Toomanywires

I'm not sure what I'll do with four spice orange GameCube controllers. It's highly unlikely I'll ever need that many. I very rarely have friends over, and I might not have four of them anyway. Four friends, that is. I definitely have four controllers (see pic), which is the point of this post. Four spice orange GameCube controllers. Even if I somehow convinced my family to join me in a GameCube session, we'd still be a player short of utilising all four pads. Still, having a full set just seemed like the right thing to do, which is why I bought a fourth a few weeks back. I wanted to use all the controller ports and get fully plugged in; I needed to gather all that orange, even if just for the visual treat. I bought my GameCube in early 2024 and, to be honest, I haven't used it much. I played a good chunk of Eternal Darkness, and have dipped into a handful of other titles, spending the most time with NBA Street Vol. 3 and Wave Race. I've been quite selective...

I finished Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles last week. I'm delighted to report that Tactics remains sublime and the upgrade is outstanding. While I was playing, I did something that I usually wouldn't: I snapped screenshots. When something struck me as poignant, interesting, funny or just pretty, I'd grab a picture. Some of those images now serve as the backbone for this blog post and will provide inspiration for a bit of Tactics talk. Obviously, this post will contain spoilers . If you plan on playing Final Fantasy Tactics and have yet to do so, I'd advise giving this blog a miss. I won't mind, and I trust you'll come back once you've played it. And you most definitely should play it, because it's an all-timer. Delita on a Chocobo - The Opening Cinematic I'm pleased that the water-colour cutscenes from the PSP port, War of the Lions, were retained. They're a lovely touch that add a softness and warmth to the otherwise harsh world o...

I'm drawn to colour. I love fighting games with big, bright colours and characters that fill the screen. I played Street Fighter II and then 2D Saturn brawlers in my formative years, and I've never grown out of the aesthetic preferences those experiences fostered. If I'm playing a fighting game in 2025, it's probably Street Fighter VI, IV Ultra, one of those recent-ish Capcom collections, or something on my Saturn or Dreamcast.  Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls wasn't initially on my TGS radar, but that changed when I walked by the Arc System Works' booth. I was drawn in by the vibrant colours, big character sprites, and fast-moving line. I decided to join the queue and was immediately handed a collection of laminated documents detailing the gameplay basics and info for all eight characters: Storm, Star Lord, Ms. Marvel, Iron Man, Doctor Doom, Captain America, Ghost Rider and Spider-man. I felt like I was prepping for an exam, and as with most exams I take, I commit...

"Are you OK with scary games?" asked the booth attendant. I puffed out my chest and nodded my head. One of the bravest gamers out there; Top Ten at least. The Capcom staff didn't want to spoil anything, but they also wanted to make sure that those of us who were waiting for the PS5 Resident Evil Requiem demo knew exactly what we were getting into. To be fair, I think we all knew. Our familiarity with the series was a given - it was a press/industry day, after all - and we'd spent the last ten minutes lining up alongside a thirty-foot-long digital display playing footage of Grace, Requiem's protagonist, strapped to a gurney and screaming bloody murder. My ears were still ringing from the screams, and I understood that this would be a significant change of pace from my previous demo, Once Upon a Katamari, where the staff did not ask me if I was OK with scary games. I wouldn't say the demo was scary - I'm one of the bravest gamers out there - but it was certa...

Death, taxes and a Yakuza at Tokyo Game Show. It's a comfort knowing that there's always a Yakuza, or a Like a Dragon, waiting for me at TGS. Yakuza 4 was probably my first, back in 2009. They had a throne photo-spot at the booth, where you could pose for pictures with hosts and hostesses and, if you were lucky, some of the dev staff. A year or two later, zombies were running amok on the show floor for the Dead Souls spin off. For the Yakuza 4-6 era, there was usually a theatre presentation pre-demo, where you'd sit in a dark room and watch a 10-15 minute video that highlighted the talent and brands that would feature in the latest entry, before getting your hands-on time. The Yakuza 6 demo came with a branded box of tissues (!) and the giant Last Supper panorama for Infinite Wealth, stretching across a gigantic screen, was a highlight of more recent shows. Nagoshi-san was a staple in the past, and now it's Yokoyama-san you'll spot in and around the booth. Death, t...

Chatting with friends in line for TGS day one, waiting for the doors to open, I was surprised to hear that I wasn't the only one planning to head straight for Capcom and Pragmata. Resident Evil Requiem may have the bigger profile, and I figured it'd be a greater draw, but Pragmata had already caught the imagination of like-minded attendees. On the surface, Pragmata may not seem all that original. A third-person shooter set on a space station, starring a hulking astronaut, Hugh, who shoots robots and hunts for electrical thingamabobs so he can open the next door and then shoot more robots, in space. So far, so 2012. However, he is joined by Diana, an android who appears as a little girl. She may be small, and makes for an interesting visual contrast to Hugh, but she's invaluable and, for all his heft, Hugh is useless without her.  Hugh is the muscle, and Diana is the brains. At the start of the demo, she rescues her new partner and brings his space suit back to life. The pai...