Games Beaten 2017
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BoneSnapDeez
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Re: Games Beaten 2017
Noice. Always appreciate seeing more Xak love in here.
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Exhuminator
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Re: Games Beaten 2017
118. Advanced V.G. | PCECD | 1994 | 7/10
Advanced V.G. is Japan-only PCECD fighting game developed and published by TGL in 1994. (Advanced V.G. was also released on Saturn and PlayStation the same year.) Advanced V.G. is part of the Variable Geo fighting game series, which has many entries across various platforms. Advanced V.G. has an all girl roster (a staple of the series). The main hook is supposed to be watching cute girls beat each other up. Surprisingly, there's actually a solid fighting game beneath all the panty shots. Combat feels fast and solid, and controls are tight, with reaction response and hit boxes on point. Combatant AI is pretty good, and beating Advanced V.G. takes legit effort, even on the easier AI settings. Graphics are above average, with decent animation, plus animated cutscenes. The OST is pleasant, upbeat peppy jazz mostly. Advanced V.G. has an arcade mode, and a story mode. I beat the arcade mode because story mode wouldn't do much for a guy who can't understand Japanese. There may not be a ton of depth to Advanced V.G., but this fighter has a respectable amount of brawn to match its beauties.
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Re: Games Beaten 2017
Games Beaten 2017
The first 50:
Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds - PS4
Alienation - PS4
Forza Horizon 3: Blizzard Mountain - PC/X1
Destiny 2: Curse of Osiris - PS4
Doom VFR - PSVR
Gorogoa - iOS *new*
Total: 56
Previously: 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010
Gorogoa is a game largely made by one person over the span of about 7 years...and it is gorgeous and well worth the wait. It is a puzzle game, but unlike any I have ever played. The highest praise I can offer it is that I’d put in the same category as Simogo’s best titles, in that it really takes advantage of the platform to introduce some compelling mechanics into the gameplay and tells a story of sorts that is open for lots of interpretation, steeped in symbolism, etc. If you have a platform to play it on, play it.
The first 50:
Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds - PS4
Alienation - PS4
Forza Horizon 3: Blizzard Mountain - PC/X1
Destiny 2: Curse of Osiris - PS4
Doom VFR - PSVR
Gorogoa - iOS *new*
Total: 56
Previously: 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010
Gorogoa is a game largely made by one person over the span of about 7 years...and it is gorgeous and well worth the wait. It is a puzzle game, but unlike any I have ever played. The highest praise I can offer it is that I’d put in the same category as Simogo’s best titles, in that it really takes advantage of the platform to introduce some compelling mechanics into the gameplay and tells a story of sorts that is open for lots of interpretation, steeped in symbolism, etc. If you have a platform to play it on, play it.
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prfsnl_gmr
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Re: Games Beaten 2017
dsheinem wrote:Games Beaten 2017
The first 50:
Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds - PS4
Alienation - PS4
Forza Horizon 3: Blizzard Mountain - PC/X1
Destiny 2: Curse of Osiris - PS4
Doom VFR - PSVR
Gorogoa - iOS *new*
Total: 56
Previously: 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010
Gorogoa is a game largely made by one person over the span of about 7 years...and it is gorgeous and well worth the wait. It is a puzzle game, but unlike any I have ever played. The highest praise I can offer it is that I’d put in the same category as Simogo’s best titles, in that it really takes advantage of the platform to introduce some compelling mechanics into the gameplay and tells a story of sorts that is open for lots of interpretation, steeped in symbolism, etc. If you have a platform to play it on, play it.
Awesome. Thanks for the heads up. I just bought it on your recommendation, and I will turn to it as soon as I finish up The Executive.
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Exhuminator
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Re: Games Beaten 2017
119. Steam-Heart's | PCECD | 1996 | 8/10
Steam-Heart's is a Japan-only shmup developed by Giga and published by TGL. Steam-Heart's appeared on three platforms; PC98 in 1994, PCECD in 1996, and Saturn in 1998. Each iteration of Steam-Heart's has differences, but the core experience remains the same across all platforms. This review concerns the PCECD iteration. The base experience of Steam-Heart's is a standard overhead vertically scrolling shmup. Despite having the name "steam" in the title, the theme here is bog standard sci-fi, not steampunk unfortunately. The player has one button for firing, and the other button allows their ship to do an evasive quick dash maneuver. This quick dash maneuver is necessary to master, in order to avoid rapid enemy fire. The player flies through stages, kills enemies, gains power ups, and fights bosses. Nothing groundbreaking there. However, Steam-Heart's incorporates two elements that make it unusual for its genre. One is a copious amount of voice acted cutscenes, there's a LOT of talking going on. I can't understand Japanese, so I didn't understand what the plot was going on about. However, I researched the plot, and let's just say it would not be family friendly for me to explain the premise. Secondly, every time you defeat a boss, its female pilot is shown in varying states of undress, with strong sexual insinuations occurring between her and Steam-Heart's two protagonists. So I guess that bit is where things get "steamy".
Despite the raunchy undertones, the base experience of Steam-Heart's flies on its own merits. The PCECD version of Steam-Heart's has excellent graphics, great music, tight controls, and a stern challenge level. Sprite work is crisp and clean, with ships and backgrounds very professionally rendered. During cutscenes, talking pilot heads animate in convincing emotional portrayals, which brings their dialogue to life. The OST is appropriately high energy, mostly rock oriented in nature. While there are only seven stages, every stage is difficult, with bosses that are fun to fight, and quite ferocious to defeat (you'll have to memorize their tells to win). The last boss in particular took this gamer more than a few tries to destroy. Thankfully players get unlimited continues per stage, although using one puts the player back at the beginning of said stage. If I were to complain about anything, it'd be that weapon variety isn't great. There's also no mega screen-clearing special attacks like many shmups have. It is true the PCECD is hardly hurting for quality shmups, rather the PCECD (and PCE) is legendary for its numerous excellent shmups. Yet Steam-Heart's risqué design, crazy plot, and high level of polish place it in the upper echelon of the bunch. It's not often that if you remove the ecchi from an ecchi laden experience, the left over gameplay is still worth engaging with. Steam-Heart's is one such rarity.
PLAY KING'S FIELD.
Re: Games Beaten 2017
Previous games:
December:
110) Faussete Amour (DUO) (5.0) (12/4) (3 hours)
111) Ys III: The Wanderer from Ys (DUO) (5.5) (12/7) (~5 hours)
112) Kaze Kiri: Ninja Action (DUO) (6.5) (12/9) (~1.5 hours)
113) Ys Book I & II (Book I) (TCD) (6.0) (12/16) (~5 hours)
114) Shin Megami Tensei: Synchronicity Prologue (8.5) (12/17) (~3 hours)
So I'm going to go ahead and count beating Ys I as part of the Turbo CD game as a separate entry. So I enjoyed it more than Ys III, but not by a ton. But that's not entirely true; I was enjoying it a lot more until I hit Darm Tower. That ends up being probably over half the game. It removes the shop aspect entirely, so money is useless. It also has some crazy mazes, and an absolutely egregious backtracking segment near the end.
Combat is your standard Ys bumpiness. Here, it's mostly okay, although the bat boss gave me fits until I figured out exactly where I was supposed to hit it. That might have been the worst fight, as most of the rest of the game, I was ridiculously overleveled. Several spots provide great grinding opportunities. Much like Suikoden, tough enemies give a lot of experience, but as you get more powerful, the game awards less and less. Actually, that's also like Symphony of the Night. But taking advantage of a few spots where enemies give a ton of EXP trivializes the game in most places. And leveling can make a huge difference; one or two will see you go from getting owned to dominating fights. That's a problem that stayed with the Ys games for a while, actually.
Still, I can understand why some folks (hi, Bone!) might enjoy it. And considering its vintage and original platform (1987, PC-88), it's tempting to grade it a little bit on a curve. For me, it's just decent, not spectacular. I did, however, enjoy seeing in retrospect all the callbacks to this game in Ys Origin. That game also has you climbing Darm Tower, but that version is more varied and interesting. I'd love to see this one get the Felghana treatment, but it'd probably be closer to the Celceta one at this point. Ys VIII gives me hope that such a game could be awesome, though.
The other title I beat, Shin Megami Tensei: Synchronicity Prologue, is a sweet little promotional game for the upcoming remake of SMT: Strange Journey. It takes the form of a exploratory action-platformer (okay, fine, Metroidvania) where you control Jack Frost and Pyro Jack. The interplay between the two characters proves interesting, as Jack brings a more typical moveset to the game, and Pyro gives you limited flight options. Being ice and fire also means that the devs played around a bit with swapping, Ikaruga-style. There aren't that many games in the platformer space that do this, but one great one is Outland, and if you haven't played that, do it! (After this, of course.)
Really, the only gripe I have about this one is that it was too short. But if you're looking for something in a similar vein, then go check out one of the main dev's other works, Pharaoh Rebirth+. That proved to be a splendid little stage-based exploratory platformer, with a strange sense of humor and some really nice pixel art much like what you see here. But play this one first! There's even a partial English patch so you can understand the story, so no excuses!
December:
110) Faussete Amour (DUO) (5.0) (12/4) (3 hours)
111) Ys III: The Wanderer from Ys (DUO) (5.5) (12/7) (~5 hours)
112) Kaze Kiri: Ninja Action (DUO) (6.5) (12/9) (~1.5 hours)
113) Ys Book I & II (Book I) (TCD) (6.0) (12/16) (~5 hours)
114) Shin Megami Tensei: Synchronicity Prologue (8.5) (12/17) (~3 hours)
So I'm going to go ahead and count beating Ys I as part of the Turbo CD game as a separate entry. So I enjoyed it more than Ys III, but not by a ton. But that's not entirely true; I was enjoying it a lot more until I hit Darm Tower. That ends up being probably over half the game. It removes the shop aspect entirely, so money is useless. It also has some crazy mazes, and an absolutely egregious backtracking segment near the end.
Combat is your standard Ys bumpiness. Here, it's mostly okay, although the bat boss gave me fits until I figured out exactly where I was supposed to hit it. That might have been the worst fight, as most of the rest of the game, I was ridiculously overleveled. Several spots provide great grinding opportunities. Much like Suikoden, tough enemies give a lot of experience, but as you get more powerful, the game awards less and less. Actually, that's also like Symphony of the Night. But taking advantage of a few spots where enemies give a ton of EXP trivializes the game in most places. And leveling can make a huge difference; one or two will see you go from getting owned to dominating fights. That's a problem that stayed with the Ys games for a while, actually.
Still, I can understand why some folks (hi, Bone!) might enjoy it. And considering its vintage and original platform (1987, PC-88), it's tempting to grade it a little bit on a curve. For me, it's just decent, not spectacular. I did, however, enjoy seeing in retrospect all the callbacks to this game in Ys Origin. That game also has you climbing Darm Tower, but that version is more varied and interesting. I'd love to see this one get the Felghana treatment, but it'd probably be closer to the Celceta one at this point. Ys VIII gives me hope that such a game could be awesome, though.
The other title I beat, Shin Megami Tensei: Synchronicity Prologue, is a sweet little promotional game for the upcoming remake of SMT: Strange Journey. It takes the form of a exploratory action-platformer (okay, fine, Metroidvania) where you control Jack Frost and Pyro Jack. The interplay between the two characters proves interesting, as Jack brings a more typical moveset to the game, and Pyro gives you limited flight options. Being ice and fire also means that the devs played around a bit with swapping, Ikaruga-style. There aren't that many games in the platformer space that do this, but one great one is Outland, and if you haven't played that, do it! (After this, of course.)
Really, the only gripe I have about this one is that it was too short. But if you're looking for something in a similar vein, then go check out one of the main dev's other works, Pharaoh Rebirth+. That proved to be a splendid little stage-based exploratory platformer, with a strange sense of humor and some really nice pixel art much like what you see here. But play this one first! There's even a partial English patch so you can understand the story, so no excuses!
Re: Games Beaten 2017
Sarge wrote:So I'm going to go ahead and count beating Ys I as part of the Turbo CD game as a separate entry. So I enjoyed it more than Ys III, but not by a ton. But that's not entirely true; I was enjoying it a lot more until I hit Darm Tower. That ends up being probably over half the game. It removes the shop aspect entirely, so money is useless. It also has some crazy mazes, and an absolutely egregious backtracking segment near the end.
For a brief moment, reading this made me feel like I had written it. I beat Ys a couple years ago, and had this to say about it, at the time:
Ys 1 feels a little like it shoots itself in the foot by leaving off on the worst part of the experience. If it weren't for that second half of the game, I'd probably have a much better opinion of it. Tough to get over how dumb that tower is. I ended up not caring for Ys II much, either. So when I got around to Ys III, I started to feel like there was hope yet for the series. Except, the creators of the series ditched Falcom to form Quintet, after Ys III. At least they eventually made Soul Blazer, and Terranigma.
Re: Games Beaten 2017
I had similar thoughts that the game has some major design flaws in the overall game balance. Which was unfortunately quite common in that era; take a look at Mother.
Blizzard Entertainment Software Developer - All comments and views are my own and not representative of the company.
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Exhuminator
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Re: Games Beaten 2017
120. Fausseté Amour | PCECD | 1993 | 7/10
Fausseté Amour is a Japan-only platformer, developed by AIM for the PCECD, and published by Naxat Soft in 1993. Fausseté Amour stars a scantily clad heroine name Koruku, who is on a mission to stop an evil sorcerer from resurrecting a terrible demon. I guess? The dialogue is all Japanese. Along the way she must defeat female underlings who stand in for bosses. The gameplay here is fairly standard platformer stuff, jump around, attack enemies, try not to fall into pits. Koruku attacks with a chain like weapon. This chain weapon adds a twist to the design; a Bionic Commando-ish swinging mechanic. However, this swinging mechanic is clunky to say the least, and is just as likely to kill Koruku, as it is to swing her. Koruku also has weak magic attacks that are barely worth mentioning. As Koruku traverses a stage, some enemies drop purple gems. The player must find and collect at least three of these gems before the end of the stage. If not, the player will be warped back to the beginning of the stage until they find enough crystals. If this sounds like artificial longevity to you, you've got it right. Fausseté Amour is not an especially long game, and most of the experience is quite easy. The final stage and final boss will provide a bit of strife, but Fausseté Amour drops extra lives aplomb.
However when Koruku is hit, something interesting happens. As a shout out to Ghost 'n Goblins, like Arthur, if Koruku gets hit, she loses her armor. But unlike Arthur, if Koruku gets hit again she doesn't turn into a pile of bones, instead she just lands on the ground naked. Yes Fausseté Amour has an ecchi slant to it, mostly evident in the many cutscenes which show randy perspectives of Koruku's assets. Graphically Fausseté Amour is merely decent, although I did appreciate its bright color palette. The OST is upbeat, sounding like light J-rock, but seems out of place more often than not. Controls are kinda wonky. Jumping and attacking is simple enough, but using magic, and initiating a successful grapple maneuver are overly complex. Chalk it up to the standard PCE controller having limited buttons. Yes there's plenty of room for improvement in Fausseté Amour, but the game's hardly "bad". I can certainly appreciate the ambition, as a formula that mixes erotica and platform-grappling sounds great on paper. Unfortunately the final product is a tad amateurish, and not particularly well playtested. Despite that, Fausseté Amour remains a mostly unique experience. It's not every day you fight a giant purple goat demon with bare breasts as a final boss.
PLAY KING'S FIELD.
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BoneSnapDeez
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Re: Games Beaten 2017
Ys rules, Darm Tower is awesome, and part II is even better than the first. I'd rank Ys Book I & II as the pinnacle of the ARPG genre. Better than A Link to the Past, better than Secret of Mana, better than Terranigma, a nearly perfect game it is.
Fausseté Amour is a gorgeous game, damn. That early-90s CD-ROM anime look is unstoppable.
Fausseté Amour is a gorgeous game, damn. That early-90s CD-ROM anime look is unstoppable.