Games Beaten 2017

[ElkinFencer10]

Yep, Tales rarely breaks the mold, but it's quite a good mold they've got there.

[Sarge]

Tales is a lot like the brawler genre. On the surface, they all seem roughly the same, but the little details are what makes or breaks each game. Sadly, they more often inspire "meh" from me than "wow", but the series definitely has its high points.

So, what is everyone's favorite Tales game? I think my two faves are Symphonia (duh) and Abyss. Hearts R is actually really close, too. Of the 2D entries, it's probably Destiny, although the PSX version of Phantasia seems cool, too. I'd have played through that version if I hadn't finished the GBA version, which is possibly the worst way to play according to some, but it was still a good time.

I'm just disappointed we didn't get the Japan-only Tales of Destiny 2 on PS2. Not to be confused with Tales of Destiny II that we got, which is actually Eternia.

[Xeogred]

I can't help but recall Symphonia's story being like something for pre-schoolers, lol. The weak stories are my biggest issue with the series, so I've been excited to hear that Berseria is hopefully more serious and interesting.

There's a weird thing that keeps me coming back to the series and I'm not sure what it is. Maybe the anime aesthetics, as generic as they can be sometimes. But as it stands I've played Phantasia, Symphonia, Destiny, Destiny 2/Eternia, and Graces F... didn't beat any of them. Either way, since I skip around them a lot I'm not burned out yet. So I'll check out Berseria sometime.

[Sarge]

I also think some of the series has a sort of "you had to be there" appeal. It was pretty odd back when the series debuted and for quite some time into it to see a JRPG with the sort of combat system that the series sported; as the years have gone on, it's not as unique a formula. A lot of RPGs have action-oriented combat systems now.

[PartridgeSenpai]

Tales is a lot like the brawler genre. On the surface, they all seem roughly the same, but the little details are what makes or breaks each game. Sadly, they more often inspire "meh" from me than "wow", but the series definitely has its high points.

So, what is everyone's favorite Tales game? I think my two faves are Symphonia (duh) and Abyss. Hearts R is actually really close, too. Of the 2D entries, it's probably Destiny, although the PSX version of Phantasia seems cool, too. I'd have played through that version if I hadn't finished the GBA version, which is possibly the worst way to play according to some, but it was still a good time.

I'm just disappointed we didn't get the Japan-only Tales of Destiny 2 on PS2. Not to be confused with Tales of Destiny II that we got, which is actually Eternia.

Tales tends to leave more experimental stuff to the spin-off games. Things like the Dragon Quest-ish monster recruiting in the Symphonia sequel, and then there's the straight up SRPG on the 3DS (among other Tales of the World games), and I wanna say there's a mystery dungeon series of somekind as well as a Musou game on PSP. Tales is a series that tends to be more popular in Japan than here, and they get pretty upset whenever they change things too much, so I think Tales is here to stay, at least like it is. I think the comparison to the brawler genre is an excellent one though. You've really gotta be familiar with a lot of them to see the smaller things that make one stand out from another. I really like how they write characters though, so the new stories and characters combined with familiar gameplay is something that really appeals to me

My favorite has to be Tales of Graces. The characters, especially Sophie, really hit a personal chord for me, and I really enjoyed the combat in that one. I haven't actually beaten any of the 2D ones, but given that I've at least played 3 (Phantasia, Eternia, and Destiny's remake on PS2), I guess I'll go with Destiny.

It is still so weird to me that we haven't gotten 3 Tales games here with how much the series has grown in popularity since the start of last gen. The West still hasn't seen Destiny 2, Rebirth, or Innocence. Granted, Innocence is my 2nd least favorite Tales game out of the ones I've played, so I don't think it's any huge tragedy that we never got that. Perhaps next I'll play through Rebirth next to get a definite opinion on that as well.

[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)
50. Umihara Kawase (SFC)


I am invigorated! I achieved something today! No, nothing related to continuing to play the part of a mechanical engineer, alongside my regular role. I'm talking real, big, important things. I beat Umihara Kawase for the Super Famicom! So, yes, I'm pretty sure I ended up taking the shortest route, but it's short because it's so difficult, and I'm incredibly awesome for making it through those fields, right--? --Right?

Anyway, it still gave me a nice feeling of pride in finally beating that final stage. I had gotten up to it quite a few times, and one of those times, I was about to swing up to the door, when I got hit, dazed, and flung into the ocean, only to have to start back from square one. The sea anemones on that last field were a real PITA. What a triumphant feeling to actually finish it, though. There's still at least a quarter of the fields in the game that I haven't even seen, but honestly, I don't like this one as much as the sequel, and probably won't really come back to it. It's a good game--catchy music, if a little on the lame side--but the Nintendo D-pad fills me with so much rage sometimes while playing it. (Just accept my diagonal inputs already, dammit!)

I do love all the surrealism inherent in the game, though. It's a little Lewis-Carroll-esque, but with a bit of a modern Japanese slant. It's also a great series for 'incremental skill advancement' (TM): Putting more time into it usually empowers me to go for riskier paths through fields, and more advanced tricks, which can be tremendously rewarding. On the other hand, at times I can attempt to do the same thing through a particular field route, and get the result I'm expecting (because I had done it a certain way before, and got that result), OR something completely different, that totally screws me over. The blade cut-eth both ways, I suppose.

I think more people should play the Umihara Kawase games. They're even on Steam! So, there's really no excuse. It's fun for everyone, and I know I'm not the only one who wants to vicariously fulfill his dream of swinging around the back streets of rural Japan with a fishing lure, as a short-haired Japanese girl, right--? --Right?


Edit: Just felt like adding in a little bit of trivia. 'Umihara Kawase' is the name of the main character, but it's also a saying that describes where fish carry the most fat: 'Umi no sakana ha hara ni, kawa no sakana ha se ni abura ga notteiru,' or 'Fish from the sea carry fat on their stomachs, fish from the river carry it on their back.'

[Exhuminator]

I think more people should play the Umihara Kawase games.

YES they should. These are some of the best platformers out there. Love 'em.

Also great review as always.

[Segata]

Dragon Quest is well crafted and makes small changes. They have changed the combat. Enemies are now seen in the overworld. These small changes have a big impact on the series. DQ manages to be a work of art while remaining traditional and aims for something specific but still takes risks(DQIX & DQVIII & XI). Tales is a bit aimless and it ranges from terrible to average. DQ manages to remain somewhat unique despite remaining traditional. Each DQ game is still distinctive from the last, mainly due to its characters and well-crafted gameplay and worlds, despite a similar theme, each game feels like a different place. Tales..a lot of them are interchangeable with another Tales game, same with the characters. I'm sorry but comparing the two games is bad form.

[Exhuminator]

90. The Mummy Demastered | PC | 2017 | 7/10



An ancient mummified sorceress has been unearthed, she's bent on world domination, only a crack team of black ops commandos can stop her. Yes, you play as the black ops dudes in this WayForward produced metroidvania. If you've played a game in this genre before, you know what to expect. Run around a maze, kill lots of stuff, find power ups that let you backtrack and advance where you couldn't before. Nothing super innovative here in that regard. The Mummy Demastered does offer very nice retro graphics, with super detailed backgrounds and well animated sprites. Enemies range from zombies, to crows, to giant spiders, and yes even mummies. The controls are very tight, everything "feels" right, which is important given the amount of platforming you'll be doing. Above all else the OST is amazing, seriously. The composer mixed in NES sounding melodies interwoven with ambient synthesizer backdrops... the music's just fantastic.



What's not fantastic? Let's start with the death system. If you die, your corpse becomes undead. When you resurrect, you come back as a new commando. You have to hunt down your now zombie-fied ex-self, and kill it to get your stuff back. Health does not come easy either. Enemies hit hard and fast, and keeping your health tanks full is a constant task. Made even harder because health pickups are not plentiful, and there's no auto-health refilling areas like in Metroid. The map system is wonky, it will show solid walls where it absolutely knows no solid walls exist. This makes backtracking more of a chore than it needs to be. Also the fast travel way-points are not at all well laid out. There are a lot of cheap hits in this game. Enemies will spawn under you, around you, and failing that they will shoot projectiles that go through walls. (Your projectiles do not go through walls.) The Mummy Demastered's enemy AI is very aggressive, or at least the normal enemies are. Strangely the bosses are all (save one) complete pushovers and pieces of cake to kill. Though not hard, the bosses are incredibly damage-spongey, almost comically so.



And you'll have fun killing them, because the weapon load out is crazy good. You've got flamethrowers, missile launchers, C4, machine guns, napalm bombs, and much more. Basically folks, they put a Contra protagonist in an Igavania. If that sounds fun to you, then you should enjoy The Mummy Demastered. (As long as you can stand health grinding.) This is a quality metroidvania in a very workmanlike way. Your typical good-but-not-great WayForward stuff. That said, any fan of this genre should play The Mummy Demastered. Especially if you enjoy retro aesthetics in your modern games, and can appreciate a decent challenge.

My ending stats:

I only died twice, both times to this bastard sand crocodile-dragon:



I nearly killed him both times. I then went and explored, found two health expansions and a new weapon, and proceeded to annihilate him after that.

[MrPopo]

I took my first death to that asshole as well, and discovered the real pain regarding the health system. The "hunt down your zombie" part is cool, but you getting empty energy tanks from him is not. Even the infinite spawning bugs aren't good for health farming. I think that's the game's biggest pain point, with your aforementioned lack of labels on room exits on the map being the secondary misstep.