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StarTopic The 2023 Completed Games Thread

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21st game finished for 2023 is Tears of the Kingdom, though honestly I’m not done with it quite yet. It’ll remain in my rotation but it’s not going to be the only thing I play from now on haha.

Had an incredible 200 hours with TotK, and in my opinion one of the best games ever made. Certainly the best 3D Zelda, maybe the best Zelda. Certainly the best open world game I’ve played.
 
23. Grimace's Birthday (GBC) [7/10]

Had to play this in honor of the Big Man. It's really cool to do this kind of thing in honor of his birthday. The dialogue is annoying but the gameplay and music is really good. The sad thing is just as it starts cooking it ends. I would love a sequel or Chapter 2.
 
20)The Great Ace Attorney 2 Resolve
This is more of a part 2 than sequel. Builds amazingly upon all the clues laid in the first game and then tied everything up nicely for an astounding and satisfying conclusion. Had a blast

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
 
Adding two more short games that I finished over the weekend:

I've always wanted a good firefighting game so I was quite pumped about Nuclear Blaze by one of the Dead Cells designers. 2-3h later I have to say this is a little masterpiece. You're a firefighter who stumbles upon a secret facility that's in flames. Since you can't go back you go from room to room, trying to put out fires, getting upgrades like a doge roll, and finding secrets. One by a strong flame and you have to start the level over but you can survive in weaker flames. It's deceptively simple but the way the fire propagation and water level management play into this is at the core of the game. The levels have these smaller loops in them so if you aren't quick and thorough you can trap yourself and run out of water. This is especially the case in the higher difficulty ("Hold My Beer" mode lol) that basically works as this game's Master Quest. It's the same game but remixed and much more difficult. Luckily, there's several difficulty/accessibility options. I am not ashamed to admit that I turned on the stronger water hose for Hold My Beer and it was still quite tough.

The other one was Luna's Fishing Garden, a small fishing-themed builder/idler that I grabbed on PC on a whim (though I think it's also available on PC). Nothing too involving, just a cozy and chill time waster.

edit: Also finished The Room Three. Probably the most unhinged of the bunch though I don't remember Old Sins as well and I've never played VR. The first two were very atmospheric and by fully embracing the Lovecraft-y stuff and being more in your face about it, it feels like thr third one lost a little bit of that. Puzzles were still mostly fun though there are a few annoying ones as well.

edit2: Just saw that editing hell completely mangled a sentence in the previous paragraph lol

  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
 
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24. Crash Bandicoot (PS1) [9.5/10]

The best Playstation platformer, and Naughty Dog's best. This was the one and only game that made me jealous of my cousins who owned a Playstation growing up when I had an N64. I previously platinumed the Crash 1 and 2 remakes on PS4 when they came out, but this is my first time revisiting the original.

And it is better than I remember! This is an amazing platformer with great atmosphere, snappy gameplay, and good jungle levels. The progression between the islands to the factory to the castle is great. It's no secret that this game is basically "What if Sonic the Hedgehog was in a Donkey Kong Country game", and I thought it was interesting how similar the platforming challenges were to Donkey Kong Country Returns and Tropical Freeze. I wonder if Retro was inspired in turn, which would be cool.

My biggest issue with this game is the save system. I think it's cool that there are lots of hidden and obtuse secrets, but I don't think saving the game should have to be one of them. That being said though it's not a huge flaw because levels generally are so quick and fun to play through and they are generally good at putting save opportunities in the right place.

All in all I would consider this one of the best of the 3D platforming genre even if it's no Mario. I think if they kept the same quality for the sequels Crash could have eventually beaten out Sonic.
 
Happy Direct Day everyone! I managed to finally finish up Great Ace Attorney and I think it’s a return to form after the underwhelming AA4 and AA5 (still have to play AA6!).

Now time to get swallowed up by Into The Breach until the fated hour
 
Previously:
01 — Melatonin
02 — Kirby and the Forgotten Land
03 — Pentiment
04 — stitch.
05 — Castle Crumble
06 — Crossfire X Single Player, Season One
07 — Hitman Freelancer
08 — Bonfire Peaks
09 — Vampire Survivors
10 — Octopath Traveler II
11 — Resident Evil 4
12 — 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
13 — Coffee Talk
14 — Coffee Talk 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly
15 — The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe
16 — Xenoblade Chronicles 3: FR
17 — Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Click to expand...

18 — Advance Wars 1+2 Reboot Camp
Played the first campaign ’til the end, about halfway through the second, and messed around with some battle maps and COs from the shop. It was OK! Missions kind of can’t help being highly scripted on such small maps, and that means beating them is usually more of a rigid puzzle than a stream of strategic consciousness. In the second half of each game’s campaign, that precision gets honed down to “if you waste even one turn doing something other than what you’re supposed to be doing, you’re gonna lose.” Still, the rigid puzzling is very well designed and does a great job mixing things up along the way. Wasn’t as big a hit with me at 33 as it was at 12, but I still had a good time.
[VERDICT — Now Make A New One Out of Ten]

19 — Diablo IV
Even by the standards of my goof reviews, it feels a bit silly to review Diablo IV. Are there some UI / efficiency issues to sort out? Yes. Could there be a little more enemy variety? Absolutely. Is the story kind of hokey? Sure. Could the loot and endgame use some work? Well…that’s what I hear but I’ve only just finished the story and am not really sure about that yet. But this is a series still on top of the genre it more or less invented, and I’ve had fun enough so far that I think I’ll be playing IV on and off until…well, until Diablo V rolls around and I’m like a 45 year old man, at the pace they’re currently going. But that’s OK, because they seem to have a lot in the works in the present! Very excited to see where the updates and paid expansions will take this one next, and to work my way through the rest of the classes.
[VERDICT — How Much Money Will These Bastards End Up Getting Out of Me Out of Ten]
 
7. Pikmin 1 (NS)

Still a fun little game all these years later. It's easy to get into an understand what Pikmin is all about. There are two drawbacks to the game and that is the camera and the intelligence of the pikmin. Sometimes you will move the camera and end up looking at the backside of a structure whilst trying to get a better angle. The pikmin themselves are a little dumb. You will lose some while on adventure. Unlike in future games the pikmin do not realize when they have to squeeze together to go up a wooden bridge or up a slope. With that said the game is still fun and simple to play. If you are interested in pikmin but have been skeptical, this is worth the buy. Yes, pikmin 2 and 3 are better but they are more complex. [8.5/10]
 
25. Pikmin 1 (Switch) [9.5/10]

Pikmin is one of my top 10 favorite games of all time, and this is definitely Pikmin. Even compared to sequels, this one is genius in how the clock is always pushing you to do better. I think this is a pretty good port. It's nice to see everything looking clearer, but I'm still not convinced Pikmin doesn't look best in standard definition on a CRT. I got some new glitches I've never gotten before, but that could be a coincidence.

I wish this game did have more options. I never used the c stick for the camera and holding L to command Pikmin wasn't ideal, it would have been good to switch things. The game also doesn't control as well without the Gamecube's button set up, clickable shoulder buttons, and gated joystick.

All that being said, if more people can play Pikmin now, that's great! Way better than the Wii version.
 
*Disney Dreamlight Valley - The Forgotten Update [ PC ]

The Forgotten Update marks the end of this first story arc of Dreamlight Valley, my thoughts on the game remained generally the same by the end of it all, a mechanically competent life sim game, with a lot of customization options, which selling point are the Disney worlds and characters and that my drive to remain playing for over 100 hours and counting was surprisingly the story.

I say surprised because I wasn't expecting it to be this ingrained with these Disney franchises and embedded well into the main original arc, my other point of reference on anything close in scale to Dreamlight Valley is Kingdom Hearts, and regardless of opinions surrounding those games, I think is fair to say that the Disney elements in those games range from incredibly superficial to barely existing, worlds don't interact with each other and the only characters allowed to chime in are a handful of Mickey characters, with that in mind I wasn't anything grander than that, I'm not the biggest fan of Square Enix but I can also imagine that Disney could have a hand in how those stories ended up being the way they are.

Thankfully I can just blame one of them after DV, Merlin from Sword and the Stone doesn't trust a character like Ursula, Buzz Lightyear is confused about how he didn't mind hanging out with Scar before the events of the Forgetting despite being a villain, Stitch plays a lot of pranks on Donald, Wall-E likes to collect different human related objects and so does Ariel, so a part of their story revolve around the fact that they like to trade things, these are a lot of simple ideas but makes sense that if one were to cross over these worlds and characters, they would interact and the writers and designers would take advantage of their established quirks and personalities to make these little stories, it might not seem like much but again as a Disney fan that grew up and continues to enjoy some of their movies, it enhances the experience to great degree.

A good original soundtrack that fills like something out of Disney, plus appropiate arrangements for each movie soundtrack, for their homes, when they accompany you and sometimes one more unique arrangement or two, also elevate and sell the whole Disney nostalgia feel.

Conversations with characters are also enhanced by having knowledge from their films since their incarnations are past those movies, even acknowleding that Simba and Nala are surprised that Scar is in the Valley considering their story. One of my favorite interactions comes from Mickey, in this "canon" he is an actor, so all the movies are just that movies, and you can ask him about the Three Musketteers which I really love, is just fun to have that little extra as a watcher of these.

One of my favorite elements of the world of DV are the caves and the language used for notes left behind, it doesn't have a realm or character represented in the game yet, but they use the Atlantis alphabet and caves are filled with rocks and ruins that have the Atlantis symbol and blue light coursing through them, also really like that is even featured in Ariel's home, just another way to bring together these world, and not have an isolation issue that would make it a missed opportunity.

The main story itself is really cool, and I really like how it manages to create a lot of set pieces within the limits of being a life sim with no combat like a Rune Factory and the like, that still incorporates a lot of Disney elements while telling a nice simple tale that I don't feel like spoiling much of.

My main gripes with the game is that the art direction could have been a lot different, it looks pretty basic, at times unisnpired and so do the Disney characters, and I'm sure I'm not asking too much given the wildly different takes in something like Mirrorverse (some of those designs are legit badass). And there is my worry about how bad the increasing microtransaction aspects of the game might hurt it in the future.

35. Mass Effect [ PC ]

Mass Effect is really good, carried by its interesting world and ambiance, with a really likeable if mostly simple (at least in the first game) cast of characters, is interesting because the alien allies act essentially as a good exposition dumb for their species and on top of that some personality quirks, which is part of why Wrex is the best character from your group, because the background of his species is by far the most interesting one.

Gonna be honest, if Mass Effect was like a point and click adventure it would be better lol, like, I think this combat is far better than say KotOR, but is still remains the weakest part of the experience, between the gunplay not feeling particularly good, the general clunkyness of the controls, the fucking Mako vehicle, is just all kinds of jank, what matters is obviously the context of all these events and while is not particularly good gameplay is also not bad enough to not continue because one is engrossed enough in the events and characters unfolding.

Also the last hours of the game are fucking amazing, and not just for the Halo vibes.

I'll probably make more extended thoughs on everything but I want to play the whole trilogy first.

*Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope - The Last Spark Hunter

Is more Sparks of Hope, which means more greatness, the new planet was really nice, Kanya another entertaining villain, Allegra another fun warden, more fun battles, and more banger music tracks, which it seems that this time it was entirely handled by Kirkhope and he pulls some really interesting sounds mixing his usual melody style with a lot of electronic synths, he really gave it his all with this sequel and DLC compared to Kingdom Battle in retrospective. Can't wait for the Rayman expansion.

And I'll continue to not so subtly shill this game, is a Spark of Hope for Mario spin-offs, one of my favorite Switch games and I would love to see how much more they can push these games narrative and gameplay wise.

 
8. Pikmin 2 (NS)

Game is just as brilliant as its predecessor but with more pikmin and a better gameplay loop. Caves were an amazing addition to the series although somewhat shallow by today's standards. The game also kicks up the difficulty in a good way while diversifying the mechanics of the Pikmin themselves. It adds a little more strategy to the gameplay which was lacking in Pikmin 1. The Pikmin are also much smarter. Maybe one time I lost a pikmin and it was a purple one. The rotund purple pikmin walk the slowest so they may fall behind if you are in a rush. One somewhat annoying issue with the game is the computer that comes with your ship. It doesn't shut up. The beginning of the game is filled with drawn out periods as it tells you how dangerous the world or caves are whilst also giving you a run down in the controls. It makes the game seem more complicated than it actually is. You want to jump into the game but the game interrupts you sometimes abruptly even.

With that said the content in the game is more fun than Pikmin 1. It has everything that made the original fun and then some. [9.0/10]
 
21) Super Mario Advance(Super Mario Bros 2)
Cleared with peach, had a fun time, not pushing to rush the Yoshi egg hunt tho
22)Lunistice
Very brisk and fun platformer, just did the Hana runthrough and not the bonus characters(yet at least) brief but kinda dark setup on the background lore tho
Previous games:
1)Yoku’s island express
2)Live a Live
3)Arcade Paradise
4)The Great Ace Attorney Adventures
5)Immortal Fenyx rising
6) SD Gundam Battle Alliance
7)Nier Automata
8)Crimson Skies High road to revenge
9)Stacking
10)Conker Live and reloaded
11)Legend of Zelda the minish Cap
12)Ducktales remastered
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
 
Decided to vary a little after too much ToTK

16. Super Alloy Ranger: Very fun platformer. The translation is a mess but it's something I can pass as the dev is 2 o3 persons only, and the action and music is really good, You can choose between a melee or a ranged characters and some of the achievments are really challenging



1. SAMURAI MAIDEN
2. Legend of Zelda
3. Mighty Gunvolt Burst
4. Funky Kong Country Tropical Freeze
5. Bloodstained Curse of the Moon: Nightmare mode.
6. Astalon
7. Fire Emblem Engage
8. Metroid Prime Remastered
9. Grim Guardians Demon Purge
10. Octopath Traveler 2
11. Atelier Ryza 3
12. Final Fantasy 1 PR
13. Final Fantasy 2 PR
14. Zelda TotK
15. Bat Boy
 
I don't think I have finished a game this year. I played a lot of Zelda though. I played through most of A Link to the Past randomizer (completed all dungeons but did not go and beat Ganon), I did 4 divine beasts in Breath of the Wild, played probably half of A Link Between Worlds, and I am 100 hours into Tears of the Kingdom but have only completed 2 of the main world events.
 
Finished in 2023 #11: Picross S7 (Nintendo Switch)

It is done. After a long journey, one of the longest on my Switch OLED, I have finally-

...wait, whaddya mean this isn't Tears of the Kingdom?

Another Picross game down, even if it took around 35 hours of play. Does feel nice to have a Picross game only take a couple of months of on/off play instead of over a year. There's two more Picross S games in my sights...let's see how long it takes me to get to them.

(Fun fact: my TotK playtime is around double of my Picross S7 game time. I may be halfway through the shrines, and my stamina wheel may be maxed off, but I still haven't gotten passed more than one dungeon. Oops!)
 
23rd game finished for 2023 is Hob. Finally picked it up again as a break from GAA2 and Into The Breach and polished off the rest of the campain. The top-down perspective, swordfighting combat and puzzles kind of reminded me of the more traditional Zeldas, and I would definitely welcome more like it.
 
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

I never played the original Crisis Core, so I was very excited when Square Enix announced this remake. Overall, it was a very good game. Side missions were very repetitive, but they were never forced on me. I gave myself a bit of an advantage by doing a lot of them, getting a lot of items, and creating powerful builds for Zack.

I also liked the main story. I mean, I'm not going to pretend I fully understand all the intricacies of the FFVII storyline. There are a lot of details and sometimes it gets convoluted. It kept me entertained, though, and that's enough for me. One complaint is that the voice acting was kind of... stiff? I read that they re-recorded everything for the remake, so I was surprised the voices felt that way. I think they did a great job with the later moments in the game leading up to the ending. Speaking of that ending... wow, that was something. I can see why it's a classic.

Crisis Core was great! It almost makes me want to replay FFVII Remake, but... that game is long, and there are other games I need to play. It will be very interesting to see how things turn out in Rebirth next year.
 
It's been a while, but i'm not sure if this one counts

Journey
Fz-B5FIWcAAUA5N


Got it when Sony gave it for free at the pandemic and i should have played it then, but the sheer anonymous praise made me steer clear of the game - yes, i have THAT kind of mentality, sometimes i hate how contrarian i can be - but i was craving something light and relaxing this weekend, so... Journey it is.

It took me less than three hours to reach the end, i played Abzu before and this was basically a more involved Abzu in terms of gameplay, i've had it defined as an audiovisual experience before and i'll have to go with that description, because that's what it was for me.

This game... it gives me the feels, despite how old it is i crossed paths with other three users, we surfed together through the desert but lost them in the tunnels, the game becomes darker and bleaker as your pilgrimage continues, and the end... oh my god, that end.

It was really nice for a gameplay session, i get the feeling that it doesn't overstay its welcome.

Liked it a lot, but maybe i would have prefered a more involved experience.
 
Gengar said:
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

I never played the original Crisis Core, so I was very excited when Square Enix announced this remake. Overall, it was a very good game. Side missions were very repetitive, but they were never forced on me. I gave myself a bit of an advantage by doing a lot of them, getting a lot of items, and creating powerful builds for Zack.

I also liked the main story. I mean, I'm not going to pretend I fully understand all the intricacies of the FFVII storyline. There are a lot of details and sometimes it gets convoluted. It kept me entertained, though, and that's enough for me. One complaint is that the voice acting was kind of... stiff? I read that they re-recorded everything for the remake, so I was surprised the voices felt that way. I think they did a great job with the later moments in the game leading up to the ending. Speaking of that ending... wow, that was something. I can see why it's a classic.

Crisis Core was great! It almost makes me want to replay FFVII Remake, but... that game is long, and there are other games I need to play. It will be very interesting to see how things turn out in Rebirth next year.
Click to expand...
Crisis Core is great!

spoilers for Crisis Core and for FF7 Remake
the ending of Crisis Core had me bawling my eyes out. I didn’t like Zach at first, but he really grew on me over the course of the game. I knew that he would die becuase I was familiar with FF7, but that still didn’t prepare me for the ending.

So of course when I finished 7R and found out that Zach lives in this version of the story, I was so happy that it made me bawl my eyes out all over again.
 
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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)
14) Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS5)
15) Donald Duck Advance (GBA)
16) Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (PS2)

17) Stunt Race FX (SNES)

This fun little game is available on NSO. It's a 3D racing game on the Super Nintendo, and it actually looks really damn good (aside from the draw distance, and the frame rate). There are twelve tracks to race on, four stunt tracks that have you collecting stars in an arena, and I think five cars to play as. The cars are anthropomorphized, where their headlights are eyes, and will react to events on track by making expressions of delight or dismay depending on if you're doing well or crashing. They're so cute! The gameplay is pretty standard for a racing game; you've got a boost gauge that you can refill by picking up boost pickups, and a damage meter that, if filled, results in a game over. But there are repair pickups to reduce your damage meter. The game consists of three difficulty levels - Novice, Expert, and Master - that sees you racing on four tracks against the AI. None of the difficulty levels are really all that challenging, but the gameplay is fun enough to see you through all three. Beating Master difficulty unlocks a car. There's also Stunt mode, where you collect stars in four different arenas under a time limit. If you get all the stars in all four levels, you unlock another car. I didn't bother with getting every star, but the levels are fun enough. Finally, there's a Battle mode which I didn't try.

Fun fact - this is a Nintendo first-party game, and it was produced by Miyamoto. Pretty cool!
 
24th game finished for 2023 is Crusader of Centy on Sega NSO! I was told it was Sega's answer to The Legend of Zelda, and yeah it definitely takes a lot of inspiration from that series. But it comes with its own cool ideas-- I love that you recruit animal sidekicks that let you use different abilities, and some of those abilities can combo with each other. My main complaint is the pathetic feedback. Your sword feels like it's always whiffing, and so hitting things just does not feel satisfying. Visually, it's a pixel art looker, however; the visual design of quite a few things are confusing. Speaking of confusing, this is a retro-ass video game. The signposting is barely there, and things happen for no discernible reason. Not that that's a bad thing in my book, it's pretty amusing.
 
1. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice [4/5]
2. Digimon Survive [3/5]
3. Final Fantasy VI Pixel Remaster [2.5/5]
4. Hotel Dusk: Room 215 [3/5]
5. Muramasa Rebirth [3/5]
6. Theatrhythm Final Bar Line [4.5/5]
7. Batman: Arkham City (Replay) [4/5]
8. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze [3.5/5]
9. Shining Force III [4/5]
10. Octopath Traveler II [3.5/5]
11. Elden Ring (Replay) [5/5]
12. Batman: Arkham Knight [2.5/5]
13. Last Window: The Secret of Cape West [3.5/5]
14. Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Replay) [5/5]
15. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom [4/5]
16. Final Fantasy XIII (Replay) [2.5/5]

17. Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat [3/5]
Picked up the Wii version as a last minute purchase before the Wii U eshop closed. As I understand it, the Wii version is substantially different from the GameCube version and isn't quite as well-regarded, but I still had a fun time. Even without the bongos, it's such a unique take on platforming and brimming with that special brand of EAD creativity, even if it does feel a bit short and insubstantial, and it could occasionally be frustrating when going for a high score. Overall, though, it's quite a cool game and I'm definitely glad I checked it out.

18. Mole Mania [3.5/5]
Quite a nifty little action/puzzle game. It reminded me a bit of Donkey Kong '94, another Game Boy game, in that both of them seem at first glance to be short and simple experiences that end up being way bigger than you'd initially think. In the case of Mole Mania, it shows 8 worlds at the start of the game and after I beat the first world in about 25 minutes, I expected the game to take 4 hours or so to complete. Instead, as the game goes on, the worlds keep getting bigger and bigger and the puzzles more complex, and as a result the game ended up taking me more than twice that amount of time. It may not be the most mind-blowing game, but it's impressive how it manages to keep the two simple mechanics of digging holes and pushing objects interesting throughout its entire runtime. Time for Mole Mania 2, Nintendo.
 
1) Hi-Fi Rush (XS) - 9/10
2) Vampire Survivors (XS) - 5/10
3) A Monster's Expedition (PS5) - 10/10
4) Titanfall 2 (XS) - 8/10
5) The Last of Us Part 1 Remake (PS5) - 10/10
6) Understand (PC) - 7/10
7) GNOG (PS5) - 5/10
8) Pokemon Shining Pearl (Switch) - 4/10
9) A Space for the Unbound (Switch) - 8/10
10) WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames! (Switch) - 7/10
11) Pokemon Stadium (Switch) - 6/10
12) Pokemon Crystal (3DS) - 7/10
13) Golden Idol Mysteries: The Spider of Lanka (PC) - 8/10
14) The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Switch) - 10/10
15) Planet of Lana (XS) - 8/10
16) Humanity (PS5) - 10/10
17) Dordogne (XS) - 6/10

A handful of extra completions in the last few weeks:

18) We Love Katamari Reroll + Royal Reverie (PS5) - 10/10
The extra bits don't really add much but it's still a very good version of the best Katamari game which also happens to be one of my favourite games of all time

19) Pikmin (Switch) - 9/10
Yes, the Pikmin are just a little bit dumb in the first game but the overall experience is incredibly tight and becomes a perfect time-attack game after your first run.

20) Pikmin 2 (Switch) - 7/10
It's still Pikmin so it's a good game, but I really miss actually exploring. The caves just don't scratch the same itch as wandering around the overworld, which at times seems like a glorified menu screen to get to the next cave. I also cannot stand the screeching of the treasure radar, especially if it's going off during a larger battle, just so distracting and piercing. Challenge mode is great though.
 
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)

No words, only Zelda.
 
36. Last Command [ NS ] - 8

A mechanical novelty at least for me, combining the game of Snake with bullet hell elements, I think that alone is worth a playthrough, is not flawless, like the balance in some of the boss fight can be off, between some weird checkpoint placement, sometimes it can be some visual overload, but those are few in contrast to the amount of well designed battles built on this combination of game and genre. It has a story, one of those that is best experienced going in blind as possible, is nothing new for me at this point, but this might be someone's first exposure to the type of narrative Last Command goes for, so I'll leave it at that.

A game with a lot of heart, and a pretty good challenge.

37. Mohism: Battle of Words [ PC ] - 7.5

Pretty much an Ace Attorney clone, the protagonist is a guy in blue, you get a spunky sidekick, 4 cases, one acts as a tutorial and the other 3 form an overarching narrative that may or not involve a decade old case.

Mechanically is pretty similar, going through investigations phases that in this case are pretty linear, akin to the later games, confrontations with other characters more akin to Investigations rather than splitting chunks of investigations and court segments, the confrontations have no pressing but rather is all about finding the contradiction, the testimony itself is on a timer so you have to be on your toes for it, even if you can still save scum like in AA if you so desire, I had an issue with these in that sometimes I would have a good idea of the contradiction but some statements a bit too broad to know exactly where I should present the counter argument. Even the music matches the beats of the Cross Examination, Objection, Telling the Truth, and Pursuit variations of themes that one would hear in AA, but with a chinese flair given the setting.

Is a pretty solid attempt at this type of game, it has a good amount of intrigue, the characters are pretty entertaining, visuals and music are great, etc. In some parts it needed to let characters have more interactions or make them more involved in some of the cases, also while the overarching mystery is solid, it can be lacking in character development, but still, a good game in this style.


38. The Chrono Jotter [ PC ] - 10

A very impressive VN, what could have been a pretty bizarre back and forth of various themes and elements like slice of life, mental health issues, cosmic horror, time travel with a slice of death games, develops them well enough and manages to tie it all together by the end so well and creating a story that surprised me in a good way more than once. In terms of gameplay is a little more involved than some in the genre between its deduction and investigation segments, the notebook, plus some light RPG level checks for certain dialogue options, nothing too complex in either element but is there for more flavor in the gameplay and important for the overall narrative, the art is lovely and the music is great that jumps back and forth with appropiate tracks for all story themes. Also loved the characters, overall just a wonderful surprise.

Only problem is the pretty rocky english translation, but I found it playable and understood everything in the end, could also tell myself I have skill issues for not learning more languages.
 
In order this year:

Hi-Fi Rush
Dead Cells
Metroid Prime Remastered
Metroid Fusion
Zelda Minish Cap
Big Brain Academy Brain vs Brain
Zelda TOTK
Sonic Frontiers (replay on switch)
Sonic Origins plus
Currently on Pikmin 1+2 HD
 
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

Maybe it was post TOTK syndrome (how do you beat THAT game's ending?!). Maybe it was because I was already kinda spoilt on the story since it is a six year old game. I just didn't really jive that well with XC2. When I finally rolled credits for the game, I kinda did an 'hm. ok.' and promptly kept the cart in my 'Completed games' case. Though I did enjoy parts of the RPG, I didn't love the game. It certainly left me feeling a little underwhelmed.

That said, I think the waifus and husbandos are top tier.

Pyra? Amazing. I'll get your amiibo.

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No. You're definitely not.

Mythra? Perfectly tsundere. Nia? Also tsundere and cute to boot. Jin?

3546c51c08c9c9c78c3d922f2606733c333337b8.jpg

So handsome. So dreamy.

I like almost all the characters. Even Malos. I started off disliking that arsehole but by the end of the game, I'm kinda sorry for him. I will ship him with Jin. The only character I dislike (in a good way) is that Pope guy. He deserves his fate. That weak dictator. Yea, kick his arse, Jin.

The vistas for the game? Crazy. The alien environment was appropriately beautiful and creepy at the same time. I was really sad when the alien landscape was eventually replaced by sci-fi spaceship hulls in the late game.

Soundtrack was good. Some bangers but I think the credit roll ost can be more impactful.

I'm aware that for some players, XC2 was amazing. I think it was kinda good? But not great enough to keep me waiting for more. I'm kinda curious about the Torna expansion but not sure about spending close to three hours watching the compiled cutscenes off Youtube.

I hope to get around to XC3 before the end of the year. That way, I can complete all the Nintendo 'Game of the Year 2022'. But I certainly won't be jumping straight into it immediately.
 
I've completed four games so far in 2023, which doesn't seem like much but is pretty good for me.
  1. Celeste (10+ Hours)
  2. Metroid Prime Remastered (20+ Hours)
  3. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (70+ Hours)
  4. A Space for the Unbound (15+ Hours)
All of these games are now in my top ten, with A Space for the Unbound being my number one.
 
23)Ghost Trick(phone version)
Boy that was a wild ride. Can’t believe I wasthe cat all along XD missile really is the best boy
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
 
25th game finished for 2023 is Espagaluda II, a bullet hell shmup I keep going back to. Definitely one of my recs for anyone wanting an entry point into the genre, and it has modes for those looking for a greater challenge.
 
I beat AEW Fight Forever ... I guess? There's only one single-player campaign that takes a few hours to complete. So it counts the same way completing the story in any fighting game counts as completing that fighting game.

This was pitched as a modern No Mercy. And in some ways it's No Mercy (momentum meter, weak/strong grapples, reversal timing, body damage, four-directional running, how to cheese tag teams so matches don't take an hour everytime) and in some ways it's modern (blind tags, anti-airs, auto-play set-ups) and in many ways it's not (no regenerating health, overtuned finishers, four-directional running!).

The gameplay system for a great wrestling game is in place, and where the match flow falls short currently the fixes are obvious and easily done without having to mess with the basic foundation. Whether those fixes happen or if ongoing support will largely be about roster additions in the form of paid DLC is an open question.

The Create-A-Wrestler mode - always a main attraction for these wrestling games - is starved for cosmetic options. In the best case scenario this is explained by the devs deliberately holding back content in order to have ample supply for regular post-launch updates. Move set customization, on the other hand, offers so much to pick from I could spend days designing a new character, despite being done with their look in fifteen minutes, and then take an additional week tweaking the attacks so they flow more smoothly from one spot to the next while still staying true to the gimmick. Although the move list has notable holes (where is my Bridging German Suplex, Kenny?), on that front my issue is actually that the number of available choices could be trimmed down. No wrestler needs more than one running strike into the corner. When has Sting ever not opted for the Stinger Splash or Bryan Danielson for the running dropkick? Get rid of that and give me seperate grapples for left and right on the stick, rathern than lumping both directions into one "side" input, instead if you want complexity.

So is AEW Fight Forever a new WWF No Mercy? No. But right now it's a new WCW/nWo Revenge. And in due time it may yet turn into a new WWF Wrestlemania 2000.

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

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

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

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

Sticking with the sequel on Game Boy, Back from the Sewers cranked up graphics and difficulty. I didn't try Hard since Medium had enough unfair moments. I definitely would not have beaten this as a kid. Even with save states helping me through the bullshit, I entered the final boss room with two health left. Thankfully Krang was a pushover as always. I'm less likely to play this again than Fall of the Foot Clan, as the latter works as a sub-one-hour palatte cleanser between new playthroughs.
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Resident Evil: Revelations is the most unremarkable game I remember playing. Back when it came out on 3DS, it stood out as a full-fledged Resident Evil on handheld and as return to the classic style of the series, sandwiched between the excesses of Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil 6. Eleven years removed from that context, there's nothing to Revelations. If anything, what's revelatory now is how the game still feels the need to be fifty percent action sequences and how this supposedly more traditional formula includes little in the way of puzzles or item managment. The Horror half of the Survival Horror theme is reflected in the atmospheric ghost ship setting and the deep-sea creatures inspired monster design, but the Survival part boils down to the campaign handing out barely enough ammo for the amount of bullet sponge enemies it throws at you. I almost gave up on an early boss and if I had quit right there and then, I wouldn't have missed anything. But I also don't regret sticking with the game and finishing it. That sums up how very much not special Revelations is, in either direction. Whatever flavor of Resident Evil you prefer, in whatever mix of action and horror, you could pick two or three better games to play before Revelations just from its own series alone.

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

I write this in the saltiest of moods. Five minutes ago I failed to get the good ending because, with plenty Assault Rifle ammo, three med-kits, and the world-saving vaccine in my pockets and only two Zombies seperating me from the evacuation helicopter, I walked into my own grenade, which I forgot was there. The delay between throwing those and them exploding is too damn long.

I'd reload my last save and try again, but the game considers that file completed and won't let me. And I'm not down for 8 hours retreating the same campaign.

And here's the problem with Zombi U, beyond any fleeting saltiness. Its core concept screams for a non-linear approach. Instead it's stuck with a distinctly level-based structure. The one time Ubisoft makes a game that screams for an Ubisoft open world and doesn't make it an Ubisoft open world...

Zombi U already has the hooks for a open ended or more Metroidvania-like approach, too. It has seven letters to collect from walking corpses strewn throughout London, manhole covers to unscrew to gain access to quick travel points, unlockable shortcuts between areas, and scanning surveilance cameras for map data and to gather intel for supply runs.

When the quest for the letters popped up, I figured this is where the game cuts loose, but nah. More one way trips from A to B to C to D followed. The letter collecting for the most part happened coincidentally on the side while sticking to the crit path.

Rogue-lite elements like key items and stashed ressources carrying over between survivors don't fit right in the adventure's narrow scope. For example, each fresh incarnation of the player character builds up skills depending on the weapons they use, but what's the point of training a shotgun specialist or an expert sniper suited to explore either close quarters or wide terrain when you're not in control of where to go next but progress along a predetermined path? Other than that, survivors start as clean slates and end as clean slates. There's no reason to mourn their loss, beyond the value of what they carried on their backs. Nothing to get attached to. They're disposable, in line with how the Prepper views them, rather than the Prepper's heroic counterpart, who the player character ultimately sides with and who considers every indidual worth saving.

The gamepad integration sold the game in trailers. After sampling the full experience, I don't remember a moment when glancing nervously at the television screen between fiddling with inventory on the gamepad alerted me to a Zombi sneaking up behind my character's back while they're vulnerable. Sound was the clearest, earliest indicator of a threat looming closeby. The motion detecting radar doesn't always play fair and leads to an overreliance on alarms summoning sudden hordes. The encounter design doesn't have many tricks in its bag. Same could be said for the player character. But what is there is used well. The lockpicking mini-game is very smart, as it relies on the rumble and so allows you to keep a watchful eye on any movement in the shadows surrounding your character. The flashlight's battery is so generous this gimmick rarely comes into play. All in all, the gamepad mechanics are another case of strong ideas follow through with conviction. Zombi U's great pitch, like its world, remains underexplored.

For all my disappointment about putting trust in set-pieces rather than in players to drive their own narrative, Zombi U is worth playing, and a sequel, or spiritual succesor, given proper care and learning the right lessons, would be an all-time great of the genre.
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Bonus Completion!

Didn't want to start on anything more substantial than a short 'n' sweeties before Tears of the Kingdom demands attention. And what's good for a few hours and a fun time? Solving crime.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies Special Episode "Turnabout Reclaimed" reminded me of every reason why I love Ace Attorney games. Instantly appealing character designs, joyful animations, and whacky twists as sometimes you stay ahead of the reveals and sometimes you're as much bluffing your way to finding out where this is all going as Phoenix Wright is. It also had two supremely dumb evidence presenting moments, which I don't love and which actually got me Guilty verdicts. To make up for it, this case had a unique bad ending in store as a little surprise. Most importantly it delivered on the promise of getting an orca to take the witness stand, so I was not let down.

And with that I can now say I have finished Dual Destinies. Nearly ten years after its release. TAKE THAT!

Turnabout Reclaimed features a brilliant use of that famous phrase, by the way. Well worth the 4,99€.
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The more I think about Final Fantasy VII Remake, the less I know how I feel about it. I've shared some of my thoughts in other threads so I'm gonna keep it short: The visuals, combat system and presentation are great. Almost everything else isn't. I replayed it on PC so I wouldn't just get it for the DLC episode and I think its flaws are even more apparent on repeat playthroughs where navigating these restrictively linear levels becomes an absolute chore at times. On top of that there's the characters who interact in the most awkward way and frequently spout off weird anime-ass lines (except Barret who is literally perfect and needs to be protected at all costs) and the story that just seems needlessly convoluted and self-referential.

And still here I am looking forward to Rebirth. So... success?

  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
 
juuso said:
I've been keeping a list this year, but haven't posted in this thread before. I'll just dump the whole thing now, in the order I've completed them:

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

Metroid Fusion was last night. I didn't like it all that much, I prefer more interconnected areas without a clear hub world, with a sense of being on an adventure and occasionally lost.
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Hey, I've beaten some games!

BYE-BYE BOXBOY!
Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon (If it counts, it's a roguelike thing and I saw the credits once. There's more to it, and I'm still going to play.)
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

I've posted enough TOTK thoughts in the ST already, but yes, it's one of the best.
 
meatbag said:
That sounds promising actually, might nab it on a sale.
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Grabbing it on a sale is a good place for it. I don't regret paying full price to compensate AEW for those other time I may not have paid them but if the ongoing support disappoints I may still end up doing so.

My biggest strike against it is that it's impossible to have long epic matches, because even if you try to work it, once the clock crosses the three or four minute mark, the CPU is prone to pin you for a guaranteed three count as soon as it gets even ten seconds of momentum. And that's a pity because the grapple and counter system creates some really memorable spots that'd be worthy of a 5* classic.
 
24) Crusader of Centy
Well that was a fun twist that made me feel better about the crap I did at the start. Eat that Nier. Now what shall be my next evening game

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)
 
26. Pikmin 2 (Switch) [8/10]

From my understanding, over the years Pikmin 2 has become a sort of black sheep for the series. Which is understandable-- it is definitely less tightly designed than the original and not nearly as repayable, trading in tense time-based strategic gameplay for procedurally generated dungeon crawling and boss gauntlets. What Pikmin 2 does have is great writing, fun treasures, and a ton of gross bugs to kill.

I loved this game to death when it first came out, there are surprises around every corner and the last few caves really get intense. That's where the game shines, but it definitely isn't as impressive on replays when you know what awaits at the bottom of caves and you realize you can soft reset on each floor if things go too horribly wrong. When you focus on the actual gameplay over the story and atmosphere it becomes obvious pretty quickly that the original game was superior, but this is a great sequel that stands in its own to the point where I'm not surprised when people say it's their favorite.

This port had the same positives and negatives of Pikmin 1, but more severe because the brand named products are removed. It's a small thing and probably couldn't be helped, but in a game that relies so heavily on atmosphere and surprises removing them makes a big difference.

The purple Pikmin and bulbmin are cute and badass, good designs.
 
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)

It's interesting finally playing the first game in the series. My first FF was IV, and the 'earliest' game I'd played in the series was the DS remake of III, so this was fun. If you know your JRPGs, then it's possible to parse the game's minimal structure and narrative hints without too much difficulty. I think it helps I'd done Phantasy Star I and IV in the last couple of years, so I was used to this style of er, guidance.

Mostly I think it's a solid, accessible version of the game. I like the reworked visuals and love the reworked music, but disappointing to see no effort to incorporate bonus content from other versions of the game and the Chaos boss fight is now unnecessarily difficult and completely out of whack with the game's difficulty curve.
 
60. Sparkle 2
A fun Zuma-like (or, after researching some stuff on Wikipedia, I guess it's a Puzz Loop-like), casual little game with a few modes and difficulties. Satisfying power ups and music, not sure what else to add. Just a cute time
 
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)
14) Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS5)
15) Donald Duck Advance (GBA)
16) Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (PS2)
17) Stunt Race FX (SNES)

18) Rhythm Tengoku (GBA)

The original Rhythm Heaven! I played an unofficial English version of the game called “Rhythm Heaven Silver”. My only previous experience with the franchise was Rhythm Heaven Fever on the Wii, but I’ve always meant to play more of the series. And I had a ton of fun with this one! (Nearly) all the mini games are a blast (looking at you, Bon Dance). Some of them were pretty dang hard, but I can proudly say that I cleared them all without skipping a single one. There’s a ton more to do too - I only got a medal on fifteen or so of the forty-plus mini games. But I think I’ll set the game aside for now, and come back to it on a pick-up-and-play basis. Really glad I played this!
 
Finished a playthrough of Metroid Fusion today. First time replaying since I was a kid. Game holds up pretty well. Controls are tight and movement feels good. Combat is decent though probably one of the weaker parts of the game. Overall it doesn't quite live up to my childhood feelings and I probably won't consider it one of the greats of the genre anymore, but it's still a fun time.

Only my 8th game completed this year. Been a bit of a slow year, but it's been ramping up the past 2 months. I think Fire Emblem Engage was like the only game I completed up through March or April lol.
 
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)
I'm glad I found the time to go through this, even if blasting through it on Agent misses some of the more interesting challenge to be had. Still, time's at a premium these days, so I can't really invest it in learning the level layouts and repeating levels on higher difficulties. Great it finally has an easily accessible, official re-release on multiple platforms, though. Let's hope more Rare games join NSO in the future.
 
Replay #6: Super Mario Bros. (SNES - Super Mario All-Stars - NSO)

Me? Replaying Super Mario Bros. again? I'm shocked. Shocked!

I did this for the SMAS Celebration Event, even though I played SMB earlier this year. I think the NES version is still better due primarily to the awkward implementation of the brick physics, but it's still Super Mario Bros. and it's still a great game. The new graphics and sound don't replace the original version, but I still dig them.
 
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

For the most authentic experience of playing this game, I recommend using the OLED model. Stand in the middle of the room and using motion controls, spin around to snap photos of the Pokemon behind you. It looks kinda stupid in practice but man, it feels authentic. You do have to mentally shut off the world around you to fully immense in this game. But man.

This game is so gorgeous. Flexing Machamp. Pretty Gardevoir. Cute Bellossom. The very alive world of Pokemon full of interactions. Pokemon and Pokemon. Pokemon reacting to your actions... I think... this is what people wish how Pokemon SV can be like.

8bcd90057faf3f0e67c8140f394b00a766b6238f.jpg

Only a monster will catch them now

I love it. A beautiful short romp through the world of Pokemon. Gimme New Pokemon Snap 2!

Upcoming up next. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 or Catherine...
 
61. Fear and Hunger 2: Termina
Majora's Mask mixed with Silent Hill and Pathologic. Absolute masterpiece of survival horror. The first game was a bit too edgy at times, but this title masterfully mixes awful nudity with body horror and nearly every enemy is better than 90% of Silent Hill monsters.
It seems I have gotten the best ending, but honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if I haven't seen half the secrets.
The decision to spread out the saves was goddamn genious and made for a tense gameplay that I've never seen before. At one point I needed to quit the game because I legit got too scared to continue on my current run. The location mixed with tense uncertainty of whether you'll be alive next second is sublime.

Can't wait to learn more about this amazing title and try harder difficulty as well as more playable characters.

Honestly, if this game came out a month later it would've been a 2023 GOTY for me. It's great to see a title so anopologetically evil and so unashamed of current weird notions that human body is somehow bad. There's a masturbation skill for communicating with one of the gods and, like, fine? I've recently played the game where nearly every enemy's head explodes, why should the idea of sex be worse? God knows this game isn't horny.

A fucking masterpiece. One of the scariest games of all time. Also made me laugh more than any recent game when the first enemy was a naked woodsman whose dick detaches and skitters away. A+ content give me more.
 
18. Hitman 3
19. Gotham Knights
20. Inscryption

Hitman 3 is a good ass game, I think Hitman 2 is better, however with all 3 games being in Hitman 3 it's the better complete experience

Whiplash, best word I can think of to explain the differences between these games. Gotham Knights is a husk of a good Batman game. Absolute miserable experience, even with a friend. The story was so pointless, it took me and my friend aback. The game ends how it starts..crazy. nothing happens.

Inscryption on the other hand, wow I can't suggest this enough. What a fun game, go in as dark as possible and just enjoy the ride. Act 1 can be hard, but push, push, push. So good
 
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komicer said:
I think... this is what people wish how Pokemon SV can be like
Click to expand...
I would love an open world where all I do is take pictures of Pokemon living their lives, yes.

Vookatos said:
Also made me laugh more than any recent game when the first enemy was a naked woodsman whose dick detaches and skitters away
Click to expand...
o_o

ProteusRidley said:
Hitman 3 is a good ass game
Click to expand...
Hell yeah, Hitman games are exquisite. I’m honestly hoping the next Switch can get a port so I can game on the go.

I still need to try Inscryption aaaghh
 
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27. Super Mario Land (Game Boy) [9.5/10]

My yearly play through of my favorite 2D Mario, this time for the great community event that is currently ongoing! The highlights for me this go around were the snappy controls especially in Hard mode (which I played through for the first time) and how wonderful the music is. Great end credits theme.

It's a shame this released early on and doesn't have a save feature for hard mode and level unlock. Kirby Dream Land learned from this mistake.

28. Super Mario Land 2: Six Gold Coins (Game Boy) [8/10]

This game exudes weird charm, but man is it hard to ignore how much worse the actual platforming is coming fresh of Mario Land 1. In all fairness it is less of a pure platformer than Land and is the awkward middle child between Land's traditional Mario experience and Wario Land's wacky treasure hunts. The slower pace and floater jumps are an obvious example of this, but another is the secret levels. They exist and are fun to find, but your reward for finding them is... more coins, which only provide you with more lives?

Despite it all this game does have some great world themes that I'd like to see revisited, and I'm glad the team got their wish to move away from Mario soon after.
 
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