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Hey everyone, staff have documented a list of banned content and subject matter that we feel are not consistent with site values, and don't make sense to host discussion of on Famiboards. This list (and the relevant reasoning per item) is viewable here.
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)
12) Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (NSW)
I'm not usually a big fan of games from this era, nor would I consider myself much of a Star Wars fan. I like the setting well enough, but I'm not someone who has to see or play the latest thing set in a galaxy far, far away. All that being said, I liked this quite a bit. I could complain about some of the quirks in this game, but ultimately, the story and setting won out. I wish I had waited for the remake, but then again that will just give me the opportunity explore the dark side. Cool game.
A recent Zelda thread inspired me to play Majora's Mask 3D with the Project Restoration patch again and try to match it with my memories of the vanilla version and the N64 original.
I think it's safe to say that this is almost how MM3D should have been released and it just further highlights how baffling some changes were that Grezzo and Nintendo made when remaking it. Playing the game this way you get all the small QoL changes that remove most of the unnecessary tedium (plus a few obvious new ones) without the more controversial stuff like Zora swimming and Deku hopping being nerfed.
Really the only thing I'd change at this point is the option to have the classic save system, otherwise it's as good as it gets with this version of the game. I played it on a hacked 3DS but I've seen some cool footage of the game running on Citra with HD textures...
Dark Souls III
Super Mario Bros. 3 (GBA)
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons
Donkey Kong Country
Metroid Prime Remastered
Metroid Fusion
Kirby's Dream Land
WarioWare, Inc. Mega Microgames!
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
Resident Evil 4 Remake
Nintendo Switch Sports
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages (Linked Game)
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D (Project Restoration)
Kinda weird to put a game in Early Access on here, but it has enough content and ends on a fairly difficult boss right now so eh.
At first I was super into the fact that there's an indie King's Field-like, but it left me disappointed. The atmosphere is fantastic horror-adjacent stuff, but the difficulty is busted. It feels more like Symphony of the Night in that first few enemies can steamroll you, but after an hour you just don't encounter any issues.
In a game with this kind of emphasis on atmosphere and secrets, its difficulty completely betrays it. What's the point of being scared if nothing can kill you? Why should I care about secrets if most it can give me is an HP up? The boss I've mentioned, the only boss, was the only thing that gave me SOME trouble before I realized leaving little fire farts around him would sap his HP in a second.
I've beaten most of the content, and gotten the strongest weapon by clearing the hardest combat challenge by walking into it unprepared at like level 50.
Still a recommendation, but hoping the author refines the difficulty.
Figure I should update this, as I've covered quite a bit of ground. I use a letter grading system, with each letter roughly corresponding to an x/5 grade in descending order (I.E. an A is a 4/5). The letter determines my own personal preference:
S means it's one of my favorites of all time
A means I think it's great
B means I think it's good
C means I think it's fine/meh
D means I think it's bad
F means it's unsalvageable
The ± is me trying to take a more objective stance on the game design at play. As an example, Celeste is a brilliantly designed game with a lovely story, but I just never got into the core gameplay like others did. As a result, I gave it a B+. While a game like Paper Mario: The Origami King is a worse designed game in my opinion, I ultimately enjoyed it more, and hence I give that an A-. I have a Backloggd that I continually update to match everything I've put a grade on.
Anyway, that's enough of that. Time for what I've actually played this year. This is strictly new games that I've played, not counting any replays of games that I already had a grade on.
Sonic the Hedgehog: C-
Most of my thoughts are reflected in my first post. The level design is fine at best and abjectly terrible for most of the game. Still, Sonic controls fantastically, especially in the Origins version that I played. Even if the level design is a complete whiff, it's just plain fun to control Sonic.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero: A-
I went more in-depth on my thoughts in the main thread for Trails from Zero, but the abridged summary is that I think it generally follows the same template that Trails in the Sky did, but isn't quite as finely tuned. The combat is a big step up from the Sky trilogy, but the vignette structure doesn't work quite as well here as it did in Trails and the Sky. Absolutely love Crossbell though, and I can't wait for Trails to Azure.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2: B-
A clear upgrade over the first game, but the lackluster endgame and general brevity still hold it back for me. It's an obvious step in the right direction, and given the platforming competition at the time I can see why this one is so beloved. I just didn't fall in love with quite as much as others did, and the 1-2-3 punch of Metropolis/Wing Fortress/Death Egg pushes it down a bit. Not to mention the terrible special stages.
Sonic CD: B-
Despite going in a completely different direction from Sonic the Hedgehog 2, I like Sonic CD about equally. The levels are a lot of fun to explore (besides Wacky Workbench lol) and it feels great. Hunting down the machines can get a bit too cryptic for my liking, and I really don't care for the "build up speed to time travel" concept, but I still really dig the overall idea here.
Sonic 3 & Knuckles: A-
Now this is what I'm talking about. The level design here is (mostly) great, feeling way more substantial than everything that came before it. Not everything works (Marble Garden, Carnival Night, and Sandopolis come to mind) and I didn't really care for the endgame here either, but at its best, Sonic 3 & Knuckles is easily my favorite of the Origins collection.
WarioWare: Get It Together!: B-
My only experience with WarioWare up to this point was the original GBA game, so I was excited to see what the Switch one had to offer. Left a bit disappointed, but I still enjoyed my time with it. The platforming concept is novel, but it overcomplicates things a bit too much for my liking, especially since some of the characters are outright better than others. It's not particularly well balanced, which undercuts the point a bit. When the game works, it works just as well as the original; it just doesn't hit those highs quite as much as I would like.
Fire Emblem Engage: B+
I was pretty down on this game in the main thread, but I do still like it quite a bit. It's still ultimately my least favorite modern Fire Emblem though, 2nd least favorite if we're including the Warriors games. Part of that might be that I don't love Fire Emblem gameplay enough for it to support a 60 hour campaign entirely on its own with flying colors, but even then there are elements here that I think Awakening and Fates did better: stronger casts, snappier prep times, and a better QoL overall. Engage is still good, and I don't regret my time with it, but Three Houses still reigns supreme for me.
Live A Live: C+
I really wanted to love this game, but I just couldn't get into it. The combat did not work for me at all; I like what they were going for, but the balancing is all over the place, and the end result is that I just spammed the same move more often than not. Live A Live is at its best when it throws its RPG roots to the wind and tries to be something entirely different, and at its worst when it returns to those roots and tries to present itself as a fully fledged JRPG. Old West and Distant Future were easily my favorite chapters, and that's probably because you fight like three times total between the two of them.
Kuru Kuru Kuruin: C
It's fine. The concept is neat, but they never really iterate on it. You just get more levels, and they only got worse as they went on in my opinion. The collision can be really weird here, resulting in some frustrating deaths. It's a fun novelty to check out, and I certainly don't hate it or anything, but it didn't really leave an impression.
Wario Land 3: B-
This game was ahead of its time. The Metroidvania/Mario fusion is awesome, reusing content in a really smart way that never feels repetitive. The enemies stink though, not a fan of how the game forgoes any sort of health system in exchange for annoying knockback and transformations. Feels like most of the enemies and bosses take inspiration from the Moldorm fight in A Link to the Past, which is not a compliment in the slightest. Would love to see this fully remade at some point to fully appreciate how cool the main gimmick is; as it stands, the lackluster hardware muddies a lot of the cool treasure reactions.
Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards: B-
At its core, this game is a joy. The 2.5D perspective looks awesome with the N64 graphics, and most of the levels are really well designed. Unfortunately, Kirby's incredibly sluggish movement and the hiding spots for some of the Crystal Shards really hold the game back. It's incredibly annoying to play through most of a level, only to find a shard trapped behind a block that you simply can't destroy, because you have the wrong copy ability. Would be tolerable if you didn't need to collect every single one, but that sadly isn't the case.
Been a while, so building off of this. I've put a lot of my thoughts on these games in their respective threads, so I don't have a ton to say here.
Metroid Prime Remastered: A
One of the rare cases where I prefer the 2D counterpart, even if it's just by a bit. Dread introduces so many new ideas at such a blisteringly fast rate, while Prime can really slow to a crawl with the excessive backtracking. A simple fast travel system between elevators or save stations would've probably bumped this to an A+ alone. Also didn't love the controls a ton, but the level design and atmosphere are incredible. This one is still a winner, over 20 years later.
Like a Dragon: Ishin!: B
I was expecting a B-tier game, and that's exactly what I got. It's awesome that this game finally saw the light of day in the west, but it's very emblematic of pre-Yakuza 0 RGG. A rushed story with confusing plot developments, clunky progression systems, and fairly lifeless side content pull down the experience, but at the end of the day I'll always find some good fun out of RGG's output.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure: A
A step up from Zero for sure, but it suffers from similar issues that Sky SC does. The elongated endgame really does the pacing no favors, but the stakes and payoff make up for it.
Octopath Traveler II: A
I completely burned out on it by the time I finished the 8 main stories, which is probably my biggest complaint. Both the mechanics and the presentation are incredible, but the writing is still pretty lackluster. Just like the first game, I had no reason to care about the characters or world. I'm still a sucker for RPGs with good mechanics so I got plenty of run with it, but I wish they'd make more of an effort to improve the writing.
Current GOTY is pretty close between the above three games that I gave an A, but I think I'd give it to Metroid Prime Remastered right now. Doubt any of them win in a year with Tears of the Kingdom or Resident Evil 4, though. Really need to get around to the latter.
Not gonna write about them, but I should also mention the games I've replayed. The first grade is my previous grade, the second one is my current grade after replaying.
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 ] - 7.5
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
23. Final Fight 3 [ SNES* ] - 8
24. Metroid Prime ( Replay ) [ NS ] - 10 - First Switch playthrough
25. Resident Evil 4 ( Replay ) [ Wii ] - 9
26. Viewtiful Joe ( Replay ) [ GC ] - 10
27. Viewtiful Joe 2 ( Replay ) [ GC ] - 10
Gamecube more like, peakcube, disappointing Paper Mario, Pikmin and F-Zero sequels aside. Think I get a ticket straight to whatever hell I could be sent for liking the lunch box and its library, but I guess is worth it.
Not sure how to count collections, but I did beat both of the games. I remembered a lot from the first game since I played that one more, but I still came out impressed with what they were able to pull off. The use of different camera angles, going into the background/hitting things into the background, how you approach some boss fights, being able to go through holes/doorways that would just be pure decoration in other games. The games themselves aren't long, but they can cram so many ideas into one stage and for the most part pulls it off well. Makes the levels feel very dynamic and gives me more of a reason to 100% than just for pure 100%ing sake. If these games came out today, they wouldn't feel out of place to me. I think the level design holds up that well.
I did like the second game more than the first, since I think it has better locations, more "bigger" scripted segments, and personally I liked that design of Kolona more. Very glad I went back to these games, because I remember enjoying them, but I think I forgot how much I liked them. Hope these do well as I do crave for a new one now and I hope we can get the GBA titles on the NSO service as well.
14) Star Wars Battlefront(OG)
Thought I’d revisit a campaign and while the starships in normal maps are fun… yeah the sequel was too much of an improvement in every way
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
13)Vostok Inc
14a: Spider Man: The City that Never Sleeps DLC - same issues as the first to be honest. I also don’t like DLC that I can tell will be essential to the overarching story of the sequels with how some of the plot points play out. Mission variety was a little better and combat was harder, but didn’t fix any of the other problems (like having to do annoying side content before getting to the story missions).
Okami is a game that is unapologetically Japanese and I'm all for it. Given the timeline, I wanted a game that is not very long. Something feasible enough to finish before TOTK comes along. Something a bit more action-y compared to the turn-based RPGs I've been playing. Okami seems to fit the bill.
I've played Okamiden on the DS in the past but I've also forgotten most of it by now. So coming into Okami, everything is totally fresh and I really like the gameplay. Since I play all my games in handheld mode, I used the touchscreen for all the celestial brush moves and THAT's great. I got no idea how others play this game docked and wave their hands around to draw. Using the touchscreen is just so natural here.
The greatest strength of Okami has to be its art direction. I think that if the game had gone with the original 'realism' concept, it would not have been as beloved today. The entire painterly art direction goes so well with the celestial brush gameplay too.
Even before I played Okami for real, I've always liked Amaterasu as a character concept and I think the game doesn't really disappoint. Ammy is just your loveable, goofy good boy/girl/god trying her best in the harsh world. I sort-of found Susano annoying at first but he grew on me eventually. No comments on Issun or Waka. I don't dislike them, I supposed. I do have a higher threshold of tolerance for annoying characters compared to others.
If there's one complaint I have, it is that the story hardly gives the player any moment to relax. Every time you manages to defeat a big bad, there's another big bad. Not even a BIGGER big bad. Just... another one. Isn't Orochi the main villain? Then you defeat him before the first half of the game.
Then the next big bad, the nine-tail fox. After all those build-up, you face her in a very climatic battle. And when that's done? Off to the next 'big bad'. There's hardly any breathing space to allow for mourning of the key characters who sacrificed themselves to take down the nine-tail fox. Maybe... it would have been nicer if the story beats can be rearranged to place Orochi towards the end as the villain behind all the darkness in Nippon instead. So there's more of a built up towards one big climax. Rather than many smaller climaxes and pulling Orochi down as just one of the many demons to be taken down.
The ending is cool. Never expected the story to take a sci-fi turn towards the end. It has been quite a journey and I'm grateful for the experience. And it's also nice to actually experienced a Kamiya game before I try my hands on Bayonetta!
And now... we wait for TOTK... Maybe I'll try to clear Pokemon Let's Go Eevee along the way.
15th game finished for 2023 is Warioware on NSO. Realized this was my first time beating the game. A bit rough around the edges compared to Touched, but the minigame mayhem is still a huge delight.
16th game finished for 2023 is Monster Hunter Rise, by which I mean I'm ready to put it down for the time being, after felling the Wind Serpent Ibushi. Rise was what got me hooked on Monster Hunter, and I'm glad the NSO Game Trial convinced me to purchase it after the various MH demos over the years failed to reel me in. Might pick this back up again and try it in multiplayer, or challenge those seven star hub quests. But for now I've gotten my fill.
Now I'm scrambling to finish GoW Ragnarok before TotK drops. Let's go!
I made a RTTP thread on KH and my great impressions held up to the very end: it's a stellar game and I enjoyed it even more than I did back when I played it 15 years ago. It's just excellent game design all around that makes such a crazy concept feel cohesive, it had everything to be a mess but instead it's one of the GOATs. I liked the game so much this time around that I did most of the extra stuff including Sephiroth and the Unknown, which I had gracefully ignored before due to the difficulty. The combat, although simple, never stops being incredibly fun and satisfying, and I had no problems doing the tournaments again and again to grind.
I think the only part of the game that doesn't come together very well is the Gummi Ship stuff, which I ignored the first time and tried to engage with this time but couldn't. I couldn't figure out how to build even one single ship, it's so cumbersome and feels so pointless that I just tossed it aside again.
I fell off the franchise after playing CoM and KH2, so I still have a lot of new games to play, and I'm excited to get back to it with renewed interest and excitement. I do remember KH2 feels is a huge improvement gameplay wise, but I wonder if the feeling of the first game could ever be replicated since it had the best and most classic Disney worlds. It's just too special of a game.
1) Super Metroid (NSO) 2) Metroid Fusion (Wii U) 3) Metroid Dread (NSW) 4) Sonic Frontiers (PS5) 5) MX vs ATV Legends (XSS) 6) Kuru Kuru Kuruin (NSO) 7) Metroid Prime Remastered (NSW) 8) HiFi Rush (XSS) 9) Final Fantasy Crisis Core Reunion (NSW) 10) Spider-Man Miles Morales (PS5) 11) Sonic Spinball (NSO) 12) Sonic 3d Blast (XSS) 13) Sonic the Hedgehog (XSS)
I've been holding off on posting this game in the hopes of having some more games to go with it, but it's been a while and I haven't beaten anything else sooooo
14) Sonic CD (XSS)
Didn't like this game too much. The level design is a confusing mess the whole way through, the boss fights are a complete pushover, the time travel mechanic is confusing, and the Metal Sonic race is total BS. Happy to move on from this one.
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)
12) Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (NSW)
13) Citizen Sleeper : Purge (NSW)
Purge is the 3rd and final free DLC pack for one of my favorite games from last year, and it absolutely delivers a worthy finale. Saying goodbye to the Eye was bittersweet and satisfying.
14) Metroid Fusion (GBA NSO)*
Been a few years since I last replayed this and it's still just as great as I remember. I now find the linear nature of this one to be a nice change of pace from other Metroid games. It really speaks to the overall quality of the Metroid franchise that this is only my 4th favorite in the series. Fantastic game.
15) The Red Strings Club (NSW)
Somehow the second cyberpunk bartender game that I've played in recent years, this exceeded all of my expectations. There isn't much gameplay here other than a couple of somewhat shaky mini games, but the story and writing is excellent. A great experience if you are looking for something interesting to fill an afternoon.
Bugsnax, and then Bugsnax again when I 100%ed it. I cried, and cried, and cried again. I don't think I've ever had a game I vibe with so much.
Watching the people, the world, fall apart in a desperate bid for survival and freedom broke my heart like nothing else. I never liked Cromdo, but when he became a singer? I bawled.
My gaming time has been reduced, and I've basically only been playing this for the past couple months, but I finally finished. I thought it was fantastic. Improves on the first in basically every way. Great soundtrack too. I thought the story bits after the main 8 stories were completed were really cool. I don't know that I have the motivation to fight the bonus/secret boss, but I'm content with what I played.
My first time playing through this game. Always thought it was just a lesser "Inc." with a gimmick, yet it feels way more content rich! Hell, it has more to offer than Get it Together, which is just kinda sad.
I'm not exactly the biggest fan of the central gimmick, but the amount of variation is staggering, and all the doodads you unlock are cool as hell.
Very fun co-op adventure I played with my wife. The performance on Switch is pretty good I think, there were no low framerates that affected gameplay. Human faces are very weird looking in this game, especially the daughter, but I'm not sure if that's specific to Switch or not. Like, I don't think the Switch can be blamed for how bad these look. Thankfully they're only in cutscenes. Gameplay is inventive, with some riffing on other game series, and every level is different. It's a pretty crazy adventure that had me saying "really?" a few times. Recommended.
Splatoon 3 - Single Player Content
Well, it was fairly fun but forgettable. The story isn't much of anything, the dialogue is easily ignored, and there isn't much gelling the stages into a cohesive experience. It's a bunch of different challenges basically, which aren't too difficult. I enjoyed the final boss battle.
Dark Souls Remastered
I first got this at launch for Xbox 360, then PS3, then Switch in 2018. Never beat it until now. Feeling proud of myself. Great game.
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)
12) Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (NSW)
13) Citizen Sleeper : Purge (NSW)
14) Metroid Fusion (GBA NSO)*
15) The Red Strings Club (NSW)
16) Earthbound Beginnings (NES NSO)
Some personal history first - I played but never beat the SNES version of Earthbound back around the time when it first came out. At the time I felt is was a quirky, but archaic version of the RPGs of the day that I loved like Final Fantasy and Chrono Trigger. In other words, it did not land for me at all. As much as I've changed over the years I thought I would give the series another chance, this time starting with the NES original.
Despite all of the stuff in this game that has since been removed from the genre (near constant random battles, clunky menus, often obtuse objectives (alliteration FTW)), this game has heart. You often have to use your imagination to fill in the gaps in storytelling, but by the time I was done with it I felt that familiar sadness that comes from finishing the best games. This was maybe the most surprising gaming experience I've had this year. I don't think I'd ever go back to it, but I'll remember it for a long time. Can't wait to give the SNES sequel a try again sometime soon.
Another chill outing with some secrets hidden just under the surface. This was a great sequel; lots of the old cast returns, some equally well-drawn newbies fill things out, and following along with everyone’s lives drew me in once again. A new mechanic I really liked was a junk drawer for items lost or to be given to someone else. It’s up to you to remember to serve the item with a drink, and there can be story implications if you do or don’t! I didn’t play the first Coffee Talk until recently and started this right after; it’ll be tough to wait three years for a new episode!
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 ] - 7.5
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
23. Final Fight 3 [ SNES* ] - 8
24. Metroid Prime ( Replay ) [ NS ] - 10 - First Switch playthrough
25. Resident Evil 4 ( Replay ) [ Wii ] - 9
26. Viewtiful Joe ( Replay ) [ GC ] - 10
27. Viewtiful Joe 2 ( Replay ) [ GC ] - 10
28. Advance Wars [ NS ]
Finally finished this game after so many years, Advance Wars is cool, at its core it removes a lot of the percentages and rng based stuff and the like compared to Fire Emblem, is as pure strategy as it can get for its gameplay loop, that being said the GBA's campaign often feels more like a puzzle game with a more determined sequence to follow, and the one part with a more freeform strategy design is reserved for the final battle, is still a great puzzle/strategy game at the end of the day tho.
Despite really liking this game I was never able to finish it, boiling down an SRPG to a very simple idea is a great concept, but it also means that the challenge is higher when less variables are present, and yes, AW is really challenging. I don't know if I feel super accomplished beating it since it was on this remake instead of the original game, and I figure some nerfing might be present even on the classic difficulty, since I finished the final battle on my second attempt this time around. They also apparently fixed the AI for the fog of war maps, and that is a proper positive.
As a remake/remaster whatever you want to call it, it has its hit and misses. The new character designs are great, the art direction I find good enough for them, their animations during the CO powers are nice, but their 2DLive esque looking animations when they are just talking look a tad cheap, the general style for the maps and its 3D models are pretty disappointing, definitely not beating the original's pixel art, for this type of toy box esque approach it needs more polish to stand up against the old style, more polish to the lighting and such, akin to Link's Awakening would have pushed this to being just as good as the original, the models of the soldiers in terms of their faces feel at odds with the style of the portraits and such as well I think, for such a simple looking game the occassional weird framerate issues shouldn't happen, and I felt that there was some input lag as well, which made me miss the press in some menus, I have an habit of menuing fast in this types of games, so that was also an issue that arose during my time with it. Also while the CO powers animations are cool, is one part of the game you can't skip or fast forward, it takes longer to get through them than in the originals, and it sometimes can stack up with how often they can occur, got annoying with Olaf in particular. Settings in general also feel lacking, don't have much volume control besides turning on and off the music, and some animation toggles. The music arrangements are great, I could nitpick about maybe having a stronger guitar for Andy's Anthem, but eh, I would be stretching to find complains about the soundtrack and I don't feel like doing that. Honestly I wouldn't complain much about the graphics if it had an option for the original visuals, and obviously I feel for any game that doesn't fundamentally change the game much, it should always come with options for the original style and music.
There is some change to the structure that I don't like as much, the original had a routes system, in which you would get different missions or extra missions depending on the choices you made, and beating missions in a certain way, I felt pretty stupid thinking I did good enough in the Kanbei set of missions that I unlocked the Sonja tests, but no, that is just required to do now, same with Olaf's extra fight. Another thing about the route system is that in the final fight with Sturm, you would get to play with different CO's depending on your choices, now the game just lets you choose which CO's you want to play as, and it doesn't even commit fully to that idea since the game forces you to play as Andy as one of the 3, which is probably the least useful in that fight. I think a better middle ground that doesn't undermine the original's structure while keeping the "accessibility" of the remake, would be that you are allowed to play through the other routes in the game at any point or after reaching Sturm, and you have to fulfill the objectives in order to unlock the CO tied to those conditions for the final battle, so you would have to engage with stuff such as beating Kanbei efficently to get him, or do the Sami routes in Green Earth to get Eagle, I think that would have been a good balance so to keep the challenge and purpose of the routes while allowing the player to just see the rest of the game without multiple playthroughs.
All that said, is a good choice to play Advance Wars, just not a fully, wholy definitive way to play the game on all aspects, but is good enough.
Dunno if I'll play Black Hole Rising straight away, I do have an itch to try to actually finish Days of Ruin as well, that game from what I remember would be up there as one of my favorite SRPGs and the better Advance Wars game, remember that having a really smart AI, it really makes you feel like you are in a war 10/10 stuff, I'll probably still end up stuck at the same mission all those years ago, but the itch to give it another attempt is there.
10. Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon (NS) - So I accidentally finished this game? I had a number of okay runs, many terrible runs, and then, suddenly, one exceptional run as Plague Knight. And before I knew it, the credits were rolling! I really enjoyed my time in the Pocket Dungeon, in part due to the IP but mostly because of the gameplay itself. It isn’t terribly complex or anything; it just feels so good to chain together big attacks and clear the screen of baddies in a flash. I’m going to stick it out for awhile longer to try for the true ending, which would be a first for me in this genre. It seems daunting, but for now I am still having a great time trying out the different knights and seeing how far I can take them.
Another Wii U game from the fridge. Another survival horror title. And quite the contrast.
Where Resident Evil Revelations was entirely unremarkable, ZombiU is noteworthy in many ways.
I write this in the saltiest of moods. Five minutes ago I failed to get the good ending because, with plenty Assault Rifle ammo, three med-kits, and the world-saving vaccine in my pockets and only two Zombies seperating me from the evacuation helicopter, I walked into my own grenade, which I forgot was there. The delay between throwing those and them exploding is too damn long.
I'd reload my last save and try again, but the game considers that file completed and won't let me. And I'm not down for 8 hours retreating the same campaign.
And here's the problem with Zombi U, beyond any fleeting saltiness. Its core concept screams for a non-linear approach. Instead it's stuck with a distinctly level-based structure. The one time Ubisoft makes a game that screams for an Ubisoft open world and doesn't make it an Ubisoft open world...
Zombi U already has the hooks for a open ended or more Metroidvania-like approach, too. It has seven letters to collect from walking corpses strewn throughout London, manhole covers to unscrew to gain access to quick travel points, unlockable shortcuts between areas, and scanning surveilance cameras for map data and to gather intel for supply runs.
When the quest for the letters popped up, I figured this is where the game cuts loose, but nah. More one way trips from A to B to C to D followed. The letter collecting for the most part happened coincidentally on the side while sticking to the crit path.
Rogue-lite elements like key items and stashed ressources carrying over between survivors don't fit right in the adventure's narrow scope. For example, each fresh incarnation of the player character builds up skills depending on the weapons they use, but what's the point of training a shotgun specialist or an expert sniper suited to explore either close quarters or wide terrain when you're not in control of where to go next but progress along a predetermined path? Other than that, survivors start as clean slates and end as clean slates. There's no reason to mourn their loss, beyond the value of what they carried on their backs. Nothing to get attached to. They're disposable, in line with how the Prepper views them, rather than the Prepper's heroic counterpart, who the player character ultimately sides with and who considers every indidual worth saving.
The gamepad integration sold the game in trailers. After sampling the full experience, I don't remember a moment when glancing nervously at the television screen between fiddling with inventory on the gamepad alerted me to a Zombi sneaking up behind my character's back while they're vulnerable. Sound was the clearest, earliest indicator of a threat looming closeby. The motion detecting radar doesn't always play fair and leads to an overreliance on alarms summoning sudden hordes. The encounter design doesn't have many tricks in its bag. Same could be said for the player character. But what is there is used well. The lockpicking mini-game is very smart, as it relies on the rumble and so allows you to keep a watchful eye on any movement in the shadows surrounding your character. The flashlight's battery is so generous this gimmick rarely comes into play. All in all, the gamepad mechanics are another case of strong ideas follow through with conviction. Zombi U's great pitch, like its world, remains underexplored.
For all my disappointment about putting trust in set-pieces rather than in players to drive their own narrative, Zombi U is worth playing, and a sequel, or spiritual succesor, given proper care and learning the right lessons, would be an all-time great of the genre.
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.
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.
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.
Started Before 2023, Beat in 2023 #2: Picross S Genesis & Master System Edition
After getting stuck on Picross S6 for several months, I was late to the party on this one. I remember being told that this one would be easier, so I decided it would be next on my Picross journey.
...only for me to inevitably get stuck again on some Mega Picross puzzle and thus take eight months to finish the game. Oops! Well, at the very least, I'm finally ready to start the latest game in the series: Picross S7!
An interesting Metroidvania that's not quite Metroid or Vania, but reminds me more of stuff like Super Meat Boy or Hollow Knight's White Palace with its abundance of platforming heavy rooms. Most of them are optional, but they definitely feel like the meat of the game.
Fun! Still haven't beaten it 100% and not sure I ever will because I have no idea what to do with some of the puzzles. It seems there's some tech to the game that I simply don't get, as quite a few rooms have just giant chasms that I have no idea how to cross.
Putting this here as I spent like 25 hours playing this lol It was seriously hard for me to put down.
Loved seeing some things touched on here that I was hoping for. Pretty much enjoyed the entire cast and really loved how exploring unlocks stuff for your characters. I think I enjoyed the streamline version of combat in this one more than I did for Torna. Lots of throw backs from areas to music, just a total joy for someone who played the series. Very nice touch on the credits and even though this part is over, I can't wait to see what's next.
I almost 100% all the sections, before beating the game. I pretty much just have some super bosses left, can just chip off of that in my spare time.
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 8. Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception
In my last post, I said something about maybe getting through some 3DS games, but I should know by now that I almost never go through with those uncertain posts unless I'm absolutely certain of what I will play next.
Anyways, Utawarerumono is fantastic if you like VN-style presentation. There are strategy RPG combat sections, but they aren't really deep or challenging. I played the remake of the first one in 2021 and finally got around to this one (the sequel), which was sitting in my backlog for a long time. It can be a bit heavy on anime tropes sometimes, but when the big story moments hit, they hit hard. Since I finished it a couple days ago, I have gone straight into the final game, Mask of Truth, because I just have to see how everything turns out!
I'm not sure if I will be able to finish Mask of Truth before Tears of the Kingdom releases, but I'm glad to have something that will hold my attention until then. I should probably get back to working on that while I have the time!
17th game finished for 2023 is God of War: Ragnarok. I loved it, which is a bit of a surprise since I was lukewarm about GoW 2018.
Ragnarok in my opinion is the realization of its predecessor’s ambitions, particularly in terms of the combat. The skills feel more tangible and more satisfying to chain together, the bonus damage from switching between ice and fire damage is genius, the enemy variety has massively improved, the enemy AI is actually aggressive instead of being mechanical HP sponges— it just gets a ton of things right. I think a few more tweaks can elevate the combat even further, but it’s crunchy as it is.
The setpieces are also fantastic and at times jaw-dropping. That fight against Nidhogg, man. Incredible stuff.
On the other hand, I think the pacing of the story is subpar, and characters fail to communicate in scenarios where it makes little sense not to. Also, really annoying how the AI blurts out the solutions to puzzles before you even get to the puzzle! Not that the puzzles themselves were good or anything.
But all in all, great game. It is challenging Spider-Man for the top spot of my favorite PS4/5 games.
Now then, what else to play before TotK. Astrobot is supposed to be short, right?
What a ride. I was very interested in how they would remake one of the goats and well, it’s a great freaking remake. The pacing is a bit slower, but the game is jampacked with improvements, challenges and great moments.
There are a few things which aren’t as great, but they don’t dampen my experience.
I loved the DS original; it was fun, vibrant and really used the DS’s features. So I had it sitting in my backlog after playing it for a few hours, but I got into it and couldn’t put it down anymore.
The new cast is fun and I like the fact that returning faces have grown. Well except for that one Zeptogram, but whatever. New combat system takes some getting used too, but when you find the right pin combo’s it’s a good time when wrecking through the noise.
One of the few things I did not enjoy is that some boss fights are a bit too stretched out, especially during the final week of the game. Still, it’s a good game and I enjoyed my return to the reapers game.
But what about the game itself? Pulseman is an action platformer where you play as a half-human, half computer life form. Pulseman must use his unique powers to stop the Galaxy Gang and their leader, Dr. Waruyama, across seven levels with multiple parts each, often alternating between the real and computer worlds for some extra variety.
Pulseman can take on the baddies using a short ranged electrical attack, a low leg sweep (that tends to come out a little too slowly?) and an upward flip kick (which is kinda busted with its invulnerability frames). But his signature ability comes after running forward a bit and charging up. With this, Pulseman can shoot out a larger electric projectile, or he can use the Volteccer, a diagonal upward dash attack that is extended and redirected by slamming into a wall. The Volteccer input can also let Pulseman travel along electrical wires. The game gets a decent amount out of the mechanic, both as a strong attack and as one of your primary movement tools. Need to break a wall? Need to reach a higher area or scale upward? Volteccer! The game gets some of my favorite usage of the mechanic in the stage 5 boss, where using the move is the key to making the boss vulnerable.
I do have a few minor critiques. As gorgeous as the game looks, the large Pulseman sprite can sometimes feel a little disadvantageous, making it easier for you to get hit. This is helped by movement occasionally feeling slippery, and of course the Volteccer is kinda designed to feel out of control. And as mentioned before, the up and down attack feel a little over and undertuned, respectively. Me beating the final boss boiled down to...well, spamming the flip kick. But one of my big critiques has to go to Nintendo Switch Online itself. You see, while normally you have to walk for a few seconds to build charge, something that requires a decent amount of room, there is also a double tap to dash move that both let's you dodge attacks and let's you have a charge at the end, even if you hit a wall or reach the edge of a platform. This would have been really helpful to know before the final level, but since the game didn't mention it and NSO provides no instruction manual, I did not. Dang it!
Gran Turismo 7 - Single player campaign (all 39 cafe menus)
Hey, i finished a current gen game before summer! Awesome!
Ok, jokes (or not) aside, it was high time i finally finished something from this gen this year, and i wanted it to be Gran Turismo, somehow. I haven't played one seriously since GT4 (Sport was kind of a disappointment)
First, i'll take this out of my system: Graphically, the game is a bit of a mess. Ignore the pics taken on replay mode, GT7 is basically souped up Sport with a shiny coat of advance lighting - and Sport looked like a souped up PS3 game. In Graphics/Raytracing mode it even has a few frame dips here and there, and RT isn't even enabled unless you're watching a replay.
Thankfully the clean, elegant aesthetic that is a staple of the series is still there, and well, the replay screenshots give us a peek of how an hypothetical GT8 could look
Having said that, the rest of the game have left a sweet taste in my mouth. At first not so much, i wasn't expecting an actual character to grab my hand and take me through everything in the game before introducing me to the driving device of the single player campaign: The menus.
For those interested, the menus are basically small missions you need to complete, being based usually on collecting three cars of the same division of a brand (for example Nissan GT) or three of the same type (Rally cars, high spec cars...), either that or winning a cup, wich are usually boss battles, being the last one a World cup that lasts almost an hour.
Is the driving good? It is, with a catch: It plays almost exactly like GT Sport, witch plays almost exactly like GT4, it's pretty revealing that i didn't need to retrain my muscle memory when it comes to the GT driving style. For me though, that's perfect, i consider GT4 the pinnacle of Simcade and i neither need nor want Poliphony to overcomplicate it (leave that to serious simulators like Assetto, just give me my comfort food, please). Playing like GT4 means that it inherits its most fatal flaw: Dirt driving
In that regard, i have only one thing to say: Reducing track friction to the minimum is NOT how you create a rally car. Also, please make a proper weight and collision system for rally tracks. Please.
That part of game is impossible UNLESS you buy a Group B car, wich isn't ideal given the 350000 Cr. price tag.
In the end, i've enjoyed the experience a lot, despite the few bumps i found on the road. The last cup is long and exhausting, but very rewarding even if you don't manage to enter the podium.
There's something extra i'd like to point out and it's how very detailed the use of the Dualsense is. From the triggers wich tension varies from car to car, to the way rumble spreads through the controller giving you precise information of the road, to the way you get information about the grip from the combination of triggers and rumble. It's so masterfully crafted it gives me the impression that Poliphony requested all its features. It's just amazing.
Conclusion? I got hooked, and i'm now looking forward to the post-game and playing online. Shame about the graphics, but i trust Poliphony will give us an amazing new game down the road.
I started Let's Go Eevee simply because I really want to transfer my extra shiny Alolan Geodude from Pokemon Go into a Switch game. And LGE is the only 'mainline' game that has Alolan Geodude in its Pokedex. So... looks like I'm going to have to start the game somehow.
This will be the third time I've journeyed through Kanto. Pokemon Yellow and Pokemon Leaf Green came first. When you take the story beats of Pokemon Yellow and add in the gameplay mechanics of Pokemon Go, LGE (or LGP) is what you get. The catching mechanics take some time to get used to. Especially when I was playing a Switch Lite (with a drifting left joystick). Many times, especially during those legendary catching sequences, I wished that I can just apply proper statuses to the wild Pokemon instead of just throwing so many pokeballs.
The battle mechanics feels significantly simple compared to all the other Switch Pokemon games. There's no Pokemon abilities or held items to complicate things. This game really is for newcomers who only need to remember basic typing advantages. It really was quite simple to jump into. Looking back at how tough Sabrina was in the OG Pokemon Yellow... the inclusion of dark, steel and fairy typing in later games really was a big gamechanger in Pokemon meta.
LGE's story follow most of Pokemon Yellow's beats and it was really cheesy. Not in a bad way. Everything is much more cinematic in nature. Sure makes me wish that this had been the approach they took with Pokemon BDSP.
Does this make me the new leader of Team Rocket?
Overall, it was a fun, casual romp back in Kanto. Glad that I've finally got a place to send all those extra Kanto shinies from Pokemon Go. There's less than two weeks to TOTK now so I'll probably just put my Switch down for a while.
Total by system:
PS3 - 4
PS5 - 3
NS - 2
NSO - 2 (counting separately because they're not strictly Switch games)
Lost Judgement (PS5) - 135 hours - 10/10
Fire Emblem: Engage (NS) - 44 hours - 5/10
Ryu Ga Gotoku: Kenzan! (PS3) - 70 hours - 10/10
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (NSO) - 2 hours - 10/10
Like a Dragon: Ishin! Kiwami (PS5) - 165 hours - 11/10
Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga (NSO) - 20 hours - 10/10
Yakuza: Dead Souls (PS3) - 30 hours - 8.5/10
I actually really liked this one. The shooting controls are pretty atrocious but I love the vibe and the substories. A nice change of pace for sure.
The Kaito Files (PS5) - 15 hours - 11/10
So so good. Kaito is actually a great protagonist and although short, his story beats were excellent. Super punchy and personal.
Yakuza 1 HD (PS3) - 15 hours - 7/10
Really nice to see how the series actually started. It was trippy seeing Kiryu like that but it was a fun romp even if I didn't get close to really interacting with all of it (I fully completed Kiwami late last year, forgive me)
Yakuza 2 HD (PS3) - 15 hours - 8/10
Fun and a big step up from 1. It was nice to experience the content that was left out of Kiwami 2 for some unknown reason.
Yakuza 3 Remastered (PS5) - 80 hours - 10/10
This was my second playthrough and I enjoyed it way way more than my first. Took my time and did all the substories (other than the hostess club ones..) and really loved it. The combat is a nice change in pace, dad Kiryu is fantastic and the setting is super chill. Actually one of my favourite RGG games if I'm being honest.
Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 (NS) - 20 hours - 7/10
Got this mainly for the multiplayer which didn't disappoint but yeah.. It's no different to 1 and I don't see why it was released if I'm being honest. I got it for $5 so I can't complain too much though
Currently on the go:
Octopath Traveller 2 (PS5)
Super Mario 3D World (NS)
Ratchet and Clank (PS5)
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
Don’t have a lot of thoughts to share here except I liked them both overall and I’m laughing because my completion of these in a way mirror how I completed 2 and Torna. I played 2 when it came out around halfway and then got distracted. Then when 3’s release was impending, I picked 2 back up finished it and then played 2 and was on this Xenoblade high as I went into 3. Which I eventually stopped at a climactic point, and then now as Tears is impending I picked 3 back up, put in like 30 more hours (115 total I believe) and then finished it’s story DLC. But no I’m on a Xenoblade high again and I’m trying really hard not to dive right into the first game’s DE on switch because I know it’ll get lost again bc of Zelda and I’m not trying to have a 3rd dropped playthrough of it on a new system. But I need something to distract myself in the run up to May 12. Maybe it’s a good time for Prime
Splatoon 3: It's been a while since I last played it (I don't think I had touched it at all in 2023!) and this is a very nice way to kill time until TotK arrives I didn't want to start anything that I would drop in a couple of weeks...
Current 2023 ranking:
Touhou Luna Nights
Sifu
Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin
Tunic
Young Souls: Very cool game, with some challenging combat, but it ended much sooner than I expected. I got it because I heard that the combat was deep and challenging and it's true that the combat system is very nice, but I expected more. In the end, the only really original combat mechanic is the tag system, but it doesn't add much besides switching characters to recover health or stamina. Parrying is much more riskier and difficult to do than just dashing through the enemy attacks and it doesn't give any worthy rewards. As I played more the game and learned more about the system I ended up optimizing the combat system into the 3 basic useful actions and not touching the rest. I completely forgot about the charge attack, even special attacks weren't that useful. I expected the game to keep introducing new mechanics as it went along, but instead if even reduced what you could do, like in the crypt level where secondary weapons where useless and parrying became extremely dangerous due to enemies one-shotting you. I didn't like the RPG elements much, I wish the game would've gone for more different weapons instead of just 3 types and a million instances of each weapon where in the end only the damage stat was important. Enemies reused a lot of the same movesets, the game needs more enemies with more distinct movesets and mechanics. There were a couple of enemies that tried to parry you, but they were so fast that you were already using a more patient approach with them, trying to let them attack first and then punish. So whenever they entered the parrying stance it made no difference, because you were already passive and waiting for them. It's a very good example for the whole combat system: It has a very sound base, some good ideas, but stops too soon at the basic implementation instead of trying to do something great with them. I still put it above Hades because some combat encounters were great and overall the game is very good.
Hades
Playlist:
TotK
Bayonetta Origins: Trying the demo because the preview in Bayo3 didn't do much for me...and I'm actually liking it a lot
I like character action games, I like rhythm games, so this should have been a pretty easy win, and honestly given the presentation of the game at a surface level, it should completely appeal to me, I think the worst feelings with games is wanting to really like a game and being unable to for various reasons. So I'll ramble about this game for a little bit.
First of all the gameplay, I think the main issue is how much does adding rhythm to a character action moveset really add to the experience, given the complexity of movesets like Dante's and Bayonetta's there is always some element of rhythm already embedded to these characters, dogde timing, offset combos, pause combos, parry timing, etc. there is at least some element of "rhythm" paced by the player and the enemy. Focusing on a more conventional rhythm like Hi-Fi Rush should in theory add more difficulty to the execution of these combos, but I would say that for at least 80 to maybe 90% of it, you can get by, by just mashing through it, making something like Dante's parry with Royal Guard, requiering a lot more tighter timing to execute properly than a Chai parry funnily enough. I guess the biggest downfall of the idea from a mechanical stand point, is that it is pretty accessible for people that don't have much rhythm, but it also means that its main thing doesn't really push more in terms of execution compared to a game like DMCV.
The fundamentals are good at least, it feels fairly satisfying to pull off combos in the game, but there is a lot of details that make the game less enjoyable to me. There is no form of lock on that I could find, so you either let the auto camera turned on, or you turn it off and have to move it to an adequate enough location every encounter; since there is no proper lock on, the game will soft lock itself to a nearby enemy, and you'll have to move around to be able to soft lock into another, it makes it a lot more finicky than it really needs to be.
You can call companions in the middle of the fight to help you, they are on a cooldown, the issue is that some enemies can't be really damaged until you call the correct companion, there are some fights where all the enemies would be ones you can't damage from the get go, so is a fight where I just have to move around, do the ability, wait for it to charge again and then do it again, is not really that engaging or challenging, is a time waster; there are strong enemies that will always have a forced QTE move before you are able to defeat them, it wasn't good in Metroid Dread and is not good here either.
While Chai's speed is fine during combat, he feels needlessly slow outside of it, all you can really do is time dashes, the jumping is not the most ideal one, and there is a decent amount of platforming to do, is not hard, but it doesn't really feel good to play.
Level design is fairly simple and straight forward, some nooks and crannies here and there for extra items and upgrades, there are locked doors that aren't accessible until you get the right companion, don't know how to feel about that.
The presentation, at a surface level, looks great, pretty colorful, a nice animated look to it, some good transitions between 2D and 3D cutscenes (idk if completely necessary, the 3D models have more polish than the 2D cutscenes, and those 3D models look 2D-ish enough), it commits to the rhythm aspect here by making as many elements as possible bop alongside the music, but honestly, is rather repetitive to look at, spending most of the time at samey looking factory areas, there are a couple of stand outs as contrast, but for the most part it has a rather uninspired setting, and kind of a sterile vibe to it.
I also didn't vibe with most of the music, I think that is probably a big factor in terms of how much you get out of the game, and sadly, not my thing. Guess the highlights would be the licensed stuff, and a couple of the original compositions, besides that, eh.
And then there is the story, I'm a weirdo that cares about that a decent amount in this genre, and everything is kind of flat, there is not much in the form of over the top scenarios fitting for a character action game; besides the banter between Chai and Peppermint, which is a pretty basic trope but is done well, every other character feels pretty paper thin, one of them is just a Jojo reference, and while I love Jojo, is not really enough, there isn't really much in the form of themes or tangible development, it doesn't even really feel like it has as much fun with itself as it could, making for very simplistic humor, the kind of jokes that won't hurt me, but also won't chuckle at; there is a couple of anti boss fights, but I don't think there is enough of a roster of proper fights to pull some No More Heroes stuff in the game. There is a decent amount of references to to other things, but my issue there is that I'll just remember the thing I know rather than any cool moment, or character from this game. It at least gets right building up the bosses across their levels well enough. I sometimes see the sentiment that the game is like a playable version of an animated show, and yea, I get that vibe, but it comes off as one of those very simplistic cartoons that I don't get much out of, one that I won't remember much if anything as time goes by.
There is a game out there that I was always thinking about while playing Hi-Fi Rush, a little game called No Straight Roads, beat em up game with a lot of focus on music and rhythm, is pretty janky, and it doesn't execute the mesh of rhythm and combat as well as Rush does (for all my issues, is still pretty competent), really is a fairly janky videogame, but holy shit does it have soul in spades, interesting characters, over the top, visually and musically appealing boss fights, wrapped up in a nice videogame story with as good of an ending as any game could wish for. You also fight against a corporation in that game, but is music based, so you have a good contrast between rock (from your playable characters) and EDM (from the bosses) leading to making every fight this dynamic back and forth of music genres. I guess at the end of it all, if I could mix the mechanical competence of Hi-Fi Rush, with the world of NSR, that would be one of my favorite games. There also goes a mini review of No Straight Roads in the middle of this.
HFR also feels too long, for the simplicity of the game, it should be more like a DMC1, rather than a Bayonetta or modern DMC game, it suffers from a similar issue I had with Travis Strikes Again, you could shave off one or two segments from each level and the pacing would be very much improved, plus maybe a rework of the middle game.
Think that is about it, I'll say that I don't regret playing through it, but I was also hoping to like it a lot more, and that makes me sad.
18th game finished for 2023 is Cadence of Hyrule thanks to the Game Trials. I suck at rhythm games but I didn't have to resort to Fixed Beat mode in order to beat this one. I dig that you can play as Zelda, I love how Hyrule is interpreted to be more music-themed, and of course those jams are slick. Pleasantly surprised to have enjoyed this as much as I did!
A cool Metroidvania. Possibly a bit too easy. I don't remember if I died at all. That said, I did get quite lost once. One of those cute little games that's a joy to play but probably won't be on anyone's "best ever" lists
#19 Advance Wars 1 Reboot Camp (Switch)
#20 Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer Featuring The Legend of Zelda (Switch)
We're on the very final stretch before TotK! Managed to beat Advance Wars via Reboot Camp (yes, I'm counting that as two games and you can't stop me) and damn it was good to be back to Advance Wars. It's every bit as good as it's always been and then some, playing it on the big screen is amazing and I love the glow up the soundtrack got. The game looks much better in motion and now I don't mind the artstyle at all, it's weird to even think I once thought it was ugly, I find it very charming and easy to read. Some QoL improvements like being able to replay missions, unlocking alternate missions and FoW applying to the enemy are game changers and I think this is the definitive way to play the game. I'm so happy to have the franchise back, and I hope it has a bright future, it's clear Wayforward is passionate about it and the game is clearly doing well.
Next, Cadence of Hyrule snuck in my backlog line and it was perfect because I always wanted to give the game a try but wasn't sure if I could get into it. Turns out after some getting used to it, I love it and finished it in a mere 3 days. The beginning of the game is the hardest part because you're extremely frail with no hearts or permanent upgrades, but once you start to get some of those, the game opens up to you and it's a blast to explore. It made me nostalgic and wanting to replay ALttP which is great because it added to my craving for TotK. I really recommend trying this game.
#02. Returnal (PC)
After sixty-two hours (and eighty-six deaths) I completed Act 2 and collected six white poppies- the standard ending is enough for now, I think. Without a doubt this is the best third person shooter I've ever played, and a singular achievement in arcade action. It will grind you into a pulp- frequently- but the absolutely incredible, haunting narrative will literally compel you to seek answers- any answers- for the horrors you see in the depths.
An experience not easily forgotten, everything about the game is 11/10, I already want to go back and collect ciphers and find the solar face fragments but I need a break from the eye bleeding, pulse pounding insanity!
15: Picross S Genesis & Master System edition - I did all of the regular picross levels so counting it. Don’t care for many of the other modes but will probably dabble in them when I just want a quick puzzle fix.
15 — The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe
I feel like I’m really on a roll of “games that are excellent but that are tough to talk about without ruining everything” lately! I’ll just say that I haven’t laughed this much playing a game in a while. The new endings were fantastic.
[VERDICT — Video Games Are Meant To Be Played Alone Out of Ten]
16 — Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed
God damn. This series! It was wild to play this and think about how I’ve been playing these things for over a decade. Once again it’s very tricky to talk about without letting one of its many, many surprises slip. It’s a great celebration of the series, thoughtfully stitched together and masterfully designed. I have a feeling the Xeno will continue for me this summer.
[VERDICT — 13 Years Of Really Feeling It Out of Ten]
I barely had time to play anything lately, but for March and April:
-Kirby's Return to Dreamland Deluxe: never played the original Wii game and I honestly really liked it, is not a revoulution but is a solid and fun Kirby game with a decent lenght, fun level design, great music and overall just a great time, not the most original game in the series but a very well executed one. Also I think this is a really great remaster, one of the best of all time maybe, since the visual rework is great, the qol improvements for what I have seen are solid and the new content it added is really quite solid and substantial, with the Malagor epilogue in particular being way better than I expected.
-Cereza and the Lost Demon: I absolutely loved this one!, a beautiful, unique and even magical experience with cool mechanics, a gorgeous art style and music and a very effective and well told story, which after how messy and questionable Bayo 3's plot was is very good to see, it honesly made me care about the characters for the first time, and care quite a bit. Being honest though, the gameplay itself while solid isn't anything mindblowing and the game is very easy and some ideas could have bee expanded further. however I had a smile on my face all the time I was playing this and I just love that Platinum was able to develop this game, is truly just a work of passion and love that you rarely see now.
I also played a lot of Mario Kart 8 for the first time in years, since I finally double dipped to play the new courses and I have had a lot of fun!, I forgot how much I love this series and the booster course pass while dissapointing visually as I is well known by now, especially the tracks with a lot of grass, they are very fun and some of the tracks from Tour are great and I'm happy to play them now. Plus is cheap so can't really complain all that much.
I've been on a Metroidvania binge lately, and this game's fairly interesting. Very puzzle-based platforming. It feels like there's a lot more to this game than I've seen, but I'm not sure I want to go back to it since the ending I got was good and everything was fairly easy, so any secrets I've missed don't really concern me. Unless the game hides some sort of Dark World or Inverted Castle somehow, I'm satisfied enough, even though it feels like I missed some abilities.
1. Nier Automata (Switch)
2. Lunistice (Switch)
3. Super Mario Land 2 (NSO)
4. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Switch)
5. Metroid Prime Remastered (Switch)
6. Fire Emblem Engage (Switch)
7. The Legend of Zelda: the Minish Cap (NSO)
8. Wario Land 3 (NSO)
9. A Space for the Unbound (Switch)
10. Kirby's Dream Land (NSO) 11. Advance Wars 1&2 Reboot Camp (Switch)
Unwieldy title aside, this was an absolute blast from start to finish. Stuffed with content, lots of polish, and 2 superb campaigns alongside all the other stuff. Did both campaigns on classic difficulty as well as 8 or 9 War Room maps for close to 50 hours sank into the game in just 2 weeks. I hope that Way Forward, Intelligent Systems and Nintendo can find a way to work together to keep the series going, because it's great to have it back.
Up next? I'm really not so sure. 6 days till Zelda; I dropped Chained Echoes 15 hours in as soon as Advance Wars arrive, so maybe I'll try to get back to it, but unless I settle on a short NSO game, I'll be counting down the days until Tears of the Kingdom.
9. Ristar [4.5/5]
10. DariusBurst: Another Chronicle [4/5]
11. Streets of Rage 2 [4/5]
12. Parappa the Rapper 2 [5/5]
13. G-Darius HD [4/5]
Ristar was a replay. I really liked it already and had a great time once again. It's really vibrant, weird and wonderful. I can already see myself going back to it again in the future.
DariusBurst was the arcade version, and it's a loud, immersive production. Highly recommended if you see it out in the world. The playthrough convinced me to get G-Darius HD on the Switch. Seems like a very cool series all around, loved the sea creature boss designs, soundtracks and general go-for-broke energy. I'm curious about exploring more of the series, but I'm not sure if the other entries have as many accessibility options.
Streets of Rage 2 also had a pretty great soundtrack and solid gameplay. It loses some points for lack of originality but is very competent. I found it to be fun even though I'm not usually drawn to the genre of beat em up games.
Parappa the Rapper 2 is my life now. It's infinitely replayable, and we are listening to the songs a lot. The story and writing is perfect goofy fun. Played on PS2, it would be cool to see this series come back!
19th game finished for 2023 is Astro’s Playroom, which is criminally short, and also told me that I have a lot more nostalgia for Playstation than I expected. May Astro become ever more popular and become a staple Sony IP.
But Reinhardt, the main story isn't the full DLC, that's cheating!
Hush!
I started Ikishima with the intention of playing it the same as the main game. In Tsushima, sidequests are the real meat of the game, while the main story is your average Samurai story with a twist. Jin grows as his legend does, he becomes incredibly strong and is feared by the mongols through the whole Tsu island, wich makes for a very satisfying progression that culminates in the final battle agaisnt the Khan. Iki is supposed to work the same way and indeed, your reputation is reset because Samurais are hated in the island and you're even forced to strip yourself of the Sakai symbols.
But you keep all your stuff, the stripped down Sakai armor keeps its perks, and indeed when you enter battle you can still kill up to 6 mongols at the start of a duel if your charms are set up correctly, and you still have a 25% base chance of scaring the shit out of your enemies because of armor's perks. It really diminishes the whole harder difficulty thingie.
So, seeing that i was still a force to reckon and there weren't many advantages to the renewed reputation in Iki, i went directly for the story.
Ok, before diving directly into the story stuff, combat is indeed harder. Mongols shift weapons very often, forcing you to shift your style swiftly to adapt, and then there's the shamans: special units that hide in the background and strenghten the combatants with their chants. If you're perceptive enough, you can reach them with your long bow before the fight starts and save you the hassle, but if you can't, they'll make you depend on parrying and counterattacks to make some space for yourself. It shifts things a little and raises the stakes of every battle, making you stop and think before every random mongol encounter.
Now, on to the story:
The main game leaves one thing clearly unsolved: Jin's guilt for not saving his father's life, and Ikishima plunges into that. Through a special poison, the main antagonist (The Eagle) digs into Jin's mind and tortures him with visions while taunting him for fighting alongside the inhabitants of the island where his father was killed. I can't say much more than that without falling into heavy spoilers since this story is very short and straightforward, to the point of feeling like it really belonged to the main game before being purposedly cut off.
I missed helping other locals to earn their trust and respect in a way that's meaningful for the plot, there are no secondary story beats that will converge in an epic ending, it's all very... intimate, as if this were Jin's own battle and driving the mongols outside Iki was just accessory.
Did i enjoy it? Oh yes, and if you didn't miss the point of the main game's story (it's really hard to miss it, but i've known people who did, so ) i would say it's very predictable, but also very satisfactory and enjoyable.
I'll make another review when i'm finished with the island and all the sidequests. There's at least two new legends and i've unlocked a few mongol outposts, and there are cat shrines. Let that sink it: C A T S H R I N E S. Thushima didn't have cats, it has foxes, wich are cute and beautiful, but they aren't cats.
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I didn't want to start anything that I would drop in a couple of weeks...
) i would say it's very predictable, but also very satisfactory and enjoyable.