Magpie Gamer

I don't know much about musical theory, nor am I a musically inclined person. However, I do love to listen to video game soundtracks. They can be a powerful listening experiences in their own right, or be as evocative as the scores composed for film. Each of these posts will feature a sampling of music tracks from a single game title, or series/franchise in some rare cases. A complete list of these can be found on the Video Game Music page. Composer: Hiroyuki Sawano Singers: Aimee Blackschleger, Cyua, Mika Kobayashi, mpi, Sayulee, North American Release Date: December 4, 2015 In the year 2054, a galactic war forces humanity to flee Earth aboard spaceships dubbed "arks". After being pursued by extraterrestrials for two years, the "White Whale" ark makes a crash landing on the uncharted planet Mira. Several stasis pods are ejected during the crash, of which the protagonist Cross is one of the only survivors. Rescued by Elma, the leader of BLADE (Bu...

"Special" is a port and minimalist remaster of the original handheld title. Rune Factory 3 was the game to introduce many of the series staple gameplay systems and is when the Rune Factory series "finally got good" according to most fans. That said, the remaster retains some of the rough edges from those early days. The controls are slippery and finicky, causing Micah (protagonist) to hit the wrong field tiles. Other times if you aren't standing in the exact spot the game wants you to be in it will be impossible to collect resources from ore and stumps, even though visually, it looks like you should be able to. Of the three games I have played (RF3, RF4, and RF5), this entry in the series has my favorite player home. The colorful cast of characters are considered to be the most eccentric of any Rune Factory game and I love it. There is just something about Rune Factory's brand of 'quirky character' that suits their world. Sofia and Sherman f...

When selecting a game you can easily look up whatever you want, whenever you want, thanks to that little phone in your pocket: reviews, trailers, online plot summaries. But in the past that wasn't an option. In the store it was the art on the box that would catch your eye, lure you over, and expose you to something you probably didn't know existed. The art, the back of the box, and the manual inside may be the only information you got about the game before deciding to play it. Those boxes could contain imagery so eye-catching that it was an art piece in its own right and something you would be proud to have in your home. But that all changed with the switch to digital. Online marketplaces and streaming services use small thumbnails with a simple portrait; almost background imagery - an afterthought. The logo often takes up half the space. Sometimes the thumbnail is only the logo. Their purpose is to make scrolling more convenient and clean looking, but we lost something along...

What This Is About: On July 1, 2026, Sony announced they will be ending production of new physical discs for all PlayStation 5 games starting January 2028. All new game releases after this date will be digital only, either as a direct download from their storefront or as a download code sold inside of a plastic box (which expires after a set number of days). At the same time Sony announced the closure of their digital storefronts for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita, as well as the deletion of over five hundred purchased movies from their customer's libraries (for a second time). No one was offered refunds or store credit of any kind. Had these movies been physical DVDs and Blu-rays it would have been illegal for Sony to take them, but because they were digital goods, as far as the law is concerned, it wasn't a crime. A disc is something you own - at least until it degrades (which I have yet to happen). You can lend it to a friend, trade it for other games, resell it ...