Obscure Scrimblo Arcade Games | What Did Floof Do? Vol. 1 Part 2
In part 2 of the first edition of What Did Floof Do?, we'll be taking a look at the rest of what I did over my summer vacation earlier this year.
28. Clockwork Aquario
Here's an even more interesting story than Marble Madness 2: in 1992, Westone (the Wonder Boy developers) began development on Clockwork Aquario as their last hurrah into the arcade game market, only for it to fail in its location tests and get cancelled bc this was the early 90's, and it wasn't a fighting game like Street Fighter II. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
Thankfully, in 2017 Strictly Limited Games acquired the rights from Sega, and a developer named ININ Games began working with former Westone employees to restore the game after some parts of its source code was lost. They finally released Clockwork Aquario for the first time in 2021 on PS4 and Switch, tho you can only buy it digitally- the physical copies were a strictly limited run.
The game is a fun, cartoony arcade platformer where you choose one of three characters to play as. You can jump on an enemy to stun it, then grab the stunned enemy and throw it at other enemies. It's a very short and simple game, and it only took me few tries to 1CC it, but it does have really great music and a cute art style that I like a lot. It's very charming, and I recommend it to anyone else out there who lives for obscure scrimblo arcade games like I do.
29. Rune Factory 5 (Switch)
This game took over my entire goddamn life for weeks at a time TWICE. It is the video game equivalent of crack dressed up as a cute farmer anime girl and I love it. I have over 90 hours in it and I haven't even gotten married yet!!!
If you've played a life-sim before (like say, Harvest Moon) then you're already familiar with the gist of what Rune Factory 5 is all about, but you might be surprised to hear that Rune Factory combines peaceful farming gameplay with an action RPG, including several different weapon types and lots of dungeons to explore. These don't happen at the same time- rather, they form a feedback loop of sorts. Dungeon delving is a great way to earn resources and money for your farm, and farming is a great way to earn money to fund your dungeon expeditions. Plus there's all the usual life-sim mechanics like fishing, cooking, crafting, raising livestock (which you do by taming monsters in Rune Factory), and building up your relationships with all the townsfolk. There's always something to do in Rune Factory 5, and no matter what you're doing, you always feel like you're making progress. It's great!
The townsfolk are what are really sell this game for me. I wouldn't have played for nearly as long if I didn't absolutely love them and wasn't invested in each of their stories. They are /so/ much fun to talk to and I look forward to chatting with them each and every in-game day c:
One more thing: while I hate to end this section on a negative note, the Switch version of Rune Factory 5 is plagued by some pretty severe technical issues. They've patched out a lot of bugs since it came out, but the game still chugs hard on Switch, struggling to hit even 30fps when there are too many enemies on screen. The game was fun enough for me to tolerate this, but if ur considering picking the game up now, I HIGHLY recommend playing the PC version instead. It's far from a perfect port, but at least it has a stable framerate! :')
30. Garry's Mod (ft. Leo!)
I spent some time playing Garry's Mod with my friend Leo over the summer, and I had a lot of fun. While normally I would just write about Garry's Mod and what we did myself, Leo has literally 10 times the hours that I have in Gmod, and is generally much more familiar with it than I am, so why don't I just ask him what he thinks of Gmod instead?
Interview with Leo
Floof: Hi leo
Leo: Hi floof
Floof: Are u ready for ur interview
Leo: When
Floof: Right now
Floof: Also I was too lazy to write the questions in advance so I'm just gonna wing it
Leo: Typical floof
Floof: :)
Floof: Well let's start with this
Floof: How did u find out about gmod?
Leo: Back in I think 2013 a friend of mine told me about it, ended up getting it around that same time mostly to play Murder and TTT with my friends. But later it ended up becoming my most played game on steam, crazy
Floof: Epic
Leo: :D
Floof: How would u describe Gmod to someone who's never played it before?
Leo: That’s honestly really hard lmao. I guess I’d say…an open source game where the community itself manages to expand its library? Idk, I’d say a lot of gmod comes from the community and the tools provided, definitely also what the game is most known for.
Floof: That's fair
Floof: I guess it's like a sandbox
Floof: You just do whatever you want
Leo: Yeah
Leo: I’d say it’s something similar to what got Minecraft popular if that makes any sense?
Floof: Well minecraft got popular bc of youtubers
Floof: But I get what u mean
Leo: I mean in some ways gmod as well haha
Leo: Vanoss is a classic
Floof: That is fair
Floof: I remember trying to watch a Vanoss video after we played and like
Floof: people must've had a very different sense of humor back in the early 2010s, that's all I'll say
Leo: I mean yeah, just look at some of the old viral videos lol
Leo: Maybe it’s nostalgia but I still have a very soft spot for that era
Floof: I snee
Floof: What do u remember from when we played gmod a few months ago?
Leo: A lot of screaming
Leo: :D
Floof: X3
Leo: In all seriousness tho, just two friends fucking around with the many addons the community has created, I remember us running away like crazy from all those fucking memes…purple guy, titan, morshu…I love videogames
Floof: Same
Floof: My favorite part was playing in the among us map
Leo: lol that was funny, and a pretty small space
Floof: Yes
Floof: it's so cramped that you don't have a lot of space to run away from the nextbots
Floof: It makes it scarier which makes it more fun :)
Leo: Terrifying :O
Floof: Yesh
Floof: So u said that garry's mod is ur most played game on steam
Leo: As of now yes
Floof: Why did u play it so much?
Leo: This is one of those games that have a lot of replay value, be it the many modes such as Murder, TTT, Prop Hunt, the giant sandbox world, and even cinema when that was still a thing. I kinda fell out of it recently, but from time to time it’s always fun playing for a few hours
Floof: Pog
Floof: Oki last question
Floof: Would u recommend gmod to other ppl
Leo: It really depends on what type of game that person enjoys, I know quite a few people that are not into shooters or sandbox games. If you really wanna know the best description of gmod, check out one of the many yt videos related to it. Also I feel like a lot of games similar to it have come out recently such as Tower Unite (even if that game is still in beta) so it’s quite possible they will try going for the more modern option. With that said I’d absolutely recommend Garry’s mod, be it for spending hours with friends on the great game creations, or mess around on sandbox. Something I also respect gmod for is how much it managed to inspire people, a lot of people who did dumb ragdoll sketches back in the day have now become 3D animators, and of course the many creators that came from the game itself. Alright I think I went a bit far there but final answer: yes
Floof: Very good points
Floof: Tower Unite is pretty pog
Leo: Yesh
Floof: :3
Leo: Welp you sure made me think a lot haha, good job floof
Floof: hehe
Floof: Also thank u for agreeing to the interview
Leo: Np floofer
31. Mushihimesama (PC)
I played the PC version, but it's on Switch too!
Shmups are a niche genre that doesn't get a lot of mainstream love these days, especially bullet hell shmups. They used to rule the arcades, but it's kinda hard to maintain an audience when your games are so difficult that only the most dedicated players will keep putting coins in. Even Cave, one of the most prolific shmup developers of all time, has been reduced to making mobile games and occasionally porting their older titles.
That's not to say that they didn't try to appeal to a broader audience, though. In 2004, Cave released Mushihimesama (literally meaning "Bug Princess") to arcades. Aside from including a cute anime girl as the protagonist, Cave hoped to attract new players with a revolutionary new addition to the shmup genre: difficulty options. Crazy, right?
As for the game itself, it's a lot of fun! Cave is considered a master of the genre for a reason: the game feels very tough but fair, the soundtrack is really great, and the game looks beautiful. Cave went for a colorful art style and setting for Mushihimesama rather than making another militaristic sci-fi shooter, and it really pays off. It's worth noting, though, that the PC port does upscale the graphics compared to the arcade original (it also adds an optional Novice mode that reduces the game's difficulty, which is good bc the arcade version is still pretty damn hard).
32. Cyber Lancer
This is a game jam game that's serving as a sorta barebones demo for a larger game that's still in development, so there's not much to say, but I'll give a quick description. Cyber Lancer is a third-person shooter roguelike mech game where you fend off waves of enemies and buy upgrades and weapons for your mech in between waves. It's definitely fun to play, but my favorite thing about it is its super cool graphical style inspired by Virtual-On (flashing lights warning if u click on that link), which is one of those rare early 3D games that still looks great today. Cyber Lancer also has some voice acting, which is pretty weird for something that was made for a game jam, but it's neat that it's there.