“did we ever really leave the dark ages, or did our eyes just adjust?” is going to be circling my brain for the next 76 hours

The truly relatable situation of “I was a dumb idiot child and I can’t tell if game was busted or it was the rocks in my head”

Okay, just want to shoutout Hazel as being the real MVP for providing a full song list with each video, so I don't have to go on a 3 hour hunt because I vaguely recognize a song and it gets stuck in my head until I listen to the full version. Saves me so much of my sanity.

I absolutely love the way this video just rambles on from topic to topic like a friend excitedly talking about their favorite interests. It just hits the brain JUST right

These long videos are perfect for work days where nothing is going on and just listening to you talk about anything is great, thanks for the effort hazel

idk what makes a game "cozy" but i do know this is one of the coziest channels on youtube which is kinda funny given some of the subject matter but still!

Summon Knight: Swordcraft Story is such a great game. The fact that at the start of the game there are four different guardian beast partner options and there is a dedicated button to talk with them is such stunning content for a GBA game. Thanks for covering it. Hearing someone talk about more obscure games is so fascinating.

Such a good vid can't believe I've never heard of that magical vacation game. The part where Nicky spoke about SMT, Saetia, and Jerome's dream made my jaw drop, I've never heard someone else mention all of my interests in the same sentence like that

Shit man, I work at Enzyme! So I can tell you what happened. We were an independent studio back in the day that did basically all sorts of QA stuff. We were bought out by Keywords a couple years ago which is a big worldwide conglomerate of studios that help with game/sound/tech design. I wasn't there at the time of summon knights, but one of my supervisors was. I'm not surprised about the cut corners, considering a lot of stuff was done on paper back then. Add to that that we're in Québec, there's an alright chance that this was translated by someone who's mother language might have been french. (That or it was done in the super tiny (like 5 to 10 people tiny) Japan office the company had back in the day).

I absolutely LOVE the "present day present time" opening. If you turned that clip into its own video I would post it every christmas.

Every time Nicky talks about the things they loved my heart heals a bit. I’m going to miss them dearly.

Rest in peace Nicky, you convinced me to give SMT another try and I'm fucking loving it. This playthrough of the OG Super Famicom game is for you.

The "present day" had me frozen I didn't realize how much the show still haunts me

I would love to see you talk about the 2010’s rpgmaker renaissance!!

The boy and girl versions of Swordcraft Story actually ARE different, the girl has loads of dialogue changes where her dialogue is more comedic while the male protagonist dialogue is more generic JRPG hero. Pretty much every time you see a really funny line from the protag, that's a route change! Its actually extremely impressive how many changes there are because there's 8 whole routes, the four different summon creatures all have varying dialogue in certain scenes depending on gender. The lesbian romance is also VERY MUCH NOT 'unintentional', I was kinda laughing my ass off at 'don't go into this with the standards of something intentional'. One of the earliest route changes is that you in fact only get a kiss scene with Sugar if you're playing as a girl, and all of her scenes are longer in length on her lesbian route than the straight equivelant. The girl protag has more dialogue in a lot of scenes actually, if anything it seems her route was the favoured one by the developers. Female protag dating Sugar was also the route chosen for the official novelization of the game, and the game even has their "I kiss other girls all the time" screenshot right on the back of the box, haha! The second game also has gay routes for both boy and girl, and even a nonbinary character which is hella ahead of its time for the early 2000s. So I'm pretty sure being super LGBT inclusive was an intentional thing and the games were in fact not aimed at a teenage boy audience lol. I won't disagree though on the quality of the romance routes being a bit sparse and rushed, but I think its more because they tried to cram so many routes into the game that none of them is exceptionally long, rather than not caring about fleshing out the gay options. It's completely understandable to assume that it was a "accidental lesbian option cos the girl route was rushed" situation if you hadn't played multiple routes, but I think maybe checking if you're correct before criticizing the game for it might have been better. Cos its a review of niche games, people watching this probably wouldn't know that what you were saying is incorrect, and might give the game a miss. I hope this comment didn't come off as rude, I just really like this game and the good replay value of the route differences is a huge reason why. So I just wanted to help tell people about it, in case it helps. Thank you SO much for mentioning the game in your video, every time a big youtuber talks about it is like lifeblood being breathed back into the fandom! Oh also you seem to have accidentally used footage from the third game while talking about the second game, so its worth adding that a fan translation of that game is in progress and has released a demo with the first day of gameplay! If anyone else is interested in that, I'd greatly reccommend it!

I played some of Alundra years ago, assumed it would make it onto this video for the simple fact it has a gravestone that reads: "Here lies [character]: He loved to work, we don't know why."

This is a very nice list of recommendations, I'll be sure to keep those in mind. Btw, in Summon Night there a few dialogue changes depending on your character's gender. For example, Sugar kissing the protagonist is exclusive to the female option.

"She's different from everyone else, because SHE'S got a fidgetspinner!" 54:30 So damn good!

Just a quick note- I actually do recommend "Fantasy Life", a title that was worked on by the Magical Starsign team. It was headed by Level 5 (who worked on Prof. Layton, Yo-Kai Watch, and Ni-No-Kuni) and it's a very charming oddball rpg that has a cult following to this day. It's actually one of my favorite video games of all time. It's not necessarily a game that's fantastic at any aspect, but it's LOADED with charm. The characters are all memorable and distinct, the side quests are fun, and the "Life Class" system is probably one of my favorite mechanics I've never really seen replicated. The combat is also pretty easy to get a hang of, and a lot of the more optional bosses are pretty difficult for those who want a challenge. I've sunk hundreds of hours into that game, and would willingly spend hundreds more

This video touches something deep in my soul, thank you for taking the time to do this all. My dad passed away when I was a young adult and Rpgs, particularly SNES and PS1 Era ones are how I stay close to him, I have memories of him watching me play Grandia and passing out on the couch at 5am, Final fantasy tactics is my favourite game of all time largely because I watched him finish it with characters named after myself and my brothers. He introduced me to greats like Suikoden and Lunar. I'll never be able to seperate my love of JRPGs from my father and I wouldn't have it any other way. I finished this Video and immediately went to your Patreon to see that Nicky had passed only recently, they seem like the most wonderful type of weird and my heart goes out to you, I promise that the hard times will fade and you'll remember only the best of them before too long. People like them never truly leave us.

Style Savvy was, and still is, the best dress-up game series I've found. The most recent one had a banger soundtrack.

Thinking about how much effort must have gone into the game-identifying textboxes alone makes my head spin

I want to live my life with the confidence that Nicki showed when introducing themselves as ‘Sharer of birthdays’

4:24 Damn, you really hit me with no warning here! I LOVE Sonic Chronicles: the Dark Brotherhood! Takes me back to being six and staying home from school sick one day, listening to this banger and forgetting what I was even supposed to be doing, ha. I could go on for hours just talking about what this song alone means to me. It's one of those small things that is foundational to my childhood nostalgia.

Still making my way through the full video but I just wanted to thank you for the small shout-out in the video and on Twitter earlier this week. It really made my day :) Also Gurumin is indeed a super chill and cozy game. Although the optional boss near the end is surprisingly stressful.

In Brazil we had a console called Zeebo, released in 2009 I think, and the vast majority of the games for it were mobile Java games adaptations. It had some cool ideas, such as free internet connection since it had no physical media, but it failed hard lol.

I really liked how good a background video this was. Like, listening to talking about a bunch of RPGs that I haven't heard of, and to hear them talked about with such cherishment. It basically doubles as a list for my game recs file.

I came back to this video after a few months and fell in love with it all over again. Your passion for video games is infectious, and I get the feeling that I'm going to be rewatching this one for years whenever I need some recommendations from someone who truly loves the medium. Thanks for making this.

The effort and fun in seeing all the different styled text boxes from other games in the top right labels is absolutely adorable. God, I love JRPGs

hazel, when you asked when Weezer got bad, I laughed and missed spooning soup into my mouth, dropping a whole dumpling and some broth onto my desk instead of my waiting maw. Great joke

This video means so much to me tbh, Ive fallen asleep to it more times than I can count! It's also introduced me to Grandia! Thank you Hazel. Also Nicky's commentary about the Shin Megami Tensei series always makes me smile whenever I hear it. I need to actually sit down and play the first one soon.

once again, excellent video. The amount of media that you cover in these genre videos is so good, sets me down some great rabbit holes for months, and I'm still hardly recovering from taichi universe. I literally be taking physical notes to these videos!

Hazel being a touhou fan always makes me so happy. the comparison between the IN OST and the YMO song was so awesome! ZUN is a fantastic composer, truly legendary, so it’s awesome to see something that influenced him (especially from IN, which imo has one of the best OSTs of any 2hu game).

I can't believe famous anime youtuber Hazel finally made a video about video games, wow! If I had to pick some comfy ass RPGs I'd say Chrono Trigger, Drakengard, and NieR oddly enough hit that spot just right for me. For some reasons games about the imposing end of the world just give me that good good brain chemical I so badly crave. Sick video and even sicker titty mouse pad!

I love listening to Hazel's voice. Its super soothing. I'm not really into old JRPGs but I'm totally here for the voice! Please PLEASE start reading books on tape!

Hazel, I LOVED this video. Loved it. I really think it's one of your best, most comfy projects to date. Thank you for making this and overwhelming me with a pleasent, wistful nostalgia.

Your long-form videos are always a pleasure, thank you for all your hard work. Summon Knight Swordcraft was one of the games I sunk hundreds of hours into as a kid and I'm glad you covered it in this video!

Whenever hazel posts a new video, I know that my defeated, dead heart is about to feel joy for just a bit longer. Thank you for your work.

thankyou so much Hazel for making me scroll through the entire inventory listing of every game on CDromance on a near bi-weekly basis so i can find one more quirky rpg to add to my now ginormous modded 3ds backlog. (for real through your videos have been am incredible source of knowledge i always come back to and the impact you've had on me since I first watched Playstation Lain and the Weird World of Interactive CD-Roms has had me hooked since then. Thankyou so much.)

Gosh I am having such a nice chill time binging all your videos. You clearly pour so much love and work into them.

Fittingly, this video was in and of itself quite cozy. Also what is a "penisy Vocaloid soundtrack"?

I can't tell you how much I appreciate the title cards above every piece of video footage. Nailed it using all the different old school text boxes too.

All the music recommendations in this video are great! I loved the section of you highlighting YMO's influence on video game music. I've been OBSESSED with them for so many years, but hearing samples of these random little games taking such direct influence from YMO fills me with such... como se dice, joy and nostalgia. Work influencing work is a wonderful thing, and I'm glad creators like you can really highlight that :D

I got a random cowboy-themed Ford commercial in the middle of this video and I actually couldn't tell if Hazel was just dropping a bomb on me with no preamble or if it was an ad until I saw the skip button about 15 seconds in and I'm kind of in love with that.

This girl is exactly the type of nerd I'll always happily listen to for 2 hrs or more at a time. Interesting, insightful, entertaining, and so fucking relatable.

Can i just say? This is a masterful video. Just genius level shit. Every transition, every music choice, jumping from topic to topic seamlessly, It's just polished to a shine. It's never dull, never overstays it's welcome. As the games discussed the video is cozy and warm and full of charm, wit, offbeat goofiness and the correct ammount of naughtiness. The work you put in shows how good you are at making videos. Inspiring, just inspiring.

Great video as usual, Hazel! You the real MVP by listing each game that appears. Love having your videos playing in the background while grinding in games.

Absolutely loving this video. This is such a great tribute to some forgotten games. A real meditation on the inherent value of a work of art, even if it was not commercially popular (or even very "good")

The fact that you mentioned witches wish brought back so many memories of going to my Nana's house. If you can manage to get the emulator to work I would recommend playing it. AND the My world my way footage??? I cant believe I still have the cartrage. Definitely one of my favorite jrpgs of all time.

The game that makes me comfortable no matter the season is Persona 3. God, that game like informed so much about me as a person to this day. The song, "Living with Determination," touches me like nothing else lol.

There’s so much neat stuff in here! You’re cool as hell, Hazel. Always love to see your stuff pop up in my feed.

Your videos are so wonderful to watch! And although I may not know EVERY reference, or game, your overall enthusiasm and love for the topic make me feel more interested as well! Almost like listening to a friend talk about their passion :) Thank you for putting in the effort to make these long format, incredibly charming videos!

It hurts knowing Nicky missed out on the best SMT game, Soul Hackers.

this channel has such a unique vibe that you can’t get really anywhere else on youtube

i've been putting this one off for a rainy day and let me just say that your videos get me through so much irl "grinding" for uni work. thank you so much for the awesome content

I love how chill you are. As soon as you name dropped the Phantasia fan translation, I SCREAMED (and then subbed). Thanks for the fun video, Hazel!

Though brief, I was shocked to hear you talk about Moemon! I'm part of the new Moemon projects, and we've made lots of new sprites for ROM hacks. If you want, Hazel, please check our newer work! We even have some (very very jank) gen 4+ sprites

Hi Hazel! I believe I’ve left a grand total of like… 5 comments on KZfaq videos my whole life but just felt compelled to say something here. From the opening joke that was EXACTLY my brand of humour to the insightful and thoughtful things you’ve said about the video game industry and what games bring you joy, I have never felt so seen during my many hours watching videos on the internet. Thank you so much for creating these videos, it really means more to me than I could ever articulate. (P.S. I also will jump on the bandwagon of recommending Fantasy Life.)

Genuinely surprised I never found this channel! I'm so happy this was recommended to me randomly. Really love this video and I got big hits of nostalgia with a lot of these titles!

I adore this video so much. I know very little about JRPGs, but it was incredibly relaxing and, dare I say, cozy to listen to this whole thing. I'm probably gonna watch it again and your other videos as well. Thank you so much for the effort you put into this!

I freaked out when you started talking about Magical Vacation. I've played the sequel, Magical Starsign, a ton as a child and its was absolutely amazing. I have never seen anyone even mention the game series before, so this made me really happy

This whole channel is like a cozy comfort channel honestly

Your script is incredibly well written and your cadence at which you speak is fitting. Was hooked through the whole video despite being a subject I'm not too familiar with. Amazing work

Your videos are perfect to put on when going to bed. I love your chill 90's anime energy so much

This was a very good way to spend 2.25 hours. I had no idea what I was really expecting from the title but it got me all introspective about what "cozy" means for me and I got those vibes from a lot of what you were talking about and showing with a lot of the games here. Thanks for this video, and for reminding me I've had a PS1 copy of Grandia on my shelf for however-many-years now. Maybe I should make the time to get to it soon :)

Grandia holds a special place in my heart for being the first JRPG that I bought as a kid with my “own money” back in like ‘99. The dub has all the goofy charm of a random anime that I’d rent out at Blockbuster around the time, the characters all have personality to them, and the soundtrack is phenomenal! It warms my heart to see it get so much love. Thank you for this awesome video! Excellent work, Hazel!

love the yes shoutout! and thank you for introducing me to magic yellow orchestra. I've heard just about all the samples you showed off in your video and now have a new band to check out! keep up the great work :)

This was such a refreshing video. I really needed this. I’ve been stressed as hell with midterms coming up and such and I had this video on in the background as I stared at code for hours on end. Something about Hazel’s soft-spoken voice coupled with the cozy games and music helped mellow me out when I didn’t even realize I had been getting tense. I’m a game design student who often goes on 2 AM rabbit holes involving weird ass games nobody remembers and the studios that they were made by, absorbed into, and split from. I pride myself on knowing a little bit about a LOT of games and a video like this scratched that itch perfectly. The SMT segment partway through took me off guard in the best way possible. It’s so interesting to hear different perspectives on a series I’m so passionate about that make me think about this series I love in interesting ways. On top of all of this, I really do feel like I’ve walked away with a greater appreciation for these “little guys” that make fun, creative, and janky experiences like these that you simply just don’t get anymore…. Small-scale projects made by a bunch of dudes in a basement with about 2 dollars and a Chuck-e-cheese token for a budget fueled by unyielding passion for the media they love. This is the kind of heart and soul I’m trying to capture in my creative endeavors. In a world where companies are pushing the next big Technological push, the world needs more games that focus on really leaving the player with something, whether it be something it has to say or even just a feeling. Definitely looking forward to your next project. Keep up the great work!!

Hullo- first time viewer here! This video is an absolute delight. Your editing is fantastic, and your writing is detailed without being impenetrable. I also cannot thank you enough for displaying the name of whatever's on screen. Also, my brain is in sideways, so every time you include a short audio clip of a Doom zombie dying or Knuckles going "oh no" or *fart_reverb.wav* I have a giggle fit. I'm relieved that I'm not the only one that finds such things entertaining. Thank you for the show! I'll be sure to share this with my fiancé and his friends. Looking forward to watching the rest of your videos! edit: OH GOD Legend of Legaia!!! that's a deep cut

That shot of elf elf bowling awakened a sleeper cell part of my brain. I can hear the audio perfectly despite having last played it on a vista machine

I can’t stop rewatching all of your content Breath of fresh air honestly

Btw thanks for adding a song list in the description for every vid, I know it's the bare minimum but it's so fuggin helpful. Tanks a bunch bunch bunch!

hi this is my second comment but i just finished watching and 1: that was probably my favorite video you made, it was awesome! 2: i'm just very thankful to you for doing the videos that you make, it's clear to me that your work is very genuine and i appreciate that a lot, specially when i relate to pretty much everything you talk about, so thanks! i really like your content. i hope you have an amazing year! :)

The mention of Izuna brightened my day lol I was super into back then. Its was my intro into dungeon crawlers. I remember that webcomic though. If it is what I remember, esch panel was like a scene from the game. The images weren't original drawings, but instead the few images used for when characters are talking in the game.

I don't know how to accurately say this, but i love that a lot of Hazel's vids have the vibe of your cool friend telling you about some stuff. I love that 10/10.

Just recently found your channel and thank you so much for these. More great stuff for me to put in the background while i work or wait for emails.

Can't go wrong with Grandia, Legend of Dragoon, and Vandal Hearts.

Thank you for gracing us with another amazing video! ✨

i fell alseep watching this video, so soothing. also every time i wanna watch your videos i have to type in "hazel anime" and you're always the first result

This was a really amazing video! So much work put in, it's incredible! Really loved this and now I have a big list of wonderful old games to try some day!

I have this crystalline memory of playing Final Fantasy 1 for the first time in high school, emulated on my PC while my snow gently fell and my mother filled the house with the scent of lemon Pledge and the waves of an Elvis Christmas CD. For whatever reason, in that moment I achieved such tranquility that winter has been the official "retro RPG" season for me ever since. I never realized that was a thing for anybody else.

Gosh I sank so many hours into Path of the ninja. Just wanted to comment on how as a kid from a small town in canada during the mid 2000s with little access to the internet, being a fan of Naruto was really fucking hard! For years my experience of the franchise was peripheral, occasionally catching random episodes that aired on late night cable when I should have been asleep, saving up my allowance for weeks to purchase a single manga volume I'd finish in an hour, and piecing together what little information I had of the story with what info my friends had gathered. It was like a big collaborative story puzzle! But Path of the ninja was the first time I ever had first hand experience of the whole chunin exam arch. It ended up being the first video game I ever fully completed because I was just so dedicated to finding out what happened to naruto and his friends! Anyways, fantastic video as always. So glad you highlighted several games I have never heard of before that I'm now very eager to go try out. Your videos always manage to steer me in the direction of some weird piece of media that I end up falling in love with. Thank you for all your hard work :)

Hazel your whole channel is mad cozy. I love it lol

As always this video was amazing, keep up the good work. Your thoughts and observations are always fun to listen to

i have spent more time rewatching this video multiple times than i have spent playing anime rpgs

Gurumin's PC version is actually the first version of the game release, Falcom was more of a PC developer until YS 7 most of their games were developed for various home computers first.

I'm so thankful to have found this channel. Great recommendations and great videos. Thank you for everything you do!

hearing someone mention summon night swordcraft, graffiti kingdom AND alundra in one video essay was so much unbridled joy it killed me on the spot!! thank you so much for this video

I don't know exactly why but your videos make me feel safe.

Thanks for the shout out to Brownie Brown! I’m so sad that the studio re-branded and no longer makes quirky RPGs anymore, but at least Brownies exists and hopefully their games are successful. I feel like there’s been less opportunities for mainstream RPGs with unique settings and art styles nowadays, which is a damn shame. The closest I can think of is “Ever Oasis”, but sadly I don’t think that game sold very well, and very few people remember it.

this was such a lovely video. all of your videos are so relaxing to watch and have such a cozy, nostalgic vibe to them. also this reminded me that gurumin exists and now i really wanna download that on my 3ds and play it again. also this makes me more excited for fantasy life i. i hope it'll be a fun game.

Your commentary is top notch. How have I only just seen your videos as of today I feel like i've been missing out.

Hazel, you and Thor both have become the two creators that I get the most excited to see new videos from. The earnest way you explore all kinds of topics that no one else would really touch is really engaging and so nice to relax with. Thanks for sharing your brain with us

thank you so much for your hard work Hazel! and wow, I've actually played Summon Night Swordcraft story because I loved the artstyle so much, and yeah, I like it quite a bit too

Love your channel! Your editing always makes me laugh, and i find them cozy and enjoyable to watch. Too bad about the Tenchi video, that one really took me back. (I had no idea what was going on in that show when I was a kid)

loved the heck out of this video. seriously so funny and full of love and relaxing. also got a few games i need to hunt down now. thank you hazel!

On the off chance it hasn't been mentioned- I recall reading the Izuna flash comic since I was kinda obsessed with that game in my youth. You're not missing much- The humor was fairly decent, especially if you like the source material, and it's nice seeing the characters in [presumably] officially written scenarios, but I remember it using the sprites from the game similar to unofficial comics at the time. I'm going off of like, 15 year old memories here, but I remember one of the early comics having Izuna begging you to purchase the game, and them relying on Shino's catchphrase of "Would you like to see hell?" at least 4 times. The other distinct memory I have, and this one I have 100% faith in, is that there were holiday themed comics. On Valentine's day, Mitsumoto retains full butt monkey status as he's crushed no one in the village, nor his traveling companions, have so much as given him chocolates. Kagen at one point in this multi-part series walks past Mitsumoto with chocolates, and is immediately interrogated by Mitsumoto. He offhandedly mentions the water goddess, Suiren, gave them to him, but he doesn't know what for, and remarks at Mitsumoto being weird after he runs off crying about it. Thank you so much for this type of content. I played a ton of these when I was younger besides just Izuna, and now I have even more to get to.

Grandia has a very special place in my heart, and I was so glad to see that it was the last game talked about (with like 30 minutes left in the video). You made me realize that the feeling that Hunter x Hunter had given me and reminded me of, was that same free spirit I once felt from Grandia at such a young age.

love your channel. sadly only found you like mid last year but your voice content choice and comedy is on point. i also like the long videos even if youtube algorithm doesn't. keep up the great work!

I'm so glad I found your channel. Emerald Dragon was one of the first fan translated jrpg's I loaded onto my vita when I was in my "I need a break from Final Fantasy/Fire Emblem" phase.