Games Beaten 2017

[BogusMeatFactory]

My suggestion to the d&d beat em ups is to look up the move lists. Slides, shield blocks and the like are essential to your survival. There is more depth than what you experience from a blind play through.

[Key-Glyph]

Hi guys. It's been a really intense year and I haven't had the energy to post any of my beaten games for 2017... until now! So get ready for a giant list all at once:

01. Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (PS2)
02. Portal 2 (PS3) [2-Player]
03. Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar (ApplII) -- Summer Games Challenge
04. Pokémon HeartGold (DS)*
05. Tecmo Bowl (NES) -- Summer Games Challenge
06. Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge (XBLA) -- Summer Games Challenge
07. X-Men (GEN) -- Summer Games Challenge
08. Contra (NES) -- Summer Games Challenge
09. Star Fox (SNES) -- Summer Games Challenge
10. The Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse (SNES)
11. Super Metroid (SNES) -- Summer Games Challenge
12. XCOM 2 [Veteran Ironman] (PS4)*
13. Contra (NES)* [Deathless Run]

Resident Evil 3: Nemesis:

This past January I visited my best friend in California, and we have somewhat of a Resident Evil tradition. I once watched her marathon the original, and later we played through 2 separately but at roughly the same time. What we hadn't done was hot-seated a game together -- so that's how we conquered Nemesis. When one of us got too rattled or a particular section called for one or the other of our differing gaming skillsets, we passed the controller. (I'm the dexterity/boss fight player; she's the navigator/item and ammunition expert.) It was incredibly fun. Lots of cheering and hollering, especially during the Quick Decision sequences. It's hard to pick a favorite Resident Evil, but with the branching paths aspect, 3 is may be even more replayable than 2.

Portal 2 [2-player]:

This was the other game my best friend and I polished off. We'd actually started it together about two years prior but didn't quite finish it before I flew home. We tied it up this time. It was so incredibly enjoyable in every way, and especially because the plot itself is about teamwork and celebrating it. She was again in charge of spatial thinking and navigation, and I specialized in timing and acrobatics. It's also really funny when your cohort thinks of hilarious things that you don't, such as waving to GLaDOS through a security camera, and the game reacts.

Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar:

This game has marked my soul forever. It's hard to measure the effort and love I poured into it, the wonderful feelings of revelation after revelation as seemingly random pieces of information knit together in my subconscious, and the utter despair that was my attempt on the final dungeon. I drew around twenty maps and filled just as many pages or more with written notes. This game gave, and it took. What an experience.

Pokémon HeartGold:

Just another romp through one of my favorite games, mostly to decompress from Ultima IV. I've played it through maybe four times by now. This time I did it with a full team of shinies.

Tecmo Bowl:

I wasn't really sure what to expect from Tecmo Bowl. The last time I played it I was probably five, and it seemed impossibly complicated to my child mind. I thought you had to be a strategic genius, or at very least an older sibling, to understand the plays. Ahahaha... NOPE! All in all it was a really enjoyable time. Perfect length, great music and sound effects. I played as the Seahawks in honor of the Seattle Racketboys who put up with my exultations and lamentations in the Slack chat. This was also the final NES game I've had since childhood that I hadn't yet beaten... so the part of my heart that is still Baby Key finally has closure.

Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge:

Okay, I'm an avid lover of the Secret of Monkey Island, and I also really, really enjoyed The Curse of Monkey Island -- so believe me when I say it pains me, PAINS me, to report that I did not enjoy LeChuck's Revenge. No, it's not because some of the puzzles are impossible (I played the remaster, so I had access to hints). It's because the humor was... weird. It was mean and crass in a way that I don't remember the other games being, and which felt incongruous with the series. Also, the ending was trying to be clever, but was just universe-breaking and unsatisfying. I'm glad I played through it, but I love my Guybrush clueless, kind-hearted, and absurd, not arrogant and hurtful.

X-Men:

I've heard many gamers describe this game as a classic that they loved in childhood. I tried playing it years ago and came away from it extremely confused. It seemed so terrible! But I gave it the benefit of the doubt and fired it up again -- maybe I had been using a janky controller that first time or something? -- but no. This game is a trainwreck. I mean, it looks awesome. You get to play as Nightcrawler and Gambit, which is also awesome. But this title is a shining example of spectacular game design failure. It is impossible to know what the bosses' weak spots or moments of vulnerability are; you just spam your teammate summons in order to hit them and avoid death. The only thing I truly enjoyed about this game was reading hilarious reviews of it on the internet (one is literally titled "Why I Never Beat X-Men on Genesis"). I beat it on Easy, which cuts the game short by several stages. Not only am I not going to revisit it for the true ending, I'm straight-up selling it. I've got better games to buy with that money!

Contra:

I love this game. Love it. I was expecting it to be brutal and unfair due to its reputation (and its being an NES title), but I actually think it's masterfully balanced. It's never cheap, and even when there are sticky spots, they're spaced enough that you don't feel like you're being punished. So glad to have added this one to my collection; it's just impossible to get tired of.

Star Fox:

So, our SNES suddenly stopped working, and in doing research on the internet I discovered that some original SNES units are suffering from failing parts these days. But then, enter a hero! Out of the kindess of her heart my coworker gifted me her family's SNES after I took it in and repaired it, and thus I was able to play Star Fox and continue with my Summer Games Challenge. I really enjoyed this title despite generally being crap at flying and racing Mode 7/scaled sprite situations. I loved the emotional investment of saving your squadmates, too. I found out that Slippy is perhaps the most hated squaddie, but he's my fav, so whatever world, deal with it.

The Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse:

This was a gift, and I definitely need to spend more time with it. I love the convention of switching between costumes to use the abilities inherent in each -- very Wario Land-esque -- but frankly I'm just not very good at the game! I did spend a lot of time exploring the first level, though, and in doing so I could see that once you master the controls as well as your approach to the different environments, you can get a lot more out of each stage. When I revisit it in the future I'll concentrate less on moving forward and more on snooping out secrets.

Super Metroid:

I started a tradition in 2015: play one Metroid game per summer. 2015 was the NES original, 2016 was the sequel on the Game Boy... so finally, it was time for Super Metroid. The original gave me all the haunted, isolated feelings I love in an exploration game; the sequel surprised me with its emotional depth and made me cry; and now the third installment has taken both those precedents and combined them into something transcendent. The Metroid games are incredibly skillful at communicating things almost subliminally, and the talent involved in subconsciously egging me to do something that I think is a random nothing thing but winds up delivering a dramatic payoff just blows my mind. I loved that I would sleepily realize, "Oh my gosh, I've been here before" as I explored Zebes, and a handful of times I caught myself staring at the screen with my mouth open, watching something arrestingly creepy unfold. This game was absolutely dependent on the two that came before it and delivered something greater than the sum of the parts. I cannot wait to play Fusion next summer.

XCOM 2 [Veteran Ironman]:

This was my third attempt at a Veteran Ironman campaign. Veteran is the second of the four difficulty levels, and Ironman means there's no save scumming: every decision is final. What I love about these challenges is how each playthrough -- whether it's Ironman or not, and what difficulty it is in combination with that -- absolutely forces you to play the game a new way. I had to develop new strategies and a new mindset to finally pull this off. Also, that final level on Veteran is no joke. I almost thought I was gonna bite it as I watched 13+ enemies cause massive slowdown on my map. I'm going to try a Commander Ironman campaign, but... I'm taking a long vacation from the game first.

Contra [Deathless Run]:

I really wanted to get through Contra on one life, and after two days of practicing I pulled it off. Best part: my husband was watching the whole time, "oof"ing and gasping when I skirted death. That victorious moment was really nice to share.

PHEW! I'm so sorry. As much as I don't want to have to do a massive post like this again, I'm afraid at this rate I probably won't report in again until December. Alas.

* = replay

[noiseredux]

1. Fire Emblem Heroes (Android)
2. Sara Is Missing (Android)
3. Civilization V (PC)
4. Portal 2 (PC)
5. Halo Wars 2 (PC)
6. Mario Run (Android)
7. Super Blackjack Battle 2 Turbo Edition (Android)
8. Diablo III (PC)
9. Madden NFL 18: Longshot (Xbox One)
10. Ultra Street Fighter II (Switch)

1cc'd arcade mode.

[ElkinFencer10]

Games Beaten in 2017 So Far - 95
* denotes a replay

January (10 Games Beaten)

1. Persona 4 Arena - Playstation January 1
2. Chrono Trigger - SNES - January 7
3. Ys: The Vanished Omens - Master System - January 8
4. MUSHA - Genesis - January 10
5. Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree's Woe and the Blight Below - PlayStation 4 - January 11
6. Ys I - TurboGrafx-CD - January 13
7. Ys II - TurboGrafx-CD - January 14
8. Dragon Quest Builders - PlayStation 4 - January 23
9. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard - PlayStation 4 - January 26
10. School Girl/Zombie Hunter - PlayStation 4 - January 29

February (12 Games Beaten)

11. Fire Emblem Heroes - Android - February 3
12. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD - Wii U - February 5
13. Dante's Inferno - PlayStation 3 - February 7
14. Hotel Dusk: Room 215 - DS - February 11
15. Persona 4: Dancing All Night - Vita - February 12
16. Sniper Elite 4 - PlayStation 4 - February 17
17. Pony Quest - NES - February 19
18. Halo Wars 2 - Xbox One - February 22
19. Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions - PlayStation Portable - February 24
20. Hotline Miami - PlayStation 4 - February 26
21. Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light - Famicom - February 27
22. Bad Dudes - NES - February 28

March (6 Games Beaten)

23. Root Letter - PlayStation 4 - March 2
24. Vroom in the Night Sky - Switch - March 10
25. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Switch - March 17
26. Super Bomberman R - Switch - March 18
27. Super Mario Run - Android - March 24
28. I Am Setsuna - Switch - March 24

April (9 Games Beaten)

29. Mass Effect: Andromeda - PlayStation 4 - April 1
30. Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army - PlayStation 4 - April 2
31. Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army 2 - PlayStation 4 - April 2
32. New Frontier Days: Founding Pioneers - Switch - April 3
33. Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army 3 - PlayStation 4 - April 4
34. Persona 5 - PlayStation 4 - April 17
35. Alienation - PlayStation 4 - April 18
36. Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc - PlayStation 4 - April 23
37. Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair - PlayStation 4 - April 29

May (14 Games Beaten)

38. Puyo Puyo Tetris - Switch - May 4
39. Fire Emblem Gaiden - Famicom - May 6
40. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - Switch - May 6
41. Outlast II - PlayStation 4 - May 7
42. Dishonored - PlayStation 4 - May 10
43. Snipperclips: Cut it Out, Together! - Switch - May 12
44. Pikmin - Gamecube - May 12
45. Metal Slug - Neo Geo MVS - May 13*
46. Dariusburst CS: Chronicle Savior - PlayStation 4 - May 14
47. Batman: The TellTale Series - PlayStation 4 - May 17
48. Batman: Arkham VR - PlayStation 4 - May 18
49. Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia - 3DS - May 25
50. Farpoint - PlayStation 4 - May 27
51. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings - Xbox 360 - May 29

June (10 Games Beaten)

52. Star Trek: Bridge Crew - PlayStation 4 - June 2
53. The Walking Dead: A New Frontier - PlayStation 4 - June 3
54. Rebel Galaxy - PC - June 18
55. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II - Vita - June 20
56. Medal of Honor: Allied Assault - PC - June 21*
57. Medal of Honor: Allied Assault - Spearhead - PC - June 21
58. Medal of Honor: Allied Assault - Breakthrough - PC - June 22
59. Aliens Versus Predator - PC - June 23
60. Army Men - PC - June 24*
61. Apartment 666 - PC - June 26

July (20 Games Beaten)

62. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist - Genesis - July 12*
63. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Hearts of Stone - PlayStation 4 - July 15
64. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Blood and Wine - PlayStation 4 - July 22
65. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - PlayStation 4 - July 24
66. Splatoon 2 - Switch - July 25
67. Kamiko - Switch - July 25
68. Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge - Xbox - July 26
69. Panzer Dragoon - Saturn - July 27*
70. Snake Pass - Switch - July 27
71. Buck Bumble - Nintendo 64 - July 28*
72. Castlevania - NES - July 29
73. Castlevania II: Simon's Quest - NES - July 29
74. Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse - NES - July 29
75. Super Castlevania IV - SNES - July 30
76. Castlevania Adventure - Game Boy - July 30
77. Castlevania Adventure Rebirth - Wii - July 30
78. Contra Rebirth - Wii - July 31
79. Heavy Fire: Special Operations - Wii - July 31
80. Heavy Fire: Black Arms - Wii - July 31
81. Panzer Dragoon II Zwei - Saturn - July 31*

August (9 Games Beaten)

82. Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius - Steam - August 4
83. Panzer Dragoon Saga - Saturn - August 5
84. Sunrider: Liberation Day - Steam - August 6
85. Emily is Away - Steam - August 8
86. Ys III: Wanderers from Ys - SNES - August 19
87. Nights of Azure - PlayStation 4 - August 25
88. Uncharted: The Lost Legacy - PlayStation 4 - August 26
89. Strike Suit Zero: Director's Cut - Xbox One - August 27
90. Devil's Third - Wii U - August 30*

September (5 Games Beaten)

91. Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle - Switch - September 4
92. Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom - Wii U - September 4
93. Daytona USA - Xbox 360 - September 6
94. Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow Over Mystara - Wii U - September 6
95. Cave Story+ - Switch - September 10

95. Cave Story+ - Switch - September 10



Cave Story is one of the most well known and prolific indie game success stories.  Of course, it's not an indie game anymore - major publishers picked it up for console ports and remasters - but it started life as one dude's project to make a bitchin' freeware game in his spare time.  The Switch port, obviously, has had numerous features added, a redone soundtrack, and completely remastered visuals over the freeware PC original, but the heart of what makes the game special is way it tells a fairly unique story with likeable characters and a gameplay style that very much pays homage to the 2D Metroid games.



The back of the Switch box describes Cave Story+ as a "super-challenging shooter platformer," and that's an extremely accurate statement.  I played on the lowest difficulty (because I'm a punk ass bitch), and I still found the game to be extremely challenging.  You play as a little robot boy who finds himself in a cave full of monsters.  You eventually make your way to a village of furries...or something...and some doctor is kidnapping them for some (presumably) nefarious ends.  Most of the furries are jerks, but there are a couple who are pretty cool, so you decide to help them.  Then the doctor does some more screwed up stuff, so you decide to caress his fleshy, human face with your cold, robot fist.  There are a few endings depending on what you do in certain parts of the game, so you could save everyone just in the nick of time and be a big damn hero.  You could also choose to let everyone die.  They're not the most gratifying different endings, but it does at least add some replay value.



Visually, the game uses the "retro" aesthetic of which I'm extraordinarily sick, but it is done very well here, so I have to give credit where credit is due, and in fairness to the game, it first came out back in 2004, so it was before the torrent of dime-a-dozen "retro" indie games.  The soundtrack is what really stands out, though.  Obviously both have been dramatically enhanced over the preceding 13 years, but the end result is a good looking game in spite of my prejudice against pixel art and a truly stellar soundtrack.  The level design is clever and challenging with secrets to find and death traps to avoid.  The only problem I have with the design of the game is the use of set save points.  I understand that specific, pre-set save locations are part of the challenge, but it's more an inconvenience to me than anything else, although the portable nature of the Switch does mitigate that somewhat.



Cave Story+ is a hard game for me to score, and I really am almost evenly torn between giving it a 3 or a 4 on my 5 point scale, but I've got to fall on the side of a 4.  I, personally, thought it was good but not amazing due to a number of stylistic choices - set save points, pixel art aesthetic, the use of a boss rush, for example - but those are subjective complaints, and it's not really fair to hold that against a game when trying to score it.  The visuals are very well done despite being in a style for which I don't care, and the soundtrack more than makes up for that style choice.  Save points irritate me, but I know their intended purpose, and while I think boss rushes are bullshit and not fun, there's nothing objective flawed about them, especially if you like the challenge.  The game isn't particularly memorable or outstanding to me, but it's easy for me to see why it's so popular and why so many people hold it in such high regard.  In terms of design and refinement, it really is an impressive game, and given how accessible it is these days, it's definitely a game I'd recommend everyone play at least once.

[Xeogred]

I'm going to be that guy but I've never liked Cave Story. Played some of both the original and the newer revamped one at some point, they're both ugly. Art style is like a poor man's Momodora. Have you played Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight, Elk? Highly recommended.

[ElkinFencer10]

I'm going to be that guy but I've never liked Cave Story. Played some of both the original and the newer revamped one at some point, they're both ugly. Art style is like a poor man's Momodora. Have you played Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight, Elk? Highly recommended.

I have not, but I feel like you're not the first person who's recommended it to me. I like the art style in CS+ even if the pixel art is waaaaay too done to death these days, but I've seen some screenshots of the original, and I gotta agree about that one - it wasn't pretty.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Contra [Deathless Run]:

I really wanted to get through Contra on one life, and after two days of practicing I pulled it off. Best part: my husband was watching the whole time, "oof"ing and gasping when I skirted death. That victorious moment was really nice to share.

Like a boss! Such a great game. Ostensibly "hard" but so brilliantly designed that after a bit of memorization and practice it just flows. I don't even flinch until the snow level.

---

I still haven't played Cave Story. I have beaten Pink Hour and Pink Heaven (such an accomplishment!) and played a bit of Kero Blaster; I guess I've been waiting for Cave Story to go on sale on Steam (or, hell, at this rate I'll just get it on Switch).

[Sarge]

Contra [Deathless Run]:

I really wanted to get through Contra on one life, and after two days of practicing I pulled it off. Best part: my husband was watching the whole time, "oof"ing and gasping when I skirted death. That victorious moment was really nice to share.

High fives all around for joining the deathless Contra club!

[Exhuminator]

Cave Story was pretty good until the very end. The boss rush was dumb, and the final boss was overkill. Drastic difficulty spike, or that's how it was with the original PC release. I don't know if all the ports and remakes since then have been better balanced. I hope so.

[ElkinFencer10]

Cave Story was pretty good until the very end. The boss rush was dumb, and the final boss was overkill. Drastic difficulty spike, or that's how it was with the original PC release. I don't know if all the ports and remakes since then have been better balanced. I hope so.

Either it hasn't or the original was just inhumanely difficult because the difficult still spikes, the boss rush is still stupid, and final boss is still all kinds of bullshit.