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
38. The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky Second Chapter - PC
39. The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 3rd - PC
40. Call of Duty - PC
41. Azure Striker Gunvolt 2 - 3DS
42. Sonic Mania - Switch
43. Mighty Gunvolt Burst - Switch
Mighty Gunvolt is a short game that was released alongside Azure Striker Gunvolt that was a throwback that took the protagonists of ASG and Mighty No. 9 and made them into an NES game; scaling down their powers. It was neat, and it must have done well enough that they decided to do a sequel. This one ups the graphics level to be about the same fidelity as Shovel Knight and works at making things a bit more unique, rather than just lifting mechanics entirely from the parent game.
The game is set up to be very Mega Man-ish; you can choose from eight stages, each with a boss at the end, and you can get a weakness weapon from each boss to use on the next. What sets it apart is the deep weapon customization system. You have a resource known as CP and then can pick from a variety of customizations to your shot; these cost varying amounts of CP and the total needs to be under your CP total. So you can do things like have short ranged high damage shots or homing shots that can pierce through the ground. You start off with only a small amount of CP and only a handful of options, so it's fun to see things grow over time.
There is one important thing to keep in mind with the customization; at the start with Beck you have a shot that reflects each of the eight bosses. However, these are not weaknesses; you need to get the various elements to actually deal weakness damage. What differentiates the base shots is what modifications they can have applied to them; there is no one shot that can use everything.
The whole thing is pretty solid, though there is some tricky platforming. Fortunately, there's infinite lives, with a penalty to your score for dying.
Games Beaten 2017
Re: Games Beaten 2017
Blizzard Entertainment Software Developer - All comments and views are my own and not representative of the company.
Re: Games Beaten 2017
ElkinFencer10 wrote:[...F]antastic voice acting (the American release has Japanese voice acting with English subtitles), and some truly great albeit heavily compressed FMV cut scenes.
I had forgotten that there was voice acting in the game that isn't in a made up language. I want to say Azel was actually voiced by Sakamoto Maaya. Not like that would be a huge surprise, considering she voices pretty much anything with a female lead.
ElkinFencer10 wrote:Unfortunately the game is not compatible with the Saturn cartridges, making this one of the few Saturn games that aren't particularly import friendly even for those who can read Japanese. That's a shame, as well, considering that a Japanese copy of the game is only around 5% the price of an American copy - roughly $30 as opposed to roughly $600.
There's an AR code that allows the game to run on NA consoles. I probably still have it saved on mine, but it should only be a google away.
REPO Man wrote:Also, it said I've unlocked (at various times) the ability to Peel Out (a la Sonic CD), use Sonic's Insta-Shield (a la Sonic 3K) and access the debug menu... but it doesn't even say how to use them!
Do they not work like they did in those games?
Re: Games Beaten 2017
pierrot wrote:REPO Man wrote:Also, it said I've unlocked (at various times) the ability to Peel Out (a la Sonic CD), use Sonic's Insta-Shield (a la Sonic 3K) and access the debug menu... but it doesn't even say how to use them!
Do they not work like they did in those games?
No, they do; the issue is to activate them you need to start a "No Save" game to be able to toggle on those options. It's rather non-intuitive.
Blizzard Entertainment Software Developer - All comments and views are my own and not representative of the company.
-
ElkinFencer10
- Next-Gen
- Posts: 8582
- Joined: Fri Aug 13, 2010 8:34 pm
- Location: Henderson, North Carolina
- Contact:
Re: Games Beaten 2017
Games Beaten in 2017 So Far - 84
* denotes a replay
January (10 Games Beaten)
February (12 Games Beaten)
March (6 Games Beaten)
April (9 Games Beaten)
May (14 Games Beaten)
June (10 Games Beaten)
July (20 Games Beaten)
August (3 Games Beaten)
84. Sunrider: Liberation Day - Steam - August 6
After finishing the first Sunrider game, I couldn't WAIT to start the sequel. I was hooked hard and just HAD to know what happened next. Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius was awesome, so surely Sunrider: Liberation Day would be even better, right? Yeah, not so much.
Liberation Day picks up right where Mask of Arcadius left off - the preparation period before the Combined Fleet was set to liberate Cera from PACT control. The gameplay is pretty much identical to that in Mark of Arcadius, although there's a distinct drop in the stability of the game. I had multiple crashes and near-crashes where the game would abruptly stop and take 20 or 30 seconds reloading the scripts before letting me continue. One of these instances was particularly irritating as I had just tried to use the Vanguard cannon when it crashed. Upon reloading, it has deducted my command points but done no damage to any of the enemy ships. Not only that but the animation of the cannon's attack would flash on screen in an endless loop every three seconds no matter what I did. Other times, the available movements would fail to show on screen. Sometimes it would render duplicates of every enemy on the map but without any stats or hitboxes; essentially empty sprites that can't move or be attacked but still show on screen. That's basically how the whole game felt - the same as the original but less refined and a bit broken.
One thing that did definitely improve since Mask of Arcadius was the art. The characters have a much less amateur feel to them and generally look better all around. The option to switch between Japanese and English dialogue in battles was a nice touch as well. It's a shame, however, that the for all the improvement in the art quality, the writing quality saw an equal decline, especially at about the halfway point. Maybe the plethora of bugs had made me a bit jaded about the game in general by that point, but the writing started to feel a bit uninspired and drab after a while as if the writers had lost inspiration and just kept writing to finish for the sake of a deadline. Given how much the story sucked me into the first game, that was a supremely upsetting shift in quality. Not only did the writing cease to be nearly as engaging as it was previously, but in the epilogue of sorts, they completely start contradicting things previously established. I won't give anything away in case anyone decides to play through this, but suffice it to say that time travel is involved, and the rules of temporal mechanics that the game establishes for its universe are promptly disregarded like an hour later; not only are those rules disregarded, but they're explicitly contradicted more than once. That's a more minor sci-fi nerd nit pick, I know, but as some of my friends can attest, that stuff REALLY irks me.
I know I mentioned the various crashes and bugs earlier, but those more specific things aren't the only performance issues I encountered. There was significant and general system slowdown when I launched the game - slowdown on a system with no other applications running except the general background stuff, a GTX 980 card, and a quad core processor running 4 GHz per core. Under no circumstances should a damn visual novel cause major slowdown and sluggish performance. Everything just gave the impression that the game wasn't as well optimized as the first one and hadn't been put through nearly enough testing and QA before release or after release.
All in all, Sunrider: Liberation Day isn't a bad VN, and assume one could play it without being horribly confused by missing the context from the first game, it would probably come off as a perfectly acceptable low budget game. The problem is that with only a couple exceptions, the overall quality takes a hit from the first game. The presentation is better, but that presentation very quickly gives way to the plethora of flaws lying underneath. Between that quality decline and the huge parts of the plot left completely unresolved by the end of the game, it just leave a lot to be desired. If you've gone through the first game and see this one on sale, I'd still recommend it, but it's not one that I'd go out of my way to play.
* denotes a replay
January (10 Games Beaten)
February (12 Games Beaten)
March (6 Games Beaten)
April (9 Games Beaten)
May (14 Games Beaten)
June (10 Games Beaten)
July (20 Games Beaten)
August (3 Games Beaten)
84. Sunrider: Liberation Day - Steam - August 6
After finishing the first Sunrider game, I couldn't WAIT to start the sequel. I was hooked hard and just HAD to know what happened next. Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius was awesome, so surely Sunrider: Liberation Day would be even better, right? Yeah, not so much.
Liberation Day picks up right where Mask of Arcadius left off - the preparation period before the Combined Fleet was set to liberate Cera from PACT control. The gameplay is pretty much identical to that in Mark of Arcadius, although there's a distinct drop in the stability of the game. I had multiple crashes and near-crashes where the game would abruptly stop and take 20 or 30 seconds reloading the scripts before letting me continue. One of these instances was particularly irritating as I had just tried to use the Vanguard cannon when it crashed. Upon reloading, it has deducted my command points but done no damage to any of the enemy ships. Not only that but the animation of the cannon's attack would flash on screen in an endless loop every three seconds no matter what I did. Other times, the available movements would fail to show on screen. Sometimes it would render duplicates of every enemy on the map but without any stats or hitboxes; essentially empty sprites that can't move or be attacked but still show on screen. That's basically how the whole game felt - the same as the original but less refined and a bit broken.
One thing that did definitely improve since Mask of Arcadius was the art. The characters have a much less amateur feel to them and generally look better all around. The option to switch between Japanese and English dialogue in battles was a nice touch as well. It's a shame, however, that the for all the improvement in the art quality, the writing quality saw an equal decline, especially at about the halfway point. Maybe the plethora of bugs had made me a bit jaded about the game in general by that point, but the writing started to feel a bit uninspired and drab after a while as if the writers had lost inspiration and just kept writing to finish for the sake of a deadline. Given how much the story sucked me into the first game, that was a supremely upsetting shift in quality. Not only did the writing cease to be nearly as engaging as it was previously, but in the epilogue of sorts, they completely start contradicting things previously established. I won't give anything away in case anyone decides to play through this, but suffice it to say that time travel is involved, and the rules of temporal mechanics that the game establishes for its universe are promptly disregarded like an hour later; not only are those rules disregarded, but they're explicitly contradicted more than once. That's a more minor sci-fi nerd nit pick, I know, but as some of my friends can attest, that stuff REALLY irks me.
I know I mentioned the various crashes and bugs earlier, but those more specific things aren't the only performance issues I encountered. There was significant and general system slowdown when I launched the game - slowdown on a system with no other applications running except the general background stuff, a GTX 980 card, and a quad core processor running 4 GHz per core. Under no circumstances should a damn visual novel cause major slowdown and sluggish performance. Everything just gave the impression that the game wasn't as well optimized as the first one and hadn't been put through nearly enough testing and QA before release or after release.
All in all, Sunrider: Liberation Day isn't a bad VN, and assume one could play it without being horribly confused by missing the context from the first game, it would probably come off as a perfectly acceptable low budget game. The problem is that with only a couple exceptions, the overall quality takes a hit from the first game. The presentation is better, but that presentation very quickly gives way to the plethora of flaws lying underneath. Between that quality decline and the huge parts of the plot left completely unresolved by the end of the game, it just leave a lot to be desired. If you've gone through the first game and see this one on sale, I'd still recommend it, but it's not one that I'd go out of my way to play.
Exhuminator wrote:Ecchi lords must unite for great justice.
Re: Games Beaten 2017
Also, forgot to mention that prior to Sonic Mania unlocking I beat Sonic Classic Heroes for Genesis on my Raspberry Pi.
Re: Games Beaten 2017
January:
February:
March:
April:
May:
June:
July:
August:
58) Contra: The Alien Wars (GB) (3.5) (8/1) (~30 minutes)
59) Super Smash Bros. (N64) (8.0) (8/6) (~20 minutes)
60) Battletoads (Japan) (NES) (7.5) (8/10) (~40 minutes)
61) Castle of Dragon (NES) (2.5) (8/10) (~1 hour)
62) The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (NES) (3.0) (8/10) (~30 minutes)
63) Strider (NES) (6.5) (8/11) (~2 hours)
64) Commando (NES) (3.5) (8/11) (~1 hour)
65) Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa (NES) (6.5) (8/12) (~1h30m)
66) Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie (GEN) (4.0) (8/12) (~1 hour)
67) Dragon Scroll: Yomigaerishi Maryuu (NES) (5.0) (8/13) (~4 hours)
68) Mega Man 8 (SAT) (7.0) (8/17) (~4 hours)
Lots of folks over on Talking Time playing Mega Man, so I got in on the action by playing and beating Mega Man 8 on Saturn. Dropping back to playing 32-bit games on a CRT was a fun experience, actually.
How's the game? Pretty good! There are some irksome bits, of course, but they weren't where most of the complaints come from. Jump-Jump-Slide-Slide in Wily Stage 1 is what it is, but I had it after about six tries... although I actually snuck through on my second shot only to fall to the boss with no lives. Doh! I didn't really like some of the bits of Sword Man's stage, either, and really, a lot of the gimmicks were the weakest parts of the stages. I think the game is better when it sticks with the straightforward stuff.
My brick wall was actually at the last boss. That was due to ignorance on my part. I burned three full sets of lives and didn't get through, decided to look up something to figure out what I was doing wrong, and promptly realized that I had a health restorative in the form of Rush Health. Seriously? Gah. I powered through it right after this revelation. It's no fun fighting through the robot masters over and over again, though. But I've got their patterns down, haha!
Solid stuff. Not the best in the series, but fun, and some splendid graphics and animation.
February:
March:
April:
May:
June:
July:
August:
58) Contra: The Alien Wars (GB) (3.5) (8/1) (~30 minutes)
59) Super Smash Bros. (N64) (8.0) (8/6) (~20 minutes)
60) Battletoads (Japan) (NES) (7.5) (8/10) (~40 minutes)
61) Castle of Dragon (NES) (2.5) (8/10) (~1 hour)
62) The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (NES) (3.0) (8/10) (~30 minutes)
63) Strider (NES) (6.5) (8/11) (~2 hours)
64) Commando (NES) (3.5) (8/11) (~1 hour)
65) Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa (NES) (6.5) (8/12) (~1h30m)
66) Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie (GEN) (4.0) (8/12) (~1 hour)
67) Dragon Scroll: Yomigaerishi Maryuu (NES) (5.0) (8/13) (~4 hours)
68) Mega Man 8 (SAT) (7.0) (8/17) (~4 hours)
Lots of folks over on Talking Time playing Mega Man, so I got in on the action by playing and beating Mega Man 8 on Saturn. Dropping back to playing 32-bit games on a CRT was a fun experience, actually.
How's the game? Pretty good! There are some irksome bits, of course, but they weren't where most of the complaints come from. Jump-Jump-Slide-Slide in Wily Stage 1 is what it is, but I had it after about six tries... although I actually snuck through on my second shot only to fall to the boss with no lives. Doh! I didn't really like some of the bits of Sword Man's stage, either, and really, a lot of the gimmicks were the weakest parts of the stages. I think the game is better when it sticks with the straightforward stuff.
My brick wall was actually at the last boss. That was due to ignorance on my part. I burned three full sets of lives and didn't get through, decided to look up something to figure out what I was doing wrong, and promptly realized that I had a health restorative in the form of Rush Health. Seriously? Gah. I powered through it right after this revelation. It's no fun fighting through the robot masters over and over again, though. But I've got their patterns down, haha!
Solid stuff. Not the best in the series, but fun, and some splendid graphics and animation.
-
ElkinFencer10
- Next-Gen
- Posts: 8582
- Joined: Fri Aug 13, 2010 8:34 pm
- Location: Henderson, North Carolina
- Contact:
Re: Games Beaten 2017
Games Beaten in 2017 So Far - 85
* denotes a replay
January (10 Games Beaten)
February (12 Games Beaten)
March (6 Games Beaten)
April (9 Games Beaten)
May (14 Games Beaten)
June (10 Games Beaten)
July (20 Games Beaten)
August (4 Games Beaten)
85. Emily is Away - Steam - August 8
This is a...unique game. It's essentially a Western visual novel that harkens back to the early 2000s when AIM was the supreme instant messaging platform and you were a loser if AOL wasn't your ISP. It also could have been appropriately titled Teen Angst Simulator 2015. Just a little while, I forgot I wasn't in middle school anymore.
The whole game takes place on AIM in conversations spanning five years between you and Emily from your last year of high school to your last year of college. There's not really a purpose, per se, as the game is wholly slice of life, but wasn't that most of our AIM conversations? Talking to friends from school about stuff that didn't matter and awkwardly trying to flirt while having no idea how? The game seems a lot more straightforward than it is; there are numerous branching paths in the story and dialogue based on everything from the obvious like your dialogue choices all the way down to the seemingly insignificant like your icon and text color.
The biggest thing the game has going for it is the nostalgia factor. That's not to say that the rest is bad, but it took me less than half an hour to finish a playthrough, and while the different dialogue choices give it some replay value, it's just too short for me to fall in love with it. That nostalgia, though...I seriously miss being a kid with just a dial-up connection using AOL 4.0 on a Dell with a MASSIVE 32 GB hard drive and 128 MB of RAM. Teenagers today won't appreciate this game since they wouldn't have the fond AIM memories that folks my age and a little older do, but for those of us who remember going through school with AIM and AOL, this is a trip down Memory Lane, awkward angst and all.
Since it's free, Emily is Away is definitely a game that everyone should check out, and since you can get through it in half an hour or less for a single playthrough, there's not a whole lot of a time investment involved. Your age is definitely going to affect how much enjoyment you get out of it - if you're 40+, you probably won't have the same kind of nostalgia, and if you're younger than 20, you definitely won't - but for folks in that age range, it's a pretty unique experience, and most games don't play to that particular kind of nostalgia, at least not as the core concept. It would have been nice to see a little more meat per playthrough, but it's free, so you really can't complain too much. Give it a shot; if you really like it, there's a $5 sequel, though I've not downloaded that yet.
* denotes a replay
January (10 Games Beaten)
February (12 Games Beaten)
March (6 Games Beaten)
April (9 Games Beaten)
May (14 Games Beaten)
June (10 Games Beaten)
July (20 Games Beaten)
August (4 Games Beaten)
85. Emily is Away - Steam - August 8
This is a...unique game. It's essentially a Western visual novel that harkens back to the early 2000s when AIM was the supreme instant messaging platform and you were a loser if AOL wasn't your ISP. It also could have been appropriately titled Teen Angst Simulator 2015. Just a little while, I forgot I wasn't in middle school anymore.
The whole game takes place on AIM in conversations spanning five years between you and Emily from your last year of high school to your last year of college. There's not really a purpose, per se, as the game is wholly slice of life, but wasn't that most of our AIM conversations? Talking to friends from school about stuff that didn't matter and awkwardly trying to flirt while having no idea how? The game seems a lot more straightforward than it is; there are numerous branching paths in the story and dialogue based on everything from the obvious like your dialogue choices all the way down to the seemingly insignificant like your icon and text color.
The biggest thing the game has going for it is the nostalgia factor. That's not to say that the rest is bad, but it took me less than half an hour to finish a playthrough, and while the different dialogue choices give it some replay value, it's just too short for me to fall in love with it. That nostalgia, though...I seriously miss being a kid with just a dial-up connection using AOL 4.0 on a Dell with a MASSIVE 32 GB hard drive and 128 MB of RAM. Teenagers today won't appreciate this game since they wouldn't have the fond AIM memories that folks my age and a little older do, but for those of us who remember going through school with AIM and AOL, this is a trip down Memory Lane, awkward angst and all.
Since it's free, Emily is Away is definitely a game that everyone should check out, and since you can get through it in half an hour or less for a single playthrough, there's not a whole lot of a time investment involved. Your age is definitely going to affect how much enjoyment you get out of it - if you're 40+, you probably won't have the same kind of nostalgia, and if you're younger than 20, you definitely won't - but for folks in that age range, it's a pretty unique experience, and most games don't play to that particular kind of nostalgia, at least not as the core concept. It would have been nice to see a little more meat per playthrough, but it's free, so you really can't complain too much. Give it a shot; if you really like it, there's a $5 sequel, though I've not downloaded that yet.
Exhuminator wrote:Ecchi lords must unite for great justice.
Re: Games Beaten 2017
Games Beaten 2017
Inside - PS4
Street Fighter V - PS4
TIMEframe - PC
Rituals - PC
Mother Russia Bleeds - PC
Horizon: Zero Dawn - PS4
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Switch
Here They Lie - PSVR
Dexed - PSVR
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard - PSVR
Last Voyage - iOS
Ghost Blade HD - PS4
What Happened to Edith Finch - PS4
Fast RMX - Switch
Puyo Puyo Tetris - Switch
Garou: Mark of the Wolf - Vita
Star Wars: Republic Commando - PC
Battlefield 1 - PS4
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - Switch
Shock Troopers - PC (Arcade)
Shock Troopers 2nd Squad - PC (Arcade)
Gravity Bone -PC
A Thousand Flights of Loving - PC
Forza Horizon 3: Hot Wheels - PC/X1
Eve: Valkyrie- PSVR
Farpoint - PSVR
Painkiller: Battle Out of Hell - PC
Ghost Squad - Wii
Monument Valley 2 - iOS
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare - PS4
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 - 360
Tekken Advance - GBA
100ft Robot Golf - - PSVR
Final Fantasy XV: A King's Tale - X1
Star Wars Racer Revenge - PS2
Just Cause 3 - PS4
Toadled - PC
Gulity Gear Xrd -Revelator- PS4 *new*
Mortal Kombat XL - PC *new*
Total: 39
Previously: 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010
Played through the story on both of these. Two excellent entries in two excellent series - a good argument could be made that these are perhaps the very best/most nuanced of each.
Inside - PS4
Street Fighter V - PS4
TIMEframe - PC
Rituals - PC
Mother Russia Bleeds - PC
Horizon: Zero Dawn - PS4
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Switch
Here They Lie - PSVR
Dexed - PSVR
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard - PSVR
Last Voyage - iOS
Ghost Blade HD - PS4
What Happened to Edith Finch - PS4
Fast RMX - Switch
Puyo Puyo Tetris - Switch
Garou: Mark of the Wolf - Vita
Star Wars: Republic Commando - PC
Battlefield 1 - PS4
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - Switch
Shock Troopers - PC (Arcade)
Shock Troopers 2nd Squad - PC (Arcade)
Gravity Bone -PC
A Thousand Flights of Loving - PC
Forza Horizon 3: Hot Wheels - PC/X1
Eve: Valkyrie- PSVR
Farpoint - PSVR
Painkiller: Battle Out of Hell - PC
Ghost Squad - Wii
Monument Valley 2 - iOS
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare - PS4
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 - 360
Tekken Advance - GBA
100ft Robot Golf - - PSVR
Final Fantasy XV: A King's Tale - X1
Star Wars Racer Revenge - PS2
Just Cause 3 - PS4
Toadled - PC
Gulity Gear Xrd -Revelator- PS4 *new*
Mortal Kombat XL - PC *new*
Total: 39
Previously: 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010
Played through the story on both of these. Two excellent entries in two excellent series - a good argument could be made that these are perhaps the very best/most nuanced of each.
-
Markies
- Next-Gen
- Posts: 1410
- Joined: Fri Mar 27, 2015 4:29 pm
- Location: St. Louis, Missouri
- Contact:
Re: Games Beaten 2017
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)
24. Beyond Good & Evil (XBOX)
25. Beetle Adventure Racing! (N64)
26. Sonic Adventure (DC)
I beat Sonic Adventure on the Sega Dreamcast this afternoon!
I have a rather complicated history with Sonic. When I was a kid, I got the Sega Genesis with Sonic 2. I still absolutely adore that game and can play most of it with my eyes closed.
However, as I have gotten older, the shine has kind of worn off on the franchise. I have begun to understand the series' shortcomings and I also know that really good Sonic games are hard to find. I wouldn't say the 2D Sonic games are perfect, but they still have some nostalgia for me.
I remember seeing Sonic Adventure at a friend's house. He recently picked up a Sega Dreamcast near launch and got Sonic Adventure with it. He has a giant projector on which he plays his games and watching him play Sonic Adventure on that large of a screen was making me nauseous. Years later, when I got my Dreamcast, I had to get the game for that reason.
I'm never gotten the idea of 'So bad, it's good'. It makes a little sense for movies/television, but for games, none at all. If the game is bad, then it is just bad.
However, I think Sonic Adventure might be the exception. The camera is absolutely horrendous at times. The story makes absolutely no sense. Some levels are incredibly frustrating. The music is cringe worthy. And, most importantly, the lip movements of the characters will cause nightmare fuel.
Despite that, the game kept me hooked the entire time. There were only a few moments that made me want to quit and that was just because the game didn't explain it all that well. When I found out what exactly I needed to do, it wasn't too bad. It's not perfect, but the game designers gave some leeway on many of the levels.
I like the different character with their different takes on the same stages. The story had a weird Odin Sphere like structure, but each character felt unique and different. The graphics are mostly still amazing and the colors pop like little games before it.
Sonic Adventure is an interesting turning point in the Sonic franchise. I can see where they eventually lead too as there is little to the previous games in it. There is some good and some potential here, but it's a bit rough.
I would say the game is only worth playing if you are a true Sonic fan.
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)
24. Beyond Good & Evil (XBOX)
25. Beetle Adventure Racing! (N64)
26. Sonic Adventure (DC)
I beat Sonic Adventure on the Sega Dreamcast this afternoon!
I have a rather complicated history with Sonic. When I was a kid, I got the Sega Genesis with Sonic 2. I still absolutely adore that game and can play most of it with my eyes closed.
However, as I have gotten older, the shine has kind of worn off on the franchise. I have begun to understand the series' shortcomings and I also know that really good Sonic games are hard to find. I wouldn't say the 2D Sonic games are perfect, but they still have some nostalgia for me.
I remember seeing Sonic Adventure at a friend's house. He recently picked up a Sega Dreamcast near launch and got Sonic Adventure with it. He has a giant projector on which he plays his games and watching him play Sonic Adventure on that large of a screen was making me nauseous. Years later, when I got my Dreamcast, I had to get the game for that reason.
I'm never gotten the idea of 'So bad, it's good'. It makes a little sense for movies/television, but for games, none at all. If the game is bad, then it is just bad.
However, I think Sonic Adventure might be the exception. The camera is absolutely horrendous at times. The story makes absolutely no sense. Some levels are incredibly frustrating. The music is cringe worthy. And, most importantly, the lip movements of the characters will cause nightmare fuel.
Despite that, the game kept me hooked the entire time. There were only a few moments that made me want to quit and that was just because the game didn't explain it all that well. When I found out what exactly I needed to do, it wasn't too bad. It's not perfect, but the game designers gave some leeway on many of the levels.
I like the different character with their different takes on the same stages. The story had a weird Odin Sphere like structure, but each character felt unique and different. The graphics are mostly still amazing and the colors pop like little games before it.
Sonic Adventure is an interesting turning point in the Sonic franchise. I can see where they eventually lead too as there is little to the previous games in it. There is some good and some potential here, but it's a bit rough.
I would say the game is only worth playing if you are a true Sonic fan.
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ElkinFencer10
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Re: Games Beaten 2017
Games Beaten in 2017 So Far - 86
* denotes a replay
January (10 Games Beaten)
February (12 Games Beaten)
March (6 Games Beaten)
April (9 Games Beaten)
May (14 Games Beaten)
June (10 Games Beaten)
July (20 Games Beaten)
August (5 Games Beaten)
86. Ys III: Wanderers from Ys - SNES - August 19
Ys is a series that I've only recently gotten into but that I've really come to love. I (relatively) recently played the original Ys on Sega Master System and the combined release of Ys Book I & II on TurboGrafx-CD and absolutely loved both, especially the latter. It was with great excitement, then, that I started Ys III on Super Nintendo, expecting a great game despite the so-so things I'd heard about it. Truth be told, I wasn't disappointed.
The first thing that players will notice is that the battle system is completely different. Ys III plays as a much more traditional side scrolling action RPG as opposed to the distinct "hump your enemies to death" bump combat of the first games. This is the aspect of the game that seems to be the most divisive among players; a lot of longtime Ys fans don't like the shift to a more traditional combat system whereas more general ARPG players see it as a welcome change. Personally, I fall into the former category, being partial to the bump mechanics, but the combat was at least fairly well done in Ys III. Speaking just for this Super Nintendo release, there were a few instances - particularly with Ballacetine Castle and the final boss - where I felt that the hit detection could have used some work, but by and large, I didn't have any mechanics complaints about the game.
Ys III takes place after Ys II chronologically, but other than having Adol return as the protagonist, there isn't really any storyline connection between the two games. "His adventures" are mentioned vaguely, but knowledge of the events of the first two games are definitely not necessary to enjoy Ys III. To be honest, that was a negative for me as I'm big into world building and continuing stories, but it also makes sense given that, at least in North America, this was the first Ys game to which Nintendo players had access without also having a Master System or TurboGrafx-CD. I've heard that the PSP (and, later, Windows) remake of Ys III, Ys: The Oath in Felghana, has a much expanded story, so that might remedy some of the lack of direct connection to the first two games, but I haven't played that yet, so I can't speak to that.
Being a 16-bit game as opposed to the 8-bit version of the original Ys that I first played on Master System, the visuals and sound design in Ys III are fantastic. Especially with visual effects, Falcom really went above and beyond with this one, finding the right balance of what visual effects of the Super Nintendo to use and the degree to which to use them to enhance the experience without doing so much that the visual effects distract from the game itself as some games do. The soundtrack was also extremely well done despite the limitations of 16-bit cartridge systems. When played through a soundbar and subwoofer, the boss battle music especially is epic, more so than many sidescrolling games of the era. It obviously doesn't hold a handle to the TurboGrafx-CD release of Ys Book I & II, but it's definitely one of the more impressive Super Nintendo sountracks in my opinion.
All in all, Ys III is a competent addition to the series even if an unconventional one. The exclusion of bump combat may come as an unwelcome change to fans, but if a replacement system was going to be used, at least it was - for the most part - well implemented. The visuals - especially the anime-esque scenes at the very beginning and very end of the game - are very well done, and with the right sound system and stereo separation, the game's music sounds fantastic. I can't speak to the superiority or inferiority of other versions of the game, but at least as far as the Super Nintendo release goes, it may not be a masterpiece, but it's a solid action RPG, although it is worth noting that the very end is...brutal.
* denotes a replay
January (10 Games Beaten)
February (12 Games Beaten)
March (6 Games Beaten)
April (9 Games Beaten)
May (14 Games Beaten)
June (10 Games Beaten)
July (20 Games Beaten)
August (5 Games Beaten)
86. Ys III: Wanderers from Ys - SNES - August 19
Ys is a series that I've only recently gotten into but that I've really come to love. I (relatively) recently played the original Ys on Sega Master System and the combined release of Ys Book I & II on TurboGrafx-CD and absolutely loved both, especially the latter. It was with great excitement, then, that I started Ys III on Super Nintendo, expecting a great game despite the so-so things I'd heard about it. Truth be told, I wasn't disappointed.
The first thing that players will notice is that the battle system is completely different. Ys III plays as a much more traditional side scrolling action RPG as opposed to the distinct "hump your enemies to death" bump combat of the first games. This is the aspect of the game that seems to be the most divisive among players; a lot of longtime Ys fans don't like the shift to a more traditional combat system whereas more general ARPG players see it as a welcome change. Personally, I fall into the former category, being partial to the bump mechanics, but the combat was at least fairly well done in Ys III. Speaking just for this Super Nintendo release, there were a few instances - particularly with Ballacetine Castle and the final boss - where I felt that the hit detection could have used some work, but by and large, I didn't have any mechanics complaints about the game.
Ys III takes place after Ys II chronologically, but other than having Adol return as the protagonist, there isn't really any storyline connection between the two games. "His adventures" are mentioned vaguely, but knowledge of the events of the first two games are definitely not necessary to enjoy Ys III. To be honest, that was a negative for me as I'm big into world building and continuing stories, but it also makes sense given that, at least in North America, this was the first Ys game to which Nintendo players had access without also having a Master System or TurboGrafx-CD. I've heard that the PSP (and, later, Windows) remake of Ys III, Ys: The Oath in Felghana, has a much expanded story, so that might remedy some of the lack of direct connection to the first two games, but I haven't played that yet, so I can't speak to that.
Being a 16-bit game as opposed to the 8-bit version of the original Ys that I first played on Master System, the visuals and sound design in Ys III are fantastic. Especially with visual effects, Falcom really went above and beyond with this one, finding the right balance of what visual effects of the Super Nintendo to use and the degree to which to use them to enhance the experience without doing so much that the visual effects distract from the game itself as some games do. The soundtrack was also extremely well done despite the limitations of 16-bit cartridge systems. When played through a soundbar and subwoofer, the boss battle music especially is epic, more so than many sidescrolling games of the era. It obviously doesn't hold a handle to the TurboGrafx-CD release of Ys Book I & II, but it's definitely one of the more impressive Super Nintendo sountracks in my opinion.
All in all, Ys III is a competent addition to the series even if an unconventional one. The exclusion of bump combat may come as an unwelcome change to fans, but if a replacement system was going to be used, at least it was - for the most part - well implemented. The visuals - especially the anime-esque scenes at the very beginning and very end of the game - are very well done, and with the right sound system and stereo separation, the game's music sounds fantastic. I can't speak to the superiority or inferiority of other versions of the game, but at least as far as the Super Nintendo release goes, it may not be a masterpiece, but it's a solid action RPG, although it is worth noting that the very end is...brutal.
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