GhaleonEB

Of course, it helps that she loves fluffy things so. Beautiful stuff @teamcherry.bsky.social

The first pic I took of Silksong was after completing the first wish, when the kind act was described as a "warm thing". That phrase struck me. Turns out it was an important theme that factors into Hornet's arc over the game. She's adopted the phrase by the end to describe how it feels to be kind.

At first Hornet's motivation is revenge, offering aid to Pharloom's residents and pilgrims if it's convenient or transactional. But she slowly shifts to helping the bugs of Pharloom without condition because it feels good.

This is expressed through a phrase that has stuck with me: warm things.

Silksong's difficulty has been talked about a lot (I thought it was firm but always fair), but I think Team Cherry's writing is underappreciated. I've been going back and reading scenes to appreciate their prose and the themes. #silksong

Portland Retro Game Expo day 1 pick ups. I was delighted to get a number of Master System games I've been looking for. Excited to play all of these. Hoping to find a few Saturn games from my list today. Even if I don't pick up anything today, I'm very happy with the variety here.

Hollow Knight is a special game. The themes had a large impact on me, and the characters, story, art and music are all wonderfully realized.

I found Silksong, somehow, to be a richer, more complex and more rewarding game. At times harder than HK, but never unfair. Well, except for that one bench.

Yesterday I trapped and relocated rat #7 from our crawlspace. This one started walking around upside down in the cage, looking and moving exactly like a bat. It was uncanny.

Was a little cutie. Moved it out to the same spot in the woods where I released the others.

Photo of graph paper depicting levels 1-9 of the original Wizardry, drawn in pencil.

Wrapped the Wizardry remaster this weekend. Loved seeing the roots of the dungeon crawl RPG, with clear influences on some of my favorite games (Shining in the Darkness among them).

Massive learning curve and an adventure filled with total party kills, rescues, stress and hilarity. Fun to map.

I appreciate Team Cherry providing two weeks notice so I know when to target clearing the Wizardry remaster. Should be done level grinding my new party (the OG team got annihilated on floor 10) and getting through the final floor of the maze by then. Probably.

This is why you cannot trust YouTubers and publishers in the retrogaming space. This 2025 megadrive game presented as "better than most snes game" has assets traced over existing sprites (Wild Guns and Shinobi III) and AI-generated backgrounds. Garbage game, garbage company, garbage shill youtuber.

Went to visit our daughter who is away for the summer doing an internship. Swung by the local retro game store there and found Guardian Heroes tucked into a corner for a great price. Used to own it and have been on the prowl for a few years, dearly love the game. Glad to have it back. Great weekend.

Released successfully. She ate nearly the entire chunk of apple while I waited for sundown. The area I released her is thick with ground cover and fallen logs, alongside a stream, and is where I relocated the other three. I hope they are doing okay because boy that second pic is heartrending.

YouTube video by GhaleonEB Rat #4 - Snagged Peanuts & Trapping

Caught another rat in the crawlspace, after tidying up last night and rebaiting. Going to give her water and apple slices to tide her over until evening when I'll relocate her into the woods a few miles north of town. Feels bad but they make a real mess otherwise. www.youtube.com/watch?v=BINE...

Earlier this year I got Target Earth for Genesis, which I learned is called Assault Suit Leynos in Japan. It got a SNES prequel titled Assault Suits Valken, which was renamed Cybernator in NA, and a Saturn sequel not published in NA. Thanks to remasters, I have this very confusing trilogy now. 😕

Retro pick ups this month. I thought Zillion just sounded cool since I was a kid, wanted it ever since. Heard about that Alex Kidd fellow.

Pandemonium! looks like a fun 2.5D platformer. Thought @pandamonium.bsky.social might appreciate that particular pick up. Not sure if it has pandas, though.

Really liked Ghaleon from Lunar Eternal Blue, which I played around the time I had to make my first internet handle. Never bothered to think up another one.

YouTube video by GhaleonEB Bunny Grooming then Flopping

Indigo usually detects when she's being filmed and glares at the camera but I got away with this one.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jkV...

Went to the Sidequest Games Expo in Portland this morning. Very small retro games expo that was none the less a lot of fun to visit. Came away with four Genesis games on from my list that I was hunting for. Happy.

Find of the show as Steel Empire, been looking for it for a couple of years.

Wrapped up Bust-a-Move 2 a couple weeks ago and started Ender Lilies on Switch. It's not very good really, but I picked up Ender Magnolia which is supposed to be much improved and I want to be able to compare them.

Only playing on weekends due to hand pain so it might take a while.

Bang on. That was from when she was in the process of claiming the blanket, which my daughter Bridget left on the ground by mistake. Indie loves soft blankets, so she proceeded to rearrange it, defend it and then flop out to claim it as her own. It's still hers. 💪🐰

Had the goal of switching my Genesis Model 2 to a Model 1 this year, for the better sound chip. Got the extension bit for the Sega-CD Model 2 last year. I was delighted to find a great Model 1 at a local game and toy shop this weekend.

There's exactly 1/4 inch of wiggle room on the shelf. 🙌

Very soundly dozing Indigo.

Photo of boxed copies of Insector-X for the Sega Genesis, Wing Commander for Sega-CD, and Bust-a-Move 2 Arcade Edition for the Sega Saturn.

There's something oddly satisfying about hitting up my local retro game stores and finding a game for three different systems that were on my list of games I'm rummaging for. Lovely smattering of genres.

Settled on Bust-a-Move 2 as my next game after trying it out.

My recent retro game store pick ups. When I was a kid I think I ignored EA as a publisher since I was not into sports games - to my detriment as they published a lot of other Genesis games, which I'm just now discovering.

Love the combination of minimalism and generic title for the SMS game.

Sleeping bunny with a woman's hand gently held to her back.

A grey and white bunny flopped on her side on a blanket.

A grey and white bunny groggy yet sitting up.

A grey and white bunny staring straight into the camera.

Our bunny Indigo, aka feisty, furry anxiety therapy incarnate. I alternate my evening time between playing games and hanging out with her, which tends to melt stress.

GhaleonEB's review of Chants of Sennaar | Backloggd Chants of Sennaar is a highly stylized puzzle adventure game that succeeds at nearly everything it does, all while greatly respecting the player's intelligence. Structured around ascending a massive t...

A couple of friends gifted me several physical Switch games for Christmas. The first of those I've played is Chants of Sennaar. Lovely, smartly crafted game I'll be thinking about for a long time.

www.backloggd.com/u/GhaleonEB/...

I wrapped up Animal Well yesterday (layers 1-3). While I have some issues with some aspects of its design, the overall accomplishment of it is tremendous. Especially as it was made by one person.

The game gently encourages playfulness and experimentation in a way that creates lots of discovery.

Yeah it was seriously adorable. I'll post a fuller saga of the rat some time this weekend. I caught it this morning in the trap, just got back from releasing it into the woods. Super cute.

Hi, btw.

YouTube video by MissingnoAvi Eleventh Hour - OneShot

Vibe: The world is ending and there's only a dash of hope left, but you gotta work fast to preserve it. Kinda hit close to home. www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVX8...

I finished OneShot (World Machine Edition) on Switch), and I can't stop thinking about. It's added to the shortlist of games that have made me cry (okay, bawl is probably more accurate). A beautiful meditation on the nature of stories and games as a medium. <3 Niko

Bought the OST's on Bandcamp.