Back when I was in seventh grade, some Sophomores and Juniors told me that I should never go on Newgrounds.com because flash entertainment sucks. That could not be further from the truth. Newgrounds has some great games on it, and last Sunday, I hit the Jackpot with Phoenotopia.

I was on the Games page looking for a good game, and the big banner advertising, or "shilling" as Fortran has come to call it, for the game caught my eye. "Challenge accepted," I said to my computer. With the wrong operating system and a broken computer in tow, I clicked on it.

You play as Gale, some pink-haired girl in a village. The inhabitants get captured while you round up kids in the forest, and your job is to be a good silent protagonist and figure out what happened.

The game has native Xbox 360 controller compatibility. But I'm using a Gamecube controller with a Mayflash GC controller adapter. It wouldn't detect my controller. Enter JoyToKey. I got started, and I was pissed because you can't run very fast, and the combat system is awk. But I got used to it, and the game was very enjoyable.

It's an action-RPG/Platform game, with a thorough item system, sidequests, and all that that we look for in console-quality games. When I beat the game, I'm going to review it 4.5 out of 5 stars. I won't spoil a bunch of the details right here.....go play it yourself.