Hello. That is me, moments after the Ocarina of Time remake reveal. Yep. I’m totally, 100% absolutely fine and not at all so emotionally overwhelmed that I feel as if I contain the entire world’s supply of dynamite, fart gas and Kamehameha energy inside of this mortal body I once occupied. You see, I have ascended. I am neither organic nor human. I don’t know what the fuck I am saying.

HOLY FUCKING SHIT YOU GUYS IT HAPPENED! IT ACTUALLY HAPPENED! IT’S A THING!

Okay okay okay so we know close to nothing – MAN I wish we could’ve seen more –  EXCEPT:

1. It’s releasing in 2026
2. SO FAR it looks like it’s following the OG timeline – boy who grew up in Kokiri Forest without a fairy, etc
3. The art direction appears to maintain realism because HAVE YOU SEEN OUR BOY

 Oh my god. The details. HIS FEET! The tunic! HIS HAIR! HIS HAAAAAAAAIR, I mean that hat *never* came off in the original. Of course this could be for the sake of the cutscene, but since I’m riding the Hype Train of a Lifetime I wonder if there will be cosmetic options in the full release? The green/red/blue tunics are fine but variety is the spice of life and okay I’m rambling. I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHO I AM.

Holy Ganon’s balls I hope we get more info in the very near future. I mean in theory it shouldn’t be TOO long before we hear something seeing as this thing is coming out in no more than six months. Unless they blow past the release date and it pushes to 2027. Please no. BUT IT’LL BE FINE BECAUSE IT’S STILL HAPPENING. I am all over the place. 

LET’S. FUCKING. GO. It’s HAPPENING AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

The post OCARINA OF TIME REMAKE ANNOUNCEMENT OMFG IT HAPPENED first appeared on A video game blog and other shenanigans | Blondenerd.com.

Alright friends, we’re officially on the eve of a potentially Jabu-Jabu sized Nintendo Direct. Tomorrow at 7am PT we’re getting a 50 minute Nintendo Direct followed by a 95 minute Nintendo Treehouse.

DEEP. BREATHS.

Okay, so, rumors of this remake have been heating up like a pissed off Dodongo for MONTHS now. I’ve been a little hesitant to *~believe~* because, honestly, I’ve gone through umpteen years of NOT getting a remake and maybe, juuuuust maybe, my self-sabotaging hype train has let me down too many times. (Maybe.) But today? The energy from my incredible time at Summer Game Fest FLOWS THROUGH MY VEINS. I AM FUELED. I AM HYPED. (I am also quietly typing this in an Alaska Airlines lounge.) Friends, I’m letting myself believe. I AM GIVING MYSELF TO YOU, OCARINA OF TIME GODS AKA NINTENDO please be gentle with my emotions. 

Dude, I can’t even wrap my head around it. You mean after HOW MANY YEARS – the ONE game I’ve always tossed into prediction rings, the ONE game I’ve championed for, the ONE game I’ve literally sobbed over while watching fan remake renditions  – might actually get announced tomorrow? I mean, this is the THING. The game I’ve daydreamed about. The one I’ve talked about for countless minutes on various platforms over the years.

I know EXACTLY how I want it to be announced. 

Picture this: a black screen slowly materializes into a grassy field. You hear the calming, ambient noise of birds chirping, insects making whatever noises insects make, the soft whisper of a gentle breeze flowing through tall blades of grass. Then, fading in, comes the sound of hooves galloping before they quickly race by you. Then – AND THIS IS THE HYPEST FUCKING PART – THE OPENING JINGLE BEGINS. AND THE MUSIC CONTINUES. AND THEN I EXPLODE INTO HUMAN BODILY MIST.

Fuuuuuck even thinking about this makes me tear up.  

Deep breaths. 

The big question, though, is what does Ocarina of Time look like in 2026? More specifically, what does Nintendo’s vision of Ocarina of Time look like in 2026? How closely will it resemble the original? (I sure freakin’ hope it’s not a 1:1.) Will the core game be expanded upon with additional narrative, characters, side activities and puzzles? To what extent will the dungeons and temples be modified? How modernized will it feel? We all have our idea of what a “proper” remake looks like, but whether or not Nintendo meets some, or any, of those expectations remains to be seen – and it’s that unknown that has me the most excited/anxious/nervous/screaming/squelching. I mean I’m gonna be doing some serious puckering over the next 12 hours.

And if a remake isn’t announced, well, I have no one to blame but me, myself and I. Let’s keep it SO REAL we literally have ZERO CONFIRMATION from Nintendo that this is actually happening LOLOLOLOLOLLOLLLLLL duuuude I’m gonna fall into a deep dark depression if this shit ain’t real. But hey – if a remake IS announced and I seemingly disappear and all signs of life are just like gone there’s a high likelihood I imploded so tightly into my butthole that I became a black hole and I’m sorry but that means the end is imminent. 

Here’s to hoping!!! 

The post OCARINA OF TIME REMAKE ANNOUNCEMENT IMMINENT MAYBE first appeared on A video game blog and other shenanigans | Blondenerd.com.

Summer Game Fest 2026 is THIS WEEK and has the potential to absolutely DESTROY me. I’m talking “death due to the intensity and inability to control one’s bodily fluids including but not limited to saliva, tears and sweat resulting from extreme and uncontrollable excitement and exhilaration.”

Aaaaallllll because of two unconfirmed titles that don’t exist beyond what PR likes to call, “rumors and speculation.” The first game is the fabled Ocarina of Time remake. The second, and the one I’m talking about today, is the “rumored” Code Veronica remake. Sure, I’m using the word rumored, buuut if we’re being TOTALLY transparent, by now a *lot* of us have known about its existence for years. It’s always been a matter of when, not if, nahm’sayin? And you know what? My loins speak to me, and they tell me this is the year. 

SooOOooOoOO…*rubs hands together* when a Code Veronica remake is announced this week (yeah I’m feeling froggy) here are some of the things I’d like to see revamped. And yeah, I know the chance of learning a lot of this from a reveal trailer is smaller than Wesker’s…kindness bone…BUT LET A GIRL LIVE.

***Resident Evil: Code Veronica spoilers below!***

STEVE STEVE STEVE

Okay here’s the thing. Steve is…Steve. Yes, his voice fluctuation is atrocious. His personality is all over the place. He’s immature, whiny, and OH BOY does he need to get a grip on those hormones. He’s also 17. Which, hey, most 17-year-olds are kinda…y’know. Their brains are undercooked. And I get that you could try to blame his annoying “tendencies” on the fact that HE’S STILL A BABY, but, nah, Steve just wasn’t written well.

Believe it or not, when I played Code: Veronica X in 2001 I really liked Junior Burnside. Could that be because I was 13 and also undercooked? MAYBE. (It wasn’t until I revisited Code Veronica years later that I began looking at him a little sideways. Okay, a lot sideways. Consent, Steve. Learn what it means.) Either way I do think he has potential. He just needs a dramatic makeover. I mean, keep the 90s hair and camo pants, whatever, but the way he interacts and responds to the characters and events around him needs an overhaul. And I’m BEGGING for a narrative heavy segment where we play as Steve for an extended period of time, ideally reliving his first few days on Rockfort Island.

Claire in Paris

We all remember that opening cutscene – the one where Claire somehow incredibly outsprints a helicopter while trying to escape an Umbrella facility in Paris? (I still think it’s a badass scene, as outrageous as it is.) It’s always bothered me, though, that we know like close to NOTHING about this facility or how she even got there. I want to know more! Why did she think Chris was there? What did she learn? The entire thing just feels so disjointed from the rest of the story. I would LOVE more context for this bizarre opening.

Returning to Rockfort Island as Chris

This should’ve been one of the coolest, most kickass moments of Code Veronica.

Picture this: we, the players, just stepped into the shoes of Chris Redfield. Like, THE Chris Redfield, as he lands on a battered Rockfort Island after it (kinda?) self-destructed earlier in the story. Our objective? To search for his darling-and-just-as-badass-sister Claire. There’s just one problem: Chris doesn’t know Claire has already fled the scene. Babygirl is LONG gone. So, sure, it’s kind of a waste of time, but that’s okay, because, well, we’re motherfuckin’ Chris Redfield, and ALSO the fortress went BOOOOM and surely that event unearthed a whole bunch of new stuff! New enemies! Threats! Locations! BRING ON THE PUZZLES! LET ME PUNCH LOTS OF THINGS! WE’RE CHRIS REDFIELD TESTOSTERONE RAHHHHHH!!! 

Sadly Chris’ segment in Rockfort Island has all the excitement of a wet soggy paper plate. It’s repetitive. Boring. As far as new things to do or see, ehhhhh, let’s just say your brain won’t be stimulated. But why is it like this?! Again, this place was supposedly blown to shit, so that’s the perfect chance to add some, y’know, spice to the section. Flair. I’m sure it probably had something to do with budget/time constraints back in the day, but narratively it’s arguably the weakest spot of the story. So please, Resident Evil Gods, make me feel something when we attempt round two. 

Rodrigo

Sure, our first meeting doesn’t go ENTIRELY well and he, like, captures Claire and stuff, but Rodrigo redeems himself by giving Claire a shot at survival even as a certain blonde red-eyed asshole leads an assault on Rockfort Island. SURELY THAT HAS TO COUNT FOR SOMETHING. For real though, I’ve always been intrigued by this dude. Why did he have a change of heart? Did he even want to capture Claire? What specific orders was he following? Or am I just a sucker for a man in a white t-shirt? 

Etc.

It goes without saying, but there are a TON of quality of life improvements we have to see in Code Veronica. Ya know, improved checkpointing, better boss encounters, ensuring one cannot ruin their playthrough due to lack of proper items and ammunition *screams*. But because we currently reside in the year of our lord Kiryu Kazuma’s 2026 and games are designed SO differently these days, I’m not worried about those original issues carrying over.

ANYWAY, there’s so much hype to be harvested this week. If you hear something that sounds like a murder coming from the theater at Summer Game Fest, it’s probably just me. NBD.

The post Rumored Code Veronica Remake Hopes & Dreams first appeared on A video game blog and other shenanigans | Blondenerd.com.

I’m sitting here, trying to act poised and composed, but inside I’m having a parental meltdown. My 5-year-old and I just FINISHED OCARINA OF TIME TOGETHER. I’m abso-fucking-lutely silently screaming and liquifying into blonde nostalgic goo. LIKE HOW IN THE HELL DID I JUST PLAY THIS GAME WITH MY CHILD. Wasn’t I just a child myself, infinitely rolling through Hyrule Field, LARPing a day in the life of Link? Wasn’t I just huddled with friends in my elementary school gymnasium gawking at the Ocarina of Time pamphlet? Wasn’t it just 1998, and didn’t my childhood friend Tucker just call my family’s landline to tell me he had Ocarina of Time in HIS HANDS?

I don’t think I’ll ever be able to articulate how meta it is to finish my favorite childhood game with my own kid. For so many reasons. I mean, shit, there’s a chance my kid wouldn’t even exist if Ocarina of Time hadn’t been something I bonded over with some random dude I met in a dive bar 15 years ago. (Hi, Jayson!)

Life is crazy. Time flies. But Ocarina of Time has remained constant – nothing about the game has changed since 1998. Yet we’ve changed. The lens through which we view and react to video games is constantly evolving because we are. Situations and dialogue that never once elicited an emotional response now hit like a Goron punch to the chest. I immediately think of the woman who lost her dog in Hyrule Castle Market and pleads for your help finding him. It’s a silly little quest. There are all of these dogs barking and running around town – they’re practically identical – but only ONE of them is the missing lady’s dog, Richard. As a little girl I remember thinking, “Ha! Richard – what a silly name for a dog.” But today as an adult who recently had to say goodbye to her first four-legged kid, her best buddy, her derpy 11-year-old Labrador named Rebb? It hits differently. It hurts. It makes me think of my boy. Would he have barked at the in-game dogs?

Anyway, I still think Richard is a funny name for a dog.

It’s little things like that.

A surreal parenting moment for me was turning almost everything we did into some kind of learning experience. And it worked SO WELL. He’d read dialogue boxes. We’d talk through puzzle solutions. We’d chat about characters and why they were acting a certain way – looking at you, Ingo, ya jerk! Honestly one of the coolest ways I’ve been able to teach my kid about, y’know, life and everything it encompasses is by playing my favorite games with him. We talk about morals, perseverance, what drives others, and get into lots of “What would you do?” hypotheticals – I mean, the dude is only five, but I’m constantly surprised by his wit.

So yeah, playing through Ocarina of Time with my son was a fucking trip. Together we tore Hyrule apart: finding every heart piece, slaughtering something like 85 Golden Skulltulas (the final reward for killing all of ’em isn’t worth it—I SAID WHAT I SAID), tearing up grass for the mighty Biggoron Sword, and draining the pond dry by catching who knows how many fish (we named the fattest one Bob – don’t ask). And then we saved Hyrule by sending that pesky Ganondorf packing.

Bonus: I now have another human under my roof just as stoked for the inevitable Ocarina of Time Remake as I am. >:D

The post So I beat Ocarina of Time with my kid. first appeared on A video game blog and other shenanigans | Blondenerd.com.

Do you know how I spent my child-free day yesterday? I could’ve done anything I wanted. Anything. I could’ve tackled the unfinished projects around my house (which I call my piles of broken dreams), I could’ve taken a nap or even started Forza Horizon 6. 

But that’s boring adult shit, so instead I spent hours (and I mean hours) combing through every second of every Stranger than Heaven trailer I could find. Multiple times. I read every article. I took notes. Compared outfits. In-game locations. Every hair style is imprinted in my brain. 

And now I’m officially ready for today’s Stranger than Heaven special look. ::puffs out chest:: While I may not have a clean house after yesterday, I do have a brain full of predictions and theories! And if you know me, you know I love me a good prediction or two. Or 20. And there’s nothing better than memorializing them so you can forever remember just how wrong you were! 

So here’s what we know: The story follows protagonist Mako Daito over the span of 50 years, during five time periods across five separate cities. The time periods are:

• 1915 probably in Kokura. The location is named in an image file lol.
• 1929 possibly in Sapporo? This was the snowy location in Yakuza 5.
• 1943 in Sotenbori. I cannot WAIT to see this. What a vibe.
• 1951 probably in Atami Onsen. Folks smarter than me figured this out.
• 1965 in Kamurocho. I don’t think we’ve seen any footage of Mako Daito in Kamurocho. In theory he’ll be at his oldest here – if he’s still alive? DUDE what if we don’t play as him for the Kamurocho segment? What if we, like…play as Kiryu’s DAD. Or Shintaro Kazama! I’m reaching baby but I don’t care, this is the best part about making predictions.

I wanna put my tinfoil hat on for a sec: Remember the codename for Stranger Than Heaven? It was Project Century. A century is 100 years. But the dates we’ve been given for this game span only 50 years. 1915-1965. WHICH *math* is half a century. I’m looking at that yellow half circle we see in the title a little sideways. Maybe it’s symbolic? Could this be part 1 of 2? Or is it simply referring to the 20th century? HMMM.

Now putting away the tinfoil hat: considering the time periods we’re given, my guess is Stranger than Heaven will finally give us a long awaited look at the founding and early days of the Omi Alliance and Tojo Clan. Check out these dates:

• The Yamaguchi-gumi (Japan’s biggest IRL Yakuza organization) was founded in 1915. Know what year we visit in Stranger Than Heaven? 1915.
• The Tojo Clan was created around the 60s/70s, and Kamurocho’s segment just so HAPPENS to take place in 1965. C’mooon!  
• Not sure how this plays out, but it’s worth mentioning: the founder of the Tojo Clan’s name is Makoto Tojo. Our dude’s name is Mako Daito. Makoto. Mako. SIMILAR ASS NAMES. RGG coulda picked a million others but they went with Mako. *rubs beard* 

I also think there’s room for the Daidoji Faction to share the spotlight. Those secretive, puppeteering asshats came to be thanks to King Asshat Minoru Daidoji in the mid-1940s after World War II. Again, considering the timelines, Stranger Than Heaven could absolutely touch on them – the question is, will that touch be akin to a gentle caress you barely feel or a violent face punch? I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a violent face punch because DAMN there have been some significant narrative shifts in the Like a Dragon universe lately, and it’s all thanks to the Daidoji. 

And if we wanna get poetic, the Daidoji – an organization known to recruit those who could/should be dead – is its own twisted version of an afterlife. You could even say living within the Daidoji while you’re supposed to be dead is a fate…stranger than heaven. *BA DUM TSSSS*

Alright. This is the protagonist, Mako Daito, specifically in the 1943 Sotenbori era. Calling it now, this dude will play a significant role in setting up the Like a Dragon universe as we know it. Like, he’s either the freakin’ founder of Tojo Clan, or the founder of SOME clan that has a major impact in the Tojo’s history, or tragically, he gets offed in the end which, somehow, leads to the Tojo coming out on top. …Maybe he’s an undercover agent? Pffft I have no fucking idea. 

But there’s something that’s bothering me: like I said before, we haven’t seen him in Kamurocho yet. Hell, we haven’t even seen Kamurocho for more than a second. And logically I knooow RGG is probably waiting until today’s showcase to give us a look at Kamurocho – it certainly deserves its own spotlight – but I dunno, my gut is telling me something major is gonna go down with Mako Daito in Kamurocho. I’m talking about an earth-shattering narrative revelation. I can feel it in my loins. SOMETHING BIG IS GONNA HAPPEN.

On the topic of characters, it’s curious that SEGA’s website describes Stranger Than Heaven as “An epic saga of men battling through five eras and five cities.” I read this two different ways: Either we’ll have multiple playable characters or— WAIT.  OH my GOD. What if Snoop Dogg is playable. (Yeah he’s in the game!!!)

Ahem. As I was saying, there will either be a handful of playable characters, or, what’s more likely, Daito will be the only playable character and the word “men” refers to his ~*friends he makes along the way*~ like Snoop (I’ll never recover from this lololol) and maybe…this blonde dude below? The screen grab is blurry, but you can’t deny that the hair is yellow AF. I spotted him twice. Again, I know I’m doing a LOT with a little, but I feel like if you’re gonna show this guy more than once he’s gotta be of some importance. 

Could this be the same guy Daito is chatting with in the Title Reveal Teaser Trailer? – FUCK. What if it’s Bryce Fairchild?! He was born in the late 1800s…there’s no way it’s him. Right? Hmmm. “Stranger Than Heaven” – what is potentially stranger than going to Heaven? Immortality? Ambergris. Whale excrement. Oh god. I have to stop. I’m going to break my brain. OH NO BRYCE WEARS YELLOW THE HALF CIRCLE IS YELLOW AND SNOOP WEARS YELLOW WHAT DOES IT MEAN /brainbroken

Since I’m already going batshit crazy, now’s probably a good time to throw my Hail Mary for character cameos. The potential has me giddier than Majima waiting for Kiryu in a manhole. Think about it – 1965 Kamurocho is PRIME territory! It would be like a yakuza safari!

In a VERY particular order:

• Immediately the Yakuza 0 lieutenants: Give me young Kuze, Awano and Shibusawa. They would be around 18-19 years old, and I never thought I would say this, but I miss those assholes. No other Like a Dragon antagonists in ALL of the subsequent games have ever made me feel as weak, small and pathetic as they did. I would give all of my Tauriners and pocket tissues to duke it out with a young Kuze. 
• Shintaro Kazama: Kiryu’s “father.” Kazama was born in 1945, so *math* he would be 20 in 1965, which HAPPENS to be around the age he joined the Tojo Clan as a hitman. Duuude, what if Mako Daito bites it at the end of Stranger Than Heaven and the one who gets him is…Kazama? Fjdakfjalk OH MY GOD what if Mako Daito is starting his own clan but Kazama is like “NO SIR I have to stop you before you make something bigger and better than us!” and omg what if the order comes from DOJIMA. NOOO.
• Futoshi Shimano: I wanna hate this bastard so much for what he did to my husband Majima, but he’s a damn good antagonist. He’d be about 17/18. I doubt we’d see him by himself, but if we DO see a glimpse of Kazama, there’s a chance Shimano could be nearby. 
• Jin Goda: This cameo COULD make sense, but ehhh. We meet him in Yakuza 2 as the 5th Chairman of the Omi Alliance in the mid-2000s. So I dunno if that would slot in. 
• Sohei Dojima: …Y’know what, nevermind. I don’t wanna see this bastard again.

AND I’M JUST GONNA PUT THIS HERE: Majima would be ONE YEAR OLD. HE COULD APPEAR AS A BABY IN 1965 KAMUROCHO. 

I’m so beyond excited to see what RGG is cooking with Stranger Than Heaven. It’s rad to see RGG spreading their wings and trying their hand at something a bit different, you know?

Only a few more hours to go! AHHHH! 

The post My Stranger Than Heaven Predictions first appeared on A video game blog and other shenanigans | Blondenerd.com.