Games Beaten 2017

[Segata]

Abzu.

I came off RiME and needed another artsy game for PS4. I am still awaiting Brothers a Tale of two Sons in the mail. I forgot Abzu was a gift from PS+ some time ago.

Abzu is I guess a Scuba version of Journey. (I never played Journey but will soon but what i seen it seems kinda like that) it also feels like Endless Ocean on Wii and Ecco the Dolphin on DC with *bleep* sorry have to bleep it out because spoilers.

Not much to do in this game but explore a little enjoy the visuals find a collectible or two and listen to the nice music. One of those games that has no dialogue but tells a story. I liked the game quite a bit but I do feel it never fully earns what it reveals at the end. If you want physical it's 16 bucks Amazon. Dunno what it is digitally. But is on Steam/PSN/XBO

[alienjesus]

Abzu.

I came off RiME and needed another artsy game for PS4. I am still awaiting Brothers a Tale of two Sons in the mail. I forgot Abzu was a gift from PS+ some time ago.

Abzu is I guess a Scuba version of Journey. (I never played Journey but will soon but what i seen it seems kinda like that) it also feels like Endless Ocean on Wii and Ecco the Dolphin on DC with *bleep* sorry have to bleep it out because spoilers.

Not much to do in this game but explore a little enjoy the visuals find a collectible or two and listen to the nice music. One of those games that has no dialogue but tells a story. I liked the game quite a bit but I do feel it never fully earns what it reveals at the end. If you want physical it's 16 bucks Amazon. Dunno what it is digitally. But is on Steam/PSN/XBO

We have a spoiler tag.

Like so:

OMGZ SPOILERS!!!

[Segata]

I know. Just don't want a chance someone will ruin it for themselves.

[alienjesus]

...Then why even reference it? It adds nothing to the post.

You coulda just said 'it also feels like Endless Ocean on Wii and Ecco the Dolphin on DC' and left the sentence at that

[Segata]

Nitpick much?

Anyway Abzu is a great game esp for anyone who liked Journey. Fucking christ anytime I post in here you nitpick at it. First it was didn't say enough now saying too much. Make up your mind.

[Flake]

January:
Super Mario Bros Advance 4: Super Mario Bros 3 (GBA/WiiU)
Super Mario Bros Advance 2: Yoshi's Island (GBA/WiiU)
Wario Land 4 (GBA/WiiU)

March:
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch)
Batman: Arkham Asylum (PS3)

April:
Front Mission 3 (PS1/PSTV)
Mega Man 2 (PS4)

May:
Megaman 3 (PS4)
Megaman 4 (PS4)
Megaman 5 (PS4)
Megaman (PS4)
Megaman 6 (PS4)

June:
Megaman Legends (PSX)
Final Fantasy X HD (PS4)

July:
Marvel vs Capcom: Clash of the Super Heroes (PS3)
Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 (PS4)
Adventures of Mana (PSTV)
Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope (Switch)

So yeah. Wow. One of the best Megaman games I have ever played. I am utterly confuzzled that it took me this long to put some time into it.

One of the things I appreciate the most is that the game's difficulty level is high but it gives the player the choice of playing it safe with careful management of in-game currency or rushing ahead and gambling you can make it to the next check point. There is much about this game that feels like a master class in old school game design with the quality of life additions we expect from modern titles.

[Markies]

1. Phantasy Star II (GEN)
2. Guitar Hero (PS2)
3. Adventures of Lolo (NES)
4. Animal Crossing (GCN)
5. Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (NES)
6. Beyond The Beyond (PS1)
7. R.B.I. Baseball (NES)
8. Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo (PS1)
9. GoldenEye: Rogue Agent (GCN)
10. Project Gotham Racing (XBOX)
11. Ristar (GEN)
12. Conker's Bad Fur Day (N64)
13. Crash Bandicoot (PS1)
14. Pikmin (GCN)
15. Syberia (XBOX)
16. Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht (PS2)
17. Tetris Plus (PS1)
18. Metropolis Street Racer (DC)
19. Darkwing Duck (NES)
20. Marvel Vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (PS2)
21. Ico (PS2)
22. Final Fantasy V (SNES)
23. Mega Man X (SNES)

I completed Mega Man X on the Super Nintendo this evening!

Last year, I had finally collected and beat all of the Mega Man games on the NES. It had taken me a while to get 5 & 6, but I finally found them and I was able to finish them off. With those done, I could finally move onto the next generation of consoles.

My friend then took it upon himself to buy me a copy of Mega Man X and he had me play through it last night. He is an absolute master at the game and I had never played it before, so he helped me beat the game and guided me through it.

Mega Man X is an absolute superb game. It is one of those games that has eluded me and I have heard everybody talk about it, but I finally got to experience it for myself and I got to see its beauty in person.

It has superb graphics, wonderful music, unique stages and bosses along with secrets galore and perfect difficulty. My favorite part has to be the little things like the Meetools in the password screen or the Mega Man 2 bat in one of the stages. It shows that when they were making the game, they absolutely loved it as well.

The 3 stage Final Sigma boss would probably be the only downside as he is cheap, but I eventually did learn and master him. Besides that, I could not find any flaws in it whatsoever.

I don't know if I could compare them to my love for the original series as I have so much nostalgia for MM1, 2 and 3, especially MM2. But, compared to them, I would definitely put Mega Man X in the conversation. It is a wonderful game and must play for anybody!

[MrPopo]

1. Pokémon Moon - 3DS
2. Tony Hawk's Underground - GCN
3. Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War II: Chaos Rising - PC
4. Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War II: Retribution - PC
5. Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness - PSP
6. X-Wing: Imperial Pursuit - PC
7. Star Wars Republic Commando - PC
8. X-Wing: B-Wing - PC
9. Blazing Lazers - TG-16
10. Tales of Xillia 2 - PS3
11. Shining Force CD: Shining Force Gaiden - Sega CD
12. MUSHA - Genesis
13. Sonic CD - Sega CD
14. Final Fantasy Legend III - GB
15. Tales of Zestiria - PS3
16. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Switch
17. Horizon Zero Dawn - PS4
18. Tales of Berseria - PS4
19. Battlefield 1 - PC
20. Turok 2: Seeds of Evil - PC
21. Mass Effect Andromeda - PC
22. Starflight 2 - PC
23. Armored Hunter Gunhound EX - PC
24. Space Megaforce - SNES
25. Persona 5 - PS4
26. Torment: Tides of Numenera - PC
27. Cosmic Star Heroine - PC
28. Prey - PC
29. Strafe - PC
30. Mystic Origins - NES
31. Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia - 3DS
32. Ultra Street Fighter II - Switch
33. The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky - PC
34. Ultima IV - PC
35. Environmental Station Alpha - PC
36. Dust: An Elysian Tail - PC
37. Hollow Knight - PC

The last of the three games I picked up recently. Hollow Knight is the game I spied a bit of during SGDQ, but after a little bit I stopped paying attention because I was intrigued and wanted to explore it on my own. This has been an excellent experience, and I highly recommend it for Metroidvania fans.

So Hollow Knight manages to recapture that feeling I had as a kid playing Super Metroid, where you go from area to area not entirely sure you're where you're supposed to be and maybe, just maybe, you went too far and are about to get murdered. The game has a pretty bleak aesthetic, being set inside the underground tunnels of a bug civilization that fell long ago and the survivors cling to the bones. The game likes to go with a mostly drab palette but with the occasional splash of color for contrast; it all fits together really well and helps provide atmosphere.

Now, if what I said above sounds familiar, then that's good, because the game has cribbed some notes from Dark Souls in two major ways. The first is the aforementioned aesthetic and storytelling; you don't really know why you're exploring and the full plot is never really fed to you. If you want to dig into character motivations you can, but it's optional. The second piece that cribs from Dark Souls is the death system. When you die you will respawn at the last save point with your mana meter broken, so it can only fill up 2/3 of the way. You lose all your money as well, and a shade is spawned where you died (or nearby, in the case of boss rooms). That shade is hostile, but killing it will fix your mana meter and give you back all your money. I never tested what happened if you died again in that state, but I assume it was something terrible. You can also unlock a vendor that lets you spend a consumable to teleport your shade to that vendor's location (should you want to abort your current way through).

One mechanic that was flavorful but completely frustrating to me was how the game handles the map system. The game is divided into several distinct areas, and there is an NPC who will sell a partial map to that area. You can then purchase an upgrade that will let you continue filling out one of those partial maps as you explore. However, you cannot do any mapping of an area without that partial map, and the map is only updated when you hit a save point. This leads to new exploration being pretty disorienting, especially if you need to go through several rooms to find that NPC. It's a very deliberate mechanic, but I feel like it ultimately hurt the game for me.

If you're looking for a new Metroidvania this is one to check out.

[Segata]

Until Dawn

I love the idea of this game. I love slasher and horror films. None scare me but I love them anyway. I like the decision making. The QTE's for a game like this I didn't mind so much when normally I'd hate it. It's presented really well and is a nice looking game.

However.

MAJOR issues with it. This game is yet another Sony game blatantly ignorant about Native American cultures and once again someone with mental illness who suffered a tragedy automatically makes them a lunatic trope. It's ignorant to cannibalism. It's cliche and it's stereotypes I am tired of. That killed what would have been a good experience.

[BogusMeatFactory]

Until Dawn

I love the idea of this game. I love slasher and horror films. None scare me but I love them anyway. I like the decision making. The QTE's for a game like this I didn't mind so much when normally I'd hate it. It's presented really well and is a nice looking game.

However.

MAJOR issues with it. This game is yet another Sony game blatantly ignorant about Native American cultures and once again someone with mental illness who suffered a tragedy automatically makes them a lunatic trope. It's ignorant to cannibalism. It's cliche and it's stereotypes I am tired of. That killed what would have been a good experience.

I would love some elaboration on the Indian and cannibal insensitivities. Please include them in spoilers for those who want to keep the experience fresh, but your comments have genuinely piqued my curiosity.