Games Beaten 2016

[noiseredux]

Yeah that game looks rad. $15 on GOG.com though! I'll most certainly wait for a sale to grab it.

$4.50 on Steam right now...

[MrPopo]

Same dev also did Oniken, which has Ninja Gaiden influences.

[Xeogred]

Yup, which is under $2 on Steam right now! I'll check it out.

If you guys want a music sample of Odallus:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhV1BXe8z6Y

The looks of this area reminded me of Level 8 from Blaster Master!

[PartridgeSenpai]

Partridge Senpai's 2016 Beaten List
1. Tales of Vesperia
2. SNK Vs. Capcom Card Fighters Clash 2: Expanded Edition
3. Toro! Let's Party!
4. Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood
5. Ghost Trick
6. Shining Force: EXA
7. Fire Emblem: Awakening
8. New Super Mario Bros. U
9. New Luigi U
10. Riviera: The Promised Land
11. (Dragon Quest) Mori Mori Slime 3
12. Sorcery Saga: Curse of the Great Curry God
13. Yoshi's New Island
14. Yoshi's Island (repeat)
15. Super Back to the Future II
16. Enslaved: Odyssey to the West
17. Binary Domain
18. Star Fox Assault
19. Chibi-Robo Park Patrol
20. Scurge: The Hive
21. Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure
22. Yoshi's Woolly World
23. BOXBOY!
24. Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom
25. Mafia II
26. Gears of War
27. Halo 3
28. Tales of Graces f
29. Tales of Graces f : Lineages & Legacies
30. DeathSmiles
31. Dishonored
32. Dishonored: The Knife of Dunwall DLC
33. Dishonored: The Brigmore Witches DLC
34. Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival
35. Tales of Symphonia
36. Ninja Smasher
37. Samba De Amigo
38. Mario & Luigi 4: Dream Adventure
39. Alien on the Run
40. Resident Evil Revelations
41. El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron
42. Beautiful Katamari
43. Katamari Damacy
44. Crazy Construction
45. Spec Ops: The Line

46. Wario World (GameCube) (Repeat)

After Exhuminator played this a little while back and didn't really like it, I was prompted to replay to reconfirm how I felt about it. My prior opinion still stands: It is a solid, fun game that I really like. This is labeled as a repeat, although the last times I've played this game were in like 2004 when I rented it when it came out, then again in 2011 which is probably when I bought it, so it's been a while and I didn't really remember the bosses or maps well.

Wario World is primarily a mix between an action game and a platforming game. In terms of the platforming, it's a little of a mixed bag. There are only 8 levels, but each one is very long and can take a half an hour or more, especially if you want to find all of the goodies in it. The stages themselves don't often contain any seriously difficult platforming, at least until the later stages, but the main difficulty in the platforms comes from the challenge doors in each stage, as well as finding and collecting the cash and collectibles in each stage.

These doors contain crystals which you'll need to open the door to the final boss, so you'll need to do at least a few in every stage. These challenge areas also often contain hint sprites (which give info about enemies and bosses, as well as affecting which ending you get) and statue pieces (collect all 8 in a stage for another half of a heart), so they're basically all worth at least attempting. The camera control is much more precise in these levels than in the main stages, with the challenge rooms having 360 degrees of viewing while the main stages have the camera at a more fixed angle. The camera is pretty good though generally though. There was only one time or two that I wished it could zoom out a bit more, but never anything egregious. In addition to the crystals, statue pieces and hint sprites, there are also treasure chests to collect in each stage which are mostly just for show. They unlock some Wario Ware mini games you can play on your GBA, but other than that, it's mostly just a 100%-ing thing. The last two times i went through this game, I 100%'d it, but this time I couldn't as there was one challenge room that totally stumped me in the final stage.

In terms of action, there are 5 or so basic enemy types which are in every world, and then each stage usually has at least one kind of enemy and/or gate enemy specific to it (charging elephants in the circuis, flying shovels at the pyramids, Pea-hat wannabes in the garden, etc.). Wario is a big fat, bulky guy, and his moves reflect that. He smashes real quick with his fists, he can grapple to do pile-drivers or bowser-tail-spins, and he can groundpound, and he even has his charging dash from the Wario Land games. The charge dashing is especially fun, because occasionally you can use it to get around certain annoying enemies or skip certain platforming sections. Some of the later challenge rooms absolutely require the dash though, so it's good to try and get used to it at least a little.

I feel it worth mentioning that Exhuminator expressed a lot of frustration at how pressing the B button punches, while holding it dashes (leading to falling off cliffs), but I never really experienced that as a problem. Chalk it up to play style I suppose, but it's not a problem I ever remember having, perhaps because I so mash the B button to punch dudes. I'd akin it to something like in Sonic Adventure 2, where light-dash as well as roll are on the B button: It's something that's annoying for some, and totally ignorable for others. Not nearly as bad as say how in Donkey Kong Country Returns, ducking while waggling blows a puff of air, while just waggling while walking rolls forward, which leads to a lot of deaths when trying to do that quickly for goodies. Though in Wario World, falling down pits isn't actually lethal, at least not in the traditional sense. It just puts you down into a realm where you can lose a bit of money if you get hit, but you try to get out as soon a possible.

Money has a bit of a weird function in this game, as it usually does in Wario action games. Money is essentially extra health and extra lives in this game. You can occasionally find garlic (heals one heart) in boxes in the earlier stages, but sooner or later you'll more or less only be able to buy it consistently from the vendors located in each stage. Other than buying garlic, when you totally run out of health, you can pay an amount of gold to instantly respawn where you were, as opposed to completely restarting the stage. I finished the game with like 13k in gold, so money wasn't really a problem, but knowing early on that you can magnetize money to you with L helps in racking it up quickly and easily.

One of the best features in the game, though, are the boss battles. There is a boss at the end of every stage, as well as a world boss after every 2nd stage, as well as a final boss, making 13 in total. They have a very good difficulty curve, it's not immediately always given to you on a platter how to defeat them, but it's always intuitive and never contrived. The bosses are definitely one of the most fun parts of the game.

Verdict: Recommended. It isn't exactly Mario Sunshine 2 in terms of the dynamism of its platforming, but it isn't trying to be. Wario World is trying to be an actiony, platforming hunt for wealth, and it succeeds at that well. Treasure, the devloper, usually tries to make something a bit different, and that's what this is: Different, wacky, and fun.

[ElkinFencer10]

Looks pretty legit and not too bullet hell-y.

There are times - especially bosses - that get bullet hell-y, and it definitely feels more bullet hell-y at higher difficulties, but it's a damn good game. Probably the best recent shmup I've played since ALLTYNEX Second.

[Exhuminator]

I feel it worth mentioning that Exhuminator expressed a lot of frustration at how pressing the B button punches, while holding it dashes (leading to falling off cliffs), but I never really experienced that as a problem.

The even dumber thing is there's actually a dedicated button for dashing on the controller. Yet Treasure still thought it necessary to make the B button also dash, if you hold the B button down for more than half a second.

[Sarge]

Odallus is also part of the Killer Bundle on Bundle Stars for $4.49: https://www.bundlestars.com/en/bundle/killer-bundle-8

Odallus was a lot of fun. It wasn't the best game of its type that I played, but it's a huge step up from Oniken; that game seemed to have the right elements, but just felt "off". Odallus feels a lot more cohesive.

I still like Demon's Crest more, but then, I think that's AAA-tier stuff. I'm even very used to the controls, so I think they're better than Odallus, which is solid but still feels a little weird to me. Nothing show-stopping, of course.

[Exhuminator]

Yes Demon's Crest is AAA all the way. More people need to play it. The game deserves to be spoke of with the same reverence as Super Metroid, Earthbound, A Link to the Past, and other renowned SNES games.

[Sarge]

Absolutely. True story: I've actually replayed Demon's Crest more times than I have Super Metroid, and by a pretty significant margin.

[Xeogred]

Yes Demon's Crest is AAA all the way. More people need to play it. The game deserves to be spoke of with the same reverence as Super Metroid, Earthbound, A Link to the Past, and other renowned SNES games.

Yikes. lol

I've tried playing Demon's Crest at least 5 times over the last decade or so probably. Even bought it again on the Wii U VC shop and got the furthest I'd ever gotten. Maybe 3 hours in or something.

But I'm definitely not a fan. Really annoying bosses, needing to grind out a bit in the towns for those orb things, the weird controls and flying throws me off all the time along with the weird wall holding... everything about the controls is a nightmare to me. Very stop-and-go in the weirdest ways. And none of the forms seemed better. It was so slow paced. I don't recall any of the music either. But the graphics are amazing.

I'd much rather play Super Ghouls' n Ghosts.

Add that to my list with Earthbound of games I just don't like.