An insignificant landmark

Something totally trivial that no one but me cares about happened today: I finally caught up with Chrontendo!

I’ve been reading Chrontendo — chronicling one man’s compulsive need to play every Nintendo game (and Sega game, and TG16 game) in chronological order — for quite a while now. It’s not the only blog of its kind, but it’s the only one with anything like actual endurance. The mysterious Dr. Sparkle has been plugging away at this thing for a few years and has covered five years’ worth of console games — five years’ worth of every console game — which is no mean feat.

But you know me and my disinterest in podcasts, so I hadn’t bothered actually watching Chrontendo until a couple of months ago when I decided to drop the series on my iPad to watch while I use my elliptical machine at night. I guess it’s kind of weird to watch a retrospective on old video games while exercising, huh? Yeah well, whatever, man. Turns out it’s an enjoyable show, touching on both good and popular games as well as terrible and obscure ones. It’s not exactly polished, but a lot of research clearly goes into each episode, and there’s just enough sarcasm to keep the production from being too dry. All in all, good stuff.

There have been a few bits that made me cringe — not because the show’s bad, but because I realize “aw, crap, he beat me to that.” Like when I watched the critique of The Goonies II, recorded a year or two before I wrote my own Goonies I & II piece; both made pretty much exactly the same observations about the game, but his came first. That’s when I have to step off the elliptical and shake my fist with a cry of “SPARKLE!” that shakes the firmament. Although it sounds less like I’m angry and more like I’m auditioning for an episode of Jem.

Anyway, it’s a fine blog and video podcast, so check it out if you haven’t already.

Meanwhile, back at 1UP’s secret base…

I’m making a determined effort to write more this year, and to that end I have posted a preview of The 3rd Birthday and a review of Hiroki Kikuta’s Secret of Mana+ for your delectation.

10 thoughts on “An insignificant landmark”

  1. I really, really love SoM+, but haven’t listened to it in a while, thanks for the reminder!

  2. Hiroki Kikuta’s one of my favorite composers, full stop. And I don’t know any of his work beyond Mana 1 and 2. There are so few people that can touch him in terms of harmony and percussion. And he’s a prog geek. Must have been awesome to talk to.

    Secret of Mana+ is so on my list now.

  3. Mysterious? I wasn’t aware there was anything even slightly mysterious about some dude posting game videos online.

    Oh, and thanks for the “Word up.”

  4. I have an honest-to-god physical copy of SoM+ that I picked up from some import shop at a con years and years ago. Definitely an awesome disc. I need to get more of it onto my iPod.

    Speaking of Kikuta albums, have you had a chance to listen to Alphabet Planet? Much more like standard game music than the experimental SoM+, but for a game that never was… a lot of fun stuff on there too.

  5. I must thank and salute you for the Secret of Mana+ article. Even as we speak/type/post, some of us on your own forum are staging a video game remix music ranking contest for individual pieces, the second such contest actually. Two times have the philistines denied my nomination of Secret of Mana+. (Too long, they bray.) I am grateful for the validation. Perhaps Secret of Mana+ is too grand for their contests anyway. They do not deserve it.

    I hope people don’t think I put you up to writing this article or posting it now. The timing is perfect, though I suspect you (wisely) don’t dig into what goes on on your forum much.

  6. Chrontendo is amazing. Also, the music from level 1 of Bayou Billy is indeed funky.

  7. Oh wow, Mana+. I remember ages ago my brother ordered that (around the same time we ordered Kefka’s Domain) thinking it would be the soundtrack to the actual game. We were let down when we found out it wasn’t, but after we got over the initial shock we were all about that damn CD.

    I can’t tell you how many times I’ve listen to that thing. Awesome stuff.

  8. >> I guess it’s kind of weird to watch a retrospective on old video
    >> games while exercising, huh? Yeah well, whatever, man.

    What do you think I’m doing while listening to Retronauts and C@D? I mean, besides when I’m doing Picross. Or driving.

  9. I wonder how long Chrontendo will take.

    And Atlus, developers of Xexyz and publishers of Hexyz Force? Who knew?

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