Games Beaten 2016

[ElkinFencer10]

I have heard some people say that Double Dragon on SMS is better than the NES version. Those people are wrong.

Who the fuck said that??? I mean, I still enjoy Double Dragon on the SMS, but the NES version is far superior in every way.

[MrPopo]

I could always beat Super Star Wars and Return growing up, but never beat Empire. I think I recall getting stuck in some Han Solo level that was a maze of platforms with pits everywhere.

That was probably the carbon freezing chamber. So many pits but most have bottoms and can be climbed out of. The only bottomless pit I found was the one that I found the secret cave in.

[Sarge]

I have heard some people say that Double Dragon on SMS is better than the NES version. Those people are wrong.

Who the fuck said that??? I mean, I still enjoy Double Dragon on the SMS, but the NES version is far superior in every way.

I've seen the sentiment more commonly with European gamers. I'm assuming that's owing to knowing how to have infinite continues and playing with a buddy. That's the only way it could be considered "better".

Now I'm imagining a version that plays like the NES version with the layout of the SMS one. That could be very solid, indeed. Or at least give us some continues on the NES version! I still can't consistently beat that game. I usually fail rather terribly. And it's not even the platforming that gets me!

[bmoc]

1. Shadow of Mordor Game of the Year Edition (Xbox One)
2. Halo Reach
3. Tomb Raider Definitive Edition
4. Final Fantasy VII (PS1)
5. Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES)
6. Xenoblade Chronicles X
7. The Last of Us (PS3)

Super Mario Bros. 3
My 6 year old son is still as Mario crazy as ever. A little while back we sat down and beat SMB3 without skipping any worlds. I think we skipped maybe one level with the cloud thingy. He was super excited when we finally got a hammer bros suit. I had forgotten that you could kill twomps with hammers so that was a nice surprise for the both of us. My only complaint about that game is that it needs more hammer bros suits!

Xenoblade Chronicles X
This was a Wii U system seller for me. I'm a long time fan of the Xeno series and I had to get my hands on it. After clocking in a little over 100 hours in it, I finally completed the main story. While I enjoyed Xenoblade Chronicles X overall, there are definitely some aspects that I did not like.

Xenoblade Chronicles X is not nearly as story driven as its predecessor. If this were an action game and not an RPG with endless sidequests, you could probably get through the story in an hour or two. There are numerous, mostly optional affinity missions that allow for character development of the various party members that you can recruit. I think I only maxed out affinity for 2 characters besides Elma and Lin (who are required for pretty much all the of the story missions).

Combat is pretty similar to Xenoblade Chronicles. It uses the Arts system but changes things up by mixing in a class system. Every class can do a mix of ranged and melee attacks. I leveled up a Samurai Gunner to max as well as the Astral Crusader. I did the Astral Crusader first and it felt pretty weak to be honest. I was probably doing something wrong since I was still very new to the game and there is a lot to take in. After I switched to the Samurai Gunner path, I was tearing things up with some pretty great AoE attacks. If I play it again, I'll probably test out some of the other classes.

There is also the whole skell (mech) system as well. I didn't get a skell until about 30 hours in. They are stupidly expensive and you really have maximize your research probe placement to be able to afford them. Also, you can only die in your skell (as the main character) 3 times without having to buy new skell. I found this rather puzzling because there is no punishment for dying on foot. Ultimately, it just forced me to save more often.

I found buying skell parts and upgrades to be very confusing. I felt the in-game skell tutorials to be very lacking. When I made it to chapter 10, I had to consult the Internet about how best to equip myself because I was getting stomped in my skells. Also regarding skells, I had to do a few hours of credit farming to be able to afford more than one fully equipped level 50 skell upon reaching level 50.

Another major (and common) complaint is that the text size is too small. I was sitting about 6 feet away from a 40" TV and I felt like I was going blind at times. Playing the game on the Wii U gamepad also induces a lot of eye strain.

The absolutely best thing about Xenoblade Chronicles X is the size and scope of the world. It is flipping huge. I don't think I've ever played a single player game that has had this much space. If you like exploration and extreme gear customization, this game is for you. If you are expecting a super awesome epic story like Xenoblade Chronicles for the Wii, then you may be a little disappointed.

The Last of Us
I've been looking forward to this one for a long time. I got it over Christmas but the PS3 is in the living room and I have small kids. I knew I wasn't going to be able to play it with them around. I also did not have a headset compatible with the PS3. I recently picked up the Playstation Silver Headset, so I could at least play it at night.

Like most Naughty Dog games, The Last of Us is pretty spectacular. The gameplay is great. The voice acting a is phenominal. The story is pretty standard zombie apocalypse stuff though. However, the interactions of the characters more than made of for the unoriginality of the plot.

The most satisfying part for me was killing two bloaters at once with a molotov and a nail bomb. Considering my previous encounters with bloaters always came when I was low on resources, I was pretty stoked to take out two at once without taking any damage.

I hope the rumors are true that the sequel is in development though it will probably mean that I have to shell out for a PS4.

[Vant3c]

This was a Wii U system seller for me. I'm a long time fan of the Xeno series and I had to get my hands on it. After clocking in a little over 100 hours in it, I finally completed the main story. While I enjoyed Xenoblade Chronicles X overall, there are definitely some aspects that I did not like.

Xenoblade Chronicles X is not nearly as story driven as its predecessor. If this were an action game and not an RPG with endless sidequests, you could probably get through the story in an hour or two. There are numerous, mostly optional affinity missions that allow for character development of the various party members that you can recruit. I think I only maxed out affinity for 2 characters besides Elma and Lin (who are required for pretty much all the of the story missions).

Combat is pretty similar to Xenoblade Chronicles. It uses the Arts system but changes things up by mixing in a class system. Every class can do a mix of ranged and melee attacks. I leveled up a Samurai Gunner to max as well as the Astral Crusader. I did the Astral Crusader first and it felt pretty weak to be honest. I was probably doing something wrong since I was still very new to the game and there is a lot to take in. After I switched to the Samurai Gunner path, I was tearing things up with some pretty great AoE attacks. If I play it again, I'll probably test out some of the other classes.

There is also the whole skell (mech) system as well. I didn't get a skell until about 30 hours in. They are stupidly expensive and you really have maximize your research probe placement to be able to afford them. Also, you can only die in your skell (as the main character) 3 times without having to buy new skell. I found this rather puzzling because there is no punishment for dying on foot. Ultimately, it just forced me to save more often.

I found buying skell parts and upgrades to be very confusing. I felt the in-game skell tutorials to be very lacking. When I made it to chapter 10, I had to consult the Internet about how best to equip myself because I was getting stomped in my skells. Also regarding skells, I had to do a few hours of credit farming to be able to afford more than one fully equipped level 50 skell upon reaching level 50.

Another major (and common) complaint is that the text size is too small. I was sitting about 6 feet away from a 40" TV and I felt like I was going blind at times. Playing the game on the Wii U gamepad also induces a lot of eye strain.

The absolutely best thing about Xenoblade Chronicles X is the size and scope of the world. It is flipping huge. I don't think I've ever played a single player game that has had this much space. If you like exploration and extreme gear customization, this game is for you. If you are expecting a super awesome epic story like Xenoblade Chronicles for the Wii, then you may be a little disappointed.

I have to agree with all of this. I put in 60 hrs and just drop the game. There was a lot of things that I liked about it but I was not compelled to complete the game. I would have rather have a game with a focus story and character development than random side quest and fetch quest all day long.

[PartridgeSenpai]

I have to agree with all of this. I put in 60 hrs and just drop the game. There was a lot of things that I liked about it but I was not compelled to complete the game. I would have rather have a game with a focus story and character development than random side quest and fetch quest all day long.

To be honest, I had this problem with the original as well. Perhaps the problem was just with the length, but after like 50+ hours and only being like halfway through the game, I just didn't feel compelled to continue. Perhaps some of that is on me for spending so much time on sidequests, but on the same note, Mass Effect 1 was another game that had neigh unending repetitive sidequests of which I did many. The story in that game was good enough to get me to finish it though. I guess Xenoblade 1 just didn't have enough alien politics in it for me ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Sarge]

I thought most of the sidequests in Mass Effect were interesting. They generally weren't of the "collect X" or "kill Y creatures" variety, they had portions where it revealed a bit more about your party. The Xenoblade side quests are much more like MMORPG side quests.

[Exhuminator]

I did every side quest I came across in Mass Effect, and I'm not one to give a damn about side quests. So yeah, that game was doing something right.

[Xeogred]

1. Sly 2 Band of Thieves HD (PS3)
2. Black (Xbox)
3. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Xbox)
4. Super Mario Bros Advance 4: SMB3 E-Reader Levels (WiiUVC)
5. Galerians (PSX)
6. Shantae and the Pirate's Curse (WiiU)
7. TRAG / Hard Edge: Mission of Mercy (PSX)
8. Soul Blade (PSX)
9. Castlevania Circle of the Moon* (WiiUVC)
10. The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess* HD (WiiU)
11. Mega Man 9* (PSN)
12. Mega Man 10* (PSN)
13. Dark Souls 3 (NG++) [PLATINUM] (PS4)
14. Mega Man 1* (PS4, MMLC)
15. Mega Man 2* (PS4, MMLC)
16. Mega Man 3* (PS4, MMLC)
17. Mega Man 4* (PS4, MMLC)
18. Mega Man 5* (PS4, MMLC)
19. Mega Man 6* (PS4, MMLC)

Mega Man is forever my comfort gaming series. I last replayed this set back in 2012-2013 and they will continue to be games I forever revisit and love. Above Mario and Sonic, Mega Man was my guy as a kid and cemented my passion for all things sci-fi.

So here we have the Mega Man Legacy Collection and unfortunately, this release got body slammed by the media... I guess merely because it excluded two [worst] entries in the series and didn't have any extra games. Yeah I'm not going to argue for them scaling back here, but let's not kid, I personally don't care for 7-8 not being here and can't even remember the last time I replayed those. The deal is that the devs who handled this collection apparently built a new engine from the ground up that plays these games far more accurately than the emulated versions on the Anniversary Collection. You can really tell, the controls feel heavier, and all the lag, nuisances, and quirky graphical errors pop up from time to time, but I like it and it does feel authentic. It really does feel like I'm playing these again back on the NES. The colors aren't as washed out as the previous collection, I'm assuming this is more accurate to the NES's palette, as the image quality itself is razor sharp and everything looks fantastic even on a 50". There is a music player for all the games and the remixed themes in the menus are awesome, and each game has dozens upon dozens of viewable sketches and promotional artwork which is really awesome. Then there's the Challenges, which according to the trophies it looks like there's at least 50 or more. They're collaborated mixed up scenarios of the games, sometimes even combined, and there's a timer. Looks like there's things ranging from boss rushes, and a few I tried stringed together pieces of levels from various games with teleporters in between, and the controls themselves revert to whichever game you're playing, so that kind of makes it tricky and interesting. They are pretty brutal even for a veteran like myself though, but it's a cool addition for those looking for something extra.

Now for the breakdown, as it's been cool breezing through these close together again.

1 - To be honest, I've never been a huge fan and still don't really love this one. I love and appreciate the groundwork it set, but it's definitely rough around the edges and still the hardest one to me (perhaps because I don't revisit this one as much and don't think I ever touched it as a kid). Even the controls feel funky, with Mega Man having this odd extra slide when he lands from jumps. You can really tell a difference when you jump into 2 directly after. The boss rush with the last few and Wily at the end has always been brutal to me, but guess what, this accurately ported version has the Electro glitch you can use on Yellow Devil and most of the bosses. So hey, it's there in the original right? Hell yeah I used that to my advantage.

Strange quirks about MM1, no invincibility frames against spikes (Sonic 1 anyone? haha). Missing a platform or something that "drops off" basically makes Mega Man fall and die instantly. Mega Man doesn't control differently in water, no slow big jumps, which I love in the others.

2 - Here's the first game I played back in the day alongside MM4. MM2 refines the quirks that MM1 had and changes up a few minor things, becoming the real blueprint for the sequels that followed. The controls are better, there's more content, and everything is basically perfect. From start to finish an incredible game. Musically I would say that MM2 is by far the most "speed metal" of all the games, with basically every song being pretty fast and frantic.

3 - Introducing Proto Man, the coolest original anti-hero that Zero failed to replace! Along with Rush and the slide! A nice new feature that lets them do a few new tricks with the levels. Musically I love MM3's OST just as much as MM2, if not moreso. I've always been of the camp that may actually like this one the most! However this time around, I can't help but admit there is a bit of a quality drop off near the end. I think it's cool to bring back the bosses from MM2, but have never been a huge fan of backtracking through four of the main stages, and this is probably the weakest Wily castle. I was surprised by how brief it is in comparison to the last two games.

MM3 has the best Rush Jet, giving you full control over your flying.

4 - The graphics are really leveling up and there's a lot of cool levels that remind me of MMX levels. An awesome intro and the music is still awesome. The Robot Masters are now looking a lot more unique and interesting, but the names are getting crazier, making it pretty much impossible to guess who's weakness is who! The engine feels really polished and MM4 just feels fantastic to play. The Mega Buster is pretty funky in this one, and basically negates all the boss weaknesses against whatever weapon. My knock on MM4, is that some of the stages are extremely short and easy, while others are much longer. Pretty strange. I'm a big fan of Dr. Cossack's stages and the Wily castle in this one. Not a huge fan of the branching paths and weird extra items in some stages though... let's keep it simple! Not a huge deal though, of course. This one I'm always the most nostalgic for next to MM2, it seemed to be the one that was always at the video store when I was a kid. Pharoh Man is a nostalgia bomb and takes me back. MM4 has probably my favorite Robot Master selection theme. And Dr. Cossack's 2nd level theme is totally awesome.

MM4 changes up the weapon select screen, making it a full screen. While it looks very nice, I do like how MM1-3 had the menu in-game, so it was a bit faster paced. Another weird difference with MM4, is that the boss "health" bar takes forever to tax out, as does using an E tank. Kind of a weird random thing. I tend to instinctively use the Mega Buster a lot in MM4-MM6, but I can easily say I prefer not having it. So I don't mind that MM9-MM10 dropped it. MM4 has some tricky spots, but is noticeably much easier than the first three to me and MM5-MM6 continue on the path of being a bit more casual going.

5 - Always been a fan of MM5. The graphics are taxing out the NES by this point. MM5 has the weird "Mega Man V" collectible items, but you don't really have to go out of your way to get them. Rush Coil is weird in this one and I'm not a fan, weird nitpick though. By MM5 they needed to change up the formula, so there's a few gimmick stages (not in a bad way). I really like Gravity Man's level a lot with the flipping vertical planes, and then there's a jetski bike level. The level with the falling crystals is a real pain though. The bosses look amazing and are a bit more interesting than MM4's, but they are by far the easiest of the Robot Masters by this point. They all move a lot slower and have more predictable patterns. Great set of Proto Man / Wily castle stages in this one. It's a beefy game and consistently great. The music is as fantastic as always, but I'm not sure if there's any huge standouts.

I like the Mega Buster changes a lot. It looks much cooler now and is basically how it would look even up through the X series, and you no longer hold the charge when getting hit. Making its usage a bit more delicate and challenging. on the flip side though, charging up is a bit easier because you can just hold the button down, but in MM4 you have to "press" after a shot... if that makes sense. It's different here.

6 - Melancholy sums up MM6 for me. The last NES installment, the slower almost sad music in some stages, family trauma that went down at the time, and the last game I really put time into back when the NES was at its end. There's a lot of nostalgia for this since it's the only one I owned as a kid actually, just rented out the others a lot. Overall I love MM6, though it does have the worst case of the backtracking issue if you miss some of the BEAT parts. Not a huge deal though and I'm a big fan of the Rush Armor changes, which they utilized a lot for the Mr X / Dr Wily stages to changes thing up and probably set the blueprints for ideas they'd take further in the X series. This has a great second half. The easiest Wily battle of them all though, and most of the bosses are pretty easy as they're much slower than before, but damn do they and this game look good. Definitely has some standout tracks towards the end here and there. Hard to say how I'd rank MM4-MM6. I like them all about equally. A more elaborate credits wrap up and a nice send off. This one also opens up with an amazing intro and the classic Capcom logo SFX that carried over into the SNES.

The Mega Buster is a bit slower to charge up now and seems toned down, doesn't tear through a lot of enemies instantly like it does in MM4-5. A weird thing is in this one, if you let go of a charge while going into the boss room, you'll fire the shot and lose it before the fight start haha. One of the coolest additions to MM6 though is seeing the boss weapon in action after a level with an in-game animation and all. The previous games sometimes had some cool face shots of Mega or something, but seeing the weapon in action is awesome.

Over 20 some years later and still some of my favorite games ever. I love X1-X6 as well, but nothing will ever top the NES installments for me. When your gameplay is this perfect, I could have played 100 more.

[noiseredux]

what a great post, Xeo. I was really hoping to hear some good feedback on these ports. And I dug the level of personality you put into each entry's description. Thank you.

OH! And co-sign on Protoman. His theme song is iconic.