What Video Game Did I Play Yesterday?

Code:Replicant (Android)

October 6th, 2022

I could barely move my arms or hands yesterday, nor could I give anything sustained focus, so I decided my self-imposed challenge to not start any new games was stupid and quit.

For the majority of the day, which is not really an exaggeration, I played Ranchboy a sokoban clone on a bootleg plug and play Famicom I got at Daa Bin Store, a shop near me that I think sells Amazon overstock and returns at pretty low flat rates- everything was 7 dollars the day I picked the system up. The fake Famicom, in this case, is called the MINI GAME Anniversary Edition Entertainment System, which really rolls off the tongue, from Jueapu. It's one of the "better" Famicom clones I've played, and the only one currently in my possession, by merit of the fact that it has plenty of strange bootleg games. There are more I'd like to have at my disposal- the Titanic themed brawler and some of the King of Fighters/Fatal Fury demakes, in particular- but there's a lot that's funny on this one.

That being said, Ranchboy isn't particularly interesting. It's pretty under the radar. Even on the Bootleg Games Wiki, it only comes up as a "this game is also titled..." on Nice Code, the developer's page, but it's also reasonably okay. The constant, grating loop of Frere Jacques is kind of a nightmare, but I have a mute button to take care of that. It's just a basic, 30 stage, block pushing puzzle game with a farm theme overlayed onto it. If I'd bought this on its own, I'd be irritated, but as something included in a bigger package, it was a decent game for a sick day.

From there, I decided it was time to take care of Sonic Runners Adventure being the only game on my phone and downloaded a few others. I ended up playing a sci-fi visual novel/otome game called Code:Replicant because I was in the mood for some fluffy sci-fi. I'd never played one of these before and was somewhat stunned by the predatory monetization! I'm not chasing down a fictional robot with any gusto, so it's fine, but geez! I also like that the three options for the robot boys are "enthusiastic," "stoic," and "genuinely believes in your ability to get university funding." It's no contest here, my unseen protagonist deserves the character that's going to support her on the tenure track.

I'm thankfully feeling better today, but my sick day games were honestly kind of fun.