This week we have a look at two arcade fighting games from Psikyo, a company traditionally known for their shmups. Battle K-Road and Daraku Tenshi (aka: The Fallen Angels), aren’t the greatest examples of the genre, but they’ve got some rather fascinating quirks (including Mr Bear!) – plus the first game goes the usual route of ripping off the likenesses of known celebrities.For something a little more light-hearted there’s a look at all the Samurai Pizza Cats games. Well, both of them. Well, the Famicom game, and an LCD handheld, anyway. It’s easy, but still rather fun. For more cartoony shenanigans there’s also Coryoon on PC-Engine, an excellent hori-shmup involving a cut baby dragon trying to rescue a princess. For more shmup coverage there’s also part 7 of our iOS Shooter Coverage. This there’s AirAttack, A Space Shooter For Free (or 2 bucks), A Doodle Flight, and Absolute Instant.
For something a little more sophisticated there’s also Ihatovo, which may look a typical JRPG but is actually a fascinating arthouse adventure, based on the works of renowned writer and poet Kenji Miyazawa. There’s no fan-translation (yet), but this is one of the more unusual Japan-only games we’ve covered - it does seem rather special. Alongside this we cover THE BOOK OF WATERMARKS, an unusual Japan-only Myst-style adventure, apparently developed jointly between a western and Japanese team. It’s based on a Shakespearean play and is entirely in English.
As part of our regulars we have an interview with Tomonori Otsuka, programmer on Metal Gear for the MSX. It’s part of our growing Metal Gear coverage, given that this year marks its 25th anniversary. Your Weekly Kusoge is Fear Factor Unleashed for the GBA, a series of lame minigames which attempts to replicate the TV show, but seriously - how could anyone be afraid of their videogame avatar eating bugs, inside the game? Our spotlight is Noitu Love, since the sequel was recently released on Steam. Sadly the planned WiiWare version seems dead.
"Sadly the planned WiiWare version seems dead."
ReplyDeleteJoin the club :(
What's with the use of the term 'gyp' in the Battle K-Road article? Does the author and editor both not realise that it is a racist term?
ReplyDeleteI was neither the author nor editor on that particular piece (I did design it though), but looking through the Oxford English Dictionary, which is my personal go to for clarification on words, the word gyp has three entries. One for pain and discomfort, one for a college servant at Cambridge or Durham, and one for being cheated or swindled. The origin of the third entry is listed as 19 Century "Of unknown origin". I tend to trust the OED that they've done their research into the etymology of a word.
ReplyDeleteUnderneath these entries (since it's obviously in alphabetical order), they have the entry Gyppo, which is explained as being an informal and offensive term for a Gypsy. The OED don't draw any connection between the two words.
I see some online sources (thefreedictionary.com) emphatically state that gyp is derived from gypsy, whereas others (Wiktionary) claim there's no direct evidence of this. Personally speaking, as Sketcz, if the OED doesn't state it has offensive origins, then I'm happy to trust the OED - otherwise what can you trust as a writer?
We live in sensitive times though, and as a matter of course I will change the word, but I'm not on my FTP work computer right now. Still, I felt this warranted an immediate response.
I think the important thing is that Roms I have known have found the term offensive, whatever its origin.
DeleteThanks for looking into, and writing on, the etymology, though. It's something I should have done myself.
Thank you for responding.