Games Beaten 2015First 50 of the year:NotGTAV -
PCFlower -
PS4Everybody's Gone to the Rapture-
PS4Towerfall -
PS4Cyberbots -
PS1Battletoads (Arcade) -
Xbox One Forza Horizon 2 presents Fast and Furious -
Xbox One Gunman Clive 2 -
3DSGeometry Wars 3: Dimensions -
VitaRocket League -
PS4Far Cry 4 -
PS4 Her Story -
PCDestiny: The Taken King -
PS4Retro City Rampage -
VitaUltraflow -
iOSPlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale -
VitaTansformers: Devastation -
PS4Call of Duty: Black Ops -
PS3Call of Duty: Black Ops II -
360Star Wars Battlefront II -
PSPStar Wars Battlefront (2015) -
PS4Bastion -
VitaEmily is Away -
PCUndertale -
PCPlug & Play -
PCDyscourse -
PCGunslinger (Dezaemon Kids!)- PS1 (Vita)
Nightmare (Dezaemon Kids!)- PS1 (Vita)
Total: 78Previously:
2014 |
The First 400 GamesI am stupid: stupid, stupid, stupid. I picked up Dezaemon Kids! a year or two ago thinking that it was a cute-em-up with a few cute-em-up building tools for kids. Nope. Little did I know that this entry in the series, which like the others allows you to build shmups, came not only with ~10 sample shmups from the devs but also a
whopping 102 additional 16-bit style doujin shmups accessible via a second disc (or, if you played the PSN copy like me, via a "Reset w/Disc 2" choice in the settings). The quality on these varies, but there are about 20 ranked titles listed at the top of the directory which are all very, very good and quite varied. I first played the second listed dev game (a hori called "Gunslinger") which is a fast paced, mech-based excusion through 4 levels of parallax scrolling and generous powerups. That game was ok, and certainly a good showpiece for some of what is possible with the tools in the set.
However, I really, really dug into the second game on the bonus disc, a vert shmup called "Nightmare" created by T. Iwata (I'd love to know if he has other work out there!). Make no mistake, I have played more than my fair share of 16-bit era shmups, and I would not hesitate to put this one in the upper echelon of available titles. Specifically, the game oozes aesthetic appeal - gothic and occultish imagery,
spooky chiptunes, a nice variety of effects-driven weapons, and a creative use/manipulation of the various tools provided by the devs.
The whole time I was playing Nightmare, I kept thinking: noise would absolutely adore this.
You can read a lot more about the game (and the series) over at
HG101, but suffice to say if you consider yourself a shmup fan you owe it to yourself to spend some time with these titles. I have only scratched the surface, but am thrilled to know that having this sitting on my Vita gives me quick and easy access to literally 100+ new-to-me 16-bit style shmups. You'd be hard pressed to find more bang for your buck in the genre.
80 by tonight is in my sights!