Partridge Senpai's 2020 Beaten Games:
Previously: 2016 2017 2018 2019
* indicates a repeat
1. Invisigun Reloaded (Switch)
2. Human: Fall Flat (Switch)
3. Shantae: The Pirate's Curse (3DS)
4. Darksiders: Warmastered Edition (PC)
5. Splatterhouse (PS3) *
6. 3D Dot Game Heroes (PS3)
7. Tokyo Jungle (PS3)
8. Pictobits (DSiWare)
9. Puzzle Quest: The Legend Reborn (Switch)
10. WarioWare Gold (3DS)
11. Disaster: Day of Crisis (Wii)
12. Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition (Xbone)
13. Sleeping Dogs: Nightmare in North Point (Xbone)
14. Sleeping Dogs: Year of the Snake (Xbone)
15. Dynamite Headdy (Genesis) *
16. Shovel Knight: King of Cards (3DS)
17. Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope (3DS) *
18. Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows (Switch) *
19. Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment (Switch) *
20. Shovel Knight: Showdown (Switch)
21. Dragon Quest Builders 2 (PS4)
22. ActRaiser (SNES)
23. Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth (WiiWare)
24. Mega Man X (SNES)
25. Breath of Fire II (SNES)
26. Ape Escape 2 (PS2) *
27. Doubutsu No Mori+ (GC)
28. Ape Escape (PS1)
29. Ape Escape 3 (PS2) *
30. Maken X (DC)
31. Cubivore (GC)
32. Wario World (GC) *
33. Hatoful Boyfriend (PC)
34. Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem (SFC)
35. Baku Bomberman 2 (N64)
36. Chameleon Twist (N64)
37. Gato Roboto (PC)
38. The Messenger (PC)
39. The Messenger: Picnic Panic (PC)
40. Baku Bomberman (N64)
41. Bomberman Hero (N64)
42. Blazing Lasers (TG16)
43. Neutopia (TG16)
44. Neutopia II (TG16)
45. Bomberman '94 (PCE)
46. Super Mario Sunshine (GC) *
I've been in a bit of a nostalgic mood lately, and I saw they had one copy of this game lefta at the resale mall and picked it up. It's been maaaany years since I last played this game, and while I did beat it when I was a kid, I never got all 120 shines. Well this time I did! With the help of a guide for a few of the most hidden ones as well as 50-some odd blue coins, and after 20 or so hours with the Japanese version, I 100%'d Super Mario Sunshine~.
Mario Sunshine sees Mario & Peach & Co taking a vacation to Dolphic Island (as it's called in Japanese). Mario is framed of painting graffiti all over the whole island, and is ordered by the island government to clean it all up before he can leave. Luckily, he has the aid of his mechanical sidekick Fludd (or "Pomp", as he's called in Japanese) who can spray water to clean stuff up and help Mario with his platforming. It's as lighthearted a story as ever, but it does introduce Bowser Jr. to the cast and also gives us some of the first instances of Bowser just trying to be a good dad, which is super wholesome and I love it ^w^
As in Mario 64, you go around 7 stages doing 8 missions in each (as opposed to the 6 missions in Mario 64) for the reward of a Shine (the collectible here instead of stars). There are additionally two extra hidden shines in each level, which are often just doing a red-coin time trial of a particular stage, but not always (and some are damn deviously hidden). The main plaza of Dolphic Island also has over a dozen shines to collect, hidden all over it, as well as 240 freaking blue coins hidden throughout the game (and you can trade in 10 of for a shine).
While the game does have a lot of really fun mission designs, ranging from platforming puzzles you need to complete without Fludd (like Odyssey would replicate later with Cappy-less platforming challenges) to a hotel mystery where you need to find your way through all the secret floors/walls to your objective, the game overall has a weaker mission design than the other 3D Marios. This is what I would say is its biggest flaw, and often 2 or 3 of the missions in each stage do not really feel terribly substantial and the game overall feels like it has a bit less content than Mario 64 did despite having just as many stars. A lot of the hidden blue coins are also really deviously hidden, falling into a trap that Mario Odyssey also falls into in terms of trying to 100% it, but this is way worse. You'll likely appreciate coming across those kinds of minor collectibles in playing the game normally as they'll help you get towards the Shine total you need to beat the game, but it's a real pain trying to find ALL of them without a guide. The blue coins are a fairly minor complaint though unless you're going to try and get every Shine in the game.
While I feel the mission design to be overall weaker (although still very good) compared to Mario 64 and the other 3D Marios, the way this game plays is WAY better than Mario 64. Mario starts to control in large part how he would for the rest of his 3D games, particularly in how wall jumps are far less difficult now that you can hug a wall for a bit before jumping off of it. In addition to that, Mario also has Fludd to assist him with its various nozzles. There's the default nozzle for shooting out at enemies and cleaning up spills, but there's also a hover nozzle that lets you hover for a short time in addition to 2 different sub attachments you can find in each level. It really varies up the ways Fludd can help you move around, and it does a great job of varying up the platforming, much like how Mario Galaxy would spice things up with gravity switching.
The game holds up aesthetically really well, looking really nice played through the component cables on my Wii. The music is also great, and the main plaza theme is as catchy as ever. The VA in the game curiously is all in English even in the Japanese version, only having Japanese subtitles to aid Japanese players in understanding what's going on. The English VA that's there isn't terribly frequent or of an amazing quality, but it was very interesting to see them continue that after Mario 64: Rumble Edition also had all English VA here in Japan.
Verdict: Highly Recommended. Fludd does certainly change up how Mario moves compared to the other games, and the mission design may be all around weaker, but this is still a fantastic 3D platformer. I understand that some people may not like it for how much it changes Mario's basics of moving around, but I still think this game is a blast and is totally worth checking out for fans of the genre who haven't gotten a chance to try this one yet.
Games Beaten 2020
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PartridgeSenpai
- Next-Gen
- Posts: 2991
- Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2015 9:27 am
- Location: Northern Japan
Re: Games Beaten 2020
I identify everyone via avatar, so if you change your avatar, I genuinely might completely forget who you are. -- Me
Re: Games Beaten 2020
@Partridgesenpai: Glad you enjoyed mario sunshine, I feel like that is a game that I "hear" people don't like but I have never met or seen anyone who hasn't, I think the game is a lot better received than most people think it is and there is just a vocal minority that complains about it.
Re: Games Beaten 2020
1. Elite Dangerous - PC
2. Soldier of Fortune - PC
3. Star Wars: TIE Fighter: Defender of the Empire - PC
4. Star Wars: TIE Fighter: Enemies of the Empire - PC
5. Star Wars: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter: Balance of Power - PC
6. Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance - PC
7. Phoenix Point - PC
8. Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter - PC
9. Descent II - PC
10. Inbento - Switch
11. Ori and the Will of the Wisps - XB1
12. Doom Eternal - PC
13. Serious Sam 2 - PC
14. Black Mesa - PC
15. Descent 3 - PC
16. Darksiders II - PC
17. Resident Evil 3 (2020) - PC
18. Overload - PC
19. Final Fantasy VII Remake - PS4
20. Trials of Mana (2020) - Switch
21. Persona 5 Royal - PS4
22. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered - PC
23. Sublevel Zero Redux - PC
24. Final Fantasy XII: Zodiac Age - PS4
25. Maneater - PC
26. XCOM: Chimera Squad - PC
27. Sakura Wars - PS4
28. Stela - Switch
29. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 - DC
30. Darksiders III - PC
31. Shadow Warrior (2013) - PC
32. Robotrek - SNES
33. Shadow Warrior 2 - PC
34. EVO: The Search for Eden - SNES
35. Blast Corps - N64
36. Command & Conquer: The Covert Operations - PC
37. Command & Conquer Red Alert: Counterstrike - PC
38. The Last of Us Part 2 - PS4
39. Exodemon - PC
40. Halo: Reach - PC
41. Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary - PC
42. Halo 2: Anniversary - PC
43. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel - PS3
44. Halo 3 - PC
45. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II - PS4
46. Command & Conquer Red Alert: Aftermath - PC
47. Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 - Switch
48. Carrion - Switch
Carrion is a unique Metroidvania where you basically play as The Thing. And not the rock monster from Marvel Comics. The game starts with you breaking out of containment and nomming on nearby scientists who were studying you. You now need to escape, and woe betide any humans who get in your way. But it won't be easy; you start off as just a small horrifying tentacled blob with teeth. You'll need to evolve new abilities and in general get larger to make it through the obstacles in your path, as well as dealing with some of the heavier armament as they try to keep you contained.
The game controls fairly uniquely. Since you have a host of pseudopods for movement you basically are able to fly around the level using one stick, and then the other stick is used to aim your powers and your main interaction tentacle. You can grab humans or other objects in the world to drag them into your maw or swing them around and bust them up (important for robots). And later on you'll get various special powers. One interesting thing is that you have a separate offensive and defensive power per form, so you'll either need to grow big or leave something behind to get small to get through certain areas. But your size is also linked to your health, so being small means you die more easily. Conversely, when you get really big you can have trouble maneuvering around, and naturally you are much easier to hit.
The level design is well crafted to keep moving you to your next area, so you shouldn't need to worry about getting lost. There is no map, but you should only need that if you are trying to backtrack for the handful of optional hidden items that make your life a bit easier in the manner of energy tanks. But you don't need to backtrack from a previous major area to do so; you just might need to backtrack in the current area once you've gotten a necessary power. The level design is quite neat; there are a lot of areas that move you around the main human areas so you can sneak up on them (important when they get heavier hardware) and there are a lot of puzzles to solve in terms of manipulating gates and switches to open paths, as well as the aforementioned growing or shrinking your form. In order to clear an area you need to activate a certain number of spots on the map, and these also serve as save/health points, so you never lose much progress by dying. The game has a good difficulty curve and introduces stuff up until the last level, where it instead just gives you the toughest combat challenges (though they are all appropriately scaled). There are no boss fights; you are the boss.
The game is a lot of fun, though if you gross out easily you might bounce off it. And it very well executes the fantasy and nails the total feeling of being this horror rampaging through. It's a pure delight from start to finish.
2. Soldier of Fortune - PC
3. Star Wars: TIE Fighter: Defender of the Empire - PC
4. Star Wars: TIE Fighter: Enemies of the Empire - PC
5. Star Wars: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter: Balance of Power - PC
6. Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance - PC
7. Phoenix Point - PC
8. Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter - PC
9. Descent II - PC
10. Inbento - Switch
11. Ori and the Will of the Wisps - XB1
12. Doom Eternal - PC
13. Serious Sam 2 - PC
14. Black Mesa - PC
15. Descent 3 - PC
16. Darksiders II - PC
17. Resident Evil 3 (2020) - PC
18. Overload - PC
19. Final Fantasy VII Remake - PS4
20. Trials of Mana (2020) - Switch
21. Persona 5 Royal - PS4
22. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered - PC
23. Sublevel Zero Redux - PC
24. Final Fantasy XII: Zodiac Age - PS4
25. Maneater - PC
26. XCOM: Chimera Squad - PC
27. Sakura Wars - PS4
28. Stela - Switch
29. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 - DC
30. Darksiders III - PC
31. Shadow Warrior (2013) - PC
32. Robotrek - SNES
33. Shadow Warrior 2 - PC
34. EVO: The Search for Eden - SNES
35. Blast Corps - N64
36. Command & Conquer: The Covert Operations - PC
37. Command & Conquer Red Alert: Counterstrike - PC
38. The Last of Us Part 2 - PS4
39. Exodemon - PC
40. Halo: Reach - PC
41. Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary - PC
42. Halo 2: Anniversary - PC
43. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel - PS3
44. Halo 3 - PC
45. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II - PS4
46. Command & Conquer Red Alert: Aftermath - PC
47. Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 - Switch
48. Carrion - Switch
Carrion is a unique Metroidvania where you basically play as The Thing. And not the rock monster from Marvel Comics. The game starts with you breaking out of containment and nomming on nearby scientists who were studying you. You now need to escape, and woe betide any humans who get in your way. But it won't be easy; you start off as just a small horrifying tentacled blob with teeth. You'll need to evolve new abilities and in general get larger to make it through the obstacles in your path, as well as dealing with some of the heavier armament as they try to keep you contained.
The game controls fairly uniquely. Since you have a host of pseudopods for movement you basically are able to fly around the level using one stick, and then the other stick is used to aim your powers and your main interaction tentacle. You can grab humans or other objects in the world to drag them into your maw or swing them around and bust them up (important for robots). And later on you'll get various special powers. One interesting thing is that you have a separate offensive and defensive power per form, so you'll either need to grow big or leave something behind to get small to get through certain areas. But your size is also linked to your health, so being small means you die more easily. Conversely, when you get really big you can have trouble maneuvering around, and naturally you are much easier to hit.
The level design is well crafted to keep moving you to your next area, so you shouldn't need to worry about getting lost. There is no map, but you should only need that if you are trying to backtrack for the handful of optional hidden items that make your life a bit easier in the manner of energy tanks. But you don't need to backtrack from a previous major area to do so; you just might need to backtrack in the current area once you've gotten a necessary power. The level design is quite neat; there are a lot of areas that move you around the main human areas so you can sneak up on them (important when they get heavier hardware) and there are a lot of puzzles to solve in terms of manipulating gates and switches to open paths, as well as the aforementioned growing or shrinking your form. In order to clear an area you need to activate a certain number of spots on the map, and these also serve as save/health points, so you never lose much progress by dying. The game has a good difficulty curve and introduces stuff up until the last level, where it instead just gives you the toughest combat challenges (though they are all appropriately scaled). There are no boss fights; you are the boss.
The game is a lot of fun, though if you gross out easily you might bounce off it. And it very well executes the fantasy and nails the total feeling of being this horror rampaging through. It's a pure delight from start to finish.
Blizzard Entertainment Software Developer - All comments and views are my own and not representative of the company.
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prfsnl_gmr
- Next-Gen
- Posts: 12202
- Joined: Mon Jun 01, 2009 10:26 pm
- Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
Re: Games Beaten 2020
Awesome review, Popo. That game looks really great, and I’m looking forward to trying it out.
.....
First 40
41. Tcheco in the Castle of Lucio (Switch)
42. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (Switch)
Since I’m old enough to have played the Gameboy and Gameboy Color games at release, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening for the Switch is my third trip to Koholint Island, and it was just as enjoyable as ever. The gameplay is basically the same as the Gameboy releases, but the game has been given a fresh coat of paint inspired, I think, by 3D Dot Game Heroes. (I think it’s great when a brilliant game inspired by a classic series inspires a later entry in that classic series....which is what I think happened here, at least aesthetically.) Moreover, the game has some new features, most notably a dungeon-building tool that adds a lot of post-game replay value. I’ve also played a lot of games in the series since I last played Link’s Awakening, and I’d forgotten just how brilliant the dungeon design is in this game. IMO, the dungeon design in Link’s Awakening is among the best in the series, and my time with the Switch remake reminded me why Link’s Awakening ranks among the best games in the Legend of Zelda series. Highly recommended.
.....
First 40
41. Tcheco in the Castle of Lucio (Switch)
42. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (Switch)
Since I’m old enough to have played the Gameboy and Gameboy Color games at release, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening for the Switch is my third trip to Koholint Island, and it was just as enjoyable as ever. The gameplay is basically the same as the Gameboy releases, but the game has been given a fresh coat of paint inspired, I think, by 3D Dot Game Heroes. (I think it’s great when a brilliant game inspired by a classic series inspires a later entry in that classic series....which is what I think happened here, at least aesthetically.) Moreover, the game has some new features, most notably a dungeon-building tool that adds a lot of post-game replay value. I’ve also played a lot of games in the series since I last played Link’s Awakening, and I’d forgotten just how brilliant the dungeon design is in this game. IMO, the dungeon design in Link’s Awakening is among the best in the series, and my time with the Switch remake reminded me why Link’s Awakening ranks among the best games in the Legend of Zelda series. Highly recommended.
Re: Games Beaten 2020
1. Elite Dangerous - PC
2. Soldier of Fortune - PC
3. Star Wars: TIE Fighter: Defender of the Empire - PC
4. Star Wars: TIE Fighter: Enemies of the Empire - PC
5. Star Wars: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter: Balance of Power - PC
6. Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance - PC
7. Phoenix Point - PC
8. Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter - PC
9. Descent II - PC
10. Inbento - Switch
11. Ori and the Will of the Wisps - XB1
12. Doom Eternal - PC
13. Serious Sam 2 - PC
14. Black Mesa - PC
15. Descent 3 - PC
16. Darksiders II - PC
17. Resident Evil 3 (2020) - PC
18. Overload - PC
19. Final Fantasy VII Remake - PS4
20. Trials of Mana (2020) - Switch
21. Persona 5 Royal - PS4
22. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered - PC
23. Sublevel Zero Redux - PC
24. Final Fantasy XII: Zodiac Age - PS4
25. Maneater - PC
26. XCOM: Chimera Squad - PC
27. Sakura Wars - PS4
28. Stela - Switch
29. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 - DC
30. Darksiders III - PC
31. Shadow Warrior (2013) - PC
32. Robotrek - SNES
33. Shadow Warrior 2 - PC
34. EVO: The Search for Eden - SNES
35. Blast Corps - N64
36. Command & Conquer: The Covert Operations - PC
37. Command & Conquer Red Alert: Counterstrike - PC
38. The Last of Us Part 2 - PS4
39. Exodemon - PC
40. Halo: Reach - PC
41. Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary - PC
42. Halo 2: Anniversary - PC
43. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel - PS3
44. Halo 3 - PC
45. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II - PS4
46. Command & Conquer Red Alert: Aftermath - PC
47. Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 - Switch
48. Carrion - Switch
49. Ninja Gaiden - NES
As a kid I had Ninja Gaiden II, and while it was hard as balls it was also a lot of fun. I finally beat it as an adult a few years ago, but I'd never gone back to the first game in any serious way. I'd played both the first and third games on emulators, but you REALLY want a controller for them. I ended up picking up the first game off Elkin a year ago and have been working on it off and on for a while now. And with this month's TR theme I finally sat down and just grinded through the attempts on that final boss fight.
Ninja Gaiden sets up the general play patterns of the rest of the series, but it's also somewhat rough. You don't start with a subweapon, for example, and there is no limit to your total ninja power compared to the later games where you also have to pick up max increases. The game also doesn't allow you to climb up single walls other than ladders. Instead areas where you are expected to get on top of something they put two parallel walls and you need to bounce back and forth. However, the physics engine does allow you to jump away and back, and they ended up noticing this and making it more of a supported feature in the sequels (both climbing naturally on anything and making it easier to do the single wall climb to get over the top of the edge).
Compared to the sequel the levels overall are harder but the bosses (except for the final boss rush) are MUCH easier. And that's before you account for the Spin Slash. The boss patterns for the first five stages are extremely straightforward and easy to handle, whereas the patterns in II are more likely to cause you to take damage and have more going on to keep you on your toes. So while you can still get them into a good loop it's more likely for things to go off the rails. With the bosses in the first game you might die once to the later bosses but never again, just due to how simple they are. But as mentioned, the stages make up for that. This game relies a lot more on enemy placements in the worst spots and also has a lot of background climbable objects fuck up your jumps. I can't tell you how much damage I've taken from jumping and hitting a wall and taking a hit, or taking a hit and them bouncing into a wall and now you have to try and get off. At least in II you could climb down, but here you need to do a jump. There's also one supremely evil jump in the fourth stage that requires you to make use of your limited air control to hit the edge of a wall right before you hit a pit so you can them jump to a platform without hitting the overhanging wall, all while a bird is swooping at you. The second game instead goes for less evil enemy placement and various stage gimmicks which add difficulty, but in a more predictable way.
But the final boss rush is really where the game wants to kick your ass. It's three bosses back to back to back, and the only nice things are that the very first time you get to them a cutscene plays which refills your health (so if you're good you do all three with full health). And any of them killed stay dead if you game over and continue. But on the flip side, the first boss needs to be taken down extremely quickly or it will overwhelm you and keep you from even getting damage in, while the second boss needs to be managed very carefully or you'll just get bounced around a ton and die. And you have a narrow window to get in an attack without taking collision damage. Fortunately, the third boss is pretty easy if you play carefully and don't get greedy. But the real kick in the nads is that if you die on any of the bosses you go back to the very beginning of the level, not just to the previous screen or to the start of the section if it's a game over. So you need to COMMIT to beating this game.
For a first effort the game is great, but the second game is better in every single way. Definitely worth playing, but also play the second game to see how much things improve between the two.
2. Soldier of Fortune - PC
3. Star Wars: TIE Fighter: Defender of the Empire - PC
4. Star Wars: TIE Fighter: Enemies of the Empire - PC
5. Star Wars: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter: Balance of Power - PC
6. Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance - PC
7. Phoenix Point - PC
8. Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter - PC
9. Descent II - PC
10. Inbento - Switch
11. Ori and the Will of the Wisps - XB1
12. Doom Eternal - PC
13. Serious Sam 2 - PC
14. Black Mesa - PC
15. Descent 3 - PC
16. Darksiders II - PC
17. Resident Evil 3 (2020) - PC
18. Overload - PC
19. Final Fantasy VII Remake - PS4
20. Trials of Mana (2020) - Switch
21. Persona 5 Royal - PS4
22. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered - PC
23. Sublevel Zero Redux - PC
24. Final Fantasy XII: Zodiac Age - PS4
25. Maneater - PC
26. XCOM: Chimera Squad - PC
27. Sakura Wars - PS4
28. Stela - Switch
29. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 - DC
30. Darksiders III - PC
31. Shadow Warrior (2013) - PC
32. Robotrek - SNES
33. Shadow Warrior 2 - PC
34. EVO: The Search for Eden - SNES
35. Blast Corps - N64
36. Command & Conquer: The Covert Operations - PC
37. Command & Conquer Red Alert: Counterstrike - PC
38. The Last of Us Part 2 - PS4
39. Exodemon - PC
40. Halo: Reach - PC
41. Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary - PC
42. Halo 2: Anniversary - PC
43. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel - PS3
44. Halo 3 - PC
45. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II - PS4
46. Command & Conquer Red Alert: Aftermath - PC
47. Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 - Switch
48. Carrion - Switch
49. Ninja Gaiden - NES
As a kid I had Ninja Gaiden II, and while it was hard as balls it was also a lot of fun. I finally beat it as an adult a few years ago, but I'd never gone back to the first game in any serious way. I'd played both the first and third games on emulators, but you REALLY want a controller for them. I ended up picking up the first game off Elkin a year ago and have been working on it off and on for a while now. And with this month's TR theme I finally sat down and just grinded through the attempts on that final boss fight.
Ninja Gaiden sets up the general play patterns of the rest of the series, but it's also somewhat rough. You don't start with a subweapon, for example, and there is no limit to your total ninja power compared to the later games where you also have to pick up max increases. The game also doesn't allow you to climb up single walls other than ladders. Instead areas where you are expected to get on top of something they put two parallel walls and you need to bounce back and forth. However, the physics engine does allow you to jump away and back, and they ended up noticing this and making it more of a supported feature in the sequels (both climbing naturally on anything and making it easier to do the single wall climb to get over the top of the edge).
Compared to the sequel the levels overall are harder but the bosses (except for the final boss rush) are MUCH easier. And that's before you account for the Spin Slash. The boss patterns for the first five stages are extremely straightforward and easy to handle, whereas the patterns in II are more likely to cause you to take damage and have more going on to keep you on your toes. So while you can still get them into a good loop it's more likely for things to go off the rails. With the bosses in the first game you might die once to the later bosses but never again, just due to how simple they are. But as mentioned, the stages make up for that. This game relies a lot more on enemy placements in the worst spots and also has a lot of background climbable objects fuck up your jumps. I can't tell you how much damage I've taken from jumping and hitting a wall and taking a hit, or taking a hit and them bouncing into a wall and now you have to try and get off. At least in II you could climb down, but here you need to do a jump. There's also one supremely evil jump in the fourth stage that requires you to make use of your limited air control to hit the edge of a wall right before you hit a pit so you can them jump to a platform without hitting the overhanging wall, all while a bird is swooping at you. The second game instead goes for less evil enemy placement and various stage gimmicks which add difficulty, but in a more predictable way.
But the final boss rush is really where the game wants to kick your ass. It's three bosses back to back to back, and the only nice things are that the very first time you get to them a cutscene plays which refills your health (so if you're good you do all three with full health). And any of them killed stay dead if you game over and continue. But on the flip side, the first boss needs to be taken down extremely quickly or it will overwhelm you and keep you from even getting damage in, while the second boss needs to be managed very carefully or you'll just get bounced around a ton and die. And you have a narrow window to get in an attack without taking collision damage. Fortunately, the third boss is pretty easy if you play carefully and don't get greedy. But the real kick in the nads is that if you die on any of the bosses you go back to the very beginning of the level, not just to the previous screen or to the start of the section if it's a game over. So you need to COMMIT to beating this game.
For a first effort the game is great, but the second game is better in every single way. Definitely worth playing, but also play the second game to see how much things improve between the two.
Blizzard Entertainment Software Developer - All comments and views are my own and not representative of the company.
-
prfsnl_gmr
- Next-Gen
- Posts: 12202
- Joined: Mon Jun 01, 2009 10:26 pm
- Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
Re: Games Beaten 2020
Awesome review, Popo. I agree the sequel is better, but I still love the original. Such a solid playformer and one of the best on the NES.
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PartridgeSenpai
- Next-Gen
- Posts: 2991
- Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2015 9:27 am
- Location: Northern Japan
Re: Games Beaten 2020
I've played a little Ninja Gaiden on the PCE Mini recently and that background scrolling is EYE PAIN EXTRAORDINAIRE. it does seem like maybe you take a little less damage in that version though? Regardless, I think if I play through that game, it'll be the version on my NES Classic 
I identify everyone via avatar, so if you change your avatar, I genuinely might completely forget who you are. -- Me
Re: Games Beaten 2020
1. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (Switch)(Adventure)
2. Final Fight [Japanese Version] (Switch)(Beat 'Em Up)
3. Ziggurat (PC)(FPS)
4. Magrunner: Dark Pulse (PC)(FPS)
5. The King of Dragons [Japanese](Arcade)(Beat 'Em Up)
6. Captain Commando [Japanese](Arcade)(Beat 'Em Up)
7. Knights of the Round [Japanese](Arcade)(Beat 'Em Up)
8. The Witcher (PC)(RPG)
9. Tenchi wo Kurau II (Arcade)(Beat 'Em Up)
10. Dark Sun: Shattered Lands (PC)(RPG)
11. Lichdom: Battlemage (PC)(FPS/RPG Hybrid)
12. Star Wars: Republic Commando (PC)(FPS)
13. DOOM 64 (PC)(FPS)
14. Half Dead 2 (PC)(Adventure)
15. Powered Gear - Strategic Variant Armor Equipment (Arcade)(Beat 'Em Up)
16. Torchlight II (PC)(RPG)
17. Battle Circuit [Japanese](Arcade)(Beat 'Em Up)
18. Hard Reset Redux (PC)(FPS)
19. The Stanley Parable (PC)(Walking Sim)
20. Waking Mars (PC)(Adventure)
21. Requiem: Avenging Angel (PC)(FPS)
22. Night Slashers (Arcade)(Beat 'Em Up)
23. Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath HD (PC)(Action Adventure)
24. Strikers 1945 (Arcade)(SHMUP)
25. SiN Episodes: Emergence (PC)(FPS)
26. Crysis Warhead (PC)(FPS)
27. Metro 2033 (PC)(FPS)
28. Good Job! (Switch)(Puzzle)
29. Blasphemous (Switch)(Action Adventure)
30. Two Worlds: Epic Edition (PC)(RPG)
31. Chex Quest HD (PC)(FPS)
32. NecroVision: Lost Company (PC)(FPS)
33. Icewind Dale (PC)(RPG)
34. Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter (PC)(RPG)
35. Icewind Dale: Trials of the Luremaster (PC)(RPG)
36. Ravenloft: Strahd's Possession (PC)(RPG)
37. Singularity (PC)(FPS)
38. The Witcher 2 (PC)(RPG)
39. Still Life 2 (PC)(Point and Click Adventure)
40. Myst IV: Revelation (PC)(Point and Click Adventure)
41. Gato Roboto (Switch)(Action Adventure)
42. Painkiller: Overdose (PC)(FPS)
43. Battle Realms (PC)(RTS)
44. Battle Realms: Winter of the Wolf (PC)(RTS)
45. Terminator: Resistance (PC)(FPS)
46. Picross S (Switch)(Puzzle)
47. The Witcher 3 (PC)(RPG)
48. Dragon Quest (Switch)(RPG)
The Witcher 3
After 150 hours, I have finally beaten the main storyline for The Witcher 3. There is still plenty of content and two expansions, but in the space of six months, I have played through the full trilogy; I've seen characters change and grow; I've seen relationships develop; I've watched the world of these characters shift and reshape themselves over and over. I have made choices and at times rethought my decisions and wished I'd made others. I've also seen the promise of the series blossom into exactly what I wanted it to be, and while there have been missteps along the way, I am happy where I ended up.
The Witcher 3 picks up the storyline six months after the second game. Geralt of Rivia has now fully recovered his memory and seeks his long lost love, Yennefer, only to discover she is now employed by the invading forces of Nilfgaard. Soon, Geralt finds himself before the Nilfgaard emperor, who commands he find his daughter, Ciri, a young woman whom Geralt and Yennefer helped raise and view as their own adopted child. This launches Geralt off on a quest which will reshape empires, change the course of the war, and have consequences across time and space as he faces off against the Wild Hunt...only at the end to discover it's never really been about Geralt, that this was ultimately Ciri's story.
As the final part of the trilogy, this is the game that ends the story, and as a result, it leads to the possible deaths of many characters and a finality that only comes at the end. That said, it's also the game that fully realizes the promise of being a witcher: an open world to wander, accepting contracts to hunt monsters, exploring old ruins and ruined hamlets, and taking in the beauty of the world. It is a beautiful world, and Geralt has the freedom to move between various areas once he finds his way there with entirely different appearances and results. The massive city of Novigrad recalls the architecture of major European cities, while Velen reminds me of portions of France, Germany, Poland, and so on. Skellige feels like a combination of Scandinavia and the Highlands and Hebrides of Scotland. Kaer Morhen could be a valley in Switzerland nestled within the Alps. It's a nice cross section of European influences, and from a developer based in Poland and a fantasy series purely from a Polish mind, it feels like the geography was fully in mind.
Combat gets changed up again from the previous games, but it moves much more freely. The excess chaff of the last game is gone, as are the stances of the first, and now blade oils and potions are significantly easier to use and intuitive. Simply make a potion once, and it's good to go forever, provided you restock automatically by meditating. You can explore at your whim, which is a big reason why I sunk so much time into this title, because a single area is as big as full RPGs in some rights. When I beat Two Worlds earlier this year, that game was probably only as large as one region of Witcher 3, so to have multiple...well, it truly does feel epic. That said, it also feels frontloaded, because the first act is significantly longer than the second and third, and because so much of what you can do becomes available and needs to be done before moving to the later acts.
From a technical perspective, I never had the problems that I did with previous games, like Geralt getting stuck in an animation in Witcher 2. There were some weird texture issues I spotted from time to time, but these were minor and often passed by so quickly that it didn't really register until I was well past what I'd been looking at. The controls are solid, and while they take some getting used to if coming in straight from Witcher 2, they work very well in practice. The game can pace itself well, with things to do for nearly all levels throughout the world, provided you explore, though it is easy to quickly go well beyond what you need to be for the main quests. Balance can easily be broken, but that's part of the fun and really does make you feel more like a Witcher, knowing your enemies and preparing to take down a monster much more powerful than you are.
I adored Witcher 3, and I look forward to the expansions. I'm also eagerly anticipating Cyberpunk 2077 and future CD Projekt works.
Dragon Quest
I have a confession: I've never beaten Dragon Quest before. I've played Dragon Warrior a bit, but I never actually took the time to finish it, so when I saw that a port was available at a discount from the Nintendo eShop, I opted to pick it up. A couple of things: the Switch port is just the iOS port, and it has some QoL changes that help make the grind less tedious. You'll still grind though. Don't worry, like half the game is grinding.
Yes, you play a lone knight, the descendant of a previous legendary hero, who is tasked with defeating the Dragonlord. You may also rescue a princess along the way, and there are several areas that are optional to explore but really helpful in terms of getting up the gear and items you need. I beat the game at level 19, which is lower than one would have for the original Famicom and NES release, but the iOS release implemented the stat boosting seeds of later DQ titles, so you can get an edge. Also, the algorithms in the game aren't exactly advanced, so you can figure out ways to cheese things or time what your actions should be and easily move through certain encounters. Most boss fights weren't all that difficult, and even the final battle became significantly easier once I realized I should heal at X amount of health and then attack otherwise.
I'm reminded of playing Ultima, mainly the first, because of the design of the overworld and how I move about. Yes, encounters in DQ are handled in a separate battle screen, but I can see the influence that the original Ultima had on exploring the world, with many areas that aren't really necessary to see but still enrich the adventure. The pacing of Dragon Quest is better, but it still suffers at time. Still, it's an important step in the history and process of RPG development.
I'm glad I played it.
2. Final Fight [Japanese Version] (Switch)(Beat 'Em Up)
3. Ziggurat (PC)(FPS)
4. Magrunner: Dark Pulse (PC)(FPS)
5. The King of Dragons [Japanese](Arcade)(Beat 'Em Up)
6. Captain Commando [Japanese](Arcade)(Beat 'Em Up)
7. Knights of the Round [Japanese](Arcade)(Beat 'Em Up)
8. The Witcher (PC)(RPG)
9. Tenchi wo Kurau II (Arcade)(Beat 'Em Up)
10. Dark Sun: Shattered Lands (PC)(RPG)
11. Lichdom: Battlemage (PC)(FPS/RPG Hybrid)
12. Star Wars: Republic Commando (PC)(FPS)
13. DOOM 64 (PC)(FPS)
14. Half Dead 2 (PC)(Adventure)
15. Powered Gear - Strategic Variant Armor Equipment (Arcade)(Beat 'Em Up)
16. Torchlight II (PC)(RPG)
17. Battle Circuit [Japanese](Arcade)(Beat 'Em Up)
18. Hard Reset Redux (PC)(FPS)
19. The Stanley Parable (PC)(Walking Sim)
20. Waking Mars (PC)(Adventure)
21. Requiem: Avenging Angel (PC)(FPS)
22. Night Slashers (Arcade)(Beat 'Em Up)
23. Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath HD (PC)(Action Adventure)
24. Strikers 1945 (Arcade)(SHMUP)
25. SiN Episodes: Emergence (PC)(FPS)
26. Crysis Warhead (PC)(FPS)
27. Metro 2033 (PC)(FPS)
28. Good Job! (Switch)(Puzzle)
29. Blasphemous (Switch)(Action Adventure)
30. Two Worlds: Epic Edition (PC)(RPG)
31. Chex Quest HD (PC)(FPS)
32. NecroVision: Lost Company (PC)(FPS)
33. Icewind Dale (PC)(RPG)
34. Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter (PC)(RPG)
35. Icewind Dale: Trials of the Luremaster (PC)(RPG)
36. Ravenloft: Strahd's Possession (PC)(RPG)
37. Singularity (PC)(FPS)
38. The Witcher 2 (PC)(RPG)
39. Still Life 2 (PC)(Point and Click Adventure)
40. Myst IV: Revelation (PC)(Point and Click Adventure)
41. Gato Roboto (Switch)(Action Adventure)
42. Painkiller: Overdose (PC)(FPS)
43. Battle Realms (PC)(RTS)
44. Battle Realms: Winter of the Wolf (PC)(RTS)
45. Terminator: Resistance (PC)(FPS)
46. Picross S (Switch)(Puzzle)
47. The Witcher 3 (PC)(RPG)
48. Dragon Quest (Switch)(RPG)
The Witcher 3
After 150 hours, I have finally beaten the main storyline for The Witcher 3. There is still plenty of content and two expansions, but in the space of six months, I have played through the full trilogy; I've seen characters change and grow; I've seen relationships develop; I've watched the world of these characters shift and reshape themselves over and over. I have made choices and at times rethought my decisions and wished I'd made others. I've also seen the promise of the series blossom into exactly what I wanted it to be, and while there have been missteps along the way, I am happy where I ended up.
The Witcher 3 picks up the storyline six months after the second game. Geralt of Rivia has now fully recovered his memory and seeks his long lost love, Yennefer, only to discover she is now employed by the invading forces of Nilfgaard. Soon, Geralt finds himself before the Nilfgaard emperor, who commands he find his daughter, Ciri, a young woman whom Geralt and Yennefer helped raise and view as their own adopted child. This launches Geralt off on a quest which will reshape empires, change the course of the war, and have consequences across time and space as he faces off against the Wild Hunt...only at the end to discover it's never really been about Geralt, that this was ultimately Ciri's story.
As the final part of the trilogy, this is the game that ends the story, and as a result, it leads to the possible deaths of many characters and a finality that only comes at the end. That said, it's also the game that fully realizes the promise of being a witcher: an open world to wander, accepting contracts to hunt monsters, exploring old ruins and ruined hamlets, and taking in the beauty of the world. It is a beautiful world, and Geralt has the freedom to move between various areas once he finds his way there with entirely different appearances and results. The massive city of Novigrad recalls the architecture of major European cities, while Velen reminds me of portions of France, Germany, Poland, and so on. Skellige feels like a combination of Scandinavia and the Highlands and Hebrides of Scotland. Kaer Morhen could be a valley in Switzerland nestled within the Alps. It's a nice cross section of European influences, and from a developer based in Poland and a fantasy series purely from a Polish mind, it feels like the geography was fully in mind.
Combat gets changed up again from the previous games, but it moves much more freely. The excess chaff of the last game is gone, as are the stances of the first, and now blade oils and potions are significantly easier to use and intuitive. Simply make a potion once, and it's good to go forever, provided you restock automatically by meditating. You can explore at your whim, which is a big reason why I sunk so much time into this title, because a single area is as big as full RPGs in some rights. When I beat Two Worlds earlier this year, that game was probably only as large as one region of Witcher 3, so to have multiple...well, it truly does feel epic. That said, it also feels frontloaded, because the first act is significantly longer than the second and third, and because so much of what you can do becomes available and needs to be done before moving to the later acts.
From a technical perspective, I never had the problems that I did with previous games, like Geralt getting stuck in an animation in Witcher 2. There were some weird texture issues I spotted from time to time, but these were minor and often passed by so quickly that it didn't really register until I was well past what I'd been looking at. The controls are solid, and while they take some getting used to if coming in straight from Witcher 2, they work very well in practice. The game can pace itself well, with things to do for nearly all levels throughout the world, provided you explore, though it is easy to quickly go well beyond what you need to be for the main quests. Balance can easily be broken, but that's part of the fun and really does make you feel more like a Witcher, knowing your enemies and preparing to take down a monster much more powerful than you are.
I adored Witcher 3, and I look forward to the expansions. I'm also eagerly anticipating Cyberpunk 2077 and future CD Projekt works.
Dragon Quest
I have a confession: I've never beaten Dragon Quest before. I've played Dragon Warrior a bit, but I never actually took the time to finish it, so when I saw that a port was available at a discount from the Nintendo eShop, I opted to pick it up. A couple of things: the Switch port is just the iOS port, and it has some QoL changes that help make the grind less tedious. You'll still grind though. Don't worry, like half the game is grinding.
Yes, you play a lone knight, the descendant of a previous legendary hero, who is tasked with defeating the Dragonlord. You may also rescue a princess along the way, and there are several areas that are optional to explore but really helpful in terms of getting up the gear and items you need. I beat the game at level 19, which is lower than one would have for the original Famicom and NES release, but the iOS release implemented the stat boosting seeds of later DQ titles, so you can get an edge. Also, the algorithms in the game aren't exactly advanced, so you can figure out ways to cheese things or time what your actions should be and easily move through certain encounters. Most boss fights weren't all that difficult, and even the final battle became significantly easier once I realized I should heal at X amount of health and then attack otherwise.
I'm reminded of playing Ultima, mainly the first, because of the design of the overworld and how I move about. Yes, encounters in DQ are handled in a separate battle screen, but I can see the influence that the original Ultima had on exploring the world, with many areas that aren't really necessary to see but still enrich the adventure. The pacing of Dragon Quest is better, but it still suffers at time. Still, it's an important step in the history and process of RPG development.
I'm glad I played it.
Re: Games Beaten 2020
Is there a point that the Witcher 3 gets super engrossing? I've tried to start it several times but it throws so much stuff at you at once I get a tick overwhelmed and put it back on the shelf. I've not played the others.
DQ1 is great. I play the GBC version once a year. A quick little adventure. The grind kinda sucks but it isn't that bad compared to plenty of other games. I wish they'd make another lone-hero DQ. I like not dealing with a party.
DQ1 is great. I play the GBC version once a year. A quick little adventure. The grind kinda sucks but it isn't that bad compared to plenty of other games. I wish they'd make another lone-hero DQ. I like not dealing with a party.
Re: Games Beaten 2020
opa wrote:Is there a point that the Witcher 3 gets super engrossing? I've tried to start it several times but it throws so much stuff at you at once I get a tick overwhelmed and put it back on the shelf. I've not played the others.
DQ1 is great. I play the GBC version once a year. A quick little adventure. The grind kinda sucks but it isn't that bad compared to plenty of other games. I wish they'd make another lone-hero DQ. I like not dealing with a party.
Witcher 3 definitely picks up after you make it through the starting area. If you made it through White Orchard, then you have properly gotten through the prologue/tutorial area. However, it is an open world once you do, so yes, it can definitely be overwhelming, especially right at the start. I found once I had started building blade oils and gotten the hang of the combat system, it really took off.
For DQ, I'd say the grind isn't as bad as what you can come up against in the likes of Ultima. But it definitely helps to know going in that you will be doing a fair bit, just because the game is so short and it's still quite early in the history of the genre. I'd much rather go back to DQ than the original Ultima trilogy though, any day. The leap between the two is phenomenal.