Destructoid Changelog - Both Elevators And Action

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Oh, man, it’s been a good week. This week is the week that I finally got all my consoles unpacked and hooked up. That’s a lot of cables. But now I can sit back, relax, and play some old favorites. Except I didn’t. I still have more unpacking to do, and I had cram half of Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club into a couple of nights. I’m not saying that’s stressful, but it can be.

We also had a Nintendo Direct this week, but not a Nintendo Nintendo Direct. There were some pretty great surprises, including the Castlevania Dominus Collection. It was only a few years ago that I was complaining how terrible Konami is at respecting its back library, but now we’re one step closer to a Ganbare Goemon collection.

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There was so much good stuff for retro lovers in that direct. There’s even another Capcom Fighting Collection. I’m still holding out hope for another more general Capcom Arcade Stadium, but this doesn’t mean it won’t happen. In contrast to Konami from a few years ago, Capcom is very good at respecting its history. Not perfect, but better than most.

Before we get started, consider pointing a friend at this newsletter. I’m not required to say this every time, but watching a number go up does help feed my hungry ego.

In the cartridge slot this week

Elevator Action Returns

I’ve mentioned it before, but arcade games are my current comfort food. While my consoles were still in a box, I managed to pull out my Taito Egret II Mini. There are a lot of gems on there, but the one I’ve been fixated on (aside from Kaiser Knuckle) is Elevator Action Returns. It’s not exactly what I’d expect from a sequel to 1983’s Elevator Action, but it’s exactly what a sequel should be.

While I can confirm that Elevator Action Returns does include lots of elevators, it leans more in the action direction. It’s more of a run-and-gun than the original. You blast dudes with various weapons while defusing bombs behind doors that the bad guys conveniently color-coded red.

I don’t exactly know the full etymology of the word “bombastic,” but if marketing people are using it correctly, then Elevator Action Returns qualifies. The second level begins with the protagonists infiltrating by crashing a helicopter through a window. There rarely is an absence of fire on the screen. It’s a blast, start to finish.

Start to finish isn’t very long, even for an arcade game. It’s also a lot easier than I’m used to from run-and-gun arcade games (though I don’t think the Egret II Mini has DIP switch settings). But while it lasts, it’s a bombastic time full of bombast.

Elsewhere on Destructoid

Onion Games’ Stray Children finally has a release date for Japan

I’m so jazzed for Stray Children. Chulip is (shamefully) one of my favorite games, partially because of the way it utilizes defunct developer Love-de-Lic’s joy-maker formula. Yoshiro Kimura and other key members from Love-de-Lic and Punchline (such as the amazing Hirofumi Taniguchi), are returning to make what is essentially a spiritual successor to Moon: Remix RPG Adventure. Now we have a release date.

Unfortunately, it’s just a release date for Japan, with localized releases in other areas coming later. Kimura is suggesting it won’t be a long wait for other regions, but I’m still jealous. Maybe I need to work harder to learn Japanese before December.

Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection will bring back one very strange fighter

I’m not deep enough into fighting games (yet) to know who Norimaro is, but I saw some of the discourse around him when Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection’s release date was announced during the Nintendo Direct. I’m still not sure I really care, either, because he kind of creeps me out (which I think is the point). However, Tiago Manuel goes pretty deep into explaining who the character is, and I’m always up for learning new things.

Nightmarish sci-fi horror Mouthwashing arrives in September

When writing an article, if I can’t really grok a game’s concept based on a given trailer and bulleted list of features, I try to play it first if there’s a demo available. Well, when it comes to Mouthwashing, that was one hell of a demo.

Mouthwashing probably shouldn’t open with mascot horror, simply because it’s misleading. Everything after that is surreal, grotesque, and discomforting. In spite of its nightmarish imagery, the situation of the crew of a stranded space-hauler is disturbingly believable. If the full version is half as good as what’s represented in the demo, it’s going to be one to watch.

Reviews for review this week

Bakeru

As a long-time fan of Ganbare Goemon, I felt it was my duty to get a review in for Bakeru, which seems like a spiritual successor by the former Konami developers who took shelter in Good-Feel Ltd. It was okay.

The Bathhouse: Restored Edition

I’ve played a few of Chilla’s Art’s shortform horror games, and I always sort of came away with the same impression that Christian Dawson got when it came to The Bathhouse: Restored Edition. Well, not entirely. They say that the horror gets muted beneath the work simulation aspect. In my case, I typically find them to be decent Japanese horror stories that I wish would focus more on work simulation. I guess that’s not the same impression at all.

SteamWorld Heist II

Gonna be real with you: I didn’t play the first SteamWorld Heist, even after it received so much acclaim. The only SteamWorld games I played were a bit of the first Dig and SteamWorld Build. I’m not sure if I’ll ever get to heisting, but Jamie Moorcraft-Sharp has the details if you’re curious about how great SteamWorld Heist II is.

Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club

This is what I’ve been binging on to get a review out. 15-or-so hours is reasonable to fit into a week, but time is at a premium while I’m settling in. I made it happen, and I can tell you that the narrative can be decent at times, but wow, that epilogue is ridiculously dark. Holy crap.