Games Beaten 2018

[Flake]

It was definitely the weirdest thing in the world when I was downloading ROMs that I totally had physical copies for *cough* back when I was a kid. At first I thought it was a fan game or a hack.

[nullPointer]

The List So Far:

1. To the Moon [PC/Steam]
2. Super Mario All-Stars: Super Mario Bros. 3 [SNES]
3. The Goonies [Famicom] [Together Retro - 01/2018]
4. Disney's Kim Possible: Revenge of Monkey Fist [GBA] [Together Retro - 01/2018]
5. The Addams Family [SNES] [Together Retro - 01/2018]
6. The Adventures of Batman & Robin [SNES] [Together Retro - 01/2018]
7. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy: Justice for All [3DS]
8. Mickey Mousecapade [NES] [Together Retro - 01/2018]
9. Assassin's Creed II: Discovery [NDS]
10. Half-Life: Source [PC/Steam]
11. The Great Giana Sisters [Amiga] [Together Retro - 03/2018]
12. The Colonel's Bequest [PC/GOG] [Together Retro - 03/2018]
13. Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions [PSP] [Together Retro - 02/2018]
14. The Guardian Legend [NES] [Together Retro - 03/2018]
15. Rush'n Attack [NES]
16. A Fork in the Tale [PC/Win9X] [Together Retro - 04/2018]
17. Formula One: Built to Win [NES]
18. Salamander Deluxe Pack Plus: Salamander [PSX]
19. The Dame Was Loaded [PC/GOG] [Together Retro - 04/2018]
20. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 [GEN]
21. Kyūyaku Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei [SFC][Translation: DDSTranslation] [Together Retro - 05/2018]

22. Operation C [GB]


Conceptualize with me for a moment if you will. Your dear old mother NESsie used to make a wonderful soup. It was a delicious mix of big tasty set pieces floating in a lively broth and garnished with the utmost in crispy control schemes. She called this soup Contra. Years later you're in the grocery store and you see an instant soup mix. It's called Operation C and on the label it says it says that it's perfect for lovers of Contra. Is it possible that this scaled back version of Contra can ever compare to your dear ol' Mama's masterpiece!? You take it home, pop it in the microwave. and … hey … this ain't half bad at all! Mama NESsie would approve.



Putting aside the half-baked parable above, I had my doubts about whether Operation C could effectively carry on the legacy of its console brethren in a portable format. The general folk wisdom here is that Gameboy conversions and sequels generally require concessions to be made in order to make the source material work. Sometimes this means that the controls feel slightly more herky-jerky (Super Mario Land). Sometimes the graphic conversion is not particularly favorable (Donkey Kong Land). And sometimes the gameplay format is completely altered (Blaster Master Boy). So what does this mean for Operation C? Are there concessions here? Well yes; but I was happy to find that they were exceedingly minor. Against all odds the things you love about Contra have made the transition to handheld more or less unscathed! Movement feels immediately familiar and silky smooth. Despite the monochrome display, the graphics look fantastic and recognizably Contra. I always enjoy Contra games that contain a mix of side scrolling and overhead segments and Operation C succeeds with aplomb in this regard.



So what kind of concessions are present then? Well if you're looking for much in the way of series progression, you won't necessarily find that here. The homing weapon is a new twist, although for the most part it's more a curiosity than it is a fully functional boom stick (spread gun for lyfe!). Also conspicuously absent are the larger than life set piece bosses we've become accustomed to in Contra titles. The bosses here are fine for what they are. Particularly towards the end of the game they'll keep you on your toes, and several of them have been cleverly implemented, but they all lack the jaw dropping bombast you might see from bosses in the console titles. But ultimately I think that's fine. What you will find here is just an incredibly competent portable version of Contra; nothing more, nothing less. Operation C might skew slightly towards easier difficulty, particularly when compared against the 16 bit (and later) entries in the series, but again I think that's fine. The difficulty is well tuned for a portable title.



I was aware that this game had a great reputation, and I was not disappointed in the slightest. Unless are you simply diametrically opposed to the Contra series altogether, I'd recommend this to 8-bit enthusiasts of all stripes. In the same way that Contra and Super-C are some of the best titles for NES, I'd easily say that Operation C is one of the best titles for Gameboy.

[bigpunisha]

Old topic, but I just finished crash bandicoot n sane trilogy tonight after playing it for like a week.. I'm stoked! This game was awesome the whole way thru.

[Gunstar Green]

I always get weirded out when people bash Mega Man & Bass. I think that one blows 7 out of the water tenfold. And I'm glad it uses 8's superior sprites. It's also one of the hardest ones to me personally but I've only finished it a few times over. Bass is awesome and controls like an X character, though he's got directional fire his buster is total weak sauce. I played it again last year with Mega Man, maybe I'll go for another run with Bass soon since I'm always craving more Mega Man.

I also remember when it was called Mega Man 9 all over the net back in the day. Everything about the game and the OST exudes a strange comfy nostalgia to me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tgTfWwQzTc

I remember in the early ROM days everyone loved it because it was like this special secret lost Mega Man game. The GBA release kind of hurt its reputation because of small screen making it pretty frustrating.

That said the level design is hit and miss and King's fortress is annoying at times, especially if you're playing as Mega Man.

One thing I don't like about both 7 and M&B is the sound design. Everything just sounds weak and kind of off.

Anyway... I beat X8. It was pretty fun once I got finally got into the groove, something I never managed with the PC version back in its day. The controls are responsive, the graphics are nice with the exception of the character models being a little strange. The music is forgettable metal guitars mostly with a few nice tracks like the space elevator one.

The level design oddly reminds me more of Mighty No. 9 than anything else. The levels rely too much on gimmicks just like that game and when they don't they're either very straight-forward or lazy spike-hells or that lousy forced scrolling volcano level. There's also TWO ride chaser levels, one of which is unforgivably bad. At least the levels are all different from one another and memorable.

The story was coherent and not the corn fest that is X7 and the voice acting is finally good. Secrets are well hidden and there are LOADS of them but forcing you to buy the things you find at the shop instead of just giving them to you is an odd decision. The more simple aesthetic of the Mavericks was very welcome after the overdesigned trash of X7's Mavericks and they were fun to fight though none of them were particularly challenging even without weakness weapons.

X's Neutral Armor is kind of ugly but it grew on me. Finally being able to swap between different armor parts or completing the set for extra bonuses is a cool feature that I wish would have been implements into the series earlier.

The tag team gameplay is done really well here. All three characters have their own distinct play styles and all of them are good. Axl is a lot of fun and a lot more tolerable when he's not trying to steal the spotlight. The final boss fight was pretty excellent and Sigma finally isn't the ultimate baddie this time, though the situation is still kind of his fault.

I don't think it's quite the "return to form" a lot of fans sell it as but I was having fun more than I wasn't and it's definitely a competent game that shows 2.5D is a viable route for the franchise. Unlike X6 and X7 it's a game I could see myself revisiting which I guess is pretty decent praise. I can finally say I completed the X series after all of these years anyway.

[Markies]

Markies' Games Beat List Of 2018!
*Denotes Replay For Completion*

1. The Granstream Saga (PS1)
2. Perfect Dark (N64)
*3. Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete (PS1)*
4. Prince of Persia: Warrior Within (XBOX)
5. Donkey Kong Country (SNES)
*6. Pikmin (GCN)*
*7. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time (N64)*
8. Shining Force II (GEN)
*9. X-Men Vs. Street Fighter (PS1)*
*10. Mafia (XBOX)*
11. James Bond 007: Agent Under Fire (GCN)
12. ChuChu Rocket! (SDC)
*13. Super Metroid (SNES)*
14. Final Fantasy II (NES)
15. Devil May Cry (PS2)
16. Mega Man: The Wily Wars (GEN)
17. Secret of Evermore (SNES)
18. Test Drive: Eve of Destruction (PS2)
19. Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour (GCN)
*20. Paper Mario (N64)*
21. Grandia II (SDC)
22. Ghostbusters: The Video Game (PS2)
23. Bomberman Hero (N64)
24. OutRun (GEN)



I beat Out Run on the Sega Genesis this evening!

One of the games I've had since I can remember was Out Run 2019. It was a game I played over at my childhood friend's house and I eventually got a copy for myself. The game had amazing music and was just a fun romp that really introduced me to driving games. Since I played one of the spin off games, I decided to go and play the original game. It took me a very long time to find the game, but at a gaming convention last year, I found the game for a very good price and decided to pop it in this evening.

The best part about Out Run is definitely the music. I am so glad there is a Sound Test as you can leave the game running and just listen to the fantastic music. You can beat the game in less than 30 minutes and the music never gets old. In fact, you are almost halfway through the game before I felt the song beginning to loop. All of the tracks are really well done and it makes the game go by so much quicker. Besides that, Out Run is the standard bearer of 3D racing games. I love the Cruis'N series and that series owes a lot to Out Run along with many other racing games. The feel is fantastic as you go racing through so many different terrains. Each one felt unique and even though it didn't add much to the game play, it was nice to see a different viewpoint. I only briefly played the Arcade version, so the Genesis port is a little choppy in spots, but the game is completely playable in its state. I didn't really notice it until I began to remember the arcade version more clearly.

My biggest gripe with the game is being forced to use Manual Transmission. Thankfully, there are only two speeds, Low and High. However, it would have been nice to be given an option of Automatic. Also, the game doesn't have much depth. There is one large map with 5 different courses and 5 different endings, but that is it. Out Run 2019 had several different maps, so I was expecting some other maps.

Overall, Out Run is a brief but very enjoyable experience. It is a game to go back to see the evolution of 3D driving games. It is one of the forefathers that really pushed the genre further with so many games afterwards owing much of its legacy to Out Run. It's a fun little to pop in for a bit, listen to fantastic music and then beat in less than hour. If you can find it for a very cheap price, I would say it is more than worth it.

[noiseredux]

"Ocean Breeze" is the shit.

[alienjesus]

I'm definitely a Magical Sound Shower kinda guy.

[Markies]

I'm definitely a Magical Sound Shower kinda guy.

That was one I listened to first and it was the one that stuck with me the most.

I was actually a little disappointed in "Splash Wave". I was hoping to like that one more...

[pook99]

I played it again last year with Mega Man, maybe I'll go for another run with Bass soon since I'm always craving more Mega Man.
Tc

Have you tried any mega man fan games? I am also always craving new mega man games and I just started exploring some of these.

Mega Man unlimited is an unbelievable game, it is easily on par with, if not better than, every game in the series. I wrote a review of it a few pages back if your interested, but it is definitely something every mega man fan needs to play, just be prepared for a solid challenge.

Mega Man x street fighter is also pretty cool, it is not revolutionary in any way, but having street fighter characters replace robot masters is really cool, if you enjoy street fighter than give it a shot.

Mega Man rock force is the game I just started, I only beat 2 levels in it and won't really get back into it until after my vacation but it seems solid so far, the hook is that when you beat a robot master you not only unlock their special ability, but you also free a robot that you can play as in place of mega man. All of the robot masters in the game are new, along with original levels, but the unlockable robot masters you get to play as are taken from old mega man games, so far I have unlocked knight man and hard man, I know cutsman is in the game as well and I can't wait to unlock him. The cool thing is the all of the robot masters you fight have 2 weaknesses, one from a weapon, but they are also weak to one of the unlockable robot masters which is pretty cool. I'll write a full review when I beat it, but that will be awhile.

Mega Man 7 and 8 demake: I have not played these 2 yet but they are 8 bit renditions of their next gen counterparts, seems really cool in theory.

All of these games are free and easy enough to find with a google search.

[Gunstar Green]

It's been a while but I remember the 8-bit demakes of 7 and 8 being pretty neat.