Games Beaten 2022

Post by **Ack** » Thu Nov 03, 2022 2:29 pm

1. Record of Lodoss War - Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth (PC)(Action Adventure)
2. The Citadel (PC)(FPS)
3. Gothic 3 (PC)(RPG)
4. Witchaven (PC)(FPS)
5. Unpacking (PC)(Puzzle)
6. Firewatch (PC)(Adventure)
7. Perilous Warp (PC)(FPS)
8. The Ascent (PC)(RPG)
9. Borderlands: Game of the Year Enhanced - The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned (PC)(FPS/RPG)
10. Borderlands: Game of the Year Enhanced - The Secret Armory of General Knoxx (PC)(FPS/RPG)
11. Borderlands: Game of the Year Enhanced - Claptrap's New Robot Revolution (PC)(FPS/RPG)
12. Kingdom of the Dead (PC)(FPS)
13. Monument (PC)(FPS)
14. Bloodwash (PC)(Horror Adventure)
15. Dead Estate (PC)(Isometric Shooter)
16. Lost in Vivo (PC)(Survival Horror)
17. Star Explorers (PC)(FPS)
18. Dark Souls Remastered (Switch)(RPG)
19. NAM (PC)(FPS)
20. WWII GI (PC)(FPS)
21. Necromunda: Hired Gun (PC)(FPS)
22. Quake: Dimension of the Past (PC)(FPS)
23. Quake: Dimension of the Machine (PC)(FPS)
24. Quake: Scourge of Armagon (PC)(FPS)
25. Quake: Dissolution of Eternity (PC)(FPS)
26. Huntdown (PC)(Run and Gun)
27. A.W.O.L. (PC)(FPS)
28. Hands of Necromancy (PC)(FPS)
29. Cyberpunk 2077 (PC)(FPS/RPG)
30. Prodeus (PC)(FPS)
31. Tails of Iron (Switch)(Action)
32. Tails of Iron: Bloody Whiskers (Switch)(Action)
33. Arkos (PC)(FPS)
34. Security Booth: Director's Cut (PC)(Horror Adventure)

You're a security guard. Cars arrive. You check their license plates to see if they're allowed inside. You let them in or send them away. That's it. That's the game. Don't worry about the bloody handprints or the sound of explosions, or the strange man in a black suit watching you from across the street.

Security Booth is a strange horror game about a mundane job that soon reveals you're the gatekeeper to something far more sinister, despite not knowing what that sinister thing is. At its core, it's extremely simple: whenever a car arrives, you check if they're allowed access. If they are, you open the gate and let them in. If they're not, you refuse them. But other things are happening in the massive corporate offices hidden behind you, and that's what will seal your fate.

Look, it's simple, but it's still effective. And sometimes, that is all you need for a good horror experience. Plus, with multiple endings based on things you do, ranging from letting in the wrong person to getting run over by a car, you have a lot of replayability. Check it out. It's strange but fun.

Post by **opa** » Thu Nov 03, 2022 3:22 pm

Did they add anything in the director's cut? I've played the free version.

Post by **ElkinFencer10** » Thu Nov 03, 2022 5:33 pm

Games Beaten in 2021 - 68
* denotes a replay

January (20 Games Beaten)

February (1 Games Beaten)

March (0 Games Beaten)

April (3 Games Beaten)

May (3 Games Beaten)

June (11 Games Beaten)

July (14 Games Beaten)

August (2 Games Beaten)

September (3 Games Beaten)

October (9 Games Beaten)

November (1 Games Beaten)

68. BOXBOY! - 3DS - November 1

BOYBOY! is a cute puzzle game from HAL Laboratory with a super simple monochromatic style. As the title suggests, you play as a box. A boy box, specifically, named Qbby. The puzzles start out stupid easy, but as the game progresses, you'll have to think harder and harder about how to get past each challenge. Once you get to the post-game, it's downright tough.

As you traverse the game's 17 worlds (22 including the post-game challenge worlds), each containing between five and seven stages, you'll have to master a variety of skills from arranging your boxes to timing your box placements to move past spike conveyor belts. You have to figure out how to cross gaps, ascend to higher ledges, depress multiple buttons at once, avoid lasers, etc. These challenges can take some thought and trial and error, but fortunately, you have infinite lives; checkpoints are frequently, and you respawn at a checkpoint as soon as you die. While it can get frustrating towards the end of the game, it's a great game to work your brain as it forces you think about how to tackle obstacles from different perspectives.

BOXBOY! isn't terribly long, and there's not a huge amount of variety in the game, but it's definitely worth playing. It's only available on 3DS, though, and only digitally (at least in North America; there's a physical collection with the three 3DS games in Japan), so you'd better hurry up and download it before March, 2023 if you're interested in it. It's not going to blow your mind, but it's a solid puzzle game and well worth the six or seven hours you're likely to spend with it.

Post by **Ack** » Thu Nov 03, 2022 6:18 pm

opa wrote:Did they add anything in the director's cut? I've played the free version.

Yep, they did. Cars are now randomized in the Director's Cut, new endings were added, and several of the endings unlock bonus scenes to explore with more plot. There are some quality of life changes too, like resolution upgrades and controller support if so desired.

Post by **Markies** » Thu Nov 03, 2022 10:16 pm

Markies' Games Beat List Of 2022!
*Denotes Replay For Completion*

1. Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster (PS3)
2. Max Payne 2: The Fall Of Max Payne (XBOX)
3. Streets of Rage 4 (NS)
4. The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time Master Quest (GCN)
5. Dirge Of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII (PS2)
6. Darkstalkers (PS1)
7. Evolution: The World Of Sacred Device (SDC)
8. Ogre Battle 64: Person Of Lordly Calibur (N64)
9. Draogn Quest VI (SNES)
10. Batman: The Video Game (GEN)
11. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! (NES)
12. Mario Kart: Super Circuit (GBA)
13. Pokemon Red (GB)
14. Wii Sports (Wii)
15. Splatoon (WiiU)
16. Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (PS2)
***17. Final Fantasy IX (PS1)***
***18. Out Run (GEN)***
19. Assassin's Creed (PS3)
20. RBI Baseball 2 (NES)
21. Puzzle Kingdoms (Wii)
22. Operation C (GBC)
***23. Illusion Of Gaia (SNES)***
***24. Super Mario Brothers 2 (NES)***
25. Forza Motorsport (XBOX)
26. Super Mario Strikers (GCN)
***27. Grandia II (SDC)***
28. Shadow Hearts (PS2)

I completed Shadow Hearts on the Sony Playstation 2 this evening!

Back in October of 2018, I beat Koudelka on the Playstation 1. The game was a bit hit and miss for my tastes, but the atmosphere and characters were all really interesting. The reason I played through that game was because I had been interested in the Shadow Hearts series for the PS2. I was finally able to play through the series and when I found the game at my local retro game store, it became the first game I purchased after I had beaten my Backlog. Needing a spooky game for October, I decided to final play through a game I had wanted to play for quite a while.

When I first started Shadow Hearts, I was instantly hooked. The game came out right around Final Fantasy X, so I felt instantly at home. It also has that Victorian Gothic feel to it with monsters that are unnerving and a bit of creepiness in everything, which I love for Halloween. Also, the game uses a Judgement Ring system for their turn based battles which reward button presses at the right time, so I also felt right at home. Over the course of the game, characters are introduced and evolve as the story goes. The characters are extremely unique and I like to see them change throughout the game. It also uses real world settings and historical aspects as it ends right before the start of WWI.

Unfortunately, as the game wore on, the battle systems began to show their limitations. You have Sanity Points that drain throughout the battle. Once it is gone, the characters go berserk and you can't control them. Also, you can only have three characters in battle with limited stats and attacks. All of this works well for like 90% of the game. Near the end, bosses take way too long and start spamming attack all spells. You constantly have to heal your SP or heal status effects with items, heal your entire party and then attack with just normal attacks. You then do this for about 30 turns and it becomes a bit too repetitive.

Much like Koudelka, there were good and bad points when it came to Shadow Hearts. Overall, I would say that I enjoyed almost all of the game. The final part began to grow on me as bosses expanded beyond the limitations. But, the game has a fantastic soundtrack, interesting characters and a unique setting and feel to the game. If you tired of regular JRPG cliches, this is a good one to try especially around October to feel a little unnerving.

Post by **MrPopo** » Sat Nov 05, 2022 3:26 am

Previous Years: 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

First 50:

51. Prodeus - PC
52. The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero - Switch
53. Arkos - PC
54. Valkyrie Elysium - PS5
55. AWOL - PC
56. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022) - PC
57. Warhammer 40000: Shootas, Blood, and Teef - Switch
58. X Rebirth - PC

Back in the early 10s I had gotten really into the X3 trilogy of space trading sims. I put in a lot of time climbing the economic ladder, but the engine was getting a bit long in the tooth. Then X Rebirth came out, which promised a new engine that would take the series forward. What we got at the time was far more of a step backwards, gameplay wise. I put it down and didn't touch it for about a decade, but decided to pick it back up now that it's been fully patched and a selection of community mods are available. And I have to say, at this point it was worth the time spent, though I still think overall it was a misstep (and given the changes in X4, the devs seem to agree).

The X series is a set of space trading sims set in a galaxy linked together by a jumpgate network create by unknown precursors. This allows the game to have you cover vast distances without having too much empty travel boringness. The X3 trilogy wraps up with a major war breaking out between the factions. This war is cut short, however, when the gate network unexpectedly shuts down. This strands all the individual worlds, and they must survive on their own. The game starts in the system of Albion, where a series of "highways" that dramatically increase ship speed criss cross between the various space station outposts. However, after some plot you discover that the gate network is starting to turn back on, which propels you into pioneering recontacting systems that have been separated for decades, as well as brings you back into conflict with a familiar old foe.

The first thing veterans of the series will notice is that you no longer can fly any ship in the game. Instead, you're stuck in a single ship of what used to be called the M6 class. Bigger and tougher than a fighter, but outmatched by actual capital ships, this is going to be the major love it or hate it of the game. Previous games let you climb a ladder of starting in a small fighter and setting goals, like picking up a frigate for a player ship, or even going all the way up to a destroyer to start cracking heads. Here you must always make do with the ship you're given, and unlike the M6 corvettes of previous games your firepower is about the same as a regular fighter, just with a lot more health. You can still build up a fleet around yourself, but it does mean you have to deal with cumbersome AI controls for larger engagements.

Another thing you'll notice is that stations have been completely revamped. Some of this is good, like creating much larger structures that really seem like they can serve their listed purpose. They also have lots of built in defenses, so you don't have to babysit them as much. On the flip side, they also changed how stations are built. Instead of just ponying up the cash and plopping it down, you instead make a much smaller initial investment to get a construction ship that will serve as the core of the station and then will need to supply it with raw resources so it can be constructed. And you will need to extend the station several times for full capacity, requiring more resources each time. Ships, similarly, require a shipyard to have enough resources on hand to produce them; they no longer are produced out of the aether. While this increases realism, it also makes stations a lot more trouble than they're worth, and gets really annoying when you find that you can't finish that trade ship until you get another trade ship to deliver the final resources.

Speaking of tradeships, the way they handle the economy is also a mixed bag. While in previous games you could just toss satellites at stations you want to keep updated on, here you need to go around scanning little parts of the station. Once you have scanned enough you can talk with people on the station and hire them to keep you up to date on station prices. This is an extremely tedious process, and I recommend you grab a mod that does it in a single shot when you get close to a station. Once you have these prices available you get a really nice interface for directing your trade ships; you can either do a buy and sell as two operations, or you can cut to the chase and have an interface where you pick a ware and can see the profit for a precomputed source and destination.

The plot has the usual problems of needing to funnel you into a fairly linear path that really constrains your ability to enjoy the universe. It gets especially bad in the middle, where you experience a major economic crunch in order to progress; without mods you basically have to resort to piracy because the plot has locked you out of the necessary factories for the resources you need. On the flip side, the plot manages to teach you how to use every system in the game. You get a trade ship early, then later on you are directed to get marines to board a capital ship, which you get to keep. The aforementioned economic crunch is the required station building piece. So by the end you've experienced a little bit of everything, which is far better than X3's plot. The whole thing has a rather anticlimactic ending, due to scripting limitations, and the collection of systems will stay isolated from the wider universe that shows up in X4.

All in all, X Rebirth is fairly playable at this point in time, but you'll definitely want some quality of life mods. One thing it unambiguously does well is update the visuals to something far more pleasing to the eye, and my understanding is all of that gets carried forward to X4. I plan on playing that in the near future, but I'm going to do some other games first as a break.

Post by **ElkinFencer10** » Sat Nov 05, 2022 3:42 pm

Games Beaten in 2021 - 69
* denotes a replay

January (20 Games Beaten)

February (1 Games Beaten)

March (0 Games Beaten)

April (3 Games Beaten)

May (3 Games Beaten)

June (11 Games Beaten)

July (14 Games Beaten)

August (2 Games Beaten)

September (3 Games Beaten)

October (9 Games Beaten)

November (2 Games Beaten)

69. BOXBOXBOY! - 3DS - November 4

BOXBOXBOY! is the sequel to BOXBOY! and the second of the three games in the series released on 3DS. It is, for the most part, more of the same, but with a key mechanic addition that sets it apart from its predecessor. It also has some bonuses if you played the first game and have a save file on your 3DS, and I personally love it when game series include save data bonuses for having played the previous games.

The major addition to BOXBOXBOY! is the ability to have to sets of boxes active at once. In the previous game, you could only have one set active, and if you tried to place more boxes, the previous set instantly vanished. Instead of being able to assemble a series of three boxes, for example, your limit is two sets of three boxes. This sounds really minor, but in practice, it drastically changes the puzzles with which you can be challenged and opens up new avenues for solving puzzles. As with the first game, the first few worlds are extremely easy, and even the first couple levels of a world where a new mechanic is introduced are easy, but by the end of the game, the challenge gets pretty legit. Having just played the original game, I had a feel for the game's physics and how HAL crafted the puzzles, so I didn't struggle with the last few worlds of this game the way I did with a few of the stages in the first game, but there were still numerous puzzles that I had to stop, look at for a minute, and work out in my head with some trial and error before progressing.

My favorite aspect of the game isn't actually the addition of a second set of boxes but rather the bonuses from having played BOXBOY! It's relatively minor stuff, but if you bought the costumes from the shop in the first game, they'll be available to you in this game. What's cooler is that some of the costumes have some extra function to give you a boost in the game, the two best being the bunny costume that lets you jump two boxes high instead of one and the wizard which adds a box to your limit per set. It might sound a little a broken, and most of the time, it is, but there were a few occasions where I had to quit a level and change costumes because I had been using the bunny costume and the level required that I make a precision jump under a laser or spike or something, and I physically wasn't able to make a jump that low. Nine times out of ten, whatever outfit you use won't be a hindrance, but I did like that those occasional elements discouraged using the OP costumes all the time.

BOXBOXBOY! is definitely a step up from the first game. The game is still mostly monochromatic, the puzzles are still pretty simple overall, and the game is still short, but having two sets of boxes at your disposal makes for some more interesting puzzles than I saw in the first game, and even if it were literally just more of the same from the first game, that's more a fun, relaxing thing. The stages are the perfect length to play while killing time on a bus or subway or to unwind during a lunch break or bathroom break. Definitely check this out before the 3DS eShop closes.

Post by **ElkinFencer10** » Sun Nov 06, 2022 8:15 pm

Games Beaten in 2021 - 70
* denotes a replay

January (20 Games Beaten)

February (1 Games Beaten)

March (0 Games Beaten)

April (3 Games Beaten)

May (3 Games Beaten)

June (11 Games Beaten)

July (14 Games Beaten)

August (2 Games Beaten)

September (3 Games Beaten)

October (9 Games Beaten)

November (3 Games Beaten)

70. BYE-BYE BOY! - 3DS - November 5

Like BOXBOXBOY!, BYE-BYE BOXBOY! is extremely similar to BOXBOY! and, at least initially, is pretty much yet more of the same. It even removes the two-sets-of-boxes mechanic that the second game added. That said, once you get about a quarter of the way through the game, you start to see some of the new mechanics HAL added for this game, and they make the first two games look like a warm-up.

In the early stages of BYE-BYE BOXBOY, the game plays virtually exactly like the first game. You have one set of boxes with the size of each set varying from level to level. Progression is pretty much the same, and the puzzles are pretty simple. After a while, however, you start to go to different "planets," and the last world in each planet gives you a new mechanic - a special kind of box. The new mechanics are rocket boxes, bomb boxes, teleportation boxes, and remote control boxes. Each of these controls very uniquely and can take some getting used to, but they totally change the way levels play out and puzzles are presented. These mechanics make this hands down the best of the 3DS trilogy in my opinion. After the world in which they're introduced, these mechanics are not used again in the main game, and in my opinion, that's a good thing because it keeps them from feeling stale or overused.

As with the second game, costumes you unlocked in the first two games are brought over into this game so long as you have the save file with them unlocked on your 3DS. In addition to this, HAL included some Kirby costumes that are unlocked by using the correct amiibo - Kirby, Waddle Dee, Meta Knight, and DeeDeeDee. You can also unlock a Qucy costume and some color filters with the Japan-exclusive Quby amiibo, but that costume and the filters are also unlockable by having the previous games' save data on your 3DS. As far as I could tell, none of the costumes have special abilities here like a few did in the second game, but that honestly isn't a problem for me as it means I could try out a bunch of different costumes without feeling like I was missing out on fun game breaking.

BYE-BYE BOXBOY! is a great way to end the series's 3DS run, and I think it's definitely the best of the three games. The puzzles are immensely satisfying to complete, often more so than in the previous two games, and the bits of color added here or there really pop against the otherwise monochromatic game. I sincerely hope that these games are released as a physical collection on Switch or even as individual downloads because they're genuinely fun and relaxing, and they're about to become totally unobtainable once the 3DS eShop shuts down in a few months. Definitely make sure you download this game while you've got the chance.

Post by **prfsnl_gmr** » Sun Nov 06, 2022 11:23 pm

Great reviews, Elk! I love the BoxBoy! series, and I’m happy to see you enjoying it.

…..

First 60

61. Beeny (Switch)
62. Fatum Betula (Switch)
63. Once Upon a Time on Halloween (Switch)
64. Hatchwell (Switch)
65. Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion (Switch)

Once Upon a Time on Halloween was my Halloween game this year, and it’s a blessing for fans of classic arcade games. Released originally for the iiRcade (an internet-enabled arcade cabinet I did not know existed until I played this game), Once Upon a Time on Halloween looks like Cuphead and plays like Tapper. In it, you play as a pumpkin tasked with saving Halloween, which you do by keeping the various forces of evil at bay. These forces, for large parts of the game move slowly from one section of the screen to the other, and you push them back with one of your projectiles. In turn, they send back a piece of candy, and collecting a piece of candy nets you fifty points. When your score reaches a certain level, you proceed to the next section of the game. The “Tapper” sections are separated by short run-n-gun boss fights, like you’d find in Cuphead, and the action is frequently fast and furious. The game is quite short, with only eleven levels and five boss fights, but like a lot of classic arcade games, defeat throws you back to the beginning of the game. The game features superb, monochrome, hand-drawn graphics reminiscent of cartoons from the 1920s, and it really looks spectacular. (The downside, however, is that the action is sometimes a bit too fast and furious for the aesthetic, and it’s easy to lose track of your character when everything is in black and white.) I really, really like this game, and it blew my expectations out of the water. Very highly recommended.

Hatchwell is another game that really exceeded my expectations. The product of a one-person studio, Hatchwell is a very meaty Zelda-like with charming graphics clearly inspired by Earthbound. In it, you play as the newcomer to the village of Hatchwell, who helps ward off an ancient evil. The game plays very similarly to The Legend of Zelda. You explore an overworld, dungeons, and caves to find new items, strengthen your character, and progress the story, and the game ends with a climatic boss fight. Each of the game’s six dungeons are very well designed, and the game plays wonderfully, requiring you to switch between various items to solve the game’s simple puzzles. If you’ve played The Legend of Zelda, A Link to the Past, or, especially, Link’s Awakening, you’ll be right at home with the gameplay. What the game does a bit differently, though, and to good effect, is give you a very small overworld that changes every time you complete a dungeon. That is, the small village of Hatchwell makes up the entire overworld, but time in Hatchwell advances every time you complete a dungeon. People move; events occur; and side quests come and go. This mechanic adds a lot of depth to the game and since all the NPCs are always doing different things, makes the world feel much more alive. It also encourages thorough exploration (and re-exploration) of the game’s overworld. I really enjoyed Hatchwell, and it offered a challenging, meaty 10-hour adventure at a budget price. While the difficulty is sometimes uneven - the bosses are hard! - this game is still very highly recommended.

Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion is another Zelda-like, but it is much shorter than Hatchwell. (I completed the game in a little over two hours and spent another half an hour exploring the game’s post-credits content.) What it lacks in depth, however, it makes up for with personality. Playing as an amoral, tax-evading turnip feels great, and it is tremendous fun helping Turnip Boy gleefully, and remorselessly, commit crimes, murder herbivores, and best of all, tear important documents, such as tax bills, in half. Despite its brevity, I still enjoyed Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion, and having purchased the game on sale for only a few dollars, I felt it justified it’s price. ($14.99 is way too much for this game, but $4.99 was fine.) I have high hopes for the forthcoming sequel, Turnip Boy Robs a Bank, which I hope will be a bit more full-featured.

Post by **PartridgeSenpai** » Mon Nov 07, 2022 4:57 am

Partridge Senpai's 2021 Beaten Games:
Previously: 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
* indicates a repeat

1. Dandy Dungeon: The Legend of Brave Yamada (Switch)
2. Dandy Dungeon 2: The Phantom Bride (Switch)
3. Mon Amor (Switch)
4. Terraria (PC)
5. Puppeteer (PS3) *
6. Chocobo's Mystery Dungeon (PS1)
7. Project Altered Beast (PS2)
8. Devil Summoner II: Soul Hackers (Saturn)
9. Kirby Star Allies: Heroes in Another Dimension (Switch)
10. Kirby's Dream Land 2 (GB)
11. Tales of Vesperia (PS3) *
12. Art Style: BOXLIFE (DSi)
13. Super Robot Wars F (Saturn)
14. Super Robot Wars F Final (Saturn)
15. Super Robot Wars 64 (N64)
16. Knight Gundam Monogatari (SFC)
17. Knight Gundam Monogatari 2 (SFC)
18. Mega Man Legends 2 (PSP)
19. Mighty No. 9 (PC)
20. Mega Man Xtreme (GBC)
21. Mega Man Xtreme 2 (GBC)
22. Super Robot Wars Alpha (PS1)
23. Super Robot Wars Alpha Gaiden (PS1)
24. Vampire Hunter D (PS1)
25. Super Robot Wars Alpha 2 (PS2)
26. Super Robot Wars Alpha 3 (PS2)
27. Super Robot Wars 2: Complete Box Edition (PS1)
28. Super Robot Wars 3: Complete Box Edition (PS1)
29. Super Robot Wars EX: Complete Box Edition (PS1)
30. Super Robot Wars IV Scramble (PS1)
31. Biohazard (PS1)

32. Hero Senki: Project Olympus (SFC)

This isn’t exactly a Super Robot Wars game, but it’s also not exactly *not* one either x3. It’s a game I learned about from the friend who introduced SRW to me, when they were explaining to me the sort of precursor series to SRW, Compati Heroes. A crossover not between mecha shows but between Gundam, Kamen Rider, and Ultraman (other hallmarks of Japanese TV), Compati Heroes has a wide range of genres and games across various Nintendo systems, and it happens to contain several JRPGs. This JRPG in particular was actually made by WinkySoft, the very devs who headed the first decade or so of SRW games, and has some interesting connective tissue to SRW in certain ways (they even jokingly reference it by name a few times in the later SRW SFC games). As a big SRW fan, it absolutely piqued my interest, to say the least, and I hunted down a ROM of it to play rather than fumble around hoping a physical copy’s save battery still worked. It took me about 34 or so hours to complete the Japanese original version of the game (with virtually no save state use at all, for reasons that will become very apparent very soon).

Hero Senki tells the story of the world of Erupisu, a world of three large continents who *do* have real names but whose nicknames became so popular that they’re basically the only ones used anymore: The Gundam Continent (a land of mobile suit use), the Rider Continent (a land that developed cyborg tech), and the Ultra Continent (where the Ultra folk live). But peace escapes the world of Erupisu. Terrorist organizations across the world threaten innocent lives more and more each day, and the main governments of the three continents (The EUGO Federation, the Rider Republic, and the Kingdom of Light) create an international counter-terror unit called ZEUS (Z Extraordinary United Space) (Yes, that first letter really is just the letter ‘Z’, not a word) to combat it. These members of ZEUS are your main party of three, Amuro (from original Gundam), Kamen Rider Black (from his titular series), and Ultra Seven (also from his titular series), as they set out on their heroic and odd adventure to bring peace to the land.

Now unlike with Super Robot Wars, where with advice from my friend and just having played so many of them, I have a pretty good familiarity with the series being represented there, neither I nor my friend can say the same with Ultraman or Kamen Rider. We have some familiarity with more modern Kamen Rider series (especially her), but we know heck all about Ultraman outside of the base conceit, so it was really diving into the world of the unknown starting this game. That said, it was still really enjoyable! The humor and writing are very reminiscent of WinkySoft’s SRW games, with lots of cute references and jokes that work well with or without knowledge of the represented series. Even though original Gundam, Kamen Rider Black, and Ultra Seven get main stage, characters from many series of each make some greater or lesser appearances as NPCs or as your constantly rotating (due to plot) 4th party member. Assuming that the way they use Gundam is the same way they use the Kamen Rider and Ultraman licenses, they’re not so much recreating scenarios from the shows they’re from (as SRW so often does), so much as using them as pieces in a wider, weirder fan fiction, and it’s really fun. It’s hardly high art with much to say in terms of its overall themes (or at least much to say all that well), but as far as silly crossover entertainment, I think it does a bang up job of being a silly, fun, and even sometimes dramatic adventure that can be enjoyed even with only passing knowledge of the series at hand.

Mechanically speaking, Hero Senki is a *very* simple game compared to its contemporaries. Now this isn’t something like the first SFC Knight Gundam Monogatari, where it feels like a glorified Famicom game but made in 16-bit (thankfully), but the mechanical depth at play is nowhere even close to other 1992 SFC releases like Final Fantasy 5, Dragon Quest 5, or SMT1 (or even Knight Gundam Monogatari 2, for that matter). That said, that design approach feels very purposeful and in-line with how WinkySoft usually made their SRW games. Even though the balance might not always be brilliant, the main focus with mechanics is accessibility. They’re going for an experience that most readily brings the crossover fun of the writing to the audience, and in that regard I think they execute really well (even if, as mentioned, the balance is a bit all over the place at times).

As far as what those specific mechanics are, they’re pretty bog standard JRPG in most regards. You have those 3 party members who are more permanent (save for when they get separated for the handful of solo-ish sections in the story), and then the rotating 4th party member. Mobile suits tend to be fast and tanky but not very strong, Kamen Riders are strong but squishy, and Ultras are slow but very health-full and are your attack and healing casters. The main 3 guys have a weapon and an armor (just the one) you can change out as you find or purchase more, but they’re basically just flat upgrades (and your 4th guy’s equipment can’t be changed ever). If one costs more, it’s just better. There’s no status effects or debuffs to worry about with your team, at least. Some enemies can sometimes inflict statuses on you, but even then, they inflict those statuses very infrequently, so while the hold limit on a single kind of item is only 9, that number will rarely be a problem outside of healing items. Each fighter has a special skill that they can use, but they’re so specific and often weak that you’ll rarely use them if ever.

They also have special skills that cost TP (they’re basically spells), and the one weird mechanic the game has is that you can’t heal TP at hospitals, only HP. The only way to regain TP is through very rare (almost) impossible to buy healing items, or just doing attacks in battle, with small amounts regained for normal smacks and 10 times that amount for getting a kill. This makes refilling your TP amount after a boss fight a real pain, but it does mean you can generally grind or explore in most dungeons, but that’s if you’d even care to explore. The game has a weird loot and EXP curve, being generally more stingy and harder at the start and getting more forgiving as you go on, but the very small amount of equipment in the game means there’s almost never anything valuable in treasure chests. They will rarely have an item that will slightly increase a stat permanently, or in the end game you might even find a super good equipment item, but for the most part what you’re finding in chests is really underwhelming.

The dungeon and enemy design themselves are generally pretty good, and it’ll be pretty rare that you really feel unprepared or under-leveled for the challenge at hand with just how tough what you’re fighting is. Bosses are usually quite fairly designed, but their difficulty is honestly all over the place. This isn’t helped by what I think is a willpower mechanic (not unlike their SRW games), where taking more damage in battle will cause bosses to get higher and higher attack and defense as the fight goes on, but then at a certain point those gains just suddenly reset for reasons I really could only barely guess. Willpower as a whole was an entirely inscrutable mechanic for me, so that’s all I can really chalk it up to. The game is overall easy and simple enough that it’s just a shame there’s no auto-fight feature in the battles, as it would’ve been really appreciated for how simple most random encounters are.

The puzzle design is really good too, with things being really well signposted, and the pause menu even having a “conference” button, where your guys will talk about what you’re meant to do next to give you a good kick in the right direction if you’re having trouble or forgot what to do. It’s not full-proof, but I’m pretty impressed that there was only one ever puzzle that I needed to look up the solution to online. These are all story-important puzzles though. This is a game with surprisingly almost zero side content, and I searched high and low but only ever found two tiny things that could be at all described as optional content. This isn’t a problem, per se, and means they could focus more on making a well crafted, linear narrative, and that focus really shows with how generally good the difficulty curve and narrative pacing are. Overall, the game really does feel like it was made with approachability being the core importance of its design, from the linearity to the difficulty of combat to even how there are no save points: You can just save anywhere!

Aesthetically, the game looks about as you’d expect for a 3rd party SFC JRPG of this era. We decidedly don’t look like a glorified Famicom game anymore, and it really looks and feels “next gen” for the time. The battle animations on your characters are pretty elaborate for the time, and there are a really impressive amount of enemy units even taking into consideration all of the recycled stronger versions of guys that just have slightly changed names. The music isn’t super varied (with a whole one battle theme + one more for the final boss), but is overall good. At the end of the day, though, as with WinkySoft’s SRW titles, it’s not hard to see that representation of aspects of the included series was a really serious priority, and damn does its how with the sheer amount of sprite art in this game.

Verdict: Recommended. This is a pretty darn solid game. Other than the rough difficulty and kinda dragging gameplay (with a bit of grinding needed here and there), I really don’t have much I could really complain all that seriously about. The main barrier to a high recommendation here is the nature of the product, as if you’re in the market for a more technical JRPG or have active disinterest in the series being represented in the crossover, you’re probably going to find your time with this pretty darn boring. But if you’re okay with a more simple JRPG and you have an interest in (or just have an open mind for) the crossover silliness, there’s a lot to enjoy with Hero Senki. This is also a game that has a fan translation in English (granted I can’t speak to its quality or lack thereof), so this is one even readers of this who don’t know Japanese can go and enjoy should they so choose ^w^

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