iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Third Rate Minion @thirdrateminion.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

natural sound for someone struggling to get through the game, too.

Reposted by Third Rate Minion

Mana Wave Media @manawave.co · 30/09/2026

30 years ago the Nintendo 64 launched in North America. 30 years of memories. Today, a new chapter for us. 30+ games, 40+ contributors, 250+ pages. Save State is a premium retrospective journal, each issue tackling one console at a time. Cover artworks by Caroline Choi & @bettyjiang.bsky.social

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Third Rate Minion @thirdrateminion.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Ask Enix why Star Blazer and Illusion of Gaia aren't on NSO, too.

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Third Rate Minion @thirdrateminion.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Man, Japan gave you some city miles.

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Third Rate Minion @thirdrateminion.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Could have been worse. Could have been a console-wrecking baseball game!

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Third Rate Minion @thirdrateminion.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

17. SHINOBI: Art of Vengeance by @lizardcube.bsky.social and @sega-west.bsky.social. Beautiful art and great action! Him being silent was a bit of a joke, but it may have overstayed its welcome by the end. Lots of different moves to play with over time. Story was ok, but a good time overall!

nintendo.com

SHINOBI: Art of Vengeance for Nintendo Switch - Nintendo Official Site

Shop SHINOBI: Art of Vengeance for Nintendo Switch at Nintendo Store. See game details, editions, and availability.

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Third Rate Minion @thirdrateminion.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

16. Another Crab's Treasure by @aggrocrabgames.bsky.social. Bought on Switch, played PS5 version later. Stupendous! This is a highly approachable Soulslike, and its colorful world and exciting soundtrack made it a sure-fire get. I turned on "don't lose microplastics at death." Shell of a good time!

store.playstation.com

Another Crab’s Treasure

A soulslike adventure set in a crumbling underwater world.

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Third Rate Minion @thirdrateminion.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

15. Gradius Origins by M2 and @konamina.bsky.social. Another M2 collection of greats. Rewind and save states were certainly used! Having the different games with their stories, music player, and a whole NEW game continues to impress. So when do we see a port of Gradius Gaiden?

nintendo.com

GRADIUS ORIGINS for Nintendo Switch - Nintendo Official Site

Shop GRADIUS ORIGINS for Nintendo Switch at Nintendo Store. See game details, editions, and availability.

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Third Rate Minion @thirdrateminion.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

14. Öoo by @namataka.bsky.social and AMANTA. From the dev of ElecHead, this is a strong recommendation! A puzzle-platformer metroidvania that teaches you the new moves naturally than finding a new power up. Charming visuals, solid music. Lots of secrets. Explosive! A great teacher on level design.

nintendo.com

Öoo for Nintendo Switch - Nintendo Official Site

Shop Öoo for Nintendo Switch at Nintendo Store. See game details, editions, and availability.

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Third Rate Minion @thirdrateminion.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

13. Pizza Tower by @tourdepizza.bsky.social. Mmm pizza. Wario Land like platformer with an enhanced sense of anxiety and comical violence. The art style might not win some over, but the consistency of the art, the music, the level design make it something to behold. It also has Mort the chicken.

nintendo.com

Pizza Tower for Nintendo Switch - Nintendo Official Site

Shop Pizza Tower for Nintendo Switch at Nintendo Store. See game details, editions, and availability.

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Third Rate Minion @thirdrateminion.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

12. Pac-Man World 2 Re-PAC from @bandainamcousa.bsky.social. Got the Switch 1 version because Switch 2 was a Game Key Card. Very solid remake of PMW2 with some new level design (with hints of the old stuff). Post-Game content was a surprise and boosted the experience! Final Boss was annoying heh.

nintendo.com

PAC-MAN WORLD 2 Re-PAC for Nintendo Switch - Nintendo Official Site

Shop PAC-MAN WORLD 2 Re-PAC for Nintendo Switch at Nintendo Store. See game details, editions, and availability.

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Third Rate Minion @thirdrateminion.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Okay, but what about PS1 games that are being brought to modern platforms? Hmm, that'd be its own challenge.

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Third Rate Minion @thirdrateminion.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Rightfully deserved. Hamster's efforts feel like a unique form of digital preservation that most do not even notice.

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Third Rate Minion @thirdrateminion.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

11. Blue Prince by @dogubomb.bsky.social and @rawfury.bsky.social. My brain and my heart! Played through with my brother and got lost in the mysteries and stories. Puzzles explored many layers of the mansion, and some leads never completed for us. The music is heavy on my soul. Great ending...s??

playstation.com

Blue Prince

Welcome to Mt. Holly

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Third Rate Minion @thirdrateminion.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

And to sum up, Gex Trilogy was decent. Rewind and Save Stages are easy wins. The Gextras were ok. Only having Dana Gould for interviews was bad; where are the devs and designers? N64 unique stages are not playable and have short videos, not even full playthroughs? Woulda liked more on Gex 4.

nintendo.com

GEX Trilogy for Nintendo Switch - Nintendo Official Site

Shop GEX Trilogy for Nintendo Switch at Nintendo Store. See game details, editions, and availability.

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Third Rate Minion @thirdrateminion.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

10. Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko. Certainly felt the most complete of the three. More elaborate hub, concentrated themes to single stages, more power-ups for better or worse. The Bosses still sucked, and the writers were definitely too horny with Agent Xtra. QoL still helped a bit with longer stages.

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Third Rate Minion @thirdrateminion.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

9. Gex 2: Enter the Gecko. Having played both PS and N64 versions before, I was glad to finally finish this game. Generally an okay platformer. A couple levels were too long or linear for my liking, and Gex talked a lot through it all. Rez's second form was bad even with rewinds. Had a good time.

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Third Rate Minion @thirdrateminion.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

8. Gex (oh! Gex Trilogy from @limitedrungames.com). Thank goodness for rewinds. Once I slowed down and took time to explore and be deliberate in movement, I took to the game better. It certainly would have bothered me without the QoL improvements. Final boss was not fun. Liked scaling the walls.

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Third Rate Minion @thirdrateminion.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

7. No More Heroes by @ghmofficial.bsky.social and @xseedgames.bsky.social. Finally got to go back to replay the Switch release. The style is very on point, and the main missions themselves were pretty good - except the one single hallway. Driving the city was neat, but it certainly could have more.

nintendo.com

No More Heroes for Nintendo Switch - Nintendo Official Site

Shop No More Heroes for Nintendo Switch at Nintendo Store. See game details, editions, and availability.

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Third Rate Minion @thirdrateminion.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

6. Big Hops by @luckshotgames.com. A 3D Frog Platformer with tongue-swing schmovement and special seeds that offer multiple ways to explore. Boons are also unlocked by collecting the game's "stars," with a few other side quests to follow, too. Switch version gets quite rough at the end, but fun!

nintendo.com

Big Hops for Nintendo Switch - Nintendo Official Site

Shop Big Hops for Nintendo Switch at Nintendo Store. See game details, editions, and availability.

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Third Rate Minion @thirdrateminion.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Having not watched the video yet, this game is one of those weird projects that we're lucky to have gotten through to release. I kinda wanted to play each game back and forth (one stage at a time), but clearly there was some larger change made to the 3DS - to - Wii U port...

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Reposted by Third Rate Minion

Maseylia - Wishlist on Steam @solbrothers.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

I don't know if people realize how valuable retweeting indie developers is. It can add 100s of wishlists to an indie game, which can accumulate to mean the difference between a developer being able to finish a game and forcing them back into a 9 to 5 job. Maseylia is now Out on Steam! Thanks all :)

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Third Rate Minion @thirdrateminion.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

...is Sons of Sparta in the room with you?

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Third Rate Minion @thirdrateminion.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Don't forget Microsoft doing "well we can preserve games by just having AI stream the 'game' in real time." Man some companies just want everything to become ephemeral. A dream.

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Third Rate Minion @thirdrateminion.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Untranslated, but one step forward is one step forward

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Third Rate Minion @thirdrateminion.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Oh, look, I missed #Tunesday on the second week haha. Anyways, highlight I listened to include Lusine's A Certain Distance repress from Ghostly International, BIRDCAGE's soundtrack from Barry Topping, and Saint Slayer: Spear of Sacrilege, available via JSQRD Rec www.jsqrd.shop/shop/p/saint...

jsqrd.shop

Saint Slayer: Spear of Sacrilege Vinyl Soundtrack — jsqrd

Presenting the official vinyl soundtrack for Saint Slayer: Spear of Sacrilege

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Third Rate Minion @thirdrateminion.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Losa Mina the Hollower. Alternatively, Hosa Tina Lhe Mollower.

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Third Rate Minion @thirdrateminion.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Yep that sounds like a BDG banger reaction to me.

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Third Rate Minion @thirdrateminion.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

The transition from Disc to Disc/Digital to Disc/Digital/Stream to Stream...that last step feels pretty stark.

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Third Rate Minion @thirdrateminion.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Let's see if I can maintain a weekly #Tunesday. Today, I spun some Dread Delusion (timely given @lostincult.co.uk announcing Season 2 of EDITIONS), Blood Moon from Imprints, and underrated Error Loops 2 by Man With Roses for nonVGM. manwithroses.bandcamp.com/album/error-...

manwithroses.bandcamp.com

Error Loops 2, by Man With Roses

15 track album

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Third Rate Minion @thirdrateminion.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

5. May as well add Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2 Remastered here, too. Cutscenes are much better, and dialog was more intriguing. Plot was quite a bit more difficult to follow, and the world felt very linear (in a walk back-and-forth way). More puzzle variety, which made me like it more than 1.

nintendo.com

Legacy of Kain™ Soul Reaver 1&2 Remastered for Nintendo Switch - Nintendo Official Site

Buy Legacy of Kain™ Soul Reaver 1&2 Remastered and shop other great Nintendo products online at the official Nintendo Store.

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Third Rate Minion @thirdrateminion.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

4. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver Remastered by @aspyr.com (and Crystal Dynamics). Never played the game before, but was curious. Changing from real world and undead world was a fun twist on exploration. The SD/HD button is great. The world map was barely helpful, and I did need a guide. Okay overall.

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Third Rate Minion @thirdrateminion.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

3. Super Bear Adventure by Earthkwak Games. A super indie 3D collectathon with blocky bears and buzzy bees. The variety of worlds is solid, and the movement feels like Mario Sunshine (without Fludd). Endgame is challenging enough, and I found the overall time charming, especially for a small dev!

nintendo.com

Super Bear Adventure for Nintendo Switch - Nintendo Official Site

Buy Super Bear Adventure and shop other great Nintendo products online at the official Nintendo Store.

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Third Rate Minion @thirdrateminion.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

2. Dunkadillo from Thomas K Young, creator of Dadish. Cutie Patootie 2.5D platformer where you play an armadillo who bounces to reach heights and dodge obstacles. The end goals are literally basketball hoops to DUNK in. Lots of different designs and enemy cards to collect. Wraps up in good time.

nintendo.com

Dunkadillo for Nintendo Switch - Nintendo Official Site

Buy Dunkadillo and shop other great Nintendo products online at the official Nintendo Store.

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Third Rate Minion @thirdrateminion.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

1. Shadow Labyrinth from Bandai Namco Games. Come for the dark Pac-Man, stay for the massive Namco lore (and gameplay). Animations are ok, Mazes are fun inclusions, story is pretty nuts. I played the easy mode for the more checkpoints and a fighting chance against bosses. Better than you'd think!

nintendo.com

Shadow Labyrinth Nintendo Switch™ 2 Edition for Nintendo Switch 2 - Nintendo Official Site

Buy Shadow Labyrinth Nintendo Switch™ 2 Edition and shop other great Nintendo products online at the official Nintendo Store.

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Third Rate Minion @thirdrateminion.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

FYI, here is my 2025 mega-thread (with a link in itself for 2024 if you want to keep going) bsky.app/profile/thir...

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Third Rate Minion @thirdrateminion.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

So, this will be my mega-thread of 2026 Games I Beat (starting this nearly 7 months in, good golly gosh).

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Third Rate Minion @thirdrateminion.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

My ADHD brain saw the thumbnail and thought he looked pretty close to Andy Samberg. Time to walk into the sea.

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Third Rate Minion @thirdrateminion.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

When you saw that glimmer at the start of the game versus when you confirmed the glimmer was not a fluke.

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Third Rate Minion @thirdrateminion.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

Do you plan on making a Playlist for Jaguar Math as a series? Just wanted to be sure since it is accumulating in the channel.

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Third Rate Minion @thirdrateminion.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

I loved the E3 DVDs that were made to show the experience. Planet GameCube's E3 2002 was a great version of the press conference and media and showfloor footage they had. Kinda wished more like it came about, but I know the Internet took that mantle.

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