Destructoid Changelog - Sand off your ears

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What did you do this week? The fair is in town, so I went to see some cows and horses. It was pretty cool.

Wait, I’m supposed to be making this part more interesting. If you haven’t heard, you can now view back issues of the Destructoid Changelog Newsletter here on these words that you can click. People who have not signed up yet can view the first few paragraphs or so and judge my value based on those. However, if you are signed up, you can sign in and take a trip down memory lane.

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Speaking of which, I must again draw your attention to the referral button in this newsletter. If you can convince someone that this newsletter is awesome and they sign up (using the link) you’ll get our new monthly special newsletter at the end of the month (September 30, this particular month, so you’ll still get one reminder). In the special edition, I’ll be interviewing cool developers. This month, you’ll learn what question I asked that resulted in TheCatamites responding, “Send it to the police station wrapped in a severed hand.” It’s that kind of interview.

Beyond that, I’ve been busy with review games this month. I’ve played further into Little King’s Story. However, I also picked up Grand Theft Auto III on PS2. This isn’t baby’s first GTA; I’ve played the series since the original game on PS1. I’ve even played GTA3 on PC already. However, I never finished it. So, I thought I would try playing it in its original format, since people who care deeply about this sort of thing told me that something is lost in newer ports. So, I picked it up alongside Vice City.

The woman at the game store then mansplained to me how to clean the GBA cartridges I was picking up at the same time. I had just discussed my Steel Battalion controller with her, so I’m wondering how she mistook me as someone who doesn’t know their way around a Q-tip with rubbing alcohol. I guess Steel Battalion and Bloody Roar Extreme communicate a deep level of video game familiarity, while GTA3 on PS2 and Tony Hawk’s Underground on GBA suggest I’m new at this. Or she thought I was younger than I am. It was cute and considerate, so I just listened patiently anyway.

In the cartridge slot this week

Bloody Roar Extreme

I got into the Bloody Roar series last year with the first two PS1 titles. Since then, I’ve been keeping an eye out for the others in the series. I finally obtained the lone Xbox entry, Bloody Roar Extreme (Primal Fury on GameCube), in the previously explained exchange.

Even with an opening text crawl, I barely understand what the underlying narrative of these games is supposed to be. They’re 1v1 fighting games where the combatants can transform into anthropomorphic animals. That’s the technical term for a furry. The transformations not only have niche appeal, but they also add a pretty great wrinkle to the fighting since making the most of your transformation gauge is a key strategy.

I don’t think I like Extreme as much as the previous games. It might be simply because I main Alice and her moveset isn’t as brutal. Her rabbit transformation looks great in this game, though. It’s also pretty impressive that her jiggling breasts are visible under her heavy cord-knit sweater and insulated vest.

I don’t know. It’s fine. It’s still Bloody Roar, and it’s fun. Also, Shina looks might fine. I had to drop that comment in somewhere. I’ve heard some people say they prefer Extreme/Primal Fury in the series, but as of right now, I don’t agree. Others have said Bloody Roar 3, so I’m still hoping to track that down. No one I’ve spoken to said Bloody Roar 4, however. So that’s concerning.

Elsewhere on Destructoid

You can sand off your ears with the Cruelty Squad OST on streaming services

I love Cruelty Squad, even though it seems like it doesn’t want to be loved. It’s so offputtingly ugly and somewhat painful to play. In line with that, its soundtrack is really hard to listen to. You can certainly try, since it’s now on most streaming services. I actually recommend it so you can experience how far the definition of “music” can be stretched.

Flappy Bird creator distances himself from viral mobile game’s re-release

I’ve never had much respect for Flappy Bird, but it’s hard not to appreciate its creator, Dong Nguyen. Once it became apparent how addictive his creation was, he ripped it off of storefronts despite the insane amount of money he was making off of it.

It might seem confusing that he would sanction a return of the bird, but that’s the thing: he didn’t. He let the copyright lapse (presumably because he wanted nothing to do with it), and that was picked up by another company. Worse, they’re overhauling the game with microtransactions, microprogression, and other insidiously addictive mechanics.

When someone disowns something because they have integrity, it’s funny when someone announces to the world, “We’ll do it instead, because we don’t!”

Final Fantasy XVI producer Naoki Yoshida asks that modders keep their creations respectable

Asking anyone on the internet to behave themselves is naive at best. However, Naoki Yoshida did just that by politely requesting no one create mods that are “inappropriate” for Final Fantasy XVI. I feel like, in any given game, mods that just add features or tweak the look of the game are just the tip of the iceberg. Everything underneath is filth, and it’s almost a certainty that this will be the case for the PC version of FFXVI. Asking people to do otherwise is basically just issuing them a challenge.

Clock Tower: Rewind arrives in the west two days before Halloween

I’ve wanted a localization of the original Clock Tower for years. It’s an extraordinarily influential title in the development of the survival horror genre, but it never made it to this side of the pond. The wait is almost over, as Clock Tower: Rewind launches late next month. Now, hopefully, we’ll get a Tokimeki Memorial announcement soon. I don’t like making predictions because I think I’m wrong about everything, but I wouldn’t be surprised if LRG localized Tokimeki Memorial: Forever With You Emotional.

Reviews for review

Marvel Vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics

I did the write-up of The Punisher part of the Marvel Vs. Capcom Fighting Collection. However, I’m not one to really play competitive fighting games online, so Eric Van Allen took care of everything else. It’s great to see these games again. Top to bottom, it’s an excellent set of games and allows you to explore the evolution of the crossover fighting titles.

Starstruck: Hands of Time

I like rhythm games, I like narrative adventure games, and I like smashing things. Starstruck: Hands of Time provides for all of those. It’s kind of hard to describe the game. It’s about aspiring musicians saving the world from plagiarism while a hand breaks their town? Maybe just read the review.

The Plucky Squire

The Plucky Squire seems like a pretty inventive and visually striking game made by a passionate team. In that way, it’s no wonder it turned out so well. Personally, I’ve been playing too many other things, so I haven’t picked this one up. However, Madison Benson is here to give you the whole rundown.