Top Releases:

• Denshattack! (PC/PS5/Switch 2/Series X|S) – Releases Jul. 15^th
• D-topia (PC/PS5/Switch/Switch 2/Series X|S) – Releases Jul. 15^th
• Culdcept Begins (Switch/Switch 2) – Releases Jul. 16^th
• Moss: The Forgotten Relic (PC/PS5/Switch/Switch 2/Series X|S) – Releases Jul. 16^th

The Summer season keeps rolling along and, as you might expect, pickings are still pretty slim. Our top game of the week, Denshattack!, was actually supposed to come out last month before it got pushed to July. There’s no real rhyme or reason why it’s the top game of the week, any of this stuff could have been. I guess I just like the way it looks.

For you indie fans out there, Annapurna Interactive has a new title for you to fawn over, D-Topia, a puzzle game that is supposed to be “gentle-paced”; whatever that means. Fans of Japanese games have Culdcept Begins to look forward to, a new Switch console exclusive. This strategy card game series (with a few board game elements) has been flying under the radar for nearly thirty years. It’s a niche game, so be sure to impress your friends when they see it on your Switch played list, making them envious of your taste. Finally, we have Moss: The Forgotten Relic, a 3D platform/puzzle title that takes the previously VR-exclusive titles Moss & Moss II and combines them into one, non-VR package.

Denshattack! (PC/PS5/Switch 2/Series X|S) – Releases Jul. 15^th

Developed by: Undercoders
Published by: Fireshine Games/Boltray Games

D-topia (PC/PS5/Switch/Switch 2/Series X|S) – Releases Jul. 15^th

Developed by: Marumittu Games
Published by: Annapurna Interactive

Culdcept Begins (Switch/Switch 2) – Releases Jul. 16^th

Developed by: Neos Corporation
Published by: Neos Corporation

Moss: The Forgotten Relic (PC/PS5/Switch/Switch 2/Series X|S) – Releases Jul. 16^th

Developed by: Polyarc/Blackbird Interactive
Published by: Polyarc

Everything else:

• Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit (PC/Switch/Switch 2/Xbox One/Series X|S) – Releases Jul. 15^th
• KAMI 2 (PC/Switch) – Releases Jul. 15^th
• Teeto (PC/PS5/Switch/Switch 2) – Releases Jul. 15^th
• 70s-style Robot Anime Geppy-X (PC/PS4/PS5/Switch/Series X|S) – Releases Jul. 16^th
• The Mermaid Mask (PC/PS5/Switch/Switch 2) – Releases Jul. 16^th
• Fitness Boxer 3: Your Personal Trainer (Switch 2) – Releases Jul. 16^th
• Heave Ho 2 (PC/Switch 2) – Releases Jul. 16^th
• K-pop Idol Stories: Road to Debut (PC/PS5/Switch/Series X|S) – Releases Jul. 16^th
• PowerWash Simulator 2 – Star Wars Pack (PC/PS5/Switch 2/Series X|S) – Releases Jul. 16^th

Notable Releases from 10, 20, and 30 (and sometimes 40) years ago:

Games:

In notable games, 2016 saw the release of Monster Hunter Generations for the 3DS. The game was not a huge departure from all of the previous Monster Hunter games, with players taking on a slew of quests centered around hunting down and either killing or capturing monsters. Initially released in Japan of 2015, Capcom expected to sell about 2 million copies in the first dour months and, instead, sold over 3 million in just the first two. When it came to North America and Europe, the game sold an additional 1 million by the end of 2016, with Western sales being called “solid”.

Part of the game’s success had to do with an overall renewed interest in the 3DS following Nintendo and Niantic’s release of Pokémon Go the previous week, with players flocking to stores to pick up the handheld, grabbing a copy of this new monster game. The success of the 3DS version led Capcom to port Generations to the Switch in 2018, which helped push overall sales of the title to over 8 million copies.

From 2006, we have the fighting game Super Dragon Ball Z. Based on the popular anime, the game was first released in 2005 to Japanese arcades, before getting ported to PS2 in June/July of 2006. With a veteran Street Fighter/Dark Stalkers developer at the helm, Noritaka Funamizu, Super Dragon Ball Z was seen as a kind of throw back to the 2D fighters of the 90’s, as the team tried to appeal to a somewhat older demographic who would have, presumably, watched DBZ in their youth.

The game features a roster of 18 playable characters and takes place during the Frieza, Cell, and Buu sagas from the manga & anime. Super Dragon Ball Z received mixed reviews from critics and was seen as perfectly average. It would, later, be bundled together with Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi and Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 as part of the Dragon Ball Z Trilogy collection.

From 1996, we have an early “cozy” game, the PlayStation title Aquanaut’s Holiday. In this game, which contains no combat, no enemies, no timer, and no major obstacles, players are tasked with exploring a vast stretch of ocean as they attempt to lure undersea life back to an empty coral reef.

The game was developed by the same team that worked on the PlayStation title Tail of Sun, another oddly themed game which doesn’t seem to have any particular goal in mind other than to just, you know, enjoy yourself. While most critics agreed that Aquanaut’s Holiday had spectacular graphics and noble intentions, it seemed to fail as a game. There was little fun to be had, in the opinion of critics, who found the game to be incredibly dull.

Aquanaut’s Holiday was really only a success in Japan, getting two further sequels on the PlayStation (which were eventually released digitally on the PS3 and PSP), and a fourth entry on the PS3 in 2008. There have been no further releases since then, with developer Artdink focusing on their popular A-Train series of strategy games.

From 1986, we’ve got the action arcade game Wonder Boy, the first title developed by the Japanese studio Escape (later named Westone Bit Entertainment), and published by Sega. The gameplay in Wonder Boy is your standard side scrolling platformer, with players moving left to right, defeating enemies with a variety of weapons. Players can also find skateboards scattered throughout the game, allowing them to move through stages faster than normal. There’s not much of a plot to speak of, featuring a classic “damsel in distress” story.

Wonder Boy was a hit in arcades and when it came to Sega’s early home consoles, the SG-1000 & the Master System, and spawned multiple sequels, ending with 1994’s Monster World IV. Interestingly, developer Hudson would port the game to the NES under the title Adventure Island which, itself, spawned its own side-scrolling franchise (which also ended in 1994).

Movies:

In notable film, 2016 gave us the animated feature The Secret Life of Pets, which finds a pampered, low-key pooch suddenly having to share his home with a new dog that is loud, messy, and encroaching on his territory. The high-strung doggo attempts to get the new canine abandoned but, in the process, becomes lost himself. This odd-couple must now work together in order to get back home to their owner, learning life lessons along the way.

Produced by Illumination, the studio behind the Despicable Me/Minions franchise, Pets became yet another massive hit for the company, earning over $500 million at the box office, worldwide, and would go on to become the fifth highest grossing film of the year (no wonder it got a ride at Universal Studios). A second film would release in 2019 (with Patton Oswalt replacing Louis C.K.), and a third film is currently in development (likely de-prioritized after the second film failed to generate the same box office as the first film).

From 2006, we have another animated film, Richard Linklater’s A Scanner Darkly. Adapted from the Philip K. Dick novel of the same name, Scanner revolves around an undercover agent (played by Keanu Reeves) who must infiltrate a group of drug users as they attempt to take down the people behind a powerful new drug, Substance D.

Initially filmed using digital cameras, Linklater’s team would then use a rotoscoping technique to animate each frame, giving the entire film a dream-like quality that helps tell this bizarre tale of paranoia and drug lust. The film received high praise from critics, particularly for the performances of all the actors involved, but it was a major box office disappointment, opening in 18th place before expanding to additional theatres and seeing itself move up to 10th place (far behind two other new films, You, Me, and Dupree and Little Man).

From 1996, we’ve got our third animated film, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, a rather grim and serious movie from Walt Disney Feature Animation in comparison to their other 1990’s offerings like Aladdin and The Lion King. The movie is loosely based on the classic novel from Victor Hugo, retaining some of the serious themes of genocide, lust, and prejudice, but made various changes to the book’s plot, and added comedic gargoyle characters, to help earn its G rating.

While Hunchback received glowing reviews from critics, it wasn’t able to meet the success of 1995’s Pocahontas (another semi-serious film from Disney). Though, at $325 million earned worldwide, it wasn’t a total failure, becoming the fifth highest grossing film of 1996. At the Academy Awards, Hunchback received a nomination in the Best Original Music or Comedy Score category (a category, I should say, invented to ensure Disney stopped winning this award every year), losing to the film Emma.

There was controversy with the film, of course, with literary scholars decrying the “bastardization” of Hugo’s novel, religious organizations decrying the portrayal of the church (despite the villain being changed from a priest to a government official), and parents groups decrying the high levels of “sexuality” on display in the film. In the end, it doesn’t seem like their supposed boycott’s amounted to much, but Disney’s non-Pixar animated offerings following Hunchback would continue to see a steady decline in revenue until, probably, 2010’s Tangled.

From 1986, we don’t have an animated film, but it does have puppets. I’m talking about the Jim Henson directed Labyrinth. Having found great success with the Muppets, Henson and his team wanted to branch out into different genres and subject matter. Henson and his creative partner, Frank Oz, would co-direct the fantasy film The Dark Crystal in 1982, which went much darker and more serious than they intended.

For Labyrinth, Henson wanted to make a more comedic, light hearted film, and asked Monty Python member Terry Jones to write the screenplay. However, during filming, Jones would find the script moving further and further away from his ideas (and even had a doctoring from George Lucas). After singer David Bowie was cast, Henson requested that Jones write new scenes that allowed for Bowie’s character to sing and dance, much to the dismay of Jones.

With such a stacked group of creators behind the scenes (Henson, Jones, Bowie, and Lucas, along with the entire Muppet team), Labyrinth was expected to be a smash. Instead, the film bombed at the box office, opening at #8 behind two other new releases, Ruthless People and Running Scared, as well as hold-over films Karate Kid Part II, Back to School, Legal Eagles, Top Gun (in its seventh week), and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

Critics were mixed on the film, praising its atmosphere and artistry, but found the story and script to be lacking direction (which, you know, happens when you have a bunch of people making changes on it). Bowie’s performance was polarizing as well, with some critics finding his acting to fit well with the brooding Goblin King, while other found it laughably bad. Henson was, reportedly, distraught after the failure of Labyrinth and did not direct another feature afterward. Sadly, Henson would pass away in 1990, four years after the film’s release.

In the months and years following Labyrinth’s release, it would go on to become a top selling/renting title on home video, and would gain a new appreciation from audiences who caught the film on cable television. Bowie would say that, for years after the film’s release, he would still get recognized by children who had seen the film. The film still has a devoted fanbase and, oddly, has one of the largest collections of fan fiction in the world. A sequel/reboot film was put into pre-production in 2016 but, as of now, doesn’t seem to have much traction.

Albums:

In notable albums, from 2016 we have Where the Light Shines Through from the San Diego rock band Switchfoot. While it was a commercial success, peaking at #10 on the Billboard Top 200 and spawned five singles, it didn’t get much love or attention from critics. I’m a Switchfoot fan and I had no idea this record even existed until I looked up this week’s notable albums. I gave it a listen, it’s okay.

From 2006, we have Carnavas from the alternative group Silversun Pickups. Personally, I hate this album and don’t care for the band, like, at all. It’s single, “Lazy Eye” is fine enough, and was a big hit on rock radio, but I just can’t stand this band. I know a lot of people my age seem to hold this album in particular and being the soundtrack to their college years; cool.

From 1996, we have The Quickening, the fifth studio album from punk band The Vandals. While it was more commercially successful than their 1995 album Live Fast, Diarrhea (maybe one of the worst album names of all time), I personally did not enjoy it as much. In fact, it almost feels like, at least in my circle of friends, that The Vandals didn’t really gain a positive reputation until 1998’s Hitler Bad, Vandals Good (another gem of an album title).

The Quickening didn’t have any singles, but a music video was made for the only decent song on the album, “It’s a Fact”. This song, and many other Vandals tunes, were featured in the 1995 film Glory Daze, which helped raise the group’s profile and helped The Quickening reach a wider audience than before. If it sounds like I’m shitting on The Vandals, I’m not, they are genuinely one of my favorite bands, but I just don’t enjoy The Quickening.

Closing things out this week, from 1986, we have the album Crowded House from the Australian band Crowded House. While the album is regarded as one of the greatest albums of all-time in its home country (Rolling Stone Australia ranked it #7 all-time), it doesn’t hold that distinction in the U.S. While it isn’t reviled, or anything, far from it, it just doesn’t resonate in the same way.

It was a commercial success here, however, peaking at #12 on the Billboard Top 200. This was thanks in large part to the single “Don’t Dream It’s Over”, which peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, being one of the most played songs of the year on mainstream radio. You might not have heard of Crowded House, or even any of their other songs, but if you’ve ever been exposed to any kind of 80’s pop culture content, post 1986, you have absolutely heard this song.

Monster Hunter Generations (3DS) – Released Jul. 15^th, 2016

Super Dragon Ball Z (PS2) – Released Jul. 18^th, 2006

Aquanaut’s Holiday (PlayStation) – Released Jul. 26^th, 1996

Wonder Boy (Arcade) – Released Jun. 1986

---

If you like what I’m doing here consider supporting me on Patreon. You can also find me on Blue Sky where I occasionally make jokes and talk about stuff I like. I used to eat a lot of corndogs but then I got Type-2 diabetes.