Like a Dinosaur, GotX is a simple beast. For the uninitiated, GotX is the Retro Handhelds Discord’s equivalent of a book club, where we all play the same games together and chat about them on the respective Discord threads. Proving completion of a game in the relevant thread earns players a GotX point, which can be exchanged for RH merch.
What is GOTX?
GotX stands for “Game of the X,” and it comes in three flavors: Game of the Month (GotM), Game of the Quarter (GotQ), and Game of the Week (GotW). Games of the Month are selected according to a theme selected by people who have previously completed a GotM game – three games in total are selected.
Each from a different time period, categorized by release date. Games of the Quarter and Week are selected independently, and only games are eligible if they have a set completion time on the How Long To Beat website. GotQ games must be 30 hours or more, and GotW games must be 2 hours or less.
Game of the Month: Jurassic June
This month, the community selected “Jurassic June” – Games which feature Dinosaurs in a prominent role.
GotM (released 1995 or earlier) – E.V.O. Search for Eden
- Console: SNES
- Genre: ARPG
- Time to Beat: 10 Hours
EVO is a game that allows you to navigate the journey of evolution from the beginnings of life, all the way to the creation of humans. You play as a new form of life created by Gaia, who must navigate multiple time periods — The World Before Land, The Early Creatures of Land, The Dinosaur Age, The Ice, and The Age of Man.
The action parts of the game play like a side-scrolling platformer. Defeating enemies earns evolution points, which allow your creature to further develop, bringing the role-playing elements into the game. The game may not suit everyone as progression requires a degree of grinding, and the boss battles in this game are known to be reasonably brutal.
GotM (released 1996 – 2001) – Dino Crisis
- Console: PS1, Dreamcast
- Genre: Survival Horror
- Time to Beat: 6 Hours
Dino Crisis was the obvious choice for Jurassic June, having finished a very close runner-up in Female Protagonist February. The game was developed by Capcom after the success of Resident Evil 1 & 2 and very much follows the same formula, but this time with Dinosaurs instead of Zombies.
You play as a special agent working for SORT, infiltrating the base of an Evil Genius Bad Guy who has found a way to bring back Dinosaurs. Much like RE, this is a game of limited ammo, puzzles, and jump scares.
GotM (released 2002 or later) – Peter Jackson’s King Kong: The Official Game
- Console: PS2
- Genre: Action-Adventure
- Time to Beat: 7 Hours
GotM games are selected by a voting system. Sometimes games cruise to a victory based on a shared memory of enjoyment from the game’s time on OG hardware. Some games get selected after a significant number of people realize that a game has been on their backlog for a while, and this is the chance to beat it. Some get selected after the nominator manages to come up with a pitch to gain the interest of others. King Kong was one of those games.
The pitch was simple: this is the game that came about after Peter Jackson saw Beyond Good and Evil (also a former Game of the Month), and decided to hire the same studio to make a similar game as a tie-in for his new movie. I consider BG&E to be one of the best games I’ve ever played, so to me, this is an attractive proposition, and this will be the game I choose to keep my GotM streak going.
GotQ: Pokémon Ruby / Sapphire
- System: GBA
- Genre: Monster RPG
- Time to Beat: 36 hours
As June is the 6th month of the year, it’s also the last chance players have to complete the current GotQ before it is replaced at the beginning of July. The current game is one of the every popular Pokémon games, and it was the first game released in the 3rd generation of Pokémon. Depending on whether Ruby or Sapphire is selected, the player takes control of either Brendan or May as they traverse the new Hoenn Region on their quest to become the Hoenn League Champion. Like all other GotQ games, this game can be completed for 3 points in total (rather than the normal 1), with 1 point being earned for a standard completion and 2 extra points being granted if all Retro Achievements are completed.
GotW (RetroBits)
If all of these games seem a little too long for the time available, GotW (aka RetroBits) has you covered. Each week, a new game, which should take 2 hours or less to complete, is announced on the RH Discord at around 5 PM Pacific Time. Completion of a GotW game will earn ½ an RH point. The great thing about GotW games is that some absolute surprise bangers get selected, and – if the current selection isn’t to someone’s taste – a new game comes around quickly enough.
Get Involved
I say this every month, but the GotX area and the RH Discord in general is one of my favorite corners of the internet. I would encourage anyone who enjoys the idea of playing these games alongside others to come join us.
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