Starter Quest: Jen's Top 5 Games of the Podcast - 2022
Hello everyone at the Offshore Gaming blog!
For those who don’t know me, I’m Jen from the Starter Quest podcast. My boyfriend and cohost Alessandro Crolla takes me, a casual player, on a curriculum/adventure/hoot-and-a holler through classic video games to see if they ‘hold up’. I’ve put ‘hold up’ in inverted commas because different people define classics as different things, but hopefully we can help you decide what games we cover that you’d like to go and play.
I’m nowhere near as avid a gamer as Alessandro. He’s got a Top 10 list of the games he enjoyed that came out this year alone, whereas I’ve only got a few things I dabble with when I’m not writing. So, I’m going to talk about my favourite games that I’ve covered on my podcast. That counts as a year end list, right? Without further ado, here they are:
5. Resident Evil (1996, PS1, Episode 8)
Resident Evil is the survival horror game that made survival horror a genre.
I had very mixed feelings about Resident Evil but those feelings were mostly positive. There’s some really promising in-game storytelling. The juxtaposition of the artefacts collected from the past and the setting you’re moving through in the present creates such an eery atmosphere and then BLAM! One of the zombie researchers you’ve read about tries to eat you.
However, the lore is really convoluted and the cutscenes aren’t well written at all. In a lesser game, this would have killed it, but we as a society decided that was part of its charm and let it slide. Those who have played it will understand the true beauty of how terrible the dialogue and voice acting is and it’s pretty infamous for those in the know. For those who don’t, this is something you need to experience for yourself.
I couldn’t coordinate my protagonist Jill Valentine for the life of me and I still managed to get through the game somehow. The tank controls were a real killer for me. When I’m not laughing at the cutscenes and getting my English Literature student on in this episode, I was complaining about the controls. Overall, there is a lot to love. Even its imperfections make for a game that’s so much fun to talk about and definitely worth giving a go.
Watch out for a giant snake on your travels!
4. The Secret of Monkey Island (1990, PC, Episode 2)
The Secret of Monkey Island is a witty and deeply silly point and click adventure game. Sourcing and downloading ScummVM aside, it is very accessible to newcomers. Which was good for me, considering I was tasked with playing it for our second episode. I had a lot of fun with it.
You play as Guybrush Threepwood whose only goal is to become a pirate. You start at an island full of pirates and a very attractive mayor, Governor Marley who is also probably a pirate. You then have to rescue said Governor Marley from the evil ghost pirate LeChuck. The story is incredibly solid and the puzzles throughout the game are very accessible. Generally, the game will make sure you’ve got what you need to solve all of them so you can keep galivanting on your adventure. There were some incredibly funny moments that caught me off guard, even from the very start of the game. The pirate obsessed with Loom reminded me so much of the silly sponsored elements of a YouTube video. The sword fights are battles of wit where each fighter must try and out quip their opponent. Alessandro and I still exchange these back and forth for fun.
Also, I found that root beer works incredibly well in chilli and wearing a pirate hat is fun.
3. Doom (1993, PC, Episode 5)
In the 5th episode of Starter Quest, I am plunged into the pits of hell. My first FPS (first person shooter) and one Alessandro felt was my best place to start. I can’t help but agree. I became ‘Doom Guy’, a soldier who’s thrown into a desolate Martian space base overrun by aliens and zombies.
As ‘Doom Guy’, I was an unhinged psycho killer. I’m pretty sure there were moments I let out a primal scream after ending a level. The cathartic satisfaction of defeating monster after monster and knowing that I had survived through it isn’t like anything I’ve experienced before or since. For context, I’m the girl who feels bad even putting ant powder down. When I saw that I’d stood on a frog while on a walk a few weeks ago, I still feel sad thinking about it even now.
Gameplay is really satisfying and accessible, which enabled me as a new player to feel like a badass. Which as far as I gathered is the whole point of the game. It fulfills that purpose perfectly. The lore is pretty minimal but what there is makes for an effective backdrop to separate Doom from the many lesser alien-shooty-bang-bang simulators.
I got bad carpal tunnel syndrome because I was holding the mouse like I was Nosferatu or something, but I just had to keep going. I had to evaluate the kind of person this game turned me into. And buy a brace to keep my wrist straight in the heat of the moment.
2. Pokémon Fire Red and Leaf Green (2004, GBA, Episode 3)
Pokémon games tend to be released in pairs to incentivize playing with a friend either to compete against them or trade. I had Leaf Green and I started with my beloved Myrtle the Squirtle, the cute little turtle that projectile vomits water at its enemies. She became more tanked up as she evolved until she had literal water cannons on her shoulders. My journey through the Kanto region to become Pokémon Champion was a super fun one. Encountering and catching new Pokémon for my menagerie, and being told how great a trainer I was a great feeling. Especially each time I beat my rival, who I named after one of my best friends.
This is the first franchise I have actively went out of my way to play more of since recording the episode. I felt a bond with my Pokémon, especially my champions who saw me through the Elite Four. I decided that I’d like to try and get them into the Pokémon Home. What I like to call the Pokémon Odyssey. It’s a slow process as I’ve got a lot of other writing projects and the other games I want to play, but it’ll happen eventually. This year, I completed Pokémon Legends: Arceus. I’ve not found God yet, but I’ve completed the main story so I’ll take it. I actually like it better than Leaf Green. Although, had it not been for Leaf Green, I wouldn’t have thought to play any of the other games. That feeling of building a rapport with your creatures, giving them silly names and having everyone you meet tell you how great you are never gets old.
It was the first J-RPG we’ve covered on the podcast and I’ve found I’ve got a bit of a bias for them.
1. Earthbound (1994, SNES, Episode 6)
Earthbound has become one of my favourite games of all time, just behind The Sims 2 and Animal Crossing that I’ve loved playing for decades. I adore everything about it. The world of Earthbound is so charming and is a delight to explore. I loved the characters that I met on my adventure, including my team; everyboy Ness, girl next door Paula, geek from Winters Jeff and Prince of Dalaam Poo. All are equally important in defeating Giygas, the incomprehensible evil that is putting your world in danger.
It has such a trippy vibe and gives me a sense of misplaced nostalgia. I hadn’t played it before, but it really captured that sense of magic you get from looking at the world through a child’s eyes.
What makes this my number 1 pick is that out of all the games I’ve covered, Earthbound has had the most emotional impact on me. That existential crisis I got near the end of the game as I’m facing off Giygas was so intense. It almost broke and inspired me like The End of Evangelion did. Most plots have the triumph of good over evil, but I have never experienced love triumphing over hate on such a visceral level anything like at the end of this game. I felt really sad when the story ended. I’ve got a save state from after I defeat Giygas so I could go back and explore it again at any time but it wouldn’t be the same.
Not enough people have played Earthbound, and the fact that it wasn’t successful in its time is a tragedy. You can find that and Earthbound Beginnings on the NES & SNES Online through the Switch, so if you’ve got a Switch you’d be missing out if you didn’t give it a go.
My first year making Starter Quest has been so much fun. I’ve played a few platformers, RPGs, adventure games and a few fighting games too which I wouldn’t have thought to play otherwise. I’m becoming ‘better read’ when it comes to video games, which is essentially the goal of the podcast. I tend to talk about games as a text to analyze because that’s a good part of enjoyment I get from it. I’m a writer, so during the week I’ve been working on a short story collection. It’s really dark, intense and introspective but it’s been a great learning experience about storytelling craft that I’m galvanized about continuing. However, I do need some levity and the podcast has very much been just that. It’s nice to get cosy and talk video games with someone I love so much. Alessandro gets to show me stuff he likes, I get to broaden my horizons and whoever tunes in will get something fun and informative to listen to, hopefully.
Thanks so much Dylan for giving me the opportunity to rattle on about my podcast. It means a lot to me that you’re interested to hear my silly gaming takes. If you’re looking for a look on more current games, then check out Alessandro’s game of the year list.
You can listen to Starter Quest on all good platforms (and some not-so good ones). Follow them on Twitter or Mastodon @StarterQuest.
As well as the co-host and resident n00b of Starter Quest, Jen Hughes is a writer and poet. Her space-inspired debut chapbook “Keep On Spinning” was published by Dreich Publishing in 2020. Her work has been published in a variety of magazines and websites including Headstuff, Acumen and Eildon Tree. You can find a complete portfolio of her published works on her website jenhugheswriter.com. If you want to stay up to date with what she’s up to, you can give her Facebook page (Jen Hughes Writing) a like or follow her on Instagram or Mastodon or read her blog posts on Medium (@jenhugheswriting)