Updated September 2026, 4 days ago
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Battle Tank SWORD W [バトルタンク・ソードW] Game Sample - PC/Doujin
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![Battle Tank SWORD W [バトルタンク・ソードW] Game Sample - PC/Doujin](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/fBMXAVPquPg/mqdefault.jpg "Battle Tank SWORD W [バトルタンク・ソードW] Game Sample - PC/Doujin
Battle Tank SWORD W [バトルタンク・ソードW] Game Sample - PC/Doujin")
![Astonishia Story Refine [어스토니시아 스토리 리파인] Game Sample - NS](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/g0zf_BTpau8/mqdefault.jpg "Astonishia Story Refine [어스토니시아 스토리 리파인] Game Sample - NS
Yall probably didnt expect to see this game again... 20+ odd years after the PSP release of one of South Koreas premium RPGs, Sonnoris Astonishia Story is back, and it just wont die! AS was originally released way back in 1994 for ol MS-DOS by Sonnori Co., Ltd, one of the premier creators of Korean games. While it was rough around the edges and (visually) behind the output from games in most other parts of the world at the time, it was an ORIGINAL work with inspirations from Western and JRPGs of the time, most prominently titles like Pool of Radiance, Traysia and Shining Force, and enjoyed much success as their first game. I cant stress ORIGINAL enough here, as Korea, China and Taiwan made quite a reputation for themselves back in the day for taking or modifying other companies source code and graphics to make knock-offs of various games, especially prolific ones (Street Fighter, Fatal Fury, Maan borrowing aspects from Chrono Trigger, etc.).
This game, however, does not exactly bring good tidings... as something of a stealth release towards the end of 2025 by Daewon Media and Waycoder, this remake of AS (given the updated Refine moniker) was cursed even before it officially launched. Promos for the game initially stated the game would release for the Nintendo Switch and Steam, but early testing was rough, constructive feedback was not addressed swiftly and early reviews from the press were overwhelmingly negative with comments covering everything from the games graphics (which struggle on a NS1 and is still sub 30FPS in spots on the NS2, its 60FPS~ on PC), poor optimization, high price tag, controversy over the physical media (with the Switch and PC version having separate contents but being priced the same), high degree of bugs in handheld or docked (crashes, terminations in certain towns, constant sound bugs, slow motion FPS bugs, frequent graphics glitches, garbled text, increased latency, basically unacceptable stuff in a modern and unassuming 2D game), almost total absence of QoL features and sluggish gameplay... etc.
While the game used Astonishia R / PSP as a base, it lacks animated cutscenes and actually removed almost all the unique items you could find through the world, and attempted to replicate the HD-2D style of games like Octopath, DQ/DW, etc., but did it so poorly that the game had to get multiple patches after launch for alternate graphics settings as things were blown out and over-saturated. The game switched from Steam to Purple prior to release (through a deal with NC Corporation but also to avoid review bombing and easier refunds). In spite of ALL THESE THINGS, the game was playable by the time I got my hands on my L.E. (it was borderline unplayable without those 4+ patches)... while its exclusive to Korea, it has a better English localization than the game we got 20~ years ago from Ubisoft too and is delightfully self-aware with numerous weird references (Kenshiro from FotNS, Solid Snake and Big Boss from MGS, Kratos from GoW, etc.)! The game is unapologetically old-school, which is fine by me, but the issue is that its systems were a bit unpolished even in 1994 (this game DOES attempt to fix some fundamental things). If you want to know the basic gist, check out my PSP video as this game is about 80% the same (Ordinary knight goes on quest to save land from twisted elves). Ill talk about whats different here.
Theres no more MP or hidden skills; characters get all skills from leveling and have SP now which charges by one bar through phases and starting SP increases by 1 every 10 levels (all MP items are gone, this is a WAY better system for this game). Experience is equalized here, so no best fighter bonus but a HUGE CARDINAL SIN this game commits is make battles give the same experience and cash based on the area, so if a fight gives 500 EXP in an area, it doesnt matter if theres one enemy or eight, making fights more of a chore than anything. The game changed a few events and added mercenaries that you can hire with different requirements, making the early game a little easier (they have lower stats than the mains, but have some unique skills). Hataik is also a permanent character in this game, whereas he was temporary in the others (he doesnt appear in the story after his initial departure though). Play Score is calculated differently now and theres a New Game + (Money, Lvl.1 Mercs and Hella Gear transfers over, enemies seem stronger and have about 30% more HP... dont know yet if theres a reward, but the main game was already a slog). The game mimics the Break / Kill system if you hit multiple enemy weaknesses straight from Octopath. Super Moves around the LVL25/26 mark seem to be removed, so all main abilities are learned at LVL20, which is a much more realistic cut-off. Game is short if you know what to do and the 1st loop can be cleared in about 7-9hrs.
~4hrs of assorted ENGLISH gameplay... make an informed decision folks! Enjoy.")
![SUNSOFT is Back! Retro Game Collection [SUNSOFT is Back! レトロゲームセレクション] Game Sample - PC](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/gPhC3BPbkfw/mqdefault.jpg "SUNSOFT is Back! Retro Game Collection [SUNSOFT is Back! レトロゲームセレクション] Game Sample - PC
SUNSOFT is Back! Retro Game Collection [SUNSOFT is Back! レトロゲームセレクション] Game Sample - PC")
![Star Maidens Chronicle: Definitive Edition [命短したたかえ！乙女 Definitive Edition] Game Sample - PC/Doujin](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/gc5QyV2uDkc/mqdefault.jpg "Star Maidens Chronicle: Definitive Edition [命短したたかえ！乙女 Definitive Edition] Game Sample - PC/Doujin
Star Maidens Chronicle: Definitive Edition [命短したたかえ！乙女 Definitive Edition] Game Sample - PC/Doujin")
![Magatama [魔牙霊] Game Sample - Xbox](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/hfLovrRFrd0/mqdefault.jpg "Magatama [魔牙霊] Game Sample - Xbox
Magatama [魔牙霊] Game Sample - Xbox")
![Rung Rung: Oz no Mahou Tsukai - Another World [オズの魔法使い～AnotherWorld～ルングルング] Game Sample - PS (PS1)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/iagUWV1rwuY/mqdefault.jpg "Rung Rung: Oz no Mahou Tsukai - Another World [オズの魔法使い～AnotherWorld～ルングルング] Game Sample - PS (PS1)
YT family, Ive a feeling were not in Kansas anymore. an exact quote from the 1939 classic film, The Wizard of Oz (Probably)
There are a lot of works that pay homage to Lyman Frank Baums highly influential childrens novel, The Wonderful World of Oz, released in 1900 and, surprisingly, theres more than one video game based on the property from Japan. Affects 2000 oddity, Rung Rung: Oz no Mahou Tsukai - Another World, is a 3D Adventure game released just shy of 100 years after the Novel was penned, giving you an idea of just how timeless the story is. While essentially a Japan-only release, GungHo Online Entertainment released the game (untranslated) for U.S. gamers on PSN in 2013. Affect is... not well known or well-regarded; while theyve been credited for quite a few games, most of them have reviewed pretty poorly and the few games they did that came to the West were dismissed or even joked (like Phix: The Adventure).
While RR Oz has a solid foundation just by virtue of its source material, RR Oz does not do too much to buck their trend of overall middling offerings. If youre familiar with the novel or film(s) the game is based on, you have a general idea of the plot; RR Oz starts with a wicked wizard opening up a portal with profound magic that can pull whole areas from other realms to Oz, stripping them of life in the process. Unfortunately, he picked the wrong time to act when a tornado winds up in a desolate prairie in Kansas, spiriting away the young Dorothy Gale, her dog Toto, and the little farm house her aunt and uncle share. When Dorothy comes to and leaves the house, shes in a land far removed from the one she knows...
As it stands, the world is in a sorry state with lands stripped of color, villagers frozen in stone, and the great Emerald City is in a state of panic. Her house crushes the Wicked Witch of the East (to the joy of basically everyone, although Dorothy is initially mortified). Norte, the Witch of the North, explains that youre in the land of Oz (and shes portrayed as a kind, ditzy woman who likes to speak in song and has no idea what a Kansas is), that you may find help if you head to the Emerald City, and that Princess Ozma is there who may be able to help you return home. She also blesses you with a little magic for good luck (a magic kiss in the original) and advises you to follow the yellow brick road before leaving. Oh yeah, and she has an apprentice errand boy named Ururu. Dorothy is already wearing red slippers, The Lion, Tin Man and Scarecrow are here as well as the Munchkins, Gilkins, etc., but it takes many liberties to keep things interesting.
RR Oz has a simple gameplay loop exacerbated by curious design choices. The overwhelming bulk of the game involves item synthesis through a magic cauldron that belonged to the witch of the east named Gotcha. Every main area along the yellow brick road is lacking color and requires different colors of magic paint to remove prisms and restore the area, including NPCs turned to stone. These NPCs then have to be negotiated with and assisted to improve your trust with them, which opens up new interactions. There are four interactions needed to gain new information and recipes: Kindness, Show, Tell and Exchange. Everyone starts at the Kindness level, which requires you to do a series of fetch quests. Show / Tell opens next with Show granting you information about items you find and Tell giving you knowledge on recipes they know. Exchange is usually a max-trust extra which nets you rare items or frequently used items more easily.
You cant use items that you cant identify, so its basically mandatory to do fetch quests, learn about the items in your arsenal, and gain recipes from every NPC. Searching for items can be done blindly or via a sonar that depletes HP... items in the area also get depleted, so when the area is empty, you have to go sleep till the next day to replenish them. Item space is very limited, areas are small and chock full of loading screens, and the constant repetition is made worse as some items and events are only available on certain days (time is infinite). There are obstacles and mini-games, but theyre few and far between and the game is engineered for a younger demographic (limited violence, younger Dorothy, simpler dialogue). The production values are close to launch PS standards and half the areas dont have music (there are items to plant seeds of music in quiet areas). There arent too many high-profile people involved with this games development, but Hisanao Suzuki would go on to do a lot of work with Square Enix (Trials of Mana, FF: Brave Exvius, Harvestella, etc.) and the talented seiyu, Sakura Tange and Kikuko Inoue voice Dorothy and Norte respectively. The game is a decent length of about 15-20 hours to 100%.
In spite of its shortcomings, this IS one of Affects better games with cute characters and silly dialogue. This is a video of the game in action. Enjoy.")
![Gakkou no Kaidan: Hyakuyoubako no Fuuin [学校の怪談 百妖箱の封印] Game Sample - GBA](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/jhY4hU4TOZ0/mqdefault.jpg "Gakkou no Kaidan: Hyakuyoubako no Fuuin [学校の怪談 百妖箱の封印] Game Sample - GBA
Gakkou no Kaidan: Hyakuyoubako no Fuuin is one of many titles in a loosely connected Japanese horror-mystery phenomenon known as Gakkou no, with the main ones being Gakkou no Kaidan (aka School Ghost Stories) and Gakkou no Kowai Uwasa (aka Scary School Rumors, usually featuring Hanako-san as the main point of interest). Gakkou itself simply means School and while GnK and GnKU are not strictly related, they have overarching themes and related mysteries, so talking about them together adds a little context. This is a video for one of the lesser-known GnK games and part of what will probably evolve into a video project concerning GnK as a whole. While GnK has very little relevance in the West, it rose to prominence due to the legendary and hilarious English adaptation of the 2000 anime by Studio Pierrot and Aniplex, known outside Japan as Ghost Stories.
The concept for Gnk originated in the mid 80s from a visionary named Toru Tsunemitsu. In 1985, Toru was a middle school teacher who noticed that his students often shared ghost stories and rumors about various folklore and legends. Out of curiosity, this led him to collect stories from his students, where he accumulated over 150 stories in ten days. Between 1990-1996, these stories were modified and compiled into nine volumes of childrens books which were published by Kodansha. A sequel series, Shin Gakkou no Kaidan began in 2005 and five volumes were released, but the initial craze of GnK spawned a media frenzy with several video games, several live-action movies, animes (as Gakkou no Kaidan SP also exists), manga and associated merchandise.
Gakkou no Kaidan: Hyakuyoubako no Fuuin was developed by Yamaneko Co. Ltd. and published by TDK Core in 2004. For one, Yamaneko has LITTLE experience with actual game development, serving primarily as a Japanese editorial production company involved in the editing and production of game strategy books, related magazines, and books since the 90s. The other matter here is that TDK (Core) published and assisted A LOT of GBC and GBA games and probably saw this title as a quick cash grab to capitalize on the popularity of the GnK lore with both Toru Tsunemitsu/Kodansha being credited. Given these two things, I was intrigued to learn that the game didnt exactly have a good reputation in gaming circles but not entirely surprised either. Curiously, Hiroaki Mizubayashi directed, designed and programmed the game (he was also responsible for the Pocket Kitchen features of the cult PS gem, Purumui Purumui) and the character designs were by Ichio Hayashi (through Hibari Works, although much of his fame was as an in-between artist and animator), but the game has a small staff and shoestring budget otherwise. The sound was by Oka Soyo, who actually has prior experience working for Nintendo on games such as Super Mario Kart, Sim City, and Pilot Wings and freelance work on PS Lagnacure.
The game allows the player to choose a nameless boy or girl who is supposed to go home from school one day. After Football (Soccer) practice, you talk to your teacher, Izumi, who offers you a good-luck charm before leaving and you make your way to the school gate when lightning strikes, narrowly avoiding you and destroying a 100-yen donation box. Its right at this moment that you meet a strange first-grader, Tomoyuki, and learn that his favorite book, 100 Tales of Yokai, has gone blank, indicating that the spirits within have gotten loose and are haunting the school. Youre convinced by Tomoyuki that you have to search the school and return the Yokai to the book, but youre not sure how until you run into your first one: an advanced talking cellphone with camera capabilities that offers hints as you go.
Gameplay in the game is fairly standard adventure stuff where you walk around, search for items, solve puzzles, invoke yokai and play mini-games, but on a grand scale; there are 100 yokai to find in the game and while the first few are essentially freebies, catching them all is extremely difficult and, as some Japanese reviews put it, require the patience of a saint and intellect far beyond the games intended target audience. Indeed. Besides many of the games triggerable events being INVISIBLE (meaning youll be searching tile after tile, and the phone yokai is not especially helpful), some puzzles defy conventional wisdom and there are several death ends, so save constantly. You can also take pictures to fill a B&W photo gallery, but there are basically no hints here either and I basically shot pics in random locations. I wouldnt call most of the game obtuse as the yokai book gives decent hints, but the game is hard to parse even with Japanese knowledge and theres tons of choices to go through.
Beyond the creature designs, the game has few assets, but I dont actually hate it. There are better horror / mystery games though. This is a vid of the game in action. Enjoy.")
![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.
- ADDITION -
Visit Us At: http://www.gamingsanctuary.org")
![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.
- ADDITION -
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")
![Battle Tank SWORD W [バトルタンク・ソードW] Game Sample - PC/Doujin @Vysethedetermined2](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/fBMXAVPquPg/hqdefault.jpg)
