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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)
21. Mario Bros. (NES)
22. Popeye (NES)
23. Super Mario Bros. (NES)
24. Super Mario Bros. 2 (Famicom Disk System)
25. Phantasy Star II Eusis's Text Adventure (Steam - Sega Mega Drive & Genesis Classics)
26. Phantasy Star II Nei's Text Adventure (Steam - Sega Mega Drive & Genesis Classics)
27. Phantasy Star II Rudger's Text Adventure (Steam - Sega Mega Drive & Genesis Classics)
28. Phantasy Star II Anne's Text Adventure (Steam - Sega Mega Drive & Genesis Classics)
29. Phantasy Star II Huey's Text Adventure (Steam - Sega Mega Drive & Genesis Classics)
30. Phantasy Star II Kinds's Text Adventure (Steam - Sega Mega Drive & Genesis Classics)
31. Phantasy Star II Amia's Text Adventure (Steam - Sega Mega Drive & Genesis Classics)
32. Phantasy Star II Shilka's Text Adventure (Steam - Sega Mega Drive & Genesis Classics)
33. Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic (Famicom Disk System)
34. Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES)
35. Super Mario Advance (Game Boy Advance)
36. Gunman Clive (Nintendo eShop)
37. Zaxxon (Xbox 360 - Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection)
38. Zaxxon (Atari 2600)
39. Zaxxon (Intellivision)
40. Zaxxon (ColecoVision)
41. Cosmic Avenger (ColecoVision)
42. Mr. Do! (ColecoVision)
43. Pepper II (ColecoVision)
44. Kirby's Dream Land (Game Boy)
45. Sakura Spirit (Steam)
46. Ys Eternal (PC)
47. Moon Patrol (Game Boy Color - Arcade Hits: Moon Patrol & Spy Hunter)
48. Ember Kaboom (Steam)
49. Hoshi no Kābī: Yume no Izumi no Monogatari (Famicom)
50. Guardian Heroes (Saturn)
51. Akumajō Dracula (Famicom Disk System)
52. Castlevania (NES)
53. Classic NES Series: Castlevania (Game Boy Advance)
54. Guardian Heroes (Xbox Live Arcade)
55. Metal Slug (Neo Geo MVS)
56. Metal Slug 2 (Neo Geo MVS)
57. Metal Slug 3 (Neo Geo MVS)

Guardian Heroes


Castlevania


Metal Slug games

PartridgeSenpai wrote:VC1 and 2 are games I've owned for absolutely ages but never touched. You guys are really making me psyched to get on them though! Now I just gotta find the tiiiime Xp

Meh, I didn't think it lived up to the hype. I got bored about 80% into VC. It's just too animeish when it really doesn't need to be, and there is pretty much zero attachment to any of the characters.

I think its style of gameplay is very innovative and unique, but everything outside that like the class systems, plot, upgrades etc leaves a lot to be desired.

Exhuminator wrote:In 1988, Pony Canyon released Malaya No Hihou, or rather "Malaya's Treasure", for the Japanese PC known as the MSX2. Malaya's Treasure saw limited release in its home country, and was never ported to any other platform, nor localized outside of Japan. Due to its obscurity, many gamers have never heard of Malaya's Treasure, understandably. But then in 2010, the fan trans group "MSX Translations" released an English patch for Malaya's Treasure. Hooray for belated unofficial localizations!

Nice work on finishing this.

I love the crusty old Pony Canyon stuff.

MSX emulation, huh? Time to move on to the Hydlide games!

BoneSnapDeez wrote:The soundtrack. Holy balls is it good. Can't stop listening to it. One of the best on the NES.

Oh man, you are in for such a treat when you get around to Castlevania 2. It's one of my all time favorites on NES. (I'm not sure if the Famicom version's OST is better or not, but the NES version is bliss.)

BoneSnapDeez wrote:The three variations all look identical

The MSX version is pretty different, even graphically different at times:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread. ... 360&page=1

BoneSnapDeez wrote:Nice work on finishing this.

Thanks. In case you missed it, a few days earlier I beat The Scheme (PC-88) and Aquales (X68000) and reviewed them here. This has been a banner year for me and old Japanese PC gaming. Who knew Bone wasn't crazy after all for loving archaic Japanese computers. Definitely some hidden gems out there.

Mario & Luigi 4: Dream Adventure (3DS) [aka, Mario & Luigi Dream Team]

I went in expecting Mario & Luigi, and that's what I got. If you were expecting any more or less, well, I'm not sure what you were expecting Xp. I have played the previous 3 games, but not the most recent one, so my review will mostly mention this game in relation to the others in the series. If you just wanna know if it's a good game, I'll save you a read and just tell you "yes, it is."

First off, this game is probably one of the lightest and least surprising in terms of story. The other three had some sort of play on who the bad guy would be, or how dark the theme might get at times, but this one is much more straightforward in terms of story. What this game's story is, though, is entertaining. Even playing it in Japanese and not totally understand the exact semantics going on all the time, there were many times where I legitimately laughed out loud because what was going on was so silly

Another thing I appreciated from the story, is how much actual characters from the other 3 games were in this one. The other three games were VERY separated, to the point where you could probably play them in any order, and aside from the first one being on GBA, you'd probably have some trouble deciding in which order they were made. This game is far from reliant on the plot of past games, but there were just so many reoccuring characters, comparatively. Starly is back from Bowser's Inside Story, there are members of the Bean Bean Kingdom and Woo Hoo Mountains vacationing all over the island from Superstar Saga, and there's even the koopa reporter from Partners in Time. I hope this trend continues in Paper Jam (when I eventually get around to it). I absolutely loved the Massive Twins X3 (I'm sorry, but I have no idea what their names are in English. That's just what I call them. They're the two strongmen who teach you lots of special moves).

The gameplay is fairly standard, but there are a few things that can make things really interesting. One thing, is that Bro Items are completely gone. I'll admit that I can't honestly remember if Bowser's Inside Story had Bro Moves or Bro Items, but this game is back to Bro Moves. More importantly, both Mario and Luigi don't share their respective Bro Moves, somewhat similarly to how their moves worked in Superstar Saga. So in addition to how their stat biases differ, their special move sets are also very different.

Where Bowser's Inside Story had the Bowser sections and Bro sections, this game has the real world and the dream world. The real world is just like normal Mario & Luigi fare, with both bros walking around, but the dream world is inside Luigi's dreams, and is a side-scrolling section. As a result, there are a completely separate set of special moves for the dream and real worlds, with many in the dream world involving some manipulation of the 3DS's inner gyroscope feature. The gyroscope stuff works well enough, but it was probably one of the mechanics that gave me the most trouble, just because sometimes it would be fairly difficult to aim something very precisely (granted you don't gotta do that too often).

Giant battles are also back in this game, and I wanna say there are a good handful more of them. I only remember Bowser's Inside Story having like 3 giant battles, where this game has 6. They're fun set-pieces, and its a cool change of pace. The only somewhat troublesome thing is that because they're so separated from the normal battle engine, your equipment and items don't really mean anything in the giant battles. It's either you master the timings of the hits and dodges, or you die. There's really no before-hand preparation you can do for them.

Another thing, this game is probably the Mario & Luigi game I'd say is the hardest in the group (of the first four). Especially because of the dream world, Luigi acts as more of a support role, and just Mario gets turns, similarly to how Bowser was all by himself in Inside Story. Bosses hit REALLY hard though, and if they stun you with one hit, you can be on a very quick path to death. Dream Team is definitely up there with Superstar Saga as being one of the harder Mario & Luigi games, in my opinion. Especially considering there's a hard mode once you beat the game once, and I'm not sure I wanna find out how hard that is right now Xp

Verdict: Highly recommended if you want a fun, quirky JRPG to play on your 3DS. It's another great entry in the series. I enjoyed it more than Bowser's Inside Story I would say, but they're all good games, and they're all worth trying

Exhuminator wrote:The MSX version is pretty different, even graphically different at times:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread. ... 360&page=1

Yeah I've noticed that some websites actually list Vampire Killer as a separate game rather than a port, due to all the differences.

Nice work on the other Japanese computer games. I love this kind of shit. I need to hook up my MSX soon and get started on Hydlide II.

Castlevania II is one I'm excited to play soon as well. I'm really interested in playing both the FDS and NES versions of all the seminal NES classics. So that's Zelda I & II, Castlevania I & II, Metroid, Kid Icarus, Super Mario Bros. 2........

So much to play!...

Vampire Killer is very different... single screens.

Haha yeah. Just watched a longplay.

The 8-bit Konami scene is pretty fascinating. Sure we all know about their NES games, but they also had tons of stuff on the MSX and were heavy supporters of the FDS as well. Not to mention those sweet, sweet C64 ports.

First 50:

51. Ori and the Blind Forest - Xbox One
52. AM2R - PC

And ending my Metroidvania block on a massive high note. AM2R was finally released and I gave it a whirl. The title stands for "Another Metroid 2 Remake", in reference to the number of fan projects that attempted to update Metroid 2. This is the only one that's actually made it, and it's totally worth the wait. I finished in 4:30 with 90% items. By my accounting I'm missing one energy tank, 5 missile tanks, 5 super missile tanks, and 9 power bomb tanks. I've collected everything visible on the map, so it's either items that are sharing a spot with another item or more likely are behind false walls not indicated on the map. Given how large the map is I'm not going to bother going for 100% until an annotated map comes out and I can see the spots I missed.

So to properly review this game I need to establish context. The original Metroid was very mazelike but also had a fairly small map thanks to the limitations of the NES. This means that while you would spend tons of time getting lost when you first start playing if you pay attention you can quickly learn where the key items are. Since Ridley and Kraid drop 75 missiles on death and are vulnerable to your beam you actually don't need to know the full map to beat the game. Metroid 2, on the other hand, is much closer to Super Metroid in terms of map design and general expansiveness. Couple this with no in-game map and a zoomed in view point that makes it really hard to pinpoint where you are intuitively and many areas being housed inside caverns with multiple entrances and exits and you have a recipe for purgatory. The game was quite fun if you were following a map (even if it's just to see the layout and not the item locations) and a nightmare otherwise.

Flash forward to the 2000's. Nintendo remakes the original Metroid for the GBA as Metroid Zero Mission. This starts with the basic layout and progression of the original Metroid and brings in everything that was learned with Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion. Areas are expanded, new paths are created, new items are added, and new stage gimmicks are created. It's the best sort of remake; instantly familiar but a totally new game in terms of play experience. Which brings us to AM2R.

AM2R comes from the Zero Mission school of thought. You still have the same general layout but decades of learning in level design and user experience have vastly improved things. The maps are now very navigatable thanks to the in game map, and honestly I'd be happy if that was the only thing done. But like Zero Mission, AM2R builds on the framework of Metroid 2 to create a work that stands fully on its own. Several familiar items have been added and several new stage gimmicks have been created. The whole thing feels extremely fresh. Metroid 2 is notable for having an approach of traversing zones, with each one clearable on first visit and almost no backtracking (other than through the main shaft). AM2R is constrained by this but still puts in items you need to backtrack for (some very obvious). And as a concession to the level design there's one section near the end of the game, once you've unlocked all the movement abilities, that lets you open shortcuts to previous areas to finish your collection. It's a nice piece of usability, similar to how Fusion has the extra linkages between the various habitats to aid in getting that 100%.

The game controls fantastically. The guy really nailed the physics and I felt instantly comfortable with things. You absolutely need to play this with a controller. There were several items that required some really precise handling that gave me that "aha!" moment when I figured out what I needed to do and a real sense of accomplishment once I could pull it off.

The biggest change, though, is the updates to the boss fights. In the original Metroid 2 your boss fights were battles against the various evolved forms of Metroids. Alphas were fairly easy (thought could get tricky depending on the level geometry), Gammas were Alphas that needed timing, and Zetas were utter bastards. They swooped around and had a smaller vulnerable spot (compared to the "anywhere" of the previous two). And then the Omegas were a let down, because they didn't have mobility and just took a lot of shots. Well all of that is different now. Now the only vulnerable spot is the globy thing that resembles the larval Metroids. This instantly makes Alphas a threat and makes Gammas quite tricky. You need to wrangle them around with careful jumps and sometimes just balls to the wall rush them. They also get some new attacks; Alphas get a much faster dash and Gammas can grab you and suck away your health. Zetas are now ground-bound but have a variety of moves and require a decent amount of timing and precise jumps to nail them when they're vulnerable. And Omegas are amped up Zetas that are a legitimate threat. The game also tosses in a few other bosses. Arachnus is back and requires a more interesting way of defeating him, a cameo from another game shows up (you might be able to guess), an upgraded Torizo, and two completely new bosses. It helps break up the long stretches of Metroid fights.

The environments are amazing. Each one has a coherent theme and the layouts and puzzles fit that theme. The main shaft slowly changes as you get deeper. The whole thing shows a lot of care. The other place where a lot of care has been shown is in enemy behavior. The Metroids weren't the only ones to get upgrades. Enemies now have a variety of behaviors instead of the path following behavior of nearly every Metroid 2 enemy. Some still go on paths but many are actively aggressive and require some deft maneuvering on your party to take them down.

This game was clearly a labor of love. If you've ever enjoyed a Metroid game then you owe it to yourself to play this.

Games Ex has beaten in 2016:


88. Gal*Gun: Double Peace|Vita|2016|rail shooter|2h 28m|8/10

Elky and Lauren already reviewed this one thoroughly, no real reason for me to do a big review in light of that. I'll just say this folks... are you a pervert who wants to shoot cute girls with love pheromones and see their panties? Then buy this game! If not, move along, you'll just be offended or bored. I was not offended. I was not bored. I had a good time.



PS I took the Maya route. I ended up with a B ranking. I got a "bad ending", probably because I didn't touch Maya enough. My highest stat ended up being "intellect", despite going for "lewd".