PixlBit

Oh, I was going to mention Contra: Hard Corps. I still consider beating that by myself on the Genesis one of my great gaming accomplishments. Which ending did you get? I got to the one where Colonel Bahamut turns into a big monster. They made the American version of that harder, you know. The Japanese version had life bars for the player characters while the American version had one-hit kills. The Contra Collection has both, I think, and I keep meaning to try the Japanese version...and keep forgetting 

Blogging is a tough commitment. I've been impressed with your consistency. I haven't been playing as many different things since Octopath is so long. I hope I can get that done in another month or so. I realized this morning that next month is blog-a-day 

Whoo, that's a lot of games! I have Penguin Wars on the Game Boy and it's pretty fun even in that version. It has great victory music! You should really look up what to do to play the REAL final boss in Bloodstained. He's pretty tough! I remember playing some of Beyond Oasis last year. It was fun but I remember the hit detection be very iffy. Never did finish it. I do hope to play Streets of Rage 4 eventually.

I've procrastinated buying Hollow Knight for years now and, well, now I don't have to buy it lol. Score.

My biggest gripe is the lack of exploration. I think that would help a lot.

I know they are supposedly working on the second one. I'm hoping they just work their way up to Saga.

Stage Select: I'm not really a dog person (yay for cats!) but I'm certainly not opposed to them. The last memorable one I remember in a game was in Pokémon Shield, actually. There's an early electric type called Yamper that looks like a chubby corgi, so I caught one and named him Porky Corgi. He was the only Pokémon I gave a nickname to and he stayed in my party the whole game. Even when he eventually evolved into a lean god of electric destruction late in the game, he was still my Porky Corgi.

Cage Match: Here are two great JRPGs I'd love to play but the merits of the games don't matter all that much for this match. My conscience wields the years of not playing Final Fantasy X like a deadly scythe, eviscerating my soul. There is no other choice for me.

If only all games could be as pretty as Dragon's Crown!

I am definitely intrigued, by the way, by Vanillaware's new, 13 Sentinels. Sounds really cool.

The battle system—with the weaknesses and breaks and elements and all that—has kept battles engaging for me. And goodness gracious, I love the soundtrack so much!

It's an RPG. I've done that same put-off-for-a-better-sale thing with other RPGs...and I still don't own those lol. Best just pull the trigger!