Winter is over, it’s finally freakin’ over. As a new month brings us the start of Spring, GotX brings us new games and also the first change to the structure of GOTM game selection since it was started in 2020.
What is GOTX?
For the uninitiated, GotX stands for “Game of The X”. GotX started off as Game of the Month (GotM), but later expanded to include a Game of the Week (GotW also known as RetroBits) and a longer RPG of the Quarter (RPGotQ). We use GotX as shorthand to lump all these games together.
Anyone who completes a GotX game within the Month, Week, or Quarter, and proves this by posting a screenshot to the appropriate thread in the RH Discord, will receive points that can be exchanged for RH Merch including the fabled RH Bag, which can only be obtained with points.
There is a dedicated section for GotX within the RH Discord, administered wonderfully by our GotX admin Rapid99. Rapid does an amazing job and the area he’s cultivated remains one of my favourite areas on the internet.
This Month’s GotM Theme: Mobile March
Each month, 3 games sharing a common theme are selected by the RH community for GotM, with each game being from a different time period. For March the theme is “Mobile March” – games that had their initial release on a handheld device.
Each year Rapid asks the GotX community for feedback and suggestions for improvements. One of the common requests at the end of 2024 was for a change to the categories within GotM. Many people felt that the existing categories were unbalanced since newer Retro Handhelds can play systems like PS2 and GameCube.
This meant that the more modern time period was getting overloaded with nominations and the late 90s time period was underrepresented. To combat this the start date for the modern era has been moved from 2000 to 2002, so games from 2000 and 2001 now join the games from the late 90s in the middle of the three categories.
As a result, these are the three eras of GotM:
- Games released before the end of 1995
- Games released between 1996 and 2001 (inclusive)
- Games released in 2002 or later.
GotM: 1995 or Earlier
Royal Stone
- Console: Game Gear
- Release: 1995
- Genre: Tactical RPG
- HLTB: 10 Hours
GotM first started in 2020. Since then there have been 3 games every month, so approximately 160 games in total. Out of all those titles, Royal Stone is the first Game Gear game selected. I have a soft spot in my heart for the Game Gear, as it was the first console I ever owned.
Royal Stone was never released outside Japan, so a translation patch will need to be applied. The game is a spiritual successor to Crystal Warriors, which did get a Western release. While the graphics are on the cuter end, and are some of the best for any Game Gear game, the story itself sits on the darker end of the scale.
You play as a character who’s sentenced to death for committing treason by murdering their commanding officer, tied to a stake, and thrown into the sea to drown. After escaping this fate, the player must set out to redeem their character and counter the real threat to their country, by recruiting a group of followers, all of whom will permanently die if they fall in battle.
GotM: 1996 – 2001
Kuru Kuru Kuruin
- Console: GBA
- Release: 2001
- Genre: Puzzle
- HLTB: 3 Hours
Kuruin (as I’ll refer to it from now on) is a game that graces many YouTuber lists of “Hidden Gems on the GBA”. In this game, you control a constantly rotating “helicopter blade” which you have to navigate through a series of obstacles in order to reach the end of each level. While the controllable character doesn’t much resemble a helicopter — community member NateTheGreat refers to this as “the stick game” — this is easily the GotM game I’m the most interested in, it feels like it’s been an age since we’ve played a pure puzzle game as part of GotX.
GotM: 2002 or Later
Goodboy Galaxy
- Console: GBA, Steam
- Release: 2023
- Genre: Platformer
- HLTB: 14 Hours
Goodboy Galaxy is the story of Maxwell, a Space Dog, whose ship crashlands on an unknown planet. Maxwell must now explore all the planets in the system to obtain the parts he needs to fix his ship while helping a cast of NPC achieve their goals in order to receive their tokens of friendship.
The idea of Goodboy winning this month’s vote makes me happy. I’m a fan of indie developers revisiting retro consoles and making games with modern sensibilities, my favorite ever GotW game was Deadeus, a Game Boy game from 2021. Goodboy was only released 2 years ago and was made partly to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the launch of the GBA.
This fact alone makes me feel rather old. Goodboy is clearly made with love, by game designers who love games like Super Metroid and Cave Story, and who wanted to make a game which highlights the good points of the Metroidvania genre while introducing interesting and charming characters.
You can grab the GBA version of Goodboy Galaxy over at itch.io for $20, but if you get the Steam version, it comes bundled with the GBA ROM for $25.
RPG of the Quarter
Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Calibre
- Console: N64
- Release: 1999
- Genre: Tactical RPG
- HLTB: 37 Hours
March is also the last month where you can play Ogre Battle 64 for GotX points before a new game is selected for April. Unlike GotM, where each game completion will earn you 1 point, RPGotQ can earn you a maximum of 3 points. 1 Point for completing the game and 2 extra points points for earning every available retro achievement.
The Current game is Ogre Battle 64, a story of politics, morality, and war. Ogre Battle doesn’t have the standard RPG turn-based combat, instead the player orders troops around on a battlefield, but then is a completely helpless observer when the fighting actually starts, making you – the player – more of a general than a foot soldier.
Game of the Week — RetroBits
If all of these options are too long for you, or if you fancy adding to your RH point tally quickly, the other option is RetroBits, aka Game of the Week (GotW). these are games that should take no more than 2 hours to complete. A new game is announced each Saturday at 8 PM East Coast time, meaning that if you’re reading this article on the day of release, a new game will be announced today.
Completion of a GotW will earn you half a point, as opposed to the full point for GotM.
Get Involved
If any of the flavors of GotX interest you, please come and get involved on the RH Discord. GotX is genuinely one of my favorite places on the internet, and each GotX game has a dedicated thread where players share their experiences playing the game. We’re always welcoming newcomers.
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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