Lost Plays

Hey howdy ho everyone! lostleader, and I finally got a tumblr for all my video, reviewing, and let's play needs.

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Game 116: Mega Man Space Rescue May2026 I did not expect a licensed Mega Man game, one of which has no concept of what the series is about, to actually be a fun game to play. Like Mega Man Space Rescue feels like a proto Dark Void game with the concept of basically using your jetpack to zoom around saving people and avoiding obstacles. The requirements to past a level are never too hard, the stages loops around to make it feel more like outer space, and the game progressively gets harder naturally. There's even an additional goal of getting everyone in the stage to earn even more points. The game doesn't even drag on too much, ending on 10 stages making it for a very easy pick up and play mentality that works exceptionally well on mobile. Plus the control scheme is some of the best I've seen on these old mobile games as it works with the structure of the phone itself only using 4 directions to navigate each stage and can easily be played one handed. This makes both controlling Mega Man, and maneuvering around the stage very fun and rewarding once you get how to go faster than usual. While I don't think the music or art of the game itself is anything to write home about; it at least pops enough to make it work on the phone's limitations. Mega Man Space Rescue is certainly a fun surprise as far as mobile games go , and at least encapsulates on how to make a game on mobile work well.

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Game 112: Starry Flowers May2026 Kinetic novels are a little hard to rank and file as games go because ultimately what matters most is the story and presentation of it. While boys love isn't my usual thing, I did absolutely adore the complex feelings these two witch boys were going through as they navigated their dating life and ultimately have a satisfying ending. What really pulls me away from giving Starry Flowers more than it's dues is that I don't think it's a game that works well on it's own, but rather a companion piece to Nomnomnami's works.

That said the mild amount of gameplay elements this game does have, dressing the main character Periwinkle, kinda blew up on my end. Don't know if it's a one time glitch with myself or a constant thing, but the small input I had on it was ruined. This mixed together with no real choices, no different endings, or other narrative perspective really makes Starry Flowers feel fairly bare bones compared to most other works by the same developer. The romance works well, the story beats are there, and even the length of the game feels all genuinely earnest outright, but I just can't help feeling there is a bit missing despite it all. Perhaps it's just sour grapes or not understanding the true beauty of a kinetic novel, but I just don't see this as something everyone could enjoy. It's at least very cute though.

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Game 96: Pinocchio's Puzzle April2026 The fun I had with it was minimal, but it was my own kind of fun with some mild modding involved with the pictures you jigsaw with. That said, there really isn't anything here that an in real life jigsaw puzzle can't just give you. In fact I would say that it's a downgraded option outright simply because the game isn't as responsive as a real jigsaw is.

It's a fairly okay take on the Pinocchio fairy tale too, and the art is at least distinct and interesting. But at a tag price or even just alternative to real life jigsaw comes down to a gallery of the same images, some decently okay chill ost music, and a mildly there story line read. Aside from those mild differences I think it would genuinely be more interesting to make your own jigsaw or at the least buy one that holds your interest. Pinocchio's Puzzle is simply asking too much from the player over what the player can actually just go out and buy. Would you have fun with it? Ya, but it's really a matter of why would you over simply buying an actual jigsaw puzzle.

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Game 110: Color a Ninja

What's wild to me is that the majority of the art here is pretty much directly from the Ninja Gaiden games, yet because they already worked with the limitations of the hardware, the art actually pops. I think that's ultimately what doomed Color A Dinosaur. The posing and premise are ultimately weak and uninspired. Meanwhile Color A Ninja, using the same base for Color A Dinosaur was more interesting and neat despite me having already gotten through the base game before. I think it's a rare feat that a hack ends up better than the original game, and even if the assets are lifted from a different game, it's still more inspiration and interesting than the original ever could be. It's a shame that the color palette is still awful and you be pressed to find any colors that actually work with the NES style, but it still fits better than the original ever did. Color A Ninja, a rom hack with a silly idea that made the game better by simply giving it good art to work with.

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Game 106: Mega Man 9: Proto Man Mode April2026

Mega Man 9 is an absolute stellar game to play due to it's weapon powers, tight level design, and boss patterns. Mega Man 9: Proto Man Mode is a test of patience, moments of consistent frustration, and a battle for survival. Knowing the ins and outs of Mega Man 9, Proto Man mode tweaks JUST enough of it to make the experience dreadful. No shop, lower buster shot count, and increase knockback really make the ins and outs of such a tightly designed game just fall enough into wack that it kind ruins the magic of it all. Like putting a hot dog in a cake or pineapple on pizza.

Even the pros of such a man are really there for survival rather than an actual advantage. Slide is nice movement to have, but rarely does it ever come into to play aside from very niche experiences that more or less don't need such a move to handle it. The shield while immensely useful isn't out for a lot of frames, and not at all when you are shooting your shot. This just leaves the charge shot, and while the charge shot is indeed handy, it mostly just falls into a "that's nice" alternative compared to the more rapid fire build that mega man has. This is further clarified near the very end at MM9's 1st Wily Machine's requiring you to do a back and forth game of hitting the ball in order to injury the robot machine. With this limitation added along with Proto Man's slightly lower shot makes this part of the game simply gruesome due to the usual patterns you're able to use with Mega Man entirely ineffective, and can make a lot of the proper shots way too close of a call to actually damage the machine. For all these reasons, beating Mega Man 9 as Proto Man is more of a flex rather than a fun alternative to the game itself. Thankfully this doesn't get fixed enough in Mega Man 10 to make such a trade off work, but not in 9.

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Game 100: Mega Man 10: Bass Mode April2026

Ultimately I don't like how Bass controls in this game. While the game is designed with Proto man and Mega Man in mind, Bass was clearly not an intention with the levels. Do i think you'll have a harder time with Bass? No, he tends to make a lot of parts easier while other bosses and sections you don't likely struggle with the other two, are harder. A lot of this comes from the fact that Bass has a slide that can get in the way, and the fact he can't move and shoot at the same time. So he isn't exactly pick up and play the way the other two are, and has a bit of a learning curve to him. That said, if you take the game slower or are familiar with his foibles you'll have no problems at all, and if not you're still making the game easier comparatively. Plus his jet with Treble is easily the better of the coils and jets that the other two wield. Bass Mode differs very little in story, but I was surprised to see that he had some unique scenes too.

All that said, if you like Bass, this mode will make you really happy. Bass clearly wasn't made for this game, and while he can't move as quick as the other two, he's unique enough that the game feels slightly different compared to the other two robot heroes. I wish he had slightly more unique things with him or even just being able to use him in certain challenges, but ultimately the DLC does what it says on the box and nothing more. It's Bass mode!

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Game 98: Lime Volleyball April2026 I think the overall concept of Lime Volleyball works, but the actual execution is far too limited in it's AI. A lot of the problem really stems from the fact the AI can guess where the ball is, and the court is short enough to effectively reach anywhere it needs to be. This causes the only real way to score through bank shots and spiking. The problem of course is the way both of these tactics work mixed together with a court that is just too small to make proper use of them. Heck, the majority of the time if you try to spike the ball you either miss it entirely or spike it on your side. Put working with a net cover approach means you're going to bank the shot on the other side making the ball more erratic and harder on your end rather than rewarding the high risk, high reward that benefits this type of play style. Meanwhile, the computer just straight up can't handle certain bank shots if you hit those magic pixels just right. The AI just kinda freezes up and lets the ball be drop down without doing anything; making the whole process feel like an exploit rather than fun tactics. Mix that together with the computer covering the whole court while you're out there simply trying to catch the ball makes for Lime Volleyball more a test of impatience and luck. While you certainly could have more fun playing this game with a friend, overall why wouldn't y'all simply choose a more stylish volleyball game like Dead or Alive Extreme? It's neat and it's there, but there are certainly better round objects to see in gaming rather than Lime Volleyball.

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Game 92: You Will Return Mar2026

You Will Return is a stunning display of minesweeper mixed with atmosphere and story telling elements that delighted me the whole way through. You play as a faceless research team member trying to get through an abandon space ship, but there is something lurking trying to kill you. While not a traditional minesweeper, it gets the best parts of it right while mixing it around enough with the "bomb" being the creature that kills you while exploring. The actual gameplay itself isn't 100% solvable in most minesweeper tradition, but it does enough to where you can check and scan areas constantly while having infinite lifes to go through trial and error. The game doesn't last that long either, roughly taking 20-30 minutes pending your skill; as well as engaging you with it's narrative structure through messages you are decoding in each room. Then when you finally reach near the end, the game does a 180 in an interesting way I don't want to spoil, but will say makes for a satisfying conclusion. Overall, You Will Return is deeply engaging, kinda creepy, and unique take on the minesweeper formula.

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Game 95: Grill-Off with Ultra Hand! April2026 Grill-Off with Ultra Hand! is a pretty fun distraction and arcade scorer. The actual aspects of consistently having to lift up meat off the grill and motioning them with the wii mote can be a bit trying on the body, but ultimately it adds more to the score getter than takes away from it. It certainly would have been nice to have a different natural control scheme though, and something I feel Nintendo ignored a lot in favor of showcasing the wii mote for a lot of it's games. Still the way all the beeps and boops add to the scoring system along with how this game consistently showcases it's arcade nature is what charmed me more than anything else. What kinda sends me over the top with this game though is just the fact it knows what it is and never tries to be more than that. It's strictly an arcade game based around ranking combos and points while really only offering multiplayer as an extra mode to it's usual affair. The game was never really sold, and for Club Nintendo fans that got this felt more like a nice treat than a full game. Aside from this outside factors though, the game doesn't mean much aside from a little wink reference to Nintendo's days as a toy maker. It's charming, neat, and just kinda does everything it needs too; not much more to ask for or against it.

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Game 143: Ignis Universia: Eternal Sisters Saga DX Dec2025 Ignis Universia: Eternal Sisters Saga DX is more puzzle than RPG, and the way that it encapsulates that is part of the charm of it all. I don't think the battle system itself is particularly interesting beyond that aspect of solving for it's enemies and recruiting certain characters tho. Like, it's very clear you mostly need to recruit a new character in order to use their new abilities to win the next battle, and there really only being 2 battles near the end that you can actually differ in combat. Even then though, the majority of the game feels entirely taught to you to the point it doesn't feel any battle is really won through your strategy. This isn't a bad thing mind you, but it does make Ignis Universia more like a one trick pony. Like ya, you can go out and get different achievements that require certain luck or prediction, but ultimately the game is solved by brute trial and error. Again, that's the fun of it all, and makes the sauce that keeps this spaghetti hot. It's short enough that the trial and error is more fun then annoying, the writing is witty and charming, and ultimately it's just a silly game. Ignis Universia has a great aesthetic too, so it never really feels dull over the short time you do have with it, as repetitive as it might be. Ultimately this Eternal Sisters Saga DX falls into my neat game that works because of it's premise. Plus it's free!

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Game 94: Simple 2000 Series Vol. 105: The Maid Fuku to Kikanjuu The Simple Series is the kind of magic you only really get in this era of gaming due to the makings of the industry at the time. Because of the unknown nature of the marketing mixed together with higher turn over these would be doujin games got to have a bit of life put into them for a solid scenario campaign, and got spit out for cheaper prices. This means that "The Maid Fuku to Kikanjuu" wasn't polished a good deal nor given enough resources to really visualize a full game the way you would most.

Despite such limitations, and given how wacky the whole scenario is, "The Maid Fuku to Kikanjuu" is pretty interesting and neat both in execution and premise. You dive right into a time machine showdown where the enemies of the protagonist's master are setting up to get rid of him in the past, and it's up to you as a robot maid to go back in time to save him. It's wacky, fun, played completely straight, and actually has a pretty solid combat structure. From a point score system designed on taunting enemies, a parry button that can end up super broken given the right control scheme, and the rewards for getting different weapons once you scored well on a stage. This mixed together with a few unique stages sprinkled between the 8 stages given leaves the game fairly well with it being just diverse enough not to showcase the repetitive nature of it's combat system. As well there is an additional story on the enemies perspective upon completing it as well as a stage select to help go through score attack easier.

In a lot of ways the maid uniform and machine gun feels more like a "proto Bayonetta". From the way the game is based on score attacking, to a similar story premise, additional playable character, and reward system. I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case, but as it's own stand alone game, I think this is one of the better games the Simple series has to offer. It's interesting and short enough to not really impeded what it's trying to do while at the same time delivering enough action and combat to really sink your teeth into with the skills you acquire. I really hope the simple series gets a collection at some point because more people need to experience a robot maid with a machine gun!

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Game 21.5: Spring Breeze April2013 There are a few things they missed while making this remake that kinda urk me. Like the complete absence of the mint power up where you are constantly blowing smoke and the game becomes a bullet shooter for the boss of that level, and the complete absence of Castle Lololo. That said, Spring Breeze is basically enough of the first Kirby game to not need to play the original. Like I think you should regardless because of how informative the first Kirby game is, but ultimately Spring Breeze is probably how the original Kirby story is remembered. There is a good reason for that, it's easy, bite sized, and fun to play with friends as you make your way through Kirby Super Star. The game looks better, and sounds better too, so it's really hard to not like it over the original game. Overall, I'm glad Spring Breeze exists, I think it's very cute to have such a retelling in a game collection, and ultimately I don't blame anyone for only playing this version of the game. It is easier, and in a way better because of it.

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Game 21.3: Megaton Punch April2013 Megaton Punch is a neat little distraction, and not much of an actual game. While I think this game works well when it comes to a mini-game; with the way you time everything, the presentation of the audience, and show of strength, ultimately it doesn't hold much attention otherwise. The game pretty much only has 3 different modes to chose from and roughly 9 different opponents you can contest against. Then on top of that most of the difficulty isn't really the contestants themselves, but rather the timing of the actions itself. This can led to some characters cutting off your timing by their animation playing before yours, but ultimately it doesnt effect gameplay that much when you can entirely wait out your opponent taking your own time with each action. That said, there isn't much to this game beyond mastering your timing, and while it's presentation is neat, realistically you can probably finish a session of it compared to reading this full review. Megaton Punch is neat for a quick once through, even playing against a friend, but you're really not coming back to compared anything else bundled in Kirby Super Star.

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Game 88: Tail Gunner Mar2026 Tail Gunner is a neat little endless shmup about surviving an onslaught of airplanes trying to gun you down. While the control scheme leaves a lot to be desired, the overall premise and enemy design pretty much stands on it's own to more than make up for it. Despite some early exploitation you can have in the corners eventually the chaos becomes too much, and bigger enemies start targeting you so you have to move and pay attention to your surrounds to the point it feels like your zipping and zapping all over the place. It really ends up becoming fairly interesting and a testament to dog fights as much as a 2D environment can thrive on. Honestly, the only real problem is that you consistently have to wait to get into the fray each time you die rather than earning points to get an extra life or continue which I feel would have helped the potential for crazier runs that feel more thrilling rather than killing all the momentum it built up. This in tandem with the control scheme only offering a very awkward and not always responsive mix of mouse clicking and arrow keys movements ends up also lowering the potential for this game. That said Tail Gunner is at least properly functional and can really show you a good time if you can get into it enough. The sad part is it's kind harder to get much further once you hit a wall as each time you die sends you all the way back rather than continuing the madness this game can be.

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Doc Louis's Punch-Out!! Nov2009 I'm sadden at the thought that this was released after Punch Out!! came to the Wii. Like don't get me wrong here, more of Wii's style of Punch Out is always a good thing. It mimics the original NES game super well, and even shakes up a lot of the puzzle dynamics and timing later on when the game introduces a harder mode and even newer characters. But Doc Louis's Punch-Out!! is pretty much a full prequel to the game I mentioned, and while I absolutely love that we get some nice lore of Doc training Mac in the ring, ultimately the timing of it and lack of any more content just feels sour in my eyes.

Like this would have been an amazing demo or led up to Punch-Out!! It hits all the right beats, showcases the different fighting dynamics that entail the rest of the Wii game, and really hits home with the world building and lore that Punch Out oddly needed. Sadly, when we got Doc Louis's Punch-Out!! it felt like we were getting crumbs of what was effectively the superior meal that was Punch-Out!! Wii. So while it does all these neat things, Doc Louis as a fighter isn't particularly interesting because he's training Mac. You get a lot of call outs, a lot of openings, and not as much new content that made Wii's Punch Out so interesting.

Doc Louis's Punch-Out!! at the least is a good addition to the series, and will certainly help people actually get into Punch Out, but as a whole it's only better as an entrance rather than the exit. All the great ascetics of the Wii Punch Out are still slapping here, it has a lot of great story and dialogue beats, and ultimately is a great demo. But that's all it really is, a demo.

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Game 90: It's Corn! Mar2026 This is kinda hypnotic, and I have to wonder if it's because of the fact it's corn? Regardless this is a pretty safe and easy point-getter than doesn't really have much challenge beyond keeping your combo up. The way the corn lines up, and how generous the hitbox is for your corn collector really makes this a simple task to the point it becomes relaxing. Effectively you can go on till the score stops, but largely you've seen pretty much everything in roughly 2 minutes. Still a pretty relaxing game despite everything, but nothing really simulating or notable. It's Corn!