Game Buoy Podcast Episode 179 – Under Appreciated Gems, Again!: Game Buoy Remake Project Episode 6

Ahoy, mateys, and welcome to the GAMEBUOY.ORG video game podcast – your port of call for gaming news and views that maybe aren’t on your radar, but most definitely should be! On this episode, recorded Sunday, July 20, 2025, Captain Spike and First Mate Slaggy McWaggy talk about under appreciated games of the past 13 years!

This episode is part of the Game Buoy Remake Project, a series of themed episodes revisiting previously discussed topics. This week, the Podcast Pirates follow up on Game Buoy Podcast Episode 12 – Under Appreciated Gems, originally published on October 23, 2012.

HOT TOPIC IS THE WAY THAT WE RHYME

– Sega has announced that the physical release of Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds on Switch 2 will contain the full game on the cartridge.
– Nintendo of Japan reportedly sent out a survey asking gamers their thoughts about Game Key Cards.
– Square Enix has announced that Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D won’t contain an upgrade path from Switch to Switch 2.
– A closed beta test for Blue Protocol: Star Resonance has been announced.
– Nintendo will be offering a “Global Jam demo” event for Drag x Drive on August 9 and 10 for users with Nintendo Switch Online subscriptions.
– The actors for Link and Zelda in the upcoming The Legend of Zelda movie were revealed on the Nintendo Today! app.
– The Nintendo Switch Game Voucher service will be coming to an end on January 30, 2026.
– A Nintendo Switch 2 owner’s console was banned after trying to load secondhand games that had unknowingly been cloned.

RELEASE UPDATES

– Space Adventure Cobra – The Awakening releases for PlayStation 5, PlayStation4, Xbox Series, Xbox One, Switch, and PC via Steam on August 26.
– Ys X: Proud Nordics launches for Switch 2 on July 31.
– Touhou: Scarlet Curiosity launches for Switch on September 4.
– PixelJunk Eden 2 will be released for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store on October 10.
– Hatsune Miku Logic Paint S+ launches July 24 for PS5, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC via Steam.
– Groove Coaster: Future Performers launches digitally for Switch on July 31 in Japan.

CULTURE CLUB

– Life is Strange Collection has been announced for PS5.
– Fantasy Maiden Wars – DREAM OF THE STRAY DREAMER –, a fan game in the Touhou Project series, will release for Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam worldwide in 2025.
– Astro Bot is continuing to receive free updates.
– The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy is selling well, so Too Kyo Games is no longer at risk of bankruptcy.
– GiGO Akihabara #1, formerly Sega’s flagship arcade, will close on August 31 after 32 years of operation.
– Atlus has revealed that Metaphor: Refantazio has sold 2 million copies.
– Roblox creators are now about to apply to license characters from franchises including Ryu Ga Gotoku.
– Nintendo will be running a second playtest for its secret Nintendo Switch Online MMO project.

MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO

– The “Lava Chicken” song from A Minecraft Movie is now obtainable in game by defeating a Chicken Jockey.
– Inti Creates has announced Majogami, a 2D action platformer coming to Switch and Switch 2 on October 30, with a PC release via Steam coming later.
– Arch-tempered monster hunts will no longer be time-limited in Monster Hunter: Wilds, based on player feedback.
– Bandai Namco has launched Gundam: Extreme Vs 2 Infinite Boost in Japanese arcades.
– Taito has announced the rhythm puzzle game QQQbeats!!! for Switch, coming this fall in Japan as a digital-only release.
– Iron Galaxy is investigating how an Easter egg of a box of the fictional game Banjo Champion in a trash can was put into Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4.

SO CONTROVERSIAL

– Ubisoft’s shareholders challenged the company to respond to the Stop Killing Games movement.
– Black Wings Game Studio has acknowledged the angry feedback regarding Persona 5: The Phantom X‘s launch and promises to respond.
– Francesco Salicini, an Italian YouTuber, is facing jail time for reviewing retro handheld consoles.
– The co-founders of Unknown Worlds have filed a lawsuit against their publisher, Krafton, for breach of contract after their sudden dismissal from the company.
– Hundreds of adult games have been delisted from Steam after “confusing new rules” have been introduced.
– At Ubisoft’s July 10 shareholder meeting, one shareholder complained about Assassin’s Creed Shadows being woke.
– 2016 visual novel Wheels of Aurelia has been delisted from the iOS App Store; developer Santa Ragione stated this is because they have not updated the game in years, despite it running fine on modern iPhones.
– Major Nintendo Switch piracy site Nsw2u has been taken down by the FBI.
– Limbo and Inside have been delisted from GOG.

DOOM AND GLOOM

– Virtuos has let go 370 employees due to “evolving to meet the changing needs” of its partners and the wider video games industry and “rebalancing of roles across [their] studios and geographies”.
– Laid-off staff at King say that they have been training their AI replacements.
– John Wick Hex has been delisted from all digital storefronts.
– Live service mech shooter game Steel Hunters will be shut down in October, just three months after its early access launch.

RUMOR HAS IT

– A Dragon Quest VII remake is reportedly in development at Square Enix.

DISCUSSION TOPIC

This week, Captain Spike and First Mate Slaggy McWaggy talk about under appreciated games of the past 13 years! As part of the Game Buoy Remake Project initiative, they take a look back at Game Buoy Podcast Episode 12 – Under Appreciated Gems. Back in 2012, the Podcast Pirates looked at games that were the least loved in the franchises, cult classics, and relatively unknown hidden gems. The Podcast Pirates follow up on the topic by sharing some of their favorite under appreciated gems from the past 13 years. They discuss the concerning trend that many titles are increasingly hard to find due to being delisted from digital storefronts or facing end of service. The Podcast Pirates wrap up the discussion by talking about initiatives like Stop Killing Games are important to help protect games – especially under appreciated gems – not just fade into obscurity, but disappear and become inaccessible for future generations.

WHAT’S UP

Captain Spike has been playing Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma, Donkey Kong Bananza, and the Blitz Royale mode in Fortnite. First Mate Slaggy McWaggy has been playing Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Donkey Kong Bananza, and Final Fantasy XIV.

SOCIAL LINKS QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Hello, folks! This week we’re talking about some of our favorite underappreciated gems from the last 13 years. Tell us about your favorite games from more recent generations that you feel were overlooked or deserve reappraisal.

EXITLUDE

SHOUT OUTS – “FRIENDS OF BUOY”

– Orange Lounge Radio, where every gamer has a voice
– Aftermath, an independent, worker-owned website about video games, other media and internet culture
– The Bobby Blackwolf Show, a weekly internet radio show and podcast discussing the latest news in gaming as well as sometimes reminiscing about gaming’s history
– Video Game Realness, a dose of gaming chit chat among friends
– Nintendo Pow Block, a dive into the week that was in the world of Nintendo
– Famicomputing, for “Nintendo and PC stuff” including screenshots, videos, photos, and reviews
– Sasha’s Retrobytes, “bytes” of vintage gaming including magazine scans and photographs
– Defunct Games, your daily source for modern video game reviews, exciting trivia competitions and old school magazine analysis
– Thomas Game Docs, where each video covers “a different aspect of video game history”
– Craig, Slaggy McWaggy’s robot boyfriend a multi-track voice channel recording bot for Discord

Also, our theme music was done by the late, great Zelda Reorchestrated, which lives on in the form of ZREO: Second Quest!

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