Boy Robs a Bank, between this and Dadish, we’re well on our way to a complete root vegetable takeover of the video game hobby. Who’s going to make a carrot game? The Cub is a side scrolling adventure that says it is heavily inspired by the 16-bit Disney titles from the 90’s, most notably The Jungle Book. It’s from the creators of Golf Club Nostalgia and Highwater, if that does anything for you.

Turnip Boy Robs a Bank (PC/Switch/Xbox One) – Releases Jan. 18^th

Developed by: Snoozy Kazoo
Published by: Graffiti Games

The Cub (PC/Switch/Xbox One) – Releases Jan. 18^th

Developed by: Demagog Studio
Published by: Untold Tales/Gamersky Games

Finally, we have a couple of titles getting re-releases, first is the game Bahnsen Knights which came out on PC back in December of 2023; it looks pretty rad, like a lost Commodore 64 game. We’ve also got a PS5 remaster of The Last of Us Part II which I guess is needed? In any case, it comes with this really intense new mode called “No Return”, a rougelike side-game where players must complete a randomized playthrough of TLOU2 on a single life. With the ability to play as different characters with their own unique traits, various gameplay modifiers, a randomized set of enemies and bosses, and different gameplay modes, no two runs should ever be the same. It sounds cool, but is it enough to make you spend $10 bucks to upgrade your PS4 copy? Eh, maybe.

Bahnsen Knights (PS4/PS5/Switch/Xbox One/Series X|S) – Releases Jan. 18^th

Developed by: LCB Game Studio
Published by: Chorus Worldwide Games

Last of Us Part II Remastered (PS5) – Releases Jan. 19^th

Developed by: Naughty Dog
Published by: Sony Interactive Entertainment

Notable Releases from 10, 20, and 30 years ago:

Welcome to Notable Releases, my favorite part of every Tuesday. This week’s games are some big ones so let’s not mess around. From 2014 we have Double Fine’s Broken Age: Act I, the video game that kinda/sorta put Kickstarter on the map. After years of being told that the adventure game genre was “dead”, the team at Double Fine decided to put that to the test and went out to the people for funding. Their initial goal was $400k and they ended up collecting over $3 million from backers, making it one of the most successful Kickstarter projects up to that point.

The development of Broken Age or, as it was initially named, Double Fine Adventure, was documented by 2 Player Productions, a small production company in San Francisco, and gave backers an intimate look at Double Fine’s process, warts and all. At some point during production, Double Fine began to realize that their ambitions for Broken Age were starting to surpass their budget so, in an effort to gain the revenue needed to finish production, the decision was made to split Broken Age into two acts, with the first half of the game released in January of 2014. This was a somewhat controversial move, as some backers felt that Double Fine was not delivering on their original promise of a finished game, or that Double Fine was somehow asking players for MORE money. In the end, the “controversy” it didn’t really amount to much, as all backers of the project received both acts without the need for any additional money on their part.

Critically, Broken Age was well received, with its story, characters, voice acting, and art style all being highlights. For those unfamiliar with the plot, Broken Age centers around two teenage characters, Vella and Shay, who are both trapped in a situation from which they can not escape; Vella must present herself as a sacrifice to a giant monster, while Shay is confined to a space station where he is treated like a toddler and is unable to leave. Their stories, while seemingly disconnected, eventually merge into one wild tale.

Act 2 would release in April of 2015, completing the story and wrapping up the cliffhanger teased at the end of Act 1, with the entire game now being sold as one complete title. The success of Broken Age would lead Kickstarter to added over 60k new members to their platform and helped several other video games projects get made, including Wasteland 2 and Project Eternity. In the immediate aftermath of Broken Age’s Kickstarter success, several new point & click adventure games were funded, including new entries in the Broken Sword, Leisure Suit Larry, and Tex Murphy franchises, as well as new games from the creators of Gabriel Knight, and Space Quest. Broken Age is a wonderful coming-of-age story that I highly recommend, and it is available on every modern platform, so there’s no excuse to not check it out.

Moving on to 2004, we have the RPG .Hack//QUARANTINE the fourth, and final, entry in the fake MMO series for the PS2 (well…at least the finale of the FIRST series of games…). I don’t really have a lot to say about this game, other than it is really impressive that, in one year, the team was able to put out FOUR massive RPGs, each roughly 20-30 hours long. Critically, QUARANTINE was seen as mediocre, with comes critics saying it was a somewhat satisfying conclusion, while other found it to be a confusing mess of ideas. While it’s impressive that developer CyberConnect2 could put out four games in a year, it was also seen as an unnecessary cash grab, with some critics wishing they would have just released one massive RPG all at once, as they felt there was too much padding in the four releases.

While this would be the final entry in the initial series of .hack games, a follow-up series, .hack//G.U. came out, split into three parts, and this effectively ended the franchise, with the last piece of media, that I can see, being released in 2012. I never got into this series, I think because it was so confusing in terms of the release schedule, and it became really intimidating. Looking back, I probably would have enjoyed it if I had gone all in, but I’m kind of glad I didn’t as I feel like it would have consumed my life (much like a real MMO). I’m curious to know if you played these games when they were brand new, let me know down below.

Jumping into 1994, we have what, I think, is one of the greatest video games of all-time, the SNES classic Mega Man X. When it came time for the Mega Man series to jump into the 16-bit era, lead artist and designer Keiji Inafune wanted to change things up. For this new Mega Man game he was hoping to get edgier with it, with a sophisticated look, style, and sound. He hoped that the game’s new antagonist, Sigma, would come across as an actual evil villain and not as a cartoonish buffoon like Dr. Wiley. Initially, Inafune wanted Zero to be the lead protagonist, as he felt Mega Man should have a brand new design. However, fearing fan backlash, Zero was relegated to a mentor role, while the design of X was more in line with what players had come to expect Mega Man to look like.

Set nearly 100 years after the NES Mega Man games, the story of Mega Man X is still rather similar to that of its predecessors. Robots, once created for good, have gone haywire and now want to rid the world of humans. These rogue robots, called Mavericks, are led by a charismatic robot named Sigma, and they must be stopped by X and Zero, two Maverick Hunters. Like the NES games, the robot masters in Mega Man X give their powers to the player, who can then use those weapons to more easily defeat the other robot masters. In a twist, some stages would also change their design if a particular robot master is defeated. As an example, defeating Chill Penguin causes the lava in Flame Mammoth’s stage to be frozen.

Mega Man X was a big commercial and critical success when it came out, receiving overwhelmingly positive praise from players and critics, spawning an entirely new Mega Man franchise for Capcom to pursue and kind of putting the original series on hold. A remake of the game would release on the PSP in 2005/2006 called Mega Man Maverick Hunter X, featuring updated graphics and the ability to play as the villain Vile, the purple dude with the shoulder cannon. Playing the original Mega Man X today is fairly easy, as a collection of the entire series released on modern consoles back in 2018. Folks, Mega Man X is an absolute treasure, it is a near perfect game that always puts a smile on my face anytime I play it. If you’ve gone 30 years without experiencing it I would strongly suggest you check it out.

Let’s talk movies! 2014 gave us the Kevin Hart/Ice Cube comedy Ride Along, which was probably Hart’s biggest film up to that point. Having gained notoriety for his 2011 stand-up film Laugh at my Pain, Hart had mostly been in supporting roles up to the release of Ride Along. Now the guy is everyone, one of the biggest celebrities in the world. 2004 saw the release of the Ben Stiller/Jennifer Aniston romantic comedy Along Came Polly, about a straight laced office drone meeting a free-spirit woman that changes his life; blech. 1994’s notable film is the forgettable Richard Gere/Sharon Stone thriller Intersection, which…wait what were we talking about?

Music time! Alright, quickly jumping to 2004, Sarah Bareilles put out her self produced debut album Careful Confessions; it’s not very good. 1994 gave us a new ZZ Top album called Antenna, which is really kind of bizarre to hear ZZ Top’s music in an over produced, kind of sterile way. Folks, Antenna sucks, sorry.

Let’s instead talk about 2014’s Transgender Dysphoria Blues by the punk band Against Me!. After leaving clues in previous Against Me! albums, lead singer/songwriter Laura Jane Grace finally came out as transgender in 2012, making the announcement via an interview with Rolling Stone magazine. Grace’s experiences in the immediate aftermath of her announcement, as well as feelings she had harbored for most of her life, colored the content of Transgender Dysphoria Blues. It’s a harrowing listen, heartbreaking, yet inspiring. It’s a glimpse into the mind of someone struggling with gender dysphoria, and the freedom and empowerment that is found when you finally accept who you are. I was overcome with emotion as I listened to this album, hearing Laura Jane Grace’s journey is fascinating. Her voice is one of a kind and Against Me! is a strong contender as one of the great punk bands of all-time. Give this album a listen, it’s amazing.

Broken Age: Act I (PC) – Released Jan. 14^th, 2014: Wiki Link

.Hack//QUARANTINE (PS2) – Released Jan. 13^th, 2004: Wiki Link

Mega Man X (SNES) – Released Jan. 19^th, 1994: Wiki Link

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Here’s some more Against Me!, because why the fuck not: