• 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.

StarTopic The 2023 Completed Games Thread

Status
Not open for further replies.
22. Pizza Tower (PC) [Finished September 6th, 2023] - 8.5:
Pizza Tower had me feeling a certain way that I never really have with games. Theoretically it should be a perfect game to me, but something about starting it up often gave me a feeling I can only compare to anxiety. It's definitely a mood game, or more like an anti-mood game, I wouldn't recommend it if you're tired or not in the mood for a fast paced game. But when you get into it, it's really good. It's probably the most "perfect" indie game I've ever played, polished to perfection and with an art style that is uniquely its own. Focusing on the best parts of crude cartoons (notably, very little disgustingness), it creates one of the more eclectic and ecentric platforming worlds. The only thing I can really think of as a "negative" - and it's not really a negative per say - is that the gimmicks in this game are used in a somewhat strange way. They're not really "power ups" and more like the transformations from Yoshi's island, but the level-specific transformations and forms you get to use for Peppino don't really improve your move set or challenge the player in any major way. Peppino is so versatile as a character already that a lot of the transformations don't really have you do anything better than you have before, just slightly different. It's not really a problem though, just something that I think is an interesting observation.

One actual complaint I do have is the soundtrack. The soundtrack for Pizza Tower has become one of the most famous in indie game history in the span of just a few months, and it's easy to see why. It's very powerful, and any track by itself could easily be one of the more memorable in another game. But I kind of think too many of them belong in the same vein of overly catchy fast paced melodic tunes, to the point that a lot of it ends up being less impactful than it probably should be. It's still great, and there's usually a point in a stage where you'll think "oh fuck myself, this song IS just as good as the last one". But I found myself wishing there was more songs like the tutorial's Funiculi Holiday, which is fairly relaxing compared to the rest of the soundtrack even at its most explosive, or Tombstone, Arizona, which has one of the most amazing build ups in video game music history. Still, this is hardly a complaint seeing as two songs have already entered my top 30 game songs of all time. I look forward to replaying this next year and hopefully getting over my weird issues. Highly recommended.

23. Super Mario Bros (NS) [Finished September 6th, 2023] - 8.0:
Growing up, I wasn't a fan of 2D Mario. In fact, I didn't like Mario platformers in general. So I was curious to see what I'd think revisiting the games now that I'm older and tenuously excited for the upcoming Super Mario Wonder release.

There's two things that clued me in that I might like Mario 1: I loved Mario Maker 2, which was for all intents and purposes is a 2D Mario game, and I liked Mario Flash as a kid. This game is so charming in so many ways. Perhaps the most obvious is that early NES vibe it has, which has created one of the most iconic pixel art styles of all time. There's a lot of charm to just how rudimentary it is, but most of all, how imaginative it is relative to the time and even today. Things like going on the top of the screen to access a warp pipe, the multitude of different environments, the way the physics interact with the enemies, etc. But beyond that, the simplicity of the game also means that the soundtrack has to be extremely melodic, as is the case with many NES soundtracks, and it's especially true here. 1-1 might be overplayed, but for my money, it's still a much better opener than Mario 3's opening theme, and less repetitive than Bomb-omb battlefield.

It even has, somehow, one of the greatest platforming levels I've ever played (the cheep cheep level), despite being 30+ years old. Most of all, I think the fact that the games levels are generally open enough, and that the games controls are generally more rigid than later games, allows it to exist in this cool middle ground between Mario 3 and Super Mario World retroactively. It has the linearity of Mario 3, but without the fuck you physics and less bottomless pits and enemy traps, allowing for more player expression and experimentation. At the same time, it isn't as open as Super Mario World, so there can be some actual degree of challenge to its linearity. It's a great in-between that makes me wish more Mario games were like this. My only real complaint is that the game starts running out of ideas by the middle point, and that 7-4 and 8-4 are some of the worst levels I've ever played. But that's typical for an NES game, right?

24. Super Mario Bros 2 (NS) [Finished September 8th, 2023] - 8.0:
Now that I've played it, put me firmly in the camp that thinks this game is underrated. I know it gets a lot of praise and acclaim for being a good platformer and probably the least contentious of the big three NES sequels (Mario 2, Zelda 2, Castlevania 2), but to me it deserves even more than that - this really deserves to be its own series under Nintendo. The mixture of adventure style gameplay with puzzle platforming is infectious, and I love it to bits. Granted if you were to break down what you were doing at any given moment, truthfully speaking it wouldn't be all that interesting. A lot of the spontaneity of Mario is gone with this sequel, which I do think upon further reflection is a bit of a shame. Most of what you'll be doing is getting on top of an enemy, throwing it, clearing a path to a vine or area you need to jump to, getting on it, dogging enemies, then rinse and repeat. Mario might sound formulaic in general under this methodoly of explanation, but the key difference is that no one jump feels the same in Mario because its a physics based platformer. Mario 2, despite being quite frantic at times, places the least importance on the spontaneity of Mario, and that probably could have been balanced out better with the advent puzzle platformer aspect.

But man, that adventure puzzle platformer aspect. Never before has playing an NES game and figuring out what to do by yourself been so gratifying. Levels are somehow big without being easy to get lost in, and throughout my playthrough I never had to use a guide except for in the very beginning when I didn't realize the vases were basically pipes, which is ironically untrue for both Mario 1 and 3 despite this being the exploration based game. There are some problems though. For one, the bosses in this game aren't great and it can be really frustrating how tiny their attack window is, or how small the explosion is of bombs, both in and outside of combat. Two, the way the heart mechanic is executed is kind of terrible, if really interesting conceptually. Mario has to hold the potion and use it to get to the other world and get the heart, but some of the levels place the hearts later from where you get the potion, meaning you have to carry it around and can't use your hands. This is theoretically an amazing game design concept - making it so you can't use your hands and are preoccupied. But in execution what this actually means is that you have to go on a scavenger hunt for where to place the potion, which is terrible because if its wrong its used up, on top of not being able to defend yourself. This mechanic would actually work better in a standard Mario game, you could make Mario weighted down with smaller jumps, that way you can still defend yourself but you have to be more careful and time things correctly. But the worst part of it really is how arbitrary it is, having to search for where to use it properly is a terrible mechanic. And of course, I'm sure everyone who's played this has faced some frustration at not being able to stomp on enemies, at one point or another, you're going to eventually face a claustrophobic environment where you can't kill enemies properly. Those digging parts are atrocious.

Frankly if this game didn't also run out of ideas at about the halfway point, while also being 2.5x longer than Mario 1, it would probably be the better game, but alas that repetition is hard to overlook. Mario 1 just benefits a lot from being a pick up and play game. As it is, it's a toss up. I really like them both, and I have a lot of love for how quirky of a game this is. Also, I love that you get transported to a surreal dark Mario world that plays the 1-1 theme. Best use of the theme ever.

I'm too tired, I'll talk about how Mario 3 is bad in the morning.

1. Mario Party Superstars (NS) [Finished January 1st, 2023] - 8
2. Bayonetta (NS) [Finished January 2nd, 2023] - 8.5
3. Pikmin (GC) [Finished January 5th, 2023] - 8.5
4. Pikmin 2 (GC) [Finished January 7th, 2023] - 6
5. Metroid Prime Remastered (NS) [Finished February 14th, 2023] - 10
6. Metroid Dread (Replay) (NS) [Finished January 21st, 2023] - 8.5
7. Metroid Prime 2 (PrimeHack) [Finished March 5th, 2023] - 8.5
8. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Dolphin) [Finished March 16, 2023] - 8.5
9. Sonic the Hedgehog (RetroArch) [Finished March 17th, 2023] - 4
10. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (RetroArch) [Finished March 20th, 2023] - 6.5
11. Resident Evil 4 Remake (PC) [Finished March 28th, 2023] - 10
12. Resident Evil VIIIage (PC) [Finished April 4th, 2023] - 7.5
13. Dead Space Remake (PC) [Finished May 15th, 2023] - 7.5
14. Metro 2033 Redux (PC) [Finished June 5th, 2023] - 7.5
15. Resident Evil 3 Remake (PC) [Finished June 10th, 2023] - 7.5
16. Final Fantasy XVI (PS5) [Finished June 30th, 2023] - 6.5
17. Pikmin 3 Deluxe (NS) [Finished July 11th, 2023] - 9.5
18. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (NS) [Finished July 27th, 2023] - [??? / 10]
19. Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective (Remastered) (PC) [Finished August 1st, 2023] - [10 / 10]
20. Pikmin 4 [100%] (NS) [Finished August 14th, 2023] - 7.5
21. Mega Man 3 (NS) [Finished August 16th, 2023] - 6.5
22. Pizza Tower (PC) [Finished September 6th, 2023] - 8.5
23. Super Mario Bros (NS) [Finished September 6th, 2023] - 8.0
24. Super Mario Bros 2 (NS) [Finished September 8th, 2023] - 8.0

Game Ranking 2023:
1. Resident Evil 4 Remake (10) (PC)
2. Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective (10) (PC)
3. Metroid Dread (8.5) (NS) (Need to bump this up)
4. Pikmin 3 Deluxe (9.5) (NS)
5. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (8.5) (PrimeHack)
6. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (???) (NS)
7. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (8.5) (Dolphin)
8. Pikmin (8.5) (Dolphin)
9. Pizza Tower (8.5) (PC)
10. Super Mario Bros (8.0) (NS)
11. Super Mario Bros 2 (8.0) (NS)
12. Bayonetta (8.5) (NS) (Would probably bump this down to an 8)
13. Mario Party Superstars (8.0) (NS) (Should probably bump this down to a 7.5)
14. Metro 2033 Redux (7.5) (PC)
15. Pikmin 4 (7.5) (NS)
16. Resident Evil Village (7.5) (PC)
17. Resident Evil 3 Remake (7.5) (PC)
18. Dead Space Remake (7.5) (PC)
19. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (6.5) (RetroArch)
20. Mega Man 3 (6.5) (NS)
21. Final Fantasy XVI (6.5) (PS5)
22. Pikmin 2 (6.0) (GC)
23. Sonic the Hedgehog (4.0) (RetroArch)
 
84. Tales of Phantasia

For whatever reason this game really clicked with me. It's not the most innovative RPG, but it's comfy. The story is as barebones as it can get for an RPG and only gets worse as the story progresses, with its second act not only being incredibly short and obviously underdeveloped but also having some issues with the narrative and difficulty.

It's quite a funny game at times, but can also be incredibly cringe-worthy, as it has some sexual jokes which are, as usual for a jRPG, delivered via one of two tropes: characters are so afraid of even mentions of opposite sex that they blush immediately and characters who act like Johnny Bravo. The latter in this game is also a 17 year old girl, and her wild remarks often feel more like someone's fetish than a joke. The game has good humor from time to time so I'm not sure where the funny is when a girl tries to hit on someone, talks in her dreams about sexual acts, or insinuates she's not a virgin. I don't know whether to be glad it doesn't come up often or be frustrated since it's so infrequent it feels out-of-character when it does happen.

Thankfully the game has a really beautiful art-style. In battle you'll be staring at very pretty pixel art of your party and enemies, while on the field you can access quick party talk that's presented a lot like MGS' Codec, complete with adorable mid-90s anime portraits. Some of said party talks are genuinely charming due to their PowerPoint-esque animation, even when the dialogue is as anime as it gets.

The biggest thing that separates it from other games in the genre is the battle system which allows you to walk on a 2D battlefield, reminiscent of Zelda II. However, there lies it's biggest weakness, too.

Tales of Phantasia for PS1 is only available with a fan-patch so it's likely you'll play it via an emulator, which is a really good decision. I think my opinion of it would be much, much lower if I couldn't press the speed up button at any time as the game REALLY needs it.

The battle system is interesting in theory, but in practice it's a mess. Throughout most of the game three of your party members will be mages who cast spells with long attack animations and who are often quite braindead: casting incredibly strong spells on weak enemies and AOE attacks onto a single foe. This slows the game WAY down and makes you hate your party members, as it'd be way faster to just stab any given enemy.

There are strategy menus and you can switch their spells on and off, but this feels like a bandaid on a fairly flawed system.
Turning spells off limits the offensive potential of mages, and trying to minmax it so that they'd only have spells for present enemy's weaknesses available will just mean you'll spend more time in menus than pretty much any jRPG out there, and certainly WAY more than I'd expect from a game with action-y nature.

In the end, I would rather choose attacks and spells from a turn-based menu, as it guarantees me immediate satisfaction of hitting an enemy, rather than switch between spells and occasionally order my mages to perform them while stopping what's supposed to be action where I can freely control myself.

Frankly, the biggest fix would be to make party members smarter: let them do correct spells for groups and utilize weaknesses once you discover them. I honestly don't know why the spectacles item which reveals HP and stats of the enemy can't automatically "fix" mages into performing right magic.

It's not so much a resource issue, as this game's equivalet of MP recharges on its own after battle and it's never expensive to replenish, but it's time consuming and frustrating.

However, despite it's simple story that's not even worth mentioning, some cringy dialogue and really messed up battle system with which I started interacting only via the fast-forward feature, I've enjoyed my time with this title. I've pretty much binged through the first part. And while the second had some issues with its difficulty spikes and the final boss who I've only killed by getting him stuck in the corner (despite having NO issues with preceeding dungeon), I get that. It's the first title in the series, some jank is expected. Thank god for fast forward, I guess.
 
Last edited:
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)
12. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Switch)
13. Final Fantasy (Pixel Remaster, Switch)
14. Goldeneye (NSO)
15. Oxenfree II Lost Signals (Switch)
16. Pikmin 4 (Switch)
17. The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons (NSO)
18. Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed (Switch)
Boy how doody. 3 was already my favourite Xenoblade game, and I had high expectations for Future Redeemed given the reception, but it exceeded my expectations. My minor gripes would be that I really didn't need all those musical flourishes for chests, locations etc, but I really like how holistically they wanted to tie that broader gameplay loop into character advancement. I didn't expect to vibe with Matthew and A anywhere nearly as much as I did, but by the end of 25 hours with them (around 90% completion), I was reluctant to bring things to a close. I love that Monolith Soft could introduce new characters alongside bringing Shulk and Rex back but make Matthew's journey and arc alongside them compelling. One thing I really enjoyed back when XBC DE gave us Future Connected was returning to a character who'd killed god, saved the world, got the girl, and remade the universe; it's not a dynamic you get in grand JRPGs very often at all. Future Redeemed piling on even more of that with both Rex and Shulk was something I loved, and seeing connections back to characters like Riki, Sharla, and Zeke was great. Also great to have Riku confirmed as just a common variety Nopon after all jk I see you Seventh Founder.

Other points in spoilers because they're plot related:

I'm not sure on the ethics of combining, recombining and ending multiple universes over the course of the games, but I love the baffling scope. I took it at the end of XBC 3 that Bionis and Alrest were once again separate, with young Noah having some memory of Mio via that flute music. Future Redeemed post-credits seems to show the worlds combining again, but does this mean Bionis and Alrest both come to an end, and everything is restored to the pre-Klaus Bang moment in time? Or is it that Bionis and Alrest have combined into a new world, and that Noah and Mio will reunite with one another? Is that what XBC 3's post credits was hinting at all along? I like the latter interpretation as an optimistic end for XBC 3 and it's an interpretation that passed me by the first time (I finished XBC 3 in the wee hours of the morning last year). While I'm ready for Xenoblade to either go back to X or depart for somewhere entirely new... I wouldn't say no to more adventures in Bionis/Alrest one day. I love the little tease we see in XBC of Alcamoth as the centre of a bigger city, and I always wondered how Alrest turned out post-XBC2 ending.

That being said, I also like the idea that, in at least one timeline, the world has returned to that point in time before Klaus shattered the universe; not least because I can believe that Future Redeemed's post-credits scene is Elma arriving to assist humanity as it seeks refuge among the stars. Time for X: Definitive Edition.

Anyway, it's a good job F ZERO 99 is here for some light bite quickfire gaming while I recover from that. Sea of Stars to start, Telltale's Expanse to finish this coming weekend.
 
Vookatos said:
83. Parasite Eve

I've beaten this game, I've enjoyed it, and I'm still not sure what to make of it.

A highly experimental title by Square: a sequel to a Japanese book that's a survival-horror jRPG. It shouldn't really work as well as it does.

Battles take place in 3D enviroments where you freely run around and shoot mutated monsters once your ATB meter fills up. You get plenty of weapons and spells along with a constantly recharging mana pool. It's a simple battle system, but it works, and only gets annoying in two of the last locations the labyrinthian nature of which makes encounters (not random, thankfully, rather scripted to certain places with a chance of beginning once you pass the needed spot) way too annoying.

It plays like a survival horror game with limited inventory and fairly complex maps, but it kind of isn't, because not only will you be drowning in bullets but you'll get plenty of healing spells that only have cooldown thanks to the recharging mana.

I'm not exactly sure whether this game even wants to be horror because it's one of the funniest games ever created. The story is an absolute blast: filled with pseudo-scientific nonsense that sounds ridiculous even at its premise. There's a mysterious powerful creature who can melt people into goo and later on in the game really needs sperm. It's thanks to its story that I think Parasite Eve needs to be experienced. Despite pretty much spelling out its plot twist as soon as it can, the dialogue is weird enough to keep you hooked. The gameplay, while fine and even somewhat novel, can get boring and slow (sometimes literally, as even the run speed of your character leaves a bit to be desired), but story, intersperced with a lot of CGI, is a wild ride.

The music is similarly insane, as it doesn't fit the game at all. No matter if you go into this game expecting action or horror, the chill battle theme will take you right out of it. While there are some spooky ambiant tracks, most of the time the music sounds like something you'd put on for an evening of romantic love-making.

This game is undeniably janky, yet there's an earnest vision to it all, and even when it doesn't make sense, it keeps being entertaining (I suppose except for the sewer level which sees you traveling across copypasted prerendered backgrounds). By the end you face off against a mutant boss with 6 forms as New York faces danger I'm not sure I've seen even in the most ridiculous action movies.

If you like cheesy horror movies, you need to play this game.
Click to expand...

Whoa! Someone else talking about this game on Fami is quite a rarity. Happy to see it recognized, as it's one of my favourite games ever. I do disagree with some of your points though. I thought the battle system was a blast all the way through, though I recognize that it's a matter of taste. And I think the music fits perfectly. It's very, like, beautiful purely harmonically speaking, but still has a haunting vibe to it.
 
Games finished - 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)
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)
17) Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed (NSW)
18) Dungeon Encounters (NSW)
19) The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (NSW)
20) Raptor Boyfriend: A High School Romance (NSW)
21) Picross S9 (NSW)
22) Persona 5 Royal (NSW)
23) Dragon Ball FighterZ (NSW - Game Trial NSO)
24) Brotato (NSW)
24) Voice of Cards: Beasts of Burden (NSW)
25) Unsighted (NSW)
26) Kirby’s Return to Dreamland Deluxe (NSW)
27) Mercenaries Lament : Requiem of the Silver Wolf (NSW)
28) Vampire Survivors (NSW)

29) Sea of Stars (NSW)

I had been anticipating this game for quite some time and I am happy to report that it lived up to the hype for me. Clearly inspired by 16 bit RPG's of yore with some modern amenities, this game does very little wrong. The pixel art graphics are an absolute treat; hats off to the art team that put this thing together. It looks like how RPG's of this era look in my memory.

Even the characters and story feel like something plucked straight from 1993 at first, but like the art style, eventually reveal unexpected depth and complexity. This will certainly be in consideration for my GotY, which is saying something with some of the other heavy hitters this year. If you have fond memories of the classic 16 bit RPG's, you will want to at least give this a look. Phenomenal.
 
Irene said:
Whoa! Someone else talking about this game on Fami is quite a rarity. Happy to see it recognized, as it's one of my favourite games ever. I do disagree with some of your points though. I thought the battle system was a blast all the way through, though I recognize that it's a matter of taste. And I think the music fits perfectly. It's very, like, beautiful purely harmonically speaking, but still has a haunting vibe to it.
Click to expand...
I'm trying to step out of my comfort zone this year.

I feel like the older I get the less patient I get. Hell, maybe some sort of ADHD, I dunno, but museum section felt like it dragged. At all times it felt like there were 3 places to go and doubling back would just spawn more pterodactyls and those take a lot of bullets. Regular enemies with rare exceptions also aren't that difficult so it becomes a waiting game.

Not arguing, but felt like I should explain myself a bit better. I also do wish Chrysler Building wasn't locked behind NG+. I'm interested, but not interested enough to go through the game again. However, a non-canon ending to its first title is exactly what some B-movies would've done in the 80s (hell, Evil Dead just remade itself by second installment and ditched almost all the characters), so I'm seeing this discrepancy as part of the charm.
 
Vookatos said:
I'm trying to step out of my comfort zone this year.

I feel like the older I get the less patient I get. Hell, maybe some sort of ADHD, I dunno, but museum section felt like it dragged. At all times it felt like there were 3 places to go and doubling back would just spawn more pterodactyls and those take a lot of bullets. Regular enemies with rare exceptions also aren't that difficult so it becomes a waiting game.

Not arguing, but felt like I should explain myself a bit better. I also do wish Chrysler Building wasn't locked behind NG+. I'm interested, but not interested enough to go through the game again. However, a non-canon ending to its first title is exactly what some B-movies would've done in the 80s (hell, Evil Dead just remade itself by second installment and ditched almost all the characters), so I'm seeing this discrepancy as part of the charm.
Click to expand...
I don't think you're wrong that the gameplay of Parasite Eve, while starting out as pretty fun, drags a lot in the latter parts of the game. It sucks because the last two dungeons are the first ones that really present more complex Resident Evil-like exploration, so in that sense they're the most sophisticated maps and that's really cool, but they're also quite messy. I think I'd still say I enjoyed the musuem map more than the map with the sewer (and a lab I think?) but it was the most frustrating map in the game for sure.

What also doesn't help is that the way the game calculates damage numbers for bullets is way off. Every time you add a bullet to your cartridge via the mag expansions, the game assigns the bullets a different damage value based off an equation to balance out each bullet. It's not as exact as damage/2, damage/3, damage/4 etc, but it's very close. What this means is that you're effectively punished every time you start using mags over 2 bullets, since 2 bullets is the perfect amount of each bullet still having a high damage ratio, but also allowing you to shoot more than once per turn. This is really bad because the game never explains it, so once I started using 3/4 bullet mags I started to go from having a surplus of ammo to literally running out of ammo by the end of the second to last map, all in the span of like two hours despite having more than a hundred bullets on me at the time I think (it might have even been more than 200).

Still, I really like the game. Definitely one of my favorite Square RPGs, though I suppose I'm not that into them in general. The soundtrack also SLAPS and while I get how you think it's cheesy, I don't really see it that way. A lot of the music is about sounding serene or other worldly, so even if I can see how it sounds cheesy, it works for the game. The battle theme is a little serene, yeah, but I think it makes sense for how surreal Parasite Eve is supposed to be: it sounds like you've entered another plane of existence, which is closer to a lot of what the tracks are going for I think than just pure horror.

Now I'm going to post some tracks I like.

Still one of the best ending themes to a game, ever (okay, I can see how this sounds cheesy, but it's so beautiful)


A pretty good example of Parasite Eve going for an otherworldly surreal horror vibe, even if the opening notes being a bad ripoff of The Exorcist is a bit cheesy


Still one of my favorite map themes in gaming, feels weirdly futuristic to have this track playing while you zoom in and out of locations, so fucking cool and something you can't replicate without playing the game for yourself
 
Machine Doogs said:
This will certainly be in consideration for my GotY, which is saying something with some of the other heavy hitters this year. If you have fond memories of the classic 16 bit RPG's, you will want to at least give this a look
Click to expand...
The backlog keeps getting bigger…

… but I’m still chipping away at it best I can. Just completed A Space For The Unbound, which is hard to talk about without spoilers, but I’ll try.

I was initially drawn to it for the sheer authenticity of its rustic Southeast Asian setting. It was like it was plucked straight out of my childhood. However, it slowly proved itself to be a genuinely heartfelt story in its own right. The overaching story is one of the best storytelling experiences I’ve had all year, and I had to brace myself so I wouldn’t cry at several points. And apart from the main story, you also have the delightful story snacks by way of a mechanic where you get to “dive” into other people’s minds and help them sort out their issues, whether it’s trying to sleep or recalling a fond memory.

Most of my criticisms are about the mechanics. There’s a little too much backtracking. Sometimes it stalls the story with a dumb problem that isn’t related to the urgent issue, and you have to go through the typical adventure game hoops just to proceed. But none of it dampened my appreciation of A Space For The Unbound. It’s going to take up some headspace for a while, I think.
 
Beelzemontheworld said:
6) Xenoblade 3
7) Xenoblade 3 Future Redeemed

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
Click to expand...
Ok big update
8) Tears of the Kingdom - Incredible game that I don’t think I can rate as separate from Breath of the Wild because of how instrumental that game is in what Tears is and does. Probably as a pair one of my top video game experiences of all time

9) Metroid Prime Remastered - another incredible game that was my first time playing it after having only played some of fusion and most of dread. I’ve got the trilogy on WiiU though so if get around to them before updated releases I’m excited to play 2 and 3

10) What remains of Edith Finch - A game I bought a while ago and just never got to. The shorter play time and narrative focus was a nice change up from the last 2 games and had some cool ideas going on. Didn’t have too many expectations going in and was pleasantly surprised

11) Disco Elysium: The Final Cut - What an amazing experience this was, the way the world and it’s people would change based on my decisions was super cool, felt like playing an actual table top RPG. It also had me doing lots of pondering and I got really attached to some of the characters, Kim <3. But truly like what a masterclass in interactive storytelling, had a great time diving in to and really unearthing the world and it’s themes, some really powerful moments in there.

12) Pikmin 4 - I love love Pikmin and oatchi was so cute that despite trying to wait to get it I caved sooner, and while there’s still lots of Pikmin goodness in there I think it left me wanting more of what 3 was doing. The shift of all multitasking to the caves only and making the maps more exploration focused would’ve been fine if they had some way to integrate them better but entering the caves ruined any flow I had going on above ground to the point that I’d just leave all the caves for last for each level and then do them one after another which got grating. To the point that I don’t have an desire to do the final cave and boss (still completed it though :p)

13) Ty the Tasmanian Tiger - Dug up my PS2 and started playing this one Saturday and ended up investing a decent few hours into 100%ing the first few levels and then in the following days got further than I ever did as a child. I needed 3 more thunder eggs to unlock the final boss which I never saw before but I think I’ve gotten my fill with the revisit

14) Bombrush Cyberfunk - What a fun game to just play and move around in. The trick system made it great to just mess around in the overworld and the soundtrack was a Cherry on top, lots of songs entering my playlists. Had never played Jet Set before but this made me interested although from my understanding this is an evolution of that, so would be interested in I go back and see the origins. Excited for any future plans with the franchise if they exist.

When I first posted in this thread one of my intentions was to make a decent dent in my backlog and well, except for Edith Finch and Ty all the other games in this update were ones that I bought recently. Trying to decide what to play next and I’m torn between old things I haven’t gotten to yet and new used games I bought of stuff I’ve always wanted to play. Too much to play and too little time, but that’s always how it goes~
 
Ocean Shart

It’s fine, better than the last Zelda-like game I played, Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King.

Pros:
  1. The music is excellent. There isn’t a bad track in the game. Unfortunately, there’s no music player.
  2. The backgrounds are very detailed.
  3. Less than $5.00 on sale.
  4. Overall pretty impressive for a game largely developed by one person, Max Mraz.
Cons:
  1. The main character, Tilia, is borderline insufferable. Maybe I’m yelling at clouds, but I’m exhausted by characters (people, really) in which sarcasm/snark is their entire personality.
  2. The humor hits ~10% of the time.
  3. Tilia can’t swim, loses half a heart every time she falls in water.
  4. Character models are inconsistent.
    • Some enemies don’t look like they’re from the same game.
    • Tilia looks like an NPC.
  5. Lots of bugs and grammatical errors. While QA is listed in the credits, this could have used more beta testing.
  6. The game often doesn’t respect your time.
    • Towns are organized in such a way that you’re forced to run around a lot.
    • There are many instances in which a jump-off ledge would have been easy to implement and greatly appreciated.
Neutral commentary
  1. Dungeons are pretty simple/straightforward. Could be considered a con.
  2. The story isn’t particularly deep or even good, but I also didn’t expect it to be so here we are.
  3. Like Zelda, health is measured in hearts. There are 21 total hearts in the game. Unlike Zelda, the UI splits them in one row of 13 hearts and a second row of eight hearts. Almost listed this as a con, honestly.
  4. Limited functionality on the subscreen.
    • Once you collect a crafting item, the game doesn’t tell you what it is again unless you find it in a chest. A blurb in the menu would have been helpful but you can’t highlight them.
    • If you collect an item before officially starting a side-quest, there’s no way to track it until you talk to the person who gives the quest.
  5. The “Quit Game” option asks if you want to save first which I accidentally did on numerous occasions. Sometimes I just wanted to see the other branch of the dialog tree.
  6. The final boss has no music which is extra weird because the OST is the best part of the game.
  7. The ending is very abrupt.
    • The characters talk about destroying the Ocean’s Heart with the Sea King’s sword then don’t and never address it. Instead, they just fuck off and go home.
    • Another character is straight up like lookatmeimthecaptainnow.jpg
    • Roll credits. I guess! 🤷‍♀️
The next Zelda-likes I’m looking forward to are Mina the Hollower and Hazelnut Bastille. Any recommendations are welcome!
 
AngryAlchemist said:
What also doesn't help is that the way the game calculates damage numbers for bullets is way off. Every time you add a bullet to your cartridge via the mag expansions, the game assigns the bullets a different damage value based off an equation to balance out each bullet. It's not as exact as damage/2, damage/3, damage/4 etc, but it's very close. What this means is that you're effectively punished every time you start using mags over 2 bullets, since 2 bullets is the perfect amount of each bullet still having a high damage ratio, but also allowing you to shoot more than once per turn. This is really bad because the game never explains it, so once I started using 3/4 bullet mags I started to go from having a surplus of ammo to literally running out of ammo by the end of the second to last map, all in the span of like two hours despite having more than a hundred bullets on me at the time I think (it might have even been more than 200).
Click to expand...
So I just lucked out into an easier game by being lazy and keeping my gun with 2 bullets for the whole game and upgrading nothing else? This is one of the reasons I'm wary of trying PS1 games. I've recently tried Valkyrie Profile and the game opened up, presenting me with a time limit. No biggie, I went to read about it some and discovered that I should've actually picked a different difficulty option and I should've kept a few items instead of sending them to Valhalla.
Didn't continue afterwards. I actually LOVE weird cryptic games, but Fear and Hunger or La-Mulana are also not 50 hours long and usually keep their cryptic nature to tons of secrets and not "here's a mechanic you won't ever understand gootbye"
 
0
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)
14) Sonic CD (XSS)
15) Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS5)
16) Donald Duck Advance (GBA)
17) Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (PS2)
18) Stunt Race FX (SNES)
19) Rhythm Tengoku (GBA)
20) Super Mario RPG (SNES)
21) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Turtles in Time (SNES)
22) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - The Hyperstone Heist (Genesis)
23) Tearaway (PSV)

24) Dragon Ball Advanced Adventure (GBA)

This is a bit of a hidden gem in the GBA’s library. It’s a 2D platform brawler, which is a pretty unique take on the genre as far as I’m concerned. The main gameplay loop sees Goku exploring large stages that are similar to Kirby levels, beating up Red Ribbon Army members along the way. The combat is fast and frantic, and it’s fun at first, but eventually loses its luster. In addition to the main brawler levels, there are also Flying Nimbus stages that are basically the bonus sewer surfing stage from Turtles in Time, as well as 1v1 fighting stages. During these fights the gameplay changes to a very simple 2D fighting game where each character has a health bar and a “rush bar” that gets depleted as you get hit. Only once this rush bar is fully depleted will you take actual damage to your health bar. Due to the limited move set, these fights are basically button mashing sessions where you’re doing the same moves over and over again, slowly chipping away at the opponent’s health bar. Even though these levels aren’t great, I was glad they were in the game, because they break up the monotony of the main brawler stages.

Overall, I wouldn’t say Advanced Adventure is a masterpiece, but it’s a perfectly serviceable game. It’s nice to see a game that’s focused on Dragon Ball for a change, instead of Z. It’s short enough at three hours that you can blast through it in a weekend, or even a single session if you wanted to. I recommend giving it a look if you’re a fan of Dragon Ball.
 
15. Super Mario Bros (replay)
Forgot to mention I played this again as part of the community event. Still an all-time classic I never get tired of playing. I miss Mario 35 too.

16. Disco Elysium

I had purchased this on sale sometime last year and hadn't gotten around to playing it until recently. I absolutely loved this game. I really liked the different skills offering more dialogue during conversations/investigating. The dialogue itself was great, often funny and just as often weird, but generally very well-written. Possibly has the best tie in video games as well. Highly recommend giving this a go, but I do have to mention that the Switch version for me crashed quite a bit. I think overall, I had close to or over 20 crashes in the ~30 hours I played it. I saved frequently after the first couple, so I never lost much progress, but it was a lot. Still, loved the game overall.

List for the year so far:

1. Fire Emblem Warriors: 3 Hopes
2. Fire Emblem Engage
3. Return to Monkey Island
4. Octopath Traveler 2
5. Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed
6. The Legend of Zelda : Tears of the Kingdom
7. Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney (replay)
8. PWAA Justice for All (replay)
9. PWAA Trials & Tribulations (replay)
10. Pokemon Trading Card Game (replay)
11. Pikmin 4
12. Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope
13. Minit Fun Racer
14. Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins (replay)
15. Super Mario Bros
16. Disco Elysium
 
Tears of the Kingdom: I finally did it Fami! 4 months and 150 hours later I have beaten TotK and can now actually move on to playing other games again.

Still finding it hard to split which game I prefer between TotK and BotW. Very much a Galaxy 1 & 2 situation where the first game does more to establish a specific mood and atmosphere that that the sequels don’t really match, but the sequels are just a more enjoyable and inventive to actually play.
 
Last edited:
Games finished - 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)
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)
17) Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed (NSW)
18) Dungeon Encounters (NSW)
19) The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (NSW)
20) Raptor Boyfriend: A High School Romance (NSW)
21) Picross S9 (NSW)
22) Persona 5 Royal (NSW)
23) Dragon Ball FighterZ (NSW - Game Trial NSO)
24) Brotato (NSW)
24) Voice of Cards: Beasts of Burden (NSW)
25) Unsighted (NSW)
26) Kirby’s Return to Dreamland Deluxe (NSW)
27) Mercenaries Lament : Requiem of the Silver Wolf (NSW)
28) Vampire Survivors (NSW)
29) Sea of Stars (NSW)

30) ABZÛ (NSW)

Picked this one up essentially for free (deep sale + gold coins) and I really enjoyed it. I made a mistake at first, playing it for maybe 10 minutes before work one day. I spent most of that time getting my head around the controls (they are pretty simple, I just had no idea if I wanted either the camera or character controls inverted), I wasn't even sure that I would finish it after that. When I picked it up later that evening things clicked. It's only a couple of hours long, but a really nice, peaceful couple of hours in a beautiful underwater world.
 
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)
14) Sonic CD (XSS)
15) Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS5)
16) Donald Duck Advance (GBA)
17) Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (PS2)
18) Stunt Race FX (SNES)
19) Rhythm Tengoku (GBA)
20) Super Mario RPG (SNES)
21) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Turtles in Time (SNES)
22) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - The Hyperstone Heist (Genesis)
23) Tearaway (PSV)
24) Dragon Ball Advanced Adventure (GBA)

I’m back with a couple more games - a small one and a big one.

25) Gundam Battle Assault (PS1)

This is the small game.

I have no connection to Gundam at all. I’ve never watched any of the anime, read any of the manga, or played any Gundam game before. Gundam Battle Assault was featured as the Game of the Week on a retro game discord I’m on, and I thought it looked interesting enough to try.

It’s a 2D fighting game in giant robots. Visually, it’s really cool. The mechs feel huge, something I’m sure isn’t easy to do in a 2D game. The game looks great. It plays alright too, although there are some sharp difficult spikes. I wouldn’t have had to the patience to get through the story mode if it weren’t for save states. Overall not a bad way to spend an hour.

26) Final Fantasy XVI (PS5)

And this is the big game! It feels like I’ve been playing FFXVI forever; I started on launch day back in late June, and I’m finally at the end here in September. And what an incredible journey I’ve been on! This game is a masterpiece. Is it perfect? Definitely not. But what’s here is really, really, really good. My sixty-plus hours spent in this world were wonderful. I know FFXVI is divisive, with some people loving it and some hating it. I am squarely in the “love it” crowd. This is my GOTY, and it’s gonna take something really special to take its place.
 
I’ve divided what I’ve played this year so far into one of three ranks:

★ — Not bad!
★★ — Pretty dang good.
★★★ — Blew me away.

The reasoning behind three stars is pretty straightforward: I don’t have as much time to play games anymore, and frankly I would never finish I game I thought was outright bad or even middling at this point in my life. Thus, I only really finish games I like and even a one star is a positive review! It’s just to show how much I enjoyed it in relativity.

★
Advance Wars 1+2 Reboot Camp
Baba is You
Castle Crumble
Coffee Talk
Coffee Talk 2
Melatonin
Pentiment
stitch.
Vampire Survivors

★★
Diablo IV
Hitman Freelancer
Kirby and the Forgotten Land
NYT Word Games
Quake II
The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe
The Talos Principle
Triangle Strategy
XC3: Future Redeemed

★★★
Bonfire Peaks
Octopath Traveler II
Resident Evil 4
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
Zelda: TotK
 
Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo

I was in the mood for a visual novel, and this one just happen to go on sale? Was it fate.....or a curse!?
I had a great time with this one. I went in bascially blind so a lot of the game really suprised me, especially after the opening hours. The opening didnt leave a good starting impression, but I'm glad I stuck with it, because when the actual story starts, that's when it gets real good.

It reminded me a lot of 13 Sentiels: Aegis Rim, where you have these seemingly different storylines, but when they all connect, it all clicks in genius ways. I initially thought the roster of characters whos story we would follow were odd choices, but once the stories got going, I was hooked and found them all to be really likeable and interesting, with the overall mystery keeping me coming back for more and more.

Overall, this was not what I was expecting going in, but that's ok because what I got was a gripping mystery with interesting characters and twists and turns I would never have seen coming. I think my little trip to Honjo was one I certianly dont regret!

OST was boppin at times too
 
Last edited:
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)
14) Sonic CD (XSS)
15) Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS5)
16) Donald Duck Advance (GBA)
17) Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (PS2)
18) Stunt Race FX (SNES)
19) Rhythm Tengoku (GBA)
20) Super Mario RPG (SNES)
21) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Turtles in Time (SNES)
22) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - The Hyperstone Heist (Genesis)
23) Tearaway (PSV)
24) Dragon Ball Advanced Adventure (GBA)
25) Gundam Battle Assault (PS1)
26) Final Fantasy XVI (PS5)

27) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Shredder’s Revenge (XSS)

This was a treat. Shredder’s Revenge oozes with style and charm (get it? Ooze. Turtles joke). It feels like you’re playing the 80s cartoon! It’s a modern version of the 16 bit brawlers, in the best way possible. There’s lots of replayability here if you want it, too. Good stuff.
 
Last edited:
#6. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

It's been long since my last post here but I'm finally done with TotK! It took around 225 hours, whew. I explored the most I could from the map and managed to find all Shrines/Lightroots but I missed a few caves and wells. I didn't clear all sidequests either but I did a pretty large amount of them.

Anyway, it's a little hard to write my feelings of the game. As I mentioned above I played over 200 hours and literally never felt bored or tired of the game, I really enjoyed turning on my Switch every night to explore a little bit of Hyrule, finding caves, shrines, quests and stuff. However, the experience never felt as magical as my first playthrough through BotW... I guess reusing the same world, visuals and general design caused this. There were still many awesome moments in the game, many arguably better than the best moments in BotW even, but I dunno.

I feel I could write a ton about my opinion on the game's main achievements and flaws but I think that's been done to death already so I'll refrain... except for one final complaint about enemy variety! I hope the Zelda team takes notice of the importance in combat on these games and for the next one delivers more unique encounters. There's so many sidequests that'd have been legendary with unique bosses/enemies... On a similar note I'm baffled at the amount of classic Zelda enemies that are still missing. Blows my mind that a game with forests, caves and a literal pitch black underground has no Skulltulas.
 
Man, it's been a while since I finished a game. I hit a lull where nothing was exciting me for a bit after I finished Pikmin 4. I'm excited to continue the list!

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
9. Utawarerumono: Mask of Truth
10. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
11. Donkey Kong Country (NSO)
12. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion
13. Loopers
14. The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie
15. Steins;Gate Elite
16. Pikmin 4
17. Eternights

I wrote most of my thoughts on this game last weekend in the RPG thread, and after finishing, most of what I said still stands. The ending was kind of weird, but I liked it. Great work by an indie studio for their first game. I will keep an eye out for whatever they do next.
 
Finished two games during this weekend, two distinct but equally heartfelt love letters to mecha: Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon and 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim. AC6 really immersed me into the role of a mecha pilot, steering a gigantic hunk of steel that rains death upon enemies. FROM nailed the gamefeel, it's the closest I will ever come to becoming a Gundam protagonist. 13S on the other hand is less about twisting fingers and more about twisting brainfolds. Really loved how it wove together all sorts of sci-fi tropes to deliver a refreshingly unique take on the "saving humans from kaiju" plotline.
 
Superizer said:
Games I already completed this year:
1: Octopath Traveler (23/01)
2: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe + Wave 1-3 of the Booster Course Pass (28/01)
3: Paper Mario: The Origami King (13/02)
4: A Short Hike (19/02)
5: Celeste (25/02)
Click to expand...

6: Pikmin 4 (23/09)
I 100%'d the game yesterday, played 39 hours in total.
This was my first Pikmin-game. Overall it was a very fun game and the game hit the sweet spot for me in terms of difficulty.
The Pikmin-series has earned a new fan :)



Pikmin 4 was a break for me from completing both Tears of the Kingdom and Octopath Traveler 2, already played some TotK yesterday and it was way more fun than I remembered.
I am very far along in both games and way past completing the story in both, so I hope to add these to my completed games list soon.
But I'm probably gonna 100% Super Mario Bros. Wonder as soon as that comes out... So we'll see what I find more fun :p
 
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)
12. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Switch)
13. Final Fantasy (Pixel Remaster, Switch)
14. Goldeneye (NSO)
15. Oxenfree II Lost Signals (Switch)
16. Pikmin 4 (Switch)
17. The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons (NSO)
18. Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed (Switch)
19. Telltale's The Expanse (Xbox Series S)
Firstly, worth pointing out I'm a huge fan of both the books and the show, and I bought this on a whim at a 20% launch day discount. Without those two factors, it'd be difficult to recommend.

It's hard not to feel like the decision to roll out the episodes rapidly led to things being cut down in scope. The first two episodes were a decent length, with multiple optional objectives which went on to feed into narrative and character outcomes in meaningful ways. From episode 3 onwards though, things become increasingly linear, less interactive; episode 4 has no major decisions to make and while my episode 5 playthrough had excellent narrative play offs, the episode was brief (less than an hour) and, beyond a handful of QTEs, had little in the way of meaningful gameplay. That's a shame, because the zero g exploration in the early episodes was really in keeping with the tone and atmosphere of the show and books, and rather than elaborate upon that with more complex puzzle solving or more exploration, the game moves away from it as the episodes advance.

On the flipside, Cara Gee as Camina Drummer is once again excellent, well captured, and her journey here is consistent with the character we see in the show (especially her fierce loyalty to crew and family). The relationships you develop with your crew members genuinely matter, and how you handle them ultimately determines your and their fate, which is satisfying in a narrative adventure game. The inclusion of (mild spoilers) Julie Mao was a surprise, but I like that trusting her in episode 4 paid off in episode 5. Toussaint, the pirate captain, also served as a really good antagonist in the final episodes.

Despite zero expectations and qualms about the low amount of content and the increasingly streamlined gameplay, I still found an enjoyable enough experience here as an Expanse nut. I'll just spend my time dreaming of a Mass Effect 2 style Expanse action RPG from now on, before I either begin the show or books over again from the beginning.
 
34)Fire Emblem Warriors Three hopes
I did it, beat FEWTH, I’m free I’m free! Had a great time, enjoyed the stories a lot, but I’m ready to step away from this one for a long time. Sheesh 172 ish hours was a lot for a non rpg but I’m sure there’s some drift time time
IMG_7276.jpg

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
14) Star Wars Battlefront(OG)
15)Kirby and the forgotten land
16) Xenoblade chronicles 3 Future Redeemed
17) Sonic Adventure(Xbox)
18)Rhapsody a Musical Adventure
19)Legend Of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom
20)The Great Ace Attorney 2 Resolve
21) Super Mario Advance(Super Mario Bros 2)
22)Lunistice
23)Ghost Trick(phone version)
24) Crusader of Centy
25)Cosmic Star Heroine
26) SMA2 SMW
27)SMA3 YI
28)SMA4 SMB3
29)SMB the Lost Levels(All Stars)
30)SMB(all Stars)
31) FFVIII
32) From Dust
33) Sonic Adventure 2
 
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 ] - 6
6. Professor Layton and the Unwound Future [ DS ] - 6
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 ] - 9
29. Doom (1993) [ NS ] - 8
30. Hi-Fi Rush [ PC ] - 6
31. Strider 2 [ PS1 ] - 6
32. Kirby's Return to Dreamland ( Replay ) [ NS ] - 10 - First Switch playthrough
33. Demon Souls [ PS3 ]
34. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom [ NS ] - 7
*Disney Dreamlight Valley - The Forgotten Story Arc [ PC ]
35. Mass Effect [ PC ]
*Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope - The Last Spark Hunter [ NS ]
36. Last Command [ NS ] - 8
37. Mohism: Battle of Words [ PC ] - 7.5
38. The Chrono Jotter [ PC ] - 10

39. Valis IV [ NS ] - 7

Continues with the multiple characters mechanic from 3, still a big fan of the magical girl style and vibes from that era, not a particular fan of the spike in bullshit in the later stages, disappointing since 3 only really had like one moment where the platforming was a bit too precise, still a fun time.

40. missed messages. [ PC ] - 7.5

Really like this and a new life from Angela He, bittersweet stories with a nice mechanic that integrates a more gamey element with these short visual novels with some adventure game elements without spoiling much or lack of a better term. Short but sweet titles, could have had more to it in some sequences tho, think a new life feels more well rounded as a story despite both being around the same lenght.

41. Peakmin 3 ( Replay ) [ NS ] - 10 - First Switch playthrough, 5th overall.

I like time limits, specifically some form of deadline, the good Atelier games, Pikmin 1 and 3, Lightning Returns, Majora's Mask, Unsighted, Potionomics, etc.

The adrenaline of being on the clock, and the context given for it elevates these experiences, Pikmin for example, it bolsters the aspect of survival, Olimar due to his life support system, and the captains of 3 trying to save their planet from extinction due to the lack of resources, a moon threatening to destroy Termina in 3 days, etc.

While Pikmin 3's "day limit" or limit measured by the fruits you collect, is eventually trivialized by the amount of juice you get out of them (despite that I will say the first week or so has a decent amount of tension, and depending on your exploration, it does the same near the end when your resources get stolen later on in the game) I think there is an aspect of adding a hard timer or schedule system to these types of games that doesn't get brought up, is that once you apply a deadline like this to finish the game, developers have to pace it so it doesn't become frustrating to start over, these games have really good pacing, almost fully pure meaningful content with almost no fat, and become very replayable, which at least to me offsets any comment about being "too short" whatever that means to each person.

While there are elements that I think are too streamlined in Pikmin 3, the fact that your pikmin seemingly can't be deflowered by wind gusts or enemies pushing them away is something that trivializes certain enemy attacks since there isn't any consequence for not timing your whistles, more so if the Pikmin aren't vulnerable to elemental attacks and such. Pikmin speed is a bit too high so that leaflings aren't as much of a nuisance to control around, they don't trip anymore, etc. this is otherwise Pikmin at its best mechanically, and really good showcase of time management and efficiency, even if partly optional. One can go through the game without using the 3 captains efficiently, but that does mean less time to do things, just mastering 2 is a good time saver, and with 3 it means having mastery on the game and its mechanics that accentuates the moment to moment strategy element of the series.

Presentation wise is still my favorite of the series counting 4, I love the photorealism and I think that is better achieved in this game than 4, the camera angles and detail gives most frames of the different locations feel like they could be those nature postcards, the textures on the enemies give it a realistic finish that makes great contrast with their otherwise cartoony looking designs, the lighting in the cave areas, everything looks beautiful.

Music is fantastic with a lot of great atmospheric tracks with a catchy melody that encapsulated that feeling of being out in nature so well, and by the end its more unnerving tracks are a highlight of the series.

Some of those streamlined elements and the lower difficulty, combined with a less punishing timer are aspects that the first Pikmin game does better, the only thing holding back the original is some very specific unnecessary jankiness, made me think of giving it a 9 and most of the experience is like that, equal to the first game in its own way. But that last area man, the whole ending sequence of Pikmin 3 remains the series' best moment on all aspects, the storytelling, the culmination and celebration of the stories of 1 and 2 as they get intertwined with 3's, the unnerving and bizarre elements of Pikmin being brought to the front full force, and on a gameplay level, a fantastic showcase of multitasking, efficiency and level design of what makes Pikmin so good, easily the best cave in the series, plus a great boss fight coupled with a great battle and ending credits theme as a nice bowtie to the whole experience. Definitely the factor that gives the edge to 3 for me.

42. Eternal Darkness [ GC ] - 8.5

A very unique game, very ambitious which are both its strenghts and weaknesses. It definitely has that skeleton of great mechanics that needed a different focus to be fully fleshed out, maybe more development time or a remake/sequel.

The combat for example, have a great variety of both melee and ranged weapons thanks to the game taking place across multiple time periods, plus it has a pretty extensive magic system, ranging from shields, magic attacks, recovery spells, and summons of different kinds of enemies you encounter in the game, plus you can lock on to different parts of the enemies and cut off those parts, like the head of a lot of undead enemies so they don't absorb your health/magic/sanity, hit their weak points, or aim for non armored parts. It has a lot of depth on paper but there a good lack of enemy variety to take full advantage of those systems, they basically serve to exist as a helping hand if you are struggling too much, or stuff to mess around and experiment, but you can get through most of the game with melee, aim for the head, and occassionally use recovery spells, plus a lot of enemies can be walked around or skipped with decent mobility.

A mechanic that is used welll through the game is the stamina, you can't tell from a bar how much you have left, so you have to measure yourself how much you'll run before your character starts getting tired, low health will also make you limp, so recovering is always a priority during combat encounters. also each character has a different amount of stamina/health/magic/sanity/ meter on top of the variety of weapons, making each of them feel distinct enough.

The game is like an action adventure game with psychological horror elements, is not really purely survival like a Resident Evil, there is a ton of ammo, the level design and progression is pretty linear the whole way through, can save anywhere, but that psychological aspect and the ambition of its setting is what makes it stand out as something to be played at least once even today.

The game consists of 12 chapters with short intermissions in between, the intermissions and a couple of chapters you take control of the main character Alexandra as she explores the mansion and reads the tome of Eternal Darkness, the other chapters consists of many moments in the lives of people that had the tome and fought against the arrival of the Ancients into the world, bunch of cosmic horror creatures. Get to see some changes across 4 main locations across time and with different context given the character you are using, is a pretty cool set up for any game really.

There is also the thing that most people know from it which are the sanity effects, they are still really cool and managed to surprise me more than once with some of them.

The game has multiple endings but I don't know if I'll get to that anytime soon, the linearity and design of the game makes it feel less replayable than other horror games, tho the game does change the element that gets absorbed from you during enemy attacks plus some boss encounters are different, is basically your difficulty selection, picking green to have enemies absorb your sanity is the least difficult and honestly the better choice to go for on a first playthrough, it will pretty much enable you to experience all the sanity effects more easily and having your sanity reduced to 0 won't kill you, picking red is like a hard mode, because obviously having 0 health causes a game over and enemies will absorb that.

Also peak presentation, there is something I love about the production values of Gamecube games, always comes off as more impressive to me than most modern games today, the level of detail for the time, the atmosphere and vibes a title like Eternal Darkness can produce, there is something timeless and endearing about all of it.
 
13. Starfield (XBX)

When starfield was first announced I was instantly interesting even though I was fully aware of how risky it was to be excited for a Bethesda game that'll be at risk of be a jankfest. The hype only went up as they showed it off, reaching a peak this passed Summer Games Fest. So I was more than excited to start the game up when it went live on Gamepass.

And finally the adventure began. Except it didn't lol. The marketing for the game promoted this idea of freedom. The main story even forces you to join a group called The Constellation, which focuses on exploring. At first exploring the large amount of systems, planets and moons is fun and interesting, but eventually the fun turns into a slog. Not a lot of variety between the planets and moons and constantly being forced to deal with load screens to take off, fly to another place, then land is tiring. It takes way to long to do these things(and other things as well). And speaking of planets, Earth is boring. What they did with Earth is nothing short of unimaginative and nonsensical. Don't bother going out of your way to check it out.

The other things that encumber this freedom, is well, encumbrance. It's more of a nuisance in the beginning of the game but that's a part of the game where it shouldn't be one. Did I mention load times? The menu is slow, especially after playing for hours in one game session. You will have to close the game down and then boot it back up from time to time. Gives Pokemon Scarlet/Violet vibes. Other things that slow the game down are your companions. They don't shut up. About to go up against a team of mercs? Your companion may just keep asking to talk to you where they tell you their life story. At one point I couldn't continue the main story unless I finished a side quest for my companion. Now I probably could've kicked her out of the crew but the fact I'd have to do to that is weird.

The next complaint has to do with the role play aspect of the game. It's lackluster. I assume it depends on the character background and if I had to guess Bounty Hunter, Pirate and Soldier probably bring the best RP. I tried to rp my character but between The Constellation arc and my character background there wasn't much to it. Not a lot of dialogue options for you to feel immersed, however there was a bright spot with the Neon Street Rat trait. I wonder if it is my fault and not so much the game so it'll be interesting to see what I get when a decide to go the pirate or bounty hunter route.

The game isn't that buggy. There are a few weird bugs here and there but nothing too terrible. Game crashed a couple times but the game itself autosaves enough to lessen the impact.

Now I went on a lot with what I didn't like. So you may be shocked to know that I have finished the game and continued onwards to a NG+ and will start a new file in the future to play a different character. I did reach a point in the game where I almost stopped playing. Eventually I decided to stop getting distracted and just focus on the main story. And it was the best decision. About half way through the main story the game finally shows you what it's actually about and it doesn't let up ending in what I thought was an enthralling and immersive final two missions. It's a bit weird to say but I don't really think this is a game about exploring and enjoying space. But rather, the game seems more about enjoying the idea of space and the questions it poses to humanity. And I can respect that even with my gripes. The story is interesting and even the characters you meet a long the way are as well. They are all well written and developed.

Starfield is an imperfect game exploring the imperfect beauty and nature of space along with its meaning to us. There is a great game to be had here but the game itself goes out of its way to stop it. It's actually frustrating how close it comes to being great but it never reaches it's potential. (7/10)
 
Last edited:
#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
#18 Kingdom Hearts (PS4)
#19 Advance Wars 1 Reboot Camp (Switch)
#20 Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer Featuring The Legend of Zelda (Switch)
#21 The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom (Switch)

#22 Mario Party (NSO)


I've been slowly playing the og Mario Party since it got on NSO, and yesterday I finished the last of the six basic boards. I know there are two more boards in the game, but the requirements for unlocking them are way too steep when playing alone, so I'm counting the game as finished.

It was a nice experience, MP had a very solid foundation and was a lot of fun from the start. One thing that surprised me is how the boards are already very creative and have interesting gimmicks, something that was unfortunately lost in a couple later entries (like the first game has more interesting boards than SMP, which is kinda ridiculous). The minigames are generally very basic and some of them are very hard/annoying to control, but I still had good fun playing. Not sure if I'll play 2 and 3, it's kinda boring to play MP by myself, and my husband only likes the modern games.
 
14. Pokemon Scarlet DLC: The Teal Mask (NS)

I'm not sure if this really counts as a completed game but here we are lol. In the middle of my Starfield run when I was getting a little tired of the game I turned to this game. Gotta say, it gave me whiplash going to a game that runs worse than a Bethesda game. Yes, the DLC runs absolutely poorly. I do not think the main town even hits 20fps when running around. If you are riding on your legendary Pokémon, it's worse. I think at times it ran in the single digits but I'm no expert lol.

However, like the main game, this poorly run mess did not stop me from getting my hits of dopamine catching every Pokemon added to the Pokedex. It didn't stop me shiny hunting either. The story was nice and a bit wholesome even if I felt like a complete jerk based on what your character does with Carmine, who may I added is a GEM. /s

That's really all there is to say. It's a fun little piece of DLC. Catching Pokemon is fun, especially in this open-world setting. The 10fps just makes me cry a little. (no score but I recommend it for Pokemon fans)
 
Copying what I wrote about Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart in the general discussion thread:

I think I was a bit hasty with my praise for this game. This was fun for ~9h and then went on for another 4h that were less fun. Coming from the 2016 remake/reimagining, which I quite liked, this had all the makings of a great follow up: It's drop dead gorgeous, has a cool new protagonist and an interesting central conflict. The rift tech, while not super impactful in gameplay, is a great visual flourish. Sadly, as much as I liked those aspects, it succumbed to death by a thousand cuts from being overloaded with weapons that feel nearly interchangeable to a story that feels like its going through the motion and ends up nowhere. The previous game seemed to have some method to its chaos, RA often devolves to an unmanageable mess. I also can't help but feel that the double protagonists don't really add much. It's not a bad game by any means but one that I thought I'd like much more based on initial impressions.

  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)
  15. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D (Project Restoration)
  16. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
  17. The Room
  18. The Room Two
  19. Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales
  20. Dredge
  21. Storyteller
  22. Luna's Fishing Garden
  23. Nuclear Blaze
  24. The Room Three
  25. Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade
  26. Spaceplan
  27. The Gardens Between
  28. Pikmin 4
  29. Xenoblade Chronicles 3
  30. Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed
  31. Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
 
Dardan Sandiego said:
Copying what I wrote about Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart in the general discussion thread:

I think I was a bit hasty with my praise for this game. This was fun for ~9h and then went on for another 4h that were less fun. Coming from the 2016 remake/reimagining, which I quite liked, this had all the makings of a great follow up: It's drop dead gorgeous, has a cool new protagonist and an interesting central conflict. The rift tech, while not super impactful in gameplay, is a great visual flourish. Sadly, as much as I liked those aspects, it succumbed to death by a thousand cuts from being overloaded with weapons that feel nearly interchangeable to a story that feels like its going through the motion and ends up nowhere. The previous game seemed to have some method to its chaos, RA often devolves to an unmanageable mess. I also can't help but feel that the double protagonists don't really add much. It's not a bad game by any means but one that I thought I'd like much more based on initial impressions.

  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)
  15. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D (Project Restoration)
  16. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
  17. The Room
  18. The Room Two
  19. Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales
  20. Dredge
  21. Storyteller
  22. Luna's Fishing Garden
  23. Nuclear Blaze
  24. The Room Three
  25. Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade
  26. Spaceplan
  27. The Gardens Between
  28. Pikmin 4
  29. Xenoblade Chronicles 3
  30. Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed
  31. Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
Click to expand...
Aww, it’s a shame that Rift Apart didn’t hit for you all that much in the end. I really enjoyed my time with it. The whole time I was playing, it felt like an interactive Pixar movie. And it never stopped being fun for me. I enjoyed the twenty hours I spent with it getting the platinum.

Hocot8 said:
14. Pokemon Scarlet DLC: The Teal Mask (NS)

I'm not sure if this really counts as a completed game but here we are lol.
Click to expand...
DLC definitely counts for this thread!
 
25 — F-ZERO 99
I’m not done this game, of course, but I think I can sum up my feelings on it now. I thought this concept sounded cool from the jump, though I didn’t think I’d really play it. I rarely play games online, and I thought it’d be too competitive for me. You love to be wrong in a case like this. I wish there were more things to do with your tickets and a way to play offline, but that’s not to say what’s there now isn’t engaging or very well constructed. Quite the opposite! Coming to it without much F-ZERO experience, it’s been a lot of fun realizing how much there is to the handling and how much you can work at to be a better driver. My go-to “I have 15 minutes or so to play something” game for the foreseeable future.

26 — Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon
If you enjoy kicking a lot of ass, play this video game. Put it on a wishlist and wait for that sale. Contact your local library. Do what you gotta do! This one is worth it. FromSoft’s house style is all over this, but it’s not a Soulslike. Notably it’s also not an RPG; it’s a game based around not committing to a build, about being ready and willing to try a totally different approach to get past its many disparate challenges. It’s also fast as hell, loud as hell, has some of the best feeling movement I’ve ever experienced in a game and winds up having a wonderfully compelling atmosphere and story. I’d be surprised if anything topped this for me as GOTY. An action game masterclass.

Ratings for 2023:
★ — Not bad!
★★ — Pretty dang good.
★★★ — Blew me away.

I only really finish games I like and even a one star is a positive review! It’s just to show how much I enjoyed it in relativity.

★
Advance Wars 1+2 Reboot Camp
Baba is You
Castle Crumble
Coffee Talk
Coffee Talk 2
Melatonin
Pentiment
stitch.
Vampire Survivors

★★
Diablo IV
F-ZERO 99
Hitman Freelancer
Kirby and the Forgotten Land
NYT Word Games
Quake II
The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe
The Talos Principle
Triangle Strategy
XC3: Future Redeemed

★★★
Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon
Bonfire Peaks
Octopath Traveler II
Resident Evil 4
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
Zelda: TotK
Click to expand...
 
Red Monster said:
Aww, it’s a shame that Rift Apart didn’t hit for you all that much in the end. I really enjoyed my time with it. The whole time I was playing, it felt like an interactive Pixar movie. And it never stopped being fun for me. I enjoyed the twenty hours I spent with it getting the platinum.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I love Zurkie's for this alone. The level of detail is astonishing. I think if I had gotten more into the rhythm of the combat I would have liked it better by the end. But as I said, it's not like I didn't enjoy it at all. I'm looking forward to the next one.
 
big lantern ghost said:
Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon
Click to expand...
The only thing that could make this game better is official collaborations with other mecha franchises. Seriously, though, it might just be the best mech game ever made, and already belongs in my all-time favorite action games.
 
43. Pikmid 4 [ NS ] - 6

Uninteresting the story and characters, Sanitized the world, atmosphere, presentation, music. Frictionless the gameplay.

The weakest point of a Bulborb lies in the eyes, aiming for it makes them only focus on shaking off the Pikmin rather than biting them, is a considerable riskier alternative than rushing it through its back, but is an option, and going for the eyes requires aiming at that spot with your control stick.

Pikmin 4's biggest flaw lies in how much it trivializes core elements of the franchise. 4 introduces a forced lock on, which means Pikmin will land on an specific spot of the enemy, making that design of the Bulborb pointless. It eliminates a layer of satisfaction through skill, hitting the middle point of 1 pellets to drop them automatically no longer requires that layer because the auto aim will always go for the center. And is not only annoying that it waters down core mechanics for the sake of whatever weird execution of the concept of accessibility Nintendo handles, but it actually hinders the player depending on the scenario, again you can't manage the lock on, so you have to fight against this system when you are engaging with multiple enemies or targets.

There is also this stupid choice of jamming your AI and throws to not exceed the minimum amount of Pikmin you need to carry or activate something, so you can't mash past it unless you wait a little bit if you want them to carry it faster, or try to time it yourself as an extra layer of strategy, skill, the game is way too afraid of letting you just do things.

The Pikmin take a backseat of importance in a lot of ways not only thanks to the dog, but with a lot of changes to how some mechanics work now, the most essential element in this series can occassionaly feel like an afterthought. Building paths/bridges aren't a small puzzle anymore, you need a universal resource for that, is not just about having a lot of Pikmin to build it efficiently and a traversal puzzle, now is about having enough material for that. Bomb rocks are no longer thrown by Pikmin, the Captain handles it by themselves, they are also resources that you purchase now and occassionally find in the overworlds. The amount of Pikmin you have is also trivial to Dandori Challenges and Battles, because you are not using your main resource, you get rental Pikmin basically.

Oatchi is pretty useful, too useful in fact, a risk reward system in Pikmin is having to command a significant number of them, up to 100, is that makes them a bigger target the more you have walking around, handling them around dangerous hazards or enemies was part of the core challenge of the series, Oatchi can carry all of them so it doesn't really matter. Oatchi can swim, so you can even bring in other elemental Pikmin, rush into an enemy and just whistle them back if any of them start drowning no problem. And all this useful aspect of Oatchi is without considering the upgrade system, which can futher trivialize the fact that you have Pikmin, at most needing them occassionaly to be able to reach higher point, thankfully Oatchi doesn't have a super/double jump of some kind.

The upgrade system at least is mostly optional, the suit upgrades you would find on the overworld are now stuck in this menu with the generic resource you use for bridges, and it also has upgrades designed to engage with the mechanics less, like allowing idle Pikmin to go back to the safe space instead of, managing that yourself.

The structure of the game is less an RTS take and more so an adventure game at this point. Level design isn't made with the idea of traversal, obstacles through puzzles or enemy encounters, now they are basically wide open areas with slight moments of Pikmin level design spread through them. Foresight and planning is less prominent due to not allowing enemies to ever respawn, where in previous games it meant commitment when you clear an area of enemies to maximize your exploration there before enough days passed for the enemy to respawn, now it doesn't matter, and the difficulty of these encounters being as low as they are don't justify this decision. Also the game tells you exactly what types of Pikmin you should be using, because you can't be trusted to analyze the environment or experiment,

In between the masses of land to walk through lies concentrated types of content, dandori challenges and battles, basically mission mode and bingo battle integrated in the main game, they have no reason to exist story wise but they are the more entertaining challenges in the game so it's fine. The other type of content are the infamous caves from Pikmin 2. On the flipside, they at least have more level design to them rather than feeling like a low effort Kaizo romhack, they don't have much in the way of escalating difficulty since most of them are basically like Zelda shrines, at least until the late game ones. Most of them are puzzle based with a handful of enemy encounters, while they don't throw as much bs as the ones in Pikmin 2 they also don't test much more than the brain teasers and some boss fights here and there. Just like the overworld the game also tells you the exact type of Pikmin you should bring with you, also explaining the gimmick you'll face, outright ruining the one cave that pays homage to the more decent Pikmin 2 cave. If there is any example of 4 missing the point of the series, a great example would be that, completely ruin something that should be a surprise and a key reason as to what made that one cave so memorable. Also you don't need to reach a cave with Pikmin, because the game lets you edit the loadout before going into the game, taking away another layer of planning.

I think the most crucial elements of strategy are foresight and planning, with a healthy dose of adaptability to the more surprising elements and variables, and Pikmin 4 does everything in its power to not have any of that. Maybe the next Fire Emblem game could learn from it and choose an optimal set of units for you on any map so you don't have to think about anything or scout the map beforehand.

There is also the night missions, I would have liked something more akin to Dead Rising when the idea was introduced, but instead it's a tower defense minigame with a different type of Pikmin, is a fun diversion from the main game, not too challenging and the nature of the glow Pikmin means that you don't have to think much about the map since they auto teleport towards you.

Overall the hand holding is pretty painful, not just from the lenghty tutorials, the characters never shutting up, but from all these elements that take away from the core of Pikmin, a hard lock on you can't turn off, Oatchi, the upgrade system, and all the patronizing game design choices made so you don't have to use your brain.

The AI pathfinding was surprisingly worse than the other games this time around in my experience, they get stuck in the environment, against other items, they have difficulty trying to hold on to the item when I want them to carry past the minimum, it was really janky. On the enemy side there would be a lot of moments where I time the whistling well to not recieve knockback and they would get it anyways, a significant lack of polish there for me, and I'm not crazy because I just finished 3 not too long ago and I didn't have these issues.

The only moment of friction in the overworld was in one of the later areas in the game where Moss follows you around trying to steal your Pikmin, it was cool, you can temporalely stun Moss and sadly it kind of takes the whole day for it to get back up so it doesn't bother you for the rest of your exploration, but it was at least a nice thing to have while it lasted.

Ice Pikmin act as the new Purple Pikmin, which means they snap the game in half, freezing enemies doesn't require many of them, and unless you get incredibly unlucky and lose too many Pikmin, there isn't much risk into freezing them and only getting nectar and spicy juice instead of the corpse.

Frictionless.

The game looks really pretty I'll give it that, I still prefer the art direction and texture work of 3 over this but is still looks really good. The soundtrack is easily the worst in the series, for whatever reason they decided to go full on minimalism and is not like a game like Breath of the Wild, that while I would have liked more music, it's at least in favor of the world of Hyrule and giving it that breathing room, there is nothing to accomplish like that in Pikmin 4. The series' soundtrack was something more akin to Donkey Kong Country or Metroid Prime, catchy tunes with a heavy sense of atmosphere, with a big range of mood to jump from, there is no range of emotions here, a piano here and there and whenever it picks up on the music is only to reflect the playful nature of Pikmin rather than the weird, the naturalistic wonder, or anything more moody like the Perplexing Pool, or the nirvana floors of 2's caves, something like the Garden of Hope in 3, anything. It does pull a unique genre of music for the series with the final boss, but the composition is nothing to write home about, kind of a waste.

The UI takes an unsurprising dip in quality, this is more so a thing of the industry at large, but it definitely hurts how simplistic and plain a lot of the UI elements are in some current Nintendo games, gone are the bubbles and its font, replaces by generic electronic icons and text, gone is the iconic day timer and is now just a needle, a shame after 3's great balance of adding modern touches and flourishes to make the style of Pikmin and 2 pop more.

The world kind of sucks, ever since they showed the house in promotional trailers, how pristine, clean and how a lot of nothing it looked like I was getting worried about them reducing the spice of Pikmin's world, now it doesn't feel like a grand ecosystem, basically a planet in miniature, I'm literally just exploring some dude's garden, the play area in the sand of some kid, just a house with nothing interesting to say about it, there is a camp area, the mystique is just gone.

Sanitized.

There are a shit ton of characters now, so all of them have a single trait and nothing else, they give very Xenoblade 1 style side quests of just doing what you are already doing but you get rewarded with resources so you can further break the game or build a bridge you are missing. It extends to the writing of the Piklopedia and Treasure descriptions for most of the game.

The story is there, you need to rescue castaways, cure their leaf affliction and find Olimar, there is a bit more but that is spoiler territory.

Pikmin canon is dead, 4 takes place in an alternate timeline from 1's, rewriting the first game with a much less interesting world and a much more plain Olimar besides the encyclopedia entries.
While disappointed I shouldn't be that surprised honestly, given my conspiracy theory about some Nintendo IPs. Whenever there is a narrative branch/development/peak that they reach, the natural reaction is to reel it in before it continues to get more interesting. Sticker Star happened after Super Paper Mario's weird yet interesting narrative, the mainline Mario games never had something like Rosalina's backstory again, Star Fox had something going with Assault and some endings of Command then Zero happened. WarioWare Gold tried to go for a different style of narrative with fully voiced story sequences and a surprisingly cool ending, then Get It Together makes Wario barely talk. The Legend of Zelda has leeway with the structure of a legend but it made sure to not allow a character like Ganondorf to have something more going for him thanks to Skyward Sword, not going to have anything move past the Wind Waker in that regard. And there is Pikmin 3 that furthers some elements introduced in 1 and 2 to enrich the lore and creatures of the planet, I mentioned the final area being a highlight of the series in all elements including the story, and here we are with 4 yet again another step backwards. I don't feel like saying what a lot of these IPs had in common in terms of its inception but I'll say that is fine that there isn't a heavier involvement with IPs like Metroid or Kirby, wouldn't want that to throw its universe in a bin after 30 years. Is pretty silly, but it has happened enough times where I have to entertain that thought

Uninteresting.

The overuse of the word Dandori is pretty tiring, I wasn't expecting the game to repeat it like a forum user at every opportunity possible, what bothers me the most about is pretty obvious I feel, besides very specific challenges, this is the game that devalues the idea of efficiency and planning the most besides making self imposed challenges, I played this game fast not because of the design of this one, but rather I'm just used to doing it that way from my many replays of 1 and 3, but 4 barely has dandori relative to the overall playtime.

Speaking of playtime, this game is too long, exhausts its ideas, boss fights, even collectibles a tad too thin to support the 20+ hours of content, is like a chimera of the last 3 games but it doesn't come together that well.

A quick word on Olimar's Shipwreck Tale, a more uninteresting retelling of the first game, doesn't even bother to have all the ship parts modelled, much like the treasures there is a lot of repetition for the sake of having more "content". It has a hard timer of 15 days to collect every part, it starts a bit more interesting than the main game, then you get Moss and some of 4's issues start popping up, is the best part of the game, but it doesn't measure up to 1 or 3 due to those issues. Also the fact that he only has 15 days left and already had some Pikmin with him means that Olimar fucked around for another 15 days since his life support system lasts 30, how they nerfed my guy.

Also pretty brave to end the game on a Mario boss fight rather than a Pikmin one.

Pikmin 4 is fine, the core of Pikmin is still there buried between a lot of questionable choices, the design turns off my brain and makes me just go around collecting stuff and clearing caves, they succeed in making that feel addictive even if it's not something very interesting, I guess I know how some gacha games players feel, but is pretty clear that is not a direction I would like to see the franchise continue with, I would have liked at least more trust from the game that I can actually play it by myself.
 
Last edited:
meatbag said:
I’m thinking whether I should buy Sunbreak. Really enjoyed the base game, I even called it my fave game of 2022.


Daaamn haha

Seriously though, I actually understand your criticisms. Just that in this case the casual-ization of the franchise worked in my favor.
Click to expand...
Sunbreak was excellent, highly recommend it.
 
I suck at tracking these things, I beat the main story of Nayuta Boundless Trails, though the "after story" is like 1/4 of the main games length.
 
Felt like revisiting some PS2 games and started with Rygar: The Legendary Adventure. I played this back in the day but never finished it so my memory of it was spotty at best. Everyone I talked to only remembers the first boss in the colosseum. Finished it in ~4h and found it surprisingly good. I guess it is a remake of the arcade game but it reminded me most of God of War thanks to the guided camera, just jankier. What I liked most was the level design and that it doesn't overstay its welcome. The story is nothing to write home about but the presentation is earnest and cheesy in a way I found pretty endearing.

I'd say the single biggest issue is the combat. It works most of the time just fine and the three different Diskarmors give it some variety but the limitations are apparent during the boss fights. Either you get hit by a flurry of attacks that juggle you like a Tekken combo or you can just cheese most of the fight thanks to the summons. I had boss fights where I got my ass handed to me only to go back and win unscathed. It's a shame that there was never a sequel because I think they had something cool here and it could have been even better with a tighter combat system. All in all, I can definitely recommend this if you want something short and can find it cheap.

  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)
  15. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D (Project Restoration)
  16. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
  17. The Room
  18. The Room Two
  19. Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales
  20. Dredge
  21. Storyteller
  22. Luna's Fishing Garden
  23. Nuclear Blaze
  24. The Room Three
  25. Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade
  26. Spaceplan
  27. The Gardens Between
  28. Pikmin 4
  29. Xenoblade Chronicles 3
  30. Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed
  31. Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
  32. Rygar: The Legendary Adventure
 
I've completely lost the thread of games I've completed so far this year as I have been a little inactive on here. I'll try harder in 2024 maybe to maintain a list!!!

But as it's spooky season and I was listening to a "ChillVania" playlist on YouTube I got an itching for Castlevania, and so I'm proud to say I've just rolled the credits on Castlevania: The Adventure for the Game Boy. As always thank heavens for save states!

I owned a copy of this way back in the early 90s and I have fond memories of picking it up from Toys 'R' Us with some birthday money. I could never beat it but I still enjoyed replaying the first couple of stages over and over.

Absolutely no way in hell am I attempting the hard mode after you finish the game. I'm not a masochist!

I am going to give this game 3/5 if you play an emulated version like the one on the Castlevania Collection for Switch.

I am going to beat the OG game next but on the Japan-only easy mode. 😅
 
85. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure for SNES

You can't translate JoJo fights into any genre but, perhaps, point and click adventures. Making an RPG from the anime where some fights are resolved without a single punch thrown, and most with just one punch/barrage in seems like a bad idea. How do you make a turn-based battle from fights where through process of elimination character decides to suck up an enemy's power, or where two dudes just play F-Zero, or where a guy spends entirety of the fight tied up under a bed?

However, I want to commend those delelopers on trying. It's a shame that in the process of figuring out how to translate battle system of JoJo they forgot about making everything else enjoyable.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure for SNES is a wild retelling of Part 3 of the iconic anime and manga series that's enjoyable only to make fun of. It's extremely linear, it trunkates a lot of the story, and yet somehow it has some of the weirdest systems put into an RPG.

It's hard to describe this game because everything is just off, not even for a fan of JoJo, but for a reasonable human being. Should I start at how the game takes place in a stretched out tiny window where you can only see character's heads on a 2D sidescrolling plain? Or that battles have random effects based on characters' mood and picking a tarot card seemingly presented to you by a villain?

Perhaps the weirdest choice of this game, to me, is that it features no free levelling until the very end of the game. While you do battle some goons in some locations, they are of limited quantity, so you can't even make tedious boss battles with iconic villains less frustrating.

SNES' JoJo stands as possibly the most misguided cash grab in the history of video game adaptations, providing worse story, adding nothing of value, and even managing to not figure out how an RPG should flow. Say what you want about games that get a lot of "haha, was this wild situation in the original material?", but at least in, say, Addams' Family I don't go around recreating the movie and just pressing A when the game suggests.
 
86. Another Shadow (Android)

A perfectly ok puzzle game that reminded me of days when flash games were popular.

Apparently a part of the story, but that's not important at all until the very end. It's a cute game, quite long for its genre, but ultimately fairly easy. It's great that it has no pixel hunting, but puzzles are way too simple and require simple pattern recognition.

If you long for the days when escape the room games were popular, this is a good one. You control two cahracters and can freely switch between them as you search for items in a fairly big house. The free version might have annoying ads, can't say I'm sure about it. While I've played it for free, either me being Russian or VPN settings sometimes prevent ads from appearing.
 
Jan 2023 - Kirby and the Forgotten Land
Jan 2023 - Miracle Snack Shop (Korean Philia route)
Jan 2023 - Cruis'n Blast
Feb 2023 - Persona 5 Royal
Feb 2023 - Persona 5 Strikers
Feb 2023 - Katamari Damacy Reroll
Mar 2023 - Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin
Apr 2023 - Okami HD
May 2023 - Pokemon Let's Go Eevee
May 2023 - Bayonetta 3
Jun 2023 - The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Jul 2023 - Xenoblade Chronicles 2
Jul 2023 - New Pokemon Snap
Sep 2023 - Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Sep 2023 - Dredge
Sep 2023 - Record of Lodoss War -Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth-

Oct 2023 - Catherine: Full Body

A good chunk of my thoughts for the game have been posted within the Weekend Gamin' thread. Now that I've completed both the Catherine and Qatherine route, I feel that I've experienced enough of the game to put it down. The puzzles are quite fun and the absurd story engaging. On the second playthrough, I finally managed to save all the sheep and that was satisfying. Almost all the characters are flawed in one way or another; some of them abhorrent even. But you can't help but kinda grow attached to them and their struggles. Vincent's little gang of brothers are friendship goals.

Little things I really like are the alcohol trivia they offer to you. That's a motivation for us to ruin Vincent's liver.

e0dba38c3bcfda43dfe0463a467e5afe12974ece.jpg


Not going to be GOTY for me (there's a lot of competition there!) but I definitely had a lot of fun with this.

p.s. I also completed Pokemon Violet: The Teal Mask. But... I'll cross that out proper when the second half of the DLC drops and I completed that one.
 
Quick question for everyone. Trying my best to stick with one game at a time, but my attention span is totally shot. How do you make yourselves stick with one game to completion? Im always jealous of the focus jirard the completionist seems to have on YouTube. I want to get the most out of every game I play like that
 
Status
Not open for further replies.


Back
Top Bottom