1. Her Story (iOS)
2. Elminage Original (3DS)
3. Legend of Grimrock (iOS)
4. Silent Bomber (PS1)
5. Crash Bandicoot (PS1)
6. Bust-a-Move 2 Arcade Edition (PS1)
7. Transformers Cybertron Adventures (Wii)
8. Squidlit (Switch)
9. Sydney Hunter & The Curse of the Mayan (Switch)
10. Mega Man Legends (PS1)
11. Revenge of the Bird King (Switch)
12. Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King (Switch)
13. Gato Roboto (Switch)
14. Kamiko (Switch)
15. Night Slashers (Arcade)
16. Subsurface Circular (Switch)
17. Iconoclasts (Switch)
18. Wonder Boy Returns Remix (Switch)
19. Resident Evil 3 (PS1)
20. The Messenger (Switch)
21. The Messenger: Picnic Panic (Switch)
22. Samsara Room (iOS)
23. Heroes of the Monkey Tavern (Switch)
24. Sayonara Wild Hearts (Switch)
Sayonara Wild Hearts Is the video game equivalent of a really great pop concert. The music’s really catchy; the visuals are striking; its immensely fun; and it’s over in about 90 minutes.
The game, which is a love letter to catchy pop music, consists of about 25 levels rendered in deep blues, electric pinks, and purples. Interestingly, and although the game is very much about music, it is by no means a music-and-rhythm game. Rather, the gameplay is a mix of quick-time events and a variety of classic gameplay styles, such as arcade racing (i.e., Hang On, OutRun, etc.), rail shooting (i.e. , Panzer Dragoon, Rez, Tempest, etc.), and a few others (e.g., Geometry Wars, Star Wars (Arcade), etc.). Like a pop song, each level lasts between two and four minutes, and there isn’t much of a penalty for failure. Accordingly, the game is very easy to beat. You get a rank based on your score, however, and achieving a gold rank in each level, which I have yet to do, presents a tremendous challenge. The game is therefore as difficult or easy as you want it to be.
Because it is such a singular experience, however, I recommend playing through the entire game, preferably in one sitting, before revisiting levels for higher scores. The music is so good, the levels are so fast, and the experience is so good, that the game really took my breath away more than a few times, and playing through the levels continuously really makes for a fun, unique, and, ultimately, spellbinding experience.
Despite its short length, I loved Sayonara Wild Hearts, and a few of the game’s levels rank among the best I’ve played in years. Like a great pop song, I suspect I’ll experience it again with some regularity, and I really can’t recommend this game highly enough.
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prfsnl_gmr - Next-Gen
- Posts: 10917
- Joined: Mon Jun 01, 2009 10:26 pm
- Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
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BoneSnapDeez - Next-Gen
- Posts: 19578
- Joined: Mon May 02, 2011 1:08 pm
- Location: Maine
Re: Games Beaten 2020
1. ACA NeoGeo: Cyber-Lip (Switch eShop)
2. Pengo (Atari 2600)
3. Kirby's Epic Yarn (Wii)
4. Knights of Xentar (PC)
5. Hoshi o Sagashite... (Mark III)
6. Dead Zone (Famicom Disk System)
7. Samurai Sword (Famicom Disk System)
8. High School! Kimengumi (Mark III)
9. Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom (NES)
10. Sindbad Mystery (SG-1000)
11. Steins;Gate (Vita)
12. Champion Boxing (SG-1000)
13. Squidlit (Switch eShop)
14. Skyblazer (SNES)
15. Tokyo Dark: Remembrance (Switch eShop)
16. Bubble Bobble (Famicom Disk System)
17. Steins;Gate Elite (Switch)
18. Johnny Turbo's Arcade: Joe and Mac Returns (Switch eShop)
19. Johnny Turbo's Arcade: Express Raider (Switch eShop)
20. Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle (Genesis)
21. Sword of Vermilion (Genesis)
22. Steins;Gate: My Darling's Embrace (Switch eShop)
23. Oink! (Atari 2600)
24. Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa (Famicom Disk System)
25. Super Castlevania IV (SNES)
As a youth, I didn't play any Castlevania games. This wasn't by any intentional design. There weren't any vampire-slaying adventures to be found at the local rental stores. As for the two games per year I could afford to purchase: eventually I shifted from Mario and Mega Man to fantasy JRPGs, leaving Simon Belmont and his pals behind. As an adult, I've been picking away the series (slowly). Impressions are mixed, but largely very positive. Which is how I reflect upon this particular game.
Super Castlevania IV is, of course, not actually "the fourth" Castlevania game released chronologically. Thrown into the jumble among the numbered titles we also find Haunted Castle (awful), Castlevania: The Adventure (also awful), Kid Dracula, and Belmont's Revenge. However, Super Castlevania IV is the fourth "mainline" entry, and it marks the series transition into the 16-bit realm. Konami seemed determined to cast a wide net during this era, as there were additional 16-bit entries to be found on the Genesis, PC Engine CD, and even the X68000. Released in 1991, Super Castlevania IV is a relatively early SNES title, with a vibe similar to that of Super Mario World. The DNA of the earlier games is undoubtedly present here, but everything's bigger, slicker, flashier, and... better? For the most part, yes indeed.
The game's plot is relayed brilliantly. During the opening sequence a lightning bolt strikes a gravestone. A menacing bat emerges, and story text begins filling up the screen in tandem with a rolling fog. Dracula has arisen, for the first time in one hundred years, and it's up to one Simon Belmont to whip him back to the underworld. Sound familiar? Yes, it's literally just a retelling of the plot from the first Castlevania. Make no mistake though, despite some reused assets Super Castlevania IV plays like a wholly original game, rather than an enhanced port. Why Konami went this route only five years after the original Akumajou Dracula hit the Famicom Disk System is somewhat puzzling. But it matters not: Dracula and his army of ghouls must be stopped.
Super Castlevania IV is a linear game, much like installments one and three. Stages proceed in a predefined order, with an enticing world map displayed between each one, indicating the player's progression towards the count's final lair. The "Belmont physics" will feel familiar to all who played the FDS/NES titles. Simon is a man who moves slowly and deliberately, as if he's on a stroll and just so happens to be slaying monsters along the way. Perhaps taking a cue from his run and gun pals from Contra, Simon can now whip in eight directions; this new range of motion surprisingly did not become codified into future Castlevania control schemes. There's also a strange "blocking" maneuver that can be activated by holding down the attack button, whereupon Simon can steer his whip to be used as a shield from projectiles. Belmont has always been a "stairmaster" and the copious amount of staircases can now be navigated via "moonwalking" backwards up them (my second review in a row with a Michael Jackson reference...). The familiar power-ups are here. Meat, usually hidden, replenishes health. And hearts are used as ammo (I'll never get used to this) for the special weapons. There are the horizontally-tossed daggers and boomerangs, arcing axes and holy water, and enemy-freezing stopwatches. No longer must the player rely on the clunky up+attack method to activate these weapons, as they are now mapped to the R shoulder button for easy access.
Given Simon Belmont's generally lackadaisical movements, enemies are best slain piecemeal. Anyone attempting to steamroll this one will find themselves zombie food soon enough. "Knockback" is present, so it's oftentimes the pitfalls and spikes that prove to be Simon's undoing, after a gentle shove from a skittering wraith. The enemy selection is quite large, the cast of fiends lifted straight from the earlier Castlevania outings. There are the sine wave Medusa heads, fire-breathing bone pillars, spastic hunchbacks, and much more. Enemy sprites are large and well-detailed, and the hit detection is excellent, punctuated by a big heavy "thunk" when Simon successfully lands a blow. Some fiends boast a bit too much HP, which slows down an already leisurely-paced experience. And there are those occasional moments of slowdown when hordes of beasts clutter the screen. Jumping is stiff, though appropriately so given the layout of most stages.
Bosses are a mixed bag. Most of the early ones are almost too easy, a strange departure from the typical Castlevania experience. Assuming Simon has a decently full lifebar, the first cluster of bosses can be toppled via button-mashing, with little reliance on tactics and special weaponry. Things get a bit more complicated as the game progresses. The two most riveting battles are those against Slogra (a skeletal pterosaur) and Death, both of whom boast some clever attack patterns and a wide range of maneuvers. As for that epic Dracula showdown... it's mostly just annoying. One of those things that's exponentially harder than anything else in the game, in a way that feels more lazy and cheap rather than cleverly devised.
As far as stage designs go, the first half of the game contains the most interesting settings. There are some fantastic outdoor environments, something sorely missing in the "explore the castle" Castlevania titles of recent years. The graveyard and waterfall segments look especially slick, with some fine attention to detail paid to the backgrounds. Generally speaking, the graphical presentation is quite strong. The color palette is varied, though kept appropriately subdued and dark. There's some dizzying Mode 7 that probably doesn't "need" to be here, but looks amazing cool. There are plenty of "gimmicks" to be found throughout the stages, which breaks up the monotony of simply jumping and slaying. One of the earliest stages features a cemetery gate which can be traversed from either side. In another, shifting water currents toss Simon various directions. And then there's the notorious "spinning room" where Simon must attach his whip to a hook and hang on for dear life. The final stages do have a tendency go overboard in terms of "gotcha" moments. There are falling blocks and rapidly-moving platforms and crumbling stairs -- things that feel better suited for a Mario game. Players attempting their first run should experience frequent deaths here, at least until certain segments are sufficiently memorized.
The soundtrack is exquisite, one of the best on the SNES. There's an interesting thematic progression at play here. The earliest tracks, featured in those initial slow(est)-moving "creepy" stages, are appropriately measured, with long-held droning synth notes and subtle eerie melodies. Once the game gets rolling the music increases in tempo. There are some rather tasty energetic tunes heard in the game's midsection, driving bassy rhythms that take full advantage of the SNES sound chip. As the player gets closer to the game's conclusion some "throwback" tracks begin to play, beautiful renditions of 8-bit favorites like "Bloody Tears" and "Vampire Killer." The orchestral ending theme deserves a special mention, the stunning crescendo hitting as clips from Simon's journey scroll across the screen.
In summary, this is quite a sumptuous platformer. It may not be one of my all-time favorites within the genre, but as far as Castlevania games are concerned, it's undeniably one of the strongest. I'd rank it a touch higher than Simon's Quest (which I do indeed enjoy) and a touch lower than Symphony of the Night (which is really a different beast altogether). It's also a mandatory playthrough for anyone interested in hitting all the "big names" on the SNES, the finest console we're likely to ever see.
2. Pengo (Atari 2600)
3. Kirby's Epic Yarn (Wii)
4. Knights of Xentar (PC)
5. Hoshi o Sagashite... (Mark III)
6. Dead Zone (Famicom Disk System)
7. Samurai Sword (Famicom Disk System)
8. High School! Kimengumi (Mark III)
9. Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom (NES)
10. Sindbad Mystery (SG-1000)
11. Steins;Gate (Vita)
12. Champion Boxing (SG-1000)
13. Squidlit (Switch eShop)
14. Skyblazer (SNES)
15. Tokyo Dark: Remembrance (Switch eShop)
16. Bubble Bobble (Famicom Disk System)
17. Steins;Gate Elite (Switch)
18. Johnny Turbo's Arcade: Joe and Mac Returns (Switch eShop)
19. Johnny Turbo's Arcade: Express Raider (Switch eShop)
20. Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle (Genesis)
21. Sword of Vermilion (Genesis)
22. Steins;Gate: My Darling's Embrace (Switch eShop)
23. Oink! (Atari 2600)
24. Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa (Famicom Disk System)
25. Super Castlevania IV (SNES)
As a youth, I didn't play any Castlevania games. This wasn't by any intentional design. There weren't any vampire-slaying adventures to be found at the local rental stores. As for the two games per year I could afford to purchase: eventually I shifted from Mario and Mega Man to fantasy JRPGs, leaving Simon Belmont and his pals behind. As an adult, I've been picking away the series (slowly). Impressions are mixed, but largely very positive. Which is how I reflect upon this particular game.
Super Castlevania IV is, of course, not actually "the fourth" Castlevania game released chronologically. Thrown into the jumble among the numbered titles we also find Haunted Castle (awful), Castlevania: The Adventure (also awful), Kid Dracula, and Belmont's Revenge. However, Super Castlevania IV is the fourth "mainline" entry, and it marks the series transition into the 16-bit realm. Konami seemed determined to cast a wide net during this era, as there were additional 16-bit entries to be found on the Genesis, PC Engine CD, and even the X68000. Released in 1991, Super Castlevania IV is a relatively early SNES title, with a vibe similar to that of Super Mario World. The DNA of the earlier games is undoubtedly present here, but everything's bigger, slicker, flashier, and... better? For the most part, yes indeed.
The game's plot is relayed brilliantly. During the opening sequence a lightning bolt strikes a gravestone. A menacing bat emerges, and story text begins filling up the screen in tandem with a rolling fog. Dracula has arisen, for the first time in one hundred years, and it's up to one Simon Belmont to whip him back to the underworld. Sound familiar? Yes, it's literally just a retelling of the plot from the first Castlevania. Make no mistake though, despite some reused assets Super Castlevania IV plays like a wholly original game, rather than an enhanced port. Why Konami went this route only five years after the original Akumajou Dracula hit the Famicom Disk System is somewhat puzzling. But it matters not: Dracula and his army of ghouls must be stopped.
Super Castlevania IV is a linear game, much like installments one and three. Stages proceed in a predefined order, with an enticing world map displayed between each one, indicating the player's progression towards the count's final lair. The "Belmont physics" will feel familiar to all who played the FDS/NES titles. Simon is a man who moves slowly and deliberately, as if he's on a stroll and just so happens to be slaying monsters along the way. Perhaps taking a cue from his run and gun pals from Contra, Simon can now whip in eight directions; this new range of motion surprisingly did not become codified into future Castlevania control schemes. There's also a strange "blocking" maneuver that can be activated by holding down the attack button, whereupon Simon can steer his whip to be used as a shield from projectiles. Belmont has always been a "stairmaster" and the copious amount of staircases can now be navigated via "moonwalking" backwards up them (my second review in a row with a Michael Jackson reference...). The familiar power-ups are here. Meat, usually hidden, replenishes health. And hearts are used as ammo (I'll never get used to this) for the special weapons. There are the horizontally-tossed daggers and boomerangs, arcing axes and holy water, and enemy-freezing stopwatches. No longer must the player rely on the clunky up+attack method to activate these weapons, as they are now mapped to the R shoulder button for easy access.
Given Simon Belmont's generally lackadaisical movements, enemies are best slain piecemeal. Anyone attempting to steamroll this one will find themselves zombie food soon enough. "Knockback" is present, so it's oftentimes the pitfalls and spikes that prove to be Simon's undoing, after a gentle shove from a skittering wraith. The enemy selection is quite large, the cast of fiends lifted straight from the earlier Castlevania outings. There are the sine wave Medusa heads, fire-breathing bone pillars, spastic hunchbacks, and much more. Enemy sprites are large and well-detailed, and the hit detection is excellent, punctuated by a big heavy "thunk" when Simon successfully lands a blow. Some fiends boast a bit too much HP, which slows down an already leisurely-paced experience. And there are those occasional moments of slowdown when hordes of beasts clutter the screen. Jumping is stiff, though appropriately so given the layout of most stages.
Bosses are a mixed bag. Most of the early ones are almost too easy, a strange departure from the typical Castlevania experience. Assuming Simon has a decently full lifebar, the first cluster of bosses can be toppled via button-mashing, with little reliance on tactics and special weaponry. Things get a bit more complicated as the game progresses. The two most riveting battles are those against Slogra (a skeletal pterosaur) and Death, both of whom boast some clever attack patterns and a wide range of maneuvers. As for that epic Dracula showdown... it's mostly just annoying. One of those things that's exponentially harder than anything else in the game, in a way that feels more lazy and cheap rather than cleverly devised.
As far as stage designs go, the first half of the game contains the most interesting settings. There are some fantastic outdoor environments, something sorely missing in the "explore the castle" Castlevania titles of recent years. The graveyard and waterfall segments look especially slick, with some fine attention to detail paid to the backgrounds. Generally speaking, the graphical presentation is quite strong. The color palette is varied, though kept appropriately subdued and dark. There's some dizzying Mode 7 that probably doesn't "need" to be here, but looks amazing cool. There are plenty of "gimmicks" to be found throughout the stages, which breaks up the monotony of simply jumping and slaying. One of the earliest stages features a cemetery gate which can be traversed from either side. In another, shifting water currents toss Simon various directions. And then there's the notorious "spinning room" where Simon must attach his whip to a hook and hang on for dear life. The final stages do have a tendency go overboard in terms of "gotcha" moments. There are falling blocks and rapidly-moving platforms and crumbling stairs -- things that feel better suited for a Mario game. Players attempting their first run should experience frequent deaths here, at least until certain segments are sufficiently memorized.
The soundtrack is exquisite, one of the best on the SNES. There's an interesting thematic progression at play here. The earliest tracks, featured in those initial slow(est)-moving "creepy" stages, are appropriately measured, with long-held droning synth notes and subtle eerie melodies. Once the game gets rolling the music increases in tempo. There are some rather tasty energetic tunes heard in the game's midsection, driving bassy rhythms that take full advantage of the SNES sound chip. As the player gets closer to the game's conclusion some "throwback" tracks begin to play, beautiful renditions of 8-bit favorites like "Bloody Tears" and "Vampire Killer." The orchestral ending theme deserves a special mention, the stunning crescendo hitting as clips from Simon's journey scroll across the screen.
In summary, this is quite a sumptuous platformer. It may not be one of my all-time favorites within the genre, but as far as Castlevania games are concerned, it's undeniably one of the strongest. I'd rank it a touch higher than Simon's Quest (which I do indeed enjoy) and a touch lower than Symphony of the Night (which is really a different beast altogether). It's also a mandatory playthrough for anyone interested in hitting all the "big names" on the SNES, the finest console we're likely to ever see.
- elricorico
- 24-bit
- Posts: 163
- Joined: Wed Sep 19, 2012 11:02 pm
Re: Games Beaten 2020
1. NBA Jam (GEN)
2. Astro Bot Rescue Mission (PSVR)
3. Bastion (PS4)
4. Octopath Traveler (NS)
5. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (PS4)
6. Final Fantasy Adventure (NS)
I beat Final Fantasy Adventure today playing the Collection of Mana on the Switch. I had a pretty good time with this one, but it isn't without flaws.
I never had a GameBoy growing up; portable gaming just didnt entice me back then. I was however a big fan of the Final Fantasy series, and I remember emulating the first battle or two many years ago. I really dont remember why I didnt play through it back then. Secret of Mana is an all time favourite of mine, so maybe I was let down at the time as it didn't immediately remind me of SoM.
Playing all the way through did push a few of my nostalgia buttons though. The character sprites a very much reminiscent of NES era Final Fantasy games, and more than half of the enemy sprites in this game clearly evolved into enemies in Secret of Mana. Gameplay reminded me of 8bit action RPGs like Crystalis and Willow from the NES.
The game is largely linear, with only a couple of locations that I felt could be explored out of order. The story was simple, but it did the job and had a bit of a melancholy ending. The music is fairly pleasant, but a couple of the songs repeated a little too frequently. The gameplay is solid, if a little limited.
I did find the game a little too far on the easy side, beating most bosses came down to button mashing to attack and curing when it was needed. The ending had a bit of challenge, but by then I was sitting on a bunch of elixers, so I had plenty of room for error.
The game shows its age in a couple of ways that were mildly annoying. I found there was way too much need to go into menus and change weapons. I wish that select could have been used to cycle through a couple of weapons instead of activating a secondary menu. Some of the puzzles were frustrating; not because they were difficult, but because you could be foiled by an AI sidekick killing something, or an item getting stuck against a wall when you can only push and cant pull. These weren't too bad, but required me resetting a room more times than I would have liked.
All that said, I had fun with this game. I enjoyed roaming the world taking out the regular enemies. I was pleased to recognize some of the original versions of such enemies as ducks with helmets and turtles throwing tridents. The bosses were well drawn and large considering the GameBoy's technology limitations. I would recommend this to anyone that fondly remembers the early Final Fantasy games and enjoys Secret of Mana.
2. Astro Bot Rescue Mission (PSVR)
3. Bastion (PS4)
4. Octopath Traveler (NS)
5. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (PS4)
6. Final Fantasy Adventure (NS)
I beat Final Fantasy Adventure today playing the Collection of Mana on the Switch. I had a pretty good time with this one, but it isn't without flaws.
I never had a GameBoy growing up; portable gaming just didnt entice me back then. I was however a big fan of the Final Fantasy series, and I remember emulating the first battle or two many years ago. I really dont remember why I didnt play through it back then. Secret of Mana is an all time favourite of mine, so maybe I was let down at the time as it didn't immediately remind me of SoM.
Playing all the way through did push a few of my nostalgia buttons though. The character sprites a very much reminiscent of NES era Final Fantasy games, and more than half of the enemy sprites in this game clearly evolved into enemies in Secret of Mana. Gameplay reminded me of 8bit action RPGs like Crystalis and Willow from the NES.
The game is largely linear, with only a couple of locations that I felt could be explored out of order. The story was simple, but it did the job and had a bit of a melancholy ending. The music is fairly pleasant, but a couple of the songs repeated a little too frequently. The gameplay is solid, if a little limited.
I did find the game a little too far on the easy side, beating most bosses came down to button mashing to attack and curing when it was needed. The ending had a bit of challenge, but by then I was sitting on a bunch of elixers, so I had plenty of room for error.
The game shows its age in a couple of ways that were mildly annoying. I found there was way too much need to go into menus and change weapons. I wish that select could have been used to cycle through a couple of weapons instead of activating a secondary menu. Some of the puzzles were frustrating; not because they were difficult, but because you could be foiled by an AI sidekick killing something, or an item getting stuck against a wall when you can only push and cant pull. These weren't too bad, but required me resetting a room more times than I would have liked.
All that said, I had fun with this game. I enjoyed roaming the world taking out the regular enemies. I was pleased to recognize some of the original versions of such enemies as ducks with helmets and turtles throwing tridents. The bosses were well drawn and large considering the GameBoy's technology limitations. I would recommend this to anyone that fondly remembers the early Final Fantasy games and enjoys Secret of Mana.
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Ack - Moderator
- Posts: 21469
- Joined: Tue Mar 18, 2008 4:26 pm
- Location: Atlanta, GA
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)
Two Worlds: Epic Edition
I've seen Two Worlds called "the worst RPG ever made." Look, I've played the likes of Drakkhen, Secret of the Stars, and Revenant. Two Worlds is nowhere near as bad. It's a buggy mess that has a lot of problems, but it's nowhere near the bottom of the barrel.
In Two Worlds, you play a mercenary whose twin sister has been kidnapped by some kind of shadowy cult. Your family line has some mysterious powers and legends about them, so the cult wants you to gather up a relic that they can use to resurrect a god. You just want to save your sister, so you decide to try and go along with them for the time being. Why didn't they have your twin sister do it? That's because she's got brains and refused. You, on the other hand, are an idiot. From making bad attempts at jokes that annoy NPCs to willingly taking murder-for-hire jobs, to potentially causing the extinction of entire species, you're a well-chiseled dolt with no moral compass. Who better to possibly resurrect a god?
To do this, you'll engage in an "epic" quest, though in truth the first half of it really only consists of running around and talking to people. The second half, where you have to gather the relics and elemental pieces and then assault the cult's sacred city, is where the epic part comes in, though even that can be laughable at times. For instance, I was told of a terrible dragon who is supposedly guarding the Air elemental piece. I found his nest...and no dragon. I just walked up and took the piece I needed. That's it. The Earth, Water, and Fire pieces were a little more difficult, but only the Water piece had any actual consequences, and that just let to me looting a lot of dead people.
While Two Worlds drew comparisons to Oblivion on release, the better comparison is to the Gothic series. In this game, when you kill a monster, it stays dead. Permanently. This is what I meant by potentially driving species to extinction, because if you spent the time, you could actually cleanse the nation of monsters, wolves, bears, and so forth. It's also not even that difficult to do, once you learn the ins and outs of the combat system, which mainly consists of jumping backwards at the right time. However, the world is large enough that odds are you'll hit the level cap long before you finish this task. I still managed to exterminate nearly every creature in the northern reaches of the map, and let me tell you, it was satisfying work.
You know what else is satisfying? Alchemy. You level and get stat points and skill points to spend in Two Worlds, but the real trick to getting power in Two Worlds is through creating alchemical potions with permanent stat enhancements. I never spent a single stat point in my Willpower, which started at 5. I ended the game with it around 125 because I found so many stat enhancers. Same for physical defense, other stats, and resistance to the fire, ice, and electric elements. I could steamroll most enemies simply because I'd managed to make magic V8.
Equipment also has an enhancement process. As you level, shops carry better gear, and surprisingly so do bandits, but at a certain point your leveling slows, and you realize that true power comes from combining items. As you combine items, base stats improve, and magic enhancements are added and increased. While there are limits to how many enhancements a piece of equipment can have, you can make some ridiculously powerful gear. My suit of armor started with defenses in the 400s and was over 1100 by the end of the game. Similarly, my axe had a damage range of around 200-400 at the start and around 600-1400 when I was done, not including the bonus Spirit damage I tacked on over time. Shoot, the average damage rating was something close to 10k because I'd built the thing up so much.
This is what is so satisfying about Two Worlds. You kill off creatures that don't get to come back, and you watch yourself and your gear get more and more powerful. Sure, the plot has bigger holes than a ripped spiderweb, but as a self-indulgent power fantasy, it hits dead on. And that's why I loved it.
Chex Quest HD
Ok, so around 1996, Chex released a reskinned version of Doom where you used a spoon to fight extradimensional creatures hellbent on eating all of our nutritional supplements in the form of General Mills cereal products. I'm not lying, and it was amazing. Here we are, 25 years later, and they've released a 3D pseudo-remake that is incredibly short but still lets me jab a slime critter in the face with a spoon. And it's free. Hell yes.
Ok, so Chex Quest HD is not the original Chex Quest remastered for modern computers. Instead, it's been modified into fully 3D, with only five pretty simple levels. There isn't much in the way of difficulty options, and unless you have the secret codes for unlocking all the characters, there isn't much to do after finishing a relatively short run through the game. I knocked it out in less than an hour. If you do get the character codes (which are found in specially marked bags of Chex Mix apparently...but they're also all posted online), you can unlock the other characters to play. This is relatively superficial in terms of gameplay, but each character has a unique voice and dialogue, unique weapon models showing their hands, and a unique HUD, so at least there are some differences. The story cutscenes at the start and end of the game change to focus on your character. More importantly, you unlock multiplayer, so if that's what you want out of Chex Quest, that's what you get.
In the game, you do find some slightly different weapons which basically amount to energy beams that send your enemies back to their home dimension. This does include your melee spoon, though sadly gone are the electric sparks it shot out. The "weapons" do come in different types and don't share ammunition, so while it feels a little like Wolf3D's continuous upgrade to a single gun, that's not quite the case here. There isn't much in the way of registering when you take damage, and when your enemies take a hit, their eyes widen a bit, but that's all. Instead focus on when they teleport away, and know that once they begin to phase out of existence, your shots will pass through to hit any enemies behind them, so use that to your advantage even if you can't see an enemy that you know was coming up on you.
There are also secrets hidden throughout each level with little machines that have weird memos on them. You'll know you found a secret when you hear a flushing sound, but the Chex computer confirms it.
That's pretty much all there is. Hey, look, it's a free FPS meant to advertise a cereal product, what more do you need? I still had fun for the time 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)
Two Worlds: Epic Edition
I've seen Two Worlds called "the worst RPG ever made." Look, I've played the likes of Drakkhen, Secret of the Stars, and Revenant. Two Worlds is nowhere near as bad. It's a buggy mess that has a lot of problems, but it's nowhere near the bottom of the barrel.
In Two Worlds, you play a mercenary whose twin sister has been kidnapped by some kind of shadowy cult. Your family line has some mysterious powers and legends about them, so the cult wants you to gather up a relic that they can use to resurrect a god. You just want to save your sister, so you decide to try and go along with them for the time being. Why didn't they have your twin sister do it? That's because she's got brains and refused. You, on the other hand, are an idiot. From making bad attempts at jokes that annoy NPCs to willingly taking murder-for-hire jobs, to potentially causing the extinction of entire species, you're a well-chiseled dolt with no moral compass. Who better to possibly resurrect a god?
To do this, you'll engage in an "epic" quest, though in truth the first half of it really only consists of running around and talking to people. The second half, where you have to gather the relics and elemental pieces and then assault the cult's sacred city, is where the epic part comes in, though even that can be laughable at times. For instance, I was told of a terrible dragon who is supposedly guarding the Air elemental piece. I found his nest...and no dragon. I just walked up and took the piece I needed. That's it. The Earth, Water, and Fire pieces were a little more difficult, but only the Water piece had any actual consequences, and that just let to me looting a lot of dead people.
While Two Worlds drew comparisons to Oblivion on release, the better comparison is to the Gothic series. In this game, when you kill a monster, it stays dead. Permanently. This is what I meant by potentially driving species to extinction, because if you spent the time, you could actually cleanse the nation of monsters, wolves, bears, and so forth. It's also not even that difficult to do, once you learn the ins and outs of the combat system, which mainly consists of jumping backwards at the right time. However, the world is large enough that odds are you'll hit the level cap long before you finish this task. I still managed to exterminate nearly every creature in the northern reaches of the map, and let me tell you, it was satisfying work.
You know what else is satisfying? Alchemy. You level and get stat points and skill points to spend in Two Worlds, but the real trick to getting power in Two Worlds is through creating alchemical potions with permanent stat enhancements. I never spent a single stat point in my Willpower, which started at 5. I ended the game with it around 125 because I found so many stat enhancers. Same for physical defense, other stats, and resistance to the fire, ice, and electric elements. I could steamroll most enemies simply because I'd managed to make magic V8.
Equipment also has an enhancement process. As you level, shops carry better gear, and surprisingly so do bandits, but at a certain point your leveling slows, and you realize that true power comes from combining items. As you combine items, base stats improve, and magic enhancements are added and increased. While there are limits to how many enhancements a piece of equipment can have, you can make some ridiculously powerful gear. My suit of armor started with defenses in the 400s and was over 1100 by the end of the game. Similarly, my axe had a damage range of around 200-400 at the start and around 600-1400 when I was done, not including the bonus Spirit damage I tacked on over time. Shoot, the average damage rating was something close to 10k because I'd built the thing up so much.
This is what is so satisfying about Two Worlds. You kill off creatures that don't get to come back, and you watch yourself and your gear get more and more powerful. Sure, the plot has bigger holes than a ripped spiderweb, but as a self-indulgent power fantasy, it hits dead on. And that's why I loved it.
Chex Quest HD
Ok, so around 1996, Chex released a reskinned version of Doom where you used a spoon to fight extradimensional creatures hellbent on eating all of our nutritional supplements in the form of General Mills cereal products. I'm not lying, and it was amazing. Here we are, 25 years later, and they've released a 3D pseudo-remake that is incredibly short but still lets me jab a slime critter in the face with a spoon. And it's free. Hell yes.
Ok, so Chex Quest HD is not the original Chex Quest remastered for modern computers. Instead, it's been modified into fully 3D, with only five pretty simple levels. There isn't much in the way of difficulty options, and unless you have the secret codes for unlocking all the characters, there isn't much to do after finishing a relatively short run through the game. I knocked it out in less than an hour. If you do get the character codes (which are found in specially marked bags of Chex Mix apparently...but they're also all posted online), you can unlock the other characters to play. This is relatively superficial in terms of gameplay, but each character has a unique voice and dialogue, unique weapon models showing their hands, and a unique HUD, so at least there are some differences. The story cutscenes at the start and end of the game change to focus on your character. More importantly, you unlock multiplayer, so if that's what you want out of Chex Quest, that's what you get.
In the game, you do find some slightly different weapons which basically amount to energy beams that send your enemies back to their home dimension. This does include your melee spoon, though sadly gone are the electric sparks it shot out. The "weapons" do come in different types and don't share ammunition, so while it feels a little like Wolf3D's continuous upgrade to a single gun, that's not quite the case here. There isn't much in the way of registering when you take damage, and when your enemies take a hit, their eyes widen a bit, but that's all. Instead focus on when they teleport away, and know that once they begin to phase out of existence, your shots will pass through to hit any enemies behind them, so use that to your advantage even if you can't see an enemy that you know was coming up on you.
There are also secrets hidden throughout each level with little machines that have weird memos on them. You'll know you found a secret when you hear a flushing sound, but the Chex computer confirms it.
That's pretty much all there is. Hey, look, it's a free FPS meant to advertise a cereal product, what more do you need? I still had fun for the time I played it.
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prfsnl_gmr - Next-Gen
- Posts: 10917
- Joined: Mon Jun 01, 2009 10:26 pm
- Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
Re: Games Beaten 2020
Awesome reviews, Ack. The fact that Chex Quest exists is amazing. That it got a HD remake gives me hope for the world.
.....
1. Her Story (iOS)
2. Elminage Original (3DS)
3. Legend of Grimrock (iOS)
4. Silent Bomber (PS1)
5. Crash Bandicoot (PS1)
6. Bust-a-Move 2 Arcade Edition (PS1)
7. Transformers Cybertron Adventures (Wii)
8. Squidlit (Switch)
9. Sydney Hunter & The Curse of the Mayan (Switch)
10. Mega Man Legends (PS1)
11. Revenge of the Bird King (Switch)
12. Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King (Switch)
13. Gato Roboto (Switch)
14. Kamiko (Switch)
15. Night Slashers (Arcade)
16. Subsurface Circular (Switch)
17. Iconoclasts (Switch)
18. Wonder Boy Returns Remix (Switch)
19. Resident Evil 3 (PS1)
20. The Messenger (Switch)
21. The Messenger: Picnic Panic (Switch)
22. Samsara Room (iOS)
23. Heroes of the Monkey Tavern (Switch)
24. Sayonara Wild Hearts (Switch)
25. Gris (Switch)
Gris is a pretty, dull game. It looks fantastic, with a wonderful, extremely well-animated watercolor aesthetic. The opening sequence is particularly stunning, and the game’s art direction never lets up. The gameplay, though, is just really, really basic platforming. You get a few new abilities as you proceed, and there are a few clever puzzles. None of them are that exciting, though, and since you can’t fail, the game punishes failure only by setting you back a bit, which is annoying. Finally, the game locks off areas once you proceed through them; so, there are a lot of missable items, which is also annoying.
The game is ostensibly about grief, and based on reviews, a lot of people thought it was great. I am not one of those people, and I view it as a stereotypical example of the “sad Mario” indie platformer. (All aesthetic and no design.) Not recommended.
.....
1. Her Story (iOS)
2. Elminage Original (3DS)
3. Legend of Grimrock (iOS)
4. Silent Bomber (PS1)
5. Crash Bandicoot (PS1)
6. Bust-a-Move 2 Arcade Edition (PS1)
7. Transformers Cybertron Adventures (Wii)
8. Squidlit (Switch)
9. Sydney Hunter & The Curse of the Mayan (Switch)
10. Mega Man Legends (PS1)
11. Revenge of the Bird King (Switch)
12. Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King (Switch)
13. Gato Roboto (Switch)
14. Kamiko (Switch)
15. Night Slashers (Arcade)
16. Subsurface Circular (Switch)
17. Iconoclasts (Switch)
18. Wonder Boy Returns Remix (Switch)
19. Resident Evil 3 (PS1)
20. The Messenger (Switch)
21. The Messenger: Picnic Panic (Switch)
22. Samsara Room (iOS)
23. Heroes of the Monkey Tavern (Switch)
24. Sayonara Wild Hearts (Switch)
25. Gris (Switch)
Gris is a pretty, dull game. It looks fantastic, with a wonderful, extremely well-animated watercolor aesthetic. The opening sequence is particularly stunning, and the game’s art direction never lets up. The gameplay, though, is just really, really basic platforming. You get a few new abilities as you proceed, and there are a few clever puzzles. None of them are that exciting, though, and since you can’t fail, the game punishes failure only by setting you back a bit, which is annoying. Finally, the game locks off areas once you proceed through them; so, there are a lot of missable items, which is also annoying.
The game is ostensibly about grief, and based on reviews, a lot of people thought it was great. I am not one of those people, and I view it as a stereotypical example of the “sad Mario” indie platformer. (All aesthetic and no design.) Not recommended.
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Ack - Moderator
- Posts: 21469
- Joined: Tue Mar 18, 2008 4:26 pm
- Location: Atlanta, GA
Re: Games Beaten 2020
Thanks, Pfrsnl. I recommend checking out Chex Quest if only for how ridiculous its existence is.
And the grief of Gris comes from knowing you paid for it.
And the grief of Gris comes from knowing you paid for it.
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MrPopo - Moderator
- Posts: 23045
- Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2008 1:01 pm
- Location: Orange County, CA
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prfsnl_gmr - Next-Gen
- Posts: 10917
- Joined: Mon Jun 01, 2009 10:26 pm
- Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
Re: Games Beaten 2020
Ack wrote:Thanks, Pfrsnl. I recommend checking out Chex Quest if only for how ridiculous its existence is.
And the grief of Gris comes from knowing you paid for it.
The LRG physical copies of Chex Quest delight me to no end. There’s even a collector’s edition! And, a vinyl soundtrack! Who likes Chex Quest that much?!
Also...yes. I went through all five stages of grief for the $8 I spent on Gris. I have now accepted that the money’s gone and that I should have purchased Doom instead.
MrPopo wrote:prfsnl_gmr wrote:Not recommended.
What happened to you man? You used to be cool.
You liked Gris? You can get the same art direction from Child of Light, but with drastically better gameplay, which you will also find in just about every other platform we on the market today.
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PresidentLeever - Next-Gen
- Posts: 1191
- Joined: Sun Jul 29, 2007 3:16 pm
- Location: Sweden
Re: Games Beaten 2020
Gris=pig in swedish.
http://minirevver.weebly.com/ - Mini-reviews, retro vgm tribute, rom hacks, chip music, mockups, misc. lists
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prfsnl_gmr - Next-Gen
- Posts: 10917
- Joined: Mon Jun 01, 2009 10:26 pm
- Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
Re: Games Beaten 2020
It means “gray” in Spanish, and the game was developed by a Spanish studio. The title also makes sense in light of the game’s initial color palette. So...uh...it’s got that going for it too.
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