Games Beaten 2015

[BoneSnapDeez]

First 50:

1. Grandia (PlayStation)
2. Jungle Hunt (Xbox - Taito Legends)
3. Jungle Hunt (Atari 2600)
4. Jungle Hunt (Plug & Play - ColecoVision Flashback)
5. Donkey Kong (Atari 2600)
6. Donkey Kong (Intellivision)
7. Donkey Kong (ColecoVision)
8. Bubble Bobble (NES)
9. Side Arms: Hyper Dyne (PSP - Capcom Classics Collection Remixed)
10. 1941: Counter Attack (PSP - Capcom Classics Collection Remixed)
11. Ys: The Ark of Napishtim (PSP)
12. The Ninja Kids (Xbox - Taito Legends)
13. Neutopia (TurboGrafx-16)
14. Golden Axe Warrior (Xbox 360 - Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection)
15. Phantasy Star Online Ver. 2 (Dreamcast)
16. Growl (PlayStation 2 - Taito Legends 2)
17. Arabian Magic (PlayStation 2 - Taito Legends 2)
18. Dungeon Magic (PlayStation 2 - Taito Legends 2)
19. Gekirindan (PlayStation 2 - Taito Legends 2)
20. Ys II (Saturn - Falcom Classics II)
21. Darius Gaiden (PlayStation 2 - Taito Legends 2)
22. G Darius (PlayStation 2 - Taito Legends 2)
23. Giana Sisters DS (DS)
24. RayStorm (PlayStation 2 - Taito Legends 2)
25. Mr. Do! (ColecoVision)
26. Beauty & the Beast (Intellivision)
27. Boxing (PlayStation 2 - Activision Anthology)
28. Crystalis (NES)
29. Dragon Warrior (NES)
30. Faxanadu (NES)
31. Tombs & Treasure (NES)
32. Kirby's Dream Land (Game Boy)
33. Kirby's Adventure (NES)
34. Kirby Super Star (SNES)
35. Hoshi no Kirby 64 (Nintendo 64)
36. Kirby: Triple Deluxe (3DS)
37. Dig Dug (Wii - Namco Museum Megamix)
38. Phoenix (Xbox - Taito Legends)
39. Phoenix (Atari 2600)
40. Pleiads (Xbox - Tecmo Classic Arcade)
41. Kangaroo (Atari 2600)
42. Final Fantasy Adventure (Game Boy)
43. Gorf (Atari 2600)
44. Richard Scarry's Huckle and Lowly's Busiest Day Ever (Pico)
45. Mickey's Blast Into the Past (Pico)
46. Secret of Mana (SNES)
47. Psycho Soldier (PSP - SNK Arcade Classics 0)
48. Genshi-Tou 1930's (PSP - SNK Arcade Classics 0)
49. Datsugoku: Prisoners of War (PSP - SNK Arcade Classics 0)
50. SAR: Search and Rescue (PSP - SNK Arcade Classics 0)

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)

Congo Bongo

This is Sega's answer to Donkey Kong. The similarities are striking. You play as a jungle explorer seeking not to rescue a damsel, but instead to catch the ape himself. Like DK, the game contains 4 one-screen levels featuring a multitude of obstacles and hazards to be climbed upon or jumped over.

It's okay. Graphics and sound are quite impressive for '83. The game features an isometric view similar to that of Zaxxon, but this makes navigation quite tricky. It's much harder than Donkey Kong overall, but most of my deaths felt like they were the result of "cheapness" rather than human error.

I appreciate the fact that Sega included this on Sonic's UGG, but I only recommend it to hardcore second gen fans. There are also a crapload of ports available. I have it on C64 but failed to make much progress in that version.

International Soccer

I love how straightforward these old sports games are. International Soccer features two teams, two 200 second halves to a game, and one total game to be played. There are no fouls or penalty kicks.

Graphics and sound are at the Atari level. The players look decent, but the spectators appear to be わ hiragana characters. Maybe that's just me. At the end of a match they all hold flags(?) up, which looks hilarious. Score a goal and prepare to hear the sounds of the ocean.

Controls are surprisingly smooth and fluid. The player in control of the ball is a different color, and teammates always seem to position themselves well. Passing and kicking is done with the joystick's fire button, but like many of these old sports games you can sometimes get away with playing as one single person the entire game.

I was absolutely dominating the first game I played. I appeared to be some sort of soccer genius. Then I realized that there was a lone player on the opposing team that wasn't moving at all... That's because I was playing a two-player game with no second player. I figured that this was, unfortunately, two players only (like Hockey! / Soccer! on Odyssey²), but as it turns out two player mode is simply the default. F5 has to be pressed on the title screen to trigger the one player game. Well that isn't cryptic at all! Yet another game from the "good luck without the manual!" era. F5 can also be pressed repeatedly to increase difficulty, and the other F keys can be used to change uniform color or even set the game to grayscale for an old black & white TV.

This is a fun little soccer game. Noticeably better than many other sports titles of the era and a nice way to spend a Sunday evening.

Back to my Year Challenge now!

[Key-Glyph]

I purchased a pink Nintendo DS Lite for my daughter earlier this month, and on Saturday morning she beat her first game without any assistance from her parents. (I am so proud of her!)

High-five your daughter for me! That's awesome!!

If anyone has suggestions for Nintendo DS games a six-year-old girl will enjoy, please let me know.

I'd highly recommend Tamagotchi Corner Shop 3. It's a collection of minigames under the premise that you've traveled to the Tamagotchi planet to help revive their town's shopping district. You go incognito as a Tamagotchi yourself (you choose your avatar and -tchi name) and work hard in the town's shops, helping businesses expand and in turn inspiring new ones to open up.

The graphics, sound, and music are quite quirky and charming, and I have to say, the minigames are really satisfying. I admit to baking bread and mixing ice cream floats with my bud Kuchipatchi when I'm sick, stuck in waiting rooms, or just generally in need of a silly smile. And they're of good variety, too.

It will require some reading at first -- the intro has a lot of words, as does each shop when it's first opened, so you might want to sit down together and have some father-daughter time -- but after that point, each game and its steps are pretty much explained in graphics. Here's some gameplay of the bakery, which is one of my favorites. You can see the patron's request on the top screen, and the menus on the bottom are generally in step order and fairly obvious. That said, there are some shops that are infamously difficult to understand the requirements for, but once you're aware of them, you're good.

There's no way to lose, as far as I'm aware. Do well and you get reputation points; do poorly, and I think you just... don't get reputation points for that round. I don't think it works negatively against you, and the harshest criticism your Tamagotchi partner gives is only to encourage you to try a little harder.

[Exhuminator]

If anyone has suggestions for Nintendo DS games a six-year-old girl will enjoy, please let me know.

I suggest:

[Ack]

I've only played one of the games Exhuminator recommended, but I also support Scribblenauts. I love the series and have a blast coming up with ridiculous crap to get through them. However, if your daughter is dead set on playing as a girl, I don't think they'll work.

[dogman91]

In Pokemon you can pick whether you're a boy or a girl. Kids are crazy about Pokemon, even nowadays.

Also try Animal Crossing on the 3DS.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Good games for 6 year olds on DS? I'll show you what I beat when I was 6.

[prfsnl_gmr]

Tamagotchi Corner Shop 3.

Thank you for the recommendation! That sounds perfect for her. The fact is was developed by NanaOn-Sha is just icing on the cake.

List of Awesome Games

I have a copy of Electroplankton, and both my children really like playing it. Now that my daughter has her own NDS, I will break it out again. Super Scribblenauts is another game in my collection, and I think my daughter will enjoy playing it (and playing around with it). It will also help her with her spelling skills. Mechanic Master also looks great, and I am sure both my children would enjoy it. (They have an "incredible machine" type of game on their tablet, and it has been a big hit, particularly with my son.)

Pokemon and Animal Crossing

Great suggestions. I have Animal Crossing New Leaf, and I have been meaning to pick up a copy of Animal Crossing for the Nintendo DS. I think my daughter would love that game. (She thinks video games are OK, but she loves art projects.) I think that Animal Crossing and Art Academy would also be perfect for her.

I am not sure if she would enjoy Pokemon. It might be a little too complicated for her. If I see one of the DS of GBA games for a good price, I will pick it up, however. (The only Pokemon games I own are Pokemon Blue and Pokemon Yellow...for the Gameboy Color.)

Good games for 6 year olds on DS?

Here is the game I beat when I was 6:

I had to travel through time to do it, but it was worth it to say that I beat the hardest game on the Nintendo DS. (I am serious about that last point. That game makes Contra 4 look like Pinkie Pie's Party, and I have never made it past the second level.)
.....

Apparently, the "big kids" at her school are into Minecraft, and she was asking about it the other day. (She asked if she could play it on her Nintendo DS. I told her that it wouldn't work on her system but that, if she really wanted to play it, daddy would get a copy for the "big TV". (In my house, there is only one "big TV" - with 10 consoles hooked up to it - and each of my handhelds is a "little TV".) It is on my PS3 "want list" anyway; so, I may have to pick up a copy of that game soon. At the very least, it would teach her how to navigate 3D space. (My wife has never learned this, and while she is great at 2D and 2.5D games, she has trouble whenever we try 3D co-op games. I am still hoping to teach her, however, so that we can play through Half Life Decay (PS2), Phantasy Star Online (GC), and Resident Evil 5 (PS3) at some point.)

[prfsnl_gmr]

1. Cut the Rope (3DS)
2. Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction (PS3)
3. Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth (XBOX)
4. Jewel Link Chronicles: Mountains of Madness (NDS)
5. Super Mario 3D World (WIIU)
6. Mario Kart 7 (3DS)
7. Kirby Triple Deluxe (3DS)
8. Gunman Clive (3DS)
9. Child of Light (WIIU)
10. Gunman Clive 2 (3DS)
11. Mighty Switch Force! Hyper Drive Edition (WIIU)
12. Shifting World (3DS)
13. VVVVVV (3DS)
14. Mega Man 9 (PS3)
15. Mighty Switch Force 2 (WIIU)
16. Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse (PS3)
17. Castle Crashers (PS3)
18. Pushmo (3DS)

Speaking of difficult games...

Pushmo - which is a fantastic puzzle game - really brought the pain at the very end. I was able to roll the credits on it last night, however, and I have unlocked the extra-challenging "bonus" puzzles.

In Pushmo, you play a cartoon sumo-wrestler names Mallo who must push and pull blocks to create platforms he can navigate to reach the each puzzle's goal. The levels are often pixel art, and although its mechanics are completely different, the game often reminded me of Picross. The game starts out quite simple, and it teaches you its mechanics - as well as a few tricks for navigating its puzzles - with only the most basic tutorials. The difficulty ramps up steadily, and the game is wonderfully designed. It features a "rewind" feature that lets you undo your last 15-30 seconds of gameplay; you can skip past difficult puzzles after you have been stuck on them for a certain amount of time; you can easily zoom and pan over the entire play area; the puzzles are easy to pick up and put down; and (unlike Shifting World, which I completed last month), the game is clearly designed with player convenience in mind.

Moreover, the game is incredibly lengthy. Howlongtobeat.com list the average time to beat the game at 14 hours, and I would not be surpised if it took me nearly that long to beat it. (It will certainly take me several more hours to get through the incredibly challenging "bonus" puzzles, and the game features a "studio" where you can create and download player-created puzzles.) Even though I received the game for "free" from Club Nintendo, the game is a great value at full retail price. I highly recommend it to anyone with a 3DS, and I anticipate downloading its sequels, Crashmo and Pushmo World, in the near future.

[BoneSnapDeez]

You are killin' these puzzle games!

I believe we've talked about it, but I think you'd be into LocoRoco (PSP) as well as its sequel.

[prfsnl_gmr]

You are killin' these puzzle games!

I believe we've talked about it, but I think you'd be into LocoRoco (PSP) as well as its sequel.

It is my second favorite genre (right behind 2D platformers)! I have all of the LocoRoco games, and I really need to play them. (Despite the size of my collection, I have never actually beaten a PSP games... )