Games Beaten 2017

[marurun]

I love how quickly you throw those together.

[Sarge]

King's Field is represented, so it's gotta be legit!

I'm gonna be disappointed when I visit and your setup doesn't look like this.

[BoneSnapDeez]

brb driving to georgia

[Exhuminator]

Admittedly I did go through a phase in 2008 where I had ecchi anime figurines in a display case, various waifu scrolls on my walls, 3D hentai style mouse pads... I was livin' that weeb life. Then I decided to start dating again, and all that went away in lieu of the real thing.

[Xeogred]

I figured your weeb ass already knew about these.

Legendary.

[Segata]

I hope that's not actually someone on this forum because that room is major cringe.

[Exhuminator]

89. Yomawari: Night Alone | Vita | 2015 | 8/10



One calm dusk a young girl is out walking her dog. Something bad happens (I won't spoil it) and her dog goes missing. Upset the girl runs home to tell her big sister. Her big sister tells the young girl to stay home, while she goes out to look for the dog. After a period of waiting, the young girl gets upset again, worried about her sister's long absence. And so this little girl leaves home, off to explore her little hometown in search of her sister and dog. These kids have terrible parents, but that's the least of their problems. Because for some (initially) unknown reason, their town has turned into a haunted hellhole. The player will control this young girl, aiding her in searching (she creates an adorable crayon map as you do). But above all else, the player must keep the girl away from those hateful vicious ghosts.



Most survival horror games cast their protagonists as capable adults with weapons to defend themselves. Isaac Clarke, Alan Wake, Jill Valentine, Harry Mason, Miku Hinasaki, and even Edward Carnby were not exactly helpless. Yomawari: Night Alone casts its player as a grade school girl with nothing but a weak flashlight. There is no way to fight back. You can run, you can hide, and you will die. A lot. Yomawari: Night Alone does not pretend the odds are ever in your favor. Sure, screenshots of Yomawari: Night Alone make it look kind of cutesy. That's a ruse. This game is candy coated evil. If you have a sensitive disposition, I do not recommend you play this game.



At its heart, Yomawari: Night Alone is a stealth horror adventure. Meaning you are trying to avoid baddies, unlock doors and gates, and generally find yourself uneasy (if not outright spooked). The bulk of the gameplay is pure wandering, exploring at night with a flashlight. The flashlight is your best friend and worst enemy though. You need it to see hidden objects on the ground. But ghosts often find you because of your light. Some ghosts hear you. Some ghosts smell you. Some ghosts you can fool by throwing rocks or matches. But some will hunt you down and simply eat your soul, period. There are even "boss" ghosts which must be defeated by solving puzzles. Because this game knows you will die a lot, it's pretty forgiving. You never lose any progress, meaning items found or maps drawn are not lost on death. And there are little statues you can spend coins on to create checkpoints. You can also use these statues to warp around town. The town itself starts to unlock recursively over time, making traversal more simple. However there are sometimes gauntlets of ghosts that must be evaded, and dying during a gauntlet costs you hard won progress. Thankfully that's not too often.



As far as aesthetics go, Yomawari: Night Alone nails its atmosphere perfectly. The town and its surrounding environs are all hand drawn in an isometric style. It's easy to become immersed in exploring this world, even if by flashlight at night. Audio is subtle but used expertly to creep out the player (there are occasional jump scares). Most of time you'll be hearing crickets chirping, but when you're near a ghost your heart will start pounding. This acts like a radar as the closer you get to a ghost, the louder your heartbeat. Much of the puzzle design relies on key hunting, but there was one puzzle that did catch me up. Perhaps even more difficult is understanding the plot. Yomawari: Night Alone does a lot of "show don't tell", and there were some scenes that I still don't understand. After you beat the game, you're allowed to go into a free roam mode. Perhaps using that mode to find all the optional collectable objects unlocks more of the story. I don't know.



The best thing I can say about Yomawari: Night Alone, is that it never failed to surprise me. And I don't mean jumpscares, but scenario designs, plot twists, exploration availability, and unflinching atmosphere. That said, my patience was tested at times due to occasional unintuitive progression, and a few improperly paced stealth sequences. But overall my experience was positive and unique. So I applaud Yomawari: Night Alone for being as single minded as it is. Not many developers would have the courage to cast their player as a defenseless little girl. And then have terrible, horrible things happen to this girl. If you're a horror gaming fan, and you want to remember what it's really like to be afraid of the dark, play Yomawari: Night Alone.


PS
A sequel to this game was just released.
Yes I bought it (Vita).

[PartridgeSenpai]

I figured your weeb ass already knew about these.

That picture gave me a very good belly-laugh that made this morning a lot better

---

Yomawari is the sister game to the puzzle platformer hotL#NiQ that I beat for Vita earlier this year/late last year! They actually came on a two-pack cart, but I have one of the weird editions that someone must've bought through NIS's website that just has hotL on it. Which is a shame! Yomawari looks like something I'd at least get a lot of aesthetic enjoyment of, even if I didn't enjoy the game itself. I'll definitely have to look out for it

[Exhuminator]

Yomawari is the sister game to the puzzle platformer hotL#NiQ that I beat for Vita earlier this year/late last year! They actually came on a two-pack cart

I have the two game pack too, fortunately mine included both games properly. I got my copy off Amazon though, not from NIS's website. It sucks your copy didn't include Yomawari. But a cheaper way to play Yomawari: Night Alone is the PC version: http://store.steampowered.com/app/47787 ... ght_Alone/

[pierrot]

First 25:

1. Ys IV: The Dawn of Ys (PCE-CD)
2. Mega Bomberman (GEN)
3. Lost in Shadow (Wii)
4. Kirby's Dream Land (via Wii Dream Collection) (GB)
5. Kirby's Dream Land 2 (via Wii Dream Collection) (GB)
6. Kirby's Dream Land 3 (via Wii Dream Collection) (SNES)
7. Saturn Bomberman (SAT)
8. Rent a Hero (GEN)
9. Tricolore Crise (DC)
10. Super Mario: Yoshi Island (SFC)
11. Clockwork Knight: Pepperouchou no Daibouken (Joukan) (SAT)
12. Mickey to Donald: Magical Adventure 3 (SFC)
13. Kishin Douji Zenki: Battle Raiden (SFC)
14. Super Donkey Kong (SFC)
15. Super Donkey Kong 2: Dixie & Diddy (SFC)
16. Anearth Fantasy Stories: First Volume (SAT)
17. Panzer Dragoon (SAT)
18. Panzer Dragoon II Zwei (SAT)
19. Panzer Dragoon Orta (XBOX)
20. Cross Tantei Monogatari (SAT)
21. Dragon Quest V (PS2)
22. Ryu ga Gotoku (PS2)
23. Dragon Slayer: Eiyuu Densetsu II (GEN)
24. Rokudenashi Blues: Taiketsu! Tokyo Shitennou (SFC)
25. Ranma 1/2: Bakuretsu Rantou Hen (SFC)

26. Contra Spirits (SFC)
27. Dennou Senki: Virtual On (SAT)
28. Dead or Alive (SAT)
29. Fighting Vipers (SAT)
30. Last Bronx (SAT)
31. Steeldom (SAT)
32. Street Fighter Zero (SAT)
33. NinPen Manmaru (SAT)
34. Street Fighter Zero 2 (SAT)
35. Street Fighter Zero 2' (SAT)
36. Virtua Fighter Remix (SAT)
37. Final Fantasy XI: Rise of the Zilart (PC)
38. Final Fantasy XI: Chains of Promathia (PC)
39. Final Fantasy XI: Rhapsodies of Vana'diel (PC)
40. Final Fantasy XI: Seekers of Adoulin (PC)
41. ToeJam & Earl (GEN)
42. Magical Taruru~to-kun (GEN)
43. Metal Slug X (PS1)
44. Phantasy Star III: Toki no Keishousha (GEN)
45. Phantasy Star: Sennenki no Owari ni (GEN)
46. Breath of Fire V: Dragon Quarter (PS2)
47. Shonen Ashibe: Goma-chan no Yuuenchi Daibouken (SFC)
48. Super Mario Kart (SFC)
49. Rockman Dash: Hagane no Boukenshin (PSP)

Actually played something on a handheld for the first time in a while. Otherwise known as Megaman Legends, Rockman Dash on the PSP appears to be a pretty bare bones port of the original PS1 version. Texture warping aside, it looks pretty good, though. I was too lazy to use my headphones, so the sound reproduction through the little PSP3000 speaker was, not great. I don't know that I was really missing out aurally, though, as the music, and sound effects were a bit uninteresting, for the most part. Voice acting was pretty good, though. I liked T Bone's voice actor quite a bit--'tTe--!' - 'Uchikata yame--!'

I beat the game in slightly over 8 hours, in-game time, but there were probably some sidequests and things I could have done. I also didn't bother buying everything, and getting the last couple special weapons. It was an okay game, but I didn't really love it. The controls are manageable, but far from ideal, and the whole game world, and scope of the story felt really oddly limited. It wasn't really what I was expecting, and not necessarily in a bad way, but I just don't care too much about the game one way or the other.

Although, the unabashed ripping off of Char's Counterattack, and general deus ex machina at the end of the game were kind of irksome.

I still think it was pretty unnecessary to make Rock walk in on Roll while she was changing, but I did actually enjoy most of the characters, at least.

Oh, and what is up with the dog abuse in this game? Did the development team hate dogs that much? I'm no dog person (at all), but I still don't feel good about kicking dogs, virtual or otherwise.