It’s another light week for games, don’t have much to say about them, so I’m not going to; enjoy!

Top Releases:

Pacific Drive (PC/PS5) – Releases Feb. 22^nd

Developed by: Ironwood Studios
Published by: Kepler Interactive

Balatro (PC/PS4/PS5/Switch/Xbox One/Series X|S) – Releases Feb. 20^th

Developed by: LocalThunk
Published by: Playstack

Lost Legends of Redwall: Scout Anthology (PC/PS5/Series X|S) – Releases Feb. 20^th

Developed by: Soma Games
Published by: Forthright Entertainment

Bandle Tale: A League of Legends Story (PC/Switch) – Releases Feb. 21^st

Developed by: Lazy Bear Games
Published by: Riot Forge

Slave Zero X (PC/PS4/PS5/Switch/Xbox One/Series X|S) – Releases Feb. 21^st

Developed by: Poppy Works
Published by: Ziggurat

Splatoon 3 Expansion Pass: Wave 2 – Side Order (Switch) – Releases Feb. 22^nd

Everything else:

Maybe “slow” was the wrong word to describe this week, because there are actually a TON of games coming out. This is one of those week’s where it is upon us, the consumer, to try and figure out what’s good and what’s not. Ummm, Promenade looks really cute, maybe check that one out. Oh, one other thing, Revenge of the Ronin is NOT that samurai game from Team Ninja, that’s Rise of the Ronin and it will be out next month. Nice try, publisher of Revenge of the Ronin, but I’m too smart for you.

• Last Epoch (PC) – Releases Feb. 21^st
• 502’s Arcade (PC/Switch/Xbox One) – Releases Feb. 22^nd
• Garden Life: A Cozy Simulator (PC/PS4/PS5/Switch/Xbox One) – Releases Feb. 22^nd
• Quadroids (PC/Switch) – Releases Feb. 22^nd
• Promenade (PC/PS4/PS5/Switch/Xbox One/Series X|S) – Releases Feb. 23^rd
• Revenge of the Ronin (PC) – Releases Feb. 23^rd

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

Welcome to Notable Releases, the article within the article! We’ve got a couple of really great Nintendo games this week, and one forgettable Disney game. Let’s check ’em out!

First up is 2014’s Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Retro Studios’ second entry in the DKC franchise after 2010’s Donkey Kong Country Returns. Picking up where that game left off, Tropical Freeze continued Retro’s take on the series, with gorgeous graphics, highly stylized art, and brutal difficulty. While a first glance of the game says “it’s for kids“, the sheer difficulty of the game is probably too much for most children. The game is more suited for teens and young adults with very little responsibility, as they’re the only ones allowed them to spend the time trying to figure out the insane challenges Tropical Freeze throws at players.

As expected, players had the ability to play as both Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong, however two other characters were added to the game as well. First to be announced was Dixie Kong, making her first appearance in the series since 1996’s Donkey Kong Country 3, with the ability to float short distances and elevate onto out-of-reach platforms. The second character announced was Cranky Kong, making his debut as a playable character, with the ability to jump on dangerous surfaces with his cane (similar to Scrooge in DuckTales).

However, the announcement of Cranky came with controversy, as his inclusion was accidentally revealed by Amazon’s Italian website, who published a photo of the game’s cover art. This was a huge blow to not just Nintendo, but to Geoff Keighly’s VGX Awards in December of 2013, as it was supposed to be one of their massive, world premier announcements. When Nintendo’s segment came up during the event, Geoff could barely disguise his frustration with Nintendo and took the company to task over it, making snide comments and ribbing Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aimé. The segment is very uncomfortable and the entire debacle is described in great detail by former Nintendo Minute hosts Kit & Krysta in a recent vlog they did for their YouTube channel.

Critical reception to Tropical Freeze was mostly favorable, with Destructoid giving the game a perfect 10 out of 10. Not every outlet was pleased with the game, though, as GameSpot scored it 6 out of 10, saying the game was too repetitive and that the two new characters added nothing new or interesting to the gameplay (their review of the Switch port later increased to 9 out of 10…). While critics enjoyed the game, the Wii U just didn’t have the install base to make the game a hit. As I alluded to above, a port for the Switch would come out in 2018, increasing the game’s visibility and accessibility, and is, in my opinion, one of the best titles on the entire console. I strongly urge everyone to play it, just go in knowing that you’re gonna get your butt kicked.

Moving to 2004, we have the game Metroid: Zero Mission for the Game Boy Advance, a remake of the 1986 original NES Metroid game. While Nintendo was busy with the 3D Metroid Prime series on the GameCube (also developed by Retro Studios), the 2D Metroid games were relegated to Nintendo’s hand held systems. With the success of 2002’s Metroid Fusion, the team wanted to continue the series on the GBA, with the idea of porting Super Metroid to the handheld. The team pondered this for a bit but it was eventually decided that, if the team was going to port an old Metroid title to the GBA, they should start with Samus’ first adventure.

Directed by series veteran Yoshio Sakamoto, Zero Mission took the original Metroid and gave it a major facelift. First off, the graphics were vastly improved, while the gameplay was updated as well, with the game using the same engine as Metroid Fusion. To help players understand the story better, cut scenes were added that gave further backstory for Samus and helped explain just what players were doing there in the first place. One other major change to the game was the introduction of Samus outside of her power suit, wearing the (very) form-fitting Zero Suit during specific segments of the game. Samus is more easily damaged and is unable to kill enemies, making these sections particularly challenging to get through.

Critics were in love with Zero Mission, and were continually impressed with the way the Game Boy Advance was able to give them SNES style gaming on the go. While there was some trepidation that this would just be a simple remake of the NES game, most critics were happy to see that Nintendo added new gameplay features, new power-ups, and new areas to the game. The game received very high praise from Game Informer, who called it one of the greatest video games of all-time, and from 1UP.com who called it the greatest video game remake of all-time.

Sadly, the only way to play Zero Mission today is with an original cartridge of emulation. The game was released on the Wii U back in 2016 but, with the online store shut down, the game is no longer available. Data miners appear to have found an image for Zero Mission in the GBA online section for the Switch, but Nintendo has not made any announcements about the game release on that platform. Until then, find some way to play this game, it’s a treasure.

Moving to 1994, we have the puzzle platformer Mickey’s Ultimate Challenge. While the game would release on multiple consoles, including a version for Sega’s Master System in 1998 (only in Brazil), the first release came in February of 1994 for the Super Nintendo. In Mickey’s Ultimate Challenge, players take on the role of either Mickey of Minnie and must explore a castle, solving puzzles in each of its rooms, receiving items and, later, magic beans.

The game is relatively simple and short, made with the smallest of children in mind. With only five puzzles to solve, it can likely be completed in an afternoon. Mickey’s Ultimate Challenge had very little appear to me as a 13-year-old kid back in 1994, and as a 43-year-old man…I still find very little appealing about this game, sorry. Critics were mostly on my side here, finding Ultimate Challenge to be, well, not at all challenging, and only for the very young. Nintendo Power, hard pressed to ever say anything negative about a game on their system, gave it very lukewarm praise, stating that the game is “…fun for its intended audience“. Put that quote on the box.

Moving away from games, the notable films are all…eh…fine. Starting with 2014’s title, the best of the bunch, we have Hayo Miyazaki’s final film, The Wind Rises. Oh wait, did I say final film? LOL, I meant it was supposed to be his final film, but then he came out of retirement in 2023 to make The Boy and the Heron. It tells the story of Japanese engineer Jiro Horikoshi, the man responsible for the creation of the A6M Zero airplane, used by Japan during WWII, first as a top of its class dogfighter, before being switched to the primary aircraft used in kamikaze missions. Having watched this just after Oppenheimer, its fascinating seeing two films about driven, intense, and patriotic men who found their life’s legacy, and their love of science, tied to so much death and carnage.

2004’s notable film is the Mel Gibson film The Passion of the Christ, which is the story of the brutal beating, crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It was a cultural phenomenon when it released in 2004 on Ash Wednesday, and went on to gross over $600 million around the world. Of course, after the release of the film, Gibson would go on to have a string of controversies throughout the 2000’s and early 2010’s, culminating in charges of anti-Semitism and racism, to already go along with his known sexism and homophobia.

1994’s notable film is the biopic 8 Seconds, starring Luke Perry, and tells the story of bull rider Lane Frost. The film was a modest success, but was mostly panned by critics, though Perry’s performance was seen as a standout.

In notable albums, 2014 had St. Vincent’s self-titled release, her fourth studio album, and featured the hit song “Birth in Reverse”. The album was a massive critical success, appearing on numerous “Best of” lists for 2014, and earned the Grammy for Best Alternative Album, making her only the second female solo artist to win the award (Sinead O’Conner last won the award in 1991). 2004 gave us the first solo album from NSYNC member JC Chasez, Schizophrenic, a critical and commercial flop, perhaps in some ways influenced by the recent scandal in which his NSYNC bandmate, Justin Timberlake, exposed Janet Jackson’s breast during the Super Bowl, only a few days earlier.

1994 saw the release of In the Nightside Eclipse from Norwegian band Emperor. While the black metal sub-genre began to take root in the 1980’s, it didn’t start to hit the mainstream until the early 1990’s, with In the Nightside Eclipse being seen as the first, great black metal album, and is credited as a major influence on future black metal bands. I tried listening to this over the past week and just could not get into it. Fans of the genre probably love it, but I’m not a fan of the genre, and I don’t think I ever will be. I’ll just go back to listening to JC Chasez’s Schizophrenic…j/k, that album is dog shit.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Wii U) – Released Feb. 21^st, 2014: Wiki Link

Metroid: Zero Mission (GBA) – Released Feb. 9^th, 2004: Wiki Link

Mickey’s Ultimate Challenge (SNES) – Released Feb. 1994: Wiki Link

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