Game of the Month: FebZuary Hands the Reins to Zu

For those who played “Omakase October”, FebZuary is going to feel quite similar. This time, our own esteemed Zu (of Zu Reviews fame) is taking over GOTX for the month of February. Zu provides a lot of great content and insight for Retro Handhelds, and this time, he has provided a selection of bangers for Game of the Month, which the community voted on and selected three.

GotX is the Retro Handhelds Discord‘s version of a book club, and this month Zu is providing some excellent reading material! So come on in, pull the knife out of Zu’s back, and let’s play some games!

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. However, as mentioned previously, this month was a little different; Zu provided a selection of nine games – three in each date category – and then GotM Champions voted on the games to select the three winners. FebZuary!

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-’96) — The Legend of Zelda

• Console: NES
• Genre: Action-Adventure
• Time to Beat: 8 Hours

The original Legend of Zelda is the first game in the Zelda series, released on the Nintendo Entertainment System back in 1986. The Legend of Zelda tells the story of Link, a young boy in the kingdom of Hyrule, who goes on an epic quest to restore the fragmented Triforce of Wisdom and save Princess Zelda from the clutches of the evil Ganon.

The player controls Link from a top-down perspective, guiding Link through both overworld and dungeon sections of Hyrule. Each area is divided into a single screen, with transitions to new screens taking place when the player moves Link north, east, south, or west from the existing screen. Link obtains various weapons, along with his trusty sword, which he will use to fight enemies and solve puzzles.

Note: It’s been confirmed that Legend of Zelda Redux counts for completion, which provides quality of life changes and rebalances that don’t change the game’s original story or design

Game of the Month (1996-2001) — Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

• Console: PlayStation 2
• Genre: Stealth Action
• Time to Beat: 13 Hours

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty is the sequel to Metal Gear Solid, a game we played for GotM back in December 2025. We follow Solid Snake once again, who is now working for the freelance organization known as Philanthropy, as he infiltrates the oil tanker U.S.S. Discovery to investigate the development of a new Metal Gear-type weapon. There are some additional story details and twists involved, but it’s best to experience them for yourself.

Metal Gear 2 involves more of the same from the first Metal Gear; players will guide Snake past guards using stealth mechanics, various gadgets and gizmos, and new and old weaponry to engage and overcome enemies, machines, and puzzles. Codec conversations and cutscenes galore can also be found here, to no one’s surprise, given this is a Kojima game. Prepare to sneak, sabotage, and mostly be confused.

Game of the Month (2002 and later) — Mega Man Zero

• Console: GBA, DS
• Genre: Action-Platformer
• Time to Beat: 3 hours

Mega Man Zero is the first game in the Zero series, a sequel to the Mega Man X series. After the Maverick Wars, another conflict called the Elf Wars has decimated the planet. Zero, having sealed himself away for a century, is awoken by a girl named Ciel to help fight the evil organization Neo Arcadia. Zero joins Ciel and the Resistance to liberate the world from Neo Arcadia, led by an old friend of Zero’s.

Mega Man Zero involves the titular Zero dashing, wall-kicking, shooting, and slashing his way through various levels to progress the game. Z-Saber techniques called EX Skills add a bit of additional flavor to the game, involving skills that can only be obtained by beating certain bosses under certain conditions or ranks. Speaking of bosses, they are no longer weak to specific weapons like in previous Mega Man games, but instead possess an elemental alignment that indicates both a strength and a weakness. Zero can equip different Chips and EX Skills to channel these elements himself, aiding in his journey to save the planet.

Game of the Quarter — Breath of Fire III

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 HLTB. Each quarter, four games are pulled at random from an extensive list of games that meet the minimum criteria, 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, PlayStation Portable
• Genre: JRPG
• Time to Beat: 42 Hours

For the first quarter of 2026, we’re still playing Breath of Fire III, a JRPG developed by Capcom. There are two prior entries in the series (both of which we’ve played in GotX previously), but this is the first game in the series to feature three-dimensional environments along with hand-drawn character sprites. You play as the recurring protagonist Ryu, the last of a legendary clan of dragons referred to as the Brood, on his journey to find out more about himself, his purpose, and what happened to the rest of his clan. The game starts with Ryu during his early childhood years, and then continues with a mid-game time skip into Ryu’s teenage years.

Breath of Fire III consists of pretty standard JRPG gameplay, in that you and two other party members will engage in turn-based battles that consist of using attacks, spells, items, and skills. Additionally, since Ryu is a member of the Brood race, he has the ability to periodically transform into various dragon forms to fight enemies, which is as kickass as it sounds. There is also a ton of side content, such as a great fishing minigame, a village-building mechanic in the Faerie Village, a master-disciple skill learning system, and more!

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. Metroid Prime Pinball is the most recent, and we’re still playing it from January 30, 2026, to February 7, 2026.

Fun Fact: Golden Axe II was our 200th Game of the Week!

What did you think of this article? Let us know in the comments below, and chat with us in our Discord!

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