Games Beaten 2016

[Exhuminator]

I ordered both of the Endless Ocean games

You've made a wise decision.

what kind of game is it

First off, don't believe the lies people said about these not actually being games and having no point. That's just impatient adrenaline junkie spasm from folks who didn't play long enough to know what they were talking about. I loved both Endless Ocean games, and they both have their own strengths and weaknesses. I don't think I could choose either as my overall favorite.


Endless Ocean is a relaxing scuba diving exploration/adventure game. You have a big sea with lots of various locales to explore. Exploration is a BIG part of both games. You will spend a lot of time just filling in maps and finding new creatures and salvaging lost times. You can also take on odd jobs like being a scuba tour guide or building a huge aquarium of sea creatures. As you go along you start to unravel a mystery concerning a mythological beast. Once you solve that mystery you do in fact beat the game and see credits roll, but after that you can keep on playing. Despite being more relaxing than its sequel Blue World, I found Endless Ocean to be more frightening. By that, I mean when you go diving into the abyssal trenches. Also it has a lot more cave diving, and that can be pretty hairy at times. According to my HLTB, I spent 12 hours 30 minutes to finish Endless Ocean.


Endless Ocean: Blue World is also a scuba diving exploration/adventure game. However, it is much more game-y. You work with a team of scuba divers to fulfill missions for your company. The areas you explore are very detailed and more varied than Endless Ocean, however they are smaller in size. There are aggressive creatures in Blue World that can deplete your oxygen faster, and make you lose a mission by surfacing too soon. But you can not die in either game. Blue World has underwater temples to explore, some very large, that kind of serve as de facto dungeons. Also Blue World has some boss battles (in a way) that are pretty fun but not relaxing. Blue World has wayyy more things to do in it, as far as odd jobs and optional tasks... if you're a completionist this game will break you. Blue World has a deeper story than Endless Ocean, and yes you can beat it and see credits. You have your own house, plane, and boat in this game! According to my HLTB, I spent 18 hours 14 minutes to finish Endless Ocean: Blue World.


I tremendously enjoyed both games and can not think of a better summer time series to play. This is some awe inspiring, life affirming shit yo. Put on some bermuda shorts, pour a few tropical drinks, have some toasted coconut snacks, and enjoy a wonderful virtual vacation.

[ElkinFencer10]

It's that kind of review that keeps you spending my money for me, man. I'm excited for these now. As soon as I finish Doom, Uncharted, and Homefront (all of which will probably be done before the last workday on June 10th), I look forward to exploring the oceans.

[Sarge]

I really loved Scurge: Hive. For whatever reason, it really appealed; even the infection thing didn't bother me. That last boss was brutal, though.

January:

1) Bonk's Adventure (NES)
2) Little Samson
3) Holy Diver
4) Holy Diver (legit!)
5) Mitsume Ga Tooru
6) TMNT II: The Arcade Game (NES)
7) Mighty Final Fight
8] Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!
9) Monster In My Pocket
10) Battle of Olympus
11) Gunstar Heroes (repeat)
12) Dragon Age: Inquisition
13) Dragon Age: Inquisition - Trespasser
14) Captain America and the Avengers (NES)
15) StarTropics
16) Double Dragon II: The Revenge (NES) (save states)
17) Double Dragon II: The Revenge (NES) (legit)
18) Crisis Force
19) Esper Dream 2
20) Felix the Cat
21) Moon Crystal
22) Panic Restaurant
23) Frankenstein (NES)
24) Crystalis
25) Nekketsu Kakutou Densetsu

February:

26) Killer Instinct (GB)
27) Mashin Hero Wataru Gaiden
28) Sly Spy (Arcade)
29) The Red Star (unreleased XBOX, also on PS2)
30) Adventure Island 4
31) Cocoron
32) Batman: Arkham Knight
33) Xeodrifter (Vita)
34) Doom 2
35) Brandish: The Dark Revenant
36) Magical Pop'n
37) The Ninja Warriors (SNES)
38) Phantasy Star (SMS)
39) Phantasy Star III
40) Super Smash Bros. for 3DS
41) Brandish: The Dark Revenant (Dela Mode)

March:

42) Freedom Planet (Milla, 82 lives lost)
43) Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
44) Lara Croft Go
45) Oniken
46) Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam
47) Batman: The Video Game (GB)
48) Batman: The Video Game (NES)
49) Super Spy Hunter

April:

50) Mega Man 2
51) Mega Man 4
52) Mission: Impossible (NES)
53) Mega Man 6
54) Super Mario Bros. 3
55) Sword Master
56) DuckTales 2
57) Rush'n Attack (NES)
58) Mega Man 3
59) Mega Man 5
60) Mega Man
61) S.C.A.T. - Special Cybernetic Attack Team
62) TaleSpin (NES)
63) Double Dragon III (NES)
64) Donkey Kong (NES)
65) Astyanax (NES)

May:
66) Master Chu and the Drunkard Hu
67) The New Ghostbusters II (NES, proto)
68) Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PSP, via Dracula X Chronicles)
69) Revenge of Shinobi
70) Shinobi III
71) Shadow Dancer
72) El Viento
73) Earnest Evans
74) One Must Fall 2097
75) A Nightmare on Elm Street (NES)

So I've seen recommendations of this one flying around, and I'd given it a shot not too long ago as well. Seeing that it was a Rare-developed game certainly helped, since LJN isn't exactly known for quality in most instances. And you can definitely tell it's Rare, the score pickup when you collect a bone is just like Battletoads. And the boombox sounds almost just like R.C. Pro-Am music.

The basic goal of the game is to go through stages and collect all of Freddy's (TM) bones. There's a countdown timer that, once depleted, make you go to sleep and enter the dream world. Much like Simon's Quest, the enemies get tougher here, although the level layouts stay the same. It's really just an HP change. Don't wake up for long enough, and Freddy (TM) will come for you. It's really just a short and relatively simple boss battle, then you resume your quest.

You're a bit of a shrimp in the real world, but you can collect icons that let you change form in the dream world. I actually didn't know about this the first time through, so I kept getting smoked by the bosses. But the forms make them so much easier. Some bosses I could survive without dying at all, some I might lose a life. As opposed to hemorrhaging two or three. You get five lives and three continues, and you continue on in-place. The forms are an Acrobat that throws javelins and can jump really well, a "Shadow Warrior" (who is basically a ninja) that has throwing stars and a jump kick, and a wizard (well, "Necromancer"). The ninja is the best against several bosses, just on the virtue of that jump kick. Taking the bosses on with the base form is a bad, bad idea.

Anyway, it's actually surprising how tight the controls are in the game, and even if the game is pretty simplistic and straightforward, it has its appeal. I can only imagine the insanity of a four-player run, though. I also suspect that, if they didn't do any HP scaling, that the bosses would be ridiculously easy overall.

Final verdict: It's an LJN-published game that doesn't suck!

[noiseredux]

Yes!!!

[pierrot]

Endless Ocean / Everblue

You might want to check out Blue Sub 6: Saigetsu Fumachibito on the Dreamcast. It's half visual novel adventure game, but the other half is spent in a customizable mini-sub, trying to salvage things out of the sea beds in various locations around the island, while your heart is about to pound itself out of your chest as you're being chased by super aggressive mutant fish, sharks, giant squids and eels, in waters that eventually become pitch black.

It's made better by familiarity with the source material, and an understanding of the language, but it might be playable without those; I'm doubtful a translation exists.

It's a personal favorite, for the Dreamcast.

[Xeogred]

Yeah I put those games on my radar thanks to Exhum there. I find the ocean to be more fascinating and scarier than space. I love when games with water levels with heavy atmosphere really take you to another place, like the DKC games or something. And then of course there is the original Ecco games. I'd definitely be up for more things like that, even if it's more serene and not broodingly dark or whatnot.

[Exhuminator]

You might want to check out Blue Sub 6: Saigetsu Fumachibito on the Dreamcast.

Will do! I didn't even know this existed. (I've seen the anime though.)

I'd definitely be up for more things like that, even if it's more serene and not broodingly dark or whatnot.

Both Endless Ocean games have dark places to dive in. Endless Ocean has the abyssal trenches and abyssal plains, as well as a few caverns. Blue World has its sunken temples and murky swamps full of giant gators and creepy catfish. Actually the scariest part of Blue World to me was diving in the arctic around all the icebergs. Let's just say if you dive deep enough beneath the ice you will find some serious OMFG stuff.

Also, if you read my Everblue review earlier, you might have saw that game is often spook ya city. I'm sure Everblue 2 has the same deep dark salvaging stuff going on. So put those on your radar too for gettin' creeped.

[Xeogred]

Definitely what I wanted to hear. I need more Atlantis-esque underwater temples in my life!

[ConsoleHandheldGamer]

I've only beaten one game this year, Xenoblade Chronicles X, eventhough I was planning on beat 16. No motivation to play anything but pokemon, trying to catch them all (and I have just done that today, except for Arceus and Meloetta!)

[BoneSnapDeez]

1. Tenchi Sōzō (Super Famicom)
2. Eternal Senia (Steam)
3. Tombs & Treasure (NES)
4. Magic Knight Rayearth (Super Famicom)
5. Zelda no Densetsu: The Hyrule Fantasy (Famicom Disk System)
6. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (NES)
7. Seiken Psycho Caliber: Majū no Mori Densetsu (Famicom Disk System)
8. Deep Dungeon: Madō Senki (Famicom Disk System)
9. Deep Dungeon II: Yūshi no Monshō (Famicom Disk System)
10. Suishō no Dragon (Famicom Disk System)
11. Dandy: Zeuon no Fukkatsu (Famicom Disk System)
12. Lagoon (SNES)
13. Contra (NES)
14. Super C (NES)
15. Wonder Boy (Sega Master System)
16. OutRun (Sega Master System)
17. OutRun (Genesis)
18. Ninja Gaiden (NES)
19. Written in the Sky (Steam)
20. Wendy: Every Witch Way (Game Boy Color)

Some quick thoughts.

Ninja Gaiden was a Summer Challenge game. Technically its a "sequel" of sorts as the first Ninja Gaiden is an arcade beat 'em up, but you certainly don't need to play that one to get into this. The game's like a fast-paced Castlevania (another Summer Challenge game of mine!) with very smooth controls and insane difficulty. Things get pretty brutal towards the game's end as there are pitfalls everywhere and infinitely respawning enemies. Not to mention the bullshit about sending you waaaay back upon losing a life. I love the first four levels as much as I hate the final two.

Oh, and don't skip the cutscenes. The story is oddly intriguing and the cutscene music is as good if not better than that which plays during gameplay.

Written in the Sky was a free visual novel on Steam. The interface is solid and graphics are well done, but the story is absolutely wretched and devolves into some cringy creepy hentai halfway through. Which is like 15 minutes in. Yeah... The developer recently dropped a new VN which looks much more promising.

Wendy: Every Witch Way has been on my "not gonna pay eBay prices but if I see it in the wild for cheap I'll grab it" want list forever. Happened to stumble upon it the other day. It's by WayForward of Shantae fame and features the same sort of cute and quirky art direction. Surprisingly, the game plays just like Metal Storm with the same sort of flip mechanic! There are also some shmup "bonus" levels sprinkled into the mix. The game's very "kiddy" and easy - I beat it on my first try within 45 minutes or so. Highly recommended for all fans of smooth relaxing platformers. I'm kinda surprised the game exists at all - how much demand could there have been for a Wendy the Good Little Witch game in 2001?