Games Beaten 2016

[prfsnl_gmr]

1. Ultimate NES Remix (3DS)
2. Space Invaders Infinity Gene (iOS)
3. World of Goo (iOS)
4. A Dark Room (iOS)
5. Shovel Knight (WII U)
6. The Room (iOS)
7. Mega Man 10 (PS3)
8. The Room Two (iOS)
9. Braid (PS3)
10. Kung Fu Fight! (WII U)
11. Kung Fu Rabbit (WII U)
12. Escape Goat (360)
13. Canabalt (iOS)
14. Leo's Fortune (iOS)
15. King's Field: The Ancient City (PS2)
16. Grim Fandango Remastered (iOS)
17. Dust: An Elysian Tale (360)
18. Shantae (GBC)
19. 3D Space Harrier (3DS)
20. 3D After Burner II (3DS)
21. 3D Classics: Kid Icarus (3DS)
22. Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters (GB)

Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters is a solid portable sequel to the NES classic. It is a Kid Icarus game in every way, and it follows the first game's conventions very closely. (In other words, it has the same basic mechanics, the same basic enemy types, the same basic level design, a similar upgrade system, etc.) Nonetheless, it is much easier than the first game. The stages are shorter; the enemies follow more predictable patterns; and the game is more generous with hearts and items. (The boss battles are much better, however, and strangely, the first boss is far-and-away the most difficult part of the game.) As a result, it ends up being somewhat less memorable than its NES predecessor.

It is still a fine Gameboy game, and it easily ranks among the system's best. Accordingly, I heartily recommend it to anyone looking for a fun, short, well-designed platformer, just not as heartily as I recommend the original.

[Sload Soap]

Haven't posted in this thread for a while, here's some brief thoughts on my most recent batch of beaten games.

Wolfenstein: The New Order (Xbox One)

Still the best single player FPS of this gen. Brutal, bloody and brilliant. Saved Fergus this time which made my playthrough 200% swearier.

Halo 5: Guardians (Xbox One)

This is the point I think I gave up on the Halo series. Not because this game is bad but because the series is stale. There is no innovation anymore, just increased spectacle. I also realised with the Doom Beta how little I care for the multi-player aspect of the Halo franchise these days. As in the single player things have gotten stale but, and to make things worse, it's also riddled with microtransactions. And enough said about the story the better. Recent Halo games have seemed less like blockbuster movies and more like mid-season episodes of a middling HBO show.

Beyond Eyes (Xbox One)

A walking sim where you play as a little girl searching for her cat. The gimmick here is that as your character is blind, you have to "fill in" levels by walking in white space and revealing the scenery. It's a very slow game, even for its genre and despite a beautiful watercolour aesthetic, Beyond Eyes is very middle of the road. There's heart here but not enough I think to pull most people through its short playtime.

Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force (PS2)

Pretty decent early noughties FPS game using the Quake 3 engine. Doesn't set the world on fire but is quite fun for Trek fans. Voyager isn't my favourite Trek (is it anybody's favourite?) but it gives you the opportunity to shoot Borg, Klingons and Hirogen so I'm happy enough. Not very well optimised for the PS2 though with frequent slow-down and frame rate issues. Also gives me a reason to use this pic:

Castlevania (PS2)

Know elsewhere as Lament of Innocence, Castlevania was slightly disappointing to be honest. I really liked Curse of Darkness when I played it a couple of years back and had heard LOI was even better. And in some ways it is; its graphics are less muddy and the sub-weapon upgrade system is easier to understand and generally more interesting than COD's over-designed "innocent devils".

The problem is COD does everything else better from level design, to boss fights, to music, to story. LOI also gives the impression it'll be a Metroidvania but it quickly becomes clear it's a far more linear affair, which I guess might be preferential depending on your personal taste. After a brief tutorial area you're granted access to five areas of the castle proper and while I can appreciate the choice it leads to LOI biggest issue. The game is too damn easy. This isn't bravado speaking, this is plain fact. I died once in the entire game and that was on the last boss. By letting players choose their path through the castle from the off, Konami, whether they meant to or not, have taken a iron to the challenge and beat it flat.

This is still a pretty damn good game and certainly full of that classic Castlevania gothic appeal. It just doesn't have the challenge or energy of its forebears or its 3D sibling, Curse of Darkness.

Liquid Kids (PS2)

Cute arcade platformer starring a hippo (that looks more like a platypus) who has to save his family by chucking water balloons at increasingly bizarre enemies. Like a lot of arcade platformers of that era it starts off pretty laid back, then bares its teeth about three levels in. Becomes a bit of a chore later on to be honest. Still, it has a lot of that classic Taito charm you from something like Rainbow Islands, as well as some meme-worthy engrish. I always put Taito in the same box as Data East; their games aren't quite as polished as a Sega or Capcom joint but they have some unmistakable aura about them. Regardless, it's a fun way to waste a hour or so.

Castlevania (NES)

The real deal this time. Feels good to finally beat it. Like Ninja Gaiden, it's staggering how utterly playable these NES action-platformers still are. They really don't make them like this anymore. If I had one complaint it'd be that I think the difficulty takes a turn for the cheap in the rooms directly preceding Dracula. The corridor before death is fine by me but that room with the bizarre level geometry and the buzzards dropping of fleamen can get in the fucking sea. Those two screens aside though, pretty much perfect.

Power Blade (NES)

This one caught me off guard. Extremely playable action platformer from Natsume in which you play as some beefy bro who kills everything with a boomerang. Excellent. There were times when I was enjoying this more than Castlevania but some easy boss fights and middling soundtrack stop it from being top tier material. It's still an A+ though, lots of fast fun action. Has a similar issue to Castlevania (PS2) where you get a level select from the off, which means the challenge remains level as you progress instead of ramping up. Great game though, highly recommended.

Wai Wai World 2: SOS!! Parsley Jo (Famicom)

Wai Wai world is a Konami crossover series both in teams of character line up and gameplay variety. Unlike the more open plan Wai Wai 1, WW2 is a more linear platformer where you play as Konami Man who can transform into various Konami NES characters via Contra style power up system. The game mixes things up though by having certain levels set in different genres altogether, like a level ripped from Twinbee or Gradius. Amusingly, the Gradius styled levels are also the game's most challenging. It's a fun game overall, the platforming isn't spectacular but it is novel seeing Simon Belmont whip his way through sweets and cakes themed stage from Bio Miracle Upa. It's one of those where nothing really stands out but it leaves a good impression overall. Konami kept things fresh in the gameplay department and it's enough to give the gimmick legs.

[ElkinFencer10]

Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force (PS2)

Pretty decent early noughties FPS game using the Quake 3 engine. Doesn't set the world on fire but is quite fun for Trek fans. Voyager isn't my favourite Trek (is it anybody's favourite?) but it gives you the opportunity to shoot Borg, Klingons and Hirogen so I'm happy enough. Not very well optimised for the PS2 though with frequent slow-down and frame rate issues.

Great game, but that's a garbage version. The PC game is infinitely better.

Fun fact, once upon a time, I was one of the best EF1 players there was back when I was in [UFP].

[Sarge]

Power Blade (NES)

This one caught me off guard. Extremely playable action platformer from Natsume in which you play as some beefy bro who kills everything with a boomerang. Excellent. There were times when I was enjoying this more than Castlevania but some easy boss fights and middling soundtrack stop it from being top tier material. It's still an A+ though, lots of fast fun action. Has a similar issue to Castlevania (PS2) where you get a level select from the off, which means the challenge remains level as you progress instead of ramping up. Great game though, highly recommended.

The interesting thing is that there were a lot of changes from the Japanese version (Power Blazer), including changing the protagonist from a Mega Man-looking dude to the Arnold stand-in for this version. It also gives you that multi-directional throwing capability. The US version is just better all around. The creative team didn't like all the changes, though, but they did integrate a lot of it into Power Blade 2.

[Exhuminator]

Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force (PS2)

Elkin's right in that the PC version is superior, but I'm glad you gave this old FPS a go. In relation I absolutely recommend this:

[PartridgeSenpai]

Super Back to the Future II (SNES)

A Japanese game I bought but never beat, and earlier today I saw why I never beat it before. This game just hatessss you, especially in the later half. A lot of quirks of average platformers on the SNES: Spikes immediately beneath you while you fall, wierd momentum mechanics that never really work, did I mention the spikes? THEY'RE EVERYWHERE. Tons of very mean and unfair spikes, and the fact that Marty is on a hoverboard and moves kiiinda like Sonic but more floaty make for a lot of unfair deaths. Level design is lacking and the controls blow, to put it short and less ranty.

On the positive, the music is great, and the graphics are very nice and stylized as well. Some people may not like the exaggerated super-deformed/chibi look they have going on, but I really liked it. The game also follows the movie fairly well, with plenty of tiny dialogue scenes between levels. Granted this is a movie I haven't seen and some of the dialogue is really poorly timed (I'd have trouble reading it in English it goes by so fast), from what I know of it, it follows it well. Ending is trash though. You get the book back from Biff and he runs into a truck and gets covered in trash, and then it's just credits. It feels like there might've been an extra ending cutscene that just got cut because they ran out of time.

Verdict: Far from the worst licensed platformer on the SNES, it also certainly isn't the best. An interesting curiosity that's worth a peak if you're a big Back to the Future fan, although the fact that it's usually a $20+ import will probably turn off most people who aren't super into SNES collecting.

[BoneSnapDeez]

21. 3D Classics: Kid Icarus (3DS)
22. Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters (GB)

Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters is a solid portable sequel to the NES classic. It is a Kid Icarus game in every way, and it follows the first game's conventions very closely. (In other words, it has the same basic mechanics, the same basic enemy types, the same basic level design, a similar upgrade system, etc.) Nonetheless, it is much easier than the first game. The stages are shorter; the enemies follow more predictable patterns; and the game is more generous with hearts and items. (The boss battles are much better, however, and strangely, the first boss is far-and-away the most difficult part of the game.) As a result, it ends up being somewhat less memorable than its NES predecessor.

It is still a fine Gameboy game, and it easily ranks among the system's best. Accordingly, I heartily recommend it to anyone looking for a fun, short, well-designed platformer, just not as heartily as I recommend the original.

Interesting. I didn't realize that this whole series was simply a trilogy. Maybe if I like the first game I'll just keep rolling with it.

[prfsnl_gmr]

Interesting. I didn't realize that this whole series was simply a trilogy. Maybe if I like the first game I'll just keep rolling with it.

Go for it. The first two are pretty fun, and from what I have played, the third one is very good too. I plan on running the series this year (along with the Shantae trilogy and all three games in The Room series).

[Exhuminator]

Until this year, I was under the impression that Kid Icarus on Game Boy was just a port of the NES version. I was happy to discover that the Kid Icarus series is indeed a trilogy.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Interesting. I didn't realize that this whole series was simply a trilogy. Maybe if I like the first game I'll just keep rolling with it.

Go for it. The first two are pretty fun, and from what I have played, the third one is very good too. I plan on running the series this year (along with the Shantae trilogy and all three games in The Room series).

With my port-obsessed nature, if I enjoy the FDS original I'll probably end up playing the NES, GBA, and 3DS Virtual Console ports as well.

Once you finish the Shantae series you'll have to complete the Mighty series as well (because it will force you to get on Steam).