“Everything is becoming Science Fiction,” JG Ballard once wrote. “Time is an illusion, and Lunchtime Doubly so,” Douglas Adams added. Proving them both right is GotX, which is back with a new collection of games this month, following a Sci-Fi theme.

What is GotX

GotX is RH’s shorthand for “Game of the X”, a combination of “Game of the Week”, “Game of the Month”, and “Game of the Quarter”. Each of these three categories is accompanied by the abbreviations you might expect.

Completion of each game (proven by posting a screenshot in the appropriate area of the RH Discord) will earn a participant an RH point, which can eventually earn people RH Merch, including the fabled RH bag, only available through these points.

This month, the three GotM (Game of the Month) games, each separated by release date, are all linked by having a Sci-Fi theme.

GotM (Pre’96) — StarTropics

• Console: NES
• Genre: Action-Adventure
• Time to Beat: 6 Hours

StarTropics is the story of Mick Jones, who goes to visit his scientist uncle “Dr Jones” on a faraway island, only to find out that he’s been kidnapped by aliens. On Mike’s mission to rescue his uncle, is major weapon is a yoyo provided to him by the island’s chief. Luckily, Mike is a supremely talented baseball pitcher, so he can wield the yo-yo with surprising force.

StarTropics is a game that is often compared to the early NES Zelda games in style, especially Zelda 2. It is not known for being an easy game; however, since the game essentially gives unlimited continues, it’s not the worst situation. While not without flaws (specifically the need to talk to every NPC in an area before being able to progress), the game is well-received by many people and should make for a great GotM experience.

GotM (1996-2001) — Einhander

• Console: PlayStation
• Genre: Shoot ’em up, Scrolling shooter
• Time to Beat: 4 Hours

Einhander is a Squaresoft game (prior to their merger with Enix to form the Square Enix studio we’re all familiar with). Unlike most Square games, Einhander is a Shoot-Em-Up, not an RPG – indeed, it was the first 3D shooter ever made by Square

Einhander is considered both a masterpiece of the genre and a game to show the graphical and technical abilities of the PS1. It promises to be a joy for shoot-em-up fans. The one thing to be aware of is that this game is considered very hard, although this might be a situation that could be helped through the liberal use of Save States

GotM (2002 and later) — Risk of Rain

• Console: PortMaster, PC, macOS, Linux, PS4, PS Vita, Switch, Xbox One
• Genre: Action, Roguelite
• Time to Beat: 5 Hours

In Risk of Rain, the player character has been stranded on an alien planet and must complete a series of platform-shooter levels in order to escape. Each level is procedurally generated, and each will hide a Teleporter in a random location. Activating the Teleporter will cause a countdown where the player will need to defend themselves against an onslaught of enemies, and each enemy in the level needs to be destroyed in order to progress. Levels can then be repeated if required in order to gain access to better items or new character classes.

In order to play Risk of Rain on a Retro Handheld, the handheld must be PortMaster compatible, and files from the Steam version need to be moved over. Details can be found on the PortMaster page here. This means a Steam purchase is required; however, the game is (at the time of writing) in the Steam Sale with an 80% off reduction, meaning at the moment it only costs $2. Anyone who wants to avoid Portmaster can either play the Steam version natively (for example, on a Steam Deck) or play the Android or Switch ports, all of which are eligible for completion.

Game of the Quarter (GotQ) — DragonQuest 3: Seeds of Salvation

• Console: NES and SNES
• Genre: JRPG
• Time to Beat: 28 Hours

July being the 7th month of the year, means we’re into a new quarter, and that means a new GotQ (Game of the Quarter). Dragon Quest 3 (or Dragon Warrior 3 in Japan) was originally released for the NES, then updated for the SNES, GC, Wii, and Switch, all will be eligible for a completion. As with GotM, a completion of DW3 will earn a member of RH a single RH point. Unlike GotM, completion of all the game’s Retro Achievements will earn 2 extra RH Points

Dragon Quest 3 acts as a prequel to the previous Dragon Quest games. The player takes control of Hero, the cunningly named son or daughter (you can pick) of a legendary warrior, who is recruited to save the world from Baramos, a demon who seemingly caused the death of your father. The quest will require the collection of 6 orbs before the confrontation with Baramos allows secrets to be revealed. Much like many other JRPGs, this game is split between traversing the overworld, walking around villages, talking to NPCs, and fighting through random monster encounters in dungeons.

DQ3 is a much-loved game, and according to Wikipedia, was responsible for 300 arrests for truancy on the day of release. The response of live-streamers who watched the announcement of the recent Switch “HD 2D” remake (made using the Unreal 4 Engine) showed the level of reverence to which this game is still held. DQ3 shows a degree of maturity above its age, with a class system way beyond the Final Fantasy games, which were available at the time of original release, and a story that has more progressions than a player might initially think.

Game of the Week, aka RetroBits

If all these games are too long, then each Saturday at 5 pm PST, a new GotW game is announced. Each of these games has a completion time of 2 hours or less, according to the website HowLongtoBeat. While completion of other GotX games will earn a participant a full RH Point, GotW games will only earn half a point. Each GotW game is announced in the GotX channel in the RH Discord.

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