QCF: Undead Darlings ~no cure for love~ (Switch)

Never judge a book by its cover; in this case never judge an RPG by its visual novel elements. I initially did not think I would play through this release from Sekai Games and Mr. Tired Media due to the bland and uninspired spin on breaking the fourth wall and using anime tropes with negative results.  However, after grinding out multiple hours of Undead Darlings ~no cure for love~ on the Switch and surpassing all the brutal objectives laid out in the zombie apocalypse I can say that the combat and challenging gameplay shows enough promise to make the title something worth checking into.

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QCF: Battletoads (2020)

6 years is a long time ago—hell, I bet some of you reading this aren’t even 26 years old yourselves, and couldn’t have possibly imagined what the vibe was back then. Well, there was one thing that dominated the scene that time in contrast to the occasional sighting at your local laundromat, and that’s over-the-top Arcade games.

 Among all of the Final Fight’s and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle clones, however, was Rare’s last hurrah for their infamous Battletoads series with a coin-op gem that wouldn’t get a proper console port until 2015 with Rare Replay, a compilation that included it along with the original title for NES. Needless to say, it made an impression with players; between the success of their inclusion onto that collection, and the various cameos the characters have made on other popular titles like Killer Instinct and Shovel Knight, the fever for more toads had grown. Unable to ignore the interest for it any longer, Microsoft and Rare decided to formally bring them out of retirement with a brand new title for the Xbox One.

 Partnering with Dlala Studios after working with them on Sea of Thieves, the latest entry to the franchise is a reboot that’s starkly different from anything the Amphibians have ever done before—and thankfully it’s a step in the right direction, albeit a undeniabley clumsy one.

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Late to the Party: The Ninja Saviors - Return of the Warriors

aito was doing crazy things with multi-screened arcades games in the late 80's. Already having released the three-screen-wide Darius to arcades in 1987, they would release a double monitored brawler known as The Ninja Warriors the same year, which would get a sequel on the Super NES in 1994. It's this game that Taito and ININ Games have released to the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch as The Ninja Saviors- Return of the Warriors.

Ninjas are cool, but cybernetic ones are even cooler, and the same team that brought us the revamped Wild Arms Reloaded definitely knows what’s up when bringing classic (and impossibly expensive) titles from the 16-bit era to the modern stage. As a side-scrolling brawler, Return of the Warriors is definitely an engaging title, one that's more involved than many of the brawlers we've played in the past. Taking place over eight lengthy stages, players into this specific game time are in for a real good time.

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Late to the Party: SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy

ou all should know by now that we love a good fighting game here on Press Pause Radio and SNK is a mainstay that is responsible for some of our favorites over the years. Games like King of Fighters '98 (and its fantastic Dreamcast update, Dream Match 1999), Garou: Mark of the Wolves, Shin Samurai Spirits (Samurai Showdown II) and so many more. It’s hard to discount SNK after all of these years, and their work will always have a space on our shelf and hard drives with each new port in the future. So, when SNK announced a new fighting game for the Nintendo Switch featuring an all-female roster of fighters from across SNK's history, I knew I needed to check it out at some point.

 Developed by SNK (The Future is Now!) and published by NIS America, SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy is a versus fighting game that, at first glance, seems to be a fan-service-y re-skin of the typical SNK fighting game formula. Players start the game with a primary attacker and a secondary supporting character. However, simply diving into the game with this expectation will only lead to confusion and frustrate the player, as there is actually a completely unique system under the hood that needs quite a bit more understanding if players want to make any kind of progress.

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House Show: Pure Wrestling and Parking Lot Brawls

o, George and Toast are back with another episode of PPR's wrestling podcast where it is revealed to Toast that Adam Rose is still around and he got HUGE. Besides that revelation, we also discuss the outstanding Parking Lot Brawl from AEW a few weeks back and the opening rounds of the Pure Title Tournament in Ring of Honor. We go over a brief history of the title and predict the rounds to come in determining a champion. Hope you enjoy the show, and if there are any suggestions for a specific topic we are always open to any ideas and suggestions. Thanks!

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PPR Presents Play Play: Rocket Knight Adventures

ey all! We’re finally returning to consistent Play Play videos again, and we cannot wait to highlight one of the most slept-on, overlooked franchises in all of gaming, the Rocket Knight Adventures franchise. Arguably, people who are familiar with the series claim that the property ultimately peaked where it began with the original, but we disagree, as we take the time to explore the series as a whole starting with this first entry. In this video, we’ll be asking ourselves the important questions like is it a Run ‘n Gun, or a Platformer, and does Bacon taste crispier when it’s on SEGA.

Join George and Ser on this fiery, yet furry romp into Konami’s first full-fledged Mascot title for the Sega Genesis—without any “Only 90’s kids will remember’ memes for your viewing pleasure!

Mail us at our new email Mailbag@presspauseradio.com, leave a voicemail at 469-PPR-TALK, and be sure to stop by at our Forums if you haven’t already registered and post your thoughts about the show. Finally, make sure to rate and subscribe to us on iTunes and YouTube, follow us on Twitch page and Twitter, and finally take part in our Facebook and Steam group!

QCF: Takeshi & Hiroshi

 know it may sound a bit silly, especially when you think about the importance of roles like Fire Fighters and Surgeons but, it can be argued that Video Game Developers are among some of the biggest heroes of modern society (this can honestly be said about all creatives, but stick with me, I’m going somewhere with this.)

The worlds they can weave, with designs that are teeming with a sense of wonder that bewilders and empower anyone looking for an experience to escape to; Game Developers offer an invaluable service, and for one aspiring designer-in-the-making, it’s the one gift he can give to an ailing little brother.

In a story where your passion can be someone’s entire world, enter Takeshi & Hiroshi; an interactive novel from Oink Games that’s packed with a lot of heart, a surprising amount of gameplay depth, and the regrettable snag of ending way too soon.

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QCF: Volta-X (Steam)

hen I first viewed Volta-X, I was drawn in by the art style; a blending of giant robot battles mashed together with Japanese monster movies and Saturday morning cartoons. But once I started playing the release from GungHo Online Entertainment America, I felt that the game was difficult to understand, and even harder to define. After my twenty plus hour initial playthrough of the game I can say that I still can’t quite define what it is, and unfortunately with a lack of community to battle and a UI that leaves plenty to desire, that may keep other players away from what could be a fantastic, albeit grindy RTS / RPG hybrid.

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