The Silly And The Spooky

Obligatory Halloween themed October content!? You bet your butt its here, and this month I’m going to break one of the founding rules I had on the site. I’ve actually done it before, I’m just emphasizing it at the beginning of this update for the sake of showmanship!

Let’s travel back in time briefly to 2017. When I created this site (and subsequently the YouTube channel), I made it my personal mission to talk about a variety of weird things out there that interested me as well as promoting small time content creators. Fast forward to today, it’s really hard enough to find obscure content that’s interesting, let alone hamstringing myself with the requirement of only using lessor known creators. What this all boils down to is that I’m going to try and actively start posting any interesting content I find regardless of popularity. It just makes it easier for me to bring you entertaining content, and more importantly just more of it. I’ll start adopting this philosophy too on the YouTube channel eventually, hopefully kickstarting it off next year.

So we begin our journey this month with the story of the penguin and his anime waifu. The video explains all the finer details of this extremely bizarre event, but for those of you who need the written synopsis quickly - you can read the wiki about it here. I remember this story in bits and pieces when it went live in 2017. It’s funny now looking back at how unusual it was since all the details have been fleshed out over time and we can see the legacy it left in its wake. I have no words to expand upon the story other than it’s cute, i’s weird, and it’s oddly family friendly; something of a rarity on this site. More importantly however is that the channel the video is linked to is hilarious as it is interesting, so please check out the other content there if you like just strange things from the internet alongside well done commentary.

Moving onto the spookier side of the update, I am a firm believer that truth is always stranger than fiction. The video linked above is from a YouTube channel that specializes in bizarre and “creepy” stories all rooted in folklore and urban legends. Although not every detail can be fact checked nor every experience can be validated; there is at least some ounce of truth in the mix to allow for reexamination of the details. The funny thing about “historically accurate” accounts is that history can be accurate in its “lies”; since historians only care about accuracy in how something was perceived by record. For example, if everyone 5 years ago all agreed that they saw something flying in the sky at 7:00PM in their part of the world, then it is historically accurate to say that all folks at 7:00PM that day saw something in the sky. What that thing is, is largely irrelevant; only the fact that everyone saw something in the sky at that time is important (historically speaking). In any case if you found the story in the video particularly interesting, there is more information on this site here which will collaborate all the things mentioned.

For gaming content this month, I’m going to fall back onto the more mainstream stuff since the end of the year brings in a lot of heavy hitters. Now I’m a little embarrassed to say at this point in time; I don’t own the Nintendo Switch. As a matter of fact, I’ve been holding out in getting a Nintendo Switch for quite a while now; specifically due to the fact that I stubbornly made a promise to myself back in 2018 that I wouldn’t get the original model of the console. The reason being was because I knew that Nintendo always had a history of having mini revisions to their handheld consoles over the years. I was really hoping by 2021 that a “pro” or updated version would be out by now. Sadly this turned out not to be the case, but a somewhat impressive looking “OLED” model is due out in October and I’ve decided I’ve waited too long on the sidelines now not to pick this one up. Metroid Dread is right in my crosshairs for October 8th’s release date, coincidentally launching the same time with the OLED switch model. It goes without saying that I have an extremely large back library of games to play on the Switch once I get Metroid and Shin Megami Tensei V out of my system in November. I find it funny as a self proclaimed hardcore PC gamer for the last 10 years; the recent 3 for me have mostly been focused on mobile and handheld devices. Such is life I guess.

For the mobile gaming folks out there that visit the site, I always want to remind you to check out the community tab over on my YouTube channel. I post more frequent updates on stuff related to mobile gaming over there so you don’t have to wait an entire month just to see if I’m up to anything else. As far as October 2021 goes, I’m still waiting for a bunch of stuff later in the year to possibly drop, as well as the above games from SHIFT UP to be released; whenever they choose to do so. Project EVE is obviously the highlight of this year since it got an official updated trailer that made the buzz around the major news outlets. NIKKE The Goddess of Victory still looks absolutely amazing and still a giant enigma on when it might possibly be released.

Artist LUMINYU

There is no update officially without something lewd, and for this month it’s got to be scary and sexy. For those of you who remember The Ring, apparently erotic Sadako is a thing. Also to note, Sadako in the original novel series and Japanese movie adaptation was an adult, and not a child named Samara Morgan in the English versions. Explaining supernatural lewd stuff for the supernatural lawyers and police of course! If you want more spooky monster girls in general, you also might want to pay a visit to the True Monster Girl Reddit located here. And that my dear friends end’s this month’s update. Hopefully if all things go well, I’ll be the owner of a New Nintendo Switch OLED by next month and I’ll see you with more strange things around the web. Until then, take care as always!

Arcade Time Machine

Fire up the DeLorean cause we’re going back in time for this month’s update. Younger folks will probably want to skip to the end for something relevant to them, because what I’m going to talk about might as well be as ancient as the walls of Troy.

When I was growing up we had these gathering places called “Arcades”. Basically it’s where you went to play video games with other like minded folks, and get into all sorts of trouble along the way. Sparing you the details of the era, the culture and the reasoning why we all did what we did back then; let’s just say it was a fond memory for all of us growing up during that time. So for those soon to be or already there middle age dinosaurs reading this site, I have a couple of videos down below to stir up the memory banks.

Galloping Ghost Arcade is one of the last remaining holdouts here in the United States that preserves (for the most part) the arcade feeling most of us had growing up. There’s significantly less smoking (as in none), drug dealers and prostitutes then what I was use to in Los Angeles growing up, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t an authentic as it gets. Anyone within Chicago or visiting from elsewhere might want to bookmark the location for a visit. The documentary I linked above was filmed not too long ago to the best of my recollection (2019 or 2020) and the place is still going strong even with the world turning upside-down recently.

I’m a sucker for technical minded stuff in general, so I was happy to find a YouTube channel dedicated to repairing old arcade cabinets and pinball machines in detail. Joe’s Classic Video Games is an actual store located in Rock Hill, South Carolina and he constantly tries his best to fix and revive various machines way past their prime. The videos are a bit on the engineering side, so those super nerds out there might find more enjoyment out of them than most; but I would advise still checking out the various content on the channel. There are some casual walk throughs and plays of retro arcade games as well. I will add him to The List so feel free to check out other stuff there as well.

Now let’s dive into the super obscure stuff, I’m linking above the original director’s cut of Privateer 2. This game was one of my first space flight sims and is absolutely amazing to see how many high profile actors were cast in this dinky production! If you played the game and never knew this existed; you should be in for a treat. Especially since it was released last year and is completely amazing it exists in any form at all considering the original film was destroyed. For practically everyone else who never played this game (which I’m assuming is 99%) you can still watch it as a weird sci-fi movie and hopefully piece together the story. The actors themselves had no idea what the plot was either, so it’s funny that it ended up being somewhat coherent after everything was said and done!

Let’s bring in some stuff for the gacha crowd and my loyalists from the YouTube channel. I’ve linked above a preview video from the great (and sadly retired) Koolio Gaming who was one of the inspirations to start my own content. Final Gear was a game I tested almost two years ago (I think I tried it out in December 2019) and I really liked what I saw back then. Because I’m a real big fan of mecha games and like the intricacies of gear stats, I told myself I would come back to it if it ever got a dedicated English community. Unfortunately that never came to pass (that I know of) so the game was put in indefinite hiatus for me. Recently I discovered however that a global version is now in the works and soon to be released later this year; so hopefully I can return to it again and see if global is uncensored and worth checking out again. You can pre-register here if you like and check it out on launch day. That’s it for the month’s update, I’ll see you for the spooky stuff in October!

Artist: HaneRu

Perspective

It’s going to be a roller coaster of emotions in this month’s blog update, since I’m going to be all over the place with the topics at hand. You’ll feel happy, sad, frustrated and hopeful all at the same time; so strap in for one of the more awkward blogs I’ve written in a long time!

Let’s start off with all the mainstream stuff. TubiTV is a streaming service here in the United States that operates completely free to watch. You do get occasional ads when watching (it’s how they stay in business) but otherwise it doesn’t cost you a single cent otherwise and you don’t have to sign up for any account if you don’t want to. Simply find a show or movie you are interested in and start watching. For those of you outside of the United States, any VPN server located in the US should be able to reach TubiTV without a problem. And for those of you who are curious - yes TubiTV is completely legal and above board. They are a division of FOX entertainment.

This isn’t an advertisement for TubiTV nor am I sponsored by them. I simply wanted to explain the mechanism in which I’m able to talk about the two documentaries I linked above and where you can watch them for free - wherever you are in the world. The first documentary is a “feel good” one talking about the first successful regatta won by a team of mostly novice sailors. It’s a slow burn story that picks up the more you watch it and it’s a perfect compliment to a lazy afternoon where you have some chores to finish or grinding to be done on your game of choice. I just wanted to recommend it since it has its moments of human inspiration and the classic story of the lucky underdog winning it all.

The 2nd documentary is less optimistic and more of a life lesson on perspective. It’s about a world record breaker David Shaw who finds a dead body during his attempt. He makes a vow to recover the dead body and fails to do so dying in the process; making the story ironic and tragic. This documentary can also be a little of a slow burn story wise, but it helps enforce the narrative that all of us are human beings. No matter how invincible we think we are nor how much we will things at times; life can be amazingly complex by circumstance or accident. Both of these documentaries can be watched free on TubiTV and thus I suggest you do so if you have some free time on your hands. It’s a good “yin and yang” session if you watch them back to back.

Onto gaming related material and there’s a lot of it to talk about this month. There were 2 large issues in July that affected two different audiences. The first one was related to a mobile game called Punishing Gray Raven, while the second one was related to a pc game New World. Although I hate to do this to my “read only” website viewers, there’s just way too much commentary and details for me to put into words on the site without making the blog unnecessarily long. I’m going to have to refer you over to the audio blog at the top of this post for this section as I put together everything in my own words in an audio format. You can watch the above video for commentary and perspective on the PGR situation that transpired, and you can watch the below video for a very oversimplified explanation of the New World issue in regards to potentially breaking people’s video cards.

The most important takeaway from all of the news this month is perspective and hindsight. These issues have happened in the past before, and will happen again in the future. It is as timeless as water on Earth and the air we breathe. Why I wanted to chime in on both accounts is that there was a surprising amount of chatter in regards to the issues, but not a lot of context discussed historically about similar events in the past. I explain a lot more in detail in the audio portion of the blog why I wanted to cover the topics. For the sake of brevity on the written side of things; let’s just say I wanted to throw in my own experiences dealing with similar situations and to have people realize there’s light at the end of the tunnel from all of this. If you’re only interested in the news and nothing else, I hope you found it somewhat enlightening on what people were up to this month. If you want my take in detail on the entire thing, please listen to the audio blog where I go over a lot of personal story telling.

You can attend a rock concert and go to a jazz performance while being the same person. I just wanted to throw that thought out there as I know some folks may get the wrong idea that I’m only focused on lewd anime games (as my YouTube channel would suggest). The game I’m highlighting above is called HighFleet and is an excellent example of a niche game that scratches a very particular itch. I love sci fi as well as steam punk, and this game’s art direction as well as mechanics are extremely well done. It’s hard to explain HighFleet with words, so I’m going to link a brief tutorial of the game below via a YouTube channel (above) called Sim UK. I hope you like what you see, cause it’s a very unique game for all the right reasons.

Artist naglfar999

I end the update with some lewd anime stuff as always, and this time it’s related to a game I’ve been testing for over a month called Eden’s Ritter Grenze X. It’s a game available on the Fanza platform that I covered in the past and is very NSFW. I will make a mini video over on my YouTube community tab later in the month so if you’re curious you can check it out. Otherwise just enjoy the artwork and careful of that NSFW material! See you in September!

Storming Into Summer

I’m in the middle of a heat wave here in California for this month’s update, but that’s not going to stop me from talking about weird macabre subject material and an awesome documentary being released in July. If you’re here for mobile gaming stuff - unfortunately I’ve got nothing to report on for this month. If anything you might want to double back on my previous updates to see coverage on a few things I’ve been looking at or looking forward to later in the year. If you’re new to the site, please check out April’s blog for my universal recommendations for both mobile gaming and YouTube channels. Other than that, this update will specifically be geared toward the weird and interesting on the web - so off we go!

Exactly one year ago in my June 2020 update, I talked about a documentary that was coming out “soon” made by a fellow YouTuber I respect a lot. That channel is BSF (Bright Sun Films) and is one of my highly recommended channels on The List. BSF recently hit 1 million subscribers and it coincides nicely with their release (this month) of the documentary they’ve been working on for about 2 years. If you really want to hear about the backstory of the documentary before it comes out (or if you’re reading this in the future and want to hear about the behind the scenes activities) then check out this video made by Factual America.

This segues into my site’s first direct website recommendation for Alamo Pictures (Factual America) and their podcast list. The reason I’m recommending this particular site and their podcast is because its focused on mainstream media documentary releases; particularly those released in the US. Why I like this is because it’s a good source of information on what “potentially” I might like to look at and by extension something you may want to look at as well. Keep in mind I am not endorsing the topics or subjects in which the documentaries are focusing on; but rather endorsing the ability to get a convenient list of mainstream documentaries to choose from that have been reviewed and talked about critically. In other words, there’s a base level of curation going on with the list. They also conveniently have a YouTube channel that you can look at as well; however not all of their content seems to be on the channel versus the website. In either case I hope you give them a once over if you’re as inquisitive as me on the world around us.

As much as I avoid talking about drama and sorrow in all shapes and forms, I also understand the need to document the absurdly tragic. I was surprised to come across another YouTube channel called Fascinating Horror that quickly goes over historic events that proved to be very bizarre yet interesting at the same time. The running theme is that all of these stories contain elements of the unexpected. In any case, I’ll leave you to dive into the deep end with it all since there are a lot of different stories to be seen.

That’s it for this month’s update. As always I leave you with something anime and something lewd in keeping with tradition on the site. It’s May from Guilty Gear! Hopefully next month will have a more balanced update with some gaming news sewn in, but I do welcome the little break this month I had to be frank. It’s been a tiring process testing so many hopeful games in the last few weeks that have come up short and it’s really frustrating to constantly be back at the starting line. In any case, stay safe and see you in August!

Artist: Slugbox