Chrono Trigger

Let’s face it, the video game industry isn’t like the movie business. Why? Because our sequels usually get better rather than worse. So why is it that some of our most beloved games get shafted in the follow-up department? More to the point: why the -eff haven’t we gotten a proper sequel to Chrono Trigger?

This is a pretty huge week for fans of Scott Pilgrim, the punch-happy indie-rocker idiot who inhabits a version of Toronto drenched with overt (and frequently surreal) videogame tropes. The $10 movie tie-in game – which is really more of a comic tie-in game – is kicking ass on PSN, and the Edgar Wright-helmed film hits theaters this Friday.

With all the Scott Pilgrim love in the air, we figured now would be a perfect time to comb back through all six volumes of the graphic novel (as well as a few side stories published elsewhere) and count off every gaming reference we could find, hidden or otherwise. Part of the fun of reading the books is spotting these for yourself, but if you’re lost (or just want to confirm whether you’ve found them all), the following guide should make everything clear...

No one doubts the size and quality of the Chrono Trigger soundtrack. It's inarguably one of the greatest bodies of VGM of all time, and will remain in that lofty position for as long as there are people drawing breath. But which song to elevate above the rest? For me, it's easily the end theme, the credits tune that ties it all up and just about brings a tear to my eye every single time.

 If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, fan games are the ultimate love letter. Unofficial sequels or remakes of existing game franchises created by ordinary gamers, they range from casual ROM hacks to full-out new games created from scratch.

Every Fourth of July, Americans proudly celebrate the casting-off of British oppression by doing what we do best: staring at explosions.

There are lots of excellent reasons to want to blow up an RPG town. If you’re a villain, for example, you might level a place because it’s friendly to some resistance movement, or it’s in your way, or the heroes are stopping in briefly on their way to kill you. If you’re a game designer, you might do it to raise the stakes, or to give players some emotional reason to want the villain dead.

Sunsets, love, war, babies, baby war… There’s just no telling when and where exactly musical inspiration will strike. Well, with the exception of this here article. Using GamesRadar’s collective knowledge of games and music, we managed to scrape together numerous instances of game soundtracks that were, let’s just says, all too familiar for an expose decades in the making.

How noble, the human species! Once a year we selflessly take a break from wrapping products in toxic plastics and burning piles of old tires to appease this stupid, stupid planet we live on. How dare it demand more trees, breathable air and animals that don’t choke to death on our trash?

The Week of Hate continues with our next “100 Reasons” video. This time, we score a 20 critical for double damage on the nerdiest of all genres. Save versus this, bitches!

Contrary to popular belief, most gamers are not sniveling, sweaty-palmed Towers of Awkward roaming the streets in search of any woman who will have them. In fact, most of us find a girl who’s willing to put up with our gaming habits, and forgive the many hours spent saving the world from glowy-eyed zombie Nazis.

But guess what – there’s at least one game that’s driving your girlfriend batshit insane. She might