Colossal Game Adventure Schedule: September 2025 - March 2026
Schedule
There was a three-way tie for 5th, so instead of scheduling the next 6 months, I scheduled 7. Bonus month!
Month | Game | Host |
---|---|---|
September 2025 | The Last Express | u/CannibalisticApple |
October 2025 | Chrono Trigger | u/ali |
November 2025 | Arcade Special: Playstation WHAT? Incredible Crisis Irritating Stick PaRappa the Rapper 2 Pepsiman Vib-Ribbon |
u/Lapbunny |
December 2025 | The Secret of Monkey Island | u/balooga |
January 2026 | The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker | u/datavoid |
February 2026 | Racing Lagoon | u/Kawa |
March 2026 | Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru (The Frog for Whom the Bell Tolls) |
u/J-Chiptunator |
@CannibalisticApple will be hosting her nomination, The Last Express, for our first month. If you're interested in hosting a month, see the Hosting section below.
Also, I selfishly scheduled PlayStation WHAT? during the Backlog Burner so I can use those games in my Bingo Card. :D
For the rest, I tried to create variety in the schedule so that we weren't playing the same systems or genres back-to-back.
Discussion Topics
Each month will have two discussion topics:
- "Insert Cartridge" - 1st of the month
- "Remove Cartridge" - 20th of the month
Insert Cartridge topics are primarily for getting the game set up and running. Remove Cartridge topics are primarily for reflecting on the game once you've played it. However, the game itself and anything else related to it can be discussed in either one.
Hosting
Each month, the discussion topics will be posted by a different "host" who will act as the emcee for that month.
Hosting is not required, but it is encouraged that people host months for games that they are either already very familiar with or that they are strongly interested in playing.
People who nominated a game will be given preference for hosting, otherwise it will be given to whomever claims it first.
Required Hosting Responsibilities
- Editing the templates for the month's "Insert Cartridge" and "Remove Cartridge" topics.
- Posting the month's "Insert Cartridge" and "Remove cartridge topics.
Optional Hosting Responsibilities
- Talking up the game.
- Giving tips/tricks/guides/cheats.
- Sharing your own thoughts/memories/reflections.
- Asking questions.
- Anything else you feel like doing (e.g. setting up a multiplayer tournament, making game-related memes, sharing fun trivia, etc.)
If you would like to host a month, let me know which one and I will add you to the schedule.
Before your month begins, I will send you a "Hosting Package" featuring templates that you can edit to your liking.
If no one claims a month, I will host it as a fallback.
Voting Results
The top 6 games from the voting round were chosen to be played.
Of the remaining games:
- The top 50% will advance to the next round. They will start the next round with a base score of 70% of their vote totals.
- The bottom 50% will be removed from the list.
Removed games will be able to be re-nominated in future rounds if someone chooses to do so.
Tally List
Game | Votes | Status | Rollover Votes |
---|---|---|---|
Chrono Trigger | 55 | Won | |
The Secret of Monkey Island | 47 | Won | |
The Last Express | 40 | Won | |
PlayStation WHAT? | 38 | Won | |
Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru (The Frog for Whom the Bell Tolls) | 34 | Won | |
Racing Lagoon | 34 | Won | |
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker | 34 | Won | |
Back in a Flash | 32 | Advances | 22 |
Sid Meier’s Pirates | 30 | Advances | 21 |
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow | 29 | Advances | 20 |
Another World | 27 | Advances | 19 |
Metroid Prime | 27 | Advances | 19 |
Descent | 25 | Advances | 18 |
Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals | 24 | Advances | 17 |
StarTropics | 22 | Advances | 15 |
Behind the Wheel | 21 | Advances | 15 |
Crystalis | 21 | Advances | 15 |
The Colonel’s Bequest | 21 | Advances | 15 |
Threads of Fate | 21 | Advances | 15 |
Beneath a Steel Sky | 21 | Advances | 15 |
Metroid | 20 | Advances | 14 |
Scroll Lock-on | 20 | Advances | 14 |
Tetris | 19 | Advances | 13 |
Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist | 18 | Advances | 13 |
Tony Hawk’s Pro-Skater 2 | 18 | Advances | 13 |
JSRF: Jet Set Radio Future | 17 | Advances | 12 |
Lode Runner | 17 | Advances | 12 |
The Grue That Binds | 17 | Advances | 12 |
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past | 17 | Advances | 12 |
Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden - Chapter 1 of the Hoopz Barkley SaGa | 16 | Eliminated | |
ActRaiser | 15 | Eliminated | |
Resident Evil | 15 | Eliminated | |
Sid Meier’s Covert Action | 15 | Eliminated | |
Mr. Defaxxonobbleoid | 14 | Eliminated | |
Sam & Max: Hit the Road | 12 | Eliminated | |
Fighters Megamix | 11 | Eliminated | |
Seaman | 11 | Eliminated | |
Burnout 3: Takedown | 10 | Eliminated | |
Duke Nukem 3D | 10 | Eliminated | |
rOGuelikes | 10 | Eliminated | |
Carmageddon | 9 | Eliminated | |
Uplink | 9 | Eliminated | |
Populous | 8 | Eliminated | |
Hop Skip Jump | 7 | Eliminated | |
Fixated on Fixed Screen Shooters | 6 | Eliminated | |
The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening | 6 | Eliminated | |
Lord Monarch | 5 | Eliminated | |
The Way | 5 | Eliminated | |
Recursive Repertoires | 4 | Eliminated | |
Super Castlevania IV | 2 | Eliminated | |
Star Wars: TIE Fighter | 1 | Eliminated |
CGA Announcement: Voting has completed. Our schedule for the next
67 months is now live!Our first Insert Cartridge topic will be posted on September 1st.
Please see the section on Hosting and let me know if you are interested in being an emcee for a month.
If you want to be added/removed from the Notification List, let me know here or by PM.
Notification List
@1338
@Akir
@ali
@arctanh
@AriMaeda
@atomicshoreline
@avirse
@balooga
@BeardyHat
@Boojum
@Bwerf
@CannibalisticApple
@chocobean
@clayh
@datavoid
@Debook
@DistractionRectangle
@dotsforeyes
@dozens
@Dr_Amazing
@Gummy
@hamstergeddon
@IsildursBane
@J-Chiptunator
@JCPhoenix
@Jerutix
@jmpavlec
@joshbuddy
@kaiomai
@Kawa
@kej
@kfwyre
@kingofsnake
@Kirisame
@Lapbunny
@mayonuki
@Mendanbar
@mysterylevel
@PancakeCats
@Pavouk106
@PetitPrince
@polle
@preposterous
@psi
@rosco
@rubix
@Rudism
@SloMoMonday
@Sodliddesu
@Soggy
@sotix
@Spore_Prince
@SpruceWillis
@squidwiz
@talklittle
@Timwi
@tomorrow-never-knows
@trim
@Trobador
@Venko
@vili
@Weldawadyathink
@xk3
@zod000
The Last Express, our first game, is currently on sale on Steam for 80% off for the next 38 hours.
Now's a great chance to snag it if you're interested in playing it!
In case anyone's curious about the negative reviews:
There are essentially two different versions of the game available to buy.
GOG has the vanilla version that's pretty much the release as it was back in 1997.
Steam has the Dotemu version, which takes the original and attempts to modernize it ever so slightly. It has an added hint system, built-in tutorials, achievement pop-ups, etc. It also, according to the Steam reviews, has some bugs.
I've played through both and had a fine experience with the Dotemu version, but purists might prefer the GOG version (though that one is not on sale).
Funny, I have finished reading Ian Fleming's From Russia with Love where James Bond also rides Orient Express (and there are also things to... settle on aboard).
I said I won't probably be participating every month, but for the given price and estimated playtime, I'm gonna go for this one. Too bad Orient Express doesn't exist anymore... But as it is with Concorde - I wouldn't be able to afford tickets anyway.
Ooh, we could make a media pairing list for the month featuring books, movies, etc. that also take place on the Orient Express. It can be an extra credit assignment! XD
As they were making the game, the game devs visited an old out-of-commission train car from from the actual Orient Express. They realized that their modeling of the train in the game was, essentially, an act of historical preservation, so they took it very seriously.
As such, the game has a lot of historically accurate details and layouts -- things that are irrelevant to the gameplay and story itself but that they wanted to get right.
Iv been super busy and not been able to participate in the whole thing but I reckon I might dip in for this one. I'v had a blast with other adventure games like this and I reckon I might be able to carve out some time to play it this month before my life gets hectic.
As our resident
cheapskateclassic Mac emulation enthusiast, I’ll point out that the abandonware archive Macintosh Repository has downloads available for that version. I haven’t tried them yet but that will be the route I take for September.Looking forward to this one! I’ve never heard of the game but it seems right up my alley. I presume we’ll be discussing puzzles and spoilers in realtime here? I’ll limit myself from looking up any information outside of the CGA thread so I can experience it more or less as it was meant to be played.
Thanks for handling the logistics of this @kfwyre!
We have a really interesting slate of games. I'm looking forward to The Last Express and The Secret of Monkey Island in particular. The former looks really unique, and the latter is so influential that it's time I give it a go. The Frog for Whom the Bell Tolls also looks great. I had never heard of it, but I love a good Game Boy game.
I'm sad Resident Evil was eliminated, but I'll probably play it alongside Chrono Trigger in October and re-nominate it in the future after making myself even more familiar with the game.
Exciting.
I missed the vote but 2 out of 3 games I would’ve liked were voted in anyways, so I’m excited. I think I was one of the people nominating Chrono Trigger and could host it (though if anyone else wants it, definitely feel free to host it) and as wind waker is one of my favorite games of all time, I could also host that, but again: I can take a step back on both games and I don’t really need to fulfill the role :D so if anyone else wants to- feel free.
I think this will be a fun time. Not sure if I’ll participate every month since I have some other things on my schedule, but I just bought septembers game (and I might already start today since I have to stay inside health wise)
Also, the game list got me really excited. I wanted to play monkey island for a long time. Having the opportunity to talk to others about it at the same time seems really fun
I nominated Wind Waker, and would be happy to have you host that one. As I haven't actually finished it, I imagine you will probably be able to make it seem slightly more compelling.
However, if something comes up and you aren't able to host, I don't mind doing it either!
cc: @ali
If you two are good for it, we can have ali host Chrono Trigger and datavoid host Wind Waker, that way you both get to host your nominations.
Also, there's nothing saying that non-hosts can't chime in on any given month. In fact, I hope this happens a lot! I want this to be a very collaborative group.
Yeah for sure, I can be assistant (to the) host for wind waker :D
Perfect! And we can order from Pizza by Alfredo for that month.
Feedback Request:
I'm thinking of stylizing the titles for our Cartridge topics (and yes, I know not all our games are cartridge-based but I like the metaphor). I feel like them having a little bit of character is nice.
Here's what I'm currently thinking:
CGA-2025-09 🕹️👾 INSERT CARTRIDGE ↓The Last Express↓
CGA-2025-09 🕹️👾 REMOVE CARTRIDGE ↑The Last Express↑
I shortened Colossal Game Adventure to CGA so the titles don't get too wordy (and because, you know, CGA). The emojis give some visual flair (but can look different on different devices, so let me know if they're unreadable or ugly on yours). The arrows are inspired by systems with vertical cartridge slots (mimicking putting the cartridge in and taking it out). And the caps on INSERT and REMOVE help visually distinguish that part of the title from the game title itself.
Thoughts?
I think the arrows around the title are a little strange.. just playing around with a couple iterations:
CGA-2025-09 🕹️👾 INSERT CARTRIDGE - The Last Express
CGA-2025-09 INSERT CARTRIDGE 🕹️👾 The Last Express
CGA-2025-09 🕹️INSERT CARTRIDGE👾 The Last Express
CGA-2025-09 ↓ INSERT CARTRIDGE ↓ The Last Express
CGA-2025-09 Insert Cartridge 🕹️👾 The Last Express
CGA-2025-09 🕹️👾 INSERT CARTRIDGE: The Last Express
I think this one looks the best visually:
CGA-2025-09 INSERT CARTRIDGE 🕹️👾 The Last Express
Or maybe just one arrow?
CGA-2025-09 ↓INSERT CARTRIDGE 🕹️👾 The Last Express
CGA-2025-09 ↑REMOVE CARTRIDGE 🕹️👾 The Last Express
This is also not bad:
CGA-2025-09 The Last Express 🕹️👾 ↓INSERT CARTRIDGE↓
CGA-2025-09 The Last Express 🕹️👾 ↑REMOVE CARTRIDGE↑
Or even use emojis that make is easy to visually parse, which thread it is:
🕹️👾 CGA-2025-09 - 🟢 INSERT CARTRIDGE - The Last Express
🕹️👾 CGA-2025-09 - 🔴 REMOVE CARTRIDGE - The Last Express
CGA-2025-09 🕹️👾 INSERT CARTRIDGE 🟢 The Last Express
CGA-2025-09 🕹️👾 REMOVE CARTRIDGE 🔴 The Last Express
Or maybe this? I do like the circles and colors. They have a sort of old-school LED vibe that fits in well with retro gaming. Only issue is that they don’t do much for red-green colorblind people.
CGA-2025-09 🕹️🚂 The Last Express 🟢 INSERT CARTRIDGE
CGA-2025-09 🕹️🚂 The Last Express 🔴 REMOVE CARTRIDGE
CGA-2025-09 The Last Express 🚂🕹️ INSERT CARTRIDGE 🟢
CGA-2025-09 The Last Express 🚂🕹️ REMOVE CARTRIDGE ⏏️
hmm yeah they're all kind of blending together. I imagine that any of the recent iterations will do fine.
I like the thought of making them more visually different, and also moving the arrows. So I came up with this:
CGA-2025-09 🕹️👾 INSERT CARTRIDGE ↓↓ The Last Express 🔽
CGA-2025-09 🕹️👾 REMOVE CARTRIDGE ↑↑ The Last Express ⏏️
One more thought: it might be fun to use emoji that fit the game. So instead of the octopus, could have 🚂 for The Last Express.
Hmmm, maybe we ditch the up and down arrows and go with play ▶️ and eject ⏏️ emojis instead?
CGA-2025-09 🕹️👾 INSERT CARTRIDGE ▶️ The Last Express
CGA-2025-09 🕹️👾 REMOVE CARTRIDGE ⏏️ The Last Express
(Also, is there a visual equivalent of semantic satiation? Because, if so, that's what's happening to me right now looking at all these different permutations)
I think this one might look best so far!
Also, now that I am on a proper computer and can see this on a bigger screen (and also in the bigger text of headings), I have realized that 👾 is in fact an alien monster. Worth noting I use the Love Dark theme, which is dark purple, which makes the alien monster blend in even more on a small mobile screen or on regular size text.
Honestly I don't think that's a problem. I just wanted to comment that the alien monster makes much more sense than a joystick controller and an octopus xD
Let's take this idea, plus mix in the circles that @sotix and @xk3 worked with, and add in your custom emoji to finalize the plan.
I felt like the red/green circle combination didn't entirely work, and play/eject looked too similar too, but putting them together looks nice and differentiates them well. Green light for turning on the system; eject button for removing the game.
I also like the idea of having different a different emoji next to the joystick for each game, though this does add one more responsibility for the host... XD
CGA-2025-09 🕹️[host chooses emoji] INSERT CARTRIDGE 🟢 The Last Express
CGA-2025-09 🕹️[host chooses emoji] REMOVE CARTRIDGE ⏏️ The Last Express
Unless I hear any complaints, let's move forward with this.
Also, pinging @mycketforvirrad with a heads up: these topic titles will be intentionally stylized, so they don't need to be fixed. (Unless someone stylizes it wrong, in which case: have at it!)
As someone who suggested this game, I'll gladly volunteer for the March 2026 Colossal Game Adventure.
Back in late 2012, I finished the untranslated Virtual Console port of Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru (The Frog for Whom the Bell Tolls) on a stock Japanese 3DS for the very first time. I managed to get through it with a mix of GameFAQs guides and YouTube videos, all while trying to learn Japanese alongside Animal Crossing: New Leaf.
Of course, simply memorizing hiragana and katakana wasn’t enough to properly follow Prince Sablé’s journey; I mostly just enjoyed watching him stumble into all kinds of wacky hijinks without really grasping the deeper meaning. Now that we have a proper English translation available, and a better awareness of the works that inspired the game, I feel like I can finally piece it all together into a more complete appreciation.
On the technical side, I’m also well-versed in getting the game running across just about any device, especially on original non-PC hardware. Writing up a clear guide for getting the game up and running in the Insert Cartridge discussion will be second nature for me.
All that’s left for the coming months is to revisit the game with its English translation, and dive into the inspirations behind it. With that, I’ll be more than ready to host the March 2026 Colossal Game Adventure.
I'm inclined to volunteer to host February 2026 because for much the same reason as CannibalisticApple is hosting September, Racing Lagoon was my nomination. I'm just a liiiittle bit apprehensive about making a committment to do something that I'll be doing 6 months from now, cause sheesh, my life isn't always stable and who knows what I'll be up to in Feb 2026. Not to mention, some of the Optional Hosting Responsibilities will be a bit awkward until I get the gameplay underway for myself because I haven't actually played the game before, but once we're really into it I'm sure I can drum up some talking points.
What do you think @kfwyre should I say I'm gonna do it or what? The bare minimum of posting "Insert Cartridge" and "Remove Cartridge" is probably doable as long as I have a pulse and a roof over my head in Feb at least.
For what it's worth, I also have no experience playing The Last Express so I can't give tips or share reflections/memories. I'm just looking forward to experiencing it for the first time with everyone else!
That said, yeah, it's hard to predict our schedules that far in advance. Life can change rapidly. Though I think ultimately, if you want to host, then volunteer! If something comes up you can back out, and some other people may be interested in hosting it too.
Actually I'm curious now: has anyone here played Racing Lagoon? All the comments I saw mentioned how it looked cool and interesting, but it didn't seem like anyone referenced playing it. If not, it would be kind of neat if we'd be all experiencing a game for the first time together.
I totally forgot about that and I definitely knew it before cause I read your nomination of it. Silly me. I guess that part's a non-issue.
This would be pretty hilarious if there's a game that made it in that absolutely none of us have played!!!
I think it's actually GREAT if we get games that nobody has played! I think a lot of people here want to discover stuff new to them.
And I locked you in for hosting February. At minimum all you have to do is post the topics, and I'll provide templates that already have 90% of what you need.
Anything beyond that is ENTIRELY optional, so, no pressure!
Oh yeah I think it's great too, it's just both great and funny!
Ok thanks, will host no problem.
Thanks for making all this a reality @kfwyre, you’re so much better at it than I would have been!
Looking forward to playing the games, in glad there aren’t platformers (I suck at and don’t enjoy these)
I wish Sam & Max made the cut, always wanted to play it as a kid.
I’ll be playing these on an Anbernic RG35XX H running muOS, if anyone else is on the same boat we can figure it out together.
re: PlayStation WHAT
I recently set up an emulator for PS2 to check out the games in Recursive Repertoires. This site was really helpful for setting up:
https://wiki.batocera.org/systems:ps2
For Fedora Linux users: The version of PCSX2 in rpmfusion is really old and doesn't support the high compression CHD format (that you can make with chdman of mame-tools) so I recommend just downloading the AppImage instead.
Also for Wind Waker it looks like having a recent version of Dolphin will help if you want to use the GBA integrated emulator
Also also, this page is a great resource if you want to check that the BIOS was dumped correctly: https://emulation.gametechwiki.com/index.php/File_hashes
Also also also, there's a TV with a PS2 built-in to it?!
Super helpful! This is the exact kind of comment I'm hoping people will make in the Insert Cartridge topics, so that people can get help setting up their games easily.
Also, FYI: all of the PlayStation WHAT? games are PSX, not PS2.I am wrong!
PaRappa 2 is on the PS2, FYI. Though I would suggest people just play 1 + 2 anyway if they haven't played 1, they're extremely short.
Also want to very heavily suggest we host a formal Tildes Rap Battle via the multiplayer mode in 2...
Whoa.
My ENTIRE life up until right now I thought it was a PS1 game.
This is kind of blowing my mind.
cc: @Lapbunny
Responding to myself because I've been sitting on this all day and wondering what happened? I was able to pop the memory stack and figure it out.
Um Jammer Lammy comes out for the PSX in 1999.
It is a spin-off and sort of sequel to PaRappa the Rapper.
26 years pass.
I completely forget the name Um Jammer Lammy in that time.
I see PaRappa the Rapper 2 pop up in the CGA nominations.
I don't even check the info on it, I just assume it's "that PaRappa sequel that came out like, 30 years ago?"
I'm made aware the the game came out on the PS2, not the PS1.
But how can that be? I distinctly REMEMBER that game being on the PS1.
Is this a glitch in the matrix? Did I mandela effect myself?
I enter an existential crisis.I easily adjust to this new information in a healthy and normal way.
Responding again to say that I love the rap battle idea! Any chance you want to host that month?
Oh jeez, I haven't played anything on that collection yet. Aside from PaRappa 1. Which isn't even on the list.
... Does that make me uniquely qualified to emcee that particular month? :^) Really though I'd love to host the PaRappa segment, at the very least!
You'd make a perfect emcee for that month! All you need is enthusiasm for the game(s) of your month, which you clearly have. I'm penciling you in.
I'd honestly be surprised (and impressed) if we had someone here who HAS played all of those games.
Looking forward to pretty much all of these, especially Chrono Trigger, it's always such a joy to play through and hopefully it'll prompt a vote on Chrono Cross later down the line which is also, in my opinion, a fantastic game.
The Last Express is a ton of fun, played it via GOG about a decade ago with my youngest brother so I'm looking forward to diving back in again.
Also, I screwed up with my votes and didn't realise until it was too late so it's all good, at least I know for the next block of voting.
I added your votes manually after running the script, so yours did count!
Thanks and sorry for the bother. I'll make sure it's all parsed correctly next time.
Fortunately, I have deep experience with Chrono Trigger - I have the SNES, PS1, and DS versions and have completed all the endings on the DS version. So, that'll be an easy month for me.
I believe I have most of the PlayStation WHAT on my Miyoo Mini - though that's likely a less than ideal way to play Pepsiman, so I'll likely set those up on my living room PC (sadly don't have discs of all those and haven't ODEd my PS1(s)).
Racing Lagoon, I'm happy to see because I already started the process of getting the translation set up but life has gotten in the way. Looks like I'll have peer pressure and technical support on my side for that one.
Wind Waker, I still have my original GC disc, so maybe I'll use this as the excuse to play the HD version I have on my Wii U. Then again, that would mean plugging up my Wii U...
Basically, only game I haven't heard of/set up before is Bell Tolls. Looking forward to all the games!
If anyone is in dire straights in terms of our first game, I can always sell some Steam items to cover a game or two, though it's much harder to mail out my modded consoles!
Sweet!! I'm excited to finally take an earnest crack at The Last Express tomorrow. I own the Dotemu version on Android, so I could happily play it on my tablet, but I also own the GoG version and could play it on my Steam Deck. So I'm not sure, go with the "Pure" experience of the original DOS game or try out the updated one, which I've heard can kind of ruin the experience with hints and whatnot.
Also excited to play Chrono Trigger, though I have no real interest in it as a game unto itself, but because everyone says it's a must play. I think it'll give me a good excuse to crack out my DSi XL or my N3DS to give it a go, as I do recall the DS version oft being called the definitive one.
All the other picks look great too and I'm excited to play those too, but they're too far out for me to think about yet!
I am a bit shocked that my flash nomination was so close to making it. If I realized how much interest there was in it, I probably would have spent more time refining my list, as I feel like some genres were poorly represented.
I am looking forward to playing some of these games, especially as I do not think I have played any of these games. Also, reading through these comments of people volunteering to host due to having an interest in that specific game makes me look forward to the discussions
Has no one volunteered to host December yet? The Secret of Monkey Island is one of my all-time favorites, I’ll be happy to take that one.
It's all yours! Thanks for volunteering.
I'm the one that nominated the PlayStation WHAT? Arcade Special, but I'm going to offer up hosting to anyone that wants it.
I scheduled it for November because I can use the games for the concurrent Backlog Burner event, but didn't really think about the fact that I'd be running that AND this at the same time if I were to host that month.
So, if you want to emcee for a bunch of oddball PSX games, let me know!
EDIT: Nevermind! It's claimed.