iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Todd Ciolek @kidfenris.bsky.social · 11h

I interviewed Takayuki Komabayashi, the director of Changeable Guardian Estique! He talks about everything from Compile games to score attack stages to cat mascots! www.kidfenris.com/2026/09/inte...

kidfenris.com

Interview: Estique's Takayuki Komabayashi

Any shooter fan should give Changeable Guardian Estique some attention. That’s not merely because it’s technically astounding for something...

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GSK | ALL CITY SLOP SHOP (ETA SOON) @allcityslopshop.com · 07/10/2026

another momentous EGG Console drop next week: Magical Zoo's THE SCREAMER (PC88), the 1985 3D cyberpunk dungeon crawler known by some for its gnarly setting & hardcore chara-deleting permadeath system, and indirectly known by millions more the world over for 𝗗𝗘𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗭𝗘 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗙𝗔𝗖𝗘 𝗧𝗢 𝗕𝗟𝗢𝗢𝗗𝗦𝗛𝗘𝗗

youtube.com

プロジェクトEGG - YouTube

EGGコンソールザ・スクリーマー PC-8801 for Nintendo Switch（EGGCONSOLE THE SCREAMER）

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Todd Ciolek @kidfenris.bsky.social · 12h

Whoa, Senxin Aleste finally comes home! With extras! I'd say "Sure you don't wanna keep this an arcade exclusive for a few more years, M2?" but someone might see that and take me seriously.

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Todd Ciolek @kidfenris.bsky.social · 13h

BOOGIE WINGS! And also The Cliffhanger: Edward Randy, the game that supposedly inspired Tetsuhiko Kikuchi to name Edward and Randy in Guardian Heroes! Would this be called The Cliff Boogie in North America and Europe?

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Rebekah Valentine @duckvalentine.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

reported on something that was really difficult for a lot of people for a lot of different reasons in a lot of different ways.

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Todd Ciolek @kidfenris.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

This is basically me except with a blog and the Trouble Shooter series.

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Coop @riderstrike.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Man, Yasuo Ohtsuka saw the anime writing on the wall long before we did…and this was back in 2004. I absolutely love his candid and down-to-earth candor in Joy in Motion and his other interviews. Again, he was a real one.

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Todd Ciolek @kidfenris.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Madison: What's this weapon again? Oh, right. It's the ATOMIZER.

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Todd Ciolek @kidfenris.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

And in an official Nintendo release, too. It's the sort of thing you'd expect to see in a prototype ROM clearly made before someone higher up mandated sensible changes.

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Todd Ciolek @kidfenris.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Also, the way Perel is drawn in the official art is perhaps...questionable.

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Todd Ciolek @kidfenris.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

I'm looking forward to that reissue of Terranigma, but I wonder if they'll stick entirely with the original English translation. Wong's dialogue is...uh, not so great.

Wong says "That not true. It Henri job to collection information" like he's a character in some racist old cartoon.

Wong says "If Dr. Beruga at Mosque find out, he be super angry."

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Todd Ciolek @kidfenris.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Big Oil and Big Tobacco are nothing next to the widespread influence of...Big Tokai.

A Suruga-ya listing for Battle Mania that translates Vic Tokai as "Big Tokai."

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Florence @justflorence.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

what do you MEAN the developers of Cookie's Bustle contacted every person who registered their copy by mail 25 years ago and invited them to a secret Cookie's Bustle party with live music and merch???

A Cookie's Bustle "25th secret event" Cookie Blair bear

A Cookie's Bustle t-shirt, featuring Cookie Blair flying in the air

Musicians playing instruments alongside a mascot of Cookie Blair, a teddy bear girl

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downchasm @downchasm.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

interesting to see Zelda fanart from 1986 when the game and characters were still brand new to people

ファミリーコンピュータマガジン　１９８６年６月号 (scanned by hubz)

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Todd Ciolek @kidfenris.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

I know Working Designs actually didn't rename characters too often, but I want to envision an Americanized Sakura Wars. Sakura Shinguji = Sara Shackleford Sumire Kanzaki = Susan Kanter Kanna Kirishima = Karla Krusher Li Kohran = Lisa Korman Maria Tachibana = Marla Moscow Ichiro Ogami = Randy Wilson

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Todd Ciolek @kidfenris.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

That part about Sypha got an actual BOOOOO out of me when I played the demo, but the cast list already revealed that she appears in some capacity.

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Todd Ciolek @kidfenris.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

It's almost stressful how every week there's some weird, cool, possibly underrated game I just don't have time to play. And Qliphah here gives off that same neat vibe as Reynatis and Mato Anomalies, two OTHER intriguing RPGs I have barely tried out.

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Todd Ciolek @kidfenris.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Nadesico is a fascinating show. I could ramble a lot on how it's about the entire anime industry trying to understand itself in the mid-1990s and swinging between celebrations and cynicism. Plus Sho Aikawa (or perhaps Takeshi Shudo) calling America a thieving Disney-fied cultural wasteland.

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Misty De Méo @cdrom.ca · 01/10/2026

Kicking off a new series over at CD-ROM journal: covering Daiso’s ¥100 ultrabudget game series. Just how much game can you even get for ¥100? You’d be surprised! Some really interesting stuff in here - for less than a dollar a game, they couldn’t afford to be picky. cdrom.ca/games/the-ga...

cdrom.ca

An Intro to Daiso's The Game Series (Trump 1, Nekomata Tanteisha, Nyanpoline, TechnoSylph: vsys gaiden)

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Retro Pals @retropals.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

We're playing through the Battle Mania (aka Trouble Shooter) series TONIGHT at 7pm CT! Time to shoot....a lot! twitch.tv/retropals

Trouble shooter box art for Sega genesis

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sardoose @sardoose.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Got trouble? We'll shoot it! We're playing through the Battle Mania (aka Trouble Shooter) series on tonight's Retro Pals stream at 7 pm CT! twitch.tv/retropals

Battle Mania Daiginjou Sega Mega Drive cover art

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Todd Ciolek @kidfenris.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

So do you think she and Leon are married in the new Resident Evil game? This is very important.

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Todd Ciolek @kidfenris.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I never realized that the Chicago Tribune ran an article about Incredible Technologies right when BloodStorm came out. Mr. Marwede mentions the game's Japanese release and how it was set to its less violent mode. www.chicagotribune.com/1994/05/22/a...

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Todd Ciolek @kidfenris.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I am sure the design doc for Gun Frontier was very detailed, but I like to think it just read "PLANE = GUN."

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Todd Ciolek @kidfenris.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

With Sakura Wars turning thirty, here's the first place I ever heard about the game: Casey Loe's review in the December 1996 issue of Gamefan. American magazines from this era tended to mock "dating sims" if they covered them at all, but this is a pretty good piece.

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Todd Ciolek @kidfenris.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Well, doctor, there was a place called Shaver's Cavern and...what do you mean, almost too obvious?

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Todd Ciolek @kidfenris.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I wonder if the unreleased Shogun Maeda/Kabuto was a lot like Castlevania. It has that look to it. lostgames.shoutwiki.com/wiki/Shogun_...

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Todd Ciolek @kidfenris.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Wake up, 1950s spouse, the new flying saucer chart just dropped.

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Todd Ciolek @kidfenris.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Sweetner Sweetner I wanted some sweetner But she said She'd like to dump this coffee on my head

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Todd Ciolek @kidfenris.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

If you're making a list of the best Castlevania games, it should contain all of the following. -Symphony of the Night -Rondo of Blood -Ninja Gaiden (NES) -Vampire: Master of Darkness -Rusty -8 Eyes -Symphony of the Night (Captain N Skateboarding Alucard Fan Hack)

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Gaming Hell @sarahssowertty.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

The unreleased Bubble Bobble-less version of Puzzle Bobble, Bubble Buster, got its first official release on this Apple Arcade app today and it, uh, doesn't react well when you reach the competition screen at the end! (The answer is 'TAITO...THE ONLY GAME IN TOWN!')

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Todd Ciolek @kidfenris.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

This is really nice art, and it answers the question "What would M.D. Geist look like as a Five Star Stories mecha?"

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Todd Ciolek @kidfenris.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

This is pretty cool! Among the details dropped: little weird guy Gen-An was a leftover from the designers' original pitch for a monster-themed game. It makes sense!

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Todd Ciolek @kidfenris.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Psychiatrist: We have diagnosed you with the fear of reading anything by acclaimed writers who are still alive, because you're worried that you will meet them or see their social media and they'll say that The Cat Returns is not a good movie. Me: It's the most underrated Ghibli film!

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wowmd.bsky.social @wowmd.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Here's the first footage of the cancelled SNES/SFC port of Railroad Tycoon to ever be posted online, captured from my promotional tape made by the would-be Japanese publisher. For a long time, the only evidence of the game's existence was two blurry Nintendo Power screenshots!

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Todd Ciolek @kidfenris.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

It's also nice to see Masahide Miyata involved in this Lufia collection. I haven't seen his name very much since Lord of Magna back in 2015.

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Todd Ciolek @kidfenris.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

I always kinda liked the first Lufia's take on this line, but we all know what the people want, and I support that.

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Todd Ciolek @kidfenris.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

It's just three games? Where's Ni Toshinden, Toshinden Remix, Toshinden URA, Puzzle Arena Toshinden, Toshinden Subaru, Toshinden Card Quest, Toshinden R-Zone, D-Xhird, Toshinden GB, Toshinden Wii, or the anime with the Basic Instinct scene and the goofy climactic DO OTHER PEOPLE'S MOVES fight?

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Todd Ciolek @kidfenris.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Whoa whoa whoa, cool. Lufia 2 is still lots of fun! Lufia 1 is a chore because of all the battles, but hey, that's what "quality of life" improvements are all about, right? I hope they dig up some extra stuff for this. The unrealized Lufia III for the PlayStation has a pretty interesting history.

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NateMing on Elm Street @nateming.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

the Gravity Rush games are great and you should play them

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Deid 🔮 @deidlit.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Throwing this into the wilds of the internet because I cannot find it anywhere else; there was a Gonzo Inc. calendar from 1999 that had a Lunar 2: Eternal Blue illustration that I have never, ever seen anywhere else. If anyone has this calendar, oh my goodness please consider scanning it. 🙏

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GSK | ALL CITY SLOP SHOP (ETA SOON) @allcityslopshop.com · 19/09/2026

"they" = Regina's VA, and she drew this shit herself the big conundrum about Psychic Force bitd was that it had a huge fandom for everything but the actual game and getting that to translate into commercial success proved extremely difficult, hence why it fizzled out

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