Day 90 of 100 Happy Gaming Days: Chrono Trigger

Only 10 days to go!!! Lets take a look at a classic RPG (or JRPG as they're now called), that I've recently returned to...

Chrono Trigger was originally released for the SNES, alongside Secret of Mana, but this DS remake returned with intuitive touch screen controls and beautifully animated cutscenes from Akira Toriyama (creator of the Dragonball saga).

You play as Chrono, the silent hero who attends the Millennial fair to celebrate 1000 years since his country was first conceived. While there he meets a mysterious girl who gets zapped into the past by a strange contraption, and so begins an epic journey across time to save her and the world from total destruction.

I've never really been a fan of games from Square Enix (formerly known as Squaresoft/Square etc), as I rarely understand what's going on with their stories, but Chrono Trigger is easy enough to follow, simple to play and an all round excellent adventure!

Chrono Trigger was also on my Top Ten Games I Still Have to Finish list, so I'm going play a little bit of the game every morning on the way to work...I should be finished it this time next year. (; _ ;)

Day 81 of 100 Happy Gaming Days: Electroplankton

One of the best things about the original Nintendo DS is the broad range of wonderfully eccentric titles. It was also plagued by shovelware however, in amongst all of the tripe was some hidden gems worth seeking out.

Electroplankton was released quite early in DS's life; it's a music synthesis game where you have to interact with a variety of aquatic creatures to produce sound. There's 10 different game modes to choose from with a different creature for each one: so let's take a look.

Tracy- this plankton is controlled by drawing lines with your stylus so Tracy can follow them. If you want any of the plankton to stop, just tap your stylus on the screen.

Hanenbow- these poor critters are constantly launched from the water to collide with a plant. When they bounce from the leaves, or the edge of the screen, they produce beautiful harp-like tones.

Luminaria- this plankton follows the path determined by the arrows on the screen. Tap the arrows to change Luminaria's direction and thus alter the sound.

Sun-animalcule- probably my favourite plankton. Tap your stylus at various points across the screen to place these little guys, as they grow they produce sound in harmony with one another.

Rec-Rec- While the fish swim by to a basic drum beat you can tap them to record your own sounds with the DS microphone.

Nano carp- This plankton forms various shapes to the sound of your voice or the clapping of your hands. After you've done that just run your stylus over the shapes to release the music.

Lumiloop- run your stylus around the Lumiloops to create some gorgeous atmospheric sounds. The sound reminds me of the original Halo theme.

Marine-Snow- there's stacks of these little fellows all over your screen. Slide your stylus over them to jumble them up and unearth some piano like tones.

Beatnes- now this one is just plain wierd. The invincibility music from Super Mario Bros plays in the background while you provide the sound effects by tapping the Beatnes with your stylus.

Volvoice- probably the most fun and possibly the most annoying when used in public places. Tap the Volvoice to record a sound and then change its shape with your stylus to discover some outlandish audio.

You can download every game mode individually on 3DS for £1.79 each. the original cartridge has retained its price tag, so buying each mode separately at this price is a pretty good deal.

A delightfully quirky game for when you're feeling creative.

Day 11 of 100 Happy Gaming Days: Megaman Zero Collection

I found this last week at a pawn shop and I have to say this was a pretty lucky find. The Megaman series is kind of difficult to get into when you're from the UK, this is one of only a handful that I've picked up in the wild, and the games usually demand high prices. 

This contains all four games in the brilliant Megaman Zero series originally released for the Gameboy Advance. The gameplay is your traditional Megaman adventure, a hardcore 2D run-and-gun fest with superb level and character design. Then again if you simply want to enjoy the story this collection comes with a 'Easy Scenario Mode' which lowers the amount you take from enemies.

There's also a number of collectables to keep you entertained if four games in one isn't enough for you. Clearing the Easy mode will unlock character cards, whereas playing through the games on their usual difficulty will unlock mod cards which apparently alter content in Megaman Zero 3. And there's wallpapers to be unlocked throughout the game as well, certainly worth the effort as the artwork is nothing short of amazing.