Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Jason Young

Jason Young

Former staff editor, occasional contributor to The-O Network. Part athlete, part avid gamer, 100% otaku certified.

 

Four years after the original release of indie game developer Grace Bruxner's The Haunted Island, a Frog Detective Game, Frog Detective 3 works as a cute and decently satisfying conclusion to the series. With nearly double the length of the first game, gamers once again get to don their trench coat and return to the adventures of their favorite amphibious detective. This time to investigate the case of the missing hats in Cowboy Country.

Tuesday, 07 September 2021 10:00

Frog Detective 1 & 2 (PC) Review

After seeing it on a hololive-EN livestream, my curiosity got the best of me when it came to wanting to play the Frog Detective series. While I missed the original launch of the series back in 2018, as a fan of visual novels, and 90s adventure games, the quirky blend of witty writing and children’s style illustration immediately drew my attention and I’m glad it did. After having played through the first two games, I can say that this series is a fun and wholesome way to spend a few hours engaging with the series' colorful cast of anthropomorphic characters and of course the detective himself.

Monday, 06 July 2020 10:00

Summer Pockets (PC) Review

 

"What was the last memorable summer you had?” Key’s latest visual novel Summer Pockets was originally released in 2018 and is their newest entry in the company’s long history of producing nakige-style (moving players to tears) games. Having been officially released on Steam earlier this year, Summer Pockets revolves around the main character Hairi Takahara and his summer visit to the island of Torishirojima to escape his painful past. On his first day there, he meets a young girl who will shape his destiny for the better. If that sounds similar to some of their previous games, that’s because it is.

As a casual fan of the SNK fighting games such as King of Fighters and their various mash-ups with Capcom, I’ve always thought the series to be known primarily for the use of its combo system and specials. While I’m admittingly not the best fighting gamer around, the series’ fun and colorful cast has always stayed with me throughout the years. So when I first saw the trailer for SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy I was a bit perplexed. I immediately asked myself, “Is this just a quick cash cow, along the lines of DOA Volleyball, or was it going to be more of an in-depth fighter that the series has been known for?”

Wednesday, 04 October 2017 12:28

Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony (Vita) Review

Culminating from over three years of work, Danganronpa V3 brings the murder-mystery series to its pinnacle after numerous game and anime releases, the most recent being the anime-exclusive Danganronpa 3. Although it does feature an entirely new cast of characters, V3 is definitely not for newbies to the series.

As a love letter to horror fans, PQube’s localization of the 2015 HD remaster for ROIGame’s White Day: A Labyrinth Named School still stands as one of the definitive grandparents of the first-person “hide-and-seek simulation” horror genre. Although the game still feels archaic at times, especially when compared to more recent first-person horror games such as the Outlast series or Resident Evil 7, the developer’s original creative vision still manages to shine through with the game’s unique blend of school simulation, visual novel elements, hiding mechanics and, of course, creepy ambiance.

Wednesday, 05 April 2017 11:39

AOD 2017 Impressions

As one of the up-and-coming anime conventions in the Bay Area, AOD has treated incumbent attendees with a wealth of increase in terms of potential over the past few years since their humble beginnings in San Francisco. After last year’s convention at Santa Clara, which was considered a success to me, I was originally disappointed to see that they had moved from the convention center proper to the nearby Santa Clara Marriott when I first heard about it.

Tuesday, 20 December 2016 11:51

Steins;Gate 0 (PS4/Vita) Review

Obvious: spoilers for the first Steins;Gate game ahead!

Having first reviewed JAST USA’s PC release of Steins;Gate in 2014, I had originally thought that this well-told time-travel story was complete and had nowhere left to go. Sure, I’d watched the movie Steins;Gate Fuka Ryōiki no Déjà vu but to me, the story of Okabe reaching the Steins Gate world line to save both Kurisu and Mayuri was complete though even that felt a bit superfluous. Now after hearing about, and having played, the “sequel/expansion pack” Steins;Gate 0 I’m glad I’ve never been so wrong.

Tuesday, 16 August 2016 12:50

Silent Siren "S" Album Review

As a whole, the four-female member band Silent Siren is an exemplary piece of the modern Japanese music puzzle. Although the members, Suu (Sumire Yoshida as Vo & Gt.), Hinanchu (Hinako Umemura on Dr.), Ainyan (Aina Yamauchi on Ba.), and Yukarun (Yukako Kurosaka on Key.), all started off as fashion models in Japan, their passion and talent for music has helped them gain attention from music lovers across the globe since their inception in 2012.

Thursday, 24 September 2015 11:38

Muv-Luv Kickstarter Campaign is now Live!

muvluv announcement 900x551

Earlier today, DEGICA and IXTL announced that the previously revealed Muv-Luv Kickstarter has gone live. Written by Koki Yoshimune in 2003, the campaign is hoping to raise $250,000.00 to by November 3rd bring the Muv-Luv universe to English shores. Additionally, the company announced that they will be inviting one lucky winner to Japan to meet the production team and hang out with them on an all-expenses paid trip for one week.

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