Bomb Rush Cyberfunk: How to Unlock Rise

Team Reptiles's Bomb Rush Cyberfunk is a fantastic game that gives the player a lot of customization freedom ranging from what type of graffiti they tag the city with to what costume their character wears. One bit of freedom that most players likely missed though was the myriad of hidden unlockable characters.Scattered throughout the world… Continue reading Bomb Rush Cyberfunk: How to Unlock Rise

Why Azami is the Best Written Shin Sakura Wars Character

Shin Sakura Wars was always destined to be a controversial entry in the Sakura Wars series. It was a perfect combination: The first new title in a long dormant series being headed by an entirely new creative staff. The writing of the game in particular gets highlighted among the fanbase. Without returning staff like scriptwriter… Continue reading Why Azami is the Best Written Shin Sakura Wars Character

A Deep Dive Into Every Yakuza Minigame

Two years ago I embarked on a quest to platinum every single Sega game available on PS4 (and now PS5). Anyone who would undergo this task knows the biggest roadblock in doing that: The Yakuza franchise. The Yakuza games are known for having some of the best side content in gaming and having an absolute… Continue reading A Deep Dive Into Every Yakuza Minigame

Evolution of Yakuza Mechanics: Feel the Heat!

Hello and once again welcome back to The Story Arc. If you've been paying attention to the site at all this month then you'll know that every two days I've been analyzing a different small mechanic from the Yakuza franchise and studying how it's changed from day to day.Over the past few weeks we've seen… Continue reading Evolution of Yakuza Mechanics: Feel the Heat!

All of Azami’s Ninja Rules from Sakura Wars

I love Azami Mochizuki, anyone who knows me knows that I can talk about this character for hours on end! One of the main recurring gags for this character are her 108 Village Rules. Whenever some character conflict happens or if the writers just want to tell a joke with her they'll often have her… Continue reading All of Azami’s Ninja Rules from Sakura Wars

Evolution of Yakuza mechanics: Revelations

Hello and welcome back to the Story Arc. Last week I began an adventure where every other day in December of 2022 I examine a minor mechanic in the Yakuza franchise and look at how it has evolved game by game. In the previous three articles I looked over how super small mechanics like locker… Continue reading Evolution of Yakuza mechanics: Revelations

The Evolution of Yakuza Mechanics: Chases

Hello and welcome back to the Story Arc, last week I began an adventure where every other day in December of 2022 I examine a minor mechanic in the Yakuza franchise and look at how it has evolved game by game. In the previous two articles I looked over how super small mechanics like locker… Continue reading The Evolution of Yakuza Mechanics: Chases

The Evolution of Yakuza Mechanics: Taxis

Hello and welcome back to the Story Arc! A few days ago I decided to begin putting out a short series of articles about the various evolving mechanics in the Yakuza franchise for December 2022. Last time I covered how locker keys have changed game by game and today I'm going to cover a mechanic… Continue reading The Evolution of Yakuza Mechanics: Taxis

The evolution of Yakuza mechanics: Locker Keys

About a month ago I released an article about how Yakuza Ishin turned the Completion List into an actual gameplay mechanic and how every game since has tweaked and slowly evolved it. Upon writing that I got interested in examining other small mechanics that have slowly changed as the series has progressed. Thus I have… Continue reading The evolution of Yakuza mechanics: Locker Keys

The Flighting Imagery of Birds in NEO: The World Ends With You

Birds are an allegory that encapsulate a number of ideas in fiction. From Alfred Hitchcock’s avian assault film to blue birds in David Bowie’s Lazarus, it seems the central focus is all the same, or at least similar; birds represent an outside, freedom and the unknown. To let go like the fleeting memory of Lenore… Continue reading The Flighting Imagery of Birds in NEO: The World Ends With You

Resident Evil 8 Review: Streamlined Journey Through Shadow

SPOILER DISCLAIMER: The general review portions of this article will contain spoilers for up to the Factory segment Let me make one thing clear: Resident Evil Village is 2021’s game of the year. That is not to say that it's the best game that will come out this year, though it might be. What I… Continue reading Resident Evil 8 Review: Streamlined Journey Through Shadow

Rorona to Ryza: An Atelier Retrospective Part 1: Atelier Rorona

Atelier Ryza 2 was just announced and is on track to be great given Gust's track record with Atelier. As a franchise, Atelier has gone through an odd evolution. If one were to skip one title in the series and then play the release after that, the gameplay wouldn’t seem to have changed much at… Continue reading Rorona to Ryza: An Atelier Retrospective Part 1: Atelier Rorona