November is here, and this time we’re playing games that must feature a playable female protagonist. If the game gives an option for a female protagonist instead of the default, then the game must be played through with the female option for the entire game, or as much as possible. All of the games that that were nominated (including all three winners) followed these rules, giving us some games where the dames are doing the damage.
GotX is the Retro Handheld Discord‘s version of a book club, and this time the heroines are taking charge. So come on in, sit down, and press Start!
What is GotX?
GotX is short for “Games of the X“, which can be split into three categories: Game of the Month (GotM), Game of the Quarter (GotQ), and Game of the Week (GotW). Games of the Month are chosen according to a theme selected by community users who have previously beaten a GotM game for the prior month, aka “GotM Champions”.
Three games in total are selected, each falling within a range of release dates, nominated and voted upon by the GotM Champions. Winners each receive their own thread in the GotM channels in the Retro Handhelds Discord, where discussions, arguments, and ultimately fun are had by all.
Game of the Quarter and Game of the Week are selected independently in styles that are slightly different from Game of the Month, and they also don’t follow the same theme as the Games of the Month. Games in these two categories have either a runtime of under two hours (GotW) or a minimum runtime of 25 hours (GotQ), according to HowLongToBeat.
Completing a game (by posting a screenshot with ending credits, a date, and your Discord username) gets you an imaginary internet point that can be redeemed towards very real merch on the RH Store.
Game of the Month (Pre-1996) – Super Mario Bros. 2
- Console: NES, SNES, GBA
- Genre: Platformer
- Time to Beat: 3 Hours
Super Mario Bros. 2 follows Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Princess Toadstool as they enter the dream world of Subcon to defeat the tyrannical frog Wart, who has cursed the land and its inhabitants. Instead of the usual head stomps that have become synonymous with the series, this games involves standing on enemies or items to pick them up, or plucking vegetables out of the ground, and then throwing these items at enemies and objects while traversing through Subcon.
Players can choose from four characters to play through the game (but you’re picking and playing Princess Toadstool, aren’t you!?). Characters can run, jump, climb ladders and vines, and pick up items and enemies. Each of the four characters also has a unique “skill” or “attribute”; Luigi can jump the highest while being a bit weaker and slower, Toad is the fastest with the lowest jumping height, Princess Toadstool can float short distances but is the slowest, and Mario is the intermediate all-rounder.
Game of the Month (1996-2001) – Tomb Raider
- Console: Saturn, PS1, PC
- Genre: Action Adventure
- Time to Beat: 16 Hours
Tomb Raider follows British archaeologist Lara Croft, who is hired by wealthy businesswoman Jacqueline Natla to retrieve the Scion, an ancient artifact buried in the tomb of Qualopec in Peru. Upon finding the first piece, Lara discovers the Scion is a talisman divided into three parts held by the rulers of the lost continent of Atlantis, and that Natla has betrayed her by sending rival mercenaries to steal the remaining fragments.
Players control Lara Croft from a third-person perspective as she navigates through a series of tombs, ruins, and other locations while collecting objects and solving puzzles. Movement is done through tank controls, and the player will have Lara pulling switches, pushing blocks, flipping and jumping, hanging from ledges, and using her signature dual pistols to shoot enemies.
Game of the Month (2002 and Later) – Shantae
- Console: GBC, Switch
- Genre: Action Platformer
- Time to Beat: 9 Hours
Shantae follows the titular Shantae, a half-genie and self-appointed guardian of the fishing village Scuttle Town, who must protect her home from the evil lady pirate Risky Boots, who attacks Scuttle Town and steals a prototype Steam Engine from Shantae’s adoptive uncle, Mimic. To prevent Risky from powering the engine with four magical Elemental Stones to conquer Sequin Land, Shantae embarks on a quest to retrieve the stones and stop her.
Players assume the role of Shantae and take her across many different lands, whipping enemies with her hair, while collecting money to purchase new attacks and moves. Shantae can walk, run, attack, and, when obtained, perform special dances that will alter her form. These alterations, like transforming into a monkey or harpy, allow Shantae to access areas and items previously unavailable.
Game of the Quarter – Xenogears
If you’re looking for a meatier game to sink your teeth into, then the Game of the Quarter has you covered. GotQ consists of games that meet a minimum criterion of at least 25 hours to beat according to HowLongToBeat. Each quarter, four games are pulled at random from an extensive list of games that meet the minimum criterion, and then community users vote on which game they’d like to play for the next three months.
Completing a GotQ will still net you a single point, but there is also an opportunity to earn two additional points if you manage to 100% the game by completing all of the achievements through RetroAchievements and posting this as an additional screenshot.
- Console: PlayStation
- Genre: JRPG
- Time to Beat: 56 Hours
For the last quarter of 2026, we’re still playing Xenogears, a japanese role-playing game developed by Square. Xenogears follows Fei Fong Wong, an amnesiac man who accidentally destroys his village, Lahan, while piloting a giant robot known as a “Gear.” Fei is exiled and embarks on a journey across a war-torn world dominated by the floating empire of Solaris and the surface nations of Aveh and Kislev.
Boy howdy, does this game feel tailor-made for GotQ. We’ve got mech battles, kung-fu, active time battles, and fighting deities; feels like a JRPG to me! Players will alter their combat between combo-based active time battles using strong, moderate, or weak attacks, and using the aforementioned “Gears” in mecha-driven, fuel-based battles. There are a lot more mechanics I won’t go into here, but needless to say there is a lot of content to fill that 50+ hour runtime.
Game of the Week, aka RetroBits
If short games and easy points are more your speed, then each Saturday at 5 PM PST, a new GotW is announced. Each game comes with a completion time of 2 hours or less, according to HowLongToBeat, and must be completed before the new GotW is announced the following Saturday.
Completion of the GotM and GotQ will earn you one point (three if you 100% the latter), but GotW will only net you half a point. Unlike the aforementioned GotM and GotQ, the GotW is chosen entirely at random by the GotX overlord Rapid99, selected from a large database of sub-two-hour games.
Above is an example of the four most recent GotW games that we’ve played in the Retro Handhelds Discord. Magician Lord is the most recent, and we’re still playing it from Saturday, October 31, to Saturday, November 7.
