Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow is a 2003 Metroidvania, developed and published by Ko-

Wait, that didn't make it? What am I presenting?

Oh. Oh boy.

Here's my dirty little secret: I've only played one of these games! But I know all of 'em, at least, and I'm just as excited to play them too. So! Let's set the scene a few years back.

It's the mid-'90s, and Japan's '80s economic bubble burst due to some sick gamer-level capitalism exploit bullshit going awry. But good news! Its most successful tech megaconglomerate exports are still chugging along on good brand recognition. You go, consolidation of wealth.

Sony is riding high, and running on pure anger from their infamously botched plans for a SNES CD add-on with Nintendo. Despite some internal mix of interest and doubt, they release the PlayStation in 1994. It's selling like gangbusters, and they're in a position to take risks.

Well, sorta. They direct a production arm, Sony Computer Entertainment, to throw money at different development teams; those devs fill in to help make PlayStation hits. Ridge Racer, Crash, Tekken... Look, just check this list and peep at how often SCE pops up here. Sony wanted to make sure their library was rock solid: 14 out of the 22 of the games within the first two years had SCE's hands in the cookie jar. To sell over a million... Cookies. With a dozen genres of cookies covered. The PS1 outsold the PS3! And we all know, the PS3 had no cookies.

But you can't just live on expectation, or the big fish, or cookies. (The big cookie?) Look at the Xbox right now! You'll get stagnant and supplanted by The Bigger Thing. You need funk to stand out. Variety. IP. Je ne sais cookie. Something no one else has. Sony knew this, and a lot of Japanese creators are ready to make some reeeal fresh games.

Here's where we come in. CDs suddenly enable crazy multimedia opportunities for artists and musicians to get their ideas across, and 3D environments are the hot new thing. Myst is just a bunch of pictures, videos, and audio strung together, and people are still caught up in how immersive that PowerPoint can be. So come on, this should be easy! Slap something together - an idea, your brand, a simulacrum of this dumb thing you like. Maybe it works, and congrats, you're a cult artist! Maybe it doesn't? Give it 20 years, and congrats! You're still a cult artist. What can go wrong?

Sony enables some of these ideas themselves through SCE; others do it on their own. Either way, some very original stuff is thrown at the PlayStation. Some of the pasta really sticks to the wall. ...Or, some of those cookies stick to the jar? I'm bad with extended metaphors.

Anyway, these games speak for themselves. Let's play them!

I've got a separate post which I will keep down in the discussion for some fun context, history, and trivia about the games, for anyone who would like them. But overall, my advice: just play 'em. Most of them you'll get within five minutes, or they may already have you hooked by then. Some games are about the shock of an idea, the opportunity and newness driving them to fruition over polish, implementation, even thought. It's about the feeling.

If you haven't played some of these, promise me you'll ignore any write-ups, screenshots, videos, anything, and try at least one fresh, without any prior knowledge. I think we'll all be a little better for it!

Or, traumatized!

Versions: Original (PS1 - 1996, PSP - 2006), Remastered (PS4 - 2017)

Genre(s): Music / rhythm

Links: Mobygames, Wikipedia

Stores:
PlayStation Store (Remaster)

How Long To Beat:
2-4 Hours
Not much to replay!

Versions: Original (PS2 - 2001, PS4 - 2015)

Genre(s): Music / rhythm

Links: Mobygames, Wikipedia

Stores:
PlayStation Store

How Long To Beat:
2-5 Hours
A little more replayable!

Versions: Original (PS1 - 1998)

Genre(s): Arcade, precision

Links: Mobygames, Wikipedia

Stores:
Generally unavailable! ~$30 on ebay

How Long To Beat:
4.5 hours, according to a single dude on howlongtobeat
Years of therapy

Versions: Original (PS1 - 1999)

Genre(s): Arcade, runner

Links: Mobygames, Wikipedia

Stores:
Generally unavailable! Uhhhh, $286 on ebay secondhand? $900 for an unopened copy?? Holy hell.

How Long To Beat:
2-4 hours
Additional hours of working off those Pepsi calories

Versions: Original (PS1 - 1999), Ports (PSP, PS3, and PS Vita - 2014)

Genre(s): Music / rhythm

Links: Mobygames, Wikipedia

Stores:
~$40 secondhand
Technically I think you can still load money to your account via an active PlayStation Store and then buy it on the Vita..?

How Long To Beat:
30 minutes - 1,349 years?

Versions: Original (Arcade, PS1 - 1999)

Genre(s): Arcade, music / rhythm, puzzle, shooter, etc, etc, etc...

Links: Mobygames, Wikipedia

Stores:
Generally unavailable! ~$30 secondhand. This CGA is expensive!

How Long To Beat:
3 hours
1 explanation to your partner about that "back massage"

Colossal Game Adventure (CGA) is Tildes' retro video game club.

Each month we will play a different retro game/games, discuss our thoughts, and bask in the glorious digital experiences of yesteryear!

Colossal Game Adventure is a reference to Colossal Cave Adventure. It's one of the most influential games of all time, one of the first text-based interactive games, and one of the first games to be shared online.

What do we want to do with this group? Play influential games; interact with each other through text; and share the love for retro games online!

It also abbreviates to CGA (because we love chunky pixel art), and its name communicates the Colossal amount of fun and excitement that we have with retro video Games in our shared Adventure of playing them together.

No. Participation is open to all.

There is a Notification List that will get pinged each time a new topic goes up. If you would like to join that list, please PM u/kfwyre.

Each month will have a focus game or games that will guide our discussions. Beyond that, there are no restrictions. The philosophy of CGA is to play in a way that works for you!

This means:

• Choose whichever version of the game you want.
• You can use cheats, save states, mods, etc.
• You can watch a streamer or longplay instead of playing it.

If you have already played a game and want a different experience:

• Try a randomizer or challenge run.
• Play a different version of it.
• Play a related game (sequel, spiritual successor, something inspired by it, etc.)

There is no wrong way to participate in CGA, and every different way someone participates will make for more interesting discussions.

Each month the Insert Cartidge topic will be posted on the 1st, while the Remove Cartridge topic will be posted on the 20th.

Nomination and voting topics will happen in March and September (every 6 months).

Schedules are also posted then.

All CGA topics are available using the colossal game adventure tag.

Inserting and removing cartridges are our retro metaphor for starting and stopping a given game or games.

The Insert Cartridge topic happens at the beginning of the month and is primarily about getting the game up and running.

The Remove Cartridge topic happens toward the end of the month and is primarily about people reflecting on the game now that they've played it.

There are no hard restrictions on what has to go in either topic, and each can be used to discuss the game, post updates, ask questions, etc.

Zuppa Toscana (Olive Garden’s Italian Sausage and Potato Soup) – Bupkis.org

Source: bupkis.org

Ingredients

Ingredients:

• 2 Pounds Low-starch potatoes , washed, eyes removed and sliced into 1/4 inch disks. Peeling is optional.
• 2 Pounds Hot and/or Sweet Italian Sausage Links
• 1 Large Bunch Kale (it looks like a lot but will cook down)
• 1 Large Yellow Onion, diced small
• 2 T Garlic, mashed. Approx 8 cloves (see instructions)
• 8 Ounces Half and Half
• 4 Cups Reduced Sodium Chicken Stock
• 6 Cups Water
• 1/2 Teaspoon Ground Red Pepper (to taste)
• 3/4 Teaspoon Kosher Salt (to taste)

Instructions

1. Fill a large pot with water, bring it to a rolling boil and add some salt – about the same amount of salt as if you were making pasta. Fill a large bowl with cold water and some ice. Put a large colander in the sink.
2. Cut the base off the head of kale and roughly tear the leaves into 2″ pieces, discarding the hard portion of the rib, and place in the colander for later. Olive Garden leaves the rib in, but I think it’s too big and hard to put on a soup spoon.
3. Place the garlic in a mortar and pestle with a heavy pinch of kosher salt and mash until liquid, or finely mince, then grind with the back edge of a knife. You need at least two heaping Tablespoons of mashed garlic when you’re done.
4. Cut the raw sausage into 1/2 inch chunks with shears or a knife. Add a little oil to the bottom of a large pot. Add the sausage. Sauté on medium until fully cooked and you have developed a good deal of fond (brown stuff) on the bottom of the pot.
5. Pour off grease as necessary and build as much fond as possible without burning or drying out the sausage.
6. Remove the sausage and save. Pour off the excess fat, leaving just enough to coat the bottom of the pot.
7. Drop all the kale into the boiling salted water. Wait a few seconds until the kale turns bright green, then immediately dump the boiling water and kale into the colander in the sink. Then dump the hot, drained kale into the bowl of ice water and swish it around. Dump the chilled kale into the colander to drain.
8. Add the finely diced onions and sauté on medium until soft, nicely browned, and more fond develops.
9. Add the garlic and continue stirring until just fragrant and soft (probably about a minute). Be careful to not to burn or brown the garlic. Add the ground red pepper and mix.
10. Add a small amount of water and deglaze the bottom of the pot (scrape up all the yummy brown bits).
11. Add the rest of the water, the chicken stock, the potatoes and sausage.
12. Bring to a slow simmer and continue simmering until the potatoes are soft.
13. Add the kale then turn off the heat.
14. Immediately before serving, add the half and half, and serve with some nice home-baked Ciabatta bread.

Quick Pozole

Source: bupkis-org.github.io
Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 2 tsp Vegetable Oil
• 19 ounce package Ground Turkey or Chicken 93% Fat Free
• 1 Onion, chopped
• 1 Jalapeño chile, seeded and minced
• 4 Garlic Cloves, minced
• 4 Cups Chicken Broth
• 3x 15.5 ounce cans Hominy – rinsed and drained.
• 1 28 Ounce Can Diced Tomatoes
• 1-2 Tbsp blended Canned Chile in Adobo – found in a can in the Mexican Food section of the grocery store
• 2 tsp Dried Oregano

Garnishes:

• 1/4 Cup Reduced Fat Cheddar Cheese, Shredded
• 4 Radishes, cut into matchsticks
• 3 Scallions thinly sliced on the diagonal
• 1 Avocado, ripe
• Red Pepper Flakes
• 1 Lime, cut into wedges

Instructions

1. Take the can of Chiles in Adobo and puree in a blender, spice grinder or mortar and pestle.
2. Heat the oil in a medium size pot until shimmering
3. Add the Ground Turkey, Onion and Jalapeño and saute on medium until turkey is cooked and onion is soft but not browned. Add Garlic and cook until garlic is softened, but not browned.
4. Add the Chicken Stock, Hominy, Tomatoes, 3-4 Tablespoons of mashed Chile in Adobo (to taste) and oregano, bring to a simmer, reduce heat and simmer uncovered until slightly thickened.
5. Serve in bowls with the garnishes. Be sure to squeeze a lime wedge into each serving; it really wakes up the flavors and brings the dish to an entirely new level.
6. Optional, add some Avocado slices.
7. Serve with Chile in Adobo on the side for people who like it spicier.

Kartoffelsupp (German Potato Soup with Sausage)

German Potato Soup with Bratwurst is an easy comforting recipe to add to your soup rotation this fall. It takes just 30 minutes to cook, and celebrates German cuisine, even if you can't get to Octoberfest.

Source: theviewfromgreatisland.com
Servings: 4 -6 servings
Prep: 15min
Cook: 30min
Total: 45min

Ingredients

• 2-3 bratwurst, (or other German sausage)
• olive oil
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 medium onion, (peeled and diced)
• 2 stalks celery, (diced)
• 2 medium carrots, (peeled and diced)
• 4 white waxy potatoes, ((like baby reds or Yukon Gold), peeled and diced)
• 1/4 head cabbage, (chopped)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp dried marjoram
• salt and fresh cracked pepper, (to taste)
• chopped fresh parsley, (for garnish)

Instructions

1. Put a drop of oil in a stock pot and brown off the sausages or brats. Let them get cook color on all sides, then add 2 cups of the chicken stock and bring up to a boil. Scrape any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Lower the heat and simmer, covered, for about 10-12 minutes, until the brats are cooked. Remove the brats to a plate, and strain the broth and set aside. (I like to strain the broth because there will always be little bit and bobs floating around, and it's nicer without.) When the brats have cooled a bit, slice them.
2. Meanwhile add a tablespoon of oil to a a new soup pot and saute the onions, celery, and carrots for about 4-5 minutes, just until slightly softened but not browned, stirring often.
3. Add the potatoes, cabbage, and all 4 cups of the stock to the pan, along with the bay leaves, salt, pepper, and marjoram.
4. Bring up to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 10-15 minutes, or until veggies are almost tender. Take a taste to be sure. Add the sliced brats and simmer for another 5 minutes until everything is perfectly tender.
5. Taste to adjust the seasonings and serve hot with a sprinkle of fresh chopped parsley.

Notes

Variations:
Stir in some sour cream, off the heat, to the finished soup.
Season with caraway seeds.
Add a leek, trimmed, diced, and well rinsed.
Add peeled and diced celeriac or turnip.
Puree the finished soup to a creamy consistency before adding the sausage.
Brighten the flavor with a small touch of apple cider vinegar.
*recipe adapted from Ren Behan