Stevo's Bargain Bin

I've been going through some of my old game memorabilia and as is to be expected, I'm all nostalgic. As a result, this is the first in what may be a short series of posts looking at some stuff which has been buried in drawers and boxes for who knows how long. Hopefully, it may stir some pleasant memories for you as it has for me, and if so - please do comment below! I'd love to hear your thoughts and opinions. In this thrilling installment of "sifting through my old tat" I present to you: cheat books and guide books. It struck me in the not too distant past that these must be more or less obsolete for the majority of people now because, lets face it, who would want to thumb through a book looking for answers when you can get them in an instant somewhere like Google or Youtube? There are of course lengthy and glossy official game guides available for many titles, but the little volumes of concentrated wisdom I'm referring to here often cam

MINOR SPOILERS BELOW  I'd heard a lot of good things about Parasyte and I always like a bit of horror/body horror, so I picked up the manga recently. Illustrated and written by Hitoshi Iwaaki, it tells the tale of Shinichi Izumi, a student whose life is totally changed when he becomes infected by an alien entity. The creature, which takes on the name Migi, makes itself at home in his arm. Soon Shinichi and Migi are thrust into a series of dangerous situations as they learn more about one another and how they can work together to defend themselves from other parasites. If it isn't immediately obvious from the covers of the series' eight volumes, parasites enable infected people to do some quite astonishing things - including weaponizing limbs and body parts, distorting their features, as well as enhancing speed and strength. How exactly this comes into play in the story (particularly in Shinichi's case) is something I won't spoil, because there are som

While its predecessor may have been divisive, I think it's fair to say Final Fantasy IX was more or less universally loved. I've seen it appear in many "best Final Fantasy games" lists, often at the top - and I couldn't agree more.  This is a beautiful game with a lot to say and I thoroughly enjoyed re-playing through it on the Nintendo Switch recently. Despite its age, I won't delve too deep into plot specifics in case you've not played it (and if you haven't, please do!!) Final Fantasy IX revolves around a mostly likable cast of characters brought together in the typically unplanned RPG way. As the game opens, the theater company Tantalus arrives in the great kingdom of Alexandria, as does somewhat shy black mage Vivi, who hopes to catch their production. Something shady is afoot though, as we discover when Tantalus member and main character Zidane discusses with his comrades plans to kidnap Alexandria's Princess Garnet

Hey all, it's been some time!  Once again, haven't had the momentum to keep up the blog over the past few months for one reason or another. However I've been playing some good stuff recently - completing some Final Fantasy titles I haven't picked up for a few years, so that's been fun! I've got some fun looking stuff stashed away too, things I've been saving for a rainy day like Octopath Traveler and Breath of Fire III. Also been picking up plenty of bargain Switch titles in the sales to try out. So if I can get myself back into some sort of routine, fingers crossed I should have some more posts coming up soon 😊 Take it easy, Stevo