~*~ Hung's Journal ~*~

Perfect comfort strategy. Sunflowers in the back, walnuts up front, peashooters holding the line. It is goofy, bright, and still one of the cleanest tower-defense loops ever made.

Peak action platformer. Zero's story across all four games is one of gaming's best arcs — from a broken weapon waking up in a cave to the final sacrifice in Zero 4. The gameplay is tight, the music is incredible, and the pixel art is timeless. This series made me fall in love with games.

Childhood nostalgia. Ninja School, Avatar, and the whole Teamobi universe shaped my love for games growing up in Vietnam. Those tiny Java phone screens running these massive RPG worlds — pure magic. The community forums were my first internet home.

Taught me that persistence beats talent. The interconnected world design where every shortcut is an "oh wait" moment is genius. Also applies to debugging production systems at 3am — you just keep going.

Beautiful, melancholic, and brutally hard. Hallownest is one of the most atmospheric game worlds ever built. The Pantheon of Hallownest broke me — 42 bosses in a row with no checkpoints. Still haven't beaten it. Still thinking about it.

The combat system is perfection. No hiding behind a shield, no grinding levels — pure skill. Isshin Ashina is the best final boss in gaming. The moment the deflect rhythm clicks is the most satisfying thing in any game I've played.

A game about climbing a mountain and fighting your inner demons. Hit different during the job grind. Chapter 7 B-side made me put the controller down and think about my life for a bit.

Roguelike perfected. The way the story progresses through death — you never feel like you're losing, just learning. Supergiant's voice acting and writing are on another level. Cleared with every weapon.

One of the most visually stunning games I've played. The escape sequences are heart-pounding. Made me emotional in the first ten minutes — didn't expect that from a platformer.

The Hollow Knight sequel. Whenever it comes out. I've been waiting. We've all been waiting.

FromSoft doing mecha? Yes please. The reviews say the boss fights are on par with Sekiro. On the list for when I want pure machine chaos.

Everyone I know says this is the best RPG in years. 100+ hours though — need to find a break between work and MSAI prep.