2001 really isn’t messing around. I wanted to make this a multiple choice poll but the last time I tried that, it was busted.
as someone that has played through FSR and knows it contains a doctorate level math problem yeah play the English DS one and maybe look up the one puzzle.
I despite being a lazy jerk am pretty good at math. I spent an hour with a notebook trying to figure out this one puzzle. I even looked up the solution and tried to work backwards. I couldn’t figure it out. I emailed friends that were studying math and physics. They couldn’t figure it out and ask their professors. A professor eventually found an obscure theorem.
5 Likes
TXR Zero because driving around Japanese interstates all night is such a nice cozy thing. 
4 Likes
Tokyo Xtreme Racer Zero is one of my favorite hangoutitude games, indeed
2 Likes
I knew I had to include it in the poll because I watched you stream it!
and to think i was annoyed when some crappy ps1 survival horror game had a sudoku puzzle in it
1 Like
is tokyo xtreme racer the one that’s also on dreamcast where drive around challenging people and the races have like health bars that go down when you’re a certain distance behind your opponent?
Yes!
2 Likes
Dreamcast had TXR1 and TXR2. I’m not sure where TXR0 fits in the storyline… I think it’s an “enhanced” version of TXR1??? The Dreamcast versions certainly had 480p going for them.
Regardless, they’re all basically the same game with each newer version being a bit different but not radically so. You get a very similar experience regardless of what version you play.
Rolling Guy is my favorite gang because they drive around in Corollas and really only seem to be there for the night driving vibe.
2 Likes
Okage: Shadow King
As a Zato-1 player, this game is going to be a piece of cake.
I owned this game 18 years ago. It only worked half the time because it was a CD-ROM. My sister really liked it and got about 10 hours in, even with all the loading and freezing. Then it didn’t work at all. Now I’m playing on the PS4 because my sister bought the game again. She finally did beat it and her life is much better. Those two things are probably related.
I am two hours in and just cleared the second chapter. If it goes on like this, I should be able to beat the game within 7 hours, but something tells me that it’s not going to go on like this. I have seen signs that this game has multi-level dungeons. Entering buildings, starting battles, and ending battles all transition through a 5-second dissolve. That time adds up. This game is going to be much longer than 7 hours. I intend to keep going.
I really like how often you have a chance to choose what to say. It feels almost like a Bioware game, but with a better world and funny dialogue. Like a Bioware game, there are three attitudes you can put on: overly enthusiastic, confrontational, and bored/passive aggressive. This is perfect characterization for a teenage boy. A fortune teller at each inn tells me how closely I’m aligned to other characters and now I wonder if my dialogue choices actually have an impact. I don’t want to marry Stan! or do I?
Stan is my braggadocious possessor. He calls me his slave, but most people I talk to think I’m practicing ventriloquy. The girl I grew up with and had a crush on thinks I’m too macho now. I’m moving away from her ideal. Maybe I can join the gear-lovers club and start hugging and kissing gears instead.
The director of this game, Tadato Kawano, has no other credits to his name. I think I’m going to have to play this through out of respect.
15 Likes
Well shoot. I got two 20 minute sessions in this game that both ended with me falling asleep (this is a problem with me and JRPGs).
I didn’t write much about the battles, but so far they have been extremely boring. I mean, I did just get a second party member so I’m trying to withhold judgement, but I suspect that the system is purely by the numbers. If the writing doesn’t grab you, then it’s safe to say that this game is not for you.
Oh I had no opinion of the game as a result. JRPGs literally just put me to sleep!
Tokyo Xtreme Racer Zero
This game rules.
Included on this disc are a trailer for The Fast and the Furious and a documentary about highway racing in Tokyo. It is extremely difficult for me to refrain from taking every screenshot from the documentary. You can watch it here.
At first, I thought the cars felt too stiff, but then I realized this game is all about tuning. Problem is, I don’t know anything about cars. This is a huge oversight on my part. When I was growing up, I think I looked down on car people. I thought, “this is too macho for me. I’m going to collect Genesis games instead.” That’s good news for you all because if I had a different outlook, I’d probably be posting on emergencybrake.net instead of writing this. But really, I regret not learning more about these machines that are so integral to living in America. I’m effectively one of those parents that doesn’t know how to install Microsoft Office or hook a Blu-ray player to their TV.
Maybe instead of living in regret, I can try to learn. Maybe Tokyo Xtreme Racer Zero can help me.
I now understand that there is something called horsepower and another thing called cc. I think cc relates to how fast your car can go and horsepower relates to how quickly you can go fast. Obviously, expensive means better, right? Right?
After two hours, I was able to “soup-up” my ride “Shadow Thee Hedgehog” and I could drive fast enough to beat everyone in the inner loop and outer loop. Now there are more loops. I like how this game tracks rivalries. It’s like the nemesis system but instead of orcs, you develop a bitter hatred for sous-chefs and convenience store workers. I love how much detail the developers put into each racer. They all have their own street names, bios, and racing strategies. There are hundreds of them!
I’m afraid that I will spend too much time playing this game. It very quickly drained two hours of my night away when I had only planned to play for 30 minutes. It truly deserved to beat out Gran Turismo 3 in the polls.
18 Likes
There is a three-way tie for fourth, so I’m making another poll to decide which gets played. That means all you people who got what you wanted by voting for Okage, Tokyo Xtreme Racer Zero, and Densha de Go! have a chance to win again! Thank you everyone for reading and voting, btw. I’ve had a lot of fun doing this.
- Bloody Roar 3
- Flower, Sun, and Rain
- Zone of the Enders
0 voters
1 Like
Zone of Enders is 3 hours long and it is time that is recognized as a good thing.
3 Likes
I remember my brother talked me into renting the game when it was my turn to pick at Blockbuster. We started watching the cutscenes and a characters says “damn” or something. My mom overheard then said I wasn’t allowed to play the game anymore 
He also talked me into asking for Peter Molyneux’s Black & White. It took me awhile to stop letting him talk me into things.
5 Likes
Beat ZOE then indulge in the cool bonus multiplayer mode imo.
1 Like
Okage: The Shadow King Part 2
This game has split me in half. On one hand, the writing and development of characters is drawing me in further. On the other hand, the dungeons are the absolute worst.
It turns out I inadvertently lied in my previous post. My sister did not beat the game. She got lost in a dungeon and called it quits. She said she had better things to do in her life and now I’m wondering if I have better things too. I’m 6 hours into the game now and I’m calling it.
When I finished my previous post, I had just defeated the first pretender to the evil king’s throne. A knight with a pink shadow joined me, and a scientist researching ghosts followed not long after. My shadow and I hatched a plan to capture the princess’s soul, but it turns out she has none. Now my soul has been portioned off between a princess and my shadow. I am just an instrument in other people’s plans.
That’s really the theme of the whole thing. People are pressed and manipulated by others. Very few can set their own course in life. It’s a very depressing theme in a funny game.
One of my favorite side stories is one in which you help a budding pop idol gain popularity. She sings for you and you give her tips and encouragement. She went from singing bright pop songs to shouting about world domination. She’s going places and I’m proud of my input.
When I went into my first dungeon, I was happy with how quickly I could level up and move through the floors. All I had to do was kill some jars and go down some stairs. Then I got to the second dungeon. This is when I realized that every dungeon is about killing jars and traveling up an down stairs. The only variation is in the size and added turns. I cannot play through four or five more of these. I’m not built like that.
Maybe I’ll watch a Let’s Play later, but I think I’ve internalized enough of this game. By choosing to stop playing, I’m taking control of my life. Yeah, it’s all Juffo’s time now 
14 Likes
Hell Yeah Quitting Video Games Rules.
9 Likes