Games Beaten 2015
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prfsnl_gmr
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Re: Games Beaten 2015
OMG! So HAWT!
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Exhuminator
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noiseredux
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Re: Games Beaten 2015
dsheinem wrote:Is Jurassic World inclusive of other past LEGO releases so that you can count each one separate? Otherwise it seems, to me, odd that you'd count a portion of a game as a beaten title. It'd be like finishing an episode of Quake or something and listing it as a standalone title. Am I missing something?
it's all 4 movies. After each "movie" is over you get full credits for that portion. So to me it's akin to folks here who count each episode of The Walking Dead or whatever as beaten. Which I don't normally do myself. But at nearly 4 hours of co-op and credits, I decided to count it.
Re: Games Beaten 2015
1. Super Mario Bros. NES & SNES
2. The Great Waldo Search SNES...talk about a crap game! I beat this one in 20 minutes--there's hardly any substance to the game.
2. The Great Waldo Search SNES...talk about a crap game! I beat this one in 20 minutes--there's hardly any substance to the game.
Re: Games Beaten 2015
Just noticed SirPoPo beat Marble Madness, something I didn't know you could do.
Marble Madness is a game I haven't played since I was under five feet but really enjoyed. Is there a boss? There can't be a boss; right?
Marble Madness is a game I haven't played since I was under five feet but really enjoyed. Is there a boss? There can't be a boss; right?
Re: Games Beaten 2015
There's no boss. The final stage is just balls hard with a requirement of high precision. Watch a run on youtube sometime and you'll see.
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Snatch1414
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Re: Games Beaten 2015
Fire Emblem: Awakening. As I mentioned in the 3DS thread, don't start on Normal even if you're unfamiliar with the series. Somewhere just over the halfway point your characters are strong enough that it becomes a complete breeze, and less fun to an extent. Great game overall though.
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BoneSnapDeez
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Re: Games Beaten 2015
First 50:
51. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES)
52. Tic-Tac-Toe / Shooting Gallery / Doodle / Quadra-Doodle (Channel F)
53. Robot War / Torpedo Alley (Channel F)
54. Pinball Challenge (Channel F)
55. Elevator Action (Xbox - Taito Legends)
56. Elevator Action II (PlayStation 2 - Taito Legends 2)
57. Altered Beast (Xbox 360 - Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection)
58. Congo Bongo (Xbox 360 - Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection)
59. International Soccer (Commodore 64)
60. Out of this World! / Helicopter Rescue! (Odyssey²)
61. Alien Invaders - Plus! (Odyssey²)
62. Ice Hockey (Atari 2600)
63. River Raid (Atari 2600)
64. Frankenstein's Monster (Atari 2600)
65. Ys II (Famicom)
66. Ys III: Wanderers from Ys (Turbo CD)
67. Gremlins (Atari 2600)
68. Frogs and Flies (Atari 2600)
69. Ice Climber (NES)
70. Ys III: Wanderers from Ys (PlayStation 2)
71. Ghosts 'n Goblins (PSP - Capcom Classics Collection Reloaded)
72. Ikari Warriors (Atari 2600)
73. Donkey Kong Junior (Atari 2600)
74. Donkey Kong Junior (ColecoVision)
75. Ys: Memories of Celceta (Vita)
Memories of Celceta is not merely some obscure Ys spin-off. It was created as the "true" canonical "Ys IV" and is thus "replacing" those other previously released Ys IVs in the Ys storyline. It's confusing - ask me about it if you're really curious.
Predictably, Celceta's lead protagonist is Adol the red-headed adventurer. He's accompanied this time by an ensemble cast including his giant beefy friend Duran (who feels like a bit of a Dogi stand-in), Karna the feisty knife-wielding forest-dwelling hottie, and several others. What's neat is that the main NPCs of the previous Ys IVs are now playable characters here, which really fleshes out the plot.
Gameplay is fundamentally similar to Ys Seven. You control one character at a time while two others are computer-controlled. The AI actions can be tweaked a bit but it's not nearly as deep as the "grid" system found in other action-RPGs like Secret of Mana. Instead there's merely a black-and-white choice of attack or evade, with the former being sufficient 95% of the time. Generally speaking, there's little reason to control anyone but Adol. He seems to move and attack the most fluidly, so I recommend switching characters only in very specific situations where it's required.
Combat is the core feature of any Ys game - any action-RPG really - and Celceta has it in spades. The great forest of Celceta is littered with foes of all stripes. Fighting enemies is a blast as Adol and co. have quite the moveset at their disposable. In addition to regular attacks there are assignable "skills" that can be activated by holding R and pressing one of the four action buttons. Using the d-pad or thumbstick to dodge is typically inefficient; thankfully you can also block with triangle and evade with X. Well-timed button presses will activate a "flash" move where the enemies become stunned for a few seconds. There's also an ever-powerful EXTRA skill that can be activated once a gauge is fully charged.
While overworld and dungeon combat remains fun and fresh throughout Celceta, the boss battles can get a bit dull. They're essentially HP tanks, and with the AI characters and nearly-unlimited amount of healing items available there's little strategy involved in taking them down. Just hack away and heal when necessary. Truthfully, the only boss I had any difficulty with was the first one - which I took on before I mastered the game's controls and mechanics.
Memories of Celceta began development as a PSP game, and it (apparently) still resembles one. Mainstream reviewers may have dished out the predictable "last-gen" insults regarding the visuals, but pay no mind to this. Celceta is a beautiful game. The forests that comprise the overworld are lush and vibrant, and almost appear to be growing in real time. The sun rises and sets so the world always looks a bit different, even should you traverse the same areas more than once. While wandering around, it's not uncommon to see an unexplored area off in the distant background, which is a brilliant bit of foreshadowing. Dungeons are also well-crafted and manage to exude a real sense of dampness, stinkiness, and claustrophobia.
Sound Team jdk did an excellent job with the soundtrack here, as always. I'm a bit embarrassed to say that I'm not entirely sure if these are remixed versions of old Ys IV songs or if they're totally new. Whatever the case this is "real music" with guitars and violins. It makes me long for the days of chiptunes and redbook audio a bit, but as far as modern game OSTs are concerned this one is hard to beat. If you can, try to nab the Silver Anniversary Edition of Celceta which contains a 3 CD set complete with tracks from this game as well as all the others (minus the non-Falcom Ys Strategy).
Now I've always respected Falcom for sticking to their guns, ignoring trends, and continuing to release "old-school" JRPGs. Take Ys Origin for example - the game was released during the height of the 6th generation when JRPGs were "supposed to" be "epic" quests featuring 60+ hours of gameplay, numerous cutscenes, and so on. Ys Origin features none of this: it's an amazing <10 hour romp that's almost entirely combat-focused.
Why bring this up? Well, as good as Memories of Celceta is there are some unfortunate instances of "modern game design" creeping in. The plot is entirely too bloated and the dialogue (though expertly translated by XSEED) seems neverending. I'm not much of a cutscene-skipper, though I found myself holding the fast-forward button more than once here. There's also a completely unnecessary "tutorial" opening section that teaches one how to use an item shop and the like. There's an "item-crafting" system that can admittedly be quite fun (I loved watching my weapons grow into obscenely powerful monster-slayers) but damn... there's "reinforcing", "refining", "crafting", "unleashing", and "synthesizing"! Not all services are available in every town, and sometimes you gotta refine before you reinforce. And so on. Then there are the "quests" - some are good, some are crap. Looking for lost chickens didn't thrill me much. In addition to the formal quests the game also features some "sub-quests" which don't net any rewards besides PlayStation Trophies. Oh, and there's a "map completion" subplot.
Technically most of the aforementioned stuff is optional, but at your own detriment. For instance, should you choose not to complete tedious quests in exchange for gold then you're left grinding for gold instead. While the game isn't nearly as "padded" as many other modern RPGs, it feels strange in an Ys title - as this series has typically been defined by fast-paced combat and a loose and vague mythology that slowly unfolds itself through gameplay rather than a massive sweeping storyline that is hammered at the player in text format.
All things considered, the positive aspects of the game greatly outweigh the negative. The flawless combat and controls rank Celceta very high among modern RPGs, and it's easily the best Vita game. However, it's not the best "Ys IV." The Dawn of Ys, on PC Engine CD, still ranks #1 in that department. I wholeheartedly recommend both games.
Oh, and for the love of all that is holy, if you have a Steam account download Ys Origin without delay.
51. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES)
52. Tic-Tac-Toe / Shooting Gallery / Doodle / Quadra-Doodle (Channel F)
53. Robot War / Torpedo Alley (Channel F)
54. Pinball Challenge (Channel F)
55. Elevator Action (Xbox - Taito Legends)
56. Elevator Action II (PlayStation 2 - Taito Legends 2)
57. Altered Beast (Xbox 360 - Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection)
58. Congo Bongo (Xbox 360 - Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection)
59. International Soccer (Commodore 64)
60. Out of this World! / Helicopter Rescue! (Odyssey²)
61. Alien Invaders - Plus! (Odyssey²)
62. Ice Hockey (Atari 2600)
63. River Raid (Atari 2600)
64. Frankenstein's Monster (Atari 2600)
65. Ys II (Famicom)
66. Ys III: Wanderers from Ys (Turbo CD)
67. Gremlins (Atari 2600)
68. Frogs and Flies (Atari 2600)
69. Ice Climber (NES)
70. Ys III: Wanderers from Ys (PlayStation 2)
71. Ghosts 'n Goblins (PSP - Capcom Classics Collection Reloaded)
72. Ikari Warriors (Atari 2600)
73. Donkey Kong Junior (Atari 2600)
74. Donkey Kong Junior (ColecoVision)
75. Ys: Memories of Celceta (Vita)
Memories of Celceta is not merely some obscure Ys spin-off. It was created as the "true" canonical "Ys IV" and is thus "replacing" those other previously released Ys IVs in the Ys storyline. It's confusing - ask me about it if you're really curious.
Predictably, Celceta's lead protagonist is Adol the red-headed adventurer. He's accompanied this time by an ensemble cast including his giant beefy friend Duran (who feels like a bit of a Dogi stand-in), Karna the feisty knife-wielding forest-dwelling hottie, and several others. What's neat is that the main NPCs of the previous Ys IVs are now playable characters here, which really fleshes out the plot.
Gameplay is fundamentally similar to Ys Seven. You control one character at a time while two others are computer-controlled. The AI actions can be tweaked a bit but it's not nearly as deep as the "grid" system found in other action-RPGs like Secret of Mana. Instead there's merely a black-and-white choice of attack or evade, with the former being sufficient 95% of the time. Generally speaking, there's little reason to control anyone but Adol. He seems to move and attack the most fluidly, so I recommend switching characters only in very specific situations where it's required.
Combat is the core feature of any Ys game - any action-RPG really - and Celceta has it in spades. The great forest of Celceta is littered with foes of all stripes. Fighting enemies is a blast as Adol and co. have quite the moveset at their disposable. In addition to regular attacks there are assignable "skills" that can be activated by holding R and pressing one of the four action buttons. Using the d-pad or thumbstick to dodge is typically inefficient; thankfully you can also block with triangle and evade with X. Well-timed button presses will activate a "flash" move where the enemies become stunned for a few seconds. There's also an ever-powerful EXTRA skill that can be activated once a gauge is fully charged.
While overworld and dungeon combat remains fun and fresh throughout Celceta, the boss battles can get a bit dull. They're essentially HP tanks, and with the AI characters and nearly-unlimited amount of healing items available there's little strategy involved in taking them down. Just hack away and heal when necessary. Truthfully, the only boss I had any difficulty with was the first one - which I took on before I mastered the game's controls and mechanics.
Memories of Celceta began development as a PSP game, and it (apparently) still resembles one. Mainstream reviewers may have dished out the predictable "last-gen" insults regarding the visuals, but pay no mind to this. Celceta is a beautiful game. The forests that comprise the overworld are lush and vibrant, and almost appear to be growing in real time. The sun rises and sets so the world always looks a bit different, even should you traverse the same areas more than once. While wandering around, it's not uncommon to see an unexplored area off in the distant background, which is a brilliant bit of foreshadowing. Dungeons are also well-crafted and manage to exude a real sense of dampness, stinkiness, and claustrophobia.
Sound Team jdk did an excellent job with the soundtrack here, as always. I'm a bit embarrassed to say that I'm not entirely sure if these are remixed versions of old Ys IV songs or if they're totally new. Whatever the case this is "real music" with guitars and violins. It makes me long for the days of chiptunes and redbook audio a bit, but as far as modern game OSTs are concerned this one is hard to beat. If you can, try to nab the Silver Anniversary Edition of Celceta which contains a 3 CD set complete with tracks from this game as well as all the others (minus the non-Falcom Ys Strategy).
Now I've always respected Falcom for sticking to their guns, ignoring trends, and continuing to release "old-school" JRPGs. Take Ys Origin for example - the game was released during the height of the 6th generation when JRPGs were "supposed to" be "epic" quests featuring 60+ hours of gameplay, numerous cutscenes, and so on. Ys Origin features none of this: it's an amazing <10 hour romp that's almost entirely combat-focused.
Why bring this up? Well, as good as Memories of Celceta is there are some unfortunate instances of "modern game design" creeping in. The plot is entirely too bloated and the dialogue (though expertly translated by XSEED) seems neverending. I'm not much of a cutscene-skipper, though I found myself holding the fast-forward button more than once here. There's also a completely unnecessary "tutorial" opening section that teaches one how to use an item shop and the like. There's an "item-crafting" system that can admittedly be quite fun (I loved watching my weapons grow into obscenely powerful monster-slayers) but damn... there's "reinforcing", "refining", "crafting", "unleashing", and "synthesizing"! Not all services are available in every town, and sometimes you gotta refine before you reinforce. And so on. Then there are the "quests" - some are good, some are crap. Looking for lost chickens didn't thrill me much. In addition to the formal quests the game also features some "sub-quests" which don't net any rewards besides PlayStation Trophies. Oh, and there's a "map completion" subplot.
Technically most of the aforementioned stuff is optional, but at your own detriment. For instance, should you choose not to complete tedious quests in exchange for gold then you're left grinding for gold instead. While the game isn't nearly as "padded" as many other modern RPGs, it feels strange in an Ys title - as this series has typically been defined by fast-paced combat and a loose and vague mythology that slowly unfolds itself through gameplay rather than a massive sweeping storyline that is hammered at the player in text format.
All things considered, the positive aspects of the game greatly outweigh the negative. The flawless combat and controls rank Celceta very high among modern RPGs, and it's easily the best Vita game. However, it's not the best "Ys IV." The Dawn of Ys, on PC Engine CD, still ranks #1 in that department. I wholeheartedly recommend both games.
Oh, and for the love of all that is holy, if you have a Steam account download Ys Origin without delay.
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Exhuminator
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Re: Games Beaten 2015
Great review Bone, sounds like if you ignore the bloat Celceta is a good time. I remember reading reviewers complaining about the blurriness of Celceta's graphics. And let's be honest here, it's because it was going to be a PSP game and they took what was there and upscaled it to the Vita's screen. Since the resolution was not 1:1 scaling, Falcom went with massive anti-aliasing hence the blurriness effect. I wish Falcom had simply included an option to disable the anti-aliasing, but I'm sure the game looks just fine once you get used to it. At any rate, I am sure Celceta kicks the crap out of the one Ys IV I have beat, the terrible terrible SFC one. 
For my next PSP game I plan to play the PSP Chronicles+ version of Ys II. But after that, I will check out Celceta. It's hard to go wrong with Ys, as long as Falcom was the developer at least.
Oh, and totally agree about Origin, it's an amazing experience. Anyone skipping that one is doing so at their loss.
For my next PSP game I plan to play the PSP Chronicles+ version of Ys II. But after that, I will check out Celceta. It's hard to go wrong with Ys, as long as Falcom was the developer at least.Oh, and totally agree about Origin, it's an amazing experience. Anyone skipping that one is doing so at their loss.
PLAY KING'S FIELD.
