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Markies
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Re: Games Beaten 2019

by Markies Thu Jan 02, 2020 1:05 am

Markies wrote:Markies' Games Beat List Of 2019!
*Denotes Replay For Completion*

1. Power Stone 2 (SDC)
2. Radiata Stories (PS2)
3. Dusty Diamond's All-Star Softball (NES)
***4. Saiyuki: Journey West (PS1)***
5. Shining In The Darkness (GEN)
***6. Metropolis Street Racer (SDC)***
7. Half-Life 2 (XBOX)
8. Soul Blazer (SNES)
9. Mario Party (N64)
10. Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (GCN)
11. Street Fighter Collection (PS1)
12. Pokemon Stadium 2 (N64)
13. Burnout (PS2)
14. Phantasy Star III (GEN)
15. Batman: The Video Game (NES)
16. X-Men Legends (XBOX)
***17. Final Fantasy VII (PS1)***
18. Maximum Pool (SDC)
19. Puzzle Quest (PS2)
20. Jet Moto (PS1)
21. The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition (GCN)
22. Dead Or Alive 3 (XBOX)
23. Growlanser III: The Dual Darkness
24. Luigi's Mansion (GCN)
25. Diddy Kong Racing (N64)
26. Wild Arms 4 (PS2)
27. Sonic & Knuckles (GEN)
***28. Secret of Mana (SNES)***


I won't post my Stats or anything, but I will post my Rankings.

First, I will do my 2019 Best New Games, which are the games that I bought in 2019. These games are listed in excitement to find and have them in my collection. Then, I will do my 2019 Best Games Beat, which are the games I beat in 2019. These games are listed in which games I enjoyed the most from 2019.

First, I will do my 2019 Best New Games.
10. Xenosaga: Episode 3 (PS2)
9. Mega Man 7 (SNES)
8. Pikmin 2 (GCN)
7. Threads of Fate (PS1)
6. Chip 'N Dale Rescue Rangers 2 (NES)
5. Super Castlevania IV (SNES)
4. Jet Set Radio Future (XBOX)
3. Atelier Iris 3 (PS2)
2. Mr. Driller (SDC)
1. Ducktales 2 (NES)

Finally, my 2019 Best Games Beat!
10. Dusty Diamond's All-Star Softball (NES)
9. Dead or Alive 3 (XBOX)
8. Batman (NES)
7. X-Men Legends (XBOX)
6. Wild Arms 4 (PS2)
5. Puzzle Quest (PS2)
4. Growlanser III (PS2)
3. Radiata Stories (PS2)
2. Soul Blazer (SNES)
1. Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (GCN)
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pierrot
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Re: Games Beaten 2019

by pierrot Thu Jan 02, 2020 1:15 am

Games Beaten List:
  1. Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster's Hidden Treasure (GEN)
  2. The Revenge of Shinobi (GEN)
  3. Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi (GEN)
  4. Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master (GEN)
  5. Go Go Ackman (SFC)
  6. Super Wagyan Land (SFC)
  7. Super Mario RPG (SFC)
  8. Shin Megami Tensei if... (SFC)
  9. Front Mission: Gun Hazard (SFC)
  10. Steep Slope Sliders (SAT)
  11. Valkyrie Profile (PS1)
  12. Sakura Taisen (SAT)
  13. Shenmue Chapter 1: Yokosuka (DC)
  14. Shinobi (PS2)
  15. Gungrave (PS2)
  16. Assault Suit Leynos 2 (SAT)
  17. Sakura Taisen 2: Kimi, Shinitamoukoto Nakare (SAT)
  18. Kino no Tabi: The Beautiful World (PS2)
  19. Ganbare Goemon! Karakuri Douchuu (FC)
  20. Ganbare Goemon 2 (FC)
  21. Sakura Taisen 3 ~Paris wa Moeteiru ka~ (DC)
  22. Capcom vs SNK: Millennium Fight 2000 (DC)
  23. Capcom vs SNK: Millennium Fight 2000 Pro (DC)
  24. Capcom vs SNK 2: Millionaire Fighting 2001 (DC)
  25. Sakura Taisen 4 ~Koi-seyo Otome~ (DC)
  26. Street Fighter Zero 3: Saikyou-ryuu Doujou (DC)
  27. King of Fighters '99 Evolution (DC)
  28. Madou Monogatari I (MD)
  29. Twinkle Star Sprites (SAT)
  30. Madou Monogatari (SAT)
  31. Policenauts (SAT)
  32. Demon's Blazon: Makaimura Monshou-hen (SFC)
  33. Akumajou Special: Boku Dracula-kun (FC)
  34. Akumajou Special: Boku Dracula-kun (GB)
  35. Red Arimer: Makaimura Gaiden (GB)
  36. Getsu Fuumaden (FC)
  37. After Armageddon Gaiden: Majuu Toushouden Eclipse (Mega CD)
  38. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (NES)
  39. Elnard (SFC)
  40. Actraiser (SFC)
  41. Sonic Mania (PC)
  42. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (PC)
  43. Blazing Chrome (PC)
  44. ReCore - Definitive Edition (PC)
  45. The Outer Worlds (PC)
  46. Shenmue II (DC)
  47. Shenmue III (PC)
  48. Timespinner (PC)
  49. Ori and the Blind Forest - Definitive Edition (PC)
  50. Super Lucky's Tale (PC)
  51. State of Mind (PC)
  52. Undertale (PC)

State of Mind - I just happened to watch the trailer for this game after clicking onto its store page in the Xbox app, and though it looked really interesting. It starts out pretty well, with the main character, Richard, trying to piece together some recent traumatic events, and eventually trying to unearth the whereabouts of his wife and son. The visual style is very eye catching, with all the models drawn with a very low-poly look to them. It's actually one of the things that drew me to the game in the first place, since it kind of feels like ReBoot, or just a 3D game from the fifth console generation. The setting is 2048 Berlin, and robots occupy a lot of housekeeping, and law enforcement roles. After a short time, the game also introduces another main character in Adam: A resident of City5. The first hour or so is very interesting, and thought provoking, but over time the story felt like it made a number of missteps. There are a lot of threads of the narrative that terminate in loose ends, and the web becomes a bit too broad and tangled to settle toward any concise message. There are a ton of narrative themes about the nature of existence, and of life in the presence of advanced AI, which I like, but I don't think it offers any sort of elevated presentation on the topics. Another issue I have is that Richard is just sort of an asshole, and even though I tried to make him less of an asshole through dialogue choices, he still ends up being basically the same character by the end of the game as when the game started. Also, the ending has this choice that should be significant to the ending, but when I went back to try the other option, it was literally the exact same ending. The ending for State of Mind is really the closest thing I've seen to the ending of Hud (1963) in a video game. Most people would hate it, because essentially nothing is actually resolved. I think it's a mistake to look at stories and say that the ending has to explain things. That's a lazy way to interact with media. However, I do think there was some need to touch on a couple details before the final scene. Not much, just a little more than what's there; particularly between Richard and his wife Tracy, which was basically the low-level plot thread that the game abandoned most of the philosophical ideas for, during the climax.

State of Mind is really an adventure game. The story is the primary element, but it has very basic puzzle and exploration gameplay. I enjoyed the Sonic the Hedgehog cameo, but the movement controls are kind of awkward, and the puzzles can be more of a nuisance than an enhancement of the experience. This was particularly the case in the club scene, where the game asks you to take control of a drone to scan people's faces, and find a particular patron. It's a very dark area, there are a ton of NPCs that match the characteristics you're asked to look for, and it takes a handful of seconds to scan the NPCs, if they don't move at all. That was the most annoying segment of the game for me, but there are a few times where the game asks you to take control of drones, and none of them were really any fun.

Anyway, it's not bad, and it's not particularly long either (probably 8 to 12 hours max), I just don't think I would actually recommend it.


Undertale - This is one of those games that everyone is supposedly meant to play now because of how 'amazing' it is, but makes me look a little side-eyed at people. Let me break this game down a little bit: Undertale's story is wildly derivative, and is essentially what one would get if he mashed together the central themes from Crusader of Centy, Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter, and the first three Suikoden games (all much better games, I should add), then allowed Earthbound to just stink up the joint with its insufferable idiocy. Without it even being a goal, the end result of my time with Undertale was as if someone had challenged me to not react at all to it. It was one of the most boring five-ish hours I've ever spent with a game. It actually made me notice the fact that it was totally unable to make me feel anything. (By contrast, I wept several from playing Ori and the Blind Forest. I am more machine than man, but I put this one on Undertale.) I really don't understand how anyone could become attached to the characters in the game. I honestly hate Sans so, so much. I just want to pop his dumb anime skull like a balloon. He's that faux-cool; that awkward translation of an anime character trope via a western anime fan, and it makes my skin crawl. The humor in Undertale is aspiring to be like Earthbound (which is also a snooze), but it's really just that middle school brand of irrelevant, pointless, randomness. It's that arbitrary comedic method of flinging shit at a wall and hoping something sticks. In essence, Undertale is just a binary representation of a middle-schooler. Also, what the fuck is a Temmie!

I actually played the game as a pacifist, but I killed the tutorial boss, because it didn't seem to give me any options. That, along with just splashing a cup of water on Undyne, and calling it a day, gave me a pretty shitty ending. Again, no reason to care about the characters and their weird, and frankly uncomfortable, attractions to the main character, so there was really no incentive to deal with them, and maybe improve the ending slightly. It's kind of messed up to start the game off that way, though, since the issues of morality aren't immediately apparent, and that ending basically leaves the game off with the message that 'there is no redemption.' Personally, I think that's a shitty message, but whatever.

So, Undertale is an easy, boring game, that's basically a 2D walking sim, with really terrible Wario Ware minigames mixed in, and I hate the visual style. It's at least mercifully short, and the music is pretty good (easily the best thing about the game). It's probably, objectively, just all right, but I personally find it to be intolerable, and hope to never hear about it again.




I don't think I'll bother with stats this time. I'm just going to recap the games a little.

The Games That Everyone Should Play
Shinobi III, Super Mario RPG (shockingly), Shenmue I, Shenmue II, Shenmue III,, The Outer Worlds, Ori and the Blind Forest


The Games I Loved Playing, Which No One Else Will Ever Play
Kino no Tabi: The Beautiful World, Sakura Taisen, Sakura Taisen 3, Ganbare Goemon: Karakuri Douchuu, Madou Monogatari I (Mega Drive)


The Not Great Games I Wish Had Been a Bit Better
SMT if..., Valkyrie Profile, Ganbare Goemon 2, Madou Monogatari (Saturn), Getsu Fuumaden, Sonic Mania


The, Now Predictable, Popular Games I Couldn't Stand
Front Mission: Gun Hazard, Policenauts, Zelda II, Actraiser, Blazing Chrome, Timespinner, Undertale
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Re: Games Beaten 2019

by alienjesus Thu Jan 02, 2020 9:29 am

AJ's Top 10 Best (and Worst) Games Played in 2019


The Top 10

All of the games on either list are made up of only games I've not beaten before - so you won't see the likes of Sonic 2 or Streets of Rage on the list!

Honourable Mentions:
  • The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time [Randomiser] is a great time, but seeing as it's mostly Ocarina of Time which I've played before, doesn't make the main list
  • Shining in the Darkness - This was my first experience of the Shining series, and I rather enjoyed it. There are better games in the series though...
  • Columns III: Revenge of Columns - This was a ton of fun, but it doesn't quite make the list
  • Spanky's Quest - This game is a mostly forgotten Natsume title, but it deserves better because it's great
  • Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2 - I love me some Ouendan, but this misses the list for basically just being more of the same. No bad thing, but lots of other options for the top 10
  • Subsurface Circular - This was an intriguing little visual novel but it was short lived and it's pretty much a one and done
  • Tokyo School Life - I probably shouldn't like this one as much as I did because it's pretty simple and very cliche, but I found it charming and enjoyed my time with it a lot.
  • Money Puzzle Exchanger - The only reason this didn't made the main list is that the Game Boy did in a previous list. I love this game.

Number 10:
Pokémon Sword
It might not be the perfect entry in the series, but Pokémon Sword still has that classic Pokémon charm, and call me biased but I loved the 'not-Britain' setting of the game. The new Pokemon designs are great too.


Number 9:
Alien Soldier
I love me some Treasure, as I'm sure you all know by now, but this was my first time playing through Alien Soldier properly. It does have a learning curve, but it's worth sticking with because this is an action packed game with interesting boss fights galore.


Number 8:
GoldenEye 007
As with Treasure, I'm also a fan of Rare, particularly in the N64 era. GoldenEye was one of 2 games by Rare for the console I hadn't played, and I wasn't that excited about it to be honest. That was misplaced though, as despite naysayers who claim it has aged terribly, I found GoldenEye to be an absolute blast and I beat it over the course of a single weekend. Great stuff
.

Number 7:
Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana
This is only the 3rd Ys game I have played - the first two being Book 1 for Master System and Books 1 & 2 for PSP, so this is my first modern styled game in the series. I know our resident Ys fan is less keen on this style, but I enjoyed it from start to finish. The story isn't fantastic but the combat is fast paced and fun and I liked the characters. Definitely worth your time


Number 6:
Katamari Damacy Reroll
The original Katamari never came out in Europe, so when the remaster came out on Switch I jumped right on the chance. And it was absolutely worth doing, because this game was great. I loved seeing the same environments from different perspectives as my Katamari gradually got bigger and bigger over the levels, culminating in rolling up entire landmasses. Maybe I'll give some of the sequels a go soon.


Number 5:
West of Loathing
West of Loathing was a game I picked up almost by accident, jumping on a Limited Run release on a whim because I'd heard the scores for the game were good. I'm really happy I did though, because what I got was a hilarious RPG romp which I couldn't put down for some time - I wanted to do all the sidequests just to see what crazy things would happen next. I loved it.


Number 4:
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
It's kind of an odd one to place on the list here, but Smash Bros. Ultimate definitely deserves a spot. It narrowly missed being number 1 on last year's list due to me not beating it until January 1st, but because I mostly played it last year it feels wrong putting it at the top this time - so it gets a high placement to be recognised for just how much fun it is - it's probably the best in the series to date, and that's high praise indeed.


Number 3:
Bayonetta 2
Bayonetta 2 was one of my final games beaten of the year, and it was great fun from start to finish. I do think it's perhaps a bit too easy compared to the first, but that didn't stop it from being great fun. I'm looking forward to Bayonetta 3 whenever we finally see something of it.


Number 2:
Shining Force 2
Having worked my way through all 51 games on the Mega Drive collection, there was one series that was the standout highlight for me, as far 'new' series to me went, and that was the Shining games. I really enjoyed both Shining in the Darkness and Shining Force 1 (which also gets an honourable mention), but Shining Force 2 is the highlight on the console. It's like a less intense Fire Emblem - more relaxing when you need something easier to play. I liked it enough to spend silly money on Shining Force III, so that should tell you something. This one is great.


Number 1:
Ace Attorney Investigations: Prosecutor's Path
It feels a bit weird putting this game as my number 1, considering it's basically just more of (mostly) the same as the other games in the series. But I love this series, and although this is more of the same, I would happily claim that it's the very best more of the same you will find. This game and it's predecessor might be my favourites in a series I already love, thanks to their better pacing overall. This one will need to be played with a fan translation for most of you, but luckily the translation available is excellent. A must play for fans of the series.





The Bottom 10

Dishonourable Mentions:

  • Sonic Spinball is a great concept ruined by poor execution. It's not awful, but it is disappointing
  • Phantasy Star 2 takes all the promise of the first game and replaces it with tedious grinding, an almost absent story and mediocre graphics. It took 2 more games for the series to get back on track.
  • Fatal Labyrinth is bland and generic in basically every way. It's playable, but the question is why would you?
  • FlOw is more of an art piece than a serious game, and it's not particularly intriguing even as art. Style over substance.

Number 10:
Vectorman & Vectorman 2
Yeah, I'm putting both games in here. They're basically the same anyway. Vectorman is a very ugly game utterly lacking in charm, with a very inconsistent difficulty curve, and clunky movement and jumping that makes you take lots of unexpected damage. This is not even close to contending with Donkey Kong Country, that's for sure.


Number 9:
Puchi Carat
Puchi Carat looked like it would be a fun head-to-head puzzler and instead became turned out to be a dull and frustrating head-to-head breakout clone - an idea that just doesn't work in practice, as you don't have the precision or control to counter attack reliably. The colourful graphics don't redeem it.


Number 8:
Thimbleweed Park
Thimbleweed park was meant to be a spiritual successor to the early days of LucasArts point n click adventures, but it lacks all of the charm, wit and inventiveness of those games and instead offers an extended 10 hours of pixel hunting, unlikeable characters and tedious puzzles. A massive disappointment.


Number 7:
Toejam & Earl: Panic on Funkotron
I rather liked the original Toejam & Earl, which was a very different experience from everything else on the console - a roguelike with a unique style and setting. The sequel becomes a collectathon platformer before those became good, and drags out basic gameplay to a tedious 10 hour slog. At an hour long, this would be OK, at 10 times that length it's unbearable.


Number 6:
Landstalker: The Treasures of King Nole
Landstalker is a game with a lot of promise - zelda style puzzle solving and adventuring through pretty environments with lots to see and find. It's a shame many of the puzzles require ludicrous levels of perfection in movement, and every aspect of the gameplay is ruined by it's isometric angle and utterly baffling movement controls. This is dire.


Number 5:
Virtua Fighter 2
This is a game I'd say I probably enjoyed slightly more than games before it like Landstalker, but to be honest that's mainly due to it being only 20 minutes long. Virtua Fighter 2 tries to make the 3d fighter work on Mega Drive, but utterly fails. Why you'd ever want to play this in this day and age is the question - and one Sega really should answer as they keep trotting this dirge out for every collection.


Number 4:
Sword of Vermilion
You've probably noticed a trend by now, in that a large portion of this worst list are from the Sega collection (tbf, over half the games I beat this year were). This is no exception. Sword of Vermilion combines tedious 3D maze navigation with terrible overhead combat and even more terrible sidescrolling boss fights. The graphics are terrible, gameplay is tedious and there's little to redeem this game at all. Now enjoy for the next 15 hours. I sure didn't.


Number 3:
Alex Kidd in The Enchanted Castle
One of the first video games I ever played was Alex Kidd in Miracle World. It's not perfect - slippy controls, rock paper scissors boss fights and some obtuse secrets make it feel dated - but it's also full of ambitious mechanics, interesting levels and power ups and has a lot to find. Enchanted Castle takes all the good things about Miracle World and throws them out whilst doubling down on the worse elements. That is doesn't even look or sound any better is the icing on the cake - poor Alex Kidd.


Number 2:
Space Harrier II, Super Thunder Blade & Galaxy Force II
This is another cheat where I've combined multiple games into one entry - the main reason was when I originally made this list, these 3 games took 3 of the top 6 slots, and it felt a bit repetitive. So I combined them into one. I don't love these rail shooters even in their arcade original forms, but the Mega Drive versions are so much worse. Ironically, my least favourite of the bunch is Space Harrier 2, which most people seem to like most. They're all poor choices for games to play, and at this point it's easy to find the much better arcade versions.


Number 1:
Kid Chameleon
I'd imagine a lot of you knew this was coming. I can find nothing redeeming about Kid Chameleon. It's derivative of much better games. It's got absolutely dire gameplay, with slippy, overly fast physics, bland level designs, ugly ugly graphics and terrible western Mega Drive music. The only thing I can say for it is that it's at least packed with content - there's an absolute ton of levels here. Unfortunately, when you find just playing through the first 2 levels a chore, enduring dozens upon dozens more is a thoroughly miserable experience. I look forward to never, ever playing this again.
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prfsnl_gmr
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Re: Games Beaten 2019

by prfsnl_gmr Thu Jan 02, 2020 11:04 am

I agree with everything you said about Vectorman and Vectorman 2 except your comments on their appearance. I thought both games, at least, looked pretty good. (The FMV in the penultimate level of the first game and the lighting effects in the first few levels of the second game were particularly impressive, even if the gameplay was complete garbage.)
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Re: Games Beaten 2019

by MrPopo Thu Jan 02, 2020 12:32 pm

I'd recommend you pick Military Madness back up some day. The second half of the game is not so much a strategy game as it is a puzzle game; if you start thinking in those terms it becomes a bit easier.
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prfsnl_gmr
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Re: Games Beaten 2019

by prfsnl_gmr Thu Jan 02, 2020 1:39 pm

MrPopo wrote:I'd recommend you pick Military Madness back up some day. The second half of the game is not so much a strategy game as it is a puzzle game; if you start thinking in those terms it becomes a bit easier.


+1

Military Madness is sooooo good, but sooooo hard. That’s a great way to think about it.
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Re: Games Beaten 2019

by marurun Thu Jan 02, 2020 1:54 pm

You guys should give Neo Nectaris a shot. It's just as good and includes the original on the CD! It introduces a bunch of new units and plays just as nicely as the original Military Madness (Nectaris).
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prfsnl_gmr
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Re: Games Beaten 2019

by prfsnl_gmr Thu Jan 02, 2020 4:01 pm

Yes. I actually played the PSX version, which is just chock full of campaigns, including the original. That’s the version I usually recommend.
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Re: Games Beaten 2019

by MrPopo Fri Jan 03, 2020 12:37 pm

Yup, in later battles you have a pretty specific set of moves you need to do because the enemy force is overwhelming. I can't say I ever felt like the battles were random.
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Re: Games Beaten 2019

by prfsnl_gmr Fri Jan 03, 2020 1:01 pm

MrPopo wrote:Yup, in later battles you have a pretty specific set of moves you need to do because the enemy force is overwhelming. I can't say I ever felt like the battles were random.


Yes. In the later battles, the forces are so lopsided that one wrong move will spell defeat. That said, I still thought that there was some discretion with regard to how I completed each battle. I found the computer to be a tactical genius and a strategic idiot, and by the end of the game, it was relatively easy to exploit the computer’s weakness to overcome even the most overwhelming enemy forces. (Doing so also gave me a feeling of tremendous accomplishment, and I feel that Military Madness is one of the few games that actually made me a bit smarter by forcing me to look at things a bit differently and in a way that carried over to other aspects of my life.)
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