Games Beaten 2016

Post by **ElkinFencer10** » Sat Dec 17, 2016 9:27 pm

Games Beaten in 2016 So Far - 120

January (20 Games Beaten)

February (8 Games Beaten)

March (8 Games Beaten)

April (13 Games Beaten)

May (6 Games Beaten)

June (13 Games Beaten)

July (7 Games Beaten)

August (15 Games Beaten)

September (8 Games Beaten)

October (10 Games Beaten)

November (6 Games Beaten)

December (6 Games Beaten)

120. Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse - 3DS - December 17

Waaaay back in 2013 when I was till in college, I picked up Shin Megami Tensei IV on a whim. I'd never played a game in the series before, but a friend of mine kept going on and on about how great the series was and what an amazing game IV was going to be, so I figured what the hell? I'll give it a shot. Thus was born my love of the Megami Tensei series. When I heard the announcement for Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse, I immediately went on Amazon and pre-ordered the game. It took me a month or two to get around to actually starting the game, and then I took a break halfway through to play Pokémon Moon, but having finally finished it tonight, I can say that it is a wholly satisfying game, even if a bit too long.

If you've played Shin Megami Tensei IV, then you already know how Apocalypse plays. Their gameplay is EXACTLY the same. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, right? Apocalypse isn't technically a sequel to SMT4, but it does take place in the same universe (albeit an alternate one) and will spoil a bit of the story of SMT4 in various ways, so make sure you play that one first if this piques your interest. Now as for the story, it takes place in the year "203X," 25 years after an apocalyptic war between Merkebah's angel army and Lucifer's demon army. Caught in the crossfire was humanity, leading to a massive nuclear cataclysm. In a last ditch effort to save Tokyo from annihilation, a hero erects a massive dome over Tokyo, saving from nuclear holocaust but subjecting it to complete isolation. On top of this dome forms the Eastern Kingdom of Mikado, a Judeo-Christian theocracy. You play as Genericunnamedplayercharacter, a 15 year old aspiring to join the ranks of the Hunters, an organization that tries to protect the last vestiges of humanity from the hoards of demons and angels infesting Tokyo.

I won't spoil the story itself, but the context is that you're bound to the god Dagda who wants to use you to slay Merkabah (YHVH's avatar) and Lucifer (Satan's avatar) as only humans can permanently kill gods. Also, for those whose Judeo-Christian mythology is rusty, YVHV is the theonym for the Abrahamic god. Anyway, plot devices happen, and third faction, an alliance of polytheistic gods called the Divine Powers, is formed and stands in opposition to both Merkabah and Lucifer, adding another box on Dagda's "to have my Godslayer kill" list. For those who have played SMT4, you may remember that most all choices as well as the three endings were solidly either Chaos, Law, or Neutral. Apocalypse has several different endings based on your choices (although, fair warning, most choices you make don't affect anything), but none of them are as obviously Law or Chaos. Rather, they're pretty much all variations of neutrality, making them a lot more interesting in my opinion.

The storytelling in Apocalypse is really stellar, and it will rip out your heart and grind it into dust on a few different occasions. My favorite aspect of the game, however, is not about the narrative but rather some of the mechanics and how approachable it is. Apocalypse offers five different difficulty settings, making it extremely accessible for long-time Megami Tensei veterans all the way down to "This is literally my first JRPG ever." If you find yourself completely up against a wall (or just want to wreck everything ever) and have a few bucks to spare, Atlus offers your standard "pay to win" DLC. For $1 each, you can download special dungeons that give you massive exp boost items, ridiculously valuable items to sell, more app points, stronger demons, you name it. Normally I think pay-to-win schemes are the worst thing in the world after mandatory after school meetings, but in a purely single player game, I don't really have a problem with them, especially at such a low price. Want the extra crutch? They're cheap downloads. Don't want it? Just ignore them.

After you kill the Divine Powers, Merkabah, and Lucifer, you get to the most god awful obnoxious dungeon I've encountered yet in an 8th gen RPG. In the last dungeon, you fight reincarnations of all the hardest shit you've fought for the past 45 hours (dungeon-wide boss rush; great) culminating in a duel with Satan and, at last, a fight to the death with YVHV himself. Ever wanted to literally kill God? Here's your chance. It is - obviously - not an easy final boss, but by the time I got to him, I was 50 hours in and level 120, so with some careful item management and strategic move use, it was an extremely manageable boss fight.

I'm not sure if I'm prepared to say that Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse is better than its predecessor, but it's a DAMN good game, and it really makes you think. This is not a game for the easily offended with regards to religion, and it really does force you to confront some difficult theological questions, especially the very end of the game. Being an agnostic myself, I wasn't prompted to do any soul searching or anything of the sort, but as I'm fascinated by theology in general, I absolutely loved the neutral, questioning tone the entire game took. If you've got a 3DS and are a fan of JRPGs, I absolutely positively recommend this one. It's a good 50 hour commitment and does start to feel like it's dragging by the time you get to YHVH's domain, but it's an incredible experience that ought not be missed.

Post by **MrPopo** » Sat Dec 17, 2016 9:39 pm

Question for you. Is Lucifer actually Satan's avatar? Because in previous SMT games Satan was an angel in the service of YHVH (albeit a very demonic looking angel). So this would be a pretty big change with series tradition.

Post by **ElkinFencer10** » Sat Dec 17, 2016 9:44 pm

MrPopo wrote:Question for you. Is Lucifer actually Satan's avatar? Because in previous SMT games Satan was an angel in the service of YHVH (albeit a very demonic looking angel). So this would be a pretty big change with series tradition.

I oversimplified a bit, but they didn't change that tradition much. Satan isn't in the service of YHVH per se but more like his other half. If you're familiar with Zoroastrian duotheism, it's portrayed that way. Merkabah and Lucifer are the two halves of Satan, and while it's not entirely clarified at the end, it's suggested that Satan and YHVH are two halves of a whole, one the embodiment of order and other chaos but neither inherently good nor evil. Satan plays a role in helping you slay YVHV, but YVHV does mention being "betrayed" by Satan. The only main series SMT game I've played is IV, so it sounds like you'd know the series' traditions much better than I, but that was the impression that I got from the game's ending.

Post by **PartridgeSenpai** » Sat Dec 17, 2016 10:22 pm

Partridge Senpai's 2016 Beaten List
1-50

51. Axiom Verge
52. Otomedius Excellent
53. JUMP Ultimate Stars
54. Dynasty Warriors 3
55. Fire Emblem if: Byakuya (Birthright)
56. Fire Emblem if: Anya (Conquest)
57. Fire Emblem if: Invisible Kingdom (Revelations)
58. Stubbs the Zombie
59. Mori Mori Slime
60. Metal Slug 7
60. Dream Mix TV: World Fighters
61. Youkai Watch
62. Legacy of Ys: Book 1
63. Legacy of Ys: Book II

64. Blur (360)

When I originally heard about this game, I heard of it as real-car racing with Mario Kart-esque power-ups. That sounded pretty fun to me, but I had no preperation for HOW fun it would actually be.

Blur mixes the things that I love from my two favorite racing games, Mario Kart and F-Zero. From Mario Kart, you have fairly arcadey racing and a slew of power-ups to pick up while you're doing it to try and knock your opponents down a peg. From F-Zero, you have a great sense of speed, destructable cars (each one has a health bar, but you have to get wrecked like five times before you're actually out of the race), and very packed races. The races with 15-20 racers are very common, and they're great manic fun. The AI' difficulty ain't no slouch, but it's definitely defeatable (even for a racing scrub like me ;p).

For being a racing game fairly grounded in reality with its asthetic, the presentation of the game really does lend itself to the title of "blur." From the lights on the cars, to the lights in the cities, to the wonderful neon glow of the powerups, this game really does do a lot to create an impression of speed on the player. There were some races I didn't even mind doing over and over to try and achieve different objectives just because those particular tracks were such fun pits of mayhem and speed! This is the only 360 racer I've played, but it's definitely one of the prettiest last-gen games I've played.

The power-ups add SO much strategy to a field where they could otherwise take away. Just about all of them have a primary (forward) and an alternate (backward) fire, from the mines to the boosts. A mine can be dropped behind you, or it can be launched forwards as a very powerful projectile. A boost can be used for a boost of speed, or as a burst of breaking power to make a tight corner juuuust how you want it. A Shunt can be fired forwards as a red-shell-like projectile, or can be launched behind you for a scary thing for your opponents to dodge. I loved the strategy and the variablility the power-ups added. Almost no race ever felt like it was 100% settled until the final flag had been waved.

Verdict: Highly Recommended. If you like arcadey racing games, you will love Blur. As a big fan of Mario Kart and F-Zero, this definitely filled the void of a lack of F-Zero last gen for me. This is definitely in the running for my favorite racing game of all time, and was a total treat to come upon so late in the year <3

65. Limbo (360) (Repeat)

Not gonna lie, I really only played through this again because I saw that you get an Avatar pet item for beating it on XBLA, and I already owned the game on disc as a part of the triple-pack I have with Trials HD and 'Splosion Man. Granted, it's been a good few years since I last played through it, so it was a good couple-hour romp through vaguely familiar stomping grounds. Figured I'd go for all of the achievement-eggs this time through, but HOLY GOD those secret eggs. Came across a video on how to get those looking up how to get some of the last eggs, and those things are so freaking crazy to find: I have no idea how anyone ever did.

Verdict: It's okay. It's one of the original Indie-darlings post-Braid, so chances are you already have played it or already own it. If you already own it, it's not a bad way to kill a few hours: It's probably one of the better paced puzzle-platformers out there on Steam. If you don't own it, either play the spiritual successor that came out recently, "INSIDE," or just wait until you happen to get it as part of a humble bundle ;P

Post by **MrPopo** » Sat Dec 17, 2016 10:39 pm

ElkinFencer10 wrote:
MrPopo wrote:Question for you. Is Lucifer actually Satan's avatar? Because in previous SMT games Satan was an angel in the service of YHVH (albeit a very demonic looking angel). So this would be a pretty big change with series tradition.

I oversimplified a bit, but they didn't change that tradition much. Satan isn't in the service of YHVH per se but more like his other half. If you're familiar with Zoroastrian duotheism, it's portrayed that way. Merkabah and Lucifer are the two halves of Satan, and while it's not entirely clarified at the end, it's suggested that Satan and YHVH are two halves of a whole, one the embodiment of order and other chaos but neither inherently good nor evil. Satan plays a role in helping you slay YVHV, but YVHV does mention being "betrayed" by Satan. The only main series SMT game I've played is IV, so it sounds like you'd know the series' traditions much better than I, but that was the impression that I got from the game's ending.

Yeah, that's definitely something new. In the previous mainline SMT games Satan was one of the primary agents of YHVH, so switching him to the chaos side is a split and a definite betrayal.

That said, only SMT I and II are directly connected story-wise in the mainline games. Nocturne sets up the nature of the recurrence and multiverse and alludes to a connection to the I&II continuity but at that point they also started to go more towards having the series share themes and mechanics but letting each one stand alone story wise. When you consider how many apocalypses are involved in the series it makes sense; it'd be quite hard to maintain some sort of full story continuity and progression that made sense.

Post by **Exhuminator** » Sun Dec 18, 2016 12:05 am

I think IAP in a $30 3DS game is disgusting, but it's the world we live in.

Elkin if you've never played SMT: Nocturne on PS2, you oughta. It's my favorite PS2 JRPG, and one the greatest gaming experiences of my life. I don't see how you couldn't love it.

Post by **MrPopo** » Sun Dec 18, 2016 1:04 am

Exhuminator wrote:Elkin if you've never played SMT: Nocturne on PS2, you oughta. It's my favorite PS2 JRPG, and one the greatest gaming experiences of my life. I don't see how you couldn't love it.

If you do something silly like trigger the True Demon Ending path without realizing just what you've signed up for a lot of its goodwill can evaporate.

Post by **PartridgeSenpai** » Sun Dec 18, 2016 8:19 am

MrPopo wrote:
Exhuminator wrote:Elkin if you've never played SMT: Nocturne on PS2, you oughta. It's my favorite PS2 JRPG, and one the greatest gaming experiences of my life. I don't see how you couldn't love it.

If you do something silly like trigger the True Demon Ending path without realizing just what you've signed up for a lot of its goodwill can evaporate.

Ahhh, that reminds me of when I accidentally activated hard-mode on La-Mulana on my first time through! DAMN, that was tough, and I really had no idea why, but I had fun! :lol:

Post by **ElkinFencer10** » Sun Dec 18, 2016 12:02 pm

Games Beaten in 2016 So Far - 121

January (20 Games Beaten)

February (8 Games Beaten)

March (8 Games Beaten)

April (13 Games Beaten)

May (6 Games Beaten)

June (13 Games Beaten)

July (7 Games Beaten)

August (15 Games Beaten)

September (8 Games Beaten)

October (10 Games Beaten)

November (6 Games Beaten)

December (7 Games Beaten)

121. Shantae - GBC - December 18

Unfortunately, I had to play this game via the 3DS virtual console. I have a good sized collection of extremely rare and valuable games, but Shantae isn't in it (yet). Despite this game's cult following, the universal critical reception every game in the series has received, and the commercial success of its sequels, I can't help but find myself feeling a little disappointed after finishing the first game. It's not bad by any means, but I suppose half a decade of beloved sequels and a legendary original release (at least in terms of rarity) has built up an expectation in me that no Gameboy Color game could ever have met.

Shantae is an action platformer not entirely unlike Mega Man, although instead of killing enemies with an arm cannon, you beat them to death with your pony tail. THAT aspect of the game will never cease to bring me joy. You play as Shantae, a half-genie who protects a small coastal town and who ends up on a quest to stop Risky Boots, the nefarious pirate queen, from building some steam powered super weapon by finding some magical tablets before she does. Or something like that. I played this game on and off for three years before actually finishing it, so forgive me for having a bit fuzzy a memory.

For the most part, the game's mechanics are fairly solid, but there are some aspects that feel like they could have used just a little more TLC. The hit detection, for example, felt very hit or miss to me (no pun intended). Most of the time, it was just fine, but there would inevitably be an instance every now and then where I definitely should have hit an enemy and didn't or definitely shouldn't have been hit by an enemy and was. It is, however, a Gameboy Color game, and even if it was released in 2002, so I cut it some slack due to the system's technical limitations.

Where the game really shines, however, is with the visuals. It seriously puts the "color" in Gameboy Color. The character models are the most vibrant and colorful I've seen in any GBC game, and the animations are a technical feat for the system. When you finally clear a dungeon and find its magic stone thing, her twirling animation is something that seriously shouldn't be possible on hardware as limited as the Gameboy Color. The music is also absolutely delightful - a surprise given how painful to the ears a lot of Gameboy Color and even Gameboy Advance music can be. Truthfully, I think the game is worth playing despite its few mechanical shortcomings just to appreciate the visual and audio design and the performance that WayForward was able to coax out of the aging GBC.

Shantae is not a masterpiece of a game (although the case for it as a masterpiece of visuals for the system can be argued), but it is a good game. It's also an almost mythically rare game for the system if you have the original cartridge. The color, the animations, and the music are all worth experiencing as they truly showcase what hidden potential the Gameboy Color had. It's just a shame that the gameplay doesn't live up to the standard set by the series' reputation and the other design elements of the game.

Post by **Sarge** » Sun Dec 18, 2016 1:18 pm

The comparison I like to use for Shantae is Simon's Quest.

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