Games Beaten 2015

[nullPointer]

At some point I'm going to want to do a run through Alucard's path, though I think I'm going to use Grant as my partner. I messed around a bit with the "start with a partner" passwords and Alucard just handles too weird for my tastes.

I've always wondered (and you Castlevania scholars may very well know); is there a path/partnership combination in Castlevania III that's considered 'canon' in terms of the overall Castlevania mythos?* I've always figured that the Alucard path might be considered canon, since he's the primary recurring character introduced in III (other than Grant and Sypha token appearances in the Castlevania: Judgement fighting game, which I've not played)

*It should be noted that I'm not necessarily a "canon nerd", other than I generally find it interesting to know what is and is not considered as official canon (as opposed to those who consider anything outside of canon to be invalid to the series in question).

** Feel free to move this post to the Castlevania Appreciation thread if that would be a more appropriate spot.

[Markies]

20. Castlevania III - NES

This has been a real journey, and I'm so glad the game has a password system instead of requiring me to beat it in one sitting. I did the Sypha path and I'm glad I did, not just because of the stages but because she's so effective against several of the later bosses including Dracula.

I have been on a slow Castlevania Journey myself. From having an original Castlevania cartridge that would freeze up to finding a re-released one to playing Castlevania II to finding and playing Castlevania III, it has been a tough journey.

Castlevania is a tough game that took me several tries to beat. The only way I was able to beat Death and then Dracula was to Holy Water them both. Death especially had to be glitched. Dracula took me an hour straight, but then I beat him without being touched.

Castlevania III is so very frustrating. I cannot tell you how many times I have died because of those stairs. You are constantly banging your head against the wall to try and make progress and it takes so long to finally do anything.

I am very jealous that you beat Castlevania III as I haven't done it yet. After a while, I just couldn't take it anymore and will pick it up on another day.

Congratulations on your accomplishment!

[MrPopo]

At some point I'm going to want to do a run through Alucard's path, though I think I'm going to use Grant as my partner. I messed around a bit with the "start with a partner" passwords and Alucard just handles too weird for my tastes.

I've always wondered (and you Castlevania scholars may very well know); is there a path/partnership combination in Castlevania III that's considered 'canon' in terms of the overall Castlevania mythos?* I've always figured that the Alucard path might be considered canon, since he's the primary recurring character introduced in III (other than Grant and Sypha token appearances in the Castlevania: Judgement fighting game, which I've not played)

*It should be noted that I'm not necessarily a "canon nerd", other than I generally find it interesting to know what is and is not considered as official canon (as opposed to those who consider anything outside of canon to be invalid to the series in question).

** Feel free to move this post to the Castlevania Appreciation thread if that would be a more appropriate spot.

My understanding is that it's considered that you picked up all three partners and the four of you went through and defeated Dracula. Alucard in SotN references his time with Trevor and Sypha ended up marrying Trevor which is why Juste has magical abilities.

[dsheinem]

Games Beaten 2015

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call - 3DS
A Bird Story - PC
Quake - PC
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare - PS4
Quake: Scourge of Armagon - PC
Quake: Dissolution of Eternity - PC
Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis - NDS
Painkiller - PC
Gungrave: Overdose - PS2
Adventure -Atari 2600 (PS2)
Auto Racing - Intellivision (PS2) [1979]
Boxing - Atari 2600 (PS2) [1980]
The Count - TI99/4A (emulated) [1981]
Dragonstomper - Atari 2600/Starpath Supercharger (emulated) [1982]
Enduro - Atari 2600 (PS2) [1983]
Diablo III - PS4
Front Line - Atari 2600 (emulated) [1984]
Gertie Goose - The Lost Eggs - C64 (emulated) [1985]
Ocean Commander - Wii
Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance - PS2
Diablo III: Reaper of Souls - PS4
Mortal Kombat: Deception - PS2
The Order: 1886 - PS4
The Uncle Who Works for Nintendo - PC
Grab Them By The Eyes - PC
Growl - PS2/Arcade
Hydlide - NES [1986]
Ikari Warriors - NES [1987]
Jonah Barrington's Squash - C64 (emulated) [1988]
Steel Diver - 3DS
Super Mario 3D World - - Wii U
Quake II - PC
Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number - PS4
Kung Fu Louie vs. The Martial Art Posse - PC [1989]
Loom - PC [1990]
Metroid II: Return of Samus - GB [1991]
Ninja Commando - - Arcade (MAME) [1992]
Tennis in the Face - Vita
Final Fantasy Type-0 HD - PS4 *new*


Total: 39

Previously: 2014 | The First 400 Games


I am really not sure what I think of this game, even after finishing it. There are lots of things I really liked, lots of things I found really mediocre, and more than a few things that I found to be poorly done. I'll write a bit about each.

I liked the combat. It was fast, fun, and provided a good mix of action and strategy (with the emphasis on the former). I initially thought controlling a dozen or so party members at all times would be burdensome, but it was genuinely enjoyable to shuffle characters in and out and provide myself with new approaches to combat throughout the game. The auto-party member swapping during missions helped keep everyone close to the same level, too, which was appreciated and minimized my micro-management. I liked the soundtrack - it isn't amongst the best in the series, but it is still beautifully composed and doesn't overdo the nods to those familiar FF jingles...I am glad the CE came with a CD of stuff from the score. There was some stunning art direction, and more than a few stellar cut scenes. There was a traditional "old school" world map with random encounters and things to explore on the side. The game was about 25-30 hours, which is a nice length for an RPG for me. I did only a few side missions, though.

There were a lot of things that were clearly "mixed bag." While the art direction was itself phenomenal, the graphics were wildly uneven - distractingly so. It was impressive that they turned a PSP game into something that regularly looks like a PS3 game (and even sometimes a PS4 game at moments), but in almost every scene there are some jarring graphical details that can suck you out of the moment. On a related note...with a few brief exceptions, I didn't find the camera to be as frustrating as many reviewers did. The story had the kind of large scale grandeur and the type of varied set pieces that one would hope from a JRPG in general and from the FF series in particular, but it was very poorly told - the pacing, the character arcs, the twists, the climax - none of these were especially compelling. This is a shame, as the world building was impressive and I wanted to care about what I was doing, but it was tough to do so given what I had to work with. Also on the mediocre side was inventory/character build management - the menus were clunky and a bit confusing, even if they ultimately let you do some cool things.

There were things I hated. The dialogue. My god, the dialogue. Not only was it gratingly juvenile and boring, but it was horrendously delivered. This game has perhaps the worst English dub I have heard in a video game (though it should be noted that I don't play many games that feature this). The in-between mission stuff around the school also became tedious about half way through the game when you realized that maybe 1 out of every 6 interactions at best would be interesting. The game is also too easy - and as such you collect a lot of stuff that you never need or use. The game also has some poorly developed large-scale "capture/defend the town" skirmishes that take place on the world map: these are a boring waste of time (though at least the creators acknowledge this, as you can skip them with no penalty). Oh, I also hated hearing "Kupo!" approximately 1,000,000,000,000,000 times while I played the game.

Still, I think I'd play Final Fantasy Type-1. The story actually ends on some interesting ideas (some of which are oddly hidden away in unlocked movies that you have to go watch on your own outside the story), and this was the newest FF RPG I've actually finished since FF9. I think I'd recommend it (especially if you can find it cheap at some point), just be ready to find a lot of poor execution mixed with some really good ideas.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Still tempted to get that on PSP.

[Xeogred]

Weird to see dsheinem talking about a JRPG for some reason.

It looks cool to me, but I'll probably wait on some price drops. After vomiting my way through most of the XIII games, I'm not sure I can handle much more quality Square Enix writing/dialogue right now. I sincerely hope the entire writing staff behind XV are completely different people.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

Half Life 2: Episode 2 PC
Metal Gear Rising: Revengance PC
Rogue Legacy Vita

Dirt 3 Complete Edition PC

Beat this about a week ago.

Haven't really finished much in the way of games this year have I?

[dsheinem]

Weird to see dsheinem talking about a JRPG for some reason.

Really? I play at least a few almost every year...

[emwearz]

Thanks for the write up Dave, as I originally thought I would, I will be waiting for the heavy price drops that has been so common in Final Fantasy games recently.

[Exhuminator]

There were things I hated. The dialogue. My god, the dialogue. Not only was it gratingly juvenile and boring, but it was horrendously delivered. This game has perhaps the worst English dub I have heard in a video game

This is the primary reason I plan to play the fan translated PSP version this year. Firstly the actual translation itself is supposed to be better than SQEX's official one. Secondly, it's only available as Japanese dub, which I don't mind at all.