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StarTopic The 2024 Completed Games Thread

Were there a lot of platformers like that on NES? Off the top of my head, I can only think of Kirby's Adventure and the Adventure Island games that went for the Mario approach to levels.
No, because it does require either shrinking the levels like Mario 3 or repeating a lot of stuff. Mega Man is the ideal length with around 10-15, and Castlevania III feels long and proper. However, I feel like around 6 stages is just too few, and with most games moving away from crazy difficulty, it just leads to titles you can beat in 30-40 minutes even if you've never seen them before or read the manual.
 
35. Let's just skip over the previous game in case anyone actually cares about the listing aspect.
So, this is gonna be Gremlins 2 for the NES

A solid little top-down shooter where you play as Gizmo and run around in little dungeony levels shooting people. Not deep at all and a bit weird to control. There's a slight RPG aspect to it with one-time shops you find in levels where you can purchase health, an extra life, a balloon that'll take you out from pits, or a power-up for your weapon which will stay with you before death.

The game is a bit too zoomed-in so both platforming and shooting don't really mix, as you can cross a pit only for an enemy to hit you in the face. Your best tactic is to try and survive until each shop and stock up on health again and again.

It'd be a completely ok mediocre licensed title, but like many of this era towards the end it decides to just become hard, and does it by spamming its most obnoxious mechanic: conveyor belts.

I wouldn't call platforming good, but it's ok. Pretty standard Mega Man-y type stuff where you don't go into the hole until your heels are fully in it. The reason I mention the mechanic that's understood by every platforming game is that conveyor belts suck. The enemies aren't the problem, neither are pretty stupid bosses, the hardest part of the game comes from the unfair conveyors which will drop you into the pit the moment your toes even reach the hole. It sucks. It'd be another simple game otherwise: decent music, pretty good graphics, but it's this constant switcheroo on where you actually fall into the pit that I can't get past.

I also never quite got the mechanic where each level you get a new weapon that replaces your old one. Progression is fine and good, but if you're just forced to use a slightly better option, what's the point? I don't feel like much has been changed, it's like if in 1-2 of Super Mario Bros fireballs would have a lesser arc to their jumps. I didn't find the weapon, the game gave it to me, I didn't choose anything and the game didn't become different. Wish you could actually find and upgrade various weapons, since, as mentioned earlier, I've bought nothing but health and finished the game with a TON of money, and it seems there are no secrets whatsoever.

2.0/5
 
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15. Demon Turf (Steam Deck/PC): So I'm gonna have a lot to say about this game, largely because it's kinda 3 games in one and I wanna gush about all of them, but the bottom line is this game rules. I think it might genuinely be my favorite 3D platformer ever outside of Nintendo's and Rare's output, and even then it's still competitive with some of their stuff. Where a lot of recent 3D platformers (esp. in the indie space) are largely looking backwards and kinda center their whole pitch around "hey, remember the '90s?", Demon Turf brings its own style and personality that feels wholly its own and does so with a really refreshing level of confidence; a true hidden gem that deserves to be talked about more
The main game. In my experience, it's really hard for a game to make a bad first impression and then win me over, but that's exactly what this game managed to pull off. 3D platformers are maybe my favorite genre, and as a result I've played my share of indie collect-a-thons in my day; I'm pretty used to them starting off promising and then sorta fizzling out. By the end the first world, I kinda got the sense that's what Demon Turf was gonna be. By the end of the second world, I found myself reconsidering. By the end of the third world, I was kinda in love. Demon Turf is the rare instance of a game that just kept getting better the more I played it. I'm really not usually the 100% completion type, especially not when that involves any kind of speedrunning or beating par times (something Demon Turf is big on), but believe me when I tell you I got every dang achievement in this game and would have been happy to keep going

In terms of what it actually is, the main campaign has sorta a Mario Galaxy-esque set-up, with most levels trending towards linear platforming challenges but also occasionally taking a more open-ended approach. The biggest hook outside of the art style (a kind of Paper Mario approach, 3D worlds with 2D character models) is that the levels don't have set checkpoints. Instead, you have a set amount of flags per level that you can choose to set down just about anywhere to create your own checkpoints. I think it's a brilliant idea; not only does it create this tension of choosing whether to place a flag after a particularly challenging segment or keep pushing to see if you can get even further before you burn that safety net, but it also removes the concept of "points of no returns" because every flag, including the one at the start of each level, also becomes a warp point you can use to backtrack to earlier points in the level in case you missed an optional collective and want to go back for it

It's also maybe the most robust, feature-rich indie 3D platformer I've played, by a decent margin. There is a lot to do here and it's all at least pretty good, which is rare in my experience. There's the 4 main worlds, and those each have a harder "B side" version of their levels that unlock once you beat that world's boss. There's also a set of about 20 challenge levels hidden away in a corner of the hub world, and a dozen or so neat "arcade levels" you unlock by finding collectibles in the hub that largely riff on classic 3D Mario levels, such as one that's Tick-Tock Clock but there's a rising tide of lava, and another that's one of Sunshine's secret levels but in advanced darkness. There's also a soccer-golf minigame and even a photo scavenger hunt side quest

On Steam you can also download user-made levels and that's pretty neat; I haven't delved too deeply into that, but someone made a really good replica of Bob-omb Battlefield and included all the stars, translated into the game's own mechanics

My main complaints are
  • I think the more open-ended levels/segments are generally markedly weaker than the more linear ones, and I say that as someone who otherwise typically prefers the 64/Sunshine style of gameplay to the Galaxy/3D World style
  • The power-ups you unlock can be kinda cumbersome. You can only have one equipped at once (there just ain't enough buttons on a controller otherwise) and can either cycle through them in a set order or use an unwieldy weapon wheel to change between them, both of which can be awkward to do on the fly mid-platforming
  • I just don't think the combat is very fun, and I don't think this game needed combat or boss battles at all. You can't directly damage enemies and so instead need to use a "shove" move to push them into spikes or off ledges; this can be frustrating but still wouldn't be that bad, except levels frequently stop all the action until you clear an area of enemies, which brings the pacing way down

Fortunately pretty much every one of these issues would be addressed in....
This dlc/expandalone (that I guess is now just included with the game?) is a textbook case of a developer looking at the weaker elements of a game and going "right, guess we didn't need that stuff anyway" while doubling down on what actually worked and getting some more mileage out of already-made assets and mechanics. Combat and boss battles? Completely gone. Power-ups? They cut them down from 4 to 2 and they're always available via separate buttons. Open-ended areas a bit too directionless and confusing to navigate? Now every level sees you just focusing on getting from point A to point B. They also brightened up the vibe, going for a more vaporwave-y(?) aesthetic with lots of blues and pinks versus the dark and sometimes hard-to-read look that some of the base game's worlds could have, which I appreciated

The result is all-killer no-filler. While Neon Splash is overall markedly shorter than the main game, it's also much more focused; the platforming and level design is all-around tighter and punchier, streamlining and polishing the best aspects of the original campaign. The definition of short but sweet
OK, so you know those extra-hard checkpoint-less levels that show up at the end of most 3D Mario games? Well imagine that, but instead of ~12 segments, there's 50 of them. And also there's a Getting Over It/Only Up aspect where if (when) you miss a jump, you can fall back through previous segments, all the way to the bottom if you're really unlucky. Now you're starting to get a picture of what the PC-exclusive Demon Turf Tower is

Except also there's some vaguely roguelite-ish elements. While the levels and level order aren't randomized or procedural, this mode does see you lose most of your core abilities until you reach certain floors; so for example, you don't even have a double-jump until you clear the first five floors without it, at which point you permanently unlock your choice of either 2 normal double-jumps or one big double jump. And so it goes every 5 or 10 floors or so, slowly expanding your skillset as you grind away and manage to crawl ever so slightly higher

It's frustrating. It's demoralizing. It's brutal. Getting 30+ floors up only to just barely clip a laser or spike and have to restart, or bonking a jump and watching yourself fall back down through multiple floors, can be downright heartbreaking. I love it, even though tbh I really only managed to beat it because one of the last upgrades you unlock gives you a free hit that regenerates after 5 unpaused minutes, meaning you can technically take an infinite number of hits so long as you can find somewhere safe to post up for a while. My successful run clocked in at over 2 and a half hours (note that the timer stops when you're paused) and according to the in-game leaderboard that somehow still puts me in the top 150 to ever reach the top. It's quite possibly the hardest thing I've ever done in a video game, and also probably one of my most memorable video game experiences because of that. And I'm not gonna lie, there's a tiny voice in my head whispering "hmm, top 150, eh? Well then, how hard could it be to get in the top 100 next time" into my ear
I played through the GYAAR Studio games that came out on Steam a while ago. My understanding is GYAAR exists as a sort of idea incubation/employee onboarding "indie" unit within Bandai Namco, so their stuff has a very "game jam" energy that most of the time would just remain internal prototypes; they've only recently started putting these projects on Steam (all for free), and even more recently started localizing them (should note of these 3, only Boomeroad played in English out of the box, and I needed to dig through Japanese menus to toggle the other 2 into English). I found these games pretty refreshing in how straightforwardly "here's a concept, let's see what we can do with it over 20-ish minutes" they are; definitely a cool way to spend a weekend afternoon

16. Doronko Wanko (PC): I showed this to a friend who immediately went "omigod it's Untiled Goose Game but dog" and yeah, that pretty much sums up the premise here. You're an absolutely adorable pomeranian who's been recently adopted and, left unattended, you immediately make a mess of your new home. We're talking mud everywhere, dishes knocked over, and don't get me started on what you do to the wine cellar

It's not a long game, but it sure is fun while it lasts. You can "beat" it in maybe 20 minutes, but there's some in-game achievements that point you towards some secrets and optional goals that gave this game a bit more runtime for me

Also you can put a dog in a cute elephant hat that shoots ink out of its trunk. 11/10 GOTY no contest

17. Nottolot (PC): You're a cute little ball-shaped robot who wants to escape a factory and does so by "hacking" other robots basically by ramming into them and taking control for a limited time. There's 3 levels each made up of 3 rooms, maybe half a dozen kinds of robots each with their own mechanical gimmick, and 3 hidden collectibles per level. It's sort of a puzzle-platformer, I guess?

This is counter-intuitively the most "an actual game" of the bunch imo and also my least favorite. It's not bad by any means but it also just wasn't terribly compelling. A very middle-of-the-road "there's a difference between doing something good and merely not doing anything wrong" kind of game. Still, for the time (maybe half an hour or so) and cost (again, free) you'd need to invest, I would recommend giving it a shot

18. Boomeroad (PC): This game, by contrast, is the least "feels like a proper game" but also the most "wow do I ever wish this was a full game" of the bunch. I think the central concept is really neat; your primary "verb" here is that you can throw a couple boomerangs and they leave temporarily Sonic-style grind rails in their paths, which you then use to platform around an area made up of buildings and rocks and whatnot just floating in the air. It looks cool, it's fun, the controls are solid enough, I think there's some neat things they could do with it over the course of say a 6-10 hour game... but it's just two short levels, so pretty much as soon as you get the hang of things, the game's already over. It left me with a mix of "wow this sure does feel promising" and "wow it sure is disappointing they'll probably never do anything more with it"
 
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GAME 24: Demon's Souls | REPLAY
PS3 | Finished 28/04/24 | 12 Hours Played | 8/10


I found it hard to rate Demon's Souls, because whilst it's the game in From's repertoire that I've come to appreciate far more over time, there are many genuine issues that held it back from its truest potential. Potential that would, in some parts, be fulfilled by Dark Souls a few years afterwards, and the multiple sequels and spin-offs that followed. In other parts, never fulfilled, as I genuinely feel like we - both developer and fanbase alike - have forgotten so much of what this game represented in game design. Which I know sounds ironic for a title that went on to spawn one of the biggest and most revered franchises in gaming, whilst also having a lavish PS5 remake to call its own, but I find it still holds true, especially after this recent replay.

The key aspect being how different its approach to difficulty feels when compared to later titles. It's, to be quite frank, a far easier title than what came after... but that doesn't mean it isn't challenging in its own ways. Where later games would focus their challenge almost exclusively on reaction-times and moveset memorization, Demon's Souls only rarely does so. Instead choosing to present a series of bosses, levels, and even normal enemies who can be outsmarted, isntead of merely outdodged. Which, yes, does make things far easier. I didn't even come close to dying on the final boss because, compared to even the first bosses of latter titles, his moveset was incredibly simple to 'learn' (though bolstered by a still-incredibly-interesting 'soul-level-down' grab). However, to me, it does make things far more interesting on a mental level, and it disappoints me that things have become so homogenous over time.

My reasoning behind choosing to play the PS3 version over the PS5 version I have easy access to is the other main aspect; it feels like - due to the game's relative lack of noteriety, and the desire to move away from 'brown-and-bloom' 7th gen aesthetics - people have generally written this title off as the 'ugly first draft', whilst ignoring the many stark, and inferior, changes its technically-superior remake made. Yes, the game is not a looker... but damn does it have some style. Its levels are deliberately stark and bleak, robbed of their colour whilst still being able to feel wholly distinct. Latria is the highlight for me, with its labyrinthine design and horrid look fitting of, well, a torture prison, both creating an environment that 'feels' far more offputting than any series area that came afterwards. With the remake, all that value might as well not exist, with the by-far most accessible version of the title being one that feels like it aimed to 'fix the ugliness' with modern ideals, instead of embrace what it was actually trying to do.

Yet, despite my praise, there are some elements that bring it down. Stuff that the remake did fix, like the potential to permanently lose items if you don't have enough inventory space when you find them (something which lost me the weapon I intended to use for my build lmao). Or the gender-restricted clothing, which arbitrarily restricts an already-limited (especially since you can barely carry anything lol) armour lineup. Fashion souls, this ain't. Also stuff that the remake didn't - but should have - fixed, like the sometimes poor-AI/path-finding, the unsurprisingly-dodgy platforming, and the ridiculously-limiting-and-grindy weapon upgrade system (which I skipped by using the Meat Cleaver to cleave my way through the game). Yet, despite all that, I really can't help but genuinely appreciate how much of the franchise's core identity stemmed from this one weird, experimental hodge-podge of a game, all whilst lamenting how much of the game's own identity has been forgotten over time. Similarly, I'm glad that I chose to revisit the true original here - the one I played for the first time way back in 2013 - instead of the remake. Only wish that it wasn't stuck on such dated hardware, seemingly forever.
 
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That's pretty much how I played Control as well lol. But the setting and lore are so good they make up for it. Would love it if Control 2 did away with the gun in favor of more creative psychic abilities, even if chances for that are slim.
I don't mind the gun, but yeah it isn't anything inspiring.
One thing I forgot to mention is that Control is one of those games where too much of the core gameplay is held back behind being unlockable. The gun for example feels very unsatisfying in the beginning of the game but becomes a lot better once you unlock the different variants. I think developers would benefit a lot from rethinking how they approach unlocks in their games, because while I understand that Control needs them in order to make exploration meaningful, I question if it's really worth it if it makes earlier parts of the games worse.
 
1. Octopath Traveler II - 9/10 - 110 Hours
2. Metroid Prime Remastered - 8/10 - 45 Hours
3. Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes - 7/10 - 102 Hours
4. AI: The Somnium Files - 8/10 - 41 Hours
5. The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles - 9/10 - 97 Hours
6. Outer Wilds - 7/10 - 22 Hours

6. Outer Wilds - Steam - 7/10 - 22 Hours

I threw everything behind a spoiler tag in case someone here hasn't played it. Definitely worth going in blind.

Pros:
  • The scale of the solar system is large enough to feel 'grand', but small enough to not waste your time waiting to get from planet to planet.
  • Ship piloting feels great and the auto-pilot is an excellent quality-of-life option.
  • Oxygen and fuel limitations aren't overbearing and also provide enough potential danger to feel exciting.
  • The graphics and art style don't stand out as anything special, but there are some really solid visual effects.
  • Solid soundtrack. I particularly enjoy the main menu theme.
  • The central premise of the game is really compelling.
  • I liked the slow-burn Nomai lore reveals.
  • No performance issues on my PC.
Cons:
  • I decided to play Outer Wilds with a keyboard and mouse despite the game saying it is 'best experienced with a gamepad'. As I kept playing, I became surprised by this statement. Keyboard/mouse was working perfectly fine. I had no problems with platforming or flying the spaceship. Fast forward to much later into the playthrough, I found there is one particular sequence (that you have to do more than once) that nearly requires the use of a controller. This is because certain actions when flying the ship are limited to controller-only. This is a baffling decision to me. Why make your game work 99% of the time for keyboard/mouse then add a sequence that makes you have to push people towards a controller? Why not just make that sequence easier? Or better yet, bind those extra ship actions to some unused keys! Gah!
  • I was not a fan of how the ending was handled. Your entire journey's motivation to solve this mystery is finding out how to find a way to stop the supernova from happening. The twist at the end is that there is nothing you can do. Instead, you create a new universe, and as a new big bang occurs, you and everyone else dies. This was quite unsatisfying to me. I did not get an answer to why all of the supernovas in the universe are happening. There was no answer as to what the interloper and ghost matter were. I have many unanswered questions and not the kind I think are okay to leave unanswered. I completely filled in the ship log, so I don't think I missed anything. The quote below about the journey being better than the destination is quite true. Of course, I'm not really agreeing in spirit with it. What I actually believe is that the journey was mostly great, but the destination is so perplexingly bad it nearly makes you regret going on the journey in the first place. I respect the boldness of making this the 'true ending', but that doesn't mean I like the outcome.

Spoiler-free critic quotes that mirror my own thoughts:
Slant Magazine: This is a rare adventure game in which the journey is actually more of a reward than the destination.
Wccftech: If you value originality over execution, Outer Wilds is worth the ride, but expect some turbulence.
GameCritics: I commend Mobius for their obviously deliberate, bold choices while also chiding the cold, inscrutable product that resulted.
 
Beat Infinite Wealth. Kiiinnndddaaa mixed on this one. First half is good, but once Ichiban and Kiryu split off, Ichiban's side becomes a mess. Kiryu's side is good, and the gameplay is great.
 
No, because it does require either shrinking the levels like Mario 3 or repeating a lot of stuff. Mega Man is the ideal length with around 10-15, and Castlevania III feels long and proper. However, I feel like around 6 stages is just too few, and with most games moving away from crazy difficulty, it just leads to titles you can beat in 30-40 minutes even if you've never seen them before or read the manual.
I was thinking about this topic a lot the other day, was considering making a thread on it actually, but I'm not sure yet if I can present generalizations about platformer level counts in a way that offers any meaningful ideas or a reason for anyone to care about such a highly specific topic.

But yeah, I'm generally left a bit wanting by games with only 5 or so levels. Something about the low level count means they often feel somehow reduced in scope regardless of actual length, if they aren't just super slight sub-hour affairs. Every amount has its pros and cons, but I think this one is nearly impossible to do well. Castlevania makes it work, but most platformers do not have that shmup-like level of tension.
 
6. Yooka Laylee and the Impossible Lair (4.5/5)

Impossible Lair harkens back in many ways to DKC3, both in terms of presentation and setup. The addition of an overworld feels like a natural evolution of that game’s structure, yet the top down sections are better integrated here.

Impossible Lair manages to make collectibles feel actually meaningful. TWIT coins and quills are needed to unlock more levels in the overworld, and tonic discovery in those sections incentivizes experimentation inside of the side-scrolling levels. It creates a positive feedback loop that shows just how well both halves of the game are crafted, and they never feel disparate from each other.

This would mean little should the levels not be fun. Thankfully, the developers borrow from over twenty years of experience, and they even go ahead to include some elements from the Retro duology, like timing jumps to collision and a penchant for set piece gimmicks in the latter stages.

Impossible Lair is a bit on the short side, but I think that works to its benefit. The twenty stages (plus variations!) all feel like just the right length, and if anything, I have finished the game wishing there was more.

Ironically however, I think the titular Impossible Lair is the weakest aspect of the game. A kaizo to end the adventure and test your mastery of mechanics is something I should like in theory, and to be honest I thought the platforming sections are genuinely fun, despite their challenge. Where this final level falters is its constant interruptions with a Capital B boss fight, each one marking the beginning of the next quarter of progression. Platforming boss fights are rarely that good, and in this case I believe four is far too many, especially when there’s very few ways to speed Capital B up while you wait for an opening. Were the Impossible Lair be exactly the same, but with two final boss confrontations instead of one, I would be more forgiving of this endurance test.

That is, thankfully, just one small portion of the runtime. Impossible Lair is a joy to play through, and it made me realize I really like these characters and world a lot. The sequel does way more with its setting in just a few hours than Yooka-Laylee 1 did, and it feels like there are many ways in which Playtonic could expand this further.

Whether that happens, who knows. For now I can say this is in the upper echelon of Donkey Kong Countries, and it makes me hopeful that Playtonic could one day retake the mantle now that Retro is done with that franchise.
7. Mega Man X (Buster only)

This is a game I have beaten dozens of times before, but I had never actually done a challenge run. It was pretty fun! I’ve always been amazed at the level design in this, but forcing me to go without any of the boss weaknesses was good in making myself get more familiarized with their design.

I don’t see myself doing a Buster-only in any other Mega Man, just because I haven’t played any of those titles as much as this one. But as a one time thing, I’m proud to say I have accomplished something beyond just a vanilla playthrough.
 
I threw everything behind a spoiler tag in case someone here hasn't played it. Definitely worth going in blind
Outer Wilds is definitely a special sort of game.

The solar system does a great job of minimizing dead space while still feeling vast, I agree.

Was also annoyed at the keyboard and mouse controls during that sequence (pretty sure I know which one you're angling about)... Baffling that it was even an issue.

I can see why you didn't like the ending. I personally liked it, it felt thematically fitting for the narrative. If it helps, what happens is the heat death of the universe, which is, as far as we can tell, inevitable.
 
Outer Wilds is definitely a special sort of game.

The solar system does a great job of minimizing dead space while still feeling vast, I agree.

Was also annoyed at the keyboard and mouse controls during that sequence (pretty sure I know which one you're angling about)... Baffling that it was even an issue.

I can see why you didn't like the ending. I personally liked it, it felt thematically fitting for the narrative. If it helps, what happens is the heat death of the universe, which is, as far as we can tell, inevitable.
Yeah, I still liked it overall and would recommend it. 7/10 was probably a bit harsh, there were just a few things that annoyed me near the end.
Yeah, the heat death of the universe would make sense. I guess maybe I just missed the hints at that during the game. I think I built up a scenario in my head where as the protagonist we'd save the solar system and everyone in it, so to have that crushed at the end was frustrating, but also powerful in its own way. I respect their decision to have it end like that.
 
36. Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection

There's this disdain I have towards stagnant granchises that leech of nostalgia. Series that were once popular that are now just used as nostalgia bait every 10 or so years. Latest Contra was one such example, and the newest Ghosts and Goblins release is no different.

Granted, I've enjoyed this game a bit more than Contra. I've never had much attachment to the series, but unlike most other hyper popular IPs of the 80s and 90s it didn't create a ton of clones, so if you want to play Ghosts and Goblins, you're pretty much left with Ghosts and Goblins and some really niche stuff like Maldita Castilla. Due to that, I'm a bit more lenient to this game. Helps that it looks gorgeous! While animations are a little stiff, the backgrounds and enemies look great!

Still, do we have to have a cemetery, a hamlet, a city stage? It feels like every classic retro IP now has New Super Mario Bros design to it where you just have to get the references. Yes, I do remember this boss. Yes, it's cool that the city from the original game is all icy. Know what'd be cooler? A new idea. I don't mind that the game controls pretty much exactly how you'd expect - a very Castlevania-esque locked jump was a surprise to me, figured it'd be the first thing they'd get rid of, but I do wish it had more to it than being, what, effectively a fourth remake?

The game features a pretty thorough difficulty selection which goes from what other games would call "story mode" to basically just being a dick. There are a few split paths that allow you to choose a level, a counter for hidden treasures, and a skill tree. I get the idea that modern players might bounce off of just dying over and over so they might be more inclined to work for something to feel a little more powerful each time, but the skill tree is pretty barebones, mainly just featuring different spells for you to use. I'd prefer some weirder options and game modifiers, personally.

If you like Ghosts and Goblins, this is more Ghosts and Goblins: an unfortunately short game, brutal if you wish it to be, and it even has a second campaign much like the originals (granted, it changes a few more things, but come on!). Certainly would be cool if we weren't stuck making the same game again and again. Sometimes I feel Mega Man only escaped this cycle because they churned out 6 of them for NES, otherwise we'd be stuck with replaying Bomb Man's stage for all eternity.

3.0/5
 
37. Kid Niki: Radical Ninja

What a comlete and utter mess. An abomination of a video game.

I was somewhat familiar with Kid Niki series through Kid Niki 3, a game that came out only in Japan and as a pirated ROMhack "Mario 14" known to many Russian kids as "Mario with a stick". It poorly replaced Niki's head as Mario in some of the sprites. That game wasn't perfect, the camera was kinda bad, but it was a masterpiece compared to this.

Kid Niki is one of the easiest classic NES games I've played. It features exactly 2 actions: jump and hit, and according to RetroAchievements some secret areas I never found. I once got a shield, but I never felt the need for it. While the game swarms you with enemies, they're all braindead, just running at you, so the strategy to winning Kid Niki is to be patient and to move a few feet before stopping and hitting next enemy with a stick.

The game is awfully ugly and features some janky hitboxes. Thankfully what that meant is that I usually didn't die to enemies, not the other way around, although that only became a problem at the final boss. The designs of most things is awful, and one of the levels starts looking like an Atari 2600 game in the most literal sense of that word. The game never features that many things on screen yet loves to flicker and display animations that just seem incomplete.

The most unique "gimmick" of this game is that when you hit a boss your stick flies away and you have to pick it up. Sometimes it doesn't, which led me to killing the first phase of the final boss way faster, but I'm not complaning. Play Kaiketsu Yanchamaru 3 instead of this.

PS: my rating scale is based on Backloggd so with 0.5 step it actually goes down to 0.5 which is reserved only for games that have offended me deeply. Thankfully Kid Niki is not on that level, but still...

1.0/5
 
1) The Last of Us Part I (PS5)
2) The Last of Us Part I - Left Behind DLC (PS5)
3) God of War (PS2)
4) Tetris Effect Connected (PC)
5) Trials HD (XSS) [Replay]
6) Aperture Desk Job (Steam Deck)
7) Need for Speed Underground (PS2) [Replay]
8) The Last of Us Part II Remastered (PS5)
9) 13 Sentinels - Aegis Rim (NSW)
10) Penny’s Big Breakaway (Steam Deck)
11) Jusant (XSS)
12) Froggo’s Adventure: Verdant Venture (Steam Deck)
13) Pokémon Crystal Legacy (GBC)
14) Halo: Combat Evolved (Steam Deck) [Replay]
15) Pocket Tennis Color: Pocket Sports Series (NGPC)

16) Super Mario Run (iOS)

I bought Mario Run at launch, but I don’t remember playing much of it. I never thought about it again until I saw a thread here on Fami talking about the game. Since SMR is one of the few mainline Mario games that I hadn’t played, I decided to redownload it and give it a go.

It’s fine. The controls work well, and Mario’s flashy moves make it feel like you’re doing a super great job even you’re just pressing one button. The levels are well-designed, and there’s a lot of replay value if you want with all the different pink coins. But I felt satisfied after finishing all six worlds. There’s a lot of optional grinding to build up the Toad town, but that’s not something I’m interested in.

It’s a shame SMR didn’t do very well for Nintendo, because its business model is miles better than the standard FTP microtransaction hell that mobile games are now.

17) The Firemen (SFC)

This Super Famicom-exclusive never made it to America, and that’s a shame. It’s a top-down shooter slash adventure game, set in a burning skyscraper like in The Towering Inferno. It’s got a lot of charm, and fighting the fire is fun. It can get a bit tricky sometimes, but save states help. It’s worth checking out if you have a SFC or an emulator.

18) Inks. + (iOS)

This is an Apple Arcade pinball puzzle game. The goal is to use the flippers to send the ball into a bunch of colored panels that are scattered across the table. The panels then explode with paint, covering the table and your ball in lots of pretty colors. The end result of each table is a unique work of art almost. Very satisfying. There’s 120 tables in all, and none of them are all that challenging until the final set, where the new mechanic is a set of bumpers that result in some pretty frustrating table layouts. Still, it’s a fun distraction for a few hours. Worth checking out if you’re into pinball games.
 
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38. Kid Niki 2, a Japan-only game. Real name Kaiketsu Yanchamaru 2: Karakuri Land

A pretty simple 8 bit platformer. Much better than the original game, though. Looks and sounds way better.

It's about as easy as the original Kid Niki. Pretty much every enemy dies in one hit, and the bosses don't pose any threat. Thankfully your staff also doesn't bounce off of them this time.

You do have a few new moves such as attacking upward or downward, but the strangest new thing comes with the animal transformation: a limited-use ability that can transform you into a frog, an elephant, or a bird. I have used it once when I found a secret area and realized that I must have some form of high jump and never again. Most control pretty weird and feel limiting.

The game isn't built for this ability, and can be easily cleared just using your main attack.

It's a comfy little game. Nothing special at all, but at least the levels are all very different, and there's plenty of different baddies.

2.5/5
 
7. Mega Man X (Buster only)

This is a game I have beaten dozens of times before, but I had never actually done a challenge run. It was pretty fun! I’ve always been amazed at the level design in this, but forcing me to go without any of the boss weaknesses was good in making myself get more familiarized with their design.

I don’t see myself doing a Buster-only in any other Mega Man, just because I haven’t played any of those titles as much as this one. But as a one time thing, I’m proud to say I have accomplished something beyond just a vanilla playthrough.
8. Gunstar Heroes (5/5)

Gunstar Heroes still surprises me, even three decades after the fact. It's a short game and merely a taste of bigger things, but it crams so many ideas in seven stages that could each comprise a full title.

I hadn’t played this since… 2007? So it took me a few tries to get back in the groove. The main thing that compelled me this time around is how many movement options there are. Between sliding, wall jumping, double jumping and throwing, there’s a lot of flexibility in how you approach combat. And considering the main inspiration was Contra, it’s like a whole different genre.

The inclusion of HP as opposed to a OHKO system was sorely needed to make the Contra formula more palatable, but that doesn’t mean it’s an easy game. Gunstar Heroes constantly tries to put you in panic situations were it expects you to overindulge with shooting, but often you are better served being patient and reacting to what comes your way. This is certainly taken from the parent franchise, yet allowing for some leniency in mistakes makes the experience encourage riskier play.

The weapon combination system is the one part I have become less enthused about over the years. Stuff like Chaser + Lightning is always useful, while weapons like Fire and Machine Gun are situational in comparison. So not all combinations feel equal and you are pretty much forced to only use suboptimal movesets as a punishment for dying. This is the type of correction that a sequel should have fixed, but, well, Gunstar Super Heroes happened instead.

In any event, dope game. It's a 5 out of 5 from me, forever. Just don’t choose Fixed Shot.

RIP Treasure. Miss those guys.
 
Gunstar Heroes
I should try this out sometime, since I really like Gunstar Super Heroes on the GBA.

I just finished a run of The Ramen Sensei, which is one of those Kairosoft simulation games. No points for guessing what the game is about, lol. Experimenting with ramen recipes is perfect for idling away the 15-minute breaks, though sometimes I don't understand why one recipe works and one doesn't. Always thought Kairosoft could work on better feedback, but scrambling around like a headless chicken is arguably part of the fun.
 
May 2024 - Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes

I've finally completed the game. Just as the game reached its climax, there was anticipation in the air. What happens next? How successful was my matchmaking attempts? Was my merc whistle proposal successful? How did the war end?

And then, there was nothing. Credit rolls. I don't see any names I recognized though I suspect I'm just not looking hard enough. What the heck?! The war didn't end?! The game was great and the character moments wonderful. It gave us all sorts of inter-character interactions that we didn't get within the OG Three Houses. Bernadetta and Marrianne's awkward friendship! Hubert playing group mom to everyone and making them eat their vegetables! The amazing himbo Raphael! Everyone trying to get a piece of post-war Shez! Byleth with a personality! Jeralt bonding with his kids (Byleth and Leonie)! Monica fangirling! Those bits are the reasons to play Three Hopes.

But darn. The non-ending really dropped the ball. Did they run out of budget for writers? Even a 'war ended and there was peace under the Empire' line would have been more satisfying than whatever we got. After all those high points, the ending left a real sour aftertaste. Let's just look at my MVPs.

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Magnificent himbo. As a War Master and equipped to resist Swords, he carried the final battle. Not that THAT matters.

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Still hikki. Still surprisingly flirty. Bernie reluctantly saves her dad in the last battle.

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Mommy. Group mommy. His special ability is really good too. Especially paired with someone like Raphael.

Moving on. I think I want to play something 2024 and hopefully short.

 
Finally beat my first game for this year.

1. 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim: took around 25h to beat, but it took me around 6 months from when I started playing to finishing it today. I left it unfinished for a little over 4 months due to not liking the combat sections (to this is also my fault for trying to beat as many combat stages as possible so I could continue the story uninterrupted) and wanting to play other titles in the meantime, which probably harmed my enjoyment of it alongside me not remembering enough from the main story. Speaking of the story, I wish the game had a slightly more linear narrative, because trying to connect hours of dialogue from 13 character stories is hard.

Overall, it's good, not amazing, but good. For now, 8/10

Next, I bought Hades, Baba is you and Rayman Legends during a recent sale, so one of them will be my next game (probably hades)

I also so far dropped RE2R (it's very good, but I couldn't deal with the stress it gave me) and Outer wilds (tho I intend to return to it in the future)
2. Hades
Managed to do 3 succesful escapes in total out of apparently the 10 needed to get the true ending. I'll probably do the others whenever I pick it up again, but for now, i'm stopping here. I don't have the energy to keep trying.
As for the game itself, pretty damn good. I can see why it was the 2020 goty for many. There's alot of love and care put into it and it plays really well. it does have it's fair shareof nonsense (the tiny vermin for example) but it has way too much good stuff for that to be a problem. Whenever Hades 2 releasesin it's complete state I'll probably pick it up.

9/10

Before starting the next game I'll have to get a new PC. My current one is a 6 years old laptop and can't handle much anymore.
 
39. Spelunker

Much like Arkista's Ring, I don't know whether I'm allowed to put this game under "completed" since the game asks you to beat it seven or eight times. I will and you won't stop me, though.

Spelunker fascinated me for a long time. Its jank called out to me.

The first thing you do in Spelunker is die. You might think that walking across a gap that's not wide enough for your character to fall in won't be an issue, but no. As soon as you press right in this game, you are dead. However, there lies the only tutorial Spelunker really needs. As you watch your hero not plummet to death, but instead fall 2 cm and blink out of existence, Spelunker reveals its true nature: you can't fall at all. Any height higher than maybe half of your own sprite will instantly kill you.

There's a simple joy to Spelunker much like one you can find in Donkey Kong. However, Donkey Kong doesn't really weaponize the want to go down. In Spelunker, it's all you do.

Despite that, I wouldn't call Spelunker that hard of a game. If not for tiny obstables killing you the only real issue is that your hero LOVES to stick to ladders and vines. It kinda helps you as you don't need to time your up press while jumping onto one, but for whatever reason, at least the NES version, makes it a little difficult to jump off them.

Otherwise, the mechanics of the game are easy. The stages are pretty sprawling, but the constant need to go down makes it easy not to get lost, and you only have a few rare interactions with the world aside from jumping: blowing up rocks with bombs and shooting (?) the ghost. Besides that you just descend down levels while collecting time ups, various score items, and keys you'll need at the end of each of the 4 stages the game has.

I've enjoyed my time with this game, but only after putting down a save state at the beginning of each level. The controls aren't as good as Donkey Kong or its sequel, so once you actually get how the game works most deaths will feel like not your fault as something stupid will happen, such as the player character not unsticking from the vine and being blown away by an explosion of the bomb you set up.

1.5/5
 
This is an update on my progress regarding a - quite, frankly - gargantuan game. One that I'm intentionally spreading apart to 'savour' the experience, and avoid burnout. As such, I will not be counting this as a 'completed game.' But, since I have many thoughts, I figured I'd post it here anyhow mainly for my own personal records.

Main Post

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UPDATE 2: Baldurs Gate 3 - Act 2 | Completed 01/05/24 | 65 Hours Played (Total)

I wasn't sure whether I wanted to give another update on the game here, but since I'm spacing these Acts out so much, I figured I might as well! Act 2 is a step down from the first; a far more dreary setting overall, less variety in objectives and locale, and a 'point of no return' that was just baffling in how misleading it was. It's the whole 'go do all the big scary Moonrise Towers stuff before finishing this Gauntlet you found.' Haven't Googled much for this game, but I'm glad I did there. However... it's done nothing to stop this from being one of the best gaming 'experiences' I've had in my life.

The continued sense of pure adventure, discovery, and experimentation with the game's mechanics are just sublime. Act 2 being where the builds and plot threads I've developed since the start really began to come together: conclusions and major progressions abound. It's where I started to really figure out how to synergise with my characters, deploying far more unique strategies than I ever did in Act 1. There's a scene in here, which I won't go into now, that I felt perfectly encapsulated all that I love about this game. A scene where my character's traits, previous antics, and mechanical build all melded together to conclude a quest in the most satisfying - and explosive - manner.

Oh, and I really did not expect J.K. Simmons to be in this game. He did an, as usual, amazing job.
 
15. New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe [May 1st, 2024] - 7.5-8.5/10:
Am-am....am I crazy, or was this game really, really good? I know that it's kind of a trend now to say that New Super Mario Bros. U is "underrated" but I still was surprised how much I enjoyed it. The level designs are really good throughout, with a lot of cool concepts that felt pretty unique. There's a few levels here which are basically just copies of their Super Mario Bros. 3 counterparts, and those are kind of lame, but aside from that most of the levels here are very good. What you're getting here is basically the quality of an older Mario game, maybe with less ingenuity than a 3 or a World, but also none of the bad experimental levels of 3 or the filler levels of World. By the time I got to the end and the scripted levels felt better designed than the scripted levels in either old 2D Mario or newer 2D Mario games, I was ready to admit the game impressed me. Even the New Super Mario Bros. aesthetic felt quite a bit upgraded here, at least to me, with a slightly more naturalistic take on the soundtrack and the new foreground assets actually looking good this time around instead of the bland lightless assets that infected Wii.

I still had some problems with it, I think I got a bit burnt out at the end which might be my fault for trying to beat the game in only a few days, but also might be the game's fault for not shaking it up enough. The presentation, while not bothering me for most of my playthrough and even being a positive at times, still needs some work. Everything being a remix of the same theme definitely got to me at times and I don't like how overly cheery the game can be. A problem I noticed is that the New Super style, even at its best, really just doesn't allow for any atmosphere whatsoever. There's almost no subtelty here except for a few jungle levels which were done better in Wonder anyways. I'll say though the biggest thing hampering my enjoyment is just that I suck at Mario, definitely a few levels towards the end of the game that triggered me (what is wrong with the hitboxes on the Bowser Jr. fight where you have to climb his arm diagonally?).

Other than that, pretty impressed. Then again, as someone who grew to like 2D Mario later than most people, I never had to suffer through the era that was New Super much, but it is funny that the Wii game is part of what made me think I disliked 2D Mario platformers for a long time. Take this opinion with a grain of salt as I feel I've been too positive lately.
 
5. New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe [May 1st, 2024] - 7.5-8.5/10:
Am-am....am I crazy, or was this game really, really good?
I've said it before and I'll probably say it again, I think the only real problem with the NSMB series is that it's a series

If you took any one of those games and erased the other 3 from existence, I think people's opinions would be significantly more positive towards the one that's left. And imo NSMBU especially feels like it really got the short-end of the stick; in a lot of ways I'd say it's the closest we've gotten to a proper Mario World 2 (sorry Yoshi's Island, you don't count) but it's got all this baggage of that first impression being "oh it's just NSMB Wii again" so it sorta just got written off altogether
 
Haven't had a completion in a while with me both juggling multiple backlog games, and repeatedly falling back into old rabbit holes like "just one run of Vampire Survivors/Slay the Spire". And now I've recently fallen into the trap that is Puzzle Fighter on Switch.

So yeah, no completions in a while. But still lots of fun!
 
Haven't had a completion in a while with me both juggling multiple backlog games, and repeatedly falling back into old rabbit holes like "just one run of Vampire Survivors/Slay the Spire". And now I've recently fallen into the trap that is Puzzle Fighter on Switch.

So yeah, no completions in a while. But still lots of fun!
Maybe we should create an Endless Games ST, where we can log all our runs/matches/what have you for games that don't have defined endpoints lol
 
Maybe we should create an Endless Games ST, where we can log all our runs/matches/what have you for games that don't have defined endpoints lol
Endless Games |ST| Slay the Breachlatro Survivor Cells Legacy — Tetris Kart Edition

You know what, I just might cook that up. 🤔
 
I haven't logged any games here before! I keep a folder on my Switch called Eggs for unfinished games and Omelette for finished ones, and this year's additions to the Omelette so far-

1. Pikmin 4
Loved it. Top five games on Switch, and I'd play another 20 hours of it in a heartbeat if you handed it to me. Just tickled all the bits of my brain that I like tickled.

2. Mario vs Donkey Kong
Played most of it in one weekend where my girlfriend was absurdly busy and stressed, and honestly? Perfect game for when your girlfriend is absurdly busy and stressed. Fun and diverting, but with short levels so I can check in on her whenever suits and being a puzzley game, easy for her to lean in and shout suggestions during moments of reprise. Highly recommended for anyone with a girlfriend who is absurdly busy and stressed that weekend.

3. Super Mario RPG
I couldn't get into it at all on the TV. Then I started playing it handheld and it felt like magic. I'd play an hour curled on the sofa before work each morning and ended up being twenty minutes late yesterday because I had to beat the final boss. Thankfully my own final boss didn't notice.
 
I keep a folder on my Switch called Eggs for unfinished games and Omelette for finished ones
That is cute! We should make that the subtitle of this thread lol. Omelettes! And agreed, Pikmin 4 is an utter delight.

Endless Games |ST| Slay the Breachlatro Survivor Cells Legacy — Tetris Kart Edition
If that ever comes up, then I can abandon this thread and just keep logging my runs in my roguelikes and fighting games lol
 
15. New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe [May 1st, 2024] - 7.5-8.5/10:
Am-am....am I crazy, or was this game really, really good? I know that it's kind of a trend now to say that New Super Mario Bros. U is "underrated" but I still was surprised how much I enjoyed it. The level designs are really good throughout, with a lot of cool concepts that felt pretty unique. There's a few levels here which are basically just copies of their Super Mario Bros. 3 counterparts, and those are kind of lame, but aside from that most of the levels here are very good. What you're getting here is basically the quality of an older Mario game, maybe with less ingenuity than a 3 or a World, but also none of the bad experimental levels of 3 or the filler levels of World. By the time I got to the end and the scripted levels felt better designed than the scripted levels in either old 2D Mario or newer 2D Mario games, I was ready to admit the game impressed me. Even the New Super Mario Bros. aesthetic felt quite a bit upgraded here, at least to me, with a slightly more naturalistic take on the soundtrack and the new foreground assets actually looking good this time around instead of the bland lightless assets that infected Wii.

I still had some problems with it, I think I got a bit burnt out at the end which might be my fault for trying to beat the game in only a few days, but also might be the game's fault for not shaking it up enough. The presentation, while not bothering me for most of my playthrough and even being a positive at times, still needs some work. Everything being a remix of the same theme definitely got to me at times and I don't like how overly cheery the game can be. A problem I noticed is that the New Super style, even at its best, really just doesn't allow for any atmosphere whatsoever. There's almost no subtelty here except for a few jungle levels which were done better in Wonder anyways. I'll say though the biggest thing hampering my enjoyment is just that I suck at Mario, definitely a few levels towards the end of the game that triggered me (what is wrong with the hitboxes on the Bowser Jr. fight where you have to climb his arm diagonally?).

Other than that, pretty impressed. Then again, as someone who grew to like 2D Mario later than most people, I never had to suffer through the era that was New Super much, but it is funny that the Wii game is part of what made me think I disliked 2D Mario platformers for a long time. Take this opinion with a grain of salt as I feel I've been too positive lately.
NSMBU is top-tier 2D Mario. Now play Luigi U!
 
NSMBU is top-tier 2D Mario. Now play Luigi U!
Christmas 2013 I got Super Mario 3D World and Luigi U, so sick. And Use Your Illusion I I'm pretty sure, because listening to some of those songs has me thinking about Mario 3D World lol
 
0
I've said it before and I'll probably say it again, I think the only real problem with the NSMB series is that it's a series

If you took any one of those games and erased the other 3 from existence, I think people's opinions would be significantly more positive towards the one that's left. And imo NSMBU especially feels like it really got the short-end of the stick; in a lot of ways I'd say it's the closest we've gotten to a proper Mario World 2 (sorry Yoshi's Island, you don't count) but it's got all this baggage of that first impression being "oh it's just NSMB Wii again" so it sorta just got written off altogether
If they had stopped after Wii I think there wouldn't have been any major backlash against NSMB. The big problems the latter two games faced was their brazen reuse of Wii's template (especially the exact same soundtrack), both of them being released in the same year, and not existing in a space with no competition like their predecessors. Getting rid of the other three games doesn't fix that third problem for U. When NSMBWii came out, Wario Land Shake It was the only other retail 2D platformer on the Wii, the genre had been basically dead for years, since the mid-90's on home consoles. And while it had nicer art and music, it wasn't miles away from NSMB as a game. Felt very tile-based, still used level archetypes, each one just kind of dropped a random mechanic in like floating metal bars to swing off of in a savannah level. Also nobody played Shake It anyway.

The big problem was that 2010 and 2011 saw an onslaught of new 2D platformers on the Wii that blew past NSMB in pretty much every category, which is the main reason why I don't agree that any one of them could have been significantly more positively received. They released in different circumstances and they're not by any means all the same quality. 2 is really kind of bad. NSMBU on the other hand is a surprisingly good game that's really just lacking in ambition. It was positioned as a launch title for the Wii U, the same as Super Mario World or Super Mario 64, but it was almost universally less impressive than the platformers already available on the previous console. It would compare unfavorably to its contemporaries whether it was the only NSMB or not. Its similarity to NSMBWii didn't help, but I don't think erasing that game from existence would have saved its reception.
 
0
1. Super Mario RPG (Switch)
2. Metroid Fusion (NSO)
3. Super Mario 64 (3D All-Stars, Switch)
4. Dredge (Switch)
5. Baten Kaitos I (Switch)
6. The Legend Of Zelda: Oracle of Ages (NSO)
7. A Highland Song (Switch)
8. Super Mario Sunshine(3D All-Stars, Switch)
9. Chants of Sennaar (Switch)
10. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (Switch)
First completion for over a month, largely thanks to 35 hours or more being poured into Baldur's Gate 3 before I paused at the start of Act 3.

Despite some rough edges, I thought Lost Crown was excellent. It takes a brave Metroidvania to withhold the double jump for two thirds of the game. There's some pacing issues, I think, and the later level design didn't feel quite as good as the earlier sections, but I think that's partially a consequence of you reaching the edges of the world and the end game of the narrative and so more linear design took over. The spread of bosses also felt very uneven, which led to some feeling like huge difficulty spikes.

But much of the design was fun and engaging, and the ability set for movement and combat quite unique. I hit 82% completion after around 22 hours. Hopefully this isn't the last we see of Sargon.
• A Highland Song
• Baldur's Gate 3
• Baten Kaitos I
• Baten Kaitos II
• Dredge
• EarthBound
• Final Fantasy II
• Final Fantasy III
• The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages
• Metroid Fusion

• Star Ocean The Second Story R
• Super Mario 64
• Super Mario Sunshine

• Super Mario Galaxy
• Super Mario 3D World (+ Bowser's Fury)
• Super Mario Odyssey
• Chants of Sennaar
• Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown

• Ristar
• Crusader of Centy
• Bayonetta Origins
• Unicorn Overlord
Not sure what's going to be next. Part of me thinks I should make more progress with the Old RPG pile, but who knows.
 
40. Gokujou Parodius (SNES)

If you've played one Parodius game, you've kind of played them all.
Gokujou features a way bigger roster of characters, but otherwise it's about the same as every other Parodius game, which isn't a negative. It's a cute fun shooter with remixes of classical music blaring at you as nonsensical enemies keep popping up every few seconds.

The SNES port, however, is somewhat shoddy with lots of slowdown, which causes a lot of problems as enemies tend to appear and disappear faster than you can keep track of them which changes the speed of the game.

3.5/5

41. Aero Blasters (PC Engine)

I've been in a shmup mood lately. Last year I've played quite a few shmups, allowing myself a save at each level to keep my loadout. This year, I finally felt like I was becoming pretty good, often saving every few levels just to give myself a backup point in case I die and lose all my upgrades Gradius-style. So of course there had to have been a game that destroyed that notion.

Aero Blasters is pretty miserable. As expected of a good shmup, it looks and sounds fairly good, but everything else is just a bit off. The enemies never respond to your attacks until they just blow up, so it's hard to know what's invincible or not. Furthermore, your ship is SLOW, and combined with the fact that some levels inexplicably start having ice physics but for space, it becomes nearly impossible to maneuver. Imagine dodging bullet pattens when the lightest tap sends your ship for a walk in the park.

Power-up system is fairly reasonable: P icons power up your main gun, while every other icon switches your sub-weapon. You die - you lose everything. You also have an infinite bomb at your disposal at all times: just hold a button for a second or two, and it'll clear all bullets and do minimal damage to enemies. It recharges pretty fast, too, and you will NEED it at the final level, which combines "ice physics" with moving walls that also move along with the camera, enemies that I'm pretty sure can't die, and a flickery boss.

As for the writing of this review the graph of grades for this game on Backloggd looks like a middle finger, which is fitting, but which I will have to skew a bit.

1.5/5
 
Ah, the PlayStation 5. A beast of a console, designed to run games in extremely high detail and resolution. The DualSense, a modern controller with powerful haptic feedback and adaptive triggers for more immersion during play. After months of neglecting it, it was time to bring this bad boy back online...

...to play (and finally beat) a PS1 game from my childhood.

Finished in 2024 #19: Ape Escape

Today's DualSense controller owes much to the original DualShock. While Nintendo and Sega placed single analog sticks onto their controllers, Sony's offering (itself an evolution of their Analog Joystick and Dual Analog controllers) offered two sticks and built-in vibration features. These now-standard features would be widely supported across many PlayStation games, but most games would not require the controller. But Sony's Japan Studio set out to make a title taking advantage of the dual analog sticks for innovative gameplay, cresting the first game to require the DualShock controller: Ape Escape.

Ape Escape places you in the role of Spike, a boy caught up in an Ape uprising. Specter, a monkey from the amusement park, has gotten his hands on a Peak Point Helmet, an invention that boosts his brain power - and his desire to conquer the world. He and his fellow apes have commandeered the professor's time machine to try and rewrite history, and it's up to Spike to travel through numerous eras and catch those mischievous monkeys.

Modern 3D platformers typically use the left analog stick for movement and the right analog stick to control the camera. Ape Escape takes a different approach. Camera adjustments are done via the directional pad and a camera re-center button. Instead, right stick is used to control the various gadgets you use on your quest, and you select these tools by assigning them to the face buttons. Need to catch a monkey with your Time Net? Tilt the stick in the direction of the monkey. Swinging your stun club? Tilt the stick, or spin it around for a spinning attack. Charging up your Sky Flyer or Super Hoop? Spin that stick. Have an RC Car to drive around? Move yourself with one stick and the RC Car with the other. This dual analog control extends to other aspects as well, from the occasional vehicle segment to the three unlockable mini games.

Even as someone who played the Ape Escape games as a kid, these controls took time to get used to again. Jumping initially felt very awkward (a combo of getting used to pressing a shoulder button and it being a little slow), and I wasn't getting the best view of my surroundings. Each gadget also required a bit of learning to get used to, something the game facilitates with its mandatory training rooms. In truth, I never got used to those vehicle sections, even as I improved. But as I played more, the rest clicked. While I wouldn't always get the perfect camera angle (mostly down to early 3D cameras more than the camera input), camera control on the move was as simple as pressing the re-center button to get my bearings and using the first person look if I wanted a specific angle. Jumping became easier to pull off, especially with the Sky Flyer gadget. And speaking of those gadgets - you get a fun selection to play with! Some are focused on catching monkeys or attacking enemies while others are focused on movement or puzzle solving. You have a solid balance of new abilities being introduced every few levels, and levels would have a good mix of level specific hazards and gadget specific sections (new and old).

Your main goal is to capture a specific number of apes each level. These simian sensations are a combination of enemy and collectible, fighting your attempts to capture them with various means. Banana peels, rapid swings, laser guns, missile packs, UFOs, all sorts of stuff. Sure, you can run upto an early monkey and catch them with a swing of the Stun Club followed by your Time Net, but you can often get better results by sneaking up on a monkey or using a specific gadget to stun or reach them. While Ape Escape does feature more traditional enemies to fight, the 204 apes you can capture are the highlight, making for a fun spin on the collectathon platformer that was so common in the era. And if collecting monkeys ain't enough for you, there are also 60 Specter Coins hidden throughout the game (collect at least 40 of them to unlock all three mini games).

When you capture the required amount of apes, it's onto the next level, and you'll steadily progress through the game's 19 main areas and two bonus races against your hypnotized best friend. That's all it takes to roll the credits, but if you want to take down Specter once and for all, you'll need to catch every single monkey in the game. While you can clear some levels as soon as they are available, others require the use of gadgets from later levels, including a gadget that unlocks in the postgame. Luckily, going back through levels with a fully decked out Spike ended up being pretty fun. You have all sorts of new tools at your disposal to nab even simple apes, and the postgame gadget excels at combat (dealing double damage and having more range than the stun club), exploration (opening new areas or shortcuts in existing areas), and monkey catching (the extra range makes stunning them a lot easier). And if you really want to go above and beyond, there are optional time trials to get that 100% rating on your file.

Ape Escape definitely feels of its era, in both good and bad ways. We have some really charming 3D art, but we also have a pretty short draw distance. We have a delightful DnB/electronic soundtrack by Soichi Terada, but we also have some not so great voice acting in the U.S. dub. The control scheme is creative and innovative, but it isn't the modern standard and it definitely takes getting used to. But this is an adventure worth getting used to and one I recommend to any 3D platfomer fan who doesn't mind a little PS1 novelty and jank.

I'm really curious to retry the PS2 games. They have the same control scheme but I remember them feeling a lot better. I'll be starting them soon!
 
Happy to see some Ape Escape love here! Would be swell to get these remakes/remasters for them...
I wonder what a modern Ape Escape release could even look like. I'd be fine with, say, HD releases of the PS2 games and some light touch ups/improved draw distance in the PS1 game. But Ape Escape so inherently goes against modern 3D game design with its use of the right stick that I imagine it'll turn off those who don't want to put the time to adjust to it. But take away the right stick and you have a compromised experience, just look at the PSP version. It's a tricky situation.
 
But Ape Escape so inherently goes against modern 3D game design with its use of the right stick that I imagine it'll turn off those who don't want to put the time to adjust to it
Would be interesting to see how prospective devs handle that conundrum. I guess the problem would be someone attempting to fine-tune the feel of controls like that in the first place.
 
42. Air Zonk

Why is there a Bonk shmup?

Anyways, this here's a cute shmup starring Bonk and friends with super colorful graphics and some pleasant music. It didn't manage to be that good, however.

The game starts out as a very basic shmup: you have some weapons you can employ if you find them, and a layered system for your buddy: once you find a big smilie they will be called to act as an option, and with the next one you'll fuse into a stronger creature.

Despite being pleasant, Zonk isn't particularly interesting. Most stages are separated into two, with two bosses in them. However, each subsection of the level feels like it drags on for a while, reusing the same enemies and situations for a few minutes too many, while the levels themselves are rarely anything but just scrolling backgrounds.

I also question devs' love towards one of the power-ups you can find: the power to make you small seems to appear WAY more often than other ones, and I don't really get it. It's usually not an issue, Bonk did have some size shenanigans, it's just that when an end-level boss approaches, it becomes really tough to survive the battle in that mode considering the background is a mess of fast-moving bubbles.

One thing that the game really learned from Bonk, however, is that last stage sucks. If you've ever played Metal Slug 3, there's your comparison. While featuring more sections and bosses and being probably the most interesting, it's also really stingy with power-ups, featuring boss refights even of bosses you fight in this very stage, and having a really tanky last boss.

Overall, I didn't like Air Zonk very much: for most of the game it's way too simplistic before going into an overdrive, and the power-ups don't feel that great, especially the one the game really wants you to use at all times.

2.0/5

43. Blazing Lazers

An absolutely ok shmup from PC Engine. If you've had that console, I can see it being good, but nowadays there's access to a whole lot of games that do the same stuff better, and some of them are on NES.

Blazing Lazers has fairly simple power-up system where you have a main weapon you can switch by picking up a corresponding number and a special thing that acts the same - pick up a letter to receive shields or homing missiles.

Unlike, say, Gun Nac for the NES, I question the latter a bit, since picking up a letter for, say, Option, completely cancels your other side-weapon, meaning you have to dodge 90% of power-ups coming at you if you like certain weapons and sub-weapons.

I also find that some weapons suck compared to the others. Weapon 2 is a great wave of death spreading into 3, Weapon 3 is a penetrating lightning which if upgraded covers most of the screen, but 1 is a 6 way shot that's completely unremarkable and 4 grants you a moving shield that rarely hits enemies as you have a normal double bullet.

The game's fairly easy until the last stage, which is, for some reason, not only overly long, but also reuses the setting from the first stages. I know the game's based on a movie, so maybe there's some lore to it, but after deserts and bubbly planets I wanted a bit more.

This game isn't bad, but today you have access to stuff like Gun Nac or Super Aleste which have more weapons and better presentation as well as sense of speed to them.

2.5/5

44. Bloody Wolf

So, is every game on Turbografx a scrolling shooter? I'm just going down the list, and I've seen one game that wasn't a shmup! I suppose Bloody Wolf is different in that it's Commando-y, as you control a person from a top-down perspective and scroll the screen youself. It's a pretty good time! The game has a bit of an exploration to it with buildings you can enter to rescue hostages some of whom will gift you items.

The game's on the easier side, as the enemies only seem to shoot into one of 8 directions, and are easily avoided if they run at you. Your bullets also reach father than theirs, weirdly enough. Nonetheless, the game does have a few nasty screens and bosses, even if it only gets really hard when it asks you to use your knife which is automatically used for close-combat at any time.

There's not much to say about this game. It's a competent and fun B-movie-like action where you collect items and weapons to shoot at various men and vehicles. It's a tiny bit janky with occasional slowdown and weird interaction with boxes (regular ones can only be opened from the side, and the locked ones only from the top?), but I'd recommend this game if you're looking for something similar to Commando.

3.5/5
 
27th game finished for 2024: Metroid Fusion.

So I initially entered this game with mismatched expectations, expecting a detailed map that wraps around itself in clever ways, as you would from a game that's literally half the namesake of the Metroidvania genre (side note: there's an interesting discussion about said genre's name over at the ST!)

I didn't get that satisfaction of learning the ins and outs of this space station setting; in fact, Fusion was surprisingly linear. You're always being told where to go. Later on the obvious paths will be blocked and you have to bomb everything onscreen to find the way, but it's still straightforward.

Taking the game for what it is though, it's certainly tense, especially when your alien doppelgänger is breathing down your neck. The fights against the bosses are reasonably challenging (though some are arguably unfun). Unlocking a new tool that lets you access previously cordoned off areas is also always a treat.

All in all, I liked surviving in an alien-infested space laboratory. But this probably won't be as memorable as Super Metroid was.
 
8. Gunstar Heroes (5/5)

Gunstar Heroes still surprises me, even three decades after the fact. It's a short game and merely a taste of bigger things, but it crams so many ideas in seven stages that could each comprise a full title.

I hadn’t played this since… 2007? So it took me a few tries to get back in the groove. The main thing that compelled me this time around is how many movement options there are. Between sliding, wall jumping, double jumping and throwing, there’s a lot of flexibility in how you approach combat. And considering the main inspiration was Contra, it’s like a whole different genre.

The inclusion of HP as opposed to a OHKO system was sorely needed to make the Contra formula more palatable, but that doesn’t mean it’s an easy game. Gunstar Heroes constantly tries to put you in panic situations were it expects you to overindulge with shooting, but often you are better served being patient and reacting to what comes your way. This is certainly taken from the parent franchise, yet allowing for some leniency in mistakes makes the experience encourage riskier play.

The weapon combination system is the one part I have become less enthused about over the years. Stuff like Chaser + Lightning is always useful, while weapons like Fire and Machine Gun are situational in comparison. So not all combinations feel equal and you are pretty much forced to only use suboptimal movesets as a punishment for dying. This is the type of correction that a sequel should have fixed, but, well, Gunstar Super Heroes happened instead.

In any event, dope game. It's a 5 out of 5 from me, forever. Just don’t choose Fixed Shot.

RIP Treasure. Miss those guys.
9. Super Mario Bros. 2 JP / The Lost Levels / The Real Mario 2 / Whatever you wanna call it (Luigi game) (4.5/5)

I fucking love The Lost Levels. It’s a wonderful example of the devs communicating with the player and pulling the rug beneath of them. It’s a mean game, and definitely not one I recommend if you aren’t super into hard platformers, but I have so much more fun with this than SMB1.

This is my first time playing the Luigi game instead of the Mario game, and I’ll be honest? The level design starts to make a lot more sense with him. The ability to leap into a full jump from a standstill changes a lot of the pixel perfect gaps into just challenging platforming. It makes me wonder whether this was designed with Luigi in mind first, and Mario was there just for the branding.

Lost Levels has a bad reputation due to its difficulty, but I still abide to the idea that you should see this more as DLC to the original than a sequel. The game requires that you understand how midair momentum changing works. Entire levels are built around you controlling hang time. It pushes the SMB1 gameplay loop to its limit, and IMO is the most rewarding version of the iteration of Mario.

Where Lost Levels falters a bit is in conveyance. Ignoring the parts where the game actually misleads you or traps you in inescapable situations, I find that there’s a some levels later on where it asks you to leap into the void, not knowing whether you have to bounce of an enemy. That is definitely not something you should expect from a first time player, and it’s something I associate more with lesser platformers, like Sonic or Crash.

Anyway I will always stan this. Great game. If you hate it it’s a literal skill issue. I should play Vs. Super Mario Bros. at some point?
 
And on the next episode of the random games that I decided to play…
-Wario Land: Surprisingly amazing gem right here. Makes your actually want to go for 100 percent by, who would’ve guessed, not heavily punishing the player for dying. It’s almost like when games aren‘t insanely unfair you would to play them more, novel huh! And this wouldn’t be too impressive on its own, but when you consider that this is a gameboy game and has incredible level design to boot, this really shines as a classic, and one that can hold up right alongside many of Mario’s best 2D games. 8/10, can’t wait to see more of what Wario Land has in store
-Rhythm Heaven Fever: God I love this game. It’s the perfect rhythm heaven, having the best catalogue of rhythm games, the best music, perfect difficulty progression, the art style is on point, the extras are great, I genuinely don’t think this game fumbles anything. I mean not all the games are on the same level of quality (monkey watch and love rap come to mind here), but even then the worst rhythm game is like a 6/10. Do yourself a favor and listen to dreams of our generation by the way, best rhythm heaven song and one of the best Nintendo songs. 9/10, play this game through any means necessary (AND PLEASE BRING IT TO SWITCH NINTENDO COME OOOOOON)
-GTA San Andreas: Sadly lacking in the taxi gameplay, but otherwise it’s typical GTA fun. I actually tried dabbling in the story mode for once, and though it was fun to be on the receiving end of a car crash for a change, it kinda lost its luster for me after the first mission. Not much to say that I haven’t said already, these games are a great time and were incredibly crucial in breaking games into pop culture. At the time the big 3 GTA games released, the most successful console of all time was in its golden years, and these games offered a more adult and freeing experience then anything on Xbox and certainly Nintendo. That being said, I can’t rate it above a 7 when the taxi gameplay is so barebones, so a 7/10 it is
-Halo 4: Oh boy. Where do I even begin with this game, I mean you could talk about everything this game did right and wrong for hours. I guess the best place to start is where everyone probably did, comparing it to the older games. Unlike those games, where every encounter felt unique and as though there was infinite ways you could go about winning, here every enemy encounter feels the same, just shoot and occasionally take cover. Much of this dumbed down gameplay comes courtesy of the enemy AI, which pales in comparison to even the AI seen in the OG game back in 2001. Also unlike the bungie games, which had amazing soundtracks, this game doesn’t, nor does it have actual vehicle sections that aren’t just a straight line. But let’s not just focus on how it fails compared to the original masterpieces, let’s see how it fails even on it’s own! The story has no new characters that are in any way interesting, many of the themes the story pushes are undercooked if at all, all of the backstory around the main villain beyond some surface level stuff is hidden behind unlockables, said main villain goes out in the most pathetic way imaginable and leaves absolutely no impression, the weapons feel like they have half ammunition at default and aren’t even fun to use (some like the new grenade being more of a detriment), and the environments are back to halo 1 levels of generic and samey. So why do I like this game? Well that comes down to two major factors, this is a halo game, and Chief/Cortana. Doesn’t matter how butchered, this game is still Halo, with all the fun action and nail biting gameplay that legendary name represents. And the Cortana plot in this game is some of the best stuff in any Halo, and it makes for an incredible ending thats so mature and profound I couldn’t help but question where this level of quality was during the rest of the game. As evidenced by how long this section is taking, I have some complicated thoughts on this game, but being honest, its an inoffensive 7/10 and not much more
-Battlefront 2 (the original one): Alright, but really nothing to it without online. I could’ve just waited to get the modern ports, but my spider sense told me they would suck, so I stuck with the original. I do like that they brought in the clone wars narrator, but dislike how the menus aren’t as cool as they were in the first game. 6/10, whatever
 
45. Bomberman (PC Engine)

I love me some Bomberman, but this game on PC Engine is only a slightly bit better than the original NES release.

It follows classic rules: mazes with enemies, one power-up per maze, and when you kill everyone you can exit. The formula still works, but for whatever reason Turbografx version is very insistent on giving you rarer power-ups in higher quantities. Now, this wouldn't be an issue: walking through bombs and walls feels good. However, if you already have those power-ups, collecting them does virtually nothing. Unlike other Bomberman games that first beef your fire and bombs up, here I managed to reach max fire range only after completing more than HALF the game!

I think powering up your bombs is the most enjoyable aspect of those games, and this Bomberman bungles it up by constantly offering you stuff that you already have. Future games would also offer you choices between various power-ups, but this game only has remote control, as well as walking through bombs and walls.

There is a slight quality of life upgrade from the original Bomberman in that after beating all the enemies the power-up block lights up, but I do wish the door would light up too, since maybe a fourth of my playtime with this game consisted of bombing walls in an empty maze just trying to find the exit.

I also feel like this is one of the easier Bomberman titles. You're pretty slow, but so are most of the enemies, and the only touble comes from being spawned with one of those Bear Heads immediately having access to you, since it's one of the few enemies that feels like it has some sort of AI.

If your only choice is NES original or this game, I'd say play this one, but in today's world there's really no reason to go back to earlier games since each platform has approximately 800 Bomberman titles.

1.5/5

Speaking of... 46. Bomberman '93

An improvement over the original TurboGrafx Bomberman game, even if at the beginning it might not be apparent.

This game follows all the same rules as the previous title, but feels speedier and overall a little better thanks to added power-ups and enemy variety.

I still wouldn't take it over most other Bomberman titles due to the same problem as the previous game had: in most levels you'll be wasting your time searching for the exit after beating the level. If you play well and are able to either save your walk-though-walls powerup or just be efficient, the final level especially will give you minutes at a time of downtime where you bomb tons of walls. I don't get it. I'm fairly sure there are some hidden power-ups in levels that the game won't tell you about upon killing everyone but they are so rare and insignificant that they really should've just made the exit block also flashing upon killing everyone.

Still, unlike the previous game, it's a worthy Bomberman if you're a Bomberfan and haven't played the game.

2.5/5
 
0
Fuck if Resi 0 isn't an exercise in tedium, but I think I loved it?

The first 2/3 at least

Moved into a high slot on my personal list: Resi > 2 > 0 > 4 > 5 > 3 > 6
 
#19 - POOLS

As I'm sure most of the internet knows, the Backrooms is currently a trending theme for horror games, and POOLS is no different; although it takes place in the Poolrooms, which is adjacent to the Backrooms. There are a good amount of games focusing on the Poolrooms, so does POOLS stand out?

In this game, you simply walk around; nothing more, and certainly nothing less. The game is split into six chapters, and you progress by finding the intended path in each area. Compared to other games of a similar vein, this game isn't entirely one giant maze; to its credit, it recognises when to become slightly more linear to keep the game flowing. Unlike other Poolrooms games, POOLS has a good amount of variety; you don't just wander through hundreds of fairly identical rooms, but there are other setpieces including saunas, some type of manor, and even a giant chess board with manequins. This made walking through the game rather enjoyable, not fully knowing what to expect around the corner. The ending of Chapter 5 was a particularly standout setpiece moment, which was very much unexpected for a Poolrooms game.

There isn't any persistent threat to avoid; indeed, the game emphasises this on the Steam page. The game therefore falls more into psychological horror if anything - particularly given the loose implications of the ending - but disclosing that there is nothing to be afraid of slightly hurts the game in practice. This is a shame, as the game has very strong sound design (very foreboding and oppressive), which would've been even more effective if there was some uncertainty around whether I was being followed. There is the odd anomaly - e.g., a pair of hands on a ladder, or a shadow briefly visible if you turn around - but these don't add much tension to the game; they are, as I described, merely anomalies. Nonetheless, the sound design is complemented by impressive visuals overall, with the game running well even on older hardware.

In all, this was an interesting time, although some potential was left on the table. A solid

7.5/10.

  1. Yooka-Laylee (05/01/2024, 7/10)
  2. Buckshot Roulette (06/01/2024, 8/10)
  3. Another Code: Recollection (19/01/2024, 8.25/10)
  4. Saga of the Moon Priestess (24/01/2024, 7/10)
  5. Super Kiwi 64: Doomsday [Update] (26/01/2024, 7.5/10)
  6. The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons (03/02/2024, 8/10)
  7. Mario vs. Donkey Kong (15/02/2024, 8/10)
  8. Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling (22/02/2024, 8.5/10)
  9. And Yet It Moves (27/02/2024, 6.5/10)
  10. Mario Golf (GBC) (15/03/2024, 7/10)
  11. Psalm 5:9-13 (17/03/2024, 8/10)
  12. Crypt of the Necrodancer: SYNCHRONY [DLC] (18/03/2024, 8/10)
  13. Princess Peach: Showtime! (22/03/2024, 8/10)
  14. Dragon Quest (Switch) (30/03/2024, 7/10)
  15. Froggo's Adventure: Verdant Venture (01/04/2024, 8/10)
  16. Otogi Katsugeki Mameda no Bakeru: Oracle Saitarou no Sainan!! (07/04/2024, 7.75/10)
  17. Amazing Hebereke (13/04/2024, 5/10)
  18. Tsugunohi (15/04/2024, 7/10)
  19. POOLS (01/05/2024, 7.5/10)
(plus a large amount of small (free) indie horror games and some kaizo Super Mario World hacks)
 
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Fuck if Resi 0 isn't an exercise in tedium, but I think I loved it?

The first 2/3 at least

Moved into a high slot on my personal list: Resi > 2 > 0 > 4 > 5 > 3 > 6
RE0 and Code Veronica are perfect examples of tedious games I really like. I mean, it's not good they're tedious, but it is what it is and they're fairly cool games to play. I'd even call CV almost therapeutic with how low the difficulty is for a lot of the game.
 
CV is the last of the games I've yet to play, so that sounds good to me! I've heard it was going to be 3 before some corporate decisions and it became it's own thing? Maybe I'm wrong, don't even recall where I heard that. But I'm excited to try... As soon as I finish at least my first route through triangle strategy.
 
I'm catching up with the newer Resident Evils and just finished RE7

I thought it was pretty great and tense except of when things started getting revealed/explained, felt like the vibes changed and the game got less scary, although still great overall

Seems like there's some extra story on DLCs, gonna finish those and then move on to maybe Village or RE2 Remake

Or maybe it's too much horror at once and I might play something more chill instead first 😅
 
47. Dead Moon

Possibly as mediocre as a horizontal shmup can get. Fairly tough, solid sense of progression and some very basic power-ups. Nothing really stands out about it.

You slowly make your way to the moon, you fight a lot of skeleton creatures. Some backgrounds are real nice, but on a system where every second game is a shmup it gets lost in the crowd.

2.5/5

48. Final Soldier

I'm running out of things to say about shmups, but Final Soldier is a very pleasant little game. I just wish its menu was a bit more clear since I only realized you can choose how each one of your weapons behave upon beating the game, thinking that pushing Select on main menu will just scroll thorugh difficulties. I suggest you do that because I feel like the normal mode makes two out of four weapons obsolete.

The game doesn't have any special theme, it's all machines and space, but it's a very comfortable and fairly easy (on Normal at least) game. The music's pretty banging and is probably the only shmup I've played where I could actually notice it while playing. Maybe I'm just getting better at those things.

Final Soldier doesn't do anything special, but everything it does is simply good.

3.5/5
 
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I completely forgot about this thread. Time to post about some more games I completed!

4. Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore (NSW)

I bought this on a whim because I still had leftover eShop credit and there was a lot of positive buzz around it on here (also supporting Devs that are members on here is nice).
It's the very definition of "short but sweet", took me a day or two to finish, even if I didn't get every single collectable and upgrade, I still enjoyed it. It's a bit tongue in cheek but never to the obnoxious levels of modern Hollywood, especially Marvel. The game absolutely knows its roots (being the CDi Zeldas) and occasionally the titular main character points out how silly/weird some of the stuff she encounters are but it still feels very genuine. Especially when it comes to the pretty pragmatic end.
Artstyle perfectly emulates the CD-i Zeldas, which makes the game one of the more unique looking games I've played in a while. I wouldn't call it ugly but it definitely is kind of an acquired taste.
I found some of the later levels a bit on the frustrating end of things, especially when I needed to restart for the nth time because of all the random crap that gets thrown at me from essentially every direction, that's when the gameplay turned from "endearingly janky" to "annoyingly janky". Should've played on easy I guess. I also wished there was some sort of quest log but I guess that would've gone a bit against the spirit of the game 😂

Overall, despite some minor issues, it still was highly enjoyable and I'd recommend Arzette to everyone who's curious about it. Even if it's just for the titular protagonist.
 
1- Dragon Quest Treasures (Switch)
2- F-zero (SNES)
3- The Great Circus Mystery Starring Mickey and Minnie (SNES)
4- Gunple: Gunman's Proof (SNES)
5- Go! Go! Ackman (SNES)
6- The Legend of Zelda (NSO)
7- Super Bomberman 3 (SNES)
8- The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES)
9- Castlevania III (Switch)
10- Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition (Switch)
11- Toem (Switch)
12- Super Castlevania IV (Switch)
13- Cuphead (Switch)
14- Cuphead - Delicious Last Course (Switch)
15- Super Mario RPG (Switch)
16- The Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe (Switch)

17- Journey (PS4)
18- Hollow Knight (Switch)
19- Super Mario Bros 3 (NSO)

Not sure why I got the urge to play Journey after all these years, I had never played it before and it never looked particularly interesting to me. I remember when I just got a PS3 and it came out, I was a broke af student just starting college, and the game (whatever its price was at the time) just didn't seem to be worth my money, despite the acclaim.

I'm glad I came around on it as an adult! It's a very nice experience. Very short, but definitely worth the money (it's also probably much cheaper now). I feel like it influenced a shitload of games that tried to recapture its feeling, but from what I've played, Journey is still the best.

Hollow Knight is the kind of game that seems specifically catered to my tastes. It's a long ass metroidvania (one of my complaints with the gente is that they're usually too short) with an emphasis on reward based exploration and fun, challenging boss fights. The spooky atmosphere and interesting world building and character design is the cherry on top. Truly a wonderful game, an amazing achievement when you consider it was made by basically three people (and afaik it was their first game). I had a blast exploring Hallownest and practicing to beat all of its bosses. Consider me part of the crowd that is excited for Silksong!

And I've been playing SMB3 on and off, and this time I thought I should probably play the NES version since I had never actually beaten it. Is it me or is the SNES version (the one I grew up with) much easier? This game felt extremely hard at parts lol Maybe I'm rusty.
 
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