• 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.
74. Gravity Circuit

An indie Mega Man Zero-like.

A short but sweet platforming adventure that was way too easy, frankly. I beat the game on Normal with no issues and 30k currency in my pocket (in a game that considers 2-4k items expensive). It's probably the easiest out of all the Mega Man and Mega Man-like games I've played mainly due to various improvements over the standard Mega Man systems: knockback isn't too much of a gamebreaker, enemies get stunned easily so they can just be hit once and effectively they're out of comission as long as you keep mashing the button, and bosses take so much damage that it feels like you're fighting Mega Man bosses with weakness already equipped. I felt overpowered all the way through the game.

The cast of bosses is a bit bland, mainly due to color scheme on the characters being very limited GBC-like palette, but the bosses and stages are solid. I just wish there were more difficult sections than last two bosses. Granted, the boss rush that comes at the end of every Mega Man is actually extremely well-done and cool, but other than that, I do wish the game had something more to it. It has plenty of movement options and additional weapons which I've barely used because nothing really needed them, and once I got my, extremely cheap, double jump, platofrming stopped being a problem altogether.

I'll probably replay it on hard difficulty in hopes that it does a Mega Man 9/10 style difficulty change and it's not just all numbers cranked up.
 
Games finished - 2023

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)

Unlike last year's Forgotten Land, I did not immediately fall in love with this game. For me personally, Kirby's 2D outings are kind of tired. Finding all the energy spheres is entertaining and only sometimes frustrating (I dislike passing up a copy ability I don't really want only to find out it's required to nab one of the spheres). The copy abilities present are almost always fun to use and the game is largely an entertaining and colorful experience. Just a bit bland for those of us who have played a decent amount of Kirby by this point.

I guess that is why Magalor's epilogue stands out so much. The change up in gameplay was a welcome one, and I can honestly say I enjoyed the 2-3 hours playing through it more than the base game. Magalor of course plays somewhat like a super charged copy ability that Kirby might get, but the ability to level up and customize your move set is very welcome. Good stuff.


27) Mercenaries Lament : Requiem of the Silver Wolf (NSW)

For those who don't know, the Mercenaries series of games offer a budget version of the turn-based tactical RPG genre. They don't venture very far from the template laid out by Tactics Ogre and Final Fantasy Tactics in terms of gameplay. I think they started on mobile, but all seven of them are on Switch now. While they are built by a small team clearly on a budget, the gameplay is sound.

The story is usually passible in these games, but nothing special. This one however starts with an interesting conceit - we have a genuine zombie outbreak in a fantasy setting.

The zombie outbreak is treated as a serious threat to the kingdom, but quickly turns into a not very subtle allegory for COVID-19. This is complete with a rushed but sound cure that not everyone trusts due to misinformation spread by the bad guys. While this does make for an interesting story for a bit they eventually opt for the obvious super villain threatening the world with magic from the Netherworld, and the zombie/covid plot kind of exists solely to distract from the bad guy. It never fully resolved in a satisfying way for me, but I do know there are multiple endings that might tie things up better. I do not trust that they will, so I can't be bothered.

At the end of the day, I would say this is only for super fans who can't get enough of the genre. As I fall into that category, I hope they continue to pump these out.
 
Last edited:
74. Arcana

About as simple of a dungeon crawler as you can find. User-friendly enough and chill if you just want to grind, but not really interesting beyond that. I got interested in it after learning HAL worked on it, but it's really not their finest work.

Graphics and music are good, but gameplay can be really frustrating especially considering huge difficulty spike the game undergoes in chapter 3. Not only will you fight alone for some time what's usually the hordes of enemies (game throws anywhere from 1 to, like, 8 enemies at you), but the dungeon of chapter 3 is a beast of a maze that the game won't surpass afterwards.

It's a game that constantly surprises you, but none of its surprises are good. Party members leave and join whenever throughout the dungeon (them joining isn't a positive because you have to equip them again), bosses just pop up from nowhere.

If you want a simple experience that's basically nothing but grinding, get yourself an emulator to save state or rewind if needed, and you might have an ok time.
 
Machine Doogs said:
Mercenaries Lament : Requiem of the Silver Wolf
Click to expand...
I didn't even know Mercenaries was a franchise with several entries. I'm kinda curious about the zombie apocalypse thing, I'm gonna wishlist it.

And @Vookatos I'm gonna need you to do a top 10 for the year because I'm super interested in which games will be on there haha
 
  1. Death's Door
  2. Kirby's Dreamland
  3. Super Mario Land 2
  4. WarioWare Inc. Mega Microgames
  5. Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga
  6. Metroid Prime: Remastered
  7. Metroid Fusion
  8. Kirby's Return to Dreamland Deluxe
  9. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
  10. Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon
  11. Resident Evil 4 Remake
  12. Pikmin 1
  13. Pikmin 2

14. Pikmin 4 (NS) - At last, the Summer of Pikmin has come to an end! And what a conclusion it is.

Though Pikmin 3 is the de facto favorite in these parts, I have always viewed it as the series's low point (I am deliberately ignoring Hey! Pikmin). Pikmin 2 introduced a number of fun ideas that were unceremoniously yoinked in favor of a safer return to form on the Wii U. I was afraid that this way the way forward, but thankfully it was anything but; Pikmin 4 takes many of the ideas of Pikmin 2 - plus a number of concepts from the other games - and runs with them at a full sprint. The result is my favorite game in the series by far. I could complain a bit about the soundtrack (it's bad!) and the final boss (it's tedious!), but any number of my complaints are drowned out when I think of all the fun I had spelunking through new caves and (narrowly) besting the Dandori challenges.
 
meatbag said:
And @Vookatos I'm gonna need you to do a top 10 for the year because I'm super interested in which games will be on there haha
Click to expand...
That seems like an impossible task. I feel like this year I'm enjoying a LOT of games quite equally, and it's tough to compare them objectively. Like, is Hi-Fi Rush better than RE4R? I've enjoyed both and both actually kinda provided some of the same feelings. And we've still got more Mario titles and probably some unannounced or old undiscovered things I'll play that'll just wow me.
 
And now for a game that has been on my phone, untouched, for years:

Lara Croft: GO remined me what a compelling video game protagonist Lara Croft is. There's this common misconception that what makes Tomb Raider into Tomb Raider are the dual wielded pistols, rather than the jumping around Lara does while firing those pistols. GO understands that Lara's characteristic physical feature aren't big pointy pixel boobs, but her legs and the ponytail, because those express her adventurous motion, whether it be running away from a boulder, leaping over chasms, dodging and weaving through obstacles or the gymnastic flourishes she throws in admist close brushes with death. Lara is like Mario in that way. She takes joy in moving. That this aspect of her isn't lost despite the semi-turnbased nature of Go and its distanced overhead view speaks to the developer's familiarity with the franchise even more than the puzzle gameplay, which is also excellent and befitting the title.

A mobile masterpiece. Thank you, Marvel Snap, for making me look for an actually pleasant game to play if I've got five minutes to waste.

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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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€.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
 
75. Harmful Park

An absolutely adorable PS1 shmup that's set in a colorful amusement park. Wonderful little experience with quite a few weapons and powerups.
 
Total by system:
PS3 - 5
PS5 - 7
NS - 5
NSO - 2 (counting separately because they're not strictly Switch games)
  1. Lost Judgement (PS5) - 135 hours - 10/10
  2. Fire Emblem: Engage (NS) - 44 hours - 5/10
  3. Ryu Ga Gotoku: Kenzan! (PS3) - 70 hours - 10/10
  4. Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (NSO) - 2 hours - 9.5/10
  5. Like a Dragon: Ishin! Kiwami (PS5) - 165 hours - 11/10
  6. Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga (NSO) - 20 hours - 9/10
  7. Yakuza: Dead Souls (PS3) - 30 hours - 8.5/10
  8. The Kaito Files (PS5) - 15 hours - 11/10
  9. Yakuza 1 HD (PS3) - 15 hours - 7/10
  10. Yakuza 2 HD (PS3) - 15 hours - 8/10
  11. Yakuza 3 Remastered (PS5) - 80 hours - 10/10
  12. Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 (NS) - 20 hours - 7/10
  13. Octopath Traveller 2 (PS5) - 70 hours - 8.5/10
  14. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (NS) - 75 hours - 7/10
  15. Metroid Prime Remastered (NS) - 15 hours - 8/10
    Didn't quite measure up to 2D Metroid for me. I went in with super high expectations because of all the acclaim but as someone who doesn't usually dig the genre, it was a bit tedious if I'm being honest. Very glad I played it finally though.

  16. Diablo IV (PS5) - 5 hours (retired) - 2.5/10
    Got a couple of hours in with my wife (who really loved D3 when we played it together) and really enjoyed ourselves but then on the next three nights we tried to log in over a couple of weeks and it just didn't work? Completely killed our motivation to keep going when our 2-player gaming time is very limited as is. Massive waste of $90 and unacceptable in 2023 tbh. First game to make me angry in a long time actually.

  17. Tokyo Jungle (PS3) - 15 hours - 8.5/10
    Glad I finally got around to it. Really fun game. I hope it gets a remaster soon.

  18. Pikmin 4 (NS) - 80 hours - 11/10
    Absolute masterpiece, and potentially my GoTY. Incredible and dripping with content from start to finish. Took what was one of my favourite ever games in Pikmin 2 and somehow made it even better. Just perfection.

  19. Street Fighter 6 (PS5) - 40 hours - 9/10
    My first proper experience with Street Fighter and I'm glad I gave it a go. World Tour was fun, I liked the way it introduced all the fighting styles to you gradually and it felt a bit like a very Yakuza-lite blended with Mortal Kombat Deception's Konquest mode. I suuuuuuck so I'm done with the game but happy I spent time with it.

  20. Game Dev Story (iOS) - 10 hours - 9.5/10
    This is like my 20th playthrough of this game and it's just so addictive for some reason.
Ongoing:
Yakuza 0 fifth playthrough (PS5)
Pokemon Black ??th playthrough (DS via iOS emulator)
 
Last edited:
*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)

Wow. Vampire Survivors is on my short list for my personal LttP Game of the Year. Playing this felt like I was witnessing the birth of a new genre. Or at the least, one I have never touched before. Sure there are elements taken from other genres, but as a complete package I have never had a gaming experience that I would compare to this. Something that seems very simple on it's surface ended up being one of the most engaging games I've played this year. There is a staggering amount of ingenuity and creativity on display here. For a game that is mostly played with one stick it never once feels boring.

It's one of those games that feels unique in a bunch of cool ways and yet is very confident in its own weirdness. It knows exactly what it wants to be and absolutely delivers. All of the systems on display here work perfectly with each other in a way that I find rare in any game, modern or classic. While I rolled credits on it and considered it finished for the purpose of adding it to this list, I left quite a bit of meat on the bone in terms of unlockables, so I'm sure I'll be coming back to this off and on for quite awhile.
 
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)
Had a great time with this, though controls and enemy hit detection do show their age. Still, enough fun stuff that I really wish we get a new game in this style at some point. Will maybe get round to Oracle of Ages before the end of the year, but it's either XBC3 Future Redeemed or Sea of Stars next.
 
12. Tinykin (XBX)

Not much to say about this little game other than it was fun. The comparisons to Pikmin is pretty weak and pretty much unimportant to try and convince people to play the game. The level design of each world is fantastic in my opinion but they ultimately felt unused. The gameplay lacks a bit of substance and I kind of felt like I was going through the motions instead of enjoying the artwork and world design. It's still a fun game that is worth the purchase and if you have gamepass I don't know why you wouldn't at least give it a try.

[7.5]
 
76. Gunforce (SNES)

Krusty what the hell was that gif

Imagine Contra, only less cool.
No, less cool.
Still too cool.
No, even less cool than that.

Yep, now you have Gunforce. A really shitty SNES run-and-gun that scrolls like a snail, where enemies are braindead and might not even face you and were you arsenal is about 3 weapons with one unique weapon per level.

There is one saving grace to Gunforce that makes it, if not better, then at least kind of original, and it's vehicles. How are they? Let's do the excercise again: imagine Metal Slug, only so uncool that it physically hurts. There.

Most of the bosses feel like the first boss from Contra on NES, and the last one even rips off the whole alien theme.

I think it has like 6 levels that all give you a 100 second time limit, so not only is the game quite easy but it's also like 15 minutes long. The enemies can only shoot into one of 8 directions, so as long as you're not on their bullet trajectory nothing can hurt you.

Just play Metal Slug or something.
 
Last edited:
32) From Dust
Grabbed this for my Xbox cause the Pc version has been a mess for years. Had a blast blazing through the story mode again real quick
33) Sonic Adventure 2
Not a perfect game but one I have blast replaying from time to time


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
 
Finally finished Pikmin 4 which was my first shot at the Pikmin franchise. And it did exactly what I wanted from new IP— it tickled new parts of my brain. I’ve always heard it classified as an RTS but it’s closer to optimization sims like Factorio and Rune Factory, in my opinion.

Now I can move on to Armored Core! Which is probably gonna take me longer.
 
77. Cats Hidden in Paris

Apparently I've beaten this game this year but forgot about it. Notcied it because I wrote a Steam review on it way back.
Figures, it's a 5 minute hidden object game where you find cats on a black and white JPEG. When I downloaded it I figured it would have a bit more to it, but it's just a really short timewaster.

I think devs use free games to hype up their upcoming release and I might check it out, but I wish it had more animation and music... Just anything to add more personality to what could've been a newspaper riddle. I believe there are some way more interesting hidden object games nowadays that are animated and feature way more interesting enviroments, so I hope full game can live up to them, because so far it's bland and just has cats.
 
78. Raiden Trad

Like tears in the rain, the name, along with every memory of this game will be erased from my mind as I complete this post.

I've been depressed so I'm just looking through SNES library and try out stuff that I have no idea about. This is a very simple shmup for SNES that looks and sounds like you'd expect a verticle shmup on SNES to. Two weapons and twosubweapons that are fired at the same time with pretty big upgrade trees for both and the fact that the game starts on Earth but goes to space are the only memorable things about it.

I'm usually pretty bad at shmups, but I fired this one on hard difficulty and aside from your ship moving at the speed of a donkey, I haven't had much trouble. Granted, I do usually save at the beginning of each level to not waste continues. Still, with maxed out weapons everything but bosses was just erased, and only a few bosses provided some challenge, mainly because you're slow as hell and that their bullets can disappear from the screen thanks to technical limits.

It's ok.
 
12. Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope

I had gotten this as a Christmas gift, but hadn't gotten around to playing through it until now. Overall...I thought it was fine, I liked it for the most part. I remember enjoying the first one more though. Some of that could just be a recency thing since I haven't played the first one since the DK DLC released. The Sparks were okay, though many of them are just taken from attributes characters had in the previous game (Rabbid Mario's ability to draw enemies in, Rabbid Luigi's lifesteal, etc). There were a ton of them I didn't even touch though. Mostly, it's more of the same with a few new playable characters and two removed (Rabbid Yoshi and Yoshi).

13. Minit Fun Racer

This was only $2 (on sale at the moment, but not much more regularly) so I picked it up since I enjoyed Minit a lot. It was a fun distraction for a bit today. It's basically a side scrolling game where you're riding a scooter. Like Minit, you have a short time limit and you collect coins for upgrades. One of the upgrades will increase your time every time you collect a coin, which is how you are actually able to reach the credits. Some of the upgrades you can buy are silly (honking with B, doing tricks off of ramps) while some are practical (a helmet to protect you from one crash, a magnet that sucks up coins for you). There are achievements if you want to extend your playtime as well. Overall, for $2, it was pretty fun.

14. Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (replay)

Wasn't in the mood to start anything new earlier, so I replayed this for the community event. As a kid, it never really registered to me how short this game is, since I would replay it all the time. It's a weird game, but I still really enjoy it.
 
Last edited:
79. Space Megaforce

I don't know much about shmups, but Space Megaforce might be one of, if not, the best shmup I've seen. Not only does it push SNES to its limits with tons of stuff on screen, but it almost never chugs.

The game gives you 6 weapons with 6 levels of upgrades each and most of the weapons not only feel great but also good for various different situations, so if you're familiar with the game you can play it like Mega Man, switching to the right one when you know what's coming.

It's a fast-paced insane action where half the levels are psychedelic and weird, all the bosses are fantastic, and you feel overpowered without the game being too easy. Hard recommend.
 
I finally finished Baldur's Gate 3. I don't think I've ever been so mixed on a game in my life. There's a 10/10 "one of the best games I've ever played" game in there somewhere but it's buried in a mountain of problems.

The great thing about this game is really just the questing. Gathering quests, making decisions, seeing how your decisions (or bad dice rolls) play out. It's an addicting gameplay loop that carries this game extremely hard.

Unfortunately a lot of the rest of the game I'm very mixed on. The biggest issue for me personally is the battle system, and it's also the biggest disappointment. Divinity: Original Sin 2 has what is in my opinion one of the best turn-based battle systems ever made. If you married Divinity's combat gameplay with BG3's questing then you'd absolutely be left with one of the finest games ever made. That's not what we got. I'm really not a fan of these DnD mechanics the game pretty much borrowed wholesale and I think it's a shame Larian was beholden to them to such a degree. The combat in this game was simultaneously way too easy, way too simple, and also extremely aggravating. I'm not actually sure I've played a game this easy that managed to actually be aggravating before.

The combat is too easy because every fight can be solved pretty easily by sending your fighter straight up the middle into the heart of the enemy and it feels like the correct decision almost every time. Defense in this game basically manifests itself as every defensive unit being an evasion tank. I buff my fighter a little bit, send him right into the middle of everything, he deals tons of damage with tons of actions, and that's most of the fight solved. My wizard and warlock sit back and just throw some spells in. Their contributions aren't necessary but they speed things up. Eventually I get late game summons and it becomes even easier.

The combat is too frustrating because defense in this game manifests itself as every defensive unit being an evasion tank. Horrible mechanic. Big fan of when my fighter would basically 1v1 an enemy boss unit and they'd take turns missing.

Combat isn't the only issue, though. Some of the most frustrating issues are that so many issues in Divinity come back in pretty much the same exact ways here. Terrible inventory. Overworld trap system that sucks when combined with this game's stupid pathing that has allies diving head first into said traps. One of the worst cameras you'll see in the year 2023, with some really shoddy targeting in combat. Combine these Divinity issues with a quite frankly lame and sophomoric romance trying to butt into view constantly through the first half of the game (thankfully dies down quite a bit in the second half, at least it did for me, though by this point I basically stopped talking to my companions). And I haven't even mentioned the many bugs I experienced while playing

That's a lot of negative thoughts, but I'd still say the game is good. The questing really does just carry it hard, though. It's a lot of fun just seeing how things will play out and how various quests are linked together. The writing isn't bad either, though I did think it fell off quite a bit in Act 3. But I can't help but walk away disappointed. Divinity: Original Sin 2 is a personal 10/10. This game is not.

1. Gunfire Reborn - 7.5/10
2. Fire Emblem Engage - 8/10
3. Super Mario Bros. - 7/10
4. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - 8/10
5. Kuru Kuru Kururin - 6.5/10
6. Super Mario Bros. 3 - 9/10
7. Octopath Traveler II - 9.5/10
8. Metroid Fusion - 7.5/10
9. Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen - 8/10
10. Lunistice - 6.5/10
11. Super Sami Roll - 6/10
12. Baldur's Gate 3 - 7/10
 
lightning16 said:
Divinity: Original Sin 2 is a personal 10/10. This game is not.
Click to expand...
How are the bugs/glitches in BG3? Decided to put this lower on my to-play list because I’ve heard there were more than a few of those.

I’m curious where I’ll land on BG3. D:OS2 is also a personal favorite of mine so your impressions are rather illuminating. I might try to actively stop flinging my fighter into the fray.
 
meatbag said:
How are the bugs/glitches in BG3? Decided to put this lower on my to-play list because I’ve heard there were more than a few of those.

I’m curious where I’ll land on BG3. D:OS2 is also a personal favorite of mine so your impressions are rather illuminating. I might try to actively stop flinging my fighter into the fray.
Click to expand...
I saw quite a few bugs but nothing too bad if you save often. The most annoying was probably dialogue options just not loading, but the game would lock you into some sort of dialogue option you couldn't see when you proceeded and it would lead to some pretty bad outcomes and I'd reload. I had to reload quite a few times for various reasons (chests/bodies on the ground not being interactable, the dialogue issue I just mentioned, quests progression being a bit strange) which was annoying but again I saved a bunch as I went so it was mostly just an annoyance for me. I could see it being pretty frustrating if you don't save that often, though.
 
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)

It's been a couple of months, but I've finally beaten a few more video games.


19) Super Mario RPG - Legend of the Seven Stars (SNES)

I started playing this before the remake was announced, and decided I would just keep playing rather than wait for November to come around. If you haven't played this classic before and are planning on getting the remake, you're in for a real treat. Geno for Smash!


20) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV - Turtles in Time (SNES)

Not a bad choice for my first-ever brawler! I had quite a lot of fun with this game and I could see myself coming back to it to play through with the rest of the turtles. I picked Raph, who is by far the fastest turtle but has the worst defense. Save states and patience got me through to the end. The combat is a bit simple, but the grapple moves you can do add a bit of spice. Throwing Foot ninjas at the screen never got old.

21) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Hyperstone Heist (Genesis)

So it turns out that Turtles in Turtles was also released for the Sega Genesis... kind of. Hyperstone Heist has a lot in common with its more famous counterpart, but not everything is the same. There's only five levels instead of ten, but they're all much longer so the two games are roughly the same length. There are fewer bosses, and you fight most of them multiple times. The gameplay is identical for the most part, except that the Genesis version feels slightly faster, and it also lacks the "throw Foot solders at the screen" mechanic, much to its detriment.

I picked Donnie this time, who is slower than Raph, but he makes up for his lack of speed with higher defense and absolutely ridiculous range thanks to his staff. I breezed through Hyperstone Heist with relative ease, although I don't know if that's because the game is easier, or if Donnie is a better character than Raph, or if I've just gotten a bit better at this type of game now that I've got some experience.
 
Red Monster said:
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)

It's been a couple of months, but I've finally beaten a few more video games.


19) Super Mario RPG - Legend of the Seven Stars (SNES)

I started playing this before the remake was announced, and decided I would just keep playing rather than wait for November to come around. If you haven't played this classic before and are planning on getting the remake, you're in for a real treat. Geno for Smash!


20) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV - Turtles in Time (SNES)

Not a bad choice for my first-ever brawler! I had quite a lot of fun with this game and I could see myself coming back to it to play through with the rest of the turtles. I picked Raph, who is by far the fastest turtle but has the worst defense. Save states and patience got me through to the end. The combat is a bit simple, but the grapple moves you can do add a bit of spice. Throwing Foot ninjas at the screen never got old.

21) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Hyperstone Heist (Genesis)

So it turns out that Turtles in Turtles was also released for the Sega Genesis... kind of. Hyperstone Heist has a lot in common with its more famous counterpart, but not everything is the same. There's only five levels instead of ten, but they're all much longer so the two games are roughly the same length. There are fewer bosses, and you fight most of them multiple times. The gameplay is identical for the most part, except that the Genesis version feels slightly faster, and it also lacks the "throw Foot solders at the screen" mechanic, much to its detriment.

I picked Donnie this time, who is slower than Raph, but he makes up for his lack of speed with higher defense and absolutely ridiculous range thanks to his staff. I breezed through Hyperstone Heist with relative ease, although I don't know if that's because the game is easier, or if Donnie is a better character than Raph, or if I've just gotten a bit better at this type of game now that I've got some experience.
Click to expand...

Nice. I highly recommend playing TMNT - The Manhattan Project (NES) if you get chance. It's really, really good.
 
0
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

Oh golly. I went in knowing that the game is long but I totally was not expecting myself to take 2 months to roll credits. Slowly chipping away at the story one side quest at a time helped to flesh out the world but it sure prolonged the gameplay timing immensely.

I have never played the first Xenoblade Chronicles. I thought XC2 was fine but just that. When I finally rolled credits on XC3 and it brought me back to the main menu, I did the same thing. Sigh and place the cartridge into my 'completed games' case. Not because I dislike the game (I actually really like it!) but more because I felt like I have already spent too much time with it. I'm not sure if I missed any side quests but I was able to clear all the side quests backlog before going into the final boss. As far as I'm concerned, I got everything I wanted out of the XC3. Future Redeemed notwithstanding.

3b0edb9ed732e12b92f913faec7f83d808026125.jpg

Lanz is a fanboy. Ashera is voiced by MAO (Princess Connect's Pecorinne). I will be too.

XC3 characters? Fantastic. I love the growing comradery between the former enemies. Every single one of the main characters is loveable and totally shippable with everyone else. Noah and Mio are the vanilla leads. Can't go wrong. Krysta was fangirling over Lanz in the Kit & Krysta podcast and now, I know why. He's a himbo and a very loveable one too. So earnest and kinda dumb. A wonderful contrast to the tsundere Taion who really just wants recognition but too proud to ask for it. Sena and Eunie are loveable in different ways. Riku and Manana too. Nopons who are actually not annoying! If not for the fact that healing is so important, I'll be having the Nopons be the complementary heroes just for canonical sake. Towards the end, I also started to note that everyone got to say their lines one at a time. Very Love Live.

82927810cf5de65bde1777283f7638536b0e0149.jpg

Me too. Me too. That darn potato side quest took so long.

I got used to the combat system relatively comfortably and just whale my way through most of the game. If you do every single side quests, there's plenty of EXP to be gained and to be over-levelled. In fact, towards the later chapters, it became too difficult to learn new character classes due to the lack of equal enemies.

The story was.. quite straight-forward for most parts. Until everything went nuts and started involving the previous XC. Maybe it would have been more impactful if I had more familiarity with the first XC. Seeing Nia back, winging it in her interactions with the Ouroboros and trying to act all regal (getting called out by the Keves queen for that too) was fun. I am slightly disappointed that the gorgeous outdoor vistas was replaced by unexciting alien techy backdrop again for the final dungeon. That final boss encounter has so many phases that it took me probably an hour to finish.

Despite my complaints about the side quests, I found them much more interesting than the main quest. It also helps that every side quest you do have some consequences in the overworld. Such as the inclusion of the Tirkin chicks at Agnus castle, having friendly Tirkins in one of the last Colony Tau side quests or Monica getting confessed to. I'm almost angry that the ending meant a world reset. So everything we've done matters but also kinda didn't.

ba209246da9b52ec2d5732ee49e891756586be23.jpg

I quite like this ship. But at the same time, Eunie has so many amazing potential ships.

Talking about the ending. XC2 ending gave me an 'Eh?' reaction. XC3 ending gave me a 'wtf' reaction. It's bitter-sweet. Yes, we got a kiss but then... that's it. Where's the baby? You had an entire arc about the Ouroboros discovering about making babies. Where's my NoahxMio baby? The NxM baby doesn't count. The ship sailed and sunk already?! Is there anything in the post-game that will satisfy the itch? Is Future Redeemed going to make me more satisfied with XC3 ending? I don't plan to buy the DLC but I can always watch some Youtube upload

Overall, love the game. Think the ending can be more satisfying. Wished the game had been a bit shorter but... dammit, I have to do those side quests. Someone got to name those poor Colony 0 kids.

Next... Dredge. I hope this one will be a nice short palette cleanser.
 
80. Zelda II: Amida's Curse

A fantastic ROMhack of Zelda II that understands that game so awfully hard as the original should've been made easier, unlike some other hacks that try to make everything harder. A new map with new graphics and some really interesting dungeons.

The dungeons in this hack were the star of the show. Despite playing through Zelda II a bunch of times I could barely remember what's different about dungeons past the second one, but this hack really differentiates them with various themes, interesting layouts, optional secrets and more.

Honestly, just a better Zelda II.
 
STARFIELD

I'm a big fan of Bethesda's RPGs. Oblivion is one of my favorite games of all time, and Skyrim aint far off. I even love Fallout 4 more than most, so you can bet I was ready to led Todd take me on another wild ride. It was.......ok.

I can see the vision. The crazy promises this game made delivered. There are a thousand worlds to explore, things to find, stuff to do, and if you get into it, this is a game you can play the rest of your life. Quests are well written and the characters, especially the crew of Constellation are all really endearing and you end up liking even the ones you thought you wont like. Best buds all around. The main quest is good, and then it goes from 0 to 100 real quick and becomes great.

What really bogged down the game for me was the menu system. You will be spending a lot of time going through several different pages of menus to do very simple things like fast traveling. Like for example, when you're in space and you see a planet, you cant land on the planet, you have to pull up the map from your menu, then pick a landing spot from the map instead of the planet right infornt of you. Everything felt segmented. I also wasnt really a fan of the ship/flight mechaics, so those combined kinda killed my motivation to go explore a ton, which is a shame because exploration is where the game really shines.

I think the biggest gripe is the end of the main story. I wont get into it caus spoilers, but lets just say it pushes you in a certian direction that I didnt vibe with.

Urgh, I really hate complaining about stuff like that because the game did so much right, but I think baseline it just wasnt for me. It is what it is. I still had fun, and I'll still jump in every now and then to see what new worlds I can discover, and I recommend everyone plays it.

Now bring on Elder Scrolls 6!!!!!!! I might be a little down on Starfield, but I am no less excited. I can't wait to see how they apply some of the tech and systems from Starfield to it!

You did good Todd, but our Stars just didnt align this time
 
9. September 10th - Starfield (7/10)
There are few things in games I value and respect more than ambition, and with Starfield, BGS has indeed been reaching for the stars. The result is a vast, sprawling, branching and absurdly large mess of intricacies, idiosyncracies, crashes, janks and design choices both brilliant and baffling. There's a whole lot of game to cover here so I'm going to do a first and divide this ordeal into positives and negatives.

+Exploration
This was an extremely important thing to nail, and it really feels like Starfield is a make or break on this particular point. And Starfield succeeds: not as a space game, but as an open-world game. What I mean by that is that as many know, there's little to no actual "space exploration" per se. It's all menus and fast travel. But I actually didn't mind that much. It's impressive to me that Starfield still manages to convey a sense of scale that, while not being as endless, is still large and imposing. Contextually, it's cool to just stand on a planet, look up and know that there's a whole lot of things too vast to comprehend just waiting for you. It really delivers on the game's tagline: "What's... out there?". Then, when you zoom out to the planet.. and the solar system.. and it's when you stare at the galaxy map and really ponder at it and zoom out more that it starts to be a bit swindling and intimidating, in that sweet open-world fashion.

And you can really go anywhere - while sometimes being stopped in the tracks by space combat, nothing is stopping you from grav jumping, and then grav jumping again, until you're at a level 70 galaxy. I loved just doing this - jumping around, landing here and there and just check out cool shit was by far my favourite pastime in Starfield. While repetitiveness eventually sets in as settlements becomes copy-pasted (But let's be fair, what open-world game does not suffer from repetitiveness?) those 5-10 hours when I was just landing, checking out flora and fauna, going to the landmark, loot a cave, raid a camp, soak some vibes... I loved that so much, especially when I was blindsided as I found not another cave, but a full-blown settlement with a cosy bar and a beachside. While other open-world games have done this before, Starfield does it in the context of space, which makes the experience larger but also more intimate than it otherwise is. Starfield is curiosity. It's pure exploration. It's "What's... out there?"

+Combat
This surprised me, and pleasantly so. While it might feel archaic for a first-person shooter in 2023 to have you take cover like it's Gears of War 2 all over again, the game still manages to make fun out of what it has, with good enough level design, cool weapons and nice tactile pressure. The combat is more than the sum of its parts, though, and is made extra fun on low-gravity planets where you can make giant leaps and pick off your enemies mid-air. It should be just serviceable, but there's just something about the raw feedback of it all that makes it tick.

Finding the correct build and rolling with it, as well as completing it with weapons you grow attached to feels great, and I went with a shotgun approach, as I near the end of the game got an extremely expensive weapon that managed to one-shot everything that moved. I felt like a power house, but the game also makes sure that hubris doesn't get the best of you. It's all depending on difficulty, of course, but I found pushback pretty formidable in a way that, while frustrating at times, could make for some real intensity.

+Moral ambiguity
Probably something I didn't expect to put here. While I for the vast majority of the time didn't grow attached to any characters or story beats, some of the dialogue choices did put me on pause at times. With no set path forward, a cool sense of unpredicatbility comes forward. There are several examples related to quests, many of them making me choose between authority and the one being authored against, and I felt equally like a hero of justice, as well as a two-faced bastard. At its best, it feels almost The Walking Dead-esque, which is an unexpected compliment.

- Technical issues
Starfield is a glaring mess on this front. I have counted up to 13 crashes on Series S during my 35-hour playthrough. The 10 first of them was with 2 other games on quick resume, which might've been a contributing factor to some of the crashes, but I don't think it should matter - Microsoft has sold a product that allows for quick resume, and it is meant to be utilized, and if one simply can't do that, it's a failure on the company's part. And other than the crashes, there were at least twice as many instances of the game chugging for a few seconds, lagging or sometimes outright freezing. Add that to me or my foes getting caught in corners, companions casually despawning, missions not triggering correctly and so on, and you've got a game that crumbles on its own knees.

- Story and characters
Throughout my whole playthrough, I found it very hard to get attached to any character or mission. They didn't really feel believable or interesting to me. The animations and character models is something Bethesda hyped up as their most advanced character engine, but I think it's fair to demand more by 2023 standards - I just couldn't get past the uncanny eyes of Sarah, or Barrets odd, strained smile. I guess Sam's kid was cool, but as far as every Constellation character, every character on the Ranger questline, and characters I met during my 10 or so sidequests, nothing really stuck with me, to the point of me sometimes just apathetically following the mission marker. The main story did pick up the pace during the middle as some genuinely exciting things happened, but I think it just fizzled out into clichés by the end.

- Design decisions and QOL
This is a more of a "miscellaneous" point. The ship customization interface is an absolute mess, space combat feels poorly implemented and dear lord, don't make me mention the backwards-working bounty system. And why is the UI and menu navigation so cumbersome, stripped down and dull? These are gripes and nitpicks, of course, but it's a minor pile of them.

And there it is. Starfield. What a mess - in the most positive and hampering way possible.

(Also, holy moly, as I've finished writing this, the credits are still rolling)

2023 Games Completed
1. January 4th - Missed Messages (9/10)
2. January 4th - Florence (9/10)
3. January 5th - Milk inside a bag of milk inside a bag of milk and milk outside a bag of milk outside a bag of milk (9/10)
4. February 16th - Metroid Prime Remastered (10/10)
5. March 5th - Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo (8/10)
6. May 19th - The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (11/10)
7. June 5th - I Was A Teenage Exocolonist (8/10)
8. August 17th - Oxenfree (6/10)
9. September 10th - Starfield (7/10)
 
81. 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim

I'm always wary of media that presents itself as mysterious and full of plot twists. It's easy for them to use those twists as a crutch instead of interesting story and characters and become self-parody. For example, I don't think Zero Escape games work, and the last one might just have the worst twist I've ever seen.

Aegis Rim isn't like that, and while it bombards you with plot twists, underneath it all is quite an enjoyable story. However, especially around 25-75% of progression through the game it was way too easy to just not care about the plot when it throws another revelation at you. I'll give you trope spoilers for everything game uses. Some of them turn out to be not real after being used as a hypothesis, some are used multiple times, but this game features:
Time travel, alternative dimensions, clones, robots in humans, humans in robots, fake humans, AIs, aliens, simulated reality
and more.

So at a certain point you just go along with it and not bother, especially in a game where story is presented so non-linearly. Underneath it all, however, is a pretty enjoyable and cozy slice of life melodrama. It's not too anime in its sense of humor, but I do find that ladies are written much worse than dudes. The game's fairly progressive, featuring homosexual relationships and non-binary character, but I do find that almost every girl has just love on her mind, and said love manifests in a very similar way. Not to say guys don't fall in love in this game, but they're more different about their approach and are allowed to be lovable dipshits as opposed to swooning schoolgirls. Not every relationship works and some feel like a start of a blooming abusive relationship, so frankly, I don't see a point in getting everyone in neat couples. It doesn't add much, and stories where characters aren't as interested in love are by far most interesting ones.

The worst part of the game is the actual game part which takes place after most of the story where you fight what's called "Kaijus" in a RTS mini-game. It's incredibly simple and boring. Seeing numbers go up is satisfying, but at a certain point I switched to the easiest skill to ensure I'll get all S ranks and rewards because I just didn't want to see it anymore.

I also wish character designers who are unabashedly horny would get paired up with straight ladies or queer people, because the amount of almost-boobs in this game is staggering compared to nothing you get if you like guys. There is one character who does nothing but breasts boobily in every scene she's in, but, like, if you have to have your highschoolers naked, maybe do so for everyone. Kinda weird to see a portrait of a girl naked lying with her ass up when the guys get a naked shoulder at most. Thankfully none of it is "words and deeds" shit, even though there's an explanation for why everyone's naked inside a robot. It's clearly just a horny-ass designer, and I respect it much more than whatever sitcom-ass situations some people think of to show a leg.

Overall, I've enjoyed this game, but I think most VNs I've played recently (The Great Ace Attorney and Paranormasight) are better. Still, it's fun. Took me a full day to complete it and I don't regret it. I do wish there were fewer plot twists because just characters interacting or someone having a one continuous journey through their plot were the best parts as opposed to someone having 7 revelations in a row during a non-linear story.
 
The only game I've beaten this year is Pokemon Scarlet. 😔

Right now, I'm currently playing Final Fantasy XII and I'm planning on finishing XVI next. I made it my New Years Resolution to beat ten games from my backlog, but that hasn't gone smoothly. Last year's resolution was five and I managed to beat eight (granted, two of them were ones that I had been on and off for years, but still).

I think my problem is that I've picked up too many new games in quick succession. I've played ten hours of Persona 3 Portable, then I restarted FFXII on a whim (I hadn't played it in four years), then Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed came out and I beat that (does that count as a separate game?), then Zelda comes out and I've sunk almost sixty hours into it and I still haven't beaten it...... It's a problem I've had for a while, that I thought I overcame last year, but I guess not 😞
 
Last edited:
D36 said:
I think my problem is that I've picked up too many new games in quick succession
Click to expand...
My advice: force yourself not to buy anything until you finish something. It’s a bit of a waste of money to buy something you won’t get to play in the near future. In my personal case, I’m heavy on digital and I haven’t upgraded my 64 GB card because with limited space. I sometimes get the drive to fully finish games so I can comfortably archive them and make room for new ones.

Vookatos said:
Took me a full day to complete it and I don't regret it
Click to expand...
Oh, it’s not that long then? I just bought it haha.
 
meatbag said:
Oh, it’s not that long then? I just bought it haha.
Click to expand...
I meant that it's 24 hours long, and it'll likely take longer if you leave it on auto. I'm a fast reader so some repeated info I skipped over and usually pressed X at the end of every character's sentence because otherwise they have a bit of an unnatural pause.
 
D36 said:
The only game I've beaten this year is Pokemon Scarlet. 😔
Click to expand...
I too am still journeying through Zelda, fret not D36! I've only completed a mere one more game than you this year, but I don't really mind- Tears of the Kingdom has been so much fun to explore, that I'm really just enjoying taking my time swimming in its depths.

That and the bi-weekly Dungeons & Dragons sessions have kept me busy with the local friends! Loving a good D&D summer really, it's come to a close. 🧙‍♂️

2023 so far...
1. Deep Rock Galactic (PC)
2. Returnal (PC)
 
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)
19) Super Mario RPG (SNES)
20) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Turtles in Time (SNES)
21) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - The Hyperstone Heist (Genesis)

22) Tearaway (PSV)

This is a game that’s truly designed for the platform it’s on. It makes use of every single one of the Vita’s unique features, in clever and delightful ways. I often found myself smiling with joy at some creative platform challenge involving the gyro or touchscreen puzzles or even just seeing myself in the sun. There’s a bit at the very end where you find yourself, with the selfie you took at the very beginning of the game as your face, and you’re playing the literal game on a Vita. Pure brilliance. Tearaway displayed the kind of creativity I assumed was only reserved for Nintendo games, and that’s high praise.
 
Last edited:
Previously:
01 — Melatonin
02 — Kirby and the Forgotten Land
03 — Pentiment
04 — stitch.
05 — Castle Crumble
06 — Crossfire X SP, 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: Hibis & Butterfly
15 — The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe
16 — Xenoblade Chronicles 3: FR
17 — Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
18 — Advance Wars 1+2 Reboot Camp
19 — Diablo IV
20 — NYT Games
21 — Triangle Strategy
22 — Baba Is You
23 — Quake II
Click to expand...

24 — The Talos Principle
I’m glad I finally got around to this. There are some very wild, very clever puzzles in here. There are some sprawling areas to tackle, especially as you get a little later on, but to me the best conundrums were the ones set in a small room with just a few pieces to play with. These setups really ask you to push the utility of your tools, and that leads to most gratifying epiphanies! Wasn’t a fan of the lethal puzzle elements and having to start over if you veered a little too close to a mine or what have you. Also, low FPS in first person makes me feel a little yucky and this game can chug quite a bit on Switch. Thankfully, you can switch over to a performance mode that fares quite a bit better.
[VERDICT — Wish They Would Have Put In One Headless Screaming Guy Out of Ten]
 
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

I wanted something short and sweet. Dredge was just that. A simple game with an engaging mechanic. Not a long game by any means but the time playing it goes by so fast. At first it was just for a couple of minutes and before you know it, hours have gone by. Fishing and selling fishes is just a really satisfying feedback loop.

a3ba51599d252c583e224237d6036556ae4da272.jpg


And before I knew it, I have ended the world... alright, I got the good ending too. But I did the bad ending first.

Just in time to return to the world of Pokemon Violet.



Update! The game is too short for me to create a whole new post so I'll just update this post instead!

Sep 2023 - Record of Lodoss War -Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth-

Having just completed the game, I stand by my initial thoughts. I think that part of the requirements of enjoying this game is having background knowledge of the Lodoss War series. And without that knowledge, my enjoyment is at least halved. Whatever fanservice there are, it completely flew over my head.

01d2e5341e170b36ee666f23b1aa9af624db1c58.jpg


Gameplay wise, it is standard indie Metroidvania. Some interesting mechanics but nothing to shout about. It is sufficiently challenging without making me want to throw controllers. Most bosses take a couple of tries before nailing the pattern. It is alright. It won't be in any top games of the year list but for the couple of hours I put into it, I enjoyed my time.
 
Last edited:
82. Picross NP Vol. 1

A nice SNES Picross game with tons of puzzles. I don't know whether I'm getting too smart for picross, but I felt like most of the puzzles were ridiculously easy. It's unfortunate that those that don't immediately tell you mistakes are so few and far between. I feel like 90% of the game are 15x15 puzzles and those that are even easier. By the end I was so eager to get to the last set of hard puzzles I started using starting hint that fills in a row and a column just so I could get through 15x15 faster.

Still, there are a few puzzles that got me stuck and due to which I've learned a new picross tech I've never noticed before. Fun!
 
Pokemon Violet DLC:
The Teal Mask

Pokemon time again, lets see what else Scarlet and Violet have up their sleeve.
Honestly, I was a little unsure going into this. I would say Scarlet/Violet rank last in my enjoyment of main series, and from the trailer, the traditional Japanese setting felt like too much of a repeat of what we just got in both BDSP and Legends Arceus. I came into this basically playing it out of obligation...... but I'm hapy to report that The Teal Mask hit all the right notes and I had a great time.

I think they did a really nice job with the setting. It reminded me of games like Attack of the Friday Monsters, or even Persona 4. I wasn't thinking about Legends while playing which means they did a great job making it feel distinct and unique. The area was big, packed with diverse biomes and fun returning Pokemon, and the story was pretty good. A lot different than what I was expecting going in, which was a nice suprise, and it's carried by the 2 main npcs, Kiren and Carmine, both had good development and fun quirks to make them interesting. Kieren reminded me a lot of Wally, so that's a plus in my book. Kitikami also feels lkie it runs a lot better than Paldea does, I wasnt noticing a lot of the issues that the base game has. It's not a night and day difference.....more like a night and 6:00AM difference, but still, felt better.

Ran with a new team of locals aside from a Shiny Eevee from GO I was using as my "starter":
Espeon, Furret, Crawdaunt, Chandelure, Yanmega, and Garchomp
And lemme tell you, if you think Pokemon games are too easy, dump your team and start fresh with what the DLC has walking around. I was getting WHOOPED left and right. Still loved using them though!

So overall, I think it was a great time. I dont think it's going to dramatically change Scarlet/Violet, but this was a cozy, refreshing addition and I think it may make me look back on SV more fondly. I'm still more excited to move on from SV and see what's next, but it got me really excited for Part 2 to see where that goes. Hope we dont have to wait too long, but until then, I'll have fun roaming around Kitikami's bountiful scenery
 
30th game finished for the year is Pokemon Trading Card Game. Great blast of nostalgia, and I’m tickled that I still remember all the rules. Building decks was more annoying than I remembered, but still fun.
 
Almost a month after my last update I have now finished Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and Future Redeemed. I'm counting them separately on account of the latter being its separate thing similar to Torna: The Golden Country but it's impossible for me to separate them in my mind.

The base game is a great continuation of the series on a gameplay and thematic level and improves upon several elements from the previous game. It's not better across the board: The main antagonist is on the weaker side and I wasn't a fan of the chain attack mechanic. Everything else, the characters, the map design, the exploration, the side stories etc. are my favourite in the series. It's one of the rare games that I by the end I couldn't wait to finish but also wasn't ready to leave.

Future Redeemed on the other hand goes a very different direction. Mechanically it takes what works from the base game, streamlines and refines it and puts everything into perhaps one of the best and most fun maps Monolith has designed. It's full-on Xenolore from the word go, a bite-sized celebration that works as the perfect conclusion of the series.

Taken by themselves they're already fantastic but the package is one of my favourite gaming experiences.

  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
 
-God of war: Left me wanting the future games which is a good sign. Kratos is the best, love that guy, 8/10
-Katamari damacy: Very odd game, good, but odd. Not sure giving this game a score does it justice, so let’s just say, king of all cosmos/10
-Pikmin 2: The game hates you and I love it, 10/10
-Pikmin 4: The game loves you and I love it, 10/10
-Sonic frontiers: Rough draft for a future masterpiece. Core gameplay is amazing but we need better worlds, story, voice acting, cyber space/ traditional levels, -graphics, models, and like 50 other things. 8/10
-Dynamite Heady: Like the heads, head/10
-Tekken 1-3, street fighter 2-3, killer instinct, mortal kombat 1-3, KOF 98: All of these have what I like to call “fighting gamitus”. Fun games, but ones that I can’t see myself coming back to. That being said, tekken is my favorite, 6/10
- Pepsi man: Unironically love this game. Very underated, kinda prefer it to any crash game, 7/10
-Metroid 2, Return of Samus: Oddly good for a GB game, very ambitious. It was really cool having played the remake and seeing locations and puzzles from that game pop up here. 7/10
-Mario land 2. Best 2d Mario. Every level goes on for the perfect amount of time, and every level has a new theme from the last. 9/10, Mario land on NSO when?
- DBZ, budokai tenchiachi 2. Lots of fun goofing around with friends. Only issue is the controls, and how many crazy combo moves you have to input 50 buttons for. Like I would have to study this game to fully understand a single character. 7/10
-Metroid prime remastered: Biggest thing keeping me from getting far into OG prime is how muted the colors were. Weird, I know, but it’s just hard for me to play a game that makes me have to squint to see any of its (admittedly beautiful) environments. So seeing this remaster give this game so much color made me actually really get into it, and I have to say it was incredible! So beautiful, love the mechanics, love all of it. 9/10, not perfect but still great
-Kirby’s return to dreamland deluxe: The OG return to dreamland was great, but I wished I could play the game portably. I also think Kirby games are far better portably. This remake proves my point, and playing the game in my bed made me want to beat it so much faster. The new graphics are so good, and them being an idea from a cancelled gamecube Kirby is awesome. Magalor Mode is really fun, and merry magoland is slept on as a new addition. 8.5/10, will never forget me and my friends all wearing the Mr. Dooter Outfit and calling ourselves the dooters
-Kirby super star ultra: The perfect remake. Great new graphics, great new modes, VASTLY improved great maze, and MASKED DEDEDE IS SO GOOOOOD. 9/10, 3rd best Kirby
-Kirby and the amazing mirror. Actual masterpiece, like how is this game so good. The fact that they made a 2D platformer plus an Open world game and it turned out as good as it did is insane. AND IT CAME OUT IN 2004, LIKE WHAT? HOW IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE, 11/10
-Zelda, the minish cap. Really like the music and visuals, very fun and thematically interesting dungeons. Probably my favorite 2d Zelda. 7.5/10
-A link to the past. Very fun, not as good as the minsh cap but still impressive for an SNES game. The 2 world gimmick is also cool, 7/10
-The legend of Zelda. Fun, underrated and unlike any other game. Was really interesting seeing how breath of the wild and tears of the kingdom took inspiration from this game, 6/10. Speaking of TOTK….
-The legend of Zelda, Tears of The Kingdom. I knew going in that this game wasn’t gonna be my favorite game. I had far less personal experiences with Zelda than I do with franchises like smash, Mario, an animal crossing. But the fact that this game could crack through so many all time classics while using so much borrowed DNA from breath of the wild is insane. Everything (and I do mean EVERYTHING) is improved. The dungeons and bosses are back to being like the older games, the mechanics are insanely good, the music is better, the depths are an awesome addition. The only issues I have are the lack of enemy variety and the story. Why have the last 2 games had the main story take place in a different time? Like I kinda want to enjoy the story, and not watch on from the future. Regardless, 11/10 masterpiece
-Apes escape 2: Making monkey noises whenever I caught a monkey made the game far more fun. 422/10
-Gran turismo 2: Fun. Fun/10
-Grand theft auto, Vice City: Enjoyed role playing as a down on his luck taxi driver who barrels through any other taxi/ yellow car on the road to ensure he stays on top of the taxi hierarchy. 7/10
-KuruKuruKururin: Right after I heard the name in the February direct I knew I needed to play it. Good time, made me very grateful for rewind. 6/10
-Yoshi’s Island DS: Not as good as the first game, but still hold up in its own right. The baby swapping mechanic was cool, they just needed to can the stork stops entirely and let you change baby’s on the fly. 6/10
-Yoshi’s wooly world- Incredible. Best yoshi game since the first and an amazing game. Art style, level design, music, all stellar. 9/10
-Flicky: Fun game, should get the 99 treatment as a NSO exclusive game. I mean we got an NES game (Mario bros), an SNES game (F-Zero) AND a GB game (Tetris) get the 99/ multiplayer treatment, why not flicky? MAKE FLICKY 99 NINTENDO. 5/10, (starting to realize nobodies going to read this far and this is just a waste of time)
-Mario party 8: God awful, this is why we got that god forsaken car for the next 8 years. The boards suck, it’s visually bland, the mini games are mid. 4/10
-Metried fusion: was quite fun. Liked the graphics, liked the SAX, liked just about everything. I thought the game holding your hand was actually a cool subversion from the usual Metroid fare, and it made the moments where you forged your own path SO much cooler. 8/10
-Ocarina of time: Masterpiece. The story is so good, and melancholy is a very rare emotion to get in a nintendo game, so getting it here was nice. The music goes to so many unique places and has so many unique tones, but the game manages to still make them all bangers. The gameplay is tons of fun, love the dungeons in this game. 11/10, what left to be said

EDIT: more games y’all
-Sonic 1: Of the classic 2d Sonic games,(and 2d Sonic games in general IMO), the worst one. Still very fun, and gets too much hate for what is really just an above average platformer. Though I will concede that I played on the Sonic origins anniversary version, which saved the game after every act. 7/10, would recommend
-Sonic 2: Good improvement over the first game, but not AS much of an improvement as many lead on. The levels are better, the music is better, and the spin dash is amazing, but I got roughly the same enjoyment from the two games. 7.5/10, the real improvements come with-
-Sonic CD: Oddly good, like why did no one every tell me how good his was? (Except Fadel gamescage). The level design is the worst part, and can sometimes feel AI generated, but the levels are still tons of fun to go through. The atmosphere in this game is SOOOOOOOO GOOD. So many stand out levels in both music and theming, with stardust speedway and metallic madness being the best ones. The past and future mechanic was interesting, but I wish it was a bit easier to actually save the future. Having to find some bum metal box in every level is tedious, and they should’ve just had a boss at the end of every past/ future version of a zone that saves it. The anime intro and outro are such nice cherries on top of this amazing game, and for me are the first things that comes to mind when someone says Sonic. That’s something I feel in general about this game, it defined so much of what makes Sonic. The amazing levels, animations, music, atmosphere, all of it got its start here. 8.5/10, never though I would have so much to say about this game going in
EDIT PART 2 ELECTRIC BOOGALOO:
-Sonic 3 and knuckles: 2nd best classic 2d Sonic (3rd best overall, tied with advance 1). Would for sure recommend as an amazing platformer. I think the biggest thing it has over any other classic Sonic game is the level design and pixel art. The level design in this game is so good, mania pretty much copied it for the stages it remade, (flying battery and lava reef respectively). The Pixel art is also amazing, and it’s really cool seeing how much better the pixel art here is compared to the first game. Only issue is that coming from Cd, which added a lot to the Sonic formula, to this game being 2 but better was a bit disappointing. 8/10, must play for any fan of 2d platformers
-Joy mech fight: Good fun. Nothing I can see myself coming back to, but above average compared to most fighting games I’ve played this year. Looks pretty damn good for an NES game, and has a fun gimmick with the characters having detachable limbs. 6/10, Sukapon should’ve been in arms
-Kirby’s super star stacker: Star stacker for the GB but with better graphics. I appreciate that Hal went out of their way to make a unique puzzle game, but I kinda would’ve liked it better as a puzzle league clone. 5/10, decent puzzle game
-Excite Bike 64: MUCH better than the first excite bike, and a fun time. Would never say I understand the game at all, but it was fun racing around. 6/10
-F-zero 99: REALLY GOOD. I low F-zero, and was a tad disapointed we weren’t getting a GX remaster, but this is good appetizer. Racing to the death against 98 other players online is an incredible idea, and I’m so glad they didn’t make it like Mario 35, which felt like waste potential. All I ask for is Zelda 4 swords for the GBA to get made into Zelda 99 swords, a team based game with 25 teams trying to complete a dungeon while fighting against each other. 7/10, another reason to buy NSO
EDIT AGAIN
-Lego marvel super hero’s 2: Game literally soft locked itself on level 16 of 20, so I quit. 4/10, what happened to Lego Star Wars level quality? Speaking of which….
-Lego Star Wars, the complete saga: Perfect star wars AND Lego game. Has all the mechanics a Lego game needs, and has tons of fan service for Star Wars fans. All the characters play really well, the levels are fun and have cool gimmicks, and the game has a sense of humor while also being serious at times. 8/10, an all time classic
EIDT AGIAN
TF2: Very fun game, really enjoyed it. You can see how it inspired so many other FPS game that came after it, and yet it still has its own unique style and attributes that sets it above and beyond competitors. 8/10, can’t wait to play more
Left for dead 2: Another really good game. Has a quality more multiplayer game should strive for and is actually fun in Single-player, The multiplayer is tons of fun, with the zombies all having really unique moves that work well together. 8/10 (man I should play more valve games)
Brawlhala: Garbage, so bad that putting it next to Left for dead 2 is an affront to that game. The game is free and yet somehow I feel like I was robbed for having to play it for more than 3 minutes. 1/10, the price really tells you all you need to know about the games quality
SCP the escape: Good little time. Obviously not the most polished game, but running around the complex with the squad is still fun. The best parts are when the statue comes out and everyone mad dashes to get away. 7/10
 
Last edited:
Just beat Pokemon Emerald! That's quite exciting to me, as I haven't beaten one of the GBA games in well over a decade. Now I've been hemming and hawing about what to do next, and I think before I get to Crystal, I'm going to put more time between it and my already completed run of SoulSilver that I did in July/August and play LeafGreen instead.

Then I can put the DS away for another decade. 😅
 
Finished in 2023 #15: Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (SNES - NSO)

This is it - both the final game in the Super Mario All-Stars Celebration Event and the only game in the event that I had never completed in any capacity. And while the game definitely lived up to its reputation as a really tough 100% clear, even with all the pain, I was both charmed and impressed by this one. The game gets so much mileage out of Yoshi's mechanics for combat, puzzles, and exploration. Flutter jumping for easier platforming and your better aiming your egg throws/enemy eating. Eggs bouncing off walls for trick shots, needing to manage your inventory to add tension and care but not so much that you worry about wasting eggs too often. Eating enemies could be good for ammo, but maybe it's better to hold onto the enemy and use it as ammo on its own. And it's all tied together with smooth movement controls and levels which blend exploration, platforming, combat, and puzzle solving in a balanced measure. It's consistently engaging, even if some of those secrets are a bit too obscure the first time through and I found myself getting nervous about losing health and not getting that perfect score. Add in some of the SNES's most impressive graphics and sound, and you have a late era winner that stands up with the greats - though my heart will always lie with SMB3 and SMW.

Finished in 2023 #16: Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi's Island (GBA - NSO)

...and then I played the GBA version, because I really wanted that badge. This one adds six secret levels, but otherwise it's a pretty straightforward GBA port with voice clips replacing some of the sounds. Unlike some of the other Super Mario Advance games, which punch up the remakes with fancy visual flourishes, SMA3 sometime struggles under the weight of the original. Slowdown happens when the screen is too crowded, and some of the pre-rendered cutscenes play with less frames, which is especially noticeable in the credits. If you really want to play the new levels, then this ain't a bad way to play Yoshi's Island, but I'll be sticking to the original for future replays.

So, I'm gonna be giving the folks in this thread a little gift. For anyone who played any of the games from the event and documented them in the thread, you'll be getting the subsequent badges from the event in the future (probably by the end of the weekend)! To be fair to folks in the thread, I'm going to keep the raffle to just those who shared the Picture Proofs in the thread, but I hope you enjoy the Famicoins and the badges.
 
#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)

Aaaaand I'm finally done with TotK. It's been more than 4 months since I've been playing since D1, but I wanted to take my time with the game and explore to my heart's content, so it took me 205h (and I still only got a 70% completion percentage...). There isn't much to say about this that hasn't been said already, it's become my new favorite game of all time. Just a grand masterpiece from start to finish, one that will surely always be looked at and remembered as long as this industry exists.

--

Now that I'm returning to my normal gaming life, I should finish a couple games I've left unfinished along the way. TotK took me so much time and kinda ruined my plans of beating one game per week this year, but I will try to play shorter games now to make a dent on my backlog.
 
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.
 
Update:

This year I have finished:

Full games:
  • Pikmin 4
  • Octopath Traveler II
  • The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
  • Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE
  • Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters (thought some I didn't fully finish yet :p)
  • Kirby's Return to Dreamland Deluxe
  • Baldur's Gate III
  • Sea of Stars
DLC/Updates:
  • Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak (with all the updates)
  • Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed
  • Fire Emblem Engage: Fell Xenologue
  • The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero: Part 1 - The Teal Mask
MMORPG's:
  • World of Warcraft: Dragonflight (up until Razegath Normal)
  • Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons (right on time for Secrets of the Obscure)
Currently working on Fire Emblem: Engage, Pikmin 3 Deluxe. Also going to start Luigi's Mansion 3 and Super Mario 3D World with my girlfriend.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.


Back
Top Bottom