No new anime or manga to speak of this time, since i'm not really buying anything and we're at the tail end of the spring anime season.

Books

• Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers
  • Of the Wayfarers series this one ended up being my least favorite, but i still had a good time. I think the exclusive focus on human characters and an established community misses some of the magic of the first two books. This is the "connection with one's community" book.
• The Galaxy, and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers
  • On the other hand, this one has no human characters for the most part, and that's rad. Still not my fav of the series, but extremely cute and fun. This is the "connections between strangers" book of the series.
• The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
  • I think this was a little too twee, a little too "Good Omens fanfic" for me, but it was cute and i still wanted the guys to kiss, so it did that for me.
• A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers
  • God, what a goodass novella. Becky Chambers can do no wrong. A book about the idea of purpose in life, among other things, this really hit me hard given my current situation.
• The Archive Undying by Emma Mieko Candon
  • This is the second time i've tried reading this..... it's not bad, and in theory it should be totally my shit, being a gay mecha story, but something about it just hasn't clicked.
• Hild by Nicola Griffith
  • in the middle of reading this, having a good time. historical fiction set in 7th century britain about Hild of Whitby. lot of historical terminology i have to keep looking up, but that's not a bad thing.

Games

• Community POM
  • what a cute game! i wish it did a little more with some of its systems - it felt like building up the town wasn't super important, and bringing the poms with you was usually just a matter of having the right traversal powers, but it was just such a fun time the whole way through. big recommend.
• Pokemon Crystal
  • revisited this for the first time since i initially played it as a kid. it's a little rough compared to some of the later entries, but i just have such strong nostalgia for it, and so many good designs come from this generation.
• Hamtaro: Ham-Hams Unite
  • i love Ham Ham Heartbreak, so i was excited to play the earlier game in the series, and it's a real wonderful time. just extremely cute, lots of really great animations everywhere. i got stuck a few times, but overall it was a delight.
• Cassette Beasts
  • of all the Pokemon-likes i've played, i think Cassette Beasts feels the most unique while still carrying some of that Pokemon magic. lot of great designs and characters in this. i do think sometimes the open world nature makes it feel like i'm not really progressing as much, and some of the 'boss' fights felt a little frustrating. haven't finished this yet, and have gotten kind of burned out on it for a bit. will revisit later.
• Ranger X
  • hadn't played this before, but god this is such a cool-ass old Genesis game. action game with a mech + vehicle, also just a sort of insane tech demo with a lot of wild parallaxing, 3D, etc. managed to finish a playthrough of this, it's actually not that difficult!
• Shinobi III
  • having watched many playthroughs of this, i finally played through it for myself. it's good! the music is incredible! fuck those bat ninjas!
• Zone of the Enders
  • what a coolass game, that unfortunately feels like the first third of a bigger game. the most "playing a mecha anime" game i've played, it wears some pretty strong Gundam influence in its plot.

Originally written as podcast correspondence to Cane & Rinse. This review has been lightly edited for context and formatted to fit your screen.

I have a running list of my favorite examples of expertly tuned action games, and whenever I'm considering a game for that list, Shinobi III for the Genesis/Mega Drive is the first measuring stick that comes to mind. That's not necessarily intentional, it just happens to have occupied that space in my mind for some years now. It's in a hallowed pantheon alongside God Hand, Ninja Gaiden Black, Rondo of Blood, and a few other entries that occupy a similar place in my heart and mind.

My history with the game is foggy. I started getting really into collecting highlights of the Genesis catalogue again a few years back, which is where I ended up with my current copy of the game. Happy to say I ended up with a lovely complete copy for roughly a quarter of what it was going for at the time. It's a game I cherish and play often. Though I suspect my first experience with the game was likely on a dodgy emulator in the early 2000s.

I love the detailed pixel art work, maximizing the Mega Drive's color palette. I love the music, some of the most intricate FM synth work to come out of Sega in that era. I love the breadth of verbs at the player's disposal at any given moment, and the demands the game makes of your attention and reflexes in order to properly execute those verbs. I love the journey the game takes through increasingly ridiculous locales. I love the shmup-style body horror boss designs. I love learning their patterns and the satisfaction of pulling off a clean stage. I could go on and on, but at the end of the day, the thing I love most about Shinobi III is how it feels in the hands--the game has immensely satisfying kinesthetics, even compared to its contemporaries, which is a high bar to clear in my opinion. Playing Shinobi III is like cracking a glowstick and twisting a bundle of bubblewrap. It has such an excellent sense of friction.

It's not officially available on the eShop anymore, but I highly recommend seeking out M2's Sega AGES 3D release of the game for 3DS if you're able! The 3D parallax layer separation is very helpful for visual distinction, but there are also tools like level selects that are quite helpful for practicing certain stages or boss fights. It is indeed a difficult game (of course) but overall I've had much less issue with Shinobi III than I have with Revenge or Shadow Dancer. Shinobi III seems like a game that's much more interested in seeing you overcome difficult challenges rather than trying to eat your credits.

I don't think that Shinobi III is the singular best action game ever made--though if presented with such an assertion I wouldn't be interested in disagreeing--but I do think it is a masterfully crafted work that serves as an excellent standard. I respect it, and I love it dearly. It's a game well worthy of intricate study.