Transform Squadron 59 - Fly yourself to the Moon

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It's a new year and a great time to talk about new toys based on old toys! Rob's really excited about the new Micronauts and Transformers Cyberworld toys. He also swears Cybertron Jolt is a Microman homage, listen now to hear him talk about that way too much! All this and Switch 2 excitement, this month on Transform Squadron!

Super Joanie loves Chachi

I'm not into sports. Wrestling is the closest I come and that's not really the same thing. Athleticism, sure, but not really a sport. I'm obviously not playing many sports based video games. There's a few I do enjoy, and it's not really the actual game that I mind... it's just I'm largely not interested. One game that's technically a sports game that I do like, however, is Super Doge Ball/Nekketsu Kōkō Dodgeball Bu. Just in-case the name wasn't clear, it's a dodge ball video game and part of the Kunio- Kun game series.

You know, I appreciate the Kunio-Kun games so much that one day I should take a deep dive into the series proper and not just the old Nintendo Games. I didn't even know it was an ongoing series as a kid, I just noticed all the characters in the seemingly unrelated games looked alike. I got some insight (thanks to the internet) and I for the most part like all the games in the series I've played (Renegade, not so much). So maybe a deeper dive should go in the 'to do' list.

Daiva VI Opening Story

 

Daiva Story 6: Imperial of Nirsartia was added to the Switch Online NES channel a few weeks ago. It's pretty cool when they add random games like this. It gives me a chance to play them for the first time and experience something new that was released off my radar back in the day.  If you're wondering about the 6 in the title, this is the 6th game out of 7. The only one released to the Famicom as it was a home computer (MSX and others I think) series. To appeal to the younger players that the system would no doubt bring in, the game was simplified a bit from it's PC version. The series isn't an ongoing story, but the same galactic war story told from the perspective of other characters in the various parts. 

Game play is pretty fun, but not completely obvious when first starting. Instruction come in handy. You'll need to travel to different locations on a star map and take over them. You'll also need to protect your locations from invaders. Once entering one of these areas the game switches to a side scrolling shooter where you take command of a mobile suit. Progress through the area and defeat the boss to take control the area. At the beginning of this stage, there's a map with three different power ups (health refill, a bomb that kills everything on screen, and missiles to be fired repeatedly from off screen) to be placed where they'd come in handy on the fight. The computer roots of the series is very obvious here as the controls are pure 80's micro computer style. One fire button and push up to jump. That was hard to go back to after all this time.

The jumps can be a challenge as each planet has different gravity. Overall these areas aren't too difficult, but of course they gradually increase as you progress. Also during the star map area of the game, you may encounter other ships. Doing so will put your ship in a turn based battle with them. Daiva Story is pretty fun, but I do wish the game was translated so i could understand the story better. Holding up my phone to use camera translation doesn't always work like a charm and gets old fast. Regardless, it reminds me of those summer nights I'd stay up late playing Star Raiders or StarMaster on my Atari. Good times.

Weekly Update 7/18/22

 

It's the beginning of another new week here on Planet Zone and you know what that means! It uh... honestly I don't know where I was going with that either. This weekend was a fun one with a small sampling of Halloween stock at At Home and more plan-o-grams taped to shelves. It's coming! Apparently my stores are in a lull right now as no new Transformers were stocked aside from one Micro Machines set (that I grabbed). I'm honestly hurting for the Target exclusive Creatures Collide set, so it's hard to be patient. I picked up a RX-78-2 Gundam model that came with a bunch of accessories. I'd been holding off on any more models since I've got a few that need to be built. However it was on sale for 9$, so obviously I jumped on that. 

I had some great sushi from the grocery store when the Mrs and I stopped by for some lunch. She got a sub sandwich and I got a great cream cheese with salmon and avocado roll. It was so good that I'm thinking about it still. Sunday was spent playing a few games bought off the e-shop on sale. The Switch E-Shop usually has some great deals if you poke around the sale section a little. I spent a lot of time wishing I was at G-Fest, so it made for a good distraction. 

I'm writing this before going to bed Sunday night. In the morning, the Mrs and I will be hitting up Bath & Bodyworks for the first day of their Halloween collection. She looks forward to it all year. It'll be fun. For now though, think I'm going to watch Beyond Belief and drink this Ramune. It's a tasty melon flavor. You've got a fun week on store for you Zone Base readers. Thank you all for continuing to support my nonsense. Please don't forget to share with your friends!

Weekly Update: 5/23/22

 

Its a new week here on Planet Zone and the week before a holiday weekend. Memorial Day is is the beginning of summer and a well deserved break. Of course here that also means the beginning of the spookier times of the year! 

I had a pretty decent weekend. Took the Mrs shopping and she got some good stuff. She had picked up  Legacy Laser Optimus Prime and Dragstrip for me earlier in the week, so I wasn't planning on picking up much. A trip to Walmart resulted in a Marvel Mech Strike Monster Hunters Loki. While I'm enamored with this line, I'm also taking my time with it. I'll have plenty of time to get the toys I want. Not to mention, stretching it out will allow me to get more enjoyment from it. I had a great dinner consisting of Morning Star vegetarian buffalo wings with some Nathan's crinkle cut fries while we watched Ghost Adventures: House Calls. It's a nice spin on the show focusing on investigating average homes that happen to be haunted. I got some Million Warriors in our grocery order. 

Sunday had a Squishmallow event at Five Below and we went first thing in the morning. I had planned to grab some Bakugan while there, however the first store we went to didn't have the full assortment the Mrs was looking for. So we checked out with what she grabbed and hit up another 20 minutes away for the rest. That store was sadly out of Bakugan unfortunately. I did grab a neat Gundam sticker while there though. We needed a few things that was forgotten from the Walmart trip and decided to stop by Target on the way home. I grabbed a MOTU Origins Jitsu on sale and a Ferascal Ultra from Bakugan Geogan Rising while there. 

The rest of the day was spent napping and playing Kirby on my Switch. We had a wonderful supper of tacos and a strawberry shortcake the Mrs made before retiring for the evening while watching Halloween specials. Next weekend is a holiday and I'll be off Monday. So there'll be a little break in the regular programming. I do plan to have an episode of Transform Squadron out soon as well. I think episodes will likely release toward the back end of the month. It's more fitting considering the next few months of spooky shit. 

I've got a fun week planned. I want to thank you all for continuing to support Zone Base. I hope you all have a good week and a great holiday weekend. Please don't forget to share with your friends!

Weekly Update: 5/16/22

 

I had a pretty good weekend. Saturday the Mrs and I had just a few things to do. It was time to upgrade my trusty S10 after two and a half years of service. I'm going to miss it, but this is the way of mobile devices. I now have a shiny new S22+ for the next few years and thanks to device share, it's got all my old stuff still. Though it's definitely an upgrade. We then made a quick stop at the nearby Best Buy for a new case. Got to take care of my investment and personal electronic companion!

We visited the the PopShelf store that recently opened near us. It's actually in the former location of Spirit Halloween, so we're well acquainted how to get there. Don't worry, Spirit moved a few buildings up last year due to this being constructed. PopShelf is a pretty neat little store. It's owned by Dollar General and a new chain of household stuff at fair prices. Think of it as a hybrid of Five Below and a general store. It's actually pretty nice inside and almost feels like something fancy.

They had a great little toy section full of blind bags. I got a Beyblade micro, a BotBot (haven't opened those yet), a little wind up ghost, and a Legend of Zelda Four Swords capsule. I did open my Zelda capsule and got a green Link! The series is by Tomy and each capsule has one of the four Links from Four Swords games. The figures are pretty nice and articulated mini figures with the gimmick that where you turn Links head, his eyes look that way. He has a sword and shield as well. There's so much personality in this little guy. I also got a G.I.JOE Snowcat building block set. My favorite JOE vehicle.

We then went to Walmart where I picked up Legacy Bulkhead. Friday the Mrs had grabbed me a Legacy Arcee. Here's hoping this one came with everything after the last one didn't. Thursday I had picked up Legacy Skids after a doctors appointment. Just a good few days for Transformers! The Sandstorm and Nightprowler I pre-ordered should be arriving this week. I decided to take my chances with finding Buzzsaw at retail. So I hope my luck continues next weekend. 

We ordered from Johnny's Pizza for dinner. I enjoyed a salad and two slices of pizza. I had mapped out my sodium intake all day and somehow ate two giant slices of pizza within my daily allotment. The Mrs fell asleep on the couch soon after leading me to watching Voltes V. She woke up near the end. It's pretty funny watching her reactions to my shows. She still doesn't believe Masterforce is Transformers and couldn't believe the name of what I was watching was called Voltes V. She swears I made the name up and asked why Voltron was fighting the devil. 

Sunday was a relaxing day of watching Ghost Adventures, napping, and playing Kirby on my Switch. Mom came over for dinner and we were going to cook out. However a sudden rainstorm led to cooking on the Foreman grill instead. It was still delicious and next Sunday there's a Squishmallow event at Five Below to prepare for. Looks like I'll be bringing home some more Bakugan!

I'm watching Haunt TV and drinking a Melon Ramune as I write this. I like to have a bottle of Ramune on the weekend. It's a silly tradition, but a good one. I don't drink  alcohol anymore and always have liked Ramune. Somehow that weekend beer became a weekend Ramune and I think I like it better that way. Of all the millions of Ramune bottles I've tossed, I've never saved the marble. Wonder if I should start? Thank you for continuing to support Zone Base. I've got a fun week planned and as always I ask that you please share with your friends! 

Grounds For Battle

Transformers Battlegrounds for Switch was one of many Christmas gifts from my wife. I've been wanting to play it quite a bit and it was great to finally do so. The game is set in the Cyberverse cartoon/toy line which you all know I've enjoyed quite a lot. Surprisingly the game is a light RTS (real time strategy) style game instead of the shooter or platformer you'd expect. 

I generally don't care for RTS games much (because they're boring), but when it's light I don't mind. When I say light, I mean as in I'm not managing a million things. Basic movement and attacking, similar to a board game. The game is pretty story oriented with each level having you help guide a team of Autobots fight Decepticons in various adventures.

I say 'you' as you are playing yourself. The games viewpoint is yours as you just happen to be nearby when things go down and Teletran X scoops you up to safety while having a birds eye view of everything. While you're up there you might as well help tell the Autobots what to do right? The team even refers to you occasionally as 'human', guess they didn't catch your name. I just said you a billion times.

As with most RTS games (light or boring) the action is turn based. Fortunately the turns don't take forever and it goes pretty quick, because that's another thing I generally don't like about RTS games. Nothing says fun like waiting forever for the chance to play my game.

There is a lot of story and you'll find yourself watching a lot of cinemas. They're pretty much the in game characters zoomed in talking about what's currently going on or about to happen. It really captures the vibe of the show pretty well and feels like another season. I could also say if feels like playing out a big adventure with my toys. I like it.

SNES And NES Switch Online July Releases!

Three more titles will be added to the #NES & #SNES – #NintendoSwitchOnline collection on 7/15, including #DonkeyKong Country!

Super NES – Nintendo Switch Online:
・Donkey Kong Country
・Natsume Championship Wrestling
NES – Nintendo Switch Online:
・The Immortal pic.twitter.com/dNQ5A1yQhD

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) July 8, 2020

Transformers: Battlegrounds Not Campgrounds

"As evil MEGATRON closes in on the Allspark, BUMBLEBEE and the Autobots need a new commander to help save Earth – you! Assemble your squad and roll out for a battle that will rage from Central City to Cybertron… and even to the local multiplayer arcade! More information to follow soon." Is how the upcoming new Transformers video game is described by Outright Games and Coatsink whom are behind it's creation and release. Not much more can be gathered from that and it's trailer, but it does look neat.

Taking a Cyberverse/Evergreen design approach, it'll be pretty traditional in it's appearance. It's looks like some sort of strategy style game. Of course, who knows really at this point? As long as it's fun, I'm down. I prefer mashing buttons to make dudes jump, shoot, and swing swords than turn based game play. Though, sometimes I can be won over with that style of game.

It's hard not to be excited for a new Transformers game, and I'm looking forward to getting a copy this October. I'll likely get it for my Switch as we have multiple TV docks set up in my house as well as the portable mode to allow me to move room to room while playing. I'd be locked to the living room on our PS4. Not to mention, those graphics scream Nintendo console, and who can ignore the screams of graphics?

Silius and the Journey there

Last week when Nintendo updated it's NES and SNES channels (no longer a monthly thing sadly) with new content, included was the excellent Journey to Silius by Sunsoft. Though, if you'll note in the promo video above from Sunsoft... they're not talking about Journey to Silius... they're talking Terminator. Well, as any Google search for Journey to Silius will tell you (before anything else), The Terminator game that Sunsoft was making BECAME Journey to Silius as the licensing deal fell through during the games development. A little work here and there and a new game was made instead.

Early Looks at the Terminator game in development

It's weird how these projects work out. A movie/game/whatever will start out intended as one thing and become something else by the time it's done. Back then, you probably wouldn't have known any better unless you'd seen something in a game magazine. At most maybe got some Terminator vibes when playing the game. Though after you learn, it's pretty obvious.

It's funny in hindsight. I've always loved games by Sunsoft. I love the Terminator, well the first two movies anyway. At the time I would have been absolutely insane for this. I liked the game at the time regardless, but man in those days leading up to Terminator 2's release when I don't think I even knew what Subway was other than that place by Kroger.

Needless to say, suddenly I was hooked on subs and the reusable cups that were available. You can bet your assets I would have probably had a few weekends of this game and Subway leading up to the movies release. Sure, there was Terminator games for the NES available, but not until after T2 came out and well...

That is bad ass

The Famicom version is called Rough World, which isn't the best name they could have came up with (it's a little rough hur hur). I don't think it was ever a huge hit. No follow ups that I know of, the most Wikipedia has is a mention of it being released on a compilation. Well, they mention another non-related game was also on the compilation in the grand tradition of wiki writers enjoying the sound of their own voice. It's a great game. Platforming, shooting lasers at robots, good music. Solid Sunsoft fare. Honestly it's probably due to releasing towards the end of the NES's lifespan more than anything.

Not as great

The game came out in 1990 and people were slowly moving towards 16 bit machines. Though really, if Sunsoft would have paid off game magazines, it would have been made a bigger deal (they were always based on advertising first). Or maybe if a spruced up port would have been on the Genesis or something. I dunno. If you've got the Switch online service, spend some time with the game. It's a good game that's got a weird history. But a good game still.

Switch online NES and SNES updates!

6 classic games will be added to the #NES & #SNES – #NintendoSwitchOnline collection on 12/12!

Super NES – Nintendo Switch Online:
・Star Fox 2
・Super Punch-Out!!
・Kirby Super Star
・Breath of Fire II

NES – Nintendo Switch Online:
・JOURNEY TO SILIUS
・Crystalis pic.twitter.com/6MEsAuPEPA

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) December 5, 2019

SNES Games coming to Switch Online!

20 classic #SNES games, including Super Mario World, Super Metroid, and Stunt Race FX, will be available for #NintendoSwitchOnline members on 9/5! Enjoy a growing catalog of Super NES games with even more titles releasing in the future.https://t.co/BR33g7bJpM pic.twitter.com/RflieF4guc

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) September 4, 2019

Switch Online August 2019 NES games

Switch Online games July 2019

I was literally just saying I wished Donkey Kong 3 was on the service. I mean, you get to shoot him in the nards. That's actually how you play the game, shoot Donkey Kong in the nards.

Blaster Master Zero 2

I'm a little surprised this one snuck past me without noticing a few months ago. I've always enjoyed the Blaster Master games and really liked the reboot/remake Blaster Master Zero that came out a few years ago. I wish I would have known about this sooner or I would have bought it day one. Not sure how it got past me without knowing until now, though admittedly sometimes these things happen (adult life). Totally getting this ASAP and see it being my July 4th holiday weekend gaming fix. My mind is just blown by how good this looks!

Switch Online June 2019 games

Switch Online May 2019 Games

I'm REALLY excited for Vs. Excitebike and really curious about the SP games that are usually a mystery until the app updates. 

Switch Online April 2019 NES games

I can't believe I'm this excited for Star Soldier, but here I am... excited for Star Soldier!

Switch Online March 2019 NES Games!

STARTROPICS MOFO!!!

Switch Online February Games

Two solid choices, wonder what/if the special saves will be?