Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
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Aqua Jack [アクアジャック] Game Sample - Arcade
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![Aqua Jack [アクアジャック] Game Sample - Arcade](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/lEOeZ7vCi60/mqdefault.jpg "Aqua Jack [アクアジャック] Game Sample - Arcade
Aqua Jack [アクアジャック] Game Sample - Arcade")
![Nyan-Nyan Punch [냥냥펀치] Game Sample - PC/Dongin](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/mYyy7DNxvYo/mqdefault.jpg "Nyan-Nyan Punch [냥냥펀치] Game Sample - PC/Dongin
Two Korean indie games in a row from Nomary? Sure, why not? Nyan-Nyan Punch is a cute and simple Horizontal Shoot-em-Up developed with the RPG Maker MV engine. As one of Nomarys first significant finished projects released back in 2022 on Itch.io, the game was relatively popular, so Nomary remade various elements of the game (updating the graphics, story and attack patterns) as well as added more characters, stages and a shop with additional upgrades. This version was sold on Steam in 2023 (almost a year later) as a Remake. The original game is given away for free on Steam (put in the spot where demos would usually go) and while Nomary has expressed interest in translating games to other languages, they are currently only supporting Korean and Japanese at the moment. I doctored a ~4.5 minute segment after the normal Sample in English at the 24:35 mark... putting those captions in was a lot more work than just translating the text (I rushed a bit, Hinako is supposed to be Kinako, but maybe itll show a little International interest in these games, lol).
A simple game usually has a simple enough plot, right? In Nyan-Nyan Punch, you assume the role of a low rusty cat deity, Nyanshin, who spends more time daydreaming about kitty konquest than cultivating charisma... so her Grandma Kinako swiftly berates her then heads out to run a few errands. While shes away, Nyanshin is tasked with protecting their family heirloom, the Nyan-Nyan Ball, aka Kitty Kat Cheeks, but theres one problem her grandma barely has time to leave the house before its inevitably katnapped! The level of disrespect (and fear of the repercussions) whips Nyanshin into a frenzy and she storms off to find the culprit responsible for making off with her goods (and everyone elses goods too). Comedy ensues as the story progresses through a series of misunderstandings and hubris, but each encounter also gives her clues and brings her one step closer to the truth. The characters are quirky and cute and a conscious attempt was made to add a bit of personality to each one as you can revisit stages and get additional conversations to add to the lore.
While the intention was to make something closer to a standard scrolling shooting game, the dev didnt have much experience in this area and difficulty getting the engine to cooperate in a consistent manner, so they incorporated a lot of close range and melee attacks seen in action games while using the single screen to give the impression of a boss rush game instead. For balancing, combat was changed up significantly as not only does each character present a new ability upon defeat (like Mega Man / Rockman, different bosses have different weaknesses as well), but the inclusion of money, items and upgrades to the standard Meow Punch give more weight and consideration to player purreference. Of course, you can also opt to use just one kind of weapon as well and nothing is forcing you from using other moves (in fact, the Meow Staff basically enables rapid fire and disables charge attacks).
The player has spells which are powerful, but they exhaust large amounts of energy which can be refilled from attacking, taking damage and over time. Youll also use up energy performing the Shadow Dash once you acquire the Moon Amulet from Battie, so exercise caution as some attacks (especially the warning ones where the character typically goes off screen) can deal considerable, nyasty damage. With eight main opponents to face, you can clear the game in about 30 minutes or so. Youll get an additional achievement if you complete the game extra fast and if you clear the game without saving or using continues. One thing Ill point out about this game is that Steam says it does not support controllers on my end, but it recognized my Xbox controller without any issues. The game is on the easier side, so those looking for a high skill ceiling should look elsewhere.
The game is simple looking, but the characters are bold, colorful and expressive. The music is... not entirely stock? Theres people credited for the soundtrack and whats here is pretty good, but I know at least one or two tones have been used in other games. Overall, its a fun short game thats worth an hour or two, especially if you pick it up on sale, and I aint kitten! This is a video of the game in action. You can get it at:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2312340/NyanNyan_Punch/
Enjoy.
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![Dungeon Shoutenkai: Densetsu no Ken Hajimemashita [だんじょん商店会 〜伝説の剣はじめました〜] Game Sample - PlayStation](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/mdhhuhyt9RI/mqdefault.jpg "Dungeon Shoutenkai: Densetsu no Ken Hajimemashita [だんじょん商店会 〜伝説の剣はじめました〜] Game Sample - PlayStation
If youre looking for more hybrid Shopkeeping games like Recettear: An Item Shops Tale and Al･Fine, youll probably get a kick out of one of several such precursors like Kodansha and KINOTROPEs unusual cult classic, Sararas Little Shop (or the proper full title, Dungeon Shoutenkai: Densetsu no Ken Hajimemashita), a cute game with deceptive difficulty and depth. Originally released in 1998 with releases on PSN in 2011/2014, the game combines dungeon crawling and business management with a branching narrative and plenty of cryptic elements that evokes a real sense of adventure. That said, the game is structured in such a way where youre rewarded in the long haul for pushing its systems to the limit but loose enough where you dont have to engage with the trickier aspects of it.
The general plot of the game is fairly basic on the surface: The player controls a (nearly) silent protagonist named Sarara, a young witch girl who cant use magic in the traditional sense who is traveling with her loyal cat and familiar, Chocolate (Choco for short), who decides to open a shop in Dungeon Town. While her and Chocos backstory is explored to a small extent, the game is not meant to be deep in this area with a mostly cliche story of Princesses, Heroes and Demon Lords and a quirky shopping gimmick at the center of it all, but the many characters you meet are meant to help shape the experience. You can invite 10 groups of characters (about 30 in all) as the game goes through fourteen different scenarios explored through fortune cards; these scenarios are somewhat random (except the first and last) and theres often more than one method to clear them as well as branching scenarios within scenarios that can completely change their criteria and the ending of the game.
For example, one scenario might have you look for a cooking pot for a character... do you just use one sitting in your shop or go through a ridiculous quest to get the biggest one you can find? Another will have you awaken as a cat... if you have cat-related items in your inventory, you can go to a black cat market at night to barter for rare items (or if you found Ruby and overthrow the Thieves Guild, you can get free Dashi, but its not enough to get the rarest item). Or another will have you make an aphrodisiac to seduce a beautiful lady... do you make it for the poor eccentric man or rich snob? Decisions, decisions! The game has a lot of choices and almost everything offers a surprising degree of player agency as you travel Dungeon Town during the day or at night. This also segways right into the gameplay.
This game is orthodox yet complex, and it doesnt hold your hand much. The main component, running a shop, is robust but can put people off initially if they dont engage it proper (theres a secret shop at night to sell items for 50% to circumvent this mechanic). Customers have different preferences, displaying items a certain way or with the right interior helps, and theres a hidden trust meter that determines how well you can haggle (items can start at 25%-200% value and deviate based on counter offers). This is especially true for future comrades as they not only shop at your store, but will equip gear they buy from you... some items attract more customers or improve negotiations and you really need to pay attention... a customer might buy whats in the window, sell you something, or request something specific. This also goes into combat; while battles are turn-based, the player can negotiate deals with monsters too. Good deals will have monsters offer tips about the game world.
Combat is brutal early on youre limited to 20 items, Sarara is the only one who can use items in combat (to make up for her magic deficit and not to be underestimated), monsters can frequently break or trivialize gear with abilities, and allies have yellow gear that changes at different intervals (you can exchange their gear in dungeons, but they will return it when they leave). Characters have regular levels and classes, but Sarara has a Business Level (Pro-tip: Get to BLV18 as fast as you can and give everyone Morning Stars, it makes grinding mobs way easier... if you can get the Monks rare drop / steal on Floor 11, the Wind Lute, it makes things that much easier with medium strength heals to the whole party, its one of Sararas rare magic items). The graphics as a whole are decent (the beautiful character designs by Ryo Sasaki / 佐々木亮 are a highlight, though the game has minimal battle effects and not too many event CGs) and the soundtrack is complimentary (each group has their own dungeon theme, I just wish the main battle theme was better as youll hear it A LOT). The game design by Tomoyuki Fujinami / 藤浪智之 is interesting overall and the games about 20+ hrs to properly 100% (you have to collect all items to get the true ending).
This is a video of the game in action. Enjoy.
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Visit Us At: http://www.gamingsanctuary.org")
![PriZhm [プリサム] Game Sample - PC/Doujin](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/pYrmywaV0no/mqdefault.jpg "PriZhm [プリサム] Game Sample - PC/Doujin
PriZhm [プリサム] Game Sample - PC/Doujin")
![Soukou no Kihei: Space Griffon [蒼鋼の騎兵 -SPACE GRIFFON-] Game Sample - Dreamcast](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qLT-15NphrQ/mqdefault.jpg "Soukou no Kihei: Space Griffon [蒼鋼の騎兵 -SPACE GRIFFON-] Game Sample - Dreamcast
Also going by the name of Bluesteel Variable Formula: Space Griffon and Aoi Hagane no Kihei: Space Griffon, Soukou no Kihei: Space Griffon is a remake of a remake and Panther Softwares most enduring title, so well start from the beginning.
Originally released in 1993 for the PC-98 under the name of Hamlet (and no, its not related to the Shakespeare play of the same name, but the literal definition of a small village or settlement), the game was a Pseudo 3D Sci-Fi Horror RPG Anime Action-Adventure Game with hybrid FPS elements and real-time combat. The game was then remade in early 1995 as Space Griffon VF-9 (the only iteration released outside Japan) for the PlayStation and featured full 3D graphics and the title was entirely voiced. This version was then upgraded again in 1999 for Segas Dreamcast with upgraded visuals and hi-res art, some added music and rebalanced gameplay while using basically the entire VO work of the PS game. A final, little-known revision was released in early 2001 for Windows PCs in Japan and parts of Taiwan known as Soukou no Kihei: Space Griffon V.O. which was the DC game with added Voice Operation controls via a compatible microphone. It is worth noting that the PS/DC games have NO SUBTITLES and, as such, will hinder the hearing impaired.
In the year 2148 A.D. on 10/17, all communications with the moons largest man-made structure, Hamlet, were lost. Hamlet, meaning a small village was the property of a huge conglomerate known as A-MAX FACTORIES, whose mainstay was products for the military. At the facility, development of the moons natural resources as well of production of foodstuffs, medical supplies and military weapons were being carried out. Because of the confidential nature of the research, the newest security system was installed and constantly being upgraded to completely shut out outsiders. The facilities themselves were designed with living quarters, various factories, farming areas and natural resource mining facilities to allow them to be completely self sufficient.
100 years after being in operation, there had been several waves of immigration and up to 85% of water, food and various living commodities were self-supplied. There were military personnel, factory workers, researchers, miners and their families living there, making it a huge lunar city with a population of close to 1000 people. In recent years, there were pure Hamlet residences born and raised on the moon. Various goods that were difficult to get on earth were being made and exported from the moon. In addition, Lunar Tears, which is known as the Stone That Brings Happiness, were very popular on earth and making Hamlet more well-known. Suddenly, Hamlet lost contact with earth, so A-MAX FACTORIES sent a group of special agents known as A-MAX CLEANERS to investigate. Going by the call signs of BOSS, THIEF, MURDER, BIGHORN, MARIA (The only one going by their actual name) and KID (the main character), horrors abound in the space station as machines go rogue and the threat of a disease and bio-monsters loom.
SG for PS and DC is about 60% story and 40% gameplay and is a rudimentary FPS game. At a glance, it seems to take a lot of inspiration from Silent Debuggers (TG-16), Out Live (TG-16) and Out Live: Be Eliminate Yesterday (PS). The player explores a 3D space station while looking for clues, finding key items, upgrading gear and taking down enemies. One cool aspect of the game is the VF-9 (Variable Formula) which is basically a copy of Shōji Kawamoris Macross Variable Fighter mech that can transform into three modes: Combat, Assault and Cruiser. Combat (Battroid) is the slowest / strongest form, Assault (Gerwalk) is weaker but has higher mobility and defense, and Cruiser (Fighter Jet) has the highest defense and speed + a low center of gravity to dodge, but has compromised combat abilities. All modes can strafe and the Dreamcast game has the smoothest play control. Energy and Body Armor must be maintained with items and are limited, and the player can only hold seven gears that can be armed or mounted.
Besides the visuals and music, the game is extremely similar to the PS game (one could probably even mod the English voices over the Japanese ones with effort) but a few scenes look different, artwork is completely different, and combat has been rebalanced; the Action Response Level (ARL) has been removed and Repair Units restore 1000 Body instead of 400 to compensate. Kazuhiko Okuno (best known for Legend of the Galactic Heroes and Macross 7, but also did several games such as Quo Vadis, U.P.P., etc.) did the art which is generally pretty and the game has hours of spoken dialogue, which is pretty impressive. Absence of music aside, the game(s) are slightly underrated. This is a video showing 40%~ of the game (02:32:27 has music not in the original), although I was going pretty quick. Enjoy.
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Visit Us At: http://www.gamingsanctuary.org")
![Sugar Waffle [ちっちゃなわっほ～使いシュガー] Game Sample - PC/Doujin](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/s4rb3b66Nx0/mqdefault.jpg "Sugar Waffle [ちっちゃなわっほ～使いシュガー] Game Sample - PC/Doujin
Sugar Waffle [ちっちゃなわっほ～使いシュガー] Game Sample - PC/Doujin")
![Monstre Waltz [G-MODEアーカイブス+ 夢幻舞葬モンストラバルツ] Ending + Bonus Episode - PC](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/sX96iCKUeIY/mqdefault.jpg "Monstre Waltz [G-MODEアーカイブス+ 夢幻舞葬モンストラバルツ] Ending + Bonus Episode - PC
If you want to know about this game, please refer to the game sample. Otherwise, this is just for my records and coincides with the ending and a special bonus episode for completing the game and loading your save file. The ending references some conversations from the Epilogue (the most important of which is the moment Norman and Shiela have before her dramatic stunt she pulls on Norman, making a prediction of the future stating that in Normans right hand, hell still have his usual cane and in her left hand, shell have a ring) plus a 20+ year time skip to events lateral to Necronomicon and Nightmare of the Whole Sky. Enjoy.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/4192750/GMODE/
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![Revive of the Moon [リバイブ・オブ・ザ・ムーン] Game Sample - PC/Doujin](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ttp7hxXtWg4/mqdefault.jpg "Revive of the Moon [リバイブ・オブ・ザ・ムーン] Game Sample - PC/Doujin
Revive of the Moon (stylized as revive of the moon) is a weird little action-horror game about Princess Kaguya and her demonic forces aiming to take revenge against humanity for their misdeeds in life, reclaim a sacred necklace and return to the moon. It is loosely based on the folktale, Taketori Monogatari (aka The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter) but distorted into a post-apocalyptic setting with nary a sign of romance in sight.. and feels like a weird amalgamation of Dragon Head, Disaster Report and DEAD OR SCHOOL with TM overtones but not as good. Released in 2024 by YMCAT/Regista for PC and Nintendo Switch, the game is described as a 3D TPS (Third Person Shooter) Action Game, but shooting is almost never used unless youre going out of your way to use it or for one or two situational segments. The game is notable for having beautiful illustrations from 石商 (Ishisyou) and the popular Japanese comedian, Eiko Kano, acting as supervisor for the project in affiliation with the Maseki Geinosha talent agency. Considering I havent heard any widespread backlash from this decision, I can only assume he did a good job, even if the finished product is questionable.
Mitsuki Isogami, a seemingly normal but quiet high school girl, is riding a subway train with her younger brother one day when all hell breaks loose from a large local earthquake... but this wasnt just any quake; with it came a torrent of evil that mutated the local denizens of Tokyo into zombie-like beings (Immortal Red-Eyed Evils). Due to a mysterious necklace passed down to her from her mother that grants her power and details of her background that she is not yet privy to, she has some immunity against the hordes and can fight them with with the abilities shes developed from her kendo training. She meets Ryuto Mifune (classmate and admirer) and Tsubame Koyasu (onee-chan / teacher) along the way and ultimately must journey all the way to the summit of Mt. Fuji over 15 Nights or stages. Theres a smidge of twists throughout the plot, but nothing too crazy worth going into detail over, although I will say the Engrish is occasionally hard to follow and the weird idea to change some of the historical figures into women-ish... men? Im still not entirely sure on a couple characters after finishing this game, but the game is a little longer than I wouldve initially thought at about 4-5 hours and can be cleared in an afternoon.
Truth be told, games like this are titles I run through while I work on bigger projects to keep a semi-decent flow of videos coming in, but theyre not always random and still based on various passing interests. The game looked interesting at a glance and while initially kind of pricey at $20, I grabbed it on sale for 75% off as I want to see more Regista games in English. Theres a reasonable balance of gameplay and actual story where the player gets to explore, maybe 60/40 or 55/45 split. The player runs around hacking and slashing enemies, grabbing souls to eventually level up, and finding restorative / growth items or the periodic key item as you make your way through hordes. Ability points can be assigned to attack, durability or agility and can be reassigned at any time interestingly enough. In the beginning, I put most of my stats towards agility for the notable speed boost until enemies start getting spongy around level 4 or 5, and then gradually start putting points towards attack... I never needed to bump up my defense. While there are three characters you can eventually use, Ryuto only assists with the random button-mashing events (as hes not a fighter and is the brains of the group) and Tsubame can shoot but the aiming is wonky and ammo is limited. Needless to say, I only used her when a situation basically necessitated it and the game is very easy for the most part as you can stockpile healing items which automatically get used as you take damage.
The only time the game poses any challenge is when it inexplicably shifts to some type of stealth event or has specific, atypical requirements (like locking zombies in a cage)... if the regular gameplay alone didnt shine a light on how unpolished it is with weird hit detection, spotty controls and unnecessary mechanics, these situations are awful and only serve to throw a curve-ball at you with less-than-clear instructions or little margin for error and feel out of place. Dying or loading removes all your stocked up healing items, so this was probably implemented just to prevent the game from being a total cakewalk. The game looks and sounds okay on PC with a low-level film grain over the graphics and chibi models, but the game does not run well on the original Nintendo Switch... which is not that surprising. Its an okay way to kill a few hours on sale.
This is a video of the game in action. You can get it at:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3125530/revive_of_the_moon/
Enjoy.
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Visit Us At: http://www.gamingsanctuary.org")
![Tottemo E Mahjong [とってもE麻雀] Game Sample - Arcade](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tzLrXAxnzew/mqdefault.jpg "Tottemo E Mahjong [とってもE麻雀] Game Sample - Arcade
Tottemo E Mahjong is a simple, low budget Japanese Mahjong game developed by Inspire and Game Ware and published by Arc System Works that was originally released for Sonys PlayStation Vita in 2012. It then got an Arcade port (this one) in 2013 with one additional character and another port to the PlayStation 4 in 2014 with another added character, some interface changes and a few extra bells and whistles. Considering the PS4 version is only ~1600 Yen (about $10 USD currently) and is the definitive experience, Id start there if you reaaaaally want to play this, but Ive got this version for posterity and to get the cobwebs out of Arcade games on this channel. While the game is technically better than the other Mahjong game Ive captured, 3D Cosplay Mahjong, it doesnt do anything special at all compared to other Mahjong games out there and is an inferior version of Arc System Works Two Jong Cell!! and just as difficult, so go with that instead unless you want a really vanilla game.
TEM uses Taitos NESiCAxLive digital distribution service and plays like almost every other (Riichi / Reach) Mahjong game on the planet, so please refer to this link to learn the particulars of the game:
https://mahjong-ny.com/features/reach-mahjong-rules/
The player will compete against five different girls while beating them in Missions (which are also in Two Jong Cell!!...in other words, you MUST complete certain objectives such as winning with a certain hand, within a certain amount of turns, etc. you CANT always win by having the highest points). By playing, your actions also get converted into a certain amount of E-Points that can be used to purchase items that can give you an edge... at least in a typical Mahjong game like, say, Tensen-NyanNyan: Gekijouban (Tensen-Nyannyan: Gekigyouban). In this game though, youre not forewarned that its 4-Players, the A.I. will gang up on you and the A.I. is ruthless, and this is in spite of the Easy Call system thats implemented to help with hands and calls. This is literally one of those games that goes out of its way to give you tiles you dont really need (you can pull from your opponents and make pairs, but this generally yields smaller payouts) for half the round while your opponents are sitting on a Tenpai after the 3rd of 4th tile, and the Mission structure just makes dealing with them even more obnoxious.
The last pain in the neck element of this game for me, however, is the intrusive timer; while most Arcade Mahjong games will have a timer so you dont spend too much time going through your hand, this game does things a little differently; the player is given 240 seconds during the match to go through their hand, and the timer is frozen while other characters are making their moves. This, on paper, sounds reasonable, but with the A.I. and mission structure imposed on the player, the game made sure that it was not put there to be charitable but to add another layer of stress. Once this timer reaches zero, you will have no more than five seconds to comb through your hand (technically, you have more as you can move your cursor while the AI is going, but your ultimate move is still contingent on what you draw and requires you to constantly be thinking no less than three steps ahead). This element of the game has, mercifully, been removed from the Arcade Mode of Tottemo E Mahjong Plus and is magnitudes better as a result.
The graphics are pretty simple (Mashiro, Saki, Hatsuki, Shizu and Hikari are cute enough, and you get them basically cosplaying in different outfits as you beat them), the games not fully voiced, the music is... fine, and the U.I. is pretty barebones but... well, the game was basically iterated twice, so it has a following of some kind. That said, there is a considerable surplus of better Mahjong games (a few were already casually thrown around in this synopsis). This is a brief video showing the game in action. Enjoy.
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Visit Us At: http://www.gamingsanctuary.org")
![Tonnura [トンヌラ] Game Sample - PC/Doujin](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/uk7FX9mQa9k/mqdefault.jpg "Tonnura [トンヌラ] Game Sample - PC/Doujin
Tonnura [トンヌラ] Game Sample - PC/Doujin")
![Arm of Revenge [复仇之臂复刻版] Game Sample - PC/Doujin](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/uxzxyqbvlww/mqdefault.jpg "Arm of Revenge [复仇之臂复刻版] Game Sample - PC/Doujin
Arm of Revenge [复仇之臂复刻版] Game Sample - PC/Doujin")
![Aqua Jack [アクアジャック] Game Sample - Arcade @Vysethedetermined2](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/lEOeZ7vCi60/hqdefault.jpg)
