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pook99
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Re: Games Beaten 2019

by pook99 Mon Apr 22, 2019 1:12 pm

42. Robonauts (switch)
43. Azure Striker Gunvolt 2 (3ds)
44. Ikao: lost souls (steam)

44: Ikao: lost souls (steam)

Ikao is a hardcore platformer/bullet hell game with a nice visual style, a minimistic story, and 2 different play modes.

You start the game as a blue two-tailed fox who has lost his memory, so of course the best thing to do is just walk to the right and hope you eventually uncover your memory and your purpose. As you progress through the game you will randomnly run into a spirit and your character will somberly put his head down and have a brief memory of his former love. Progression through the game slowly reveals the relationship between the 2 and what happens and eventually ends in a surprisingly somber tone that I completely did not expect. I won't get into any details here but the story is told well enough and does not get in the way of the gameplay.

The gameplay is broken down into 2 different styles. About half the game has you playing as the two-tailed fox, these levels play like a standard platformer. Your fox can jump, double jump, and stick to certain walls. The other half of the game is played as a white spirit who can jump and float around infinitely by tapping the X button. Although your character is flying the best way to describe the control in these levels is like an underwater level in a Mario game, but you can jump off of surfaces as well. Control in both playstyles is super tight, and control of both characters switches back and forth. So you will play x number of levels as the fox, then the spirit and so on.

There are about 100 levels or so in this game and it is an incredibly challenging game. The game starts out simple enough and has a pretty nice difficulty curve but it gets really hard. Every level is riddled with spikes, buzzsaws that seemingly reach forever, and cannons that shoot endless streams of bullets at you. The amount of stuff going on at any given time gives the game a very bullet hell feel to it, which is odd for a platformer but works really well. The levels are designed that there are virtually no safe spots and everything kills you in one hit, you need to be both quick and cautious to navigate some of these nightmarish levels but the feeling of beating some of these levels is incredibly satisfying. You will die alot, but the game offers instant respawns that make you want to jump right back in and give the level one more shot.

There are also orbs scattered throughout the levels. I have no idea what these orbs do and I typically am the kind of player who just ignores out of the way collectables but for some reason I felt compelled to collect all of these orbs. I believe I got them all and I'm not really sure if it did anything, so maybe there is some greater purpose to them, or maybe they are just there for the completionist in you, I don't really know.

What I do know is that Ikao was an amazing game. It retails for $2 and for that price I was expecting some crappy flash game but decided to give it a shot anyway and I'm really glad I did. The game is very unique, very well made, and insanely hard. Definitely worth a playthrough if you are into hardcore platformers.
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Re: Games Beaten 2019

by prfsnl_gmr Mon Apr 22, 2019 2:56 pm

Sounds awesome. I appreciate all the lengthy reviews.

Have you played Electronic Super Joy? It’s my favorite die-and-retry platformer, and it’s a bit unknown too.
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Re: Games Beaten 2019

by pook99 Mon Apr 22, 2019 4:34 pm

prfsnl_gmr wrote:Sounds awesome. I appreciate all the lengthy reviews.

Have you played Electronic Super Joy? It’s my favorite die-and-retry platformer, and it’s a bit unknown too.


I have, absolutely amazing game, and one of the best soundtracks of any indie I have ever played. I haven't checked out the sequel, groove city, yet but it is on my steam wishlist. Have you played it?
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Re: Games Beaten 2019

by PartridgeSenpai Mon Apr 22, 2019 5:39 pm

marurun wrote:Wow, nice Starlink review, Partridge. Some folks have called the Star Fox stuff the best part of the game. What are your thoughts on that?


Thanks! I was honestly feeling a little drained writing reviews for a while, but I'm really enjoying writing them again. I'm glad you liked this one ^w^

On the Star Fox stuff, I'd probably have to agree that it's the best part of the game. Even if ONLY for the fact that Star Fox has more thematic/setting star power than plain ol' Starlink, I would be lying if I hadn't wished at multiple occasions that Ubisoft had just made a giant Starfox game instead of their own IP :lol: . And it may just be nostalgia talking, but I certainly felt like the Star Fox writing was the strongest, granted that may be just because the Star Fox cast was so much smaller than the horribly bloated normal Starlink cast.
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Re: Games Beaten 2019

by PartridgeSenpai Tue Apr 23, 2019 5:32 am

Partridge Senpai's 2019 Beaten Games:
Previously: 2016 2017 2018
* indicates a repeat

1. Night Slashers (Switch)
2. Bye-Bye BOXBOY! (3DS)
3. GTA4: The Ballad of Gay Tony (Xbox 360)
4. Katamari Forever (PS3)
5. Detention (PS4)
6. Donkey Kong 64 (N64) *
7. OctoDad: Dadliest Catch (PS4) *
8. FlintHook (Switch)
9. God of War (PS4)
10. God of War HD (PS3)
11. Tiny Barbarian DX (Switch)
12. God of War 2 HD (PS3)
13. Starlink (Switch)

14. Shin Gundam Musou (PS3)

Flake has been talking up Dynasty Warriors Gundam Reborn for ages as one of the best Musou games, and I'd been looking for another fairly mindless de-stressing game to play now that I'd finished Starlink, so this game was too perfect to pass up when I came across it for under 800 yen. While I wouldn't say it surpasses Hyrule Warriors as the best modern Musou game, it is a damn close second place that deserves all the praise it gets. I settled in for my first ever PS3 platinum trophy with this baby. In an effort I cannot possibly recommend, I spent over 140 hours getting 100% of the in-game collectable cards (A MASSIVE AMOUNT OF WHICH was grinding the same missions over and over to just kill a certain amount of troops with every single character XP). Couldn't recommend it, but I enjoyed the game enough to slog through that, which says something in itself I suppose XD

As with the other Gundam Musou games, you can play as a myriad of pilots and even more mobile suits. The pilots themselves don't really do anything but add certain passives and skills. Think of them like the character and the mobile suits like the weapons in a normal Musou game. The characters have levels that increase base stats of fight, shot, and defense, as well as certain passive skills that skillpoints can be put into. Every character is different in this way, ultimately, as their max stats and possible skills they can learn are different for every pilot, and each pilot usually has a certain Gundam only they can pilot until you unlock it for free-play with other pilots.

The mobile suits themselves are among the other titanic Musou games for just how many there are. With the exception of one boss character who can't physically move (so there's a good reason you can't play it), every single mobile suit that appears in the game can be unlocked and played for a total count of over 120! They all have quite a bit of difference as well. The big-name Gundams have quite unique and well animated movesets, sure, but even a lot of the smaller, unimportant enemy stooge mechs have meaningful movesets that make them just that much more different to play. Sure, some characters feel quite similar, but on the whole there is a really surprising amount of depth to the differences between each mobile suit, and that is far and away the shining star of this game.

Where the game falls a bit behind Hyrule Musou for me is the stage and map design. The game has an "Official Mode," where you play stages based on the stories of 6 different Gundam series, as well as an "Ultimate Mode," where you play through over 20 "what if" crossover stories between the characters from many series beyond those represented in the Official Mode, usually revolving around some special gimmick for that scenario (like defending an allied ship, or only playing as Newtype characters). While the Official modes are fully VO'd and have some very pretty 3D-animated cutscenes as well, none of the story bits in the Ultimate Mode are voiced, so it's a bit of give and take there.

Official Mode basically has every stage on a different map, or a different take on the same map (different starting locations, restricted to a certain section of a larger map, etc), and while Ultimate Mode doesn't introduce any new stages, it does a pretty good job of not making any maps feel like they're repeating. However, I wouldn't really say this is a good thing, as the biggest reason for this is because so many of the maps are fairly empty and replaceable with one another. It's a symptom the first Gundam Musou game suffered from quite badly as well, and the 4th entry in the series does not escape from.

The combat is as excellent as it's always been, but it's really just as it's always been. The same blocking, dashing, boosting, and melee/ranged attacks that made the first Gundam Musou game a blast are still here, as rockin' as ever, but with a far-expanded cast now. Not really a plus, but certainly not a negative when the game has added like 30+ new characters compared to the 3rd game in the series: If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Verdict: Highly recommended. If you're gonna play just one Gundam Musou game, let it be this one. It's easily one of the best spin-off Musou games, and was definitely one of the best Musou games, full stop, at the time of its release. It doesn't quite hit the high of Hyrule Warriors, but it was a Musou entry of a quality heralding the great quality of Hyrule Warriors, and is definitely worth checking out if you need some more Gundam or some more Musou in your life.
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Re: Games Beaten 2019

by Ziggy587 Tue Apr 23, 2019 7:52 am

Ordinary Gamer wrote:New member, I like this thread. I hope no one minds this post being a bit long, but I've completed a handful of cool games recently. These were all played on PS4.


Welcome to the forums! Feel free to introduce yourself in this thread, if you'd like! :D
I'm parting with some duplicate Blu-Ray and DVD movies. Check out this thread if interested.
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Re: Games Beaten 2019

by pook99 Tue Apr 23, 2019 10:15 am

45. Contra: spirit of war (fan game)

Contra spirit of war is a fan game that largely uses assets from the 8-bit contra games, but draws inspiration from just about every contra game ever released.

The game has a story that is told through random cutscenes, much like Hard Corps. In fact the background during the briefing missions is the same one you see in hard corps just demaked into an 8-bit style. There is a commander who is using a psy helmet to control the aliens, it is your job to stop him and seize his helmet. Of course once you do it turns out the aliens were just using him and you then have to go to the heart of the alien stronghold and lay the smack down on them.

The game consists of 10 levels and most of them have a familiar feel but at the same time have enough differences to make the experience feel fresh. For example, there is a waterfall level based on the 3rd stage of the original contra. The level has you scrolling vertically, but also has you walking horizontally around the level, making it feel a little more epic. Like any good contra game, there are a few different gimmicky levels thrown in. There is a level that has you riding a jetpack out of a volcano, a level that has you jumping from missile to missile that plays similar to the 3rd level from Contra 3, and an overhead level like those found in Super C. These levels are a lot of fun, and my only real disappointment is that there was no 3rd person base level like those found in the original contra.

Graphically, the game looks and exactly like the original contra/super c on NES. One thing that is cool is there are random enemies from the 16 bit + games that are demade to fit into the 8 -bit style. For example, on the 3rd level of contra 3 there is that section with all of the insects grabbing you and trying to drop you off the wires you are hanging from, those insects are here but are redone graphically to fit into the 8-bit world which is pretty cool. The game also sounds like the original games, you have some iconic tracks and some new tracks(or ones that I did not recognize) and all of the sound effects sound just like an 8-bit game complete with the familiar pings that you expect when damaging enemies.

Gameplay wise it plays like you would expect with a few enhancements. You now have a bomb like contra 3 which clears the screen and damages bosses, you are also able to hold 2 weapons at a time like contra 3, and are given a slide like the one in hard corps. You could also climb along some ceilings like you can in the 16 bit games. The weapon selection is varied and gives you a variety of weapons. You get the classics like the flamethrower, laser beam, machine gun, and spread, you get the 16 bit weapons like the homing missile, and you also get a weapon that shoots in front of you and behind at the same time(which may be from contra 4), a cluster weapon(like from hard corps I believe) as well as a weapon that shoots 3 bullets at once for extra damage. If you pick up a weapon twice you can upgrade it which typically adds speed and damage to it.

My only complaint about the game is your character moves slower than you would expect. There is a speed upgrade that you can collect that makes your character move the same speed that you would expect from the original game, so I believe the slow movement was a deliberate choice but it does take a bit of getting used to.

In terms of difficulty you have a lot of options to make this game as easy or hard as you want it to be. You can choose to have up to 5 lives, and you can choose whether or not you want to die in one hit or have a health bar like the one found in the japanese version of hard corps. There is also a password feature here, and while the game is not that long(I beat it one sitting) it is nice to have the option to stop and resume later if you are pressed for time.

Overall, spirit of war, is a fun game. The slow speed of your character is a bit off putting at first, but you do get used to it. Given the fact that konami is a trash company this is probably the only new contra game you will get to play, and while it is not amazing, it is a good time and definitely worth checking out for fans of the series.
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Re: Games Beaten 2019

by Ordinary Gamer Tue Apr 23, 2019 11:43 pm

prfsnl_gmr wrote:
Welcome to the forums! That’s a great post, Please stick around and talk about games.

Also, I am extremely impressed you made it through Volgarr the Viking. It is such a good game, but I start getting crushed by the second level. Nice work!

Also, long time member DSH also loved Astro Bot and said it may go down as one of the all time great platformers.


Thanks :)

Yeah, Volgar is tough. I think anyone can beat it with enough persistence though. There are some very helpful you tubers as well who have narrated walk throughs where they try and help people get through the game. I love when people do that. It's nice to see gamers help each other out. I think it really encourages people to give a game another go too.

DSH is probably right about Astro Bot. It does feel like a modern "classic". It's definitely one of those games I think a lot of people bring up when discussing the merits of PSVR. I went into it knowing how hyped up it was, and I can't say that it didn't deliver, at least for me anyway. I really enjoyed it a lot. It has a certain magic to it. I'm hoping to finish Moss next. That's another VR game I've heard about and what I've played of it so far is quite charming.

marurun wrote:Wow, epic way to step into the Games Beaten 2019 thread! We love those long write-ups around here (but really, we love any write-ups.)


Ziggy587 wrote:
Ordinary Gamer wrote:New member, I like this thread. I hope no one minds this post being a bit long, but I've completed a handful of cool games recently. These were all played on PS4.


Welcome to the forums! Feel free to introduce yourself in this thread, if you'd like! :D


Thanks :) I'll try and make a post in that thread too

pook99 wrote:@ordinarygamer: Welcome to the forums, great first post. I love volgar the viking, probably one of my all time favorite indie games. The challenge in that game is just done very well, and learning how to conquer new areas is very rewarding and satisfying.

I enjoyed the messenger as well, but the shift to metroidvania style took the wind out of my sails a bit. I was loving it at first but there is just sooooooo much backtracking in the later half of the game that it became kind of a slog. I still enjoyed the game(you could find my review somewhere on this thread) but the 2nd half definitely took it down a notch for me. I loved the writing though, probably some of the most genuinely enjoyable writing I have ever seen in a game.

@MrPopo: Mechstermination force is one of my favorite switch games. Although I did not have to grind much to complete it, I definitely agree that just rewarding the player with a heart + weapon/upgrade after every boss would have been a much better way to go. Since I did not really grind much I did not unlock all the weapons, which kind of sucks. I only unlocked the flamethrower and the spread, I would have liked to have seen all the weapons the game offers but I just focused on all my money on health.


I actually almost gave up on The Messenger during the metroid portion of the game as it did seem like a bit of a slog. It could have benefited from some more warp points or something, but I was glad I stuck with it. It's the one part of the game that could have been handled a bit better though. The Shopkeeper's dialog though...man, that's some good stuff. The second bit about the cool hat had me dying.

PartridgeSenpai wrote:Partridge Senpai's 2019 Beaten Games:
Previously: 2016 2017 2018
* indicates a repeat

1. Night Slashers (Switch)
2. Bye-Bye BOXBOY! (3DS)
3. GTA4: The Ballad of Gay Tony (Xbox 360)
4. Katamari Forever (PS3)
5. Detention (PS4)
6. Donkey Kong 64 (N64) *
7. OctoDad: Dadliest Catch (PS4) *
8. FlintHook (Switch)
9. God of War (PS4)
10. God of War HD (PS3)
11. Tiny Barbarian DX (Switch)
12. God of War 2 HD (PS3)

13. Starlink (Switch)

Beat Starlink a week or two ago and only just now have the internet to type about it! I helped a friend beat all the Gummy Ship stuff in Kingdom Hearts 3, and it made me really wanna play a real spaceship game. I looked over on the eShop and noticed the eternal sale that the Digital Deluxe edition of Starlink was still on, so I picked it up. It made a really great simple game to de-stress to while I was waiting for my job to start after moving to Japan.

Starlink is a game by Ubisoft and it is very much still an Ubisoft Game (TM). Large open-world with tons of icons scattered around that you progressively unlock more of with effectively identical activities to do to fill up number percentages, all while a larger story goes on around it. The gimmick this time is that you're a spaceship, but that said, it's a pretty decent gimmick.

There are two parts to Starlink: planets and space. Space has you in your spaceship flying around, getting into dogfights, and attacking larger spaceships in raid-like solo fights. They're really well put together, and honestly I kinda wish the whole game had just been a better fleshed-out space game, because you're honestly barely in space unless you really wanna do ALL the nearly identical raid-like fights. The second part is the planets, where you're still in a spaceship, but your spaceship is basically glued to the ground like a landmaster in Starfox. You zoom about these slightly procedurally-generated planets doing quests for quest-givers, attacking enemies you find, scanning wildlife, and collecting goodies. There is a lot of planet stuff in the game, and honestly I thought it was a shame because it's definitely the less remarkable part of the gameplay loop.

You're a spaceship, so of course you can customize it! If you have the physical toy, you can plonk your IRL guns onto the ship's wings and they'll appear on your ship in the game, same goes for wings on your ship. They'll even face backwards if you plonk them on backwards! It's a really neat gimmick, and the digital replacement for it is honestly really horribly clunky and cumbersome and really would've benefited from a faster way to instantly toggle between loadouts without going into a menu (the game does have loadouts, you just can't go between them quickly).

There are 4 different elemental weapons, fire, ice, stasis, and vortex; and there are also a series of additional neutral weapons that have no element attached. They're all really different and fun to use, and using one with a pilot gets only a certain amount of skill points with that weapon, so you're encouraged to try out loads with different combos to get more skill points and see what works best together. The weird thing is that the number of each is really odd, especially how there is only ONE stasis weapon, and given that vortex enemies are weak to stasis, you're gonna be using that ONE a LOT. The physical versions of the game also never came with at least one of these elemental weapons, and given there are certain in-game activities that require all the elements to complete, the game NEEDED extra toys to be bought to actually 100% if you bought the physical toy (a very crappy, but quite typically Ubisoft move). In summary, weapons are fun, but elemental gunplay is kinda poorly thought out and badly monetized to boot.

The Switch version comes with included Starfox DLC where you can play as fox, fly the Arwing, and play some special Star Fox missions as you try and track down Star Wolf, and at least compared to the rest of the content in the game, it's fairly substantial. Now, there isn't actually THAT much to do, but it's another story side-quest in a game that otherwise has ONE story-related side-quest that isn't a part of the main story, so at least proportionally it's a fairly sizable amount of content. It's quite well put together too, and easily makes the Switch version of Starlink the definitive one despite how much better other consoles can likely run the software.

The story of Starlink is VERY forgettable and a far cry (no pun intended) from Ubisoft's better writing achievements of recent memory (such as the excellent Watchdogs 2). It's very kiddy in the kinda bad way, where it seems like it's trying to feel deep but never really does anything beyond looking pretty and having an atmosphere of something cool happening without anything meaningful occurring. For the sake of selling more toys, the cast is bloated to the point where there were several cutscenes that featured characters I never remembered seeing before, let alone knowing the character traits of. The story was clearly not the focus of this game, and was sacrificed for the sake of selling more toys. Not a deal-breaker (I mean I 100%'d the planet parts of the game, so clearly there's something to the gameplay loop that's appealing despite the story), but a shame given how well Ubisoft has shown they can construct a narrative.

Verdict: Recommended. Starlink may not be anything mind-blowing for most people, but it's a good time, and something fairly easy to recommend if you can get the digital deluxe edition for 50% off like I did. It made me look forward to the upcoming Starfox DLC for it, and even more look forward to the innovations a Starlink 2 may bring, if that ever exists.


I quite enjoyed Starlink. I think it's fun with or without Starfox, but that definitely elevates it. I don't use my Switch much, but I did for this game. It's such a great turn of events as you can see the Starfox influence in the game so for Nintendo to step in and let them use the characters was very cool. Feels like it was meant to be

What's funny to me is that I don't think the Starlink characters are any worse than the Starfox crew in terms of dialog or character development. I just think many of us are so familiar with Fox and co. that it just automatically feels better whenever the game focuses on them. I think it's just a natural bias we have towards these characters we already know, while the Starlink crew are complete strangers. That's just my opinion though. I actually thought Razor was fairly cool. Her special attack is surprisingly powerful too once it's been sufficiently upgraded, more powerful than Fox's even.

I really liked the game's use of dynamic music. During some of the boss battles the music actually changes to indicate how much damage you've done. It goes from intense and dramatic to suddenly very inspiring and hopeful as you get close to ending the battle. You can hear the shift at 2:32 in this track

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwyAplO8RI4

I also really enjoyed some of those tracks that are exclusive to the Starfox missions in the Switch version. The way they remixed some Starfox themes is cool:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doc8SNidU9E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1LHM8uItkY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-br4ayAvy8

I honestly think it's a shame the PS 4 version couldn't get some Ratchet and Clank DLC. Seems like a good fit. Ratchet is an ace pilot after all. There's not a single R&C game that doesn't have him in space combat
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Re: Games Beaten 2019

by PartridgeSenpai Wed Apr 24, 2019 6:22 am

Partridge Senpai's 2019 Beaten Games:
Previously: 2016 2017 2018
* indicates a repeat

1. Night Slashers (Switch)
2. Bye-Bye BOXBOY! (3DS)
3. GTA4: The Ballad of Gay Tony (Xbox 360)
4. Katamari Forever (PS3)
5. Detention (PS4)
6. Donkey Kong 64 (N64) *
7. OctoDad: Dadliest Catch (PS4) *
8. FlintHook (Switch)
9. God of War (PS4)
10. God of War HD (PS3)
11. Tiny Barbarian DX (Switch)
12. God of War 2 HD (PS3)
13. Starlink (Switch)
14. Shin Gundam Musou (PS3)

15. Battle & Get! Pokemon Typing DS (DS)

I've wanted this game for like 6 years, ever since I saw it in a store the last time I was in Japan and didn't pick it up assuming I'd find it cheaper somewhere else (although I never did QwQ). Finally got it for like 8 bucks last week and got to playing it this week. I assumed it'd just be some kiddy, throwaway game, but it's actually a lot more than I bargained for in terms of content and difficulty!

On its most base level, this is a Pokemon-themed Typing of the Dead but on a DS and typing largely Pokemon names instead of words and phrases like in TotD. Given that it's every Pokemon between 1st and 5th generation, that's well more than 500 Pokemon with tons of stages with various modifiers in the most extreme varieties. I'm fairly sure the English title (as this did come out in PAL territories, just never the US, but I played the Japanese version) calls this a "Typing Tutor," but that is just plain old false advertising as far as I'm concerned. This game is a lousy typing teacher, but it is a great typing score attack game.

Each stage has certain challenges within it to try and complete, from getting a certain number of Pokemon in a row without making errors, to catching a certain total number, to getting a certain high score. The first dozen or two stages are pretty doable, but after a certain point I just had to throw in the towel as far as getting all the medals though. Not knowing all the Japanese Pokemon names is probably the biggest reason why, as a big part of getting high scores is starting to type their names before the text-box prompting you what their name is pops up, I just eventually had to accept I'd never be able to 100% this game. On top of Japanese keyboard layouts being JUST different enough that the technical, non-letter key entries were always difficult to remember, this was a game I got a lot of playtime out of but eventually had to accept that I'd never be able to reach some of the absolutely astonishingly high score challenges they set for you XD

Verdict: Recommended. It's a fairly simple premise, but damn if it isn't addicting. As far as original Pokemon spin-offs (i.e. not Mystery Dungeon) go, this is definitely near the top of the list as far as quality goes. The Japanese version has all the stuff you'd type in roman characters as well as Japanese, so even if an English version didn't exist this is a fairly import-friendly game. If you're looking for a DS game that's a bit out-there but also loads of fun, this is definitely a good one to pick up. Just keep in mind that if you're not a big (or even mild) Pokemon fan, you'll likely eventually get frustrated with just how much the game's hardest challenges demand an encyclopedic knowledge of their names.
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Re: Games Beaten 2019

by Ordinary Gamer Sat Apr 27, 2019 1:29 am

1. The Hong Kong Massacre
2. Volgarr the Viking
3. Astro Bot Rescue Mission
4. The Messenger

Super Daryl Deluxe - PS4 (Also on PC and Switch)

SDD is a very weird game, with a quirky sense of humor, an odd, yet appealing art style, a compelling story and just a very surreal vibe. It kind of feels to me like an old Sega game that could have been at home on a Genesis or Saturn. Though I've heard it compared to an Adult Swim cartoon as well.

Its creators call it an RPGvania...whatever that means. I feel like nobody really knows what to call games with Metroid elements in them anymore. We've gone from metroidvania...whatever that means, to RPGvania...whatever that means LOL. I don't know why we can't just say Metroid, without all of these vanias attached to it. Castlevania played no part in the creation of this style of gameplay, they just kind of stole it, but whatever. Honestly, the game doesn't have that much Metroid influence in it anyway, but I'll get to that.

The game is basically about a mute kid (this becomes a running gag) trying to get popular in a high school, though this all takes place in a strange sort of post apocalyptic world where the school has all kinds of bizarre things happening in it. It's hard to explain the game's story, but it is compelling, weird and consistently amusing. The writing in this game is fantastic, with my only gripe being that it can be a bit too verbose for some people. There's a LOT of dialog in this game, so when you start talking to someone be prepared for quite a few dialog boxes.

The art style is very unique. Right off the bat you'll be struck by the main character's appearance. He looks like Napolean Dynamite and when he moves around he swings his unusually stretchy limbs about like he's Plastic Man or Mr. Fantastic :lol: The game kind of looks like an animated TV show.

The game has a rather unusual and eclectic soundtrack to match its weird story. And adding to the weird vibe of the game, some of the tracks have vocals in them basically repeating Daryl's name over and over again. They really don't let you forget that he's the hero of this story as even the soundtrack has to occasionally remind you LOL. The game has some solid voice work that you'll hear during the game's cut scenes and some of the boss fights. It's actually cool to have cut scenes in a little, kickstarter backed indie game. The voice acting can be a little over the top, but since the game doesn't take itself too seriously it works.

In terms of gameplay, it's part beat 'em up, part RPG and just a tiny bit Metroid. You'll wander around the school talking to NPCs, doing side quests, and advancing the story. Where things get interesting is when you actually enter a classroom. Class rooms are where the game takes on a slightly Metroid feel, as each classroom is actually a themed world with multiple interconnected areas you'll explore while fighting enemies. There's some bizarre space/time stuff going on in this game, so classrooms are like doorways into these weird worlds. Each one is themed around that particular class rooms educational theme. So you'll have areas based on history, works of literature, or a crazy Science class world with walking beakers and mathematical equations randomly floating around.

You'll spend your time looking for items for side quests and story advancement. There are also textbooks to help you purchase and upgrade moves, treasure chests with equipment you can wear or loot, and some other interesting stuff like number combinations to let you open up people lockers in the school halls. Some of this stuff is well hidden so it pays to really explore. Now, where I take issue with the Metroid comparisons is that advancement through these worlds is usually based around puzzle solving, killing enemies, or completing certain tasks. The game doesn't have that classic Metroid formula of getting a new ability and then using it to access new areas. The only real ability you ever acquire is a double jump and even then it's not like you suddenly gain access to a bunch of new areas. Typically, you open up new areas as the story progresses. So things are mostly gated by narrative, not your abilities. In that sense, the game isn't really Metroid

The game's combat system is very interesting. Your move set can be customized, with you applying moves to any button on your controller. You have to purchase moves with text books. Skill points, which you acquire along with experiences points, let you upgrade them. Moves have cool down periods, so the challenge of the game is knowing what order to strategically string together your attacks in order to create combos. If you try to do a combo and you get to the third hit, but that attack is still in cool down from the last time you used it, your combo ends right there. Not only do you need to think about how best to incorporate each of your attacks into a combo, but attacks each have varying strengths and attributes for you to think about. For example, some attacks stun enemies. Some attacks do big damage, but come out slowly leaving you open to attack, some attacks set enemies on fire, etc. As you gain access to more moves, you also have to decide if you want to spend your points continuing to upgrade the attacks you already have and continue using them, or purchasing higher tier moves with the drawback of them not being upgraded at all. Oh, and the attacks you have are just crazy, ridiculous and hilarious. One of them has you surfing on top of a great white shark, another has you smashing enemies with a hammer with a rhino on top of it, while others having you using Thor's hammer or firing a laser cannon. Attacks will look different as you upgrade them too, getting crazier and crazier the more powerful they get.

You also level up as you play through the game, and you also get popularity points from doing side quests, increasing your social status and granting you passive perks. You'll pick up tons of equipment which can affect your stats as well as provide various other bonuses, or handicaps. A lot of this fits in with the game's sense of humor. There is an eye patch that will boost your stats, but if you equip it half of your screen will always be blacked out :lol: I actually thought my game had a bug of some sort until I figured out the joke.

The game overall isn't too hard, especially if you grind and get yourself over leveled for certain parts of the game. However, playing around with new moves is always fun, the game is always throwing new environments and new enemies as you, and the surreal nature of the game as well as the constant humor keeps the game engaging. While some jokes fall flat, overall this is one of the funniest games I've ever played. The writing is really on point. And when I say the game is surreal and weird, imagine a game where Ebenezer Scrooge joins a parody of the Ghostbusters and swears to eliminate all ghosts in the world after his traumatic Christmas experience, or a game where a blind, gun toting, alien killing, IRS agent gets into a mortal feud with a troll creature who hasn't paid his taxes? Or how about Beethoven feuding with a dub step loving kid while Sherlock Holmes and Watson are hanging out with Julius Caeser and Death in Hell? Honestly, the game is worth it just to see all the crazy stuff that happens. And how can you not want to play the game after listening to its kickass theme?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCwUGEPAqS0

Here's some screenshots to show off the art style, humor, and weirdness of this game. Spoiler tagged so you don't have a bunch of images bog down your browser

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