STACK #249 July 2025

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What’s your earliest video gaming memory?

When I was nine, I found out my sister owned a PlayStation 2 that she hadn’t touched since she was 14. And so, after begging her to play, nine-year-old me sat next to my 20-year-old sister and played Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex on the PS2. We were both awful at the game, but we had laughs, screams, and fun!

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What’s your all-time favourite game or game series?

1 DEATH STRANDING 2

’ s ROVING REPORTER

My all-time favourite game series would have to be Destiny and Destiny 2 , I started playing in 2014, and I have never missed a DLC or game release since then for the last ten years through to the latest release, Destiny 2: The Final Shape .

2 MARIO KART WORLD

3 ZELDA: BREATH OF THE WILD

What have you been playing most lately?

PAT FLOOD @ JB Hi-Fi Altona, VIC

I have been playing Marvel Rivals with a heavy passion recently, enjoying my weekends with my friends and competitively celebrating our wins and losses.

4 ZELDA: TEARS OF THE KINGDOM

You can only have one games console from any era – what would it be and why?

5 ASSASSINS CREED: SHADOWS

What’s the best thing about working in games at JB?

I would have the original Game Boy with a copy of Pokémon Red . Being raised in the modern age of consoles from the Nintendo DS to Xbox One, I missed out on the simplicity and marvel that was the original Game Boy, and those first Pokémon games that started a revolution in the gaming industry.

I absolutely love helping parents to find the best console or solution to their questions regarding gifts for their kids, nephews and nieces. Being able to help parents through the process will bring their kids the same joy I felt when I was gifted my first Nintendo DS with the Pixar Cars at the age of 11.

6 SPLIT FICTION CIB

7 MINECRAFT

8 MARIO KART 8 DELUXE

Are you up to answering all eight of this month’s game related posers?

1. On the box of which 1994 game did Donkey Kong first sport a necktie? 2. What’s the name of the first Legacy of Kain game, released in 1996? 3. On which handheld console did Patapon make its debut? 4. What was the name of Atari’s 1986 skateboarding arcade game? 5. Edens Zero creator Hiro Mashima had a successful manga/game series previously. What’s its name? 6. Which Japanese company released the RoboCop arcade game back in 1988? 7. On which legendary arcade game is this month’s Shadow Labyrinth based? 8. On which Nintendo console was Mario Party first released?

9 SUPER MARIO PARTY JAMBOREE

GAME EXAM

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ANSWERS on page 52

1 What was the first game that you remember playing? Space Invaders as a kid at the Game Center close by where I grew up. After that I also remember playing Pac-Man and Galaga , but I didn’t have a lot of money and I wasn’t very good, so the amount of time I could actually play those games was very limited. 2 What’s your favourite video game of all time? My favourite games, all the way through college, were the Mario and Dragon Quest titles. I bought every game in both of those series and was always there to purchase on the day they released. I even remember staying up late (when I was supposed to be sleeping) so I could keep playing those games. 3 What do you think is the most underrated video game of all time? It’s not a specific title, but VR games are a genre that I would like to see get more recognition in the marketplace. It’s an experience with deeper immersion and a real feeling of being transported to a new world that you can’t replicate with other video game formats. 4 Which of the games that you’ve created is your favourite? In the 32 years I have been at SEGA I’ve only developed titles for the Sonic series and the NiGHTS series – just those two. And both of those series are filled with titles that I really love, so it’s hard to choose, but if I had to choose absolute favourites it would have to be NiGHTS into Dreams and Sonic Adventure 2. 5 What are you working on currently? Of course, we’re working hard on the next new Sonic game! I will continue to work hard to make sure all the fans around the world will be able to get Sonic content across a wide variety of mediums, and I hope you all look forward to the next new adventures Sonic will have.

Creative force of SEGA and Sonic Team since 1993 TAKASHI IIZUKA

36 JULY 2025

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