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StarTopic The 2023 Completed Games Thread

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1. Persona 5 Royal
2. Metroid Prime Remastered
3. WarioWare (GBA NSO)
4. Fire Emblem Engage
5. Metroid Fusion (NSO)
6. Paranormasight
7. Trails to Azure

What a fantastic ride. Despite what my avatar/username might suggest, the Trails series is one of my absolute favorites. The journey started in 2021 when I tried Cold Steel on a whim, and my experience with Azure over the past few weeks encapsulated everything I love about these games: great character moments and interactions, compelling world building, and a slowly unraveling mystery. It isn't perfect -- for example, I had some issues with certain boss fights, which I went over in the ST with spoiler tags. Thinking about it now, though, I think Azure still might be my favorite Trails game. I will have to revisit that thought after some time has passed and see if it holds up.

This game feels like a big payoff for everything that took place before it; in hindsight, I wish I would have played these games in release order, starting with the Sky trilogy. For reference, this is how it played out for me: Cold Steel --> Cold Steel II --> (I then realized that knowing the other stories would actually be important, so I looked up story summaries for Crossbell -- keep in mind there were no official localizations in sight at this time, and I was invested in continuing the Cold Steel storyline) --> Cold Steel III --> Cold Steel IV --> Sky FC --> Sky SC --> Sky the 3rd --> Zero --> Azure

Going into Azure, I already knew some things that were going to happen. Still, even though I knew those things, there was value in seeing HOW everything transpired and how it set up the future arcs. Another good thing about playing Zero and Azure within the last 6 months is that both will be very fresh in my mind when Reverie comes out in July. If you are interested in the Trails series and playing in release order, I will highly recommend it ONLY if you don't mind a slow burn, with Sky FC especially. If I had no prior experience with the series before playing that game, I would have gotten bored very quickly.

Anyways, it's gonna be tough switching to a different game now. I tend to get into a lull after finishing long games like Azure (my playthrough was over 75 hours long). Still, the backlog has to be tackled, especially after picking up some 3DS games at the last minute. I anticipate that my next couple of entries will come from that group, since I'm not picking up any new games until Tears of the Kingdom. Trails is going to be on my mind for a while, though, and Reverie has become my most anticipated game this year. It's really a great time to be a Trails fan!
 
#01 Aladdin (SNES)
#02 Disney's Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse (SNES)
#03 Magical Pop'n (SNES)
#04 Bonkers (SNES)
#05 Portal (Switch)
#06 Star Fox (SNES)
#07 Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania (Switch)
#08 Nintendoland (Wii U)
#09 Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii U)
#10 Mario Kart Super Circuit (NSO)
#11 Kuru Kuru Kururin (NSO)
#12 Super Mario Land 2 (NSO)
#13 Wario Ware Inc. Mega Microgame$ (NSO)
#14 Metroid Prime Remastered (Switch)
#15 Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga (NSO)
#16 Pokémon Snap (NSO)

#17 Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair


I've been playing this on and off for about a year now, but I finally finished it today.

I'm a huge fan of the og DKC trilogy, so I was very excited to try a new 2D platformer by (some of) the same devs. I had also heard it was a mix between Rare DKC and Retro DKC, and I was hoping there would be a bigger focus on the Rare part.

Well, the Rare DNA is certainly there. Most of the enemies are archetypes based on DKC enemies, there are barrel sections like they used to be in the old games, lots of rope climbing etc. The gameplay however is still quite different, especially how it feels to control the characters. Controlling Yooka doesn't feel amazing, I can't quite out my finger on why, but it's a bit imprecise. I think the level design is solid, but most of the time it's nothing spectacular. Probably my biggest complaint is the all the levels feel very samey. They have the same kind of enemies, the same kind of platforming, same obstacles, etc. They all feel like the same level, and it doesn't help that the theming isn't very good. All of the levels used more or less the same assets, there isn't enough that is visually distinctive about each of them, so the game got a bit boring halfway on. In the last levels, I was still playing through the same things, just a bit harder. That was a bit disappointing coming from the team that gave us the amazingly unique scenarios of SNES DKC and so many unique level mechanics in DKC3. The mechanic of having two versions of each level is interesting, but in the end I thought it was form over function, because the levels frequently had areas and doors that you could see but couldn't access and it was frustrating because you never know if it's a secret that you can solve or if it's because that area is only accessible on the other version of the level. Overall the mechanic felt mostly cosmetic.

The overworld is probably the best part of the game. It's like a separate game on its own, basically a mini 2D Zelda. Seeing how great it is, it made me wish Playtonic would make a Zelda like in the same vein, I would totally okay that. The goofy Banjo-Kazooie humor is in full force here, and the game often got me laughing at its silly jokes.

The nominal Impossible Lair is an interesting concept, and I see it as the devs wanting to go crazy with some DKC hard ass gameplay and trying to make that still approachable by having the player have 48 free hits throughout it. I enjoyed the level and I think it was pretty manageable with the inclusion of the checkpoints. It took me 12 tries to beat it, and each time I got better and was already skipping some sections because I managed to clear them with a good number of free hits left. In the final battle I actually had 0 bees left so it was only me and the boss, and it felt great.

All in all the game was fun. It's a competent platformer, won't rock anyone's world but it's definitely worth playing. I'm excited to see what Playtonic is working on next.
 
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ngpdrew said:
7.) Metroid Fusion (NSO) - Revisiting this was interesting because the context around it (for me) has changed a lot since 2002. Back then, I played it as a youngling with only a passing familiarity with Samus and had a grand time. In the intervening years, I've heard much about how Fusion plays it too fast and loose with series conventions. And I guess I kind of agree? It has no trouble pointing you in the right direction every couple of minutes, as if you can't be trusted to explore the space station. But...it's just a different kind of search action game. Super Metroid leans more heavily on the search half of search action, and Fusion leans far more heavily on the action half. I think that's fine!

As for the game itself, it is as smooth to play as ever. It is perhaps a little too smooth at first when it feels like Samus can steamroll every enemy, including bosses. The difficulty ramps up significantly in the back half, though, and by the end the bosses are just brutal. Conquering SA-X, Ridley, and Nightmare felt great.

Overall, really fun Metroid. Not as good as Super, but also not nearly the dark mark on the franchise I have seen it treated as for being different.
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8.) Kirby's Return to Dreamland Deluxe (NS) - I was pretty skeptical about going back to 2D Kirby after Forgotten Land, but my birthday is in March so...you know, I can afford a gamble. Thankfully this gambit paid off much more than my March Madness bracket! It's a delight from beginning to end, like many classic games in the franchise, and some of the additional quirks added along the way make for a fun change of pace. I can't say the powered-up copy abilities were a huge difference maker, but I can say that I was excited to obtain them each and every time because there is just something satisfying about totally obliterating entire screens' worth of enemies with a single swipe.

The bonus epilogue reminds me of Shovel Knight's Plague of Shadows, in which after completing the base game you were allowed to practically break it with one of the main villains. Magholor is a little less broken than Plague Knight, but by the end of the campaign you do feel mostly unbeatable (that is until you fight the typically cosmologically terrifying final boss).

This merits a big recommend from me! Maybe there are other games from the end of the Wii era that I should give a fair shake...
 
juuso said:
I've been keeping a list this year, but haven't posted in this thread before. I'll just dump the whole thing now, in the order I've completed them:

Yooka-Laylee
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
Portal
Please, Touch The Artwork
Puddle Knights
Beast Breaker
Portal 2
Hades
God of War Ragnarök
The Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap
Metroid Prime Remastered
Steamworld Heist
Metroid Fusion

Metroid Fusion was last night. I didn't like it all that much, I prefer more interconnected areas without a clear hub world, with a sense of being on an adventure and occasionally lost.
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that’s a good list of games! how did you like God of War?
 
13. Super Mario Bros 2: Yoshi’s Island - I have mentioned who’s somewhere on this website a long time ago, but I had never beaten this game before. So I remedied that. Great game. Have played some of the other games, so familiar with the play style. What else can I say other than that the Underground Theme is maybe the best level theme Koji Kondo has created.
 
1. Pikmin 3 Deluxe [Switch]
2. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney [Switch]
3. The Last Campfire [Switch]
4. Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope [Switch]
5. Blanc [Switch]
6. Theatrhythm Final Bar Line [Switch]

Blanc
Took an afternoon and played with a friend. It was ok. The art is cute and the puzzles are easy. I didn't feel compelled by the story but it was nice that it doesn't end badly or end up being secretly about depression or something dark so in that respect I liked having something different.

Theatrhythm Final Bar Line
Rhythm games are hard to determine an ending point for but I did all the special quests and got to a credits portion so in that respect I'll consider it an ending of some kind. I am still continuing to play. I got credits around 10 hours in but I'm at about nearly 80 hours on my save file. Almost have all the feats (waiting on some collectacards to drop to finish those off).
I also played both Final Fantasy Theatrhythm games on 3DS and I'm super happy they brought one onto Switch. Its well done, the music is good and I like seeing all these characters in the art style they've chosen for the game. I always recommend people download the demo for this one, even if they have played the previous versions just to see how you feel about the button configurations. I'd even recommend trying the Playstation demo as well to see if the configuration of the controller sticks on a Sony controller vs Joycons will make a difference.
I love that there's a mode in the options that'll show you a lot of extra data, including showing controller inputs on screen. I personally think its great to have on if you stream the game. I've watched a few streams and its neat to see what different buttons people choose to use for the game.

I also tried the One Button mode in the game and I think its less interesting for me but I could see people who have trouble with rhythm games enjoying that.
Two player coop mode I convinced a friend to try out with me and while that was neat (you both have different notes to watch out for), I found it confusing to keep up with as I kept wanting to hit notes that weren't mine.
 
11th game finished for 2023 is Jump King. Many expletives were uttered during the process of completion.
 
  1. Omori
  2. Honkai Impact 3rd
  3. Metroid Prime Remastered
Honkai Impact 3rd (
Part 1 of the story ended recently, so I'm counting it. A fantastic journey with some amazing characters. Story was great and made me cry at multiple points, but it does get super complicated (and wordy) towards the end, with the need to read other works to get some more context. I love the characters and Kiana Kaslana might have become one of my top 3 female characters in gaming. Animated cutscenes were beautiful, each and every one of them. And the music accompanying them were also great I've been listening to them on repeat for the past few weeks. The combination of the two made me cry multiple times and some still bring some tears to my eyes.
As for combat it was great, even if a little bit simplistic (it's a mobile game after all). Haven't done any of the other modes as they simply didn't interest me much. Also it has alot of recycled content and I mean alot. Levels were the biggest offenders since most repeated over and over. Music outside the cutscenes wasn't as memorable, but I still need to listen to them properly
It's a game you mostly play for the story and characters. But those are fantastic anyway so it's ok. Highly reccomend it

Omori
Started this in 2022 but finished it this year. all I can say is that it was short and sweet. Combat was ok, but it reached a point where I didn't want to engage with it. Story and atmosphere are the highlight here, with the last strech being amazing. liked it alot, but I don't think I'll return to it.

Metroid Prime Remastered
still as good as I remember, but the phazon mines are such a lowpoint that it doesn't make me want to replay it again just because of them. truly an awful area all-around. Other than that, Music and gameplay are still great.
 
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Red Monster said:
that’s a good list of games! how did you like God of War?
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Liked the story, characters, and performances, especially Odin and the other Aesir, but the gameplay was a little too triple A for me with all the skill trees and collectibles. The combat was great, and I liked the variety from the new weapons a lot.

This is nitpicking, but there was a tendency to justify every gameplay mechanic in the story, perhaps out of fear of ludonarrative dissonance, and some of those moments felt kind of awkward. It's okay to have a compass on screen without somebody giving me an in-game compass 😅
 
meatbag said:
You can finish this? I thought this was designed to be endlessly playable or something.

Also man I still need to play GoW Ragnarok. Maybe next year.
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I finished the story (part 1 ended recently) so I'm counting it like I finished a game. I'll add something to the post to make it clear
 
1. Resident Evil 4 Remake : had the same frustrating experience than back in 2005 overall, the island part just flat out sucks, also i don't know if my TV is broken or what but the HDR is "off" somehow. AMAZING music tho, better than the original, specially during boss fights. Now to finish the game 100 times more to platinum.
 
I thought i haven beaten a lot of games, but according to my howlongtobeat
  1. Gravity rush 2 (Fantastic game, loved every second of it)
  2. Neon White (It dragged to long for my liking, but the gameplay loop was amazing)
  3. Doom: Sigil (A little hard and convoluted but a nice addon to have on the switch port of doom)
  4. Shin Megami Tensei V (I really liked the first 20 hours of this game, but the grinding became so obnoxious i ended up getting the exp dlc)
  5. Super Mario Land 2 (Amazing, never finished this one before and loved it)
  6. Hi-Fi Rush (What a game, we need more like this in the future)
  7. Kirby Dreamland (Plays amazing on switch online)
  8. DKC: Returns (Played it emulated with HD textures and was a far superior experience to the waggle and the choppy framerate on the 3ds)
  9. River City Girls: Zero (Played it with a friend and was a blast, but certainly aged poorly)
  10. Final Fantasy 7 Remake (I havent played the original yet but this game was so fun to complete, even with the stretched out missions)
  11. Flower (I never got the chance to play this one before and had a blast with it)
  12. Kirby Dreamland 2 ( I liked it far more than the first one, its like mario land 1 to 2 in terms of quality)
 
I think this thread will be a good place for me to track my progress this year. I have this really bad habit of enjoying a game and getting a decent bit into and then just stopping. I don’t know why it happens, it happens all the time with games I like, but it does happen. And maybe in their own way those games are complete but this year I’m trying to return to a lot of them and just see where I can go, whether that’s fully completing, realizing it’s not for me, or just deciding I went far enough (like with Metroid Dread where I got all the way to the final boss, tried a few times and failed, but in my book that’s completed). Anyway, this year so far I’ve finished:

1) Carto- really fun with a neat puzzle mechanic

2) Oxenfree- another shorter fun game I think I finished in a weekend, I think the intent is definitely there to play through multiple times but 1 was enough for now : p

3) Final Fantasy 7 Remake- only played up to shortly after Midgar in the original so it was interesting to see that stretched over a much longer game. When I stopped playing last year it was right after a big climax (this is a common theme with me) right after the plate dropping is when I picked it back up in the story so I finished out the last few chapters and it was fine, definitely felt like it was starting to drag though

4) Ace Attorney: Phoenix Wright- this is actually my second time finishing this, I first finished it on iOS a few years ago and just refinished the Switch Version in prep for a whole series run through, I just got 4,5,6 on the final Eshop sale and have The Great Ace Attorney sitting started and unfinished :/. I love this first game a lot with all the characters and I love the Edgeworth and Wright dynamic. The last case that was added in the DS version WAS SO LONG THOUGH, it was good but it just kept going.

5) A Short Hike- I started this and played it for a few hours over a year ago, and was just sitting in my “games to finish” folder on my switch. So even if I just had to spend 15 minutes to roll credits tonight im counting it. Definitely a fun game I can see myself revisiting in the future on a lazy summer day

Next up on my plate is Xenoblade 3 which I stopped playing right after the climax of Chapter 6 HA, but now with the DLC heroes all out and the final wave on the way I decided now was the time to get back to it.

And I’ve decided that now I won’t buy anymore games until I get through some more of my backlog Good thing I decided this after my 3DS/WiiU Eshop hails and also after ordering Prime Remastered earlier this week : p
 
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Another one bites the dust:

Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies

I have to admit, it has taken me a little more than usual to finish this one.

I started the game hyped out after finishing Apollo Justice, but franchise burnout and the second case made me slow down significantly. Honestly, i never thought the Amerijapan meme was such a glaring thing, but the second case of this game absolutely exposes it, it's all so, SO japanese that the village built by japanes inmigrants bullshit doesn't fly AT ALL.

But well, leaving that aside.

Before i started the game i read some opinion pieces about how it was the worst in the series and stuff (to be fair, there's at least one of those for each game aside from the original AA and T&T) but... it's not bad at all? Sure, the writing is less subtle than usual - and being AA as subtle as a bag of bricks, that's saying something - and there's the awful second case, but if you take that out of the equation, it's surprisingly good.

Dual Destinies is a direct sequel to Apollo Justice, Phoenix just got his badge back and there's a new Attorney joining the agency, it continues the dark age of law story line, with full focus on the issue at large instead of a single character, and it does it pretty well! The third case makes it its focus, and paints a pretty bleak picture that stays for the rest of the game, i'd say it's the darkest and saddest game in the series.

Art wise, it's amazing, easily the best 3DS game graphically speaking as far as my experience goes. Big, detailed models with smooth and elaborated animations - though some designs don't adjust very well to their 3D model, like Phoenix himself - and music jumps from synth to orchestated, sounding absolutely amazing even if it loses some strenght in the transition.

Overall, the game has left a good taste in my mouth and i'm ready to tackle Spirit of Justice, that would make it the last in the series for me since i can get my hands on The Great Ace Attorney by the moment (i'm fucking brooooooooooooooke)
 
Finished in 2023 #8: Pokémon Emerald Rogue (GBA Hack)

Okay, technically I've finished the main adventure and the Magolor Epilogue of Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe, but I'm not gonna consider that one finished until my partner and I go through Extra Mode and The True Arena. So how about a different game, one I beat a couple of weeks ago at this point? And instead of an "original" game, it's a hack of an existing one? Eh, I'll allow it.

Take a GBA Pokémon game, add in modern mechanics, and turn the whole thing into a randomized adventure. Random Wild Pokémon, random boss order, random route selection, random opportunities to heal up or stock up on items, all streamlined into 3-5 hour long runs. That's Emerald Rogue, an incredibly fun take on the roguelike genre that features plenty of intense battles. It's approachable if you know Pokémon mechanics, but since Pokémon who faint are lost, you'll need to try hard to adapt to whatever is thrown your way. Thankfully the game gives you progression outside of runs - every time you finish a run you get rewards like Rare Candies to permanently buff the starting level of your Pokémon, access to catching the Pokémon from your run to use as your starter, and money to spend on moves/items to buff your roster or to bring into your run. And you can always tweak the options to make the game more or less difficult to your liking.

I ended up getting to the end on my second run on the default difficulty. I was lucky with my starter (a Lapras - you choose a starter before the first run and the choices are random), and while it didn't make it to the end of the run, it helped me assemble a tough team, including a Groudon which carried me to the end of the game. And finishing your first run opens up more options - more bosses, Pokémon from later generations, and more. There's a lot to sink your teeth into, and if you're a Pokémon fan who wants to try something a little different, this one comes highly recommended.
 
As part of the Wii U fridge cleaning...

Resident Evil: Revelations is the most unremarkable game I remember playing. Back when it came out on 3DS, it stood out as a full-fledged Resident Evil on handheld and as return to the classic style of the series, sandwiched between the excesses of Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil 6. Eleven years removed from that context, there's nothing to Revelations. If anything, what's revelatory now is how the game still feels the need to be fifty percent action sequences and how this supposedly more traditional formula includes little in the way of puzzles or item managment. The Horror half of the Survival Horror theme is reflected in the atmospheric ghost ship setting and the deep-sea creatures inspired monster design, but the Survival part boils down to the campaign handing out barely enough ammo for the amount of bullet sponge enemies it throws at you. I almost gave up on an early boss and if I had quit right there and then, I wouldn't have missed anything. But I also don't regret sticking with the game and finishing it. That sums up how very much not special Revelations is, in either direction. Whatever flavor of Resident Evil you prefer, in whatever mix of action and horror, you could pick two or three better games to play before Revelations just from its own series alone.

However, had I played Revelations closer to release, and potentially gotten big-time into the Raid Mode, I think I would have been impressed. On the other hand, 2012 me wouldn't have rolled their eyes as hard at Jessica as I did today and those outfit choices deserve all the eye-rolling in the world.

Beat Pokemon Scarlet, but the final stretch left me in too much bliss to pass judgement on the whole game right now, so instead here's two little sweeties, both by way of the Cowabunga Collection and both in their Arcade version:

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has so much in common with Turtles in Time that I questioned myself repeatedly whether the foggy childhood memory I have of playing a TMNT beat 'em up on Super Nintendo wasn't in fact me playing on a friend's NES. Only unlimited credits made playing this tolerable. Given those, however, it was surprising how despite the hard-to-intuit controls, frustrating hit boxes, putrid boss patterns and "super armor on attacks for me but not for thee" enemy design there was a fun, fast, unforgettable romp underneath that'd be satisfying to get good at, warts and eccentricities and all.

Turtles in Time, again, reminded me more of the original than I was prepared for. The resemblance was close enough some levels could pass for remasters rather than sequels. Unexpectedly, for such a lauded classic, the similarities included the bad parts mentioned above. Although I feel like I would be ready to forgive those instantly if I ever figured out how to get the dive kick out consistently. Is it height of the jump? Is it directional input? There were strings of half a dozen dive kicks in a row where I thought I had nailed it down and was on the way to cheesing an encounter and then, suddenly, half a dozen limp floaty kicks ruin the streak of being untouchable.
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I beat Metroid Fusion as part of Fami's Metroid Prime and Fusion 20th Anniversary Event and I'll keep most of my thoughts to the dedicated thread. Suffice to say I loved it. And part of the joy was discovering, in retrospect, Fusion's DNA all over Dread. The linear level layout that yet still sometimes tricks you into feeling like you walked in an unsuspected direction and discovered a secret passage beyond the intentions of the designers, bosses that are a bigger focus than previously in the series as well as normal enemies that have to be taken seriously for a change, and the big blue screen you return to in regular intervals to get talked at by a robotic voice. The smartest small change Dread made was eliminate Samus' inner monolgue during elevator sequences as if it was Harrison Ford's narration during the original cut of Blade Runner. That alone makes Samus a compelling character because players are allowed to read into her. And it's a much easier adjustment than "write better sentences".

Continuing the sampling of the Cowabunga Collection, I can now confidently state that Fall of the Foot Clan is the Turtles game I owned as a kid. And only because I recognized one level and boss. The game doesn't stick to memory. It's very short and very easy. I don't remember if I beat it as kid nor guess at if I was disappointed if I did. To its credit, part of why it is easy is how snappy the controls are. You can pretty much hit enemies behind you and in front of you in the same frame. Every hit I took was because I fell asleep at the wheel or because the camera wasn't centered where it should have been.

Sticking with the sequel on Game Boy, Back from the Sewers cranked up graphics and difficulty. I didn't try Hard since Medium had enough unfair moments. I definitely would not have beaten this as a kid. Even with save states helping me through the bullshit, I entered the final boss room with two health left. Thankfully Krang was a pushover as always. I'm less likely to play this again than Fall of the Foot Clan, as the latter works as a sub-one-hour palatte cleanser between new playthroughs.
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1. Fire Emblem Engage. I didn't actually finish it lol, I shelved it on Chapter 22, so almost at the end, but I got burned and felt I'd got enough with my ~110 hour playthrough. But I'll return to it to complete whatever's left, it was enjoyable.

2. Metroid Prime Remastered. This was the second time I played Prime and it was just as enjoyable as the first one. I got surprised by how quickly I finished it, as I honestly didn't remember too much about it but it still took a little less than 20 hours.

In particular, it was a blast because it pretty much was a spectacular showcase for my new OLED TV. The super high contrast and the resulting perfect black uniformity elevated the Space Pirate levels to a new level of immersion I honestly didn't think it was possible. I was in awe when I was escaping the labs that go dark when you obtain the thermal visor, and also when you go to the lowest levels of the Phazon Mines and the Metroids pop so much in obscurity. But since most areas are poorly lit, most of the game also looks just plain incredible.
 
18. Resident Evil: Director's Cut (Playstation) [9.5/10]

One of the truly iconic and great games on PS1. I've played Resident Evil on Gamecube quite a few times, but haven't played this game since the DS port released and never played the original. It's glaring how much less is in the game compared to the Gamecube remake, but it's equally impressive how ground breaking of a game they made on their first try (I didn't play arrange mode). Beat the game as Jill but Barry died so I definitely have a few more play throughs in me.

I would still say it can stand on its own despite the presence of the Gamecube version-- the PS1 visuals and horrible VA have their own charm, and the game has much better pacing at times because there just isn't as much stuff or as many puzzles.

I found out in the boulder section of the game that my disc was defective and had to go through a lot of crap to get a replacement. A grim reminder that even the best PS1 games are PS1 games.
 
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1. Desperados III [ PC ] - 9
2. Ace Attorney Investigations: Prosecutor's Path ( Replay ) [ DS*] - 10
3. Resident Evil Deadly Silence [ DS*] - 8.5
4. Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney ( Replay ) [ 3DS ] - 8.5
5. Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box [ DS ] - 7
6. Professor Layton and the Unwound Future [ DS ] - 7
7. Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies ( Replay ) [ 3DS ] - 9
8. Koumajou Remilia: Scarlet Symphony [ NS ] - 7
9. Gargoyle's Quest [ GB ] - 7
10. Ace Attorney Investigations ( Replay ) [ DS ] - 9
Capcom Arcade Stadium 1 & 2 [ NS ]
11. Cyberbots: Fullmetal Madness - 7.5
13. Giga Wing - 7
14. Progear - 8
15. Eco Fighters - 8.5
16. Darkstalkers The Night Warriors - 5
12. Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride [ DS*] - 10
17. Signalis [ NS ] - 10 - 2 playthroughs
18. Ace Attorney: Apollo Justice ( Replay ) [ 3DS ] - 6 - Replay but first time on the 3DS
19. Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice ( Replay ) [ 3DS ] - 10
20. Ace Attorney ( Replay ) [ DS ] - 10 - This is probably my 6th or 7th playthrough overall
21. Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon [ NS ] - 9

22. Final Fight 2 [ SNES* ] - 7

Solid improvement over the first game, feels a little bit too repetitive and long winded at times, more so with the general lack of variety and quantity of weapons to pick up, if every stage was a section shorter it would be better paced.

23. Final Fight 3 [ SNES* ] - 8

Great game, banger of an OST, much more faster in terms of movements, the addition of command based moves add more spice to the encounters, definitely a trilogy that only got better with each entry.

24. Metroid Prime ( Replay ) [ NS ] - 10 - First Switch playthrough, I lost count of how much I played it on the Gamecube, pretty sure I played it twice on the Trilogy release.

Ngl, any complaint that could arise for this game, I'll say skill issue (mostly joking). This reconfirms that I would have liked the EMMI sections from Dread to be more like the Phazon Mines, that level of tension I think is still unmatched and a great use of limited save rooms to up the level consequence in the game. Still among the best games I ever played, it had a big impact on me when I played it as a kid, soundtrack perfection, an amazing world, a good story told through the logs and environmental segments, and arguably the greatest title screen in any game, favorite Ridley fight, and what a great final boss.

The remastering itself I'm satisfied with, I'm someone that thinks that Prime still looks great to this day and didn't need a remaster, and thankfully for the most part, this doesn't mess with the original game style and execution too much (some rooms a little too dark, and the thermal visor looking too blurry aside), really I'm just glad that I like it so I don't have to come to forums to say "actually the original looks better in the section because of x or y".

Also I'm sad that we won't get to see this design of Samus ever again, my favorite so far.
 
45. Resident Evil 4 Remake

Genuinely better than the original. Not as mind-blowing for the time of release, but smoothes over a lot and gets rid of half the game being a giant QTE.

46. Kirby's Return to Dreamland DX

Not my favorite mainline Kirby, but I've had a ton of fun with Magolor Epilogue and Magoland. Main campaign is somewhat more repetitive than the best Kirby games, and locales feel a bit safe, very NSMB-ish. Weird side-dimension things I've not enjoyed by the end and was dreading to go into one. Playing both RE and Kirb on harder difficulty now.
 
11)Legend of Zelda the minish Cap
Was a fun little adventure. Not going through the hell of finishing the kinstones tho
12)Ducktales remastered
Was a fun last adventure with the og crew and brought me a lot of smiles. Forgot how bad Webby was in the original show. Moon theme is indeed goat

I technically finished a route in FEWTH. But I’m doing all 3 so it’s not going on this list yet.
Previous games:
1)Yoku’s island express
2)Live a Live
3)Arcade Paradise
4)The Great Ace Attorney Adventures
5)Immortal Fenyx rising
6) SD Gundam Battle Alliance
7)Nier Automata
8)Crimson Skies High road to revenge
9)Stacking
10)Conker Live and reloaded
 
Finished two more games for 2023, both SNES NSO games I’ve been playing to relieve myself of Baba-induced headaches. One is a replay of the timeless classic Super Mario World (#13). The other is Wild Guns (#14), which was a pretty dope shooting gallery style of game with great spritework.
 
I continued Kate Walker's journey to Syberia with Hans Voralberg in Syberia 2. Bought this for the princely sum of £1.49 as a double pack, and it's astonishing value for money.

The Switch port isn't amazing, but it runs well enough. I played mostly docked. I tried touch controls in handheld but found them a bit clumsy and actually preferred the regular controls, even if it meant navigating was less intuitive (you can't pixel hunt in this mode to find things to interact with).

The artwork is even more gorgeous than the first game. Some of the puzzles are predictably obtuse, but aside from a quick glance at a guide on occasion to steer me in the right direction, I managed just fine. The voice acting is mostly great, but slightly stilted and of the period. I felt the locales weren't as varied as the first but what was lacking in variety was made up for in sheer beauty.

This is a direct continuous of the previous game and so it isn't as strong as a standalone title and the ending doesn't tie up all loose narrative threads. I look forward to playing the third in the series, despite mixed to negative reviews.

This game actually soft locked on me, and I was able to repeat the bug. I also didn't appreciate not being able to manually save. Sometimes I lost some progress in spite of the cogwheels indicating an autosave because it only returns you to an invisible checkpoint.

All technical issues aside, I thoroughly enjoyed this title, particularly the book within the game which serves as both a source of hints to puzzles, and an in-game anthropological account, filled with lovely artwork.

It's not quite as good as its predecessor, but the first set a rather high bar.

4 narwhal tusks out of 5 woolly mammoths.

January
01. [NSW] Regency Solitaire - 4/5

February
02. [NSW] Dungeon Encounters - 5/5
03. [GB/NSO] Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins - 3/5
04. [GB/NSO] Gargoyle's Quest - 3/5
05. [NES/NSO] Metroid - 3/5

March
06. [GB/NSO] Metroid II: Return of Samus - 4/5
07. [GBA/NSO] SMA4: Super Mario Bros. 3 - 5/5
08. [SNES/NSO] Super Metroid - 5/5
09. [NSW] Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion - 2/5

April
10. [NSW] Syberia 2 (from Syberia 1 & 2) - 4/5
 
14. Spider-Man (PS4) - I think I will put some comments in the spoilers although I’m not going to say much. Just character stuff so people might not want to know that:

There was a lot to like about the game but also some things I didn’t like. Misty with the structure.

Pros: Combat was great. Lots of freedom to go about fights how you wanted. Was cool to mix in stealth attacks and all the gadgets and stuff. Probably the best aspect of the open world. Movement was great too, but got irritating after awhile because you might have to go across the city. Glad when the fast travel opened up.

Act 3 - now that’s what I wanted out of a super hero game. Big bad set piece fights. Loved the dual villain fights since it made you approach them in unique ways.

Visuals - game looked fantastic and had some really cool stuff toward the end with the more out there location designs.

Cons: Open World fatigue is probably how I would describe it. At the beginning I really enjoyed the traversal and doing the fighting challenges and the bases, but things started to drag on at the end. By the third set of them, I was over it. What was more irritating was sometimes they lock out the story missions to have you explore and upgrade even though I already had competed that stuff for the act. So I was made to literally just sit with the game on and wait for the missions to pop up. Really appreciate the breath of the Wild style which is more open ended and you just stumble upon things. This became a checklist game by the end.

MJ/Miles missions. Liked the characters. Hated the forced stealth missions that were essentially a corridor walking mission where you interact with one item to distract a guard and proceed. The last miles one was fun though because of the setup. Don’t need those at all for the sequel.

Overall I would say worth playing if you’re a Spider-Man fan, but would have rather had more villain focus earlier on. Haven’t done the DLC and not sure I really want to. I have this through plus and it goes away in May, so light do it.
 
Pineapple Pizza said:
4 narwhal tusks out of 5 woolly mammoths.
Click to expand...
Which begs the question, how did those narwhal tusks manage to get on land and pierce the mammoths

Barely Able said:
Overall I would say worth playing if you’re a Spider-Man fan
Click to expand...
That’s pretty much the sales pitch for the Spider-Man video game. Open world happens to be a good way to experience being a superhero
 
Previously in 2023...

* Denotes replay

1) Guardians of the Galaxy - Cloud Version (NSW)
2) Rise of the Third Power (NSW)
3) Haiku, the Robot (NSW)
4) Fire Emblem Engage (NSW)
5) The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap (GBA NSO)*
6) WareWare Inc. (GBA NSO)*
7) Panzer Dragoon Remake (NSW)*
8) Final Fantasy IX (NSW)*
9) UnMetal (NSW)
10) Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope (NSW)

11) Octopath Traveler 2 (NSW)

A near perfect example of an iterative sequel done right. I enjoyed the original well enough, but had plenty of issues with it. Most of those issues have been ironed out leaving one of the most surprising and delightful gaming experiences I've had in some time. It feels like they listened to feedback from the first game and fixed nearly all of it while still staying true to their vision for the series. Game of the year candidate for me and I will continue to look forward to whatever is next from Team Asano.
 
11. [NSW] What Remains of Edith Finch - 5/5

Short and bittersweet and woah!--what a fantastic game. A few hours of linear narrative twists and turns, with some clever interactive gameplay. It looks great, if a little dark on my TV--so crank up the brightness in the options and buckle in for an intriguing peek into a very tragic and somewhat dysfunctional family.

It's on sale so grab it while you can. I paid more and it'd been sat collecting digital dust on my metaphorical Switch shelf for years. It was worth the price of admission. Like a really great film that you know will stay with you for a long time after you leave the theatre.
 
meatbag said:
Which begs the question, how did those narwhal tusks manage to get on land and pierce the mammoths
Click to expand...
In a game where you trick some penguins into believing a Russian doll is a bird egg, and where an inventor literally replaces his heart with a mechanical one, anything is possible!
 
1.) Hades
Technically beat this in 2022 main story wise but I got the full ending in January and platinumed the game
2.) Kingdom Hearts 3
Also Technically beat it in 2022 but in December and finished the dlc and all the data fights ect in January
3.) Kena Bridge of Spirits
Considering platinuming this one but its hardest difficultly is intimidating lol
4.) Outer Wilds (and Echoes of the Eye)
I beat this game two months ago but have thought about it every day. The OST. DLC. Everything. Probably top 3 game for me, ever



Now I'm playing Obra Dinn and Sekiro
 
Astro's Playroom

I'll leave aside the snarky comment that lives rent free in my mind about Sony doing a controller tech demo and go down to business, because for its short lenght, this was an amazing first game to play on my PS5.

An incredible journey through the history of Playstation full of joy and heart, and quite an effective way to show off the Dualsense by the way. I had already used that controller on PC, but not even in my wildest dreams i could imagine it could reach such heights when it comes to inmersion. Absolutely amazing.

Astro is a wonderfully cute little thing, the little robot is incredibly expressive, and the worlds you go through with him are fun and varied. I had so much fun going through them, even if some of the customes were a little annoying to deal with (the climbing sections, those were sooooooooooo long)

The final boss,
the T-Rex tech demo
was an incredible way to finish the game.

Heart and Soul aren't concepts i usually relate to Playstation, wich for me has always been mostly an empty husk, but this game has both in spades.
 
Have gotten really bad at updating things. Finished the Resident Evil 4 Remake before going on holidays and really enjoyed it. The original is one of my favourite games of all time and the remake does a good job updating it for modern hardware without losing too much in the process. A lot of stuff is better (parrying, Ashley, obviously the graphics, certain enemy types) but it's also streamlined in a way that makes it almost too smooth an experience, if that makes sense. I'm tempted to revisit the HD remaster right away to have a direct comparison but I've already started so many replays...

  1. Dark Souls III
  2. Super Mario Bros. 3 (GBA)
  3. The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
  4. The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons
  5. Donkey Kong Country
  6. Metroid Prime Remastered
  7. Metroid Fusion
  8. Kirby's Dream Land
  9. WarioWare, Inc. Mega Microgames!
  10. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
  11. Resident Evil 4 Remake
 
So jealous of everyone playing Resident Evil 4 Remake. But I have to be fiscally responsible, especially since I have to be able to afford Zelda
 
Edit: Updates since I last posted.

5) Yakuza 4 - MUCH better than 3. Nice change of pace to have various protagonists, the tone is very inconsistent... even by Yakuza standards. If you played it, you know what I mean.

6) Bayonetta 3 - YIKES. A bit of a mess. I really enjoyed a lot of it, but there is so much stuff. It's a bit too long, Jeanne's levels and substory are dull, and the overall story of the game is a missed opportunity. I loved Bayonetta's combat, and even liked how Viola plays once I got used to the more parry-focused action, but... oof.

7) Kirby's Dream Land - It very clearly is a first attempt at the formula.

8) Kirby's Dream Land 2 - Nostalgia plays a huge role in how I judge this game, but it's... really good? The copy abilities are great, the companion characters complement the gameplay, and it's a very fun -if short and a tad easy- game. What a breeze to play through.

9) Metroid Prime Remastered - Amazing game. Also, fuck the chozo artifacts.

Next up: RE4mastered, Like a Dragon: Ishin, and Mario+Rabbids 2
 
Alright, back from my leave and going to try and remember everything I've finished so far! Not going to post detailed reviews for them this time around, though.

  1. Pokémon Scarlet | NSW | ★★★☆
  2. Until Dawn | PS5 | ★★★★
  3. Murder by Numbers | NSW | ★★★★
  4. Metroid Prime Remastered | NSW | ★★★★★
  5. Kirby's Return to Dreamland Deluxe | NSW | ★★★★☆
  6. The Quarry | PS5 | ★★★★
 
meatbag said:
So jealous of everyone playing Resident Evil 4 Remake. But I have to be fiscally responsible, especially since I have to be able to afford Zelda
Click to expand...
Eventually you’ll be able to get it for $20 or less, so waiting isn’t a bad thing on the RE games. Or be like me and whenever a remaster or remake comes out, go play the Wii or 360 era version you never beat (or are replaying like I did with Prime). Saves money and helps you fe a part of the gaming zeitgeist.
 
Barely Able said:
Eventually you’ll be able to get it for $20 or less, so waiting isn’t a bad thing on the RE games.
Click to expand...
I'm usually good at avoiding FOMO but RE4 was always gonna be a powerful temptation. But I hear you. I have a backlog that I should play through first haha.
 
0
13)Vostok Inc
Finally I’m free and can archive this game! It’s a pretty addictive twin stick clicker shooter. Honestly I recommend the dev’s more recent game arcade paradise over this tho

Previous games:
1)Yoku’s island express
2)Live a Live
3)Arcade Paradise
4)The Great Ace Attorney Adventures
5)Immortal Fenyx rising
6) SD Gundam Battle Alliance
7)Nier Automata
8)Crimson Skies High road to revenge
9)Stacking
10)Conker Live and reloaded
11)Legend of Zelda the minish Cap
12)Ducktales remastered
 
19. Resident Evil 2 (PS1) [10/10]

Having just finished Director's Cut and only finishing the 2019 remake before, it's hard to call this anything other than a perfect sequel. The run into the police station is one of the best openings in a game I've played. The game mostly maintains that momentum throughout despite having a somewhat weak ending, but then you immediately realize that's not the ending when you unlock the B scenario. The whole sequence at the end of the B scenario had me screaming at the TV because it was badass. One of the best shotgun sound effects in gaming. One of the most impressive games on the system visually and one of Playstation's True 10s.

I played Claire A Leon B. Leon is kind of annoying but he gets much better weapons than Claire so they're both really fun. It is insane how much better this is than I remember the 2019 remake being-- I was so happy to see how improved the pacing was particularly in the sewer area, and the different scenarios really make the game feel more alive. Resident Evil is a series with a lot of great games but this may be the best.
 
11. Atelier Ryza 3: A great conclusion for the trilogy, it's really a big payout if you played the other 2 as you can see the conclusion to all of the original gang story, Gonna write something longer in the RPG thread but overall it's a very satisfying game. Also very interesting to see what's gonna be Gust next move for the next Atelier since how they crafted their open world is cleary an upgrade to the previous map/zone style and it feels more natural when gathering, but the combat format sometimes get in they way. It would be interesting if the go action rpg style with this (which the director even mentioned they know is the trend right now).

1. SAMURAI MAIDEN
2. Legend of Zelda
3. Mighty Gunvolt Burst
4. Funky Kong Country Tropical Freeze
5. Bloodstained Curse of the Moon: Nightmare mode.
6. Astalon
7. Fire Emblem Engage
8. Metroid Prime Remastered
9. Grim Guardians Demon Purge
10. Octopath Traveler 2
 
Previously:
01 — Melatonin
02 — Kirby and the Forgotten Land
03 — Pentiment
04 — stitch.
05 — Castle Crumble
06 — Crossfire X Single Player, Season One
07 — Hitman Freelancer
08 — Bonfire Peaks
09 — Vampire Survivors
10 — Octopath Traveler II
Click to expand...

11 — Resident Evil 4
I loved this game. I thought the developers did an incredible job celebrating one of the best games ever made while still taking lots of opportunities to tinker with and expand on the adventure and the characters it revolves around. In so doing, it became my favourite game remake. I’m already playing it again, something I very rarely do! And I can’t wait for what’s still to come.

[VERDICT — Simply The Best Out of Ten]

12 — 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
If you’ve ever had an inkling that you might like this game and haven’t got around to it yet, trust your gut. If you enjoy Metal Gear Solid, play this game. I had an incredible time with it! I finished this game at 5AM after being unable to sleep from the heat in my area, which likely made the game’s final salvo of revelations blast my mind apart that much more thoroughly.

[VERDICT — Will Spend The Rest of The Year Thinking About This Out of Ten]
 
Finished in 2023 #9: Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 (GBA - NSO)

Mario on GBA gets a bit of flack nowadays. Yes, the system didn't have its own main series 2D Mario platformer, and portable Nintendo systems have given us instant access to the originals with their superior resolutions. However, alongside their immediate predecessor in Super Mario Bros. Deluxe, they were the way I discovered 2D Mario as a kid. And to their credit, they do offer lots of tweaks and bonus content, from more approachable difficulty to additional challenges. And the crown jewel of the series is, without a doubt, Advance 4.

As a port of Mario 3, it's already solid. Being able to truncate Mario 3's large UI means that most of the play field's vertical resolution is retained, more so than any of the other Advance games. There's still some of the screen that is cut off, and that makes certain levels (like the autoscrollers and the Boss Bass levels) more difficult, but at the same time there are minor tweaks to level design or mechanics updates from Mario World that even the playing field a little bit. It's still recognizably Mario 3, just ever so slightly changed up in favor of making the game more approachable - not to mention a save feature based on Mario World's that would eventually be taken for the New Super Mario Bros. games. The Mario Bros. multiplayer mini game from the original may be gone, but there's always the Mario Bros. Classic game as a solid substitute. So a good version of a fantastic game that still holds up overall, even if the graphics (lifted from All-Stars) do not capture the original "stage play" aesthetic as well and the resolution makes the console versions preferable typically.

But this is no mere port. World-e, a mode of the game once entirely reliant on e-Reader cards that mostly stuck to Japan, adds on 38 levels - 5 remakes of SMB1 levels and 33 completely original levels. While that may not seem like much compared to the 90 found in the base game, these levels are not to be missed. They're meatier than your typical Mario 3 level, often featuring longer time limits and incorporating Advance Coins (like the Dragon Coins of Mario World and the Ace Coins of Advance 1) and the rarer e-Coins as optional collectibles. They also feature returning enemies and mechanics from the other 2D Mario games of the time on top of the existing Mario 3 mechanics, helping these levels feel like a "Best of" compilation of 2D Mario history from an era before the New Super Mario Bros. games. You got Mario World-style Ghost Houses, Mario 2 vegetable tossing, longer levels focused on exploration, devious Airship and Castle levels, levels requiring power ups like Goomba's Shoe or the Mario World Cape Feather, short time limit stages that feel right out of Mario Maker 2, and a whole lot more. And if completing them all with Mario wasn't enough, you got Luigi with his traits from SMB2 and SMA2 - super slippery and super floaty jumps. My only complaint is that despite the longer levels, there are still no check points just like in the base game, which can make getting through this one a lot harder. Getting 100% in this mode (getting all the Advance Coins + e-Coins and clearing each level with both brothers) ended up being the majority of my playtime despite there being less levels numerically, and I'm glad I finally got to experience them. I don't think I'll go back to play these levels with Luigi again, but I could see myself blasting through these levels again with Mario.

While the NES version of Mario 3 will continue to be my go-to for the main adventure, Advance 4's World-e is a must play for any 2D Mario fan.
 
Just realised today I had forgotten one, actually:

  1. Pokémon Scarlet | NSW | ★★★☆
  2. Until Dawn | PS5 | ★★★★
  3. Murder by Numbers | NSW | ★★★★
  4. Metroid Prime Remastered | NSW | ★★★★★
  5. Kirby's Return to Dreamland Deluxe | NSW | ★★★★☆
  6. The Quarry | PS5 | ★★★★
  7. Agatha Christie: Hercule Poirot - The First Cases | NSW | ★★★
 
11. Melon Journey Bittersweet Memories

This game was perfectly ok. There's not much I can say about it since it was about 3 hours long. I did like the old school Gameboy green coloring for the game, it was kind of funny at times and it did even have a few side quests that you could do. You mostly just walked around from place to place just talking/giving stuff to people. Not sure if most would jump in at its current price point, but not too shabby of a way for me to spend my afternoon.
 
20. Donkey Kong Country (SNES) [5.5/10]

Picked up a copy of this game other day, so decided to give it a go on the OLED TV. I played through the whole game over the course of a day or two and nothing really left a strong impression. A lot of the levels tend to blend together with a few standouts. Some stand out for a good reason, like the rope slide level, while others stand out because of how bad they are like the snow barrel blast or the stop and go level. The game felt like it was starting to really find its footing around the caverns world but those are the last few levels in the game. The bosses I would actually call horrible with the lone exception of K. Rool who at least has a good gag and theme song.

This game definitely survives on its vibes. It has an amazing soundtrack and the visuals can create a good atmosphere. I think the gameplay actually fights against this though. The game stars Donkey Kong but your characters are slow and weak, whether on land or in the water. It would have been nice to have Donkey Kong be athletic and strong in his own platformer, but I suppose they had hardware constraints considering the visuals were advanced for the time. I wish they had approached things more like Sonic 2 to avoid forced Diddy Kong and allow the characters to have their own abilities if for some reason you did want to play as Diddy.

One thing I do really love is at the end credits Donkey Kong just starts wailing on Diddy Kong for no reason. Or maybe for good reason? Who can say.
 
Last edited:
Updating this with three games that I finished in the last week:

Nintendo Switch Sports got its presumably last weekly items last Thursday and with that comes to an end for me after 145h. Had a ton of fun, despite a laundry list of issues I have with it. Unironically in my GOTY 2022 list if I did such a thing.
Another save of Ocarina of Time 3D was languishing on my cart and I quickly finished it. I stopped a few weeks ago shortly before the Water Temple for some reason. Basically beelined to the end with only 15 hearts which I usually don't do but it was still enjoyable. This last part of the game is dope, especially climbing Ganondorf's tower and the finale.
Similarly, I was missing the last two dungeons in Oracle of Ages which I started immediately after Seasons earlier this year. Frankly, the part surrounding dungeon 7 Jabu-Jabu's Belly sucks a little and is too convoluted for its own good. Also glad that I played this as a linked game because I forgot how much of a pushover Veran is. I didn't feel as strongly about either Oracles game before but I enjoyed them on this replay, preferring Seasons over Ages.

  1. Dark Souls III
  2. Super Mario Bros. 3 (GBA)
  3. The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
  4. The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons
  5. Donkey Kong Country
  6. Metroid Prime Remastered
  7. Metroid Fusion
  8. Kirby's Dream Land
  9. WarioWare, Inc. Mega Microgames!
  10. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
  11. Resident Evil 4 Remake
  12. Nintendo Switch Sports
  13. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D
  14. The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages (Linked Game)
 
13 — Coffee Talk
For the most part, this is a chill visual novel about running a coffee shop, reading long stretches of dialogue to learn about the complicated lives of your patrons and occasionally mixing them a drink. Using fantasy races as a means to discuss the very real racism of our own world isn’t a new idea, of course, but it’s explored fairly well here. The characters end up feeling quite developed despite most of them not having a ton of screen time in this 4-ish hour game. And then the twist ending happened. Truly I was not prepared lol. Very much looking forward to Episode 2, which arrives tomorrow!

[VERDICT — Good, Could Be The Start of Something Great Out of Ten]
 
  1. Death's Door
  2. Kirby's Dreamland
  3. Super Mario Land 2
  4. WarioWare Inc. Mega Microgames
  5. Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga
  6. Metroid Prime: Remastered
  7. Metroid Fusion
  8. Kirby's Return to Dreamland Deluxe

9. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (NS) - The last time I played this was on an R4 on my DS Lite when I was a kid in middle school. Needless to say, it was a very long time ago! Surprisingly, I remembered a lot of bits and pieces of the game, but what I didn't remember (somehow) is that this game may be the world record holder for going the fastest from 0 to anime. The first case is mostly pedestrian, and the second case looks to continue that until...
the protagonist is inexplicably accused of murdering his mentor, and the only reason he escapes conviction is because his mentor's spirit medium sister channels her being to give Phoenix the evidence he needs to solve the case.
. AND THEN
the final case goes totally off the rails, ending with both the prosecuting attorney and his key witness being locked away forever (presumably) for committing two separate murders all tying back to a thing that happened 15 years ago after the defendant takes the stand to accuse himself of murdering his own father during that very same incident
. At one point a
parrot is called to testify against its owner, and a metal detector is used in the courtroom to detect a 15 year-old bullet lodged in the prosecutor's shoulder that he didn't remove because it would have been too much evidence to leave for a future case
.

Oh, and
the whole origin story for all of these characters revolves around a teacher staging a legit trial in their classroom, and that reveal is treated as a totally normal thing that happened.

I LOVE THIS GAME! GIVE IT EVERY STAR!
 
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