S.E.E.S.

Stephen's Extracurricular Enrichment Sessions

MP1

[Check back next year.]

To kick off the school year—and really, S.E.E.S. itself—I’ve selected three games to complete by mid-November. Remember: my goal with this project is to explore three of my favorite genres: survival horror, strategy rpgs and dungeon crawlers. With that in mind, here’s the first batch:

- King’s Field (PlayStation)
- Langrisser (Genesis)
- Silent Hill (PlayStation)

After diving into the early history of FromSoft for our GRFM Simulator episodes and the upcoming Armored Core zine, I’m excited to finally play King’s Field. I’ve been a Langrisser fan since way back, so it’ll be fun to chronologically work through the series. I chose the Genesis version because I’m partial to those sprites (the recent remake looks like poop) and I’ve always wanted to check out the Warsong localization, which I hear is good. Lastly, in light of the upcoming remake pf 2 (which I haven’t decided whether or not I’m playing), I want to replay the original Silent Hill.

About Me

My name is Stephen Hero. I’m a 36-year-old teacher (English) and podcaster (Giant Robot FM). As I journey into middle age, I’ve come to realize that the games and genres that used to be my ride-or dies (1st party Nintendo games, open-world sandboxes, sprawling JRPGS) either a) don’t hit like they used to or b) no longer fit into my busy life. More than ever I feel put off by the triple AAA space, drawn instead to “retro” experiences, games that prioritize atmosphere and gameplay over storytelling and spectacle.

There are three genres—survival horror, dungeon crawlers and strategy rpgs—that I feel meet my desire for shorter, more mechanically satisfying experiences. That’s where S.E.E.S. comes in, to chronicle my nightly excursions. Plus, I miss short-form blogging. And the idea of playing certain games at certain times of the year, aligning my gaming schedule with the academic calendar, tickles me. Routines are nice.