January:
February:
March:
Previous undated:
100)
Metal Slug 5 (via
Metal Slug Anthology on Wii)
101)
Metal Slug X (via Steam on PC)
102)
Street Fighter X Tekken (Vita, Hardest, Ken/Ryu)
103)
Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition (3DS, Medium, Ken)
104)
Castle in the Darkness (normal ending)
105)
Castle in the Darkness (100%, secret ending)
106)
Skullgirls107)
Super Dodge BallWell, finished off
Castle in the Darkness. A splendid little game that reminds me a bit of
Maze of Galious, although hewing a touch closer to
Metroid-styled design. There's no map, like the original game. The action is ridiculously fast. The jumping, the stabbing, everything moves lightning-quick. Sometimes it's a bit too fast.
The game also pulls a lot of troll moves on you. Spikes abound, and many times, you'll get killed by surprise insta-kill spikes falling from the ceiling, or just find yourself failing the platforming challenges over and over again if you're going for full completion. I ended with 261 lives lost, although I burned about 60-70 in one spot. Unnecessarily, I might add, as I figured out what I was doing wrong, and I had a lot more room for error than originally anticipated.
It also sports the usual pixel graphics, and they're pretty decent overall. The soundtrack is pretty great in most spots, as well. I found myself humming along to quite a few, so that's a good sign... although I find them fading from memory as I type this. Mainly 'cause I've got a
Retro City Rampage tune running through my head.
Much like that game, there are a lot of retro sendups. You'll find little homages to
Mario,
Zelda,
Wonder Boy,
Castlevania... heck, the game even goes so far as to slip in
Monster Party and
8 Eyes!
There's a New Game Plus mode I've dabbled with, already got a crazy-fast sword that reminds me of the Crissaegrim, a frog costume, and a guy who asks if I want to purchase a "Full Moon", then proceeds to... umm... moon you. Sounds like it's going to be ridiculous if I play through it.
As a giant word of warning, if the number of lives lost didn't make it clear, it's a tough game. Checkpoints are pretty copious for most of the game, but they get a bit sparse in the last area, so it's a pretty hefty challenge. Still, I totally got my $3 out of it. It's still on sale on Steam, which appears to be the only place to obtain it currently. I probably wouldn't even have been disappointed dropping $15-20 on it.
EDIT: Somehow, I managed to not list
Skullgirls. Definitely beat it this year.
EDIT 2: And
Super Dodge Ball. I may be closer to 100 unique titles after all! Gotta keep jogging that memory!