I think one of the main reasons for the 8bit look craze is the huge advantages they offer to small developers. 8bit style means much less frames of animation and background detail, being able to be made just by one person while still looking good, something really difficult if you jump to 16bit or 32bit style. I'm working on a homebrew MegaDrive project right now, and we are using 12 frames of animation for the running cycle of the main character... that's a lot of work compared to the 3 frames Mega Man uses on the NES.

Don't get me wrong...I love your guys' coverage of older games very much (it's the reason I subscribe and eagerly anticipate the weekly videos), but it's great to see you guys cover newer stuff too, and I hope to see it happen more often!

11:28 YES! More 16 bit chip tunes! Hell, more 16-bit retro games, pl0x!

You finally convinced me to pick up Shovel Knight. Great video!!

The Shovel Knight soundtrack isn't a beefed up NES soundtrack. The soundtrack is actually playable on an NES.

Journey your scarf represents your experience. Playing with someone else and watching their reaction or guiding them was amazing.

Don't worry Joe. I'm doing my part on keeping 16-bit tunes alive. Great show as always guys.

I never realized how the smell of game manuals captures the prescribed nostalgia of the game. Thanks Joe

Pier Solar also got a physical release too. Amazing game!!!!

Regarding 16-bit style indie games: I haven't played it, but Coury from My Life In Gaming covered "Freedom Planet" which he described as a mix of Sonic, Treasure, and Genesis-era Konami. He absolutely loved it.

You are not the only one wishing for more 16 bit style retro games to release. Sure, many of us started on or just before the NES but the Genesis and SNES is what captivated me the most for years and I can still pick up and play today.

Game Sack screws up my sleeping patterns 😕

Ahh! Sunday is the best day of the week!! I always look forward to you're videos!

I'm glad I'm off on Sunday's. I get to stay up until 2AM to see the new Gamesack. 😎👍

I think i like you guys the most out of all "Game related shows/reviewers". It's very chill and relaxing, with some lighthearted humor.

I miss Popful Mail so much

I loved Brothers. I'm glad it's gotten a physical release for more folks to enjoy.

Jake "ViRT" Kauffman also had a hand in making music for Retro City Rampage. The guy gets around! :) Also, he worked on Shovel Knight and agreed not to accept a penny until the game was released. What a guy!

You guys put a smile on my face every time. LOVE classic games.

Oh Joe, you know so well how to tickle my fancy just right. DAVID! YOU'RE A GOD DAMN DELIGHT! Working hard all week, playing hard on the weekend. You're the absolute picture perfection of a man, it's a no contest!

"It's fun as hell, and hell is DEFINITELY fun." I love you guys.

Thanks for these little treats every Sunday morning gentlemen. Best show on KZfaq by a massive stretch. Keep up the outstanding work!

another great digital game that recently got a physical release, Helldivers on PS4. One of the most enjoyable co op experiences I've had in years.

The endings always makes me smile! Just those alone makes your channel awesome!

One of the greatest episodes you have made. Very, very entertaining! Thank you , guys. Great episode.

Brothers A Tale of Two Sons was the closest I've come to crying from a video game. When I realized what I had to do when you're the little brother at the end and you have to swim ... it just broke my heart. It's the kind of thing that would be so much less effective of you knew it's coming, but thankfully I didnt.

Grabbed Shovel Knight in store (store copies also have a soundtrack download code) and love the physical manual. Makes you want to call out the big publishers on removing these but not lowering the price for not having the extra when you have this smaller company releasing such an amazing high quality manual at a lower price point. I did grab a PS3 version of Ducktales at a clearance sale with a few other games but missed that the physical box only had a digital download code, store wouldn't take it back claiming I may have used it.

One day I'm going to go through each Game Sack episode and tally up who(between Dave and Joe) has been on the receiving end the most from physical acts of violence. I think it was originally Dave but over the last year he seems to have enacted several measures of vengeance.

While 8-bit NES retro is the prevailing style among indie developers these days, there are a handful of games that go for more 16- or 32-bit stylings as well that I think you guys would enjoy. Freedom Planet immediately comes to mind, and is an amazing game that feels like it would've been right at home on the Sega Saturn or something -- great gameplay that IMHO actually manages to top even that of classic Sonic the Hedgehog, an amazing soundtrack that I genuinely consider to be the best of 2014, and a surprisingly good story that's fully voice-acted but which you can also disable entirely (just play in "classic mode," which gives you nothing but stages, stages and more stages!). It also recently got a PC physical release, albeit in limited quantities through Indiebox -- but that counts! (And if you'd prefer to play it on a console, it's available for Wii U too, but only digitally.) There's also La-Mulana, which began life as a freeware game created in 8-bit retro style, but it was emulating the style of the MSX1 computer system instead of the NES (and that's kind of a refreshing change of pace IMHO!). It then got a remake that's much more in line with 16- or 32-bit gaming, released on PC, Wii, and Vita -- but again, only digitally. And to my knowledge, it never got a physical release, save for as a reward to Kickstarter backers. Really, really great game, though, especially if you're really into Metroidvanias or really love Indiana Jones -- just be prepared for puzzles so obtuse that they make Myst look like Super Mario Bros. La-Mulana definitely does NOT hold your hand! ...And yes, I have mentioned both of these in comments before, but they bear mentioning again, because they're just both so darn good, and I'm pretty sure you guys would really enjoy them if you gave them a chance!

A Shovel Knight sequel would be awesome but you guys can download a free expansion, called Plague of Shadows, where you play the game as one of the bosses, Plague Knight. It's a very different play style, because the character behaves differently than Shovel Knight. At one point, you even fight Shovel Knight as a boss. :)

I thought the episode would end like: Look, I am going to do you a favor and I'm going to take all your physical copy games with me XD. Great episode as always.

Journey is definitely my favorite. I feel the short length of the game is perfect so you can experience it all in one sitting.

Man I love those outro's. I wish Gamesack could do a whole episode in the Outro skit style

Cave Story. That game was one of the best Metroid-style indie games.

Really enjoy your videos gentlemen. Big salute for giving Journey and Flower some much deserved attention. Exceptional games IMO.

I'd love to see you guys do a co-op playthrough of Shovel Knight when the Amiibo becomes available!

I love Brothers. Such a great game, with a genius way of mixing narrative and gameplay. The aesthetic is great too. Awesome soundtrack. Journey is excellent too. Sad to hear the online community isn't there any more. That's surprising though. I thought it would still be quite strong. I first played it way after it first came out and I've never had problems finding people. Although it's been quite a while since I last played.

Shantae and the Pirate's Curse got a physical release in Japan :/ And of course it's got music by... you guessed it; Jake Kaufman!

Been waiting for this! I love this channel.

Loved the gynoug music at start Almost thought a remake had slipped past me and was gonna be in this episode Another great video Thanks

I like playing through Duck Tales Remastered with the original NES soundtrack. It's cool that it's even an option.

Have you guys considered an episode explaining backwards compatability with different consoles? Plenty of grounds to cover on that idea with what works, what doesn't, what benefits from it and what suffers from it.

The digital release of Ducktales Remastered actually did add a feature where you can skip the cutscenes. I truly enjoyed them on my first playthrough, since it was the original cast and it gave me some real nostalgia for a show I used to love as a kid. Felt like a new episode! But yeah...on a second playthrough, they were tedious, and I'm glad that the option to auto skip them was included.

There are also some digital download only games which see physics disc releases only in other regions and not here (in the USA). A couple examples I can think of are Ratchet & Clank Quest for Booty (PS3) and inFAMOUS: First Light (PS4). I bought the UK versions of each. At least the PS3 is region free for games.

I love it when there's a physical release from these guys sacks

Ouch, hey Joe, are you OK? Dave's physical copies must be stunning!

To be honest even physical copies now suck because no one bothers to include a MANUAL anymore. I hate that.

Those NES Remix titles are genius.

Brothers' controls reminds me of a PS2 game called The Adventures of Cookie & Cream. I don't know anyone who would play that game with me, though, and the way the game is set up makes it nearly impossible to play solo.

Ahh ..another week...another bad ass video from my favorite gamers. Thanks for the hours of awesome guys!

4:16 _"Oh, and yes: it smells absolutely wonderful!"_ Hahahahaha!! XD

Great vid as always chaps. Nice to see every week now.

I like the ending there because PC elitists always make the argument that physical copies take up too much space. They just don't understand why console gamers love physical copies. They're just too close minded and stubborn to understand that console gamers prefer physical copies over digital.

I really enjoyed the Back to the Future game that Telltale put out a few years ago. It was download only for a while before they released a physical version of it. Original BTTF writer Bob Gale was involved in the story, and they brought back several of the original actors to provide voice work. It essentially acts as a BTTF 4. It's a point and click adventure in the Monkey Island vein. You guys should check it out if you haven't already.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who enjoys the smell of instruction manuals

Freedom Planet, it's exactly what you're looking for Joe, a retro style game based off the Saturn era. A fast paced platformer with a variety of characters to play as and a mode that avoids all cutscenes. The physical copy recently came out though limited to indiebox and PC. Really fun game though.

You can add "Hell Divers" to the list. They released a physical copy, which includes the PSVITA/PS3/PS4 game. Pretty nice. And is a great game overall!

Shovel knight is the best game of the 8th generation so far. picked it up day 1 on Wii U and PC, then again on 3ds and then AGAIN the physical copies on Wii U PS4 and 3DS.

Splosion Man! It was released for the 360 physically as part of an arcade multi-pack with Pac Man Championship Edition, Limbo, and Trials HD. All of the games are a lot of fun, but seriously, Splosion Man is the best in the pack, and well worth checking out if you haven't. Also, depending on your definition of "physical version" there are the Indie Box games, which are released as DRM free flash drives for PC use with a lot of extra features like soundtracks and feelies. Some of the games that have seen that kind of release include Guacamelee, Rogue Legacy, and Towerfall: Ascension.

On PS3, I would mention: Rain (Lost in the Rain), Class of Heroes 2G (very rare), WipEout HD Fury, Kick-Ass 2, BEST of PlayStation Network Vol. 1, Back to the Future (TellTales), PAIN, Naughty Bear - Double Trouble (the 2nd game used to be digital only), The Walking Dead, etc.

Ducktales, Shovel Night and Brothers I was very impressed with. They all very much deserved their physical copy. Plus it's cool to see REmake and Zero Remastered get a physical release. Nice coverage Game Sack. \,,/

Those minigames in the Journey collections are GameJam games from the developer before they made any of their 'real' games. It is a memorabilia of sorts.

I totally agree w/ you about the NES Remix titles. Having more challenges, and the full games unlockable after completing all of the challenges would've convinced me. Until then, I'll be keeping an eye out for the originals and getting the one's I don't have. It's a damn shame because Nintendo could be making a lot more money off of this stuff if they would just do it the right way.

Joe the bitrip Runner arcade game you featured in Retro City was itself a digital wiiware game that as one of four eventually got a full physical release.

Child of Light was digital only before but now it has a Vita release. (also great sketch at the end!)

Did you guys know about Indiebox before making this episode? Physical "limited edition" copies of indie games is what they do and they're awesome. So far, they haven't made any console versions, but it sounds like something they haven't ruled out for a future release. The last two games they did were Freedom Planet and Axiom Verge, and they came with some cool stuff.

I thought I was the only weird person that enjoyed smelling new instruction manuals. It feels good not to be alone.

retro ctiy rampage on the 3DS is cool because you can choose your weapon on the touch screen

Here is a list of a few other great digital games that now have physical releases: Awesomenauts (PS4) Teslagrad (PS4) Child of Light (Vita)

"Hell is definitely fun!" You speak as though you've been.

Journey really is a beautiful game, the first playthrough with some unknown player going all the way to the end with me, has to be one of the most strangely moving experiences ever. I would even put it above Primal Rage for emotional impact!

I've been waiting for Shovel Knight to be released in retail version too, bought ir on 3DS and was so happy about it. Also, I can't wait for the 2 more free DLCs!

LOL that ending... I totally lost it.

A few other games I can think of, which started as digital only, and then came out on disc: PS3: KILLZONE HD (eventually came out on the KILLZONE Trilogy HD collection) Plants Vs Zombies Mass Effect 1 (the PS3 was late to the ME party and started with 2. It didn't get a disc based release until the Mass Effect Trilogy collection. The Walking Dead (TTG) Back to the Future (TTG) Also, I ended up Triple dipping with DuckTales Remastered. The first physical release just included a code and a Disney DuckTales pin. I would have waited had I known a real disc version was on its way. Oh well.

Interestingly there are people remaking c64 games on c64 hardware and improving them. The most recent is ghosts and goblins and commando.worth checking out in my opinion.:)

I wish wayforward would release all 3 Shantae games on a 3ds cart. Japan got a physical release of pirates curse

Love the track from Gynoug in the beginning!

FLOW plays a lot the Cell/Amoeba Stage of Spore (2008) by EA for the PC/Mac. It's been awhile since I've played, but I believe there's 4-5 levels in which you play as different Cell types that you discover along the way each level eventually ending in a boss. The total play time is a few hours.

Some people don't have the luxury of giant houses for all those games. That's why we like digital copies.

When you like the Bit.Trip game in Retro City Rampage: there is a whole series of Bit.Trip games, and most of them are really good. These could have been nice topic for this episode, too, as all 5 of them were physically re-released as a Wii Compilation :-)

How about one where you each show the 5 best and 5 worst games in your individual collections. Or maybe another publisher retrospective, those have been quite interesting. Keep up the good Game Sacking :)

Speaking of the Bit. Trip minigame in Retro City Rampage, you should include Bit. Trip Complete if you ever decide to make another video with the same title. It includes all the original WiiWare games and one of them is Bit. Trip Runner which is like the Retro City Rampage minigame. There's also Bit. Trip Saga for the 3DS which is pretty much the same thing but I've heard there's some slowdown.

bit-trip is a refference to a indie game series.

You need to check out Teslagrad which recently got a physical release. Also I imported a few PS3 games because they got the physical version- new Strider, Into The Rain, Dungeons and Dragons side scrolling beat em up.

If you do another one of these you must include Cave Story which is a damn fine (and super hard) gem worth buying for the 3DS.

Joe, a while back I left a comment complaining about your opinion. I was rude. I now see that you are an essential part of this show. Along with editing, you do all the system breakdowns. I'll always be a nintendo fanboy but hats off to you. I apologize for being rude to you. I'm sorry.

I really hate it when a game (or a book) doesn't have a physical copy!

Helldivers for the PS4/ PS3/ PS Vita. The game was released digitally in March with a physical release in October, with all the weapons and DLC. The game is a white knuckle isometric twin stick tactical combat Shooter set in a sci-fi universe greatly inspired by the military silliness of Starship troopers. It's amazing! check it out.

Finally someone who also thinks Shovel Knight is easy! Everyone else I ask they say "It's NES hard" when honestly I don't think it is... I totally agree with the "Learning the boss's patterns" part, while the bosses are fun to fight, they're done for before I realise it... You should try the Plague of Shadows update, I personally think it's a whole lot better than vanilla Shovel Knight, and I already though vanilla Shovel Knight was an excellent game! ONE MORE THING! "I also can't wait until they start bringing out lots of games that imitate 16 bit style graphics" I'm doing that actually... I'm making a Sega Genesis style game, FM synth music and all, and I'm actually respecting the 4 palettes limit and 2 BG layer limit, but I'm dividing the back BG layer into several horizontal non-overlapping parts and moving each part at a different speed for EXTREME PARALLAX SCROLLING! (Only not as extreme as what you see in Shovel Knight because I want to be accurate) I'm also rendering sprites in between the 2 BG layers and doing dynamic animated tiles in the 2nd BG layer in some stages in order to simulate a 3rd overlapping layer... There's only one problem, I'm TERRIBLE with the YM2612 soundchip (not to mention, I'm a pretty lousy composer when it comes to original tracks so most of my songs sound like rip-offs of other songs), but just you wait until I start making Turbografx 16 style games, I'm pretty experienced with the HuC6280a, and I'm VERY dedicated to Wavetable synth!

I think it's time for a kart racer follow-up. :)

Had no idea NES remix 2 had a NWC remix on it. We made a drinking game out of the original so would love to apply it to the new one. Great idea and video as always

Altough they are a few years old now, "Hydorah" and "Maldita Castilla" from Locomalito are worthy of physical copies.

Great episode guys. I am gonna get Shovel night now.

My copy of Shovel Knight for PS4 also came with soundtrack without preorder. I'm with you, I avoided playing it because everyone else wouldn't shut up about it. Glad I waited for the physical release. I'm procrastinating beating it because I don't want it to end.

Qubed on the Xbox 360. It was a compilation disc of 3 digital games. Lumines Live Every Extend Extra Extreme Rez HD Each game was like $10-$15 a piece but the compilation was $20. It was a great bundle of digital games.

Ahh.. thank you. Even though it's Sunday now, the weekend might as well be over.

thanks for the videos. the hard work put into them shows. great stuff guys, keep it up.

Physical games for life. It's so much cooler to really have the game. I waited a long time for Shovel Knight too Joe. I can't keep purchasing games twice, so I learned to be patient with the popular digital games. It seems like this generation is going to have a lot more physical releases for smaller games which is awesome. BTY love these vids, it's like a win for collectors. Hah take that that lazy digital consumer, we got a real game.

Class of Heroes 3G got a very limited physical release, and was the only way to play for a while, since the digital version got delayed for months. I've never opened my copy, because they put the numbered sticker on the outside of the plastic wrap, instead of on the case itself. I believe there are just under 5,000 made.

Skullgirls, a really great 2D Fighter with hand drawn animation, is getting a Physical release (published by Arc System Works no less) in Japan in January on both PS4 and Vita. It has all new exclusive JP voice overs. Not sure if they'll have english language option, but I'm a huge fan and already have the limited edition preordered anyways though lol A few old PS3 games were released digitally only in NA, but got English physical copies in EU: Agarest Generations (Record of Agarest War in NA, got a 360 phys ver tho) Battle Fantasia (also got a NA 360 disc copy) Arcana Heart 3 (original version, updated 'Love MAX' ver did get disc release) There's also some 3DS games which got physical copies in japan, but digital only in NA, eg. Pokemon Rumble Blast, Shantae & The Pirates Curse, Ace Attorney Trilogy (which has ENGLISH option), Sega 3D Archives Vol 1 & 2, Senran Kagura Burst (which was english physical only in EU) and Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition was digital only in NA, but got physical releases in Japan on both Xbone and PS4