Geeky stuff – Page 7 – DaveGladow.com

Ms. Pac-Man — Retro Gaming Essentials (No. 15)

The list that I’ve been putting together of games every person should play — the retro gaming essentials — has thus far mostly taken on a personal bent, focusing primarily on games I personally enjoy a great deal. These are, after all, games I am personally recommending to as wide an audience as possible. It would stand to reason they are my personal favorites.

My relationship with Pac-Man is … more complicated than that.

Have I derived fun from playing the series? Absolutely. I have fond memories of playing the games in arcades and pizzerias growing up. The games were just always THERE, whether one played them or not, always in the background, running through gameplay footage and piping noise out into the room. Pac-Man games were a constant. They were reliable. They were present.

That’s comforting.

But gun to my head, is any Pac-Man game getting listed when I’m asked for my personal favorites?

Eh, probably not. At least not for a long time.

But that doesn’t mean I don’t think people should play, or that folks won’t get enjoyment out of them. These are, by definition, ESSENTIAL games.

And the best game in the series is Ms. Pac-Man.

Ms. Pac-Man at a glance:
Genre: Maze
Released: 1982
Platform: Arcade
No. 5 on Time’s 50 Best Video Games of All Time

WhoDatJedi podcast: What are the best space battles in Star Wars?

This one’s pretty straightforward. Got a favorite? There’s a pretty definitive Top 2.

WhoDatJedi Podcast: ‘The Bad Batch,’ the military, and what we can learn from both

After a few episodes of “The Bad Batch,” the new animated Star Wars series on Disney+, it’s pretty obvious that themes of the military are going to be a big part of the show.

But just HOW big, and moreover … are they going to get it right?

We talked about that this week on the WhoDatJedi podcast.

WhoDatJedi Podcast: Live movie discussion: ‘Attack of the Clones’

With the ongoing release of new episodes of “The Bad Batch,” it seems a good time to go back to the roots of the clones in Star Wars cinema. With that in mind, the WhoDatJedi crew sat down to record a commentary track of “Attack of the Clones,” the much maligned middle chapter of the Star Wars prequel trilogy.

WhoDatJedi Podcast: A review of ‘The Battle for Endor’ (yes, we did that), critique for a lack of Star Wars marketing, and some ‘Bad Batch’ impressions

May the Fourth came and went and … not much happened.

Is that a problem? We discussed that, “The Battle for Endor,” and more!

WhoDatJedi Podcast: Star Wars trivia extravaganza (and some thoughts on Disney theme parks)

To celebrate 75 episodes — and May the Fourth! — we recorded this episode in-person at Zony Mash, asking Star Wars fans in attendance trivia questions.

A good time was had by all.

Final Fantasy VII — Retro Gaming Essentials (No. 12)

We all have to be honest with ourselves.

I thought it might be a good idea to slot a Final Fantasy game in this general area (somewhere in my first 15 games listed), because although the first game I dropped in this entire series is a Squaresoft classic and my favorite game of all time, it’s not especially relevant to the medium at large (apart from its impeccable soundtrack, which literally everyone should listen to at some point). Final Fantasy, as a series, is a different animal. It’s perhaps the most recognizable RPG brand on the planet, probably the most successful RPG brand on the planet, and arguably the most important RPG brand on the planet. It’s absolutely massively critical when it comes to understanding video game history, let alone that of the genre of the JRPG.

You can’t tell a complete story of gaming without Final Fantasy.

But…

Which of the Final Fantasy games is most essential?

Ah, that’s the fun part of it. For many gamers of a certain age, this debate typically boils down to two choices: The “taken as far as they could take it” 16-bit excellence of Final Fantasy VI (perhaps the best possible example of why the Super Nintendo continues to be held in high esteem for its RPG library), OR the “let’s get wacky with something slightly different” new direction boldness of Final Fantasy VII (which itself makes the case for the Playstation being the golden era of RPG gaming).

Since I’ve already got Chrono Cross on my list, I should go with Final Fantasy VI here to represent that different era of gaming, right?

Right?

Well, there’s just one small problem with that:

I like Final Fantasy VII a little bit more.

Final Fantasy VII at a glance:
Genre: RPG
Released: 1997
Platform: Playstation
GameSpot’s 2nd Most Influential Game Ever Made

WhoDatJedi Podcast: Just can’t get New Orleans (or Falcon and Winter Soldier) off our minds

Wookiee stabbings. Only in New Orleans.

WhoDatJedi Podcast: Everything you ever (and never) wanted to learn about Boba Fett

Let’s talk about everybody’s favorite bounty hunter!

WhoDatJedi Podcast: Why is the ‘Clone Wars’ micro-series worth watching?

Did you know there are actually two “Clone Wars” animated series? There’s that other one that we’ve covered in this space before (here’s a handy viewing guide!). But there’s also a really good (and much shorter) series that has been harder for fans to access … until recently.