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StarTopic The 2022 Games Completed Thread |ST|

4. Pokemon Legends finished this a few days ago and forgot to post about it here. There's some gripes I have about the game like the world look and the boss fights, but it really held my attention and I hope future Pokemon games grab some of the things from here.
 
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4. Flynn: Son of Crimson

I absolutely loved this game. As a big fan of Wonder Boy, Momodora and other side scrolling acrion orientated adventures that you can't quite call a metroidvania but aren't just purely a platformer or hack and slash either, this game really pushed my buttons. This game is full of absolutely gorgeous pixel art and animations, great combat, interesting engaging level design, enchanting tunes, some really tough bosses, it's just a really great game for this type of thing. The story isn't very interesting but it doesn't need to be for this kind of thing and the charm and detail poured into every corner sells the experience. Recommend for fans of the games I mentioned above!

Flynn_-Son-of-Crimson_20210916124305.jpg


Plus you have a big fluffy dog šŸ˜

Prev:

1. Chicory
2. Lost Judgment
3. Shovel Knight Puzzle Dungeon
 
14. Conduct Together (Switch)

Often on sale for super cheap, we got this game for my train-loving son near the start of the pandemic and have put dozens of hours into it. We juggle routes, stations, switches, starts and stops with input from as many controllers as you want to influence decisions. I gelled well with the juggling act, although things get much tougher with more cooks in the kitchen. This is an extremely well-designed puzzle game with a wide variety of challenges for all levels of players. Even when you lose, you win because everyone enjoys a good train crash. I recently finished off the game by clearing the time portal areas and going to the moon so my son could see the last few playable trains available. After credits rolled, he continues to adore this game, and I am happy to spend more time with it. This is my second five out of five game completed this year. (5 out of 5)

15. About an Elf (Switch)

This silly and bizarre release just came out last week. If you've seen the trailer, you've seen the main vibe for the game. A story that'll keep a goofy grin on your face from start to finish, art that feels fresh and fun, and very catchy music that maybe loops a bit too much. Gameplay alternates between the visual novel style and battles where you match an image to a theme. These relational puzzles start simple but do occasionally get pretty abstract. The game remains very easy. Everything lasts about four hours. Everything here is very enjoyable, but I do wish there was a mode to play and stay in this world a little longer without just restarting the story. Props to the two-person team! (4 out of 5)

16. Doom 2016 (Switch)

I thought I was completely over playing first person shooters, but this game was a blast. Gameplay is fast, terrifying and very, very fun - everything a Doom game should be! Things I loved: chainsaws, levels in Hell, Arcade Mode, upgrading my shotgun, imps, berserk mode, the score, an evil corporation using Hell as an energy source, and, of course, the BFG. Things I felt lukewarm about: the platforming and the multiplayer mode. I haven't played much multiplayer yet though, and I do appreciate being able to play handheld. I got the Doom Slayers Collection, and original Doom and Doom 3 are on my radar to finish next. (5 out of 5)
 
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32. Super Night Riders (Xbox Series) [8.5/10]

Saw this on Xbox store for $1 and thought it looked good, so I bought on PS5 for the trophies. Ended up buying on Xbox as well since the Dualsense is just a bad controller. One of the best indie games I've played in a while. I finished the final race with 0.8 seconds left and was about to shit my pants. Apparently it's getting a full remake pretty soon which I'm sure to check out.
 
I did it, beat the game that never ends

IMG_4683.jpg

(Mario Picross, some of the late puzzles are brutal)
 
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Almost feels like cheating because of how short these games are but alas, I played through Star Fox 64 3D and Splatoon again. Not much to say, I like both a lot.

2022 completed games:
1. Dragon Quest V
2. Super Mario Galaxy 2
3. Banjo-Kazooie
4. Myst
5. The Artful Escape
6. Kirby Planet Robobot
7. Death's Door
8. Star Fox 64 3D
9. Splatoon
 
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5.1.- Luminous Avenger IX 2 hard mode
Had to add it because with the limitations and different pattern bosses it's almost a different game

6. River City Girls Zero: Already posted my impressions of the game in the thread that was created, overall a decent kunio game, but I can see a lot of people dissapointed if they are expecting something similar to RCG/RCR as this one is a pure brawler

7. Infernax: I really liked it a lot and I can totally see the inspiration from Castlevania 2 and Zelda 2, but adapted to modern times. It does have multiple endings based on a morality system, and character modes so I'll definetly come back after clearing some other games in my backlog. The only thing I really didn't like is how the jump will always have the same height (but at least you can control the direction freely unlike castlevania)



2022 Completed Games
1. Atelier Sophie
2. Dragon Quest 2
3. Castlevania
4. Cogen
5. Luminous Avenger IX 2
 
10. The Pro Wrestling
11. The Pro Wrestling 2

These were Japan-only wrestling games on the PS1 for the Simple Series. As these two games were developed by Yuke's they play almost identically to the Smackdown games. However, they do have some interesting aspects, specifically the second game offers deathmatches like concrete mat exploding barbed-wire matches! As they are budget releases though they are rather lacking in content, and I beat the games in like an hour each

12. Gunvalkyrie
Basically pest control. The plot is rather interesting, like an alt timeline where the British Empire kept running supreme. It's a fast-paced shooting-style sci fi game, but god can the controls take a bit to get used to. It took me a while before I could beat the final boss as I had to change how I played the game.
 
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2) Danganronpa 2

Was more fun than the original, but overall I feel that the series is not for me. While there is some fun to have during the trials, the gimmicks in those things are annoying.
3) Paper Mario The Origami King

Most fun I had in years with a Paper Mario game. Iā€™m not in the ā€œI donā€™t like certain PM titles because reasonsā€ camp, but just beat the game after thirty hours and it was just good old wholesome fun.

The writing was quite good and adorkable, but Olivia is such a good kid. Made the game very sweet en herself is endearing. Lots of to see, to defeat and more. While the battle system needs time to shine, it made me appreciate it more over time. I just really enjoyed it.
 
Okay here we go!

1) F1 2021 (PS5)
2) Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (3DS)
3) PokƩmon: Shining Pearl (NSW)
4) Spider-Man Remastered (PS5)
5) Banjo-Kazooie (NSW)

Bit of a late update, because I finished this game last weekend. Overall Iā€™d say it holds up beautifully. Tons of fun, even if I felt it starts to drag towards the end. Thank god for save states and note guides.
 
1. Infernax (Platinum Trophy) - 8
2. Cuphead* - 9.5
3. It Takes Two (Platinum) - 8.5
4. Sackboy: A Big Adventure (Wonderplane ending) - 8.5
5. Kena: Bridge of Spirits (100%) - 6
6. Dark Souls Remastered - 7
7. Elden Ring (Platinum) - 9.5
8. Bloodborne (Platinum) - 7
9. Overcooked! - 5
10. Kirby and the Forgotten Land - 6
11. Overcooked! 2 - 5
12. Demonā€™s Souls Remake - 6
13. Minit (Platinum) - 7.5

EDIT 7/10/22

14. Child of Light (Platinum) - 5
15. Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course (All achievements) - 10
16. The Binding of Isaac: Repentance* (All tainted characters) - 8

* - means I have beaten the game in the past

I will edit this post throughout the year as I complete more games.
 
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So is this specifically for 2022 games or games beaten/completed in 2022?

(Heh. I'm not reading the OP and you can't make me! :sneaky:)

I already did.
 
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2. Final Fantasy IX. (Switch). I never played the original on the PS1 and playing it this many years later has been mostly a joy. Hated a few minigames. I managed to beat Ozma! I love the characters in this, system is good and this marks Uematsu's last full mainline FF as composer. I'm looking forward to the anime and remake. Steiner is so OP in the late game.
3. Disgaea 1 Complete (Switch). I enjoyed the journey especially on my second save file once I understood some mechanics better. Enjoyed the characters immensely. Skipped out on postgame because that would take me another 50-100 hours of mostly grinding.
 
34. Scramble (PS4) [7/10]
Straight forward and cool looking horizontal space shooter. Nothing special but respects your time and is fun with varied hazards.

35. Crypt of the Serpent King (Switch) [7/10]
Basically the first person dungeon crawler equivalent of Scramble, but an indie game. This is one of my least favorite genres but Serpent King is the only one I've managed to finish. Straight to the point and has everything you'd want from a game like this.


WNuZI8S.png
 
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1. Final Fantasy XIV Online [ PC ] - Post Stormblood Quests

2. WarioWare: Get It Together! [ Switch ]

3. Castlevania: Circle of the Moon ( Replay ) [ Switch ]

4. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD ( Replay ) [ Switch ]

*1. Final Fantasy XIV Online [ PC ] - Shadowbringers, all the way through 5.5

Credit where its due, for the amount of stuff it crams into the story on its own this being essentially the most standalone of the stories, it comes out pretty good, but it doesn't reach the same heights of the building up relationships with different towns that Ishgard does between A Realm Reborn and Heavensward, or the Stormblood locales or set pieces that are elevated by ARR and HW, a pretty clear example would be the absolute hype that is the invasion at Doma's Castle, after hours of dealing with all these tribes across half the game, that one cutscene before going in for the dungeon, that is super cool. A comparison point in Shadowbringers would be chasing away Ranjit with the fairies, frogs, etc. but that is done across like less than 20 quests give or take, for Ranjit which is probably my least favorite antagonist so far, and that is an issue that remains across the game, thought I do appreciate the Guantlet of Heroes a bit more about that; they should have tone down the character amount for Shadowbringers, like for Raktika, instead of having Night's Blessed, the Viera tribe, and the opposition to the Blessed, just make one town, and have that be the central point across the 20 or so quests to really get attached to them. The shinning character point in this expansion are Ryne, Thancred, and Emet, and all of that is pretty good, Urianger, while he doesn't go through much character development, it elevates the Ryne and Thancred relationship with really good banter (Shadowbringers, more like, Shadowdads am I right) and Emet is a really, really entertaining antagonist. Alisaie continues with her pretty good characters struggles, even she is never a protagonist focus, she always gets something to work with, and sadly Y'shtola continues to exist, a shame since I like her personality, Exarch does his job, is good for plot development, that only really gets a personality until near the end of the main game and into the post patches. Music is good, some really good highlights, I don't like the style as much as the previous expansions, but that is mostly in the sense that is not something I would listen to on my own, but it fits the game well enough, the battle theme doesn't tho, also the ShB motif itself is incredible. The environments of Lakeland, the Tempest and Il Mheg are some of the entire game's highlights. Dungeon design was alright, is mostly straight lines, there isn't much obstacle AoE stuff like the previous expansions, and nothing more organic like the ARR dungeons, but there is still cool thematic story content surrounding most of them, like the Guantlet, Twinning, and Amaurot. The implementation of the bi colored gems is a good system that I don't know why it hasn't been retroactively put in the other expansions, rewarding a consistent mechanic in the world that are the Fates, and reward the player with the riding maps and the like is a great incentive to continuously engage with something that will always be useful no matter how many years pass, much unlike seals for equipment that is pretty much obsolete to work towards since there will be more powerful stuff that you might actually want to grind for with the latest expansion. I lament not getting through this before Endwalker cut the Aether currents amount on the overworld, a misguided decision to streamline something that actually extrinsically would motivate someone to explore the large areas of the game is now reduced to 4 or 5 that don't really require adventuring off the main path, and I think I would have liked the areas even more if that design decision wasn't made.

Eden and the Sorrow of Werlyt raids were really amazing, tho a problem that shows up here and some battles in the main game, is the cutscene interruptions, they aren't the most lengthy stuff in the world but they do stick out, and is mostly cause is a problem that didn't exist before, and a good example of a fight that heavily implements story exposition into it without interrupting the flow beyond a couple of seconds of stage transitions that exist within the game is Tsukuyomi, so I dunno what happened with the ones here. Haven't done the Nier raids, but I also don't want to do them until I start liking Automata, so that will be left there for now.

Making thoughts on the spot about these expansions is pretty hard, mostly cause these are really long so is easier to miss some details or stuff I want to mention, and some just being so specific that I have to write another paragraph about it, but overall I really enjoyed Shadowbringers, just not that much more so than I already quite enjoyed A Realm Reborn, Heavensward, and Stormblood, and I would also say that my favorite overall experience remains Stormblood, while Heavensward has the best storyline of the bunch, just that some gameplay issues that were ironed out later by both Stormblood and Shadowbringers don't make it reach that same height, plus Alexander and the Warring Triad not being that interesting, even if Void Ark is amazing.

Excited to get Endwalker and finally finish this story arc, anxious? partly, they already used the main antagonists that they built up since ARR, and granted, their fights were amazing, specially the Seat of Sacrifice, but all that is left now is
Zenos (and I like him as a villain, but I don't expect them to use him as a final boss again, he already had the amazing Shinryu fight), and while I figure that we'll fight Hydaelyn and Zodiark, since that is pretty much confirmed for me due to the primal twist by Emet, I don't see either of those be a final boss
, so I hope they don't Final Fantasy it with an out of nowhere villain, since XIV has been very careful about building up the antagonists. Will Cid and Lyse play a big part on it? probably not looking at the key visual (and why the fuck isn't Krile there?) and I'll make my peace with it, not really, but I'm open to being surprised as well, make more my peace with Lyse anyways, Cid for as little as he shows up across every expansion relative to other characters, plus essentially being the main character of the second half of ARR, has been one my consistent favorite parts of it, and always got a good character arc. Will Y'shtola do something besides
making fake out sacrifices? Even if they'll never actually kill her cause she is the poster girl?
Who knows, I'll find out in the next episode of 13 and one more shenanigans. I don't understand Square's obsession with numbers like 13 or 14, I think these are the times to look at Symphonia and make it just the First and the Source, plus have them be more intimately connected in how they affect each other for maximum engagement, they even have a tower of salvation,
and yes Hydaelyn is the Eternal Sword in this case.
You know I don't really understand the prompt of the game that tells you to set aside enough spare time to watch a bunch of sequences in a row, it made sense during ARR, HW, and the main SB scenario if my memory isn't playing tricks on me, but since post SB the game is almost a visual novel with the cutscene length at this point, so is like, game I'm already setting time aside to watch all these other cutscenes, this won't kill me. I always feel uncomfortable typing out any sort of impression of XIV for the internet to see, big or small portion of it, I'm just some person that started this game like last year and I'm judging something that could be essentially an entire part of some people's life, over 10 years is no small amount of time, and being an MMO they probably formed friendships and the like with others, they would probably feel like I'm criticizing their life as well, is all just pretty daunting to think about at times.

Anyways, been rambling too much, and Rhalgr bless Uematsu for the Emerald Weapon theme. I can finally focus on playing something else too.
 
3. Disgaea 1 Complete (Switch). I enjoyed the journey especially on my second save file once I understood some mechanics better. Enjoyed the characters immensely. Skipped out on postgame because that would take me another 50-100 hours of mostly grinding.
4. Assassin's Creed III Remastered (Switch). Some really frustrating gameplay parts, some other fun things too. Sequence 12 had some back to back frustrating missions that took me a while to clear. Ending is very meh.
 
36. Finger Fitness (PS5) [6/10]
Best use of the Dualsense I've seen so far. Not too long and has the right price as well. Also pretty cute.

37. Popeye (PS4) [7.5/10]
The best remake of an old game I've played on my PS5 so far. Delightful little world with nice music and the best punch sound effect I've heard in some time.
 
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13: PokƩmon Legends Arceus:

51 hours it took me to get to where I naturally felt like I needed to finish the game (though Iā€™m far from done with the content).

This is no doubt the future of the franchise and I loved every second of it, despite some flaws. I can only imagine what this will be like 2-3 games down the line when they have reiterated and improved the structure!

My favourite mainline PokƩmon Game which gives New Snap a run for its money!
 
Been tending to do a lot more non-game stuff recently, so my list so far is pretty small:
  • Dangranonpa 1: Genuinely surprised with this game. It feels like a cross between Ace Attorney and Zero Escape, and somehow avoided spoilers for this game for a decade. Excited to go through DR2 eventually (I have all gameson Switch)
  • Hashihime of the Old Book Town: "Game" might not be appropriate because it's a very kinetic visual novel. The first two routes were amazing, and one of my favorite BL experiences to date.
  • Banjo-Kazooie: Yes, I only played this in year 2022 of our lord. I'm ambivalent. It's a game I'm glad I went through, but also, just got around too late to truly appreciate. It's hard to tell when my frustrations are due to questionable design, or simply because it was an early 3D game and developers were still figuring everything out--e.g. the swimming controls could be frustrating at times.
 
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6) No More Heroes 3 (Switch)

Yeah, this was pretty great; still some irritating quirks and 3 game crashes were disappointing... but the sheer style, range and vibe of it all was fantastic. Chaotic, messy, absolutely packed with references and a game I'm really glad we got.
 
Took my sweet time completing my PokƩmon X Flying-type only nuzlocke. My champion team of Charizard, Gyarados, Dragonite, Gligar, Rotom-Fan, and Hawlucha made it through Diantha unscathed. Now on to whatever game #5 will be.
 
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Thats Danganronpa 1 down other than school mode. Was a wild ride, glad I somehow avoided spoilers. Probably waiting a little before I start 2 tho
 
So far, finished games this year :

1. The Legend of Zelda (NSO) : abstruse and not fundamentally pleasant to replay today, but with some good ideas nevertheless. More for history than for fun.

2. The Messenger (Switch) : It was a replay, in which I aimed for 100% completion. A game that's a joy to watch, a joy to hear, and a joy to play. A platformer is often as good as movement of the MC is, and here movement is really freaking good, like Celeste or Mario level of good. Also, you can tell many hours were spent trying to refine the levels and they're almost perfect as is. I think it's in my top 20 Switch games.

3. PokƩmon Brilliant Diamond (Switch) : I was beyond excited to be able to play a top-down PokƩmon once again... but it fell flat. Mostly because I can't be 14 again, but also because the art direction was so damn bland. They should remake old PokƩmon games in HD-2D, really, and try to speed up the combat because there's no way I'll go back to that after Arceus.

4. Yoshi's Crafted World (Switch) is Yoshi's Wooly World without the good OST, the good level design or the challenge. A good game for very young kids, but even them might like something like Rayman Legends a bit more than this.

5. Guardians of the Galaxy (PS5) : a beautiful but very buggy mess, a fun combat system, but mostly the best-written game I've played since Origami King. It's a game that understands the "Marvel formula" better than most Marvel movies : it has jokes, but also doesn't use them to under-power emotional or tragic scenes. I laughed, I cried, and it was wonderful. Also the French dub is really good.

6. Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires (Switch) : ugly and runs like crap (mostly around 25 fps) but so much fun to play. I was hooked by the mix of strategy and musou and wasn't able to put down the pad.

7. Psychonauts 2 (Series S) : still not a fan of the art direction, and the game is too chatty, especially in the beginning, but it eventually got me and I was moved by some story arcs as well as surprised by the quality of the overall level design. Not a perfect game at all, but full of heart and I hoped it got some success on the Game Pass.
 
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Decided to play through Strider 2014. Didn't want to commit to a very long game with Triangle Strategy coming up soon. This game was a thoroughly underwhelming experience. I think the only positive I'm really coming away from here is that the core moveset feels pretty good to control. Outside of that I don't think the game has many strengths at all. Art style feels lacking and every area just feels like it blends together from pretty early on. Game is basically insultingly easy on Normal mode with one or two complete pain in the ass bosses. Level design results in areas that just feel very wide open but not worth exploring at all. I'm still not entirely sure what the story was. The game was kinda sorta fun some of the time, but I won't remember anything about this game in a few months. 4/10.

Games I've completed so far this year:
1. AI: The Somnium Files
2. Astalon: Tears of the Earth
3. Mario Party Superstars
4. Luigi's Mansion 3
5. Sleeping Dogs
6. Lord of Manga: Maiden Heaven
7. Strider
 
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4. Assassin's Creed III Remastered (Switch). Some really frustrating gameplay parts, some other fun things too. Sequence 12 had some back to back frustrating missions that took me a while to clear. Ending is very meh.
5. The Legend of Zelda. My first replay of this NES classic in like 20 years. Accidentally made the boss fight with Ganon more challenging by not getting red ring.
 
4) Drill Dozer
While everyone were playing legends arceus at the beginning of february, I was playing this. Picked it up a whim even though I dislike platformers(because I'm awful at them) and struggled to put it down again. I think the start of the game was easy enough to get into and even though later parts like the water and flying sections seemed like they would be really frustrating, they weren't really. Did not do any of the optional stuff though.

5) Um Jammer Lammy
I've tried to play parappa so many times, but this time I thought ok I'll just go for Um Jammer Lammy instead and wow this is much more of a breeze to get through. The music in this is kinda weird, but I got a lot of it stuck in my head after playing. It has the same issues as parappa where it's hard to tell if you're doing well or not, which doesn't make the game feel challenging just confusing and it dilutes the fun somewhat. These kinds of rhythm games of the ps1-ps2 era are always so expressive and such a good time and I wish someone still made them oh well

6) Parappa the Rapper Remastered
After um jammer lammy I felt motivated enough to go back to parappa and I managed to beat it in one sitting lol.

7) The 25th Ward: The Silver Case
I've wanted to play the silver case games for a while, but they ended up not being my thing at all :/ Loved the presentation and soundtracks of both games though.
 
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As February comes to an end, here are the games I finished.

February-
5. Pokemon Legends: Arceus (Switch)
-Tied with GOTY with Horizon at the moment. I haven't had as much fun with a Pokemon game since Soul Silver. Fantastic game all around.
6. Mega Man 1 (Switch)
-I finally beat a Mega Man game. I can cross it off my bucket list. (I cheapened out with save states and I am not apologizing.
7. Dishonored 2 (XSX)
-Not sure what it was, but I felt a little let down after playing DH 1. I still enjoyed it, but there was surprising a learning curve.
8. Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stood Behind (Switch)
-I liked this more than "The Missing Heir". I felt less "lost" playing the game. I hope Nintendo gives us another one down the road.

That was all during the first two weeks of the month. I wanted to clean up before Horizon came out (that has been most of my life the past 10 days besides Ukraine). I could have finished a few other games but I ran into a lot of bad luck.

Undertale- Screwed up my playthrough. I'm near the end and without any potions. Not good for a pacifist run.

Spy Fox- I bought it for Switch to relive my childhood and there is a gamebreaking bug. You literally cannot play it to completion. Supposedly there is a patch coming in March.

GTA: San Andreas- I played it on Gamepass last fall and got about 15 hours in. I picked it back up and after a couple missions my game crashed. The game file refuses to load after uninstalling and redownloading. I've come to the conclusion that my save file is corrupted.
 
Just beat PokƩmon Legends: Arceus

It's a spin off and it shows, but it also shows some changes in Game Freak's ethos. Everything is snappy, the amount of button presses you need to make to do anything has been reduced to a minimum, and the approach to the pokƩdex is pretty original. They outdid themselves here, and i hope they follow it up properly with Scarlet/Violet.

I've been almost out of gaming due to my studies taking most of my time. I'm almost over and managed to rescue my 3DS, so i hope this year's list grow up significantly from this month onwards.
 
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#6. Trials of Mana (SNES version, from Collection of Mana)

Have you ever played a game and felt like you really want to love it but just can't? That's me with Trials of Mana. Game has a lot of neat ideas, choosing your own party is interesting and the class system is fun. However, the game has several annoying quirks that make it a chore to play like the absurdly slow menus and unresponsiveness of controls. I also feel super mixed on the combat system... Game's supposed to be an action RPG but all abilities and spells work like a traditional turn-based RPG so it actually just feels like a weird turn-based RPG with bad pacing...

Oh well, I still generally enjoyed my experience but at all times I wished the game was better...

From what I read, the 2020 remake seems to fix most of the things I didn't like so I hope to try it someday to see the other storylines.
 
8. Grand Theft Auto III (Switch) : My first time finishing this game, and it didn't age well. You spend the whole game driving cars that are unstable and weightless or having some slow-ass gunfights (some would argue that both the driving and the gunfights are still bad in GTA V). But, I gotta admit, there's a certain charm to GTA III : the level design of the city is pretty clever in making bigger than it actually is, and there's a certain straitghforwardness to it that I like, especially now that we have all those open world games who are very crowded with things to do.
 
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1. Final Fantasy XIV Online [ PC ] - Stormblood 4.1 - 4.5. Shadowbringers - 5.5

2. WarioWare: Get It Together! [ Switch ] - 7.5

3. Castlevania: Circle of the Moon ( Replay ) [ Switch ] - 10

4. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD ( Replay ) [ Switch ] - 8

5. Dolphin Blue - 8

Cool Metal Slug clone.

6. Metal Slug 6 - 8

Cool Metal Slug.

7. Pokemon Legends Arceus [ Switch ] - 7.5

This game is interesting, is definitely the most interesting Sinnoh has ever been, is also very flawed, but overall I can say I had a good time with it, and I'll remember it far better than Gen 4 itself. I would also say that this would be a great template for a stylus less Pokemon Ranger game, by beefing up the combat between the player and the wild Pokemon, some of that Ranger like style shines in the boss battles.

As far as taking elements from this into the mainline games, a lot of things needs to be polished up, because of the new catching mechanics and focus, the catch rate of Pokemon is extremely high now, even without using berries you can easily catch a lot of Pokemon, including alpha ones, so much that the act of battling itself is not really the optimal way to go about filling up the Pokedex.

The trainer combat sucks, like wild Pokemon itself can have issues, but when you get into a trainer battle it can really bad, the agile and strong styles are so broken, specially when you can get easily combo-ed when the trainer uses a new Pokemon and it gets one or two free hits and it could end up costing you a Pokemon, and that is annoying because they make it so the Pokemon only gains EXP after the whole combat is done, that is a big sad dunkey why, combat in general is pretty janky in terms of damage values, feels like levels matter a lot less due to the exploration it wants you to do, so everything can hit hard from wild Pokemon and NPCs, making those battles that tad more frustrating, I'm fine with making wild Pokemon being tougher, but the trainer balance needs to be its own thing, I'm not too worried there cause thankfully the main games have to retain the competitive element, so I'm confident it won't have the amount of issues Arceus has.

The music is in a weird spot, it pops up depending on some triggers, like going to night time, reaching a lake and the like, and when it does is mostly good, a lot of the tracks still have that Gen 5 and 8 feel which I love, the heavy bass tracks are glorious, and again the most interesting Sinnoh will ever be, the fact that they made me like the gym leader battle theme is an achievement on its own, all it needed was a Galarian Form, who would have thonk it; but is also weird that it tends to be silent, Hisui is no Hyrule, the sound design is leagues behind anything Breath of the Wild does to make Hyrule feel the way it does, and the main attraction will always be the Pokemon, so an "attempt" at minimalism is not really necessary for it, and I do hope Gen 9 retains the more consistent background music, is not like it was an issue before, Galar had lengthy tracks for the Wild Areas.

A lot of the speed up in the battle transitions and like is pretty welcomed tho, and I do hope a lot of that stays in the game, not so much the levelling stuff, I do think that an RPG should make the fact that you leveled up have some importance, and not just have it run by as quickly as it does in Legends, that part was never slow to begin with I feel either.

Now the game itself, it was charming, just walking around and catching anything I saw had a cool novelty going for it, and is something that I would probably be into even more if it was either a completely new dex like Unova, or have more cool variants, the story did its job, I would say on the whole again, something more interesting than Gen 4, and far more likable characters for sure, Irida and Adaman are really cool characters after getting past the dumb idea of their clans, and despite a weird shift in the end, that endgame part had a really cool atmosphere and vibe to it that was pretty unique for Pokemon, the boss fights were simple but engaging, another neat attempt at creating boss fights that has been going on since Sun and Moon. The exploration is done well, and there is always something to walk and pick up or catch, has enough density and the fact that everything you pick up has some importance, plus the catching itself being your source of revenue and progress through areas also helps in making it feel like most of the world around you has something useful, the level design itself I would say doesn't have the same level of intricacy and some of the cool discovery factor that the DLC areas of Sword and Shield had, but is still good.

As a spin-off, is pretty nice, and I would put it on a similar or close level of enjoyment that I get from Ranger, and Mystery Dungeon, if I were to consider it mainline, is better than Gen 2, 4 and 6, maybe 1 or equal to 1, but definitely below 3, 5, 7, and 8. It was a good game, but nothing amazing or something that captured the joy I get from Pokemon as the better games do, but it is probably the most interesting game in the series, and I wouldn't mind going back for another round of this with some refinements or just as a Ranger successor. I really want a new Pokemon Ranger.
 
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Cool, I'll start to post the games I completed this year here. I hope I'll remember to post everytime I finish something (and I hope I'll get to remember everything I complete this year)

1. Axiom Verge 2: It has a different approach to combat than Axiom Verge 1 had, and that really worked for me. The storyline is also very interesting and connects to the first game in a great way. However, I still think the first game is better.

2. Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart: This is easily the most good looking game I have ever played. Even though it is a fun gameplay, I just had put it on the self after release and waited more than six months to complete it - and that is something that defines the game: it is beautiful, fun and engaging, but it's not really something to remember afterwards.

3. Mortal Kombat X Campaign: When that game released, I used to play it a lot, but online only. It seemed a little off to play the campaing after so long, mostly because I have completed both the original and DLC campaigns from MK 11, but I actually think MKX is the better campaign of MK (at least after MK9).

4. Pokemon Legends Arceus: Even though it is marketed as Open World, it's not quite that - but it is exactly what Pokemon needed. The way to approach capturing Pokemon and explore the world is great, even if going to the main hub gets old fast. QoL improvements and the easy way to traverse the maps are just great. My complaint with the game is just how easy the main campaign and overal combat are (from what I checked, only THAT fight in the post game is hard, and not even that hard). I could say this is the best Pokemon game ever, but with so many classics in the series and a new main game on the horizon that seems to expand even further on the things PLA, I think this is hard to say. (Update> just to make it clear, I have not captured all Pokemons nor completed all side quest. I have completed the main campaign and the post game mission, which I believe is quite important to the overal storyline. Maybe I'll return to the game to get all Pokemons, but I don't think I'll do that now....)
 
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5. The Legend of Zelda. My first replay of this NES classic in like 20 years. Accidentally made the boss fight with Ganon more challenging by not getting red ring.
6. Bloodstained Ritual of the Night (Switch). A game that I enjoyed, definitely will be looking forward to playing those GBA Castlevania games later this year. I liked the voice acting. Game had a few crashes which led me to save as often as I could.
 
Fourth game I finished this year is Indivisible. Fun take on Valkyrie Profile-style mechanics, loved the sheer variety of characters you could collect. Game also has those gorgeous anime visuals. Story sucks though and for some reason they put all of the character-specific side quests in the back half of the game.
 
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#7. 999 (original DS version)

A "escape the room" visual novel, 999 is about a set of characters trying to escape a sinking ship in a weird "game". Featuring multiple endings and branching paths, it's a pretty interesting game. Story's a lot of fun, with a lot of twists and unexpected themes. My only complaint is that the dialogue/script is a bit cringy sometimes, but it's not too bad.

Really good game! I already bought the sequel, which I hope to play during the next few weeks.
 
3. Horizon Zero Dawn + Frozen Wilds

Watching the credits as I type this. Was on and off for a couple of months on this one but wrapped it up tonight. Excited to play Forbidden West in like two years when I get around to it lol

Already started Monster Hunter Stories 2, so that will be next
 
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Played and finished Far: Changing Tides on Game Pass. Liked it slightly more than the first one even. It's a neat little game, not too mechanically complex but engaging nonetheless with some really cool atmosphere and a unique concept. I'd describe it as a puzzle-sailing adventure with some light resource management, I guess? My main criticism of the game is that there's too many long stretches where you're basically just watching your ship move from left to right with little interaction.

2022 completed games:
1. Dragon Quest V
2. Super Mario Galaxy 2
3. Banjo-Kazooie
4. Myst
5. The Artful Escape
6. Kirby Planet Robobot
7. Death's Door
8. Star Fox 64 3D
9. Splatoon
10: Far: Changing Tides
 
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#1 Shin Megami Tensei V (83h)
#2 Captain Toad Treasure Tracker (5h+)
#3 Taiko no Tatsujin Drum'n'Fun (25h+)
#4 The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time (30h+)

Replayed OoT on the NSO, and it was the first time I played the original version since I sold my N64 to buy a DS 17 years ago. And yet, aside from the graphics, the game doesn't feel like it aged one second.

It was good to go back and remember why it's an all time classic. There is a reason why a lot of people (and yeah, I think myself included) still consider it the best Zelda even after all this time. OoT is the closest thing I can think to a perfect game, and it's ridiculous that they got so many things right on their first 3D game.

It's obviously a classic today but I think it already felt like a classic the moment it released. There are so many iconic memorable moments, you just know you're playing something special. And God, it was so ahead of its time. So much that, again, it doesn't feel dated at all today. Mario 64 is one of the greatest obviously but when you play it today, you know it's a product of its time. OoT could easily pass by a modern game if it got a new coat of paint and some QoL stuff. Replaying it made me change the perception that it's dungeons were basic and simple, they were not. Dungeons like Forest Temple, Jabu Jabus Belly and Water Temple presented me with a challenge even after all this time, and i caught myself scratching my head looking for my way. It certainly has a better roster of dungeon than, say, Wind Waker.

It just feels timeless, absolutely integral, like it was always meant to happen, and the world simply wouldn't make sense without it. Of course we needed the story of a boy from the forest that traveled back and forth through time to save the kingdom. That story has always existed, and will always exist.
 
3) Paper Mario The Origami King

Most fun I had in years with a Paper Mario game. Iā€™m not in the ā€œI donā€™t like certain PM titles because reasonsā€ camp, but just beat the game after thirty hours and it was just good old wholesome fun.

The writing was quite good and adorkable, but Olivia is such a good kid. Made the game very sweet en herself is endearing. Lots of to see, to defeat and more. While the battle system needs time to shine, it made me appreciate it more over time. I just really enjoyed it.
4. Vampyr

Finally completed the game after 25 hour-ish of gameplay. And that was a good thing, because at the end the game got a lot of weird technical issues; slow down, loading times popping up very quickly, attacks not hitting, the music being al distortedā€¦

I did however like the premise of the game. A blood transfusion expert becoming a vampire? Ha. Still, itā€™s really cool to chose between embracing and healing people. Battle system is wack. Still, solid 6.5/7.0 out of ten for its premise.
 
39. 3D Super Hang-On (3DS) [9.5/10]
Sucks that it's such a small screen, but the 3D effect is some of the best of 3DS. One of the best Sega games.

40. 3D Out Run (3DS) [8/10]
Pretty similar positives and negatives to 3D Super Hang-On, I just think Super Hang-On is a more exciting game.

41. 3D Turbo Out Run (3DS) [7.5/10]
Some beautiful visuals and it feels good when the white car guy cries, but it just isn't as replayable as Out Run and feels a little too busy. Going across the US including the great Atlanta desert feels good.
 
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#8. Doom 2016 (on Switch)

I'm not much of a FPS guy, not because I don't like them but since I've mostly owned Nintendo consoles which don't have that many FPS games... Anyway, despite that I really really loved Doom. The Campaign is just extremely well designed, with levels that almost feel Metroid-ish in how they're built and enemy encounters that are ridiculously intense. This game deserves all the praise it's gotten since its release IMO.

As a note, I thought the Switch port was excellent. To my eyes the graphics were beautiful and performance was mostly great, with some small FPS drops in a few fights.
 
#8. Doom 2016 (on Switch)

I'm not much of a FPS guy, not because I don't like them but since I've mostly owned Nintendo consoles which don't have that many FPS games... Anyway, despite that I really really loved Doom. The Campaign is just extremely well designed, with levels that almost feel Metroid-ish in how they're built and enemy encounters that are ridiculously intense. This game deserves all the praise it's gotten since its release IMO.

As a note, I thought the Switch port was excellent. To my eyes the graphics were beautiful and performance was mostly great, with some small FPS drops in a few fights.
Like Mark Brown said, Doom is the Nintendo game that Nintendo would never make. It really is an amazing FPS, I played both on PC and Switch and I loved it both times.
 
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1. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD (NS) [Finished January 7th, 2022] - 7.5
2. Yoshi's Island (SNES) [Finished January 11th, 2022] - 8.5

3. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D (3DS) [Finished January 24th, 2022] - 10:
There's a lot of problems with this game that can't be overlooked:

  • The child dungeons mostly feel like tutorial fodder and the only one I think I really like is Dodongo's Cavern.
  • The bosses are really pretty bad, I know it's an early 3D game but it's a bit surprising how poorly they've aged. Except Bongo Bongo, which is unexpectedly amazing, and Ganon who's also good.
  • Weirdly enough, just like Final Fantasy VII, this is a game that actually holds your hand less than the SNES predecessor and it's kind of worse for it. There are times in this game where you literally won't know where to go next until Navi jut randomly tells you minutes later because the game doesn't give a hint except for dots on the map ... but there's multiple dots with no given sequential order.
  • The context-sensitive button inputs actually really suck and this is something that I feel like could have easily been changed in the 3DS remake. Basically, instead of buttons being entirely context-based, they're also essentially on a timer where they have to switch from one prompt to another before you can use the correct prompt. I'm a bit surprised it wasn't changed honestly but I imagine it was maybe kept both to be more true to the original but also to be accommodating for less experienced players. It just sucks because it's not uncommon that you accidentally do an action because it takes so long for commands to switch, and it makes the game feel less responsive and a bit more slow-paced.
  • The game sometimes feels like it doesn't reward you much for what you're accomplishing. It can get especially lame if you get something like a seed to help you discover a secret only to realize it's a secret you already did yourself. This is a problem with the traditional Zelda formula in general.
  • The side-quests are actually fairly ok but the amount of high-quality ones is honestly pretty low. It's basically maybe 3 or 4 quests.
  • Pretty much any problems that the traditional Zelda formula has in general, which to me is a lot. I think these are great games, obviously, but they've always been held back in some ways by the formula in my opinion.
Despite all this I ... really really loved my replay of this game? I used to think Zelda was the most consistent 8/10 franchise out there, one that I really liked and thought was consistently great but wouldn't consider myself a fan of. Games like Majora's Mask or Breath of the Wild or maybe even Wind Waker were possible exceptions, but those had a lot of caveats, too.

This replay really has me rethinking things, though. Ocarina of Time isn't underrated by any means, but it's honestly kind of surprising how much personality and craft there is to the story and its pacing. There's a quality here that I feel like a lot of traditional Zelda games kind of miss out on. You learn about all the sages before saving them for the most part, and they're all pretty interesting characters, ones you're usually well-acquainted with before saving. It all feels pretty natural even if you can see it coming.

I think the most important thing though is that, all things considered, the first four adult dungeons are probably the most consistent series of dungeons I've seen in a Zelda game. Even for someone like me that thinks the dungeon formula gets tired and repetitive, even without the context of the entire series and just within individual games themselves, I found myself pretty excited to play the next dungeon. They're actually some of the more complex dungeons in the series, exciting, and they tend to utilize the gear fairly well. They have great themeing and sometimes even a great original track.

It helps that pretty much all of the gear is "cool". It might just be nostalgia affecting my thoughts on this game, it's hard to tell because I didn't play it for the first time too long ago, in 2017. But it was also like a blast from a simpler time playing it and I must admit I really enjoyed the simple world building.

I wanted to play this game for something simple, relaxing and manageable. Something I could just replay. It really hit the spot perfectly. I don't know if I'll ever like this game as much again as I did on this most recent playthrough, but at least I loved it once.


4. Bloodborne (PS4) [Finished February 7th, 2022] - 6:
I just ... don't like this that much. To me, they went way too far with punishing the players by making health-items purely consumables. Admittedly, I've wanted to beat this game so many times that I kind of forced myself to beat this game at times instead of taking my time to learn it. So it's possible I spoiled the experience. But there's just a lot lacking here that I like about Dark Souls or Sekiro, and that's a huge shame.

I hope I come around to it someday ... but honestly, I think I just need to move on.

5. Resident Evil VII (PC) [Finished February 12th, 2022] - 9:
Like with Ocarina I'm probably overrating this a bit but man, this game was really quite a blast from start to finish. Which for someone as cynical as me, feels quite rare. It's a bit surprising just how much mechanics they take from throughout the series, I don't hear it talked about much and it's pretty cool in my opinion.

Resident Evil VII - Not A Hero (PC) [Finished February 12th, 2022] - 8:
Not a particular standout DLC and yes, like Ocarina and REVII, I'm probably overrating it somewhat. But from an experiential standpoint, it was cool. I don't necessarily think DLC needs to be insanely memorable and unforgettable nor do I play DLC that often, it was a good story campaign nonetheless.

6. Crash Bandicoot (PS4) [Finished March 10th, 2022] - 5:
Just not very good. The combination of depth perception problems, lack of subtle movement options in a 3D platformer, imprecise controls, and just general hit detection buggery are all a big hamper on the game. But that's on top of the fact that some levels just are ... kind of bad? The game is so basic it can easily be mistaken for generic, the bosses aren't good and are actually terrible, the music is nice at times but its a bit too modest and soft which ... is weird for the type of game this is? A few levels are also just too long for how annoying or hard they can be.

Not gonna lie, the basic setup here isn't bad. There's definitely some inherent problems with Crash Bandicoot as a concept, like making an precision platformer in 3D with a bad camera angle, but then topping it off with all the other problems that Crash has .... ugh.
 
42. Out Run 3-D (3DS) [6/10]
Unfortunately completely outdated by modern home console versions of Out Run and particularly 3D Out Run with two exceptions: the visuals in the tunnel level are nice and the music is good. Must have been crazy to play back in the day though.
 
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13. Thief II: The Metal Age
This was a fun extension to the original game. As I had played Thief Gold first, I had an easier time with this game since I was already aware of most of the shortcomings of the enemy AI, though I learned some new ones during this playthrough as well! As opposed to the OG game which had a lot of supernatural/non-human elements, this game tones that down considerably and only has a few supernatural enemies. However, it does have quite a few robotic enemies to fit into the new theme of overly-mechanized society. Strangely enough, the only level I needed a guide to beat was the very first one, every other mission I was able to finish without having to search up what to do.
 
43. Rusty's Real Deal Baseball (3DS) [8/10]
Gripping storytelling. One of my favorite 3DS games that isn't a remake. Glad I got to experience it before it was wiped from this earth like my beloved Super Mario 3D World.
 
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7) Triangle Strategy

I had some issues and irritation playing this game the first time through, but on balance I think it's excellent. More than enough strengths to overcome my irritations. Enjoyed the bittersweet ending I got and I should be able to do 2 of the 3 remaining endings from a save file I made at the key decision point. I'll also likely return to it for a Golden Route attempt in a month or two.

If you like tactics JRPGs, then get this.
 


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