Review: Puzzle & Dragons Gold’s online gem matches have big numbers, little point

By Graham Russell // 1.21.201.21.20

The Puzzle & Dragons franchise has been a great example of how to adapt a mobile hit into something that makes more sense on traditional gaming platforms. Puzzle & Dragons Z built a compelling progression scheme without relying upon gacha mechanics or pure psychological trickery, and Import Game of the Year 2016 Puzzle & Dragons X stepped up its depth and presentation to rival some of the best RPGs on the platform.

Which makes it that much more inexplicable how wildly Puzzle & Dragons Gold misses the mark.

Guide N64

N64 imports guide: the best Japanese games to play

By Graham Russell // 1.17.201.13.20

The Nintendo 64 is a beloved platform for players who grew up with it, serving as a pure nostalgia piece for many while perhaps being overtaken in lasting appeal by both its predecessors and successors. Still, it was a quirky era for games, and the platform’s import-only library certainly shows that with some fun, weird releases!

Guide WonderSwan

WonderSwan buyer’s guide: the best games to import

By Graham Russell // 1.10.201.10.20

If you want to import Japanese games, the WonderSwan is exactly the sort of thing that may interest you the most. It’s a regional exclusive, but it’s not a huge old computer that you can’t afford. It has franchises you may know, and many games that simply were never ported anywhere else. Oh, and it’s weird and you can carry it around with you to show people that they should talk to you about weird stuff. Read on for our recommendations!

2019 Best Switch

Susume! Mamotte Knight: Hime no Totsugeki Serenade keeps the nostalgic spirit alive

By Graham Russell // 1.3.201.2.20

There’s a good reason that we here at Michibiku are fans of the Gotta Protectors series enough to keep up with its often-hard-to-follow information flow. It’s not that the games are ever particularly impressive in size or mechanical depth. It’s not that they tell interesting stories, or that they’re just so polished that they can’t be ignored.

It’s this: they’re always a heck of a lot of fun to play with friends in a way few games can match.

2019 Best Switch

The delightful addition of Boxboy! + Boxgirl!

By Graham Russell // 12.30.1912.23.19

By this point in a franchise like Boxboy!, fatigue starts to set in. No matter how charming the premise or engaging the puzzles, anything so simple and straightforward is bound to wear out its welcome at least a bit and deliver diminishing returns to the player.

Boxboy! + Boxgirl! doesn’t have that problem.

2019 Best PC PS4 Switch

Dragon Quest Builders 2 offers the unrivaled joy of constant accomplishment

By Graham Russell // 12.25.1912.20.19

In life, it’s often hard to accomplish things. Progress is hard to see. Failure is constant. Plans don’t always work out as intended. There are factors beyond your control.

In Dragon Quest Builders 2, none of these are much of a problem.

2019 Best Switch

Picross S3’s innovation is underrated

By Graham Russell // 12.20.1912.19.19

When Picross S3 released sporting color puzzles for the first time, it wasn’t exactly a new thing in the world of nonograms. Multi-shade picture puzzles have been around for decades, and they’ve even made their way into HAL’s 3D spinoff series.

But it’s a big deal for them to finally show up in the genre’s flagship games, and there are a few reasons why.

2019 Best PS4

Judgment is a spinoff that spins back on

By Graham Russell // 12.16.1912.16.19

When we first played Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s Judgment, we appreciated what it did, but there was a little nagging thought in the back of our minds: that, for a spinoff of the Yakuza series, it sure does hew close to the source material.

Something has happened in the time since that makes it much less of an issue.

* Guide Switch

Nintendo Switch imports guide: the best Japan-only games to play

By Graham Russell // 11.27.1911.27.19

The Nintendo Switch has made it easier than ever for Western Nintendo fans to enjoy import-only games, and it’s a good thing, too, because there’s some fun stuff to check out! (Even if, due to so many localizations about which we will not complain, the options are still a bit slim.) Here’s your guide to what you should be playing that hasn’t made it to Western eShops.

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