EarthBound, released in Japan as Mother 2: Gīgu no Gyakushū, is a 1994 role-playing video game developed by Ape Inc. and HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as the second entry in the Mother series. The game focuses on Ness and his party of Paula, Jeff and Poo, as they travel the world to collect melodies from eight Sanctuaries in order to defeat the universal cosmic destroyer Giygas.
Shantae is a 2002 platform video game developed by WayForward and published by Capcom for the Game Boy Color. It follows the adventures of the eponymous half-genie Shantae, who must travel across Sequin Land, the setting of the series, to foil the domination plans of the evil lady pirate Risky Boots. During her quest, she learns various dances and acquires items which make her progressively stronger as well as unlocking new abilities and locations, leading her to ultimately face off against Risky in her hideout.
iam8bit, Inc. is a media production and merchandising company, video game publisher and artist collective based in Los Angeles, California. iam8bit hosts an online store that primarily sells collectible vinyl records of video game soundtracks, but also sells t-shirts, artwork, pins and other merchandise. iam8bit also frequently collaborates with Skybound Games to produce physical editions of independent video games. The company also owns an art gallery in Los Angeles that hosts various exhibitions annually.
Galak-Z: The Dimensional is a shooter video game developed and published by 17-Bit. It was released in August 2015 for the PlayStation 4 and October 2015 for Microsoft Windows, macOS and Linux. A Nintendo Switch port, subtitled Deluxe Edition, was released in March 2019 by Golem Entertainment. It was announced during Sony's pre-E3 2013 press conference in June 2013. 17-Bit CEO Jake Kazdal describes it as "modern Halo and Far Cry 3 combat in a 2-dimensional shell." Reflecting its inspiration in part by Japanese anime, the game is also known officially by the Japanese title of Uchuu Senshi Galak-Z.
The 1994 video game EarthBound is known for its cult following and fan community. Multiple video game journalists have written about the dedication of the game's fans in producing fan art and lobbying Nintendo for further releases in the series. The company has been largely unresponsive to their efforts. Prominent fansites include Starmen.net and EarthBound Central. The former was started in 1999 and became the definitive community website. Their members organized petitions and campaigns to bring English-localized games from the Mother series to North America. One such effort included a full-color, 270-page EarthBound Anthology as a demonstration of consumer demand for further releases. After nearly a decade, EarthBound was rereleased for the Wii U Virtual Console in 2013, whereupon it became a bestseller.
Yooka-Laylee is a 2017 platform game developed by Playtonic Games and published by Team17. It was released for Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in April 2017, Nintendo Switch in December 2017 and Amazon Luna in October 2020. Developed by a group of former key personnel from Rare, Yooka-Laylee is a spiritual successor to the Banjo-Kazooie series. After years of planning to develop a new game, Playtonic Games initiated a Kickstarter campaign that attracted significant media coverage and raised a record-breaking sum of over £2 million. The game follows chameleon Yooka and bat Laylee on their quest to retrieve a magical book from an evil corporation.
Undertale is a 2015 2D role-playing video game created by American indie developer Toby Fox. The player controls a child who has fallen into the Underground: a large, secluded region under the surface of the Earth, separated by a magical barrier. The player meets various monsters during the journey back to the surface, although some monsters might engage the player in a fight. The combat system involves the player navigating through mini-bullet hell attacks by the opponent. They can opt to pacify or subdue monsters in order to spare them instead of killing them. These choices affect the game, with the dialogue, characters, and story changing based on outcomes.
Limited Run Games, Inc. is an American video game distributor based in Apex, North Carolina. The company produces and sells limited quantities of physical video game copies via its website and select retail stores. Josh Fairhurst and Douglas Bogart founded Limited Run Games in October 2015 after Fairhurst wanted to preserve the digitally released games developed by his studio, Mighty Rabbit Studios, on physical media. The company's first release, Breach & Clear for the PlayStation Vita, was quickly sold out and followed up with Saturday Morning RPG. Oddworld Inhabitants approached the company to release a physical version of Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty!, which led Limited Run Games to release games by other developers. Following major expansion between 2018 and 2022, including branching out into publishing and retrogaming, the company was acquired by Embracer Group through its Embracer Freemode operative group in September 2022.
Fast RMX is a racing video game developed and published by Shin'en Multimedia for the Nintendo Switch. It is a remix of the second installment in Shin'en's Fast series. It was released on March 3, 2017 on the Nintendo eShop as a launch title for the Nintendo Switch. The game includes all the courses and downloadable content from the original game, Fast Racing Neo, in addition to 6 new courses for a total of 30 courses, but with shorter Grand Prix than the original. An additional free update was released on September 13, 2017 which added 6 extra courses, for a total of 36. The game received a limited edition physical release on October 13, 2022, via Super Rare Games.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is a 2018 crossover fighting game developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the fifth installment in the Super Smash Bros. series, succeeding Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U (2014). The game follows the series' traditional style of gameplay, in which players control one of the various characters and use attacks to weaken their opponents and knock them out of an arena. It features a wide variety of game modes, including a single-player campaign and multiplayer versus modes. Ultimate features 89 playable fighters, including all characters from previous Super Smash Bros. games as well as newcomers. The roster ranges from Nintendo characters to those from third-party franchises.
Deltarune is an episodic role-playing video game developed by Toby Fox as a follow-up to his 2015 video game Undertale. In the game, the player controls a human teenager, Kris, who is destined to save the world together with Susie, a monster, and Ralsei, a prince from the Dark World. During their quest to seal the Dark Fountains prophesied to end the world, the group makes both friends and foes. The combat system is turn-based and uses bullet hell mechanics. Similarly to Undertale, enemy encounters can be resolved peacefully or through violence.
Sans is a character in the 2015 video game Undertale. He is the brother of Papyrus and initially appears as a friendly NPC with an easy-going, laid-back personality. Sans is also featured in the 2018 video game Deltarune, where he can only be found at his shop, which is a remodeled version of Grillby's Diner from the original game. Sans was created by Toby Fox with support from the artist Temmie Chang. The character's name is based on the Comic Sans font, which is used for most of his in-game dialogue. This sans typeface was replaced with a "cutesy irreverent typeface" in the Japanese version of the game.
Banjo & Kazooie are the protagonists of the video game series Banjo-Kazooie, created by the British developer Rare. They were introduced in the original Banjo-Kazooie (1998). Banjo is a honeybear who is accompanied by Kazooie, a bird who is often seen seeking shelter in Banjo's backpack and emerging to perform various moves and attacks. The pair's numerous adventures usually pit them against the evil witch Gruntilda.
Space Invaders Invincible Collection is a compilation of various Space Invaders titles developed by Taito and Gotch Technology. It was released in Japan for the Nintendo Switch on March 26, 2020.
Xeno Crisis is a 2019 multidirectional shooter homebrew video game developed and published by Bitmap Bureau for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, Linux, macOS, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. It was later ported to Dreamcast, PlayStation Vita, Neo Geo, Neo Geo CD, Nintendo 64, GameCube, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy Advance, PlayStation and Evercade. The premise takes place in Outpost 88, a scientific research facility overrun by aliens. The facility sent a distress signal, leading Commander Darius dispatching space marines John Marsh and Sarah Ridley to confront the aliens. Gameplay revolves around players defeating enemies, rescuing survivors, collecting in-game currency for upgrades, and facing against bosses.
Undertale Soundtrack is a soundtrack album by Toby Fox, released in 2015 for the video game Undertale.
Undyne is a character in the 2015 video game Undertale and the 2018 video game Deltarune. She is a monster who serves as the captain of the Royal Guard of the Underground under its king, Asgore. She is initially an antagonist to the player-character, the human, but depending on the human's actions, she may become their ally. She is reluctant to befriend the human, but through persistence by the player, eventually realizes that they were a good person. If the human makes a point of killing every monster possible, Undyne will transform into Undyne the Undying, vowing to destroy the human in order to save humans, monsters, and all other life from their actions. She is a lesbian, revealed to be in love with Alphys.
Alphys is a character in the 2015 video game Undertale and the 2018 video game Deltarune. She is a bisexual reptilian monster who serves as a scientist under the leader of the Underground, Asgore, and is a fan of anime and manga. She is also a friend to Mettaton, a robot, and the captain of the Royal Guard, Undyne, who eventually becomes her girlfriend. She suffers from social anxiety, depression, and self-harm tendencies, and the depiction of her struggles with these have been the subject of praise and commentary by critics. She watches the player-character throughout the game, offering guidance at some point, though with limited benefit. She is revealed to have dark secrets, including ones that relate to experimentation. She also appears in Deltarune in a different role as a school teacher.
Papyrus is a character introduced in the 2015 video game Undertale. He is a skeleton with a large ego who aspires to join the Royal Guard, and also the brother of Sans and friend of Undyne. He is eternally optimistic, and despite wanting to capture the human to prove himself, finds himself befriending the human instead. He does not appear in Deltarune, but has been alluded to. He was created by Toby Fox with support from Temmie Chang. He was originally envisioned as a creepy person who wears a fedora and has no redeeming qualities, though Fox did not like this idea, so he scrapped it. His character communicates with the Papyrus typeface, which had to be changed to a "faux hand-drawn vertical script" when translated into Japanese.
