#wolfchild

[contac]

[easternmind]

Last year in classic games

For motives I cannot expand on with much glee, I found a little more time than usual this year to reduce my seemingly endless backlog of classics. Despite all the fine new releases 2023 has greeted us with, I was able to finally dive into this eclectic handful of games I gathered over time. It is perhaps no coincidence that I reached out for more direct game experiences than story-driven ones. I find myself increasingly drawn to games designs that are mindful of the player's time as a commodity not to be carelessly squandered.

One note, if I may: I would like to inspire my readers to progressively discard the use of the word retro this year. We are all of advancing years and wisdom, I trust. The introduction of the term retro to the videogame vernacular was a gross mistake furthering the abhorrent notion that games were as ephemeral in their nature as fashion. It is a purely commercial designation by which to profitably repackage old software as a category of its own, originating from the same minds that considered games as mere novelty trinkets of limited marketable lifespan.

It is up to the player to individually decide on an older game's appeal, whether they may be discovering it for the first time or revisiting it for the umpteenth one. This is not only an appeal for those of you who write about games in any capacity, rather to anyone who takes videogames as a serious interest and communicates with others about this the object of their predilection. Thank you.

This loose cart came with a Famicom bundle auction I won in 2009, if memory serves. I turned on the Famicom and tested it merely to verify if it was still in working condition and found myself engrossed in that trademark Pajitnov/Pokhilko elegant approach to game design. As per the cassette's label, Hatris was originally a concept developed in collaboration with ParaGraph, a Russian studio that went on to develop specialized professional software, a year before the Bullet-Proof Software licensing deal. They produced a few games in the turn of the decade that were rather unusual and, some would say, even visionary. I recommend that you look up their story, if you're curious.

The only entry from the group that isn't of Japanese provenance - though it is a Japanese edition - I played it for purely nostalgic motives, perhaps a yearning for a certain pixel, palette and parallax that resoundingly evoke a time I was fortunate enough to experience, first-hand. If I may be honest, I purchased the game for the visual value of its unique cover art, which I deem superior to the US edition's. In saying that, I must highlight that the original Amiga game box art was quite accomplished.

In the Summer of 93 while on holiday at the beach, there was a French Nintendo magazine for sale whose purchase I could not resist. It was very common to find Spanish, English and French publications at the time in Portugal. This edition had a striking four page preview of this Jaleco gem, Ikari no Yōsai, or Operation Logic Bomb as it was named in the West. For years I searched the PAL version in vain, then ultimately decided to import it on account of - you'd never guess! - the superior box art. Playing it this year at long last, I was instantly reminded of an old Game Boy favourite, Fortified Zone, which I now know to be its prequel. Most top-down shooters are best played in co-op. Ikari no Yōsai is strictly and single-player affair and not once did I miss the absence of a friendly companion.

Keio Flying Squadron 2 first came to my attention via an infamous Saturn demo disc, which came into my hands through circumstances I have since forgotten about. I use the word infamous because the entire game code was available in the disc and the level select cheat code enabled me to unscrupulously play the entirety of the game for no additional expense - at only the cost of missing out on the colourful Studio Pierrot anime FMV interludes.

Having played the sequel first, I was somewhat disenchanted to learn the original game did not feature any platforming segments, it being a pure scrolling shooter in the same whimsical vein as Parodius or, say, an AirZonk. Still, a jolly good time with the old three buttons.

For reasons that will not be immediately apparent to younger reading audiences, I pride myself in having completed most Shinobi games, The Revenge Of and GG being my preferred ones. Shin Shinobi Den, or Shinobi X in Europe, was a game not readily available from my usual game dealers. I eventually borrowed the PAL version once, though not nearly long enough to master it. I finally saw it through this year, mere days before SEGA announced a new episode. While the live action clips looked a tad maladroit in the 1990s, they came to acquire that nice patina I now look for in classic games.

Omega Force was known to take the sporadic breather from producing some of KOEI's most cherished and profitable series. I distinctly remember enjoying Destrega quite a bit in its day, a game quite unlike any other. What their 1998 Enigma lacks in consistency and originality, it more than amply makes up for with its own bizarre concepts, extravagant characters and unexpected genre fusions. Of all the titles in this post, this was the one whose pace felt the most sluggish, and needlessly so.

Microsoft Game Studio Japan release schedule plans were not at all kind on this, their first production, Magatama. Earlier this year I praised this era for its highly inspired H&S action adventure titles and even spent a few days delighting myself with the likes of Blood Will Tell, Nightshade, Bujingai, or Chaos Legion. This most unusual creation, developed by the aptly-named Team Breakout - a group composed of many talented ex-Square employees - is one among the finest of the era. Sadly, it did not do enough to persuade players at the time that it was a better purchase than Otogi or its sequel. Playing it with my mind and heart set back in time to 2003, I can say that this misguided consideration may not have withstood a second thought.

I've long wanted to write an extensive article on Japanese firefighting games. In fact, I have the structure laid out for a Japanofiles entry gathering moss in my Tumblr drafts for over a decade now. For a brief period this year I convinced myself I could finally fulfil this aspiration and resumed Sakurazaka Shouboutai as research. Developed by Racdym - later Racjin - for Irem, it is every bit as good as Firefighter F.D.18 or Hard Luck, and in many ways more inventive from a conceptual standpoint. While Konami and Spike found a way to have their games released in the west, Sakurazaka's poor regional sales performance clearly accounts for Irem's reluctance to bear the cost of an overseas ticket.

[bangjiazheng]

Mega Drive Longplay [491] Wolfchild (US)

[musicmags]

[workingforitallthetime]

(x)

[dappervolk]

APRIL MONTHLY SHOPS: REANIMATED WOLFCHILD

A sly thought dogs your every step, reaches into your greatest fears and turns them upside down with a twist.

Hello everyone! The Reanimated Wolfchild has arrived in our April 2025 Limited Monthly Shops!

♦ Read Update ♦

[salt-volk]

new set has a very refreshing colour palette with quite a few new ideas or atleast ideas that haven't been used in quite a while. i also like that they (mostly) stuck with the theme-ing! You could make a case that they should have used mold and rot rather than the flowers, however i think it was in good taste. as usual it looks very messy when u look at it altogether cause there's way too much going on, but all the individual pieces look cute. only thing i don't like is the eyes. They're too big and I'm not sure why they gave it cat pupils when its a wolfchild?

Anji has never seen an animal in her life so you can’t blame her 😔

[tomswifty-fr]

wolfchild and pool day

[cherrytrainwreck]

I'm so excited for the Royal Rumble this year because I'm watching it with @staywild-wolfchild

Woot woot!!

[blackfinchart]

My Tav, the very neutral Wolfchild, and the three companions they travel with most often

Needless to say it’s rare that all four people approve of the same course of action

…Also, that I really like hitting things with sticks (two berserkers, a fighter, and Shadowheart)

[archoneddzs15]

Sega Saturn - BLAM! Machine Head

Title: BLAM! Machine Head / ブラム！マシーンヘッド

Developer: Core Design Limited

Publisher: Eidos Interactive / Virgin Interactive Entertainment

Release date: 23 May 1997

Catalogue No.: T-7015G

Genre: 3D Shooting

There was once a time when Core were one of the best British software houses around. That was back in the days of the Amiga and Mega CD. Classics such as Wolfchild, Jaguar XJ220, and Thunder Hawk all made Core look like one of the big boys in the world of game making. Unfortunately, standards started to drop. More and more crap began to pour from the studio. Their last great game was Thunder Hawk II on the Saturn which was sadly followed up by the poor Shell Shock.

Now we have Blam! Machine Head, another one of these first-person shooters that has you controlling some ship. A.M.O.K. (by Scavenger) is the best choice of these games, but how is Blam! Machine Head? Well, the intro is dull, as were many of the CG intros from the mid 90s. Death and destruction is taking over the world AGAIN! But this time it's in the form of a virus. The character that you play was working on an antidote to the virus that needed someone brave enough to spread it around. Along comes your co-scientist who bashes you on the head knocking you out. You wake up to find yourself strapped in to the machine against your will.  Looks like you're the unlucky soul that will spread the antidote around the virus infested world.

Anyway, the game is basically a first-person shooter. Textures are grainy as hell, but at least the polygons don't pop up all over the place. Frame rate is also quite steady. I can't say I noticed it drop below 30fps even once. The main gripe though is, like many of these games, it's just chaotic. You have attacks coming from bloody everywhere with not one single clue as to who fired them. Yep, the view from your cockpit is pretty restricted, making life quite difficult. There is an outside view, but even that doesn't let you see what hit you most of the time. To add to the confusion you've also got the overly complicated controls that I'm sure could have been simplified.

Overall Blam! Machine Head is a pretty average title that some may enjoy or more likely, may not.

[doggirlsotd]

Today’s spooky dog girl of the day is Wolfchild Deale from Battle Cats!

(i think she counts cuz she was in a monster girl set)

[melusinasiren90]

So...who wants to read an interracial paranormal romance set in the world of 1980s heavy metal?

Wolfchild, as their name implies, are werewolves. They're also an up and coming American thrash band modeling themselves after their New Wave of British Metal heroes like Diamond Head and Motorhead. They live on the wrong side of the proverbial tracks, but Gabrielle Durham has always felt like an outsider, too. She falls for Wolfchild's lead singer, Asher Emblasson, and as they get closer she gets closer to the dark secrets Ash carries, and the mysterious figure that stalks him and wants to possess him....

[workingforitallthetime]

(x)

[rielmayer]

All time favourite character poll

Thank you so much for tagging me @casualya ❤️

Rules: make a poll with five of your all time favourite characters and then tag five people to do the same. See which character is everyone's favourite!

I don't remember who were my favourites 😅

Pick a favorite character

I tag @spite-made-me @ancuninae @cheekylittlepupp @bloodlessdarling @staywild-wolfchild

[killerrqueztt]

hiii its me izukufrags stealing our sys account for a few moments....

im a collection of izuku midoriya fragments who all go by the same name & use i/we first person pronouns and *i* want to talk about some of our favourite source memories belonging to some fragments or other

getting a wilbur soot hug from the immortal wilbur soot (there's more background to this actually but iiiii dont feel like talking about it)

punching nakui yuu in the face????? (10/10 experience. no nakui yuu is not a real person in mha but STILL!!!)

my mom naming me :3 (this one specifically is from the wolfchild fragment)

saving...people....as rabbit. (specifically from the "SAR rabbit quirk fragment")

jasper as a whole. (around the pomegranate fragment)

punching nakui yuu in the face (needs repeating)