Owning a copy of a game for many years and not playing it is bad. Owning two copies of a game and not playing it is even worse. This was the case for me and Bujingai. I have owned a Japanese and a North American copy for years and it wasn’t until a few days ago that I finally played it.
As I continue to focus my attention on the PlayStation 2, I thought it would be fun to dig into some magazine coverage of the era. I decided to start in November 1999, which was when the console was formally revealed to the press and public at the Tokyo Game Show.
I’m thinking this may be an ongoing feature, so I chose 5 magazines to track month over month: Next Gen, Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM), Official PlayStation Magazine (OPM), PlayStation Magazine (PSM), and GameFan. Why these particular magazines? Well, they were the ones I was reading at the time, and all provide unique perspectives.
Without any further ado, let’s start with Next Gen.
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While I enjoyed the series’ PS1 predecessor, Koudelka, I never checked out the Shadow Hearts games. But in my quest to actually play some of the PS2 games I own, I decided to pop in my copy of the original Shadow Hearts.
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I’ve been slowly getting rid of some of my old console games (the ones worth anything, at least) because I just don’t have the space. I had kept collecting and putting things in boxes in my basement crawlspace with the vague hope that one day we’ll own a larger home where I could have a proper retro game / movie room. However, I’ve come to realize that probably isn’t in the cards anytime soon (or ever).
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I’m back in my PS2 era, and to kick things off I’ve been dabbling with a couple of Japan-exclusive licensed games.
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As I continue to re-immerse myself in Norrath, I was thinking about how little EverQuest lore I know. While I could easily watch fan-made explanation videos or read wiki entries, I thought it would be more fun to explore primary sources, starting with the game’s original manual and official player’s guide.
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With Legends looming, I’ve been revisiting EverQuest via the recent time-locked progression server, Frostreaver. I just hit level 15 and I’m honestly having a great time. What’s the appeal? Why play this 27 year old game over World of Warcraft (which I also actively play and love)? Well, let me try to explain.
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As I continue to get more and more hyped for EverQuest Legends, I decided to check out the new EQ time-locked progression server, Frostreaver. This is a pretty wild server, with a ruleset chosen by the community:
These rules add up to a more approachable experience, but far from an easy one; it’s still EverQuest. Once you create your character, you are dropped into the world with zero direction or signposting. There’s a quest chain for your class at the start, but if you aren’t paying attention to your inventory and NPC text, you won’t progress. There are no exclamation points over the heads of quest-givers here.
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I have a deep love for EverQuest that dates back to 1999. It’s also a game that I haven’t really been able to commit to since like 2002. I adore the world and still dabble in it occasionally, but I’m pretty far removed from the all-nighters of my high school days. Enter EverQuest Legends: a remixed, solo-friendly version take on EQ that aims to capture the vibe and soul of early EverQuest while also acknowledging that OG players are now adults with responsibilities. One big change is that you can now multiclass to cover multiple party roles in a single character, making solo play more viable. Most notably to me, the punishing XP penalty on death has been removed- which removes the survival horror aspect of the original, but encourages exploration.
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In an effort to disassociate from all the bad stuff and exhausting discourse around gaming this month, I’m back to my usual go-to: old Nintendo games. Tuesday’s Nintendo Direct gave me a great roadmap of some games to play, and how.
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