Games Beaten 2020

[prfsnl_gmr]

Have you played the Japanese version? It polishes the base experience a bit.

[pook99]

Have you played the Japanese version? It polishes the base experience a bit.

Have to second this, the Japanese version is a better experience and also includes an extra level.

Games Beaten:

24. Mega Man Rock and Roll (fangame)

The quality of mega man fan games never ceases to amaze me. There are so many good ones, games that easily rival, and in some cases surpass, cacpcoms own creations and this game continues the very high quality of MM fan games out there.

Released last November (2019), this game is still new and does not have the reputation of some of the more popular MM fan games out there, but this is at least as good as unlimited, and may even be better. I don't like rating games right after I play them because I am still hyped about them, but this may be my favorite Mega Man game ever, or at least in the top 3.

The game starts out in an intro level, there are machines ravaging the city streets and Mega Man comes to save the day but he is not alone. As you run through the levels you see old robot masters trying to fight off the horde and each of them gets sucked away into a mysterious machine one by one. Skull man, hornet woman, knife man, flame man, and proto man all go down. The machine then comes for roll and just as it starts to grab her, Mega Man pushes her out of the way and gets sucked into the abyss himself.

Roll then goes back to Dr. Lights lab and dons a suit of armor in a mission to save mega man. This was one of the coolest things I have seen, roll is absolutely adorable in her suit of armor and just playing as a fully armored roll in order to save mega was just bad ass. Roll plays slightly different than mega man, she lacks a charge shot, deals less damage, takes more damage per hit, but to compensate for this she is faster and has a double jump. As the 2nd level progresses you eventually save mega man and play out the remainder of the stage switching between them until you escape the prison he was in.

At this point you are taken to the familiar 8 robot master selection screen, but you also get to choose if you are going to play the levels as Mega Man or Roll (hence the name of the game). Each is better in some way, Mega Man, with his greater resiliency and charge shot is much better against the robot masters, but Roll with her speed and double jump makes the levels much easier. I would up playing through most of the game as roll because her added maneuverability made the levels much easier and this game is incredibly tough. It definitely is one of the hardest MM games out there, but it is not a cheap/kaizu game, it has a legit challenge, similar to games like MM9 or unlimited but a touch harder. You also can only hold a maximum of 3 E tanks and 1 W tank and there is no shop, so hording E-tanks and spamming them at the end like I usually do is not a legit strategy.

The robot masters in this game are great, and the level designs are super unique and unlike anything you have seen in a Mega Man game, sure you have the token ice and fire levels, but there are also some really cool unique levels like a haunted house which are unlike anything seen in a mega man game before. The cast of robot masters is also very diverse, there are several female robot masters, a dragon robot master, and even a black robot master which is pretty cool and has never been done before in a Mega Man game.

The weapons are all fun to use and many serve dual functions, for example there is a guided missile weapon which helps hit hard to reach enemies and also blows up rocks, the fire weapon melts ice, the water weapon is the token shield of the game and also lets you float in and on top of water. This is a very cool touch and really adds a lot to the game. These weapons are used to access hidden areas and secrets in levels.

the game has plenty of collectables, every stage has a letter in it which spell out Rock and Roll, collecting all the ROCK letters gives MM a 3rd charge to his gun, collecting all the ROLL letters gives roll a little hover on her double jump. There are also hidden robot masters, the ones kidnapped early in the game are hidden throughout the levels, rescuing them is key to getting the good ending.

After defeating all 8 robot masters you enter Wily's castle which is just an amazing collection of levels. I don't want to put any spoilers here but this castle is done in a very unique way, is extremely difficult, and leads to perhaps the best Wily fight in the entire series.

The soundtrack and graphics in this game are top notch as well. The music is filled with new, very catchy tracks, that fit right at home in a MM game and the graphics are just beautiful 8-bit spritework which is a joy to look at.

I cannot recommend this game enough. This year, if any of you feel the desire to play a mega man game you absolutely must play this game. It is free and has controller support so there is absolutely no excuse to not play it.

[Note]

Have you played the Japanese version? It polishes the base experience a bit.

Haven't played the Japanese version before. I'll have to check it out.

[dsheinem]

Games Beaten 2020
Mortal Kombat 11 - PS4
The Force Unleashed II - 360
Tatsunoko vs. Capcom - Wii
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light - 360
Super Fantasy Zone - Genesis *new*
Fable Heroes - 360 *new*

Total: 6

Previously:
2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010

I played Super Fantasy Zone on the Genesis Mini for Together Retro. It is one of the strongest entries in the series and I enjoyed it enough that I have a newfound appreciation for Fantasy Zone more broadly. Great sprite work, a few challenging boss battles, and a great time all around.

Fable Heroes was a recent free “Games with Gold” title that I decided to try on a whim. I have never played any Fable games before (which I understand to be more traditional RPG/Adventure games), and this game is a 3D hack-n-slash spin off the main series. The game is serviceable, occasionally offering some fun chaotic action when not bogged down by a poor frame rate and some odd hit detection. It is fairly short and easy, but it is charming enough to make the time seem worthwhile. Certainly not a great game, but I am glad I spent some time with it.

[Blu]

So far, I've beaten three, count 'em three games this year!

1. Luigi's Mansion Dark Moon (3DS)
2. Shenmue III (PS4)
3. Judgment (PS4)

Judgment is definitely my favorite that I've beaten so far. Like the Yakuza series, I loved the similar setting of Kamurocho. The characters were great and well developed. I love that the main character is a disgraced lawyer turned detective. It made for a cool angle of story telling and game play. And of course, the action of a beat-em up is satisfying. Despite being a spin-off of Yakuza, I think it ranks up there for me in terms of favorites. I think I enjoyed it just a little more than Yakuza 6. At this point, it's really hard to rank the series individually, as I've enjoyed everything that Toshihiro Nagoshi's team has put together over the years.

[prfsnl_gmr]

I played Super Fantasy Zone on the Genesis Mini for Together Retro. It is one of the strongest entries in the series and I enjoyed it enough that I have a newfound appreciation for Fantasy Zone more broadly. Great sprite work, a few challenging boss battles, and a great time all around.

Have you had the opportunity to play Fantasy Zone II W? It is a god-tier shmup that HG101 considered the very best of both the Fantasy Zone series and the “Defender” shmup genre. It was originally released only in Japan for the PS2, but it is available in NA for the 3DS.

It has a fascinating history. The developer basically remade Fantasy Zone II - originally released only for the Sega Master System (and ported to the Famicom) - for the arcade hardware used to run Fantasy Zone. Sega then ported this “what if Fantasy Zone II had been an arcade game instead of a console exclusive?”-game to the PS2 for inclusion in a (now very expensive) Fantasy Zone collection. M2 later ported the game to the 3DS, adding a few options and a 3D effect, and it is AMAZING. (It stands in sharp contrast to Fantasy Zone II for the Sega Master System and Famicom, which are both only OK.) It is one of my favorite shmups, and I really can’t recommend it highly enough.

[Langelinette]

There is so much game that I would like to beat !

1) Temtem
2) Sekiro
3) God of war
...

[prfsnl_gmr]

How was TemTem? I’ve read a lot about it, but I appreciate new perspectives. Also...welcome to the forum!

[Note]

1. Streets of Rage 2 (Sega Genesis Mini)
2. The Ninja Warriors (Super Nintendo) [3x]
3. TMNT IV: Turtles in Time (Super Nintendo)
4. Golden Axe (Sega Genesis Mini) [2x]
5. Beyond Oasis (Sega Genesis Mini)
6. Super Double Dragon (Super Nintendo)



7. Shenmue II (Sega Dreamcast)

I finally finished Shenmue II on the Dreamcast. I started this play through in 2019, but took a break for a few months and picked it back up in January. The first Shenmue was one of my favorite gaming experiences when I played through it in the summer of 2000, but when the sequel came out, I got distracted and never finished the game. With the news of Shenmue III being released, I wanted to pick it back up and finish the game.

I really enjoyed this game a lot as well. Admittedly, it starts out slow but really picked up in Disc 2 and into Disc 3. Similar to the original game, the fighting system is easy to pick up, and I enjoyed integrating new moves learned into the fights. I know some don't like the QTE system, but I do like this aspect as well. However, I find the QTE screens that are displaying multiple inputs tough to read, as they go by pretty quickly. The mini games, arm wrestling, lucky hit, gambling, and arcades included are a nice touch, and a good change of pace from the main journey. However, moving crates in the sequel just isn't as fun as the forklift gig from the original.

Once I got to Disc 3, I was running into issues with "Disc Read Errors", and was worried that I wouldn't be able to complete the game. I started to save quite often, and managed to navigate the remainder of the disc. I only have one Dreamcast console, so I'm not certain if it's an issue with the disc, or my system but I did read a few forum threads, with others stating they ran into the same issue, especially on Disc 3. Anyway, I found the pacing of the game interesting, as the story and action really peak in Disc 3, and the end of the game in Disc 4 is at a slower pace, and setting up the next chapter. This type of pacing was a surprise to me, but I like that the creators set up the story to be a trilogy from the get go.

Overall, I do recommend Shenmue II, and if you haven't played the original, get on it. These two games are great IMO. I don't have a PS4 yet, but I'd like to get one within the next year or two, and play through the third chapter. I've made an effort not to read too much about the third game, so I don't get exposed to any spoilers.

[REPO Man]

King of Dragons for PS4, via the Capcom Beat ‘Em Up Bundle, as the Wizard.