Games Beaten 2021
Re: Games Beaten 2021
Yeah, it's very similar to Days of Ruin in that respect, but I also suspect it was a bit inspired by Fire Emblem, as there's a handful of maps (including the last one) where you don't get to build any units at all and have to carefully manage your resources. Those ones play like a Fire Emblem game (especially the last one, where all your units are commanders).
Blizzard Entertainment Software Developer - All comments and views are my own and not representative of the company.
-
Markies
- Next-Gen
- Posts: 1415
- Joined: Fri Mar 27, 2015 4:29 pm
- Location: St. Louis, Missouri
- Contact:
Re: Games Beaten 2021
Markies' Games Beat List Of 2021!
*Denotes Replay For Completion*
1. Midtown Madness 3 (XBOX)
2. X-Men 2: Clone Wars (GEN)
3. Sonic Adventure 2 (SDC)
4. Mega Man 7 (SNES)
5. Xenosaga Episode III: Also Sprach Zarathustra (PS2)
6. Bust A Move 4 (PS1)
7. Phantasy Star IV (GEN)
8. Gunbird 2 (SDC)
***9. The Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GCN)***
10. Fable: The Lost Chapters (XBOX)
11. Growlanser: Heritage Of War (PS2)
12. Double Dragon (NES)
13. Star Ocean (SNES)
14. Pokemon Snap (N64)
15. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (GCN)
16. Castle Of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse (GEN)
17. Stella Deus: The Gate Of Eternity (PS2)
18. Super R-Type (SNES)
19. Threads Of Fate (PS1)
20. The Bouncer (PS2)
21. Phantasy Star Online Version 2 (SDC)
I beat Phantasy Star Online Version 2 on the Sega DreamCast this evening!
I won't get into much detail on this review compared to my other ones because it is the same game. While reading the Wikipedia, it mention a Version 2, which piqued my curiosity. Having a fondness of the Phantasy Star Online, I decided to purchase the second version.
Now, there are many upgrades regarding online quests and many other changes. Unfortunately, these were part of a patch that you had to Download. Since I only play the game off line, it really didn't affect me. So, I basically replayed a game that I already enjoyed. It was fun to go back through the game as memories flooded through during the entire game. I didn't find any significant differences in the Offline versions though. But, for a quick replay, it was very enjoyable!
*Denotes Replay For Completion*
1. Midtown Madness 3 (XBOX)
2. X-Men 2: Clone Wars (GEN)
3. Sonic Adventure 2 (SDC)
4. Mega Man 7 (SNES)
5. Xenosaga Episode III: Also Sprach Zarathustra (PS2)
6. Bust A Move 4 (PS1)
7. Phantasy Star IV (GEN)
8. Gunbird 2 (SDC)
***9. The Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GCN)***
10. Fable: The Lost Chapters (XBOX)
11. Growlanser: Heritage Of War (PS2)
12. Double Dragon (NES)
13. Star Ocean (SNES)
14. Pokemon Snap (N64)
15. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (GCN)
16. Castle Of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse (GEN)
17. Stella Deus: The Gate Of Eternity (PS2)
18. Super R-Type (SNES)
19. Threads Of Fate (PS1)
20. The Bouncer (PS2)
21. Phantasy Star Online Version 2 (SDC)
I beat Phantasy Star Online Version 2 on the Sega DreamCast this evening!
I won't get into much detail on this review compared to my other ones because it is the same game. While reading the Wikipedia, it mention a Version 2, which piqued my curiosity. Having a fondness of the Phantasy Star Online, I decided to purchase the second version.
Now, there are many upgrades regarding online quests and many other changes. Unfortunately, these were part of a patch that you had to Download. Since I only play the game off line, it really didn't affect me. So, I basically replayed a game that I already enjoyed. It was fun to go back through the game as memories flooded through during the entire game. I didn't find any significant differences in the Offline versions though. But, for a quick replay, it was very enjoyable!
-
PartridgeSenpai
- Next-Gen
- Posts: 2991
- Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2015 9:27 am
- Location: Northern Japan
Re: Games Beaten 2021
Partridge Senpai's 2021 Beaten Games:
Previously: 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
* indicates a repeat
Games 1~51
52. Wai Wai World 2 (Famicom)
53. Tiny Toon Adventures (Famicom)
54. King Kong 2: Ikari No Megaton Punch (Famicom)
55. Yume Pengin Monogatari (Famicom)
56. Rock Man & Forte (SFC)
57. Rock Man X2 (Switch)
58. Rock Man X3 (Switch)
59. Rock Man X4 (Switch)
60. Rock Man X5 (Switch)
61. Rock Man X6 (Switch)
62. Rock Man X7 (Switch)
63. Rock Man X8 (Switch)
64. Mega Man: Powered Up (PSP)
65. Magical Taruruuto Kun: FANTASTIC WORLD!! (Famicom)
66. Maken Shao (PS2)
67. Getsu Fuuma Den (Famicom)
68. Rock Man D.A.S.H (PSP)
69. Brave Fencer Musashi (PS1)
70. Joe & Mac (SFC) *
71. Atelier Lilie: The Alchemist of Salburg 3 (PS2)
72. Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link (Famicom)
73. The Bouncer (PS2)
74. Rapid Angel (PS1)
75. Atelier Totori: The Alchemist of Arland 2 (PS3)
76. Drakengard 3 (PS3)
77. Alwa's Awakening (Switch)
78. Hermina & Culus (PS2)
79. Atelier Meruru: The Alchemist of Arland 3 (PS3)
80. Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti (Switch)
81. Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana (PS2)
82. Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana 2 (PS2)
83. Mario Kart 64 (N64)
84. Super Mario Kart (SFC)
85. Mario Kart Super Circuit (3DS)
86. Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time (N64) *
87. Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (N64) *
88. Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap (3DS) *
89. Rock Man X: Command Mission (GC)
This is a game I'd been meaning to get to during my Mega Man Mega Marathon a few months back, but got burned out on Mega Man before I could get to it. It also wasn't super duper easy to procure a copy, so that also kept me away. However, as luck would have it, in looking for more games to play for this TR's GameCube theme, I managed to find a copy of the relatively quite rare GameCube version for sale in town for a price I couldn't say no to~. I had heard good things about it from tons of people, and I had those things more or less all around confirmed for me over the course of playing it. It took me around 26 hours to beat the main story of the Japanese version of the game on real hardware, and then I spent around another 3 hours doing the post-game extra content and extra bosses.
Rock Man X: Command Mission may have Zero and X and Axel in it, but it's more like a story inspired by the state of things that Rock Man X7 left things in rather than a direct continuation in any sense. X and Zero work for the military to hunt down Mavericks (or as the Japanese versions call them, "Irregulars"), but other than that, this is a side-story at least and a totally different continuity at most from the rest of the Rock Man X storyline. That said, this game put together by members of the team of Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter and Rock Man X7 is quite the impressive achievement in bringing a truly unique-feeling Rock Man RPG experience to life.
The whole conceit of the game is that the world of reploids has been revolutionized by the discovery of a powerful new technology: Force Metal. It has properties that give incredible potential for power in reploids and machines that use it, and it becomes the focal point of the world's society very quickly. However, when the prime spot for the mining and processing of Force Metal is suddenly attacked by Irregulars, X and Zero are sent off to solve this crisis presented to the world before Force Metal is monopolized by the wrong hands.
While this is still very much a Rock Man X game in its world and character design, this is easily one of the best written games in the X series (as one would hope of a narrative-driven RPG). For starters, it's one of the sage few games in the series to actually address in any way, shape, or form the fact that X's whole deal as an Irregular Hunter basically makes him a super cop just hunting down government-identified terrorists, and that he's potentially just a tool for wannabee demagogues because his conviction towards hunting Irregulars is so unyielding. Beyond that, you can also definitely see the influence of the Breath of Fire members of the development team with the strong themes about leadership and the importance of a good, self-sacrificing leader.
It's a story that moves very quickly, and speeds through character moments quite fast, but it still manages to do its relatively large cast justice more often than it doesn't. Enemies range from seriously cruel to delightfully wacky in a way that doesn't break the tone, and the good guys are also staffed with a fun range of characters with their own motivations and personalities. It's certainly not the best written RPG of its generation, but it's a surprisingly well done swansong for Capcom's days of making straight turn-based RPGs. My only real complaints are around a twist in the end kinda compromising Zero's story arc, and the fact that it's just so short. Though in a sense, while leaving the player simply wanting *more* of your story isn't a great place to leave them hanging in, it's certainly a sign of a job well done.
The RPG mechanics of the game don't really play like anything else I can think of, other than a bit like Final Fantasy X in how you can do mid-battle party swapping in your team of 3 (although it seems like that was a very popular mechanic to steal from FFX, so Capcom aren't unique in that regards XD). Each party member goes into battle with their main weapon and sub weapons, with the former being bound to A and the latter being bound to X and Y. You get weapon energy at the start of every turn, and while your turn will end if you fire your main weapon, you can also spend weapon energy on firing your sub-weapons beforehand. In addition, you can also save up your weapon energy to activate a super move whose power is determined by how well you complete a little mini-game before hand, which can range in simplicity from simply holding down A to spinning the C-stick clockwise (something you'll do a LOT because that's the healer's free healing super move XP). You also have a super mode you can activate for a few turns, but it only gets its charges restored when you either level up or do a full heal (or use a special healing item of which there are only a set number in the game).
Even though you don't really have armor to equip, as you only have weapons to equip (though they do affect things like defense and speed as well as attack), the story-important Force Metal also plays a role in what are basically accessories. Each character has a certain number of Force Metal slots they can equip them in and a certain number of points they can allocate to it, and more powerful Force Metals generally take more points to equip. You can mitigate that by dedicating a Force Metal equipping slot to a special Force Metal that just gives you more points to allocate, or you can just equip over your limit and run the risk of negative side effects happening during battle as a result (much like the system Mega Man Battle Network uses).
The game's combat flows really quickly as a result of it being so many quick button presses with quick (sometimes too quick, and impairs readability) animations, which makes the large amount of random encounters not feel so overbearing. The random encounters are actually the main difference between the GameCube and PS2 ports of this game, as while the GC version may run at 60 FPS instead of the PS2's 30 FPS, encounter rate is tied to framerate, so you're going to get double the random encounters. The difficulty curve tends to lean towards the high side, though, so having more monsters to grind XP from isn't the worst thing in the world. Having good Force Metals equipped and a party you're comfortable using as efficiently as possible is key to survival, and while this certainly isn't the hardest RPG of the generation (there are hidden extra hyper forms for Zero and X and stealable super Force Metals that can tilt things in your favor by a LOT, making even the super hard post-game bosses much more manageable), it certainly surprised me with just how tough it often was, even in the first several chapters.
The presentation is really well done. The character designs do often err towards being on the more overdesigned side, but they're still very pretty and memorable. The music is also very good. The environments and dungeons to tend to be very simple and samey, however, with most of them being fairly unimpressive corridors, giving the game a very linear bent. Granted that linearity and uncreative dungeon design is really one of the most critical things I can level at the game from a mechanical or design standpoint, which isn't a bad place to be.
Verdict: Highly Recommended. I thought this game would be just okay, but I ended up really enjoying it. It's for sure an RPG on the GameCube and PS2 worth checking out, especially if you're a Mega Man fan who likes RPGs. It manages to make not just a really fun Mega Man RPG, but a great RPG in its own right, and that's possibly the singular most impressive thing it manages to do.
Previously: 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
* indicates a repeat
Games 1~51
52. Wai Wai World 2 (Famicom)
53. Tiny Toon Adventures (Famicom)
54. King Kong 2: Ikari No Megaton Punch (Famicom)
55. Yume Pengin Monogatari (Famicom)
56. Rock Man & Forte (SFC)
57. Rock Man X2 (Switch)
58. Rock Man X3 (Switch)
59. Rock Man X4 (Switch)
60. Rock Man X5 (Switch)
61. Rock Man X6 (Switch)
62. Rock Man X7 (Switch)
63. Rock Man X8 (Switch)
64. Mega Man: Powered Up (PSP)
65. Magical Taruruuto Kun: FANTASTIC WORLD!! (Famicom)
66. Maken Shao (PS2)
67. Getsu Fuuma Den (Famicom)
68. Rock Man D.A.S.H (PSP)
69. Brave Fencer Musashi (PS1)
70. Joe & Mac (SFC) *
71. Atelier Lilie: The Alchemist of Salburg 3 (PS2)
72. Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link (Famicom)
73. The Bouncer (PS2)
74. Rapid Angel (PS1)
75. Atelier Totori: The Alchemist of Arland 2 (PS3)
76. Drakengard 3 (PS3)
77. Alwa's Awakening (Switch)
78. Hermina & Culus (PS2)
79. Atelier Meruru: The Alchemist of Arland 3 (PS3)
80. Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti (Switch)
81. Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana (PS2)
82. Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana 2 (PS2)
83. Mario Kart 64 (N64)
84. Super Mario Kart (SFC)
85. Mario Kart Super Circuit (3DS)
86. Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time (N64) *
87. Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (N64) *
88. Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap (3DS) *
89. Rock Man X: Command Mission (GC)
This is a game I'd been meaning to get to during my Mega Man Mega Marathon a few months back, but got burned out on Mega Man before I could get to it. It also wasn't super duper easy to procure a copy, so that also kept me away. However, as luck would have it, in looking for more games to play for this TR's GameCube theme, I managed to find a copy of the relatively quite rare GameCube version for sale in town for a price I couldn't say no to~. I had heard good things about it from tons of people, and I had those things more or less all around confirmed for me over the course of playing it. It took me around 26 hours to beat the main story of the Japanese version of the game on real hardware, and then I spent around another 3 hours doing the post-game extra content and extra bosses.
Rock Man X: Command Mission may have Zero and X and Axel in it, but it's more like a story inspired by the state of things that Rock Man X7 left things in rather than a direct continuation in any sense. X and Zero work for the military to hunt down Mavericks (or as the Japanese versions call them, "Irregulars"), but other than that, this is a side-story at least and a totally different continuity at most from the rest of the Rock Man X storyline. That said, this game put together by members of the team of Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter and Rock Man X7 is quite the impressive achievement in bringing a truly unique-feeling Rock Man RPG experience to life.
The whole conceit of the game is that the world of reploids has been revolutionized by the discovery of a powerful new technology: Force Metal. It has properties that give incredible potential for power in reploids and machines that use it, and it becomes the focal point of the world's society very quickly. However, when the prime spot for the mining and processing of Force Metal is suddenly attacked by Irregulars, X and Zero are sent off to solve this crisis presented to the world before Force Metal is monopolized by the wrong hands.
While this is still very much a Rock Man X game in its world and character design, this is easily one of the best written games in the X series (as one would hope of a narrative-driven RPG). For starters, it's one of the sage few games in the series to actually address in any way, shape, or form the fact that X's whole deal as an Irregular Hunter basically makes him a super cop just hunting down government-identified terrorists, and that he's potentially just a tool for wannabee demagogues because his conviction towards hunting Irregulars is so unyielding. Beyond that, you can also definitely see the influence of the Breath of Fire members of the development team with the strong themes about leadership and the importance of a good, self-sacrificing leader.
It's a story that moves very quickly, and speeds through character moments quite fast, but it still manages to do its relatively large cast justice more often than it doesn't. Enemies range from seriously cruel to delightfully wacky in a way that doesn't break the tone, and the good guys are also staffed with a fun range of characters with their own motivations and personalities. It's certainly not the best written RPG of its generation, but it's a surprisingly well done swansong for Capcom's days of making straight turn-based RPGs. My only real complaints are around a twist in the end kinda compromising Zero's story arc, and the fact that it's just so short. Though in a sense, while leaving the player simply wanting *more* of your story isn't a great place to leave them hanging in, it's certainly a sign of a job well done.
The RPG mechanics of the game don't really play like anything else I can think of, other than a bit like Final Fantasy X in how you can do mid-battle party swapping in your team of 3 (although it seems like that was a very popular mechanic to steal from FFX, so Capcom aren't unique in that regards XD). Each party member goes into battle with their main weapon and sub weapons, with the former being bound to A and the latter being bound to X and Y. You get weapon energy at the start of every turn, and while your turn will end if you fire your main weapon, you can also spend weapon energy on firing your sub-weapons beforehand. In addition, you can also save up your weapon energy to activate a super move whose power is determined by how well you complete a little mini-game before hand, which can range in simplicity from simply holding down A to spinning the C-stick clockwise (something you'll do a LOT because that's the healer's free healing super move XP). You also have a super mode you can activate for a few turns, but it only gets its charges restored when you either level up or do a full heal (or use a special healing item of which there are only a set number in the game).
Even though you don't really have armor to equip, as you only have weapons to equip (though they do affect things like defense and speed as well as attack), the story-important Force Metal also plays a role in what are basically accessories. Each character has a certain number of Force Metal slots they can equip them in and a certain number of points they can allocate to it, and more powerful Force Metals generally take more points to equip. You can mitigate that by dedicating a Force Metal equipping slot to a special Force Metal that just gives you more points to allocate, or you can just equip over your limit and run the risk of negative side effects happening during battle as a result (much like the system Mega Man Battle Network uses).
The game's combat flows really quickly as a result of it being so many quick button presses with quick (sometimes too quick, and impairs readability) animations, which makes the large amount of random encounters not feel so overbearing. The random encounters are actually the main difference between the GameCube and PS2 ports of this game, as while the GC version may run at 60 FPS instead of the PS2's 30 FPS, encounter rate is tied to framerate, so you're going to get double the random encounters. The difficulty curve tends to lean towards the high side, though, so having more monsters to grind XP from isn't the worst thing in the world. Having good Force Metals equipped and a party you're comfortable using as efficiently as possible is key to survival, and while this certainly isn't the hardest RPG of the generation (there are hidden extra hyper forms for Zero and X and stealable super Force Metals that can tilt things in your favor by a LOT, making even the super hard post-game bosses much more manageable), it certainly surprised me with just how tough it often was, even in the first several chapters.
The presentation is really well done. The character designs do often err towards being on the more overdesigned side, but they're still very pretty and memorable. The music is also very good. The environments and dungeons to tend to be very simple and samey, however, with most of them being fairly unimpressive corridors, giving the game a very linear bent. Granted that linearity and uncreative dungeon design is really one of the most critical things I can level at the game from a mechanical or design standpoint, which isn't a bad place to be.
Verdict: Highly Recommended. I thought this game would be just okay, but I ended up really enjoying it. It's for sure an RPG on the GameCube and PS2 worth checking out, especially if you're a Mega Man fan who likes RPGs. It manages to make not just a really fun Mega Man RPG, but a great RPG in its own right, and that's possibly the singular most impressive thing it manages to do.
I identify everyone via avatar, so if you change your avatar, I genuinely might completely forget who you are. -- Me
-
Raging Justice
- Next-Gen
- Posts: 1323
- Joined: Sun May 30, 2021 2:11 pm
Re: Games Beaten 2021
PartridgeSenpai wrote:Partridge Senpai's 2021 Beaten Games:
Previously: 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
* indicates a repeat
Games 1~51
52. Wai Wai World 2 (Famicom)
53. Tiny Toon Adventures (Famicom)
54. King Kong 2: Ikari No Megaton Punch (Famicom)
55. Yume Pengin Monogatari (Famicom)
56. Rock Man & Forte (SFC)
57. Rock Man X2 (Switch)
58. Rock Man X3 (Switch)
59. Rock Man X4 (Switch)
60. Rock Man X5 (Switch)
61. Rock Man X6 (Switch)
62. Rock Man X7 (Switch)
63. Rock Man X8 (Switch)
64. Mega Man: Powered Up (PSP)
65. Magical Taruruuto Kun: FANTASTIC WORLD!! (Famicom)
66. Maken Shao (PS2)
67. Getsu Fuuma Den (Famicom)
68. Rock Man D.A.S.H (PSP)
69. Brave Fencer Musashi (PS1)
70. Joe & Mac (SFC) *
71. Atelier Lilie: The Alchemist of Salburg 3 (PS2)
72. Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link (Famicom)
73. The Bouncer (PS2)
74. Rapid Angel (PS1)
75. Atelier Totori: The Alchemist of Arland 2 (PS3)
76. Drakengard 3 (PS3)
77. Alwa's Awakening (Switch)
78. Hermina & Culus (PS2)
79. Atelier Meruru: The Alchemist of Arland 3 (PS3)
80. Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti (Switch)
81. Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana (PS2)
82. Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana 2 (PS2)
83. Mario Kart 64 (N64)
84. Super Mario Kart (SFC)
85. Mario Kart Super Circuit (3DS)
86. Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time (N64) *
87. Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (N64) *
88. Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap (3DS) *
89. Rock Man X: Command Mission (GC)
This is a game I'd been meaning to get to during my Mega Man Mega Marathon a few months back, but got burned out on Mega Man before I could get to it. It also wasn't super duper easy to procure a copy, so that also kept me away. However, as luck would have it, in looking for more games to play for this TR's GameCube theme, I managed to find a copy of the relatively quite rare GameCube version for sale in town for a price I couldn't say no to~. I had heard good things about it from tons of people, and I had those things more or less all around confirmed for me over the course of playing it. It took me around 26 hours to beat the main story of the Japanese version of the game on real hardware, and then I spent around another 3 hours doing the post-game extra content and extra bosses.
Rock Man X: Command Mission may have Zero and X and Axel in it, but it's more like a story inspired by the state of things that Rock Man X7 left things in rather than a direct continuation in any sense. X and Zero work for the military to hunt down Mavericks (or as the Japanese versions call them, "Irregulars"), but other than that, this is a side-story at least and a totally different continuity at most from the rest of the Rock Man X storyline. That said, this game put together by members of the team of Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter and Rock Man X7 is quite the impressive achievement in bringing a truly unique-feeling Rock Man RPG experience to life.
The whole conceit of the game is that the world of reploids has been revolutionized by the discovery of a powerful new technology: Force Metal. It has properties that give incredible potential for power in reploids and machines that use it, and it becomes the focal point of the world's society very quickly. However, when the prime spot for the mining and processing of Force Metal is suddenly attacked by Irregulars, X and Zero are sent off to solve this crisis presented to the world before Force Metal is monopolized by the wrong hands.
While this is still very much a Rock Man X game in its world and character design, this is easily one of the best written games in the X series (as one would hope of a narrative-driven RPG). For starters, it's one of the sage few games in the series to actually address in any way, shape, or form the fact that X's whole deal as an Irregular Hunter basically makes him a super cop just hunting down government-identified terrorists, and that he's potentially just a tool for wannabee demagogues because his conviction towards hunting Irregulars is so unyielding. Beyond that, you can also definitely see the influence of the Breath of Fire members of the development team with the strong themes about leadership and the importance of a good, self-sacrificing leader.
It's a story that moves very quickly, and speeds through character moments quite fast, but it still manages to do its relatively large cast justice more often than it doesn't. Enemies range from seriously cruel to delightfully wacky in a way that doesn't break the tone, and the good guys are also staffed with a fun range of characters with their own motivations and personalities. It's certainly not the best written RPG of its generation, but it's a surprisingly well done swansong for Capcom's days of making straight turn-based RPGs. My only real complaints are around a twist in the end kinda compromising Zero's story arc, and the fact that it's just so short. Though in a sense, while leaving the player simply wanting *more* of your story isn't a great place to leave them hanging in, it's certainly a sign of a job well done.
The RPG mechanics of the game don't really play like anything else I can think of, other than a bit like Final Fantasy X in how you can do mid-battle party swapping in your team of 3 (although it seems like that was a very popular mechanic to steal from FFX, so Capcom aren't unique in that regards XD). Each party member goes into battle with their main weapon and sub weapons, with the former being bound to A and the latter being bound to X and Y. You get weapon energy at the start of every turn, and while your turn will end if you fire your main weapon, you can also spend weapon energy on firing your sub-weapons beforehand. In addition, you can also save up your weapon energy to activate a super move whose power is determined by how well you complete a little mini-game before hand, which can range in simplicity from simply holding down A to spinning the C-stick clockwise (something you'll do a LOT because that's the healer's free healing super move XP). You also have a super mode you can activate for a few turns, but it only gets its charges restored when you either level up or do a full heal (or use a special healing item of which there are only a set number in the game).
Even though you don't really have armor to equip, as you only have weapons to equip (though they do affect things like defense and speed as well as attack), the story-important Force Metal also plays a role in what are basically accessories. Each character has a certain number of Force Metal slots they can equip them in and a certain number of points they can allocate to it, and more powerful Force Metals generally take more points to equip. You can mitigate that by dedicating a Force Metal equipping slot to a special Force Metal that just gives you more points to allocate, or you can just equip over your limit and run the risk of negative side effects happening during battle as a result (much like the system Mega Man Battle Network uses).
The game's combat flows really quickly as a result of it being so many quick button presses with quick (sometimes too quick, and impairs readability) animations, which makes the large amount of random encounters not feel so overbearing. The random encounters are actually the main difference between the GameCube and PS2 ports of this game, as while the GC version may run at 60 FPS instead of the PS2's 30 FPS, encounter rate is tied to framerate, so you're going to get double the random encounters. The difficulty curve tends to lean towards the high side, though, so having more monsters to grind XP from isn't the worst thing in the world. Having good Force Metals equipped and a party you're comfortable using as efficiently as possible is key to survival, and while this certainly isn't the hardest RPG of the generation (there are hidden extra hyper forms for Zero and X and stealable super Force Metals that can tilt things in your favor by a LOT, making even the super hard post-game bosses much more manageable), it certainly surprised me with just how tough it often was, even in the first several chapters.
The presentation is really well done. The character designs do often err towards being on the more overdesigned side, but they're still very pretty and memorable. The music is also very good. The environments and dungeons to tend to be very simple and samey, however, with most of them being fairly unimpressive corridors, giving the game a very linear bent. Granted that linearity and uncreative dungeon design is really one of the most critical things I can level at the game from a mechanical or design standpoint, which isn't a bad place to be.
Verdict: Highly Recommended. I thought this game would be just okay, but I ended up really enjoying it. It's for sure an RPG on the GameCube and PS2 worth checking out, especially if you're a Mega Man fan who likes RPGs. It manages to make not just a really fun Mega Man RPG, but a great RPG in its own right, and that's possibly the singular most impressive thing it manages to do.
I really need to play this, shame it didn't get re-released like the other MM X games. I think this and Maverick Hunter X get overlooked by a lot of people, and the fact that they were omitted from the MM X Legacy Collections doesn't help.
-
PartridgeSenpai
- Next-Gen
- Posts: 2991
- Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2015 9:27 am
- Location: Northern Japan
Re: Games Beaten 2021
Raging Justice wrote:I really need to play this, shame it didn't get re-released like the other MM X games. I think this and Maverick Hunter X get overlooked by a lot of people, and the fact that they were omitted from the MM X Legacy Collections doesn't help.
While the sheer difference in genre makes Command Mission a bit of a logical exclusion from the Legacy Collections (not that I wouldn't've loved to see it on there), it's a real shame that Maverick Hunter X wasn't on there. Would've made for a very nice extra bit of X history, especially considering that it's one of the last games in the series.
I identify everyone via avatar, so if you change your avatar, I genuinely might completely forget who you are. -- Me
Re: Games Beaten 2021
PartridgeSenpai wrote:Raging Justice wrote:I really need to play this, shame it didn't get re-released like the other MM X games. I think this and Maverick Hunter X get overlooked by a lot of people, and the fact that they were omitted from the MM X Legacy Collections doesn't help.
While the sheer difference in genre makes Command Mission a bit of a logical exclusion from the Legacy Collections (not that I wouldn't've loved to see it on there), it's a real shame that Maverick Hunter X wasn't on there. Would've made for a very nice extra bit of X history, especially considering that it's one of the last games in the series.
But it's also an alternate timeline, isn't it? Like, it's not main line cannon, I thought.
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The PC Engine Software Bible Forum, with Shoutbox chat - the new Internet home for PC Engine fandom.
B/S/T thread
My Classic Games Collection
My Steam Profile
The PC Engine Software Bible Forum, with Shoutbox chat - the new Internet home for PC Engine fandom.
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Raging Justice
- Next-Gen
- Posts: 1323
- Joined: Sun May 30, 2021 2:11 pm
Re: Games Beaten 2021
marurun wrote:PartridgeSenpai wrote:Raging Justice wrote:I really need to play this, shame it didn't get re-released like the other MM X games. I think this and Maverick Hunter X get overlooked by a lot of people, and the fact that they were omitted from the MM X Legacy Collections doesn't help.
While the sheer difference in genre makes Command Mission a bit of a logical exclusion from the Legacy Collections (not that I wouldn't've loved to see it on there), it's a real shame that Maverick Hunter X wasn't on there. Would've made for a very nice extra bit of X history, especially considering that it's one of the last games in the series.
But it's also an alternate timeline, isn't it? Like, it's not main line cannon, I thought.
It's hard to say. I don't think it was a total reboot, but it did seem like some things were getting changed or retconned. It felt like they were going for a sort of director's cut version of each game, but poor sales for it and Megaman Powered Up put an end to that.
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Raging Justice
- Next-Gen
- Posts: 1323
- Joined: Sun May 30, 2021 2:11 pm
Re: Games Beaten 2021
You know what, scratch that, I guess marurun is right. This is what I found online:
"Unlike Mega Man Powered Up, Maverick Hunter X is a reboot to the X series that has many changes to the story that completely disconnect it from the original timeline. It was the intention of Keiji Inafune to completely redo the first six games of the Mega Man X series in this new continuity, but this project was discontinued due to poor sales of Maverick Hunter X. These are some examples of the remake's continuity changes: "
"Unlike Mega Man Powered Up, Maverick Hunter X is a reboot to the X series that has many changes to the story that completely disconnect it from the original timeline. It was the intention of Keiji Inafune to completely redo the first six games of the Mega Man X series in this new continuity, but this project was discontinued due to poor sales of Maverick Hunter X. These are some examples of the remake's continuity changes: "
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Gunstar Green
- Next-Gen
- Posts: 4962
- Joined: Sat Jan 08, 2011 11:12 pm
- Location: Pennsylvania
- Contact:
Re: Games Beaten 2021
1. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (Switch Remake)
2. Super Mario Maker 2
3. Super Mario Odyssey
4. New Super Mario Bros. U DELUXE
5. Daemon X Machina
6. Turrican
7. Turrican 2: The Final Fight
8. SUPERHOT
9. Untitled Geese Game
10. Mega Turrican
11. Super Turrican (SNES)
12. Haven
13. Gunlord X
14. Super Mario 3D World
15. Bowser's Fury
16. Cathedral
17. Super Robot Wars T
18. Ninja Saviors - Return of the Warriors
19. Raiden V
So I've been mostly replaying old stuff over the course of the year and doing other things but here are a few things I've plinked through.
Super Robot Wars T
The Super Robot Wars series is a series of strategy RPGs that has been around for 30 years now, first appearing on the original Gameboy. It's a celebration of, and absolutely massive crossover of, the mecha anime genre. It brings together loads of different intellectual properties and melds a coherent fan-fiction-esque story from the disparate parts. It's fun, it's ridiculous and it's full of over the top attack animations that you'll probably get sick of watching... but they're awesome nonetheless.
Ever since the release of Super Robot Wars V (as in the letter V not 5) several years back, Asian Pacific region versions of the game have come with competent English translations done by a native English speaker who is familiar with most of the source material, making the mainline games playable without fan translation for the first time (outside of the Original Generation sub-series which didn't use any anime licenses). Later this year through some form of voodoo we'll actually be getting an official western release of the new 30th anniversary mainline game via Steam.
The game itself is relatively simple. Anyone who has played games like Fire Emblem or Shining Force will be right at home here, though the difficulty is on the easier side especially if you're using the "super robot" units (think Voltron if you're unfamiliar with mecha anime) instead of the quick but fragile "real robots" (think Gundam). The line sometimes blurs between them but the game separates them by making the supers slow and strong and the reals fast and weak in general.
The story is a ton of fun with your main character being part of a corporate team testing a newly designed robot though they comically act like they're working a normal salaryman desk job while piloting a giant robot into battle. The interactions between characters from across series is always a treat so the more familiar you are with the source material of the series represented the more you'll get out of similar characters forming friendships or rivalries, it's fanservice at its best. The game also has some non-mecha anime units thrown in, like the crews from Cowboy Bebop and Captain Harlock.
There are a ton of options for customization and leveling up your pilots and units but for the most part you shouldn't have a difficult time overpowering opponents with outrageously flashy attacks. Super Robot Wars T is known to become a bit of a slog near the end as it tries to up its difficulty by throwing more and more units your way. Really all it does it make missions last way longer than you'd want them to. I still enjoyed it the whole way through, but it could have been a little less bumpy near the end. I don't recommend these games for everyone but if you are the slightest bit interested they're worth checking out and this is not a bad entry point and includes a lot of series that western anime fans will recognize.
Ninja Saviors - Return of the Warriors
The Ninja Warriors on SNES, sequel to Taito's arcade original, was an interesting game with a few weaknesses like a lack of two players. It was still easily one of the better beat'em ups on a console which had plenty of good ones. Ninja Saviors - Return of the Warriors is a remake of that game and boy did they put a lot of passion into this one. All of the art and animations have been redone. The presentation has been improved immensely and the use of modern wide-screens makes it feel more like the multi-screen arcade game. Just about everything about the gameplay feels better, two new unlockable characters have been added, and of course two people can now play together. Return of the Warriors makes the SNES version irrelevant. You can even unlock the original classic song from the arcade cabinet to play through the game with. It's a remake done absolutely right.
For those unfamiliar, the Ninja Warriors games are beat'em ups that take place on a single plane as your robot ninja trudges to the right destroying hordes of enemies, and I do mean hordes. The game never lets up and relies on a more 1 on 1 fighter style of fighting that's very responsive and rewarding. Chaining together the right attacks will decimate legions of soldiers and it's extremely satisfying. The boss fights also have some interesting gimmicks to them and while they're not all original, the first boss just being a giant guy like most beat'em up bosses, there are some pretty out-there ones that are fun to take down.
If you're a beat'em up fan and you haven't tried this one yet, you need to rectify that. This update takes a pretty good SNES classic and transforms it into something that feels modern without losing what made it great in the first place. Highly recommended.
Raiden V
Raiden V is the latest in the classic Raiden series, the original game being one of the best selling arcade shmups of all time, though this one was made first and foremost for home consoles and I have to wonder if that had an impact on some of the less-than-great design decisions that were made here.
V is the third Raiden game made since developer MOSS took over the franchise with Raiden III on the PS2. With that game they made major improvements when going into Raiden IV, delivering a solid entry that stood up fairly well next to the first two classic titles by Seibu Kaihatsu.
The first and most obvious thing you'll notice are all the kind of pointless widgets on the sides of the screen since they decided to make sure of the extra space afforded by modern day displays, this is fine except they're sort of pointless and it can't be disabled which means you won't be playing this with your TV turned vertically like many shmup aficionados prefer. Something else they decided to inject into the game is a story that plays out on the right side of the screen and to put it bluntly it's pretty bad, with one dimensional characters like a captain who won't shut up about coffee the entire playthrough. Luckily you can turn off the voice acting because not only is it distracting, and you can barely hear it over the admittedly good soundtrack (something Raiden games always seem to get right) anyway, but it's also atrocious.
Some other changes include a shield bar that replaces the usual life system, some ships being able to take more punishment than others, and your weapons keeping their power up level as you collect power ups of the same color. In theory this is awesome and would let you power up all of your guns and not fear losing them if you happen to die and aren't going for that 1CC, but in practice there are so few power up gems that you'll find yourself powering up a single color and sticking to it for the entire playthrough unless you want to challenge yourself by switching to weaker weapons for some reason.
These changes mostly make the game a pretty breezy game, though it's still Raiden so expect bullshit fast, occasionally hard to see bullets to catch you by surprise even if you know they're coming on subsequent playthroughs. The changes, as I hinted at earlier, really make me believe that MOSS was using the recognizable Raiden name to try and court a more casual audience with a game that—theoretically—features more accessibility and features that modern gamers expect from their games like an in-game story. This is certainly a noble goal but with the game still being a manic arcade shooter at heart these changes come off as distracting at best and negatively impacting the flow of gameplay at worst.
Ultimately all I can say is Raiden V was an attempt at reaching for a broader audience, but a misguided one that will disappoint hardcore fans and still fail to appeal to outsiders. It's not a terrible game by any means and it's good for someone looking for a more laid-back shmup, but it's hard to justify playing it when Raiden IV is basically a better version of the same game without all the awkwardness and it's just as available on current hardware as Raiden V is.
2. Super Mario Maker 2
3. Super Mario Odyssey
4. New Super Mario Bros. U DELUXE
5. Daemon X Machina
6. Turrican
7. Turrican 2: The Final Fight
8. SUPERHOT
9. Untitled Geese Game
10. Mega Turrican
11. Super Turrican (SNES)
12. Haven
13. Gunlord X
14. Super Mario 3D World
15. Bowser's Fury
16. Cathedral
17. Super Robot Wars T
18. Ninja Saviors - Return of the Warriors
19. Raiden V
So I've been mostly replaying old stuff over the course of the year and doing other things but here are a few things I've plinked through.
Super Robot Wars T
The Super Robot Wars series is a series of strategy RPGs that has been around for 30 years now, first appearing on the original Gameboy. It's a celebration of, and absolutely massive crossover of, the mecha anime genre. It brings together loads of different intellectual properties and melds a coherent fan-fiction-esque story from the disparate parts. It's fun, it's ridiculous and it's full of over the top attack animations that you'll probably get sick of watching... but they're awesome nonetheless.
Ever since the release of Super Robot Wars V (as in the letter V not 5) several years back, Asian Pacific region versions of the game have come with competent English translations done by a native English speaker who is familiar with most of the source material, making the mainline games playable without fan translation for the first time (outside of the Original Generation sub-series which didn't use any anime licenses). Later this year through some form of voodoo we'll actually be getting an official western release of the new 30th anniversary mainline game via Steam.
The game itself is relatively simple. Anyone who has played games like Fire Emblem or Shining Force will be right at home here, though the difficulty is on the easier side especially if you're using the "super robot" units (think Voltron if you're unfamiliar with mecha anime) instead of the quick but fragile "real robots" (think Gundam). The line sometimes blurs between them but the game separates them by making the supers slow and strong and the reals fast and weak in general.
The story is a ton of fun with your main character being part of a corporate team testing a newly designed robot though they comically act like they're working a normal salaryman desk job while piloting a giant robot into battle. The interactions between characters from across series is always a treat so the more familiar you are with the source material of the series represented the more you'll get out of similar characters forming friendships or rivalries, it's fanservice at its best. The game also has some non-mecha anime units thrown in, like the crews from Cowboy Bebop and Captain Harlock.
There are a ton of options for customization and leveling up your pilots and units but for the most part you shouldn't have a difficult time overpowering opponents with outrageously flashy attacks. Super Robot Wars T is known to become a bit of a slog near the end as it tries to up its difficulty by throwing more and more units your way. Really all it does it make missions last way longer than you'd want them to. I still enjoyed it the whole way through, but it could have been a little less bumpy near the end. I don't recommend these games for everyone but if you are the slightest bit interested they're worth checking out and this is not a bad entry point and includes a lot of series that western anime fans will recognize.
Ninja Saviors - Return of the Warriors
The Ninja Warriors on SNES, sequel to Taito's arcade original, was an interesting game with a few weaknesses like a lack of two players. It was still easily one of the better beat'em ups on a console which had plenty of good ones. Ninja Saviors - Return of the Warriors is a remake of that game and boy did they put a lot of passion into this one. All of the art and animations have been redone. The presentation has been improved immensely and the use of modern wide-screens makes it feel more like the multi-screen arcade game. Just about everything about the gameplay feels better, two new unlockable characters have been added, and of course two people can now play together. Return of the Warriors makes the SNES version irrelevant. You can even unlock the original classic song from the arcade cabinet to play through the game with. It's a remake done absolutely right.
For those unfamiliar, the Ninja Warriors games are beat'em ups that take place on a single plane as your robot ninja trudges to the right destroying hordes of enemies, and I do mean hordes. The game never lets up and relies on a more 1 on 1 fighter style of fighting that's very responsive and rewarding. Chaining together the right attacks will decimate legions of soldiers and it's extremely satisfying. The boss fights also have some interesting gimmicks to them and while they're not all original, the first boss just being a giant guy like most beat'em up bosses, there are some pretty out-there ones that are fun to take down.
If you're a beat'em up fan and you haven't tried this one yet, you need to rectify that. This update takes a pretty good SNES classic and transforms it into something that feels modern without losing what made it great in the first place. Highly recommended.
Raiden V
Raiden V is the latest in the classic Raiden series, the original game being one of the best selling arcade shmups of all time, though this one was made first and foremost for home consoles and I have to wonder if that had an impact on some of the less-than-great design decisions that were made here.
V is the third Raiden game made since developer MOSS took over the franchise with Raiden III on the PS2. With that game they made major improvements when going into Raiden IV, delivering a solid entry that stood up fairly well next to the first two classic titles by Seibu Kaihatsu.
The first and most obvious thing you'll notice are all the kind of pointless widgets on the sides of the screen since they decided to make sure of the extra space afforded by modern day displays, this is fine except they're sort of pointless and it can't be disabled which means you won't be playing this with your TV turned vertically like many shmup aficionados prefer. Something else they decided to inject into the game is a story that plays out on the right side of the screen and to put it bluntly it's pretty bad, with one dimensional characters like a captain who won't shut up about coffee the entire playthrough. Luckily you can turn off the voice acting because not only is it distracting, and you can barely hear it over the admittedly good soundtrack (something Raiden games always seem to get right) anyway, but it's also atrocious.
Some other changes include a shield bar that replaces the usual life system, some ships being able to take more punishment than others, and your weapons keeping their power up level as you collect power ups of the same color. In theory this is awesome and would let you power up all of your guns and not fear losing them if you happen to die and aren't going for that 1CC, but in practice there are so few power up gems that you'll find yourself powering up a single color and sticking to it for the entire playthrough unless you want to challenge yourself by switching to weaker weapons for some reason.
These changes mostly make the game a pretty breezy game, though it's still Raiden so expect bullshit fast, occasionally hard to see bullets to catch you by surprise even if you know they're coming on subsequent playthroughs. The changes, as I hinted at earlier, really make me believe that MOSS was using the recognizable Raiden name to try and court a more casual audience with a game that—theoretically—features more accessibility and features that modern gamers expect from their games like an in-game story. This is certainly a noble goal but with the game still being a manic arcade shooter at heart these changes come off as distracting at best and negatively impacting the flow of gameplay at worst.
Ultimately all I can say is Raiden V was an attempt at reaching for a broader audience, but a misguided one that will disappoint hardcore fans and still fail to appeal to outsiders. It's not a terrible game by any means and it's good for someone looking for a more laid-back shmup, but it's hard to justify playing it when Raiden IV is basically a better version of the same game without all the awkwardness and it's just as available on current hardware as Raiden V is.
Re: Games Beaten 2021
Previous Years: 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
First 50:
51. Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling - Switch
52. Banner of the Maid - Switch
53. CrossCode - Switch
54. Total Annihilation: The Core Contingency - PC
55. Ultima Underworld - PC
56. Betrayal at Krondor - PC
57. Assassin's Creed: Origins - PC
58. Axiom Verge 2 - Switch
59. Elderborn - PC
60. Hellbound - PC
61. Wargroove - Switch
62. Eye of the Beholder - PC
Eye of the Beholder is the first of a trilogy of Dungeon Master clones using the AD&D ruleset. The first two were created by Westwood in their pre-Command & Conquer days, while the third was created by SSI when Westwood left over creative differences (which would begat Lands of Lore). It ends up being the rare game where the AD&D mechanics work fully in your favor and causes it to be probably the most approachable Dungeon Master derivative I've encountered yet (minus some obnoxiously tiny secret buttons on the last couple of floors required to progress).
Like all Dungeon Master games the story is razor thin; you're hired by the lords of Waterdeep to take out Xanathos, the titular beholder hiding out beneath the city who is planning to do bad stuff. Your party of four must delve through twelve levels of dungeon to find and slay Xanathos. At the start you create your four party members from the races and classes available in stock AD&D. The game's experience curve is such that everyone will end between 8 and 9 if single classed (and in fact there are level limits as well; mages will cap and still gain experience). You can also add up to two NPCs, although due to how Dungeon Master mechanics work they aren't really worthwhile and take experience away.
Like all Dungeon Master games things act in real time on a grid. Your front two members can attack in melee while everyone else must be ranged weapons or spells. To cast a spell your caster must have their focus in one hand and you activate the focus to cast (select the appropriate spell and a target if appropriate). You'll need to find keys, flip levers and push switches, and navigate around hazards. There's a handful of special encounters that add some story, but for the most part it is a lonely trek.
Now, since the game is in real time you need to take advantage of the fact that everything but your movement has a cooldown. This lets you do the combat dance where you attack an enemy and strafe away, as enemies have a cooldown after every move (which includes turning). In most Dungeon Master games this is critical, but it actually loses some importance here (which is good, as the tunnels tend to be too narrow to pull it off without a long retreat first). The thing is, AD&D's hit mechanics means your characters can end up having an extremely low chance of being hit. The dance becomes more important later when enemies have spells.
One thing I notice was the density of puzzles was lower than average; I think this comes from the designers not really liking to use the "weigh a pressure plate down" mechanic (though it does get used once at the beginning of the game). This reduces the number of puzzles available to them, so it's mostly just enjoying navigating a complex dungeon. You definitely want to be making your own map, as the dungeon is complicated enough that you won't be able to keep it all in your head. And don't forget to keep your save file for import into the second game.
First 50:
51. Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling - Switch
52. Banner of the Maid - Switch
53. CrossCode - Switch
54. Total Annihilation: The Core Contingency - PC
55. Ultima Underworld - PC
56. Betrayal at Krondor - PC
57. Assassin's Creed: Origins - PC
58. Axiom Verge 2 - Switch
59. Elderborn - PC
60. Hellbound - PC
61. Wargroove - Switch
62. Eye of the Beholder - PC
Eye of the Beholder is the first of a trilogy of Dungeon Master clones using the AD&D ruleset. The first two were created by Westwood in their pre-Command & Conquer days, while the third was created by SSI when Westwood left over creative differences (which would begat Lands of Lore). It ends up being the rare game where the AD&D mechanics work fully in your favor and causes it to be probably the most approachable Dungeon Master derivative I've encountered yet (minus some obnoxiously tiny secret buttons on the last couple of floors required to progress).
Like all Dungeon Master games the story is razor thin; you're hired by the lords of Waterdeep to take out Xanathos, the titular beholder hiding out beneath the city who is planning to do bad stuff. Your party of four must delve through twelve levels of dungeon to find and slay Xanathos. At the start you create your four party members from the races and classes available in stock AD&D. The game's experience curve is such that everyone will end between 8 and 9 if single classed (and in fact there are level limits as well; mages will cap and still gain experience). You can also add up to two NPCs, although due to how Dungeon Master mechanics work they aren't really worthwhile and take experience away.
Like all Dungeon Master games things act in real time on a grid. Your front two members can attack in melee while everyone else must be ranged weapons or spells. To cast a spell your caster must have their focus in one hand and you activate the focus to cast (select the appropriate spell and a target if appropriate). You'll need to find keys, flip levers and push switches, and navigate around hazards. There's a handful of special encounters that add some story, but for the most part it is a lonely trek.
Now, since the game is in real time you need to take advantage of the fact that everything but your movement has a cooldown. This lets you do the combat dance where you attack an enemy and strafe away, as enemies have a cooldown after every move (which includes turning). In most Dungeon Master games this is critical, but it actually loses some importance here (which is good, as the tunnels tend to be too narrow to pull it off without a long retreat first). The thing is, AD&D's hit mechanics means your characters can end up having an extremely low chance of being hit. The dance becomes more important later when enemies have spells.
One thing I notice was the density of puzzles was lower than average; I think this comes from the designers not really liking to use the "weigh a pressure plate down" mechanic (though it does get used once at the beginning of the game). This reduces the number of puzzles available to them, so it's mostly just enjoying navigating a complex dungeon. You definitely want to be making your own map, as the dungeon is complicated enough that you won't be able to keep it all in your head. And don't forget to keep your save file for import into the second game.
Blizzard Entertainment Software Developer - All comments and views are my own and not representative of the company.