Holy crap you’re on a tear! Nice going.
Cheers! Yeah, it’s almost crazy how many games I’m beating this year, definitely speaks volumes for the quality of the games and, um, the lack of RPGs.
Thought I’d give that genre a break this year unless there’s any unique standouts like Opoona or the amazing Breath of Fire on PS2.
I just beat expert mode for the first time tonight because I saw that you did it and wanted to see if I could make it happen. It was one of the hardest video game challenges I surmounted in recent memory. Of course, I used countless continues to make it happen, but it still felt like a huge accomplishment. Great game!
I am finally going to put it down and try Super Monkey Ball 2.
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Congrats! Expert mode really is great, really creative stages. I lost track of how many continues I was using after stage 17 (I think), that one took away so many lives…
Good luck on Super Monkey Ball 2 - that one remains insurmountable for me, maybe revisiting it fresh will help.
Been going between games a lot lately but I did manage to beat a few starting with the 3D All Stars Collection
[44] Super Mario 64 (3D All Stars)
I’ve gotten pretty good at Mario 64 over the years so I was looking forward to this to see how well it works. Overall, it’s the same game we’ve all played countless times since the 96 but there’s a lot that feels off about it. Jump timing feels different. The controls feel different. I made a lot of mistakes I never make on a real 64. I don’t know if it’s the emulation of what. That’s not to say it’s bad. It’s still great but I doubt I’d play it again unless I’m on a work trip or something. Better to stick with real hardware on a CRT.
[45] Super Mario Sunshine (3D Collection)
Fludd makes the controls on this work better. It definitely feels like an improvement over Mario 64 at least. Sunshine isn’t bad but I had played this recently on the GameCube and I think it being fresh really brought out all the annoying parts of this game. Blue coins are a chore. It really feels like Nintendo needed the game out by a deadline and didn’t polish it much. Unlike 64, I didn’t bother getting all the shines. I did that on the Cube and it just didn’t feel worth my time.
[46] Mario Galaxy (3D Collection)
I haven’t played this since it came out on the Wii. Back then, I really disliked this game. The planet thing is disorienting to me and there’s a lot of weirdness where you end up running in circles for no reason. I enjoyed it more this time but it still didn’t seem worth the hype. I’m not a fan of how they made it super epic for some reason. Mario should be more lighthearted. I really dislike the comet system. I’d prefer to be able to choose when I play them rather than have to go to the main hub area to figure out what’s available. I’d also like to be able to get all the stars prior to defeating Bowser instead of having to unlock the coin collecting stars. Speaking of those, half of them suck. No challenge just trinket hunt. It really sucks.
[47] Castlevania IV
I replay this every Halloween season so I needed to make sure I got it in early. I think I prefer Bloodlines to this but I’ve played this thousands of times so I’ve basically mastered it. Not much to say other than that it’s perfect.
[48] Skies of Arcadia
I saw that the anniversary was coming up so I decided to drop what I was doing and play this lovely game. Any excuse. This game is near perfect. I can’t get enough. I played with a twist this time, using my newly online Dreamcast to get the DLC.
There’s very little that gives a feeling of optimism like this game. Vyse pushes forward no matter the odds and really draws the player in to feel the same optimism. It came out at the perfect time for me. This game and Shenmue got me out of a funk and helped me get my life together.
The battle system isn’t overly complex but it’s more interesting than most simpler RPGs. Aika is a bit OP for standard battles but the enemies really lean into status conditions and if you’re not careful you can get pretty close to being wiped out. The SP system encourages long-term strategizing as opposed to other RPGs where you’re mainly balancing stats between battles using items. The only complaint I have is the animations can take too long.
A lot of people say the encounter rate is too high but it really isn’t. I could go long stretches without encountering anyone. It varies by area and the areas it’s high make sense thematically. Overall, I was able to get 100% discoveries and 100% treasures and beat the game in around 35 hours which I consider to be right around the perfect length for an RPG.
[49] D (Sega Saturn)
Going back to the Halloween theme, I decided to play D again. Adventure titles like this are hard to replay because once you’ve solved the puzzles there’s not much to draw you back in. That said, it’s been a long time so I didn’t remember much. It reminded me of the long-long ago when I was able to go outside and did an escape room. This balances well between spooky and cheesy but maybe falls a bit on the cheesy side. That’s not a bad thing though. I’d highly recommend this to anyone who might want to see what the alternate future of FMV games would have been.
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[63] U-SA (右左) on PlayStation, released in the west as Turnabout
Thought this was awesome. It’s one of those puzzle games that could exist in the real world as a physical toy/object that you manipulate, and the materials used in the visuals, as well as the crisp sound effects, accentuate that. The aim is the rotate a box in 90 degree segments to make a small number of colourful orbs disappear by meeting each other, but the design of each box and the contraptions within it make that much easier said than done. For the game’s initial 50 stages before the credits the difficulty curve is just right, though I’m already struggling on the post-game levels!
[64] Shin Hyu~ Stone (3DS)
Mindless but absorbing fun - drop a stone down different wells and try to reach the bottom without bumping into stuff. The 3D effect on this is amazing, and you unlock new items to throw down the well to add/remove the challenge.
[65] 3D Streets of Rage 2
Never played Streets of Rage before, but needless to say, I was blown away by how the designers made every encounter throughout the game’s eight stages feel exciting, even when fodder enemies join the fray. Less is more, especially when what’s there has been meticulously and thoughtfully designed to entertain in the purest sense.
[66] Mad Rat Dead
This quickly became one of my favourite games from developer Nippon Ichi Software, who have traditionally never been afraid to try new genres.
The game is a platformer where every move has to be made to the beat, what really surprised me was how well all its constituent parts came together - the music, the level design, the rewind mechanic, and the narrative. I really wasn’t expecting them to have pulled it off so well, the narrative was surprisingly heartfelt while also fitting the theme of the game like a glove.
Might be the first game I’ve played where rewinding makes a lot of sense both narratively and in learning the game. While it seems there are cheap deaths at first the rewind mechanic simply forces you to understand which point to anticipate danger. The choreographing in the animation is appreciated here, since when you do rewind you only go per “beat”, so you’re viewing snapshots of the action.
I can’t see any other new releases topping this this year for me. Director/game designer/artist Mizokami Yu is a talented fellow.
[67] Digital Glider Airman
If Mad Rat Dead is the unexpected modern surprise of the year for me, then this may well be the unexpected retro surprise. There’s barely anything written or recorded about this game in the modern age (literally three videos on the entire internet!) so I really didn’t know what to expect, I bought it through window shopping, much like in the old days when retail was primarily offline and information was obtained via the measured pacing of magazines.
Anyway, this game is great! It’s easy to bounce off it because there’s a rather huge difficulty spike between stages 1 and 2, but that’s there to force you to learn the rules of flight. You pilot a flimsy air glider with no engine, and a huge proportion of the game’s challenge comes from getting to grips with the physics and controls. But once it does click it’s an extremely satisfying and rewarding flying game like no other I’ve played. The objectives are varied, the stages almost have a dreamlike quality with their vagueness, and the soundtrack elevates the experience. A crying shame that this one has been lost to time.
[68] Psychic World (Game Gear)
Not sure about the MSX original, but this Game Gear game still feels fresh today despite the saturation of the genre.
[69] No More Heroes (Switch port)
Found this surprisingly challenging despite having cleared it several times on release, a few of the boss fights gave me serious trouble. Which is all good of course. Game is still as enjoyable as ever, the empty city still feels like the cardboard representation of many a 2000s open world game, the story is as nonsensical as ever as if to show it’s irrelevant to the game itself, the combat remains engaging by the nth encounter. It’s not as unique as Killer7 before it, though.
[70] Baku Baku Animal (Saturn)
More frantic and punishing AI than the Game Gear version, and the game is of course better for it! Would love to see this one come back.
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[64] (yeah I slacked posting in this thread) Iron Soldier 3
Iron Soldier on Jaguar was an attempt to translate the Mechwarrior/Heavy Gear format of mech games to consoles. Your robot is big and stompy and not all that mobile (you can’t strafe, though an option lets you rotate your torso independantly of your legs), and there’s a pretty wide arsenal to customize your robot with but there’s no weight or energy management to worry about and missions are short and simple, usually involving just destroying or retrieving a specific object. Iron Soldier 3 is iterative, adding more weapons and mechs to play with but staying true to the formula.
IN THE FUTURE the independant United Republics are under attack from the evil Penta corporation. There’s no plot or characters (and unusually for this kind of game, no voice acting whatsoever) and the mission briefings do the barest minimum to contextualize what things the bad guys are doing and why you should kill them. Fine with me!
Iron Soldier 3 makes a really good first impression. Technically it’s an impressive game. It has a shockingly constant 30 fps , fairly advanced lightning effects, good draw distance and even motion blur. If you don’t like the control schemes, you can remap every keys. There’s a lot of weapons to choose from and there’s some depth to the combat (for instance stepping on a tank will destroy it but incur some damage, but if you do it while your shield is deployed then you won’t be). It’s not Armored Core but they tried.
The biggest problem with the game, though, is that it just kind runs out of steam. By the 13th mission (out of 25), you’ve unlocked all weapons that can be outfitted to your mech and played through all of the mission templates you’ll play through the rest of the game. More elaborate and scenarized missions (like in Mechwarrior) could’ve helped, as would have more boss characters (there’s one you fight 3 times through the game). There’s also that the game offers a choice of 3 players characters but once you’ve made your selection when starting a new save, you’re locked to that mech. This was a mistake and letting you experiment with the other 2 mechs would’ve helped alleviate the feeling of repetitivity.
Iron Soldier 3 is still a good game. But with more ambition, it could’ve been even better.
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[50] Castlevania Bloodlines
While Super Castlevania IV is one of my most played games to the point where I breeze through it, I think I like this one more. This feels more in line with what an action oriented Castlevania should be and oozes style in a way that’s only possible with blast processing. This time went rather well for me. Normally I struggle to beat it in just one credit but not this time. I’m getting a lot better at the bosses although Germany still gives me trouble (as it gives everyone). The last stage is quite the showpiece. I know it’s probably not technically difficult but the room where different sections scroll at different rates has always blown me away.
[51] Magic Knight Rayearth
I wanted to take a break from spooky stuff for a few days and decided it was time to return to this game. I’m playing the $10 Japanese version released in 95 rather than the insanely expensive US version that was one of the last Saturn titles. That might have something to do with how buggy this game is. There’s a lot of slowdown in places that don’t make sense and one part my game froze.
Other than that though, I love this game. It’s a pretty simple Zelda clone where you can switch between three characters. Each has their own skills and styles which add to the variety of this game. The dungeons are quite interesting with some light platforming.
The game essentially plays through the anime in a way that isn’t terrible proving that licensed games do not need to be low-effort trash. This is my preferred Saturn Zelda clone, over Shining Wisdom or Legend of Oasis which is quite good but strays a bit from the Zelda framework.
[52] Resident Evil (Saturn)
I’ve started this game several times but it stresses me out a bit. I always worry that I’m saving too much or don’t know what to do. I think the furthest I’ve ever gotten before this was to a balcony where I think I got eaten by crows. That said, I made a point to finish this one for Halloween this year.
One thing I did differently this time was avoid enemies when possible rather than try to kill them which helped. Dogs in particular really fuck me up. I really enjoyed changing up my approach this time. Each encounter in this game is a potential threat. You don’t just have to worry about your life but whether or not the current enemy will drain your ammo such that the next one is the one that will get you.
I felt like I was constantly juggling with my inventory which I suppose you’ll get better with as you replay it. I found myself always trying to remember the quickest route to a safe-room so that I could switch my items around or make room.
In the end, this fit well with what I like in Halloween. Moderately spooky and campy with a bit of tension. I think I’ll try to play this again later to see if I can finish more quickly and efficiently and maybe try one of the other games in the series. Other than this, I have only beaten Code Veronica back when it was new.
[71] Way of the Samurai
Finally made it to an ending! But much still intrigues me about the unfolding two-day events at Rokkotsu Pass. I’m still going to be running through this game once a day for a while. Acquire has crafted a tremendously irresistible game, and all without a strand of superfluous fluff to it! There’s nothing in here that feels like it’s there as a crutch to excuse lacking elements elsewhere.
[72] Way of the Samurai Portable
Quality port! Spent a couple of hours playing today and got an ending I wasn’t going for because I fought the swordsmith who’s a key character for two endings. I really want to get ending number 1 on this version.
[73] Tetris Effect: Connected
Finished Journey Mode on Expert difficulty this evening, then proceeded to almost clear the whole lot from the top in what must be the most enthralling round of Tetris I’ve ever been absorbed into. Brilliant game, that it’s such a contrast from the equally brilliant Tetris 99 proves how malleable Tetris can be despite a seemingly locked-in rule set.
The difficulty in expert mode is pitch perfect, as well. This has honestly made me consider skipping Puyo Puyo Tetris 2.
[74] Sisters Royale
Alfa System’s latest stg continues to go under the radar, which is a shame as it’s a lot of fun and clearly a lot of effort went into producing it despite it being announced as part of an April Fool’s joke. Finally cleared the game on one credit!
[75] Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin
This game grew on me. Amazing visual design aside, I wasn’t particularly impressed by the first five hours, but luckily this is one of those games that adds on more complexity and challenge as you get further into it, and I was soon pretty engrossed in trying to grow the best rice crops while simultaneously trying to beat the story as quickly as possible. I got to the final chapter on year 9, pretty chuffed about that.
I just wish the difficulty were more natural, it feels like you’re largely railroaded into succeeding because (as far as I can see) your rice harvests are ever-improving, and Sakuna’s stats are tied to rice performance, so the longer you take to clear the game the easier it gets. But really, even without a long-term challenge in the farming it’s a pretty enjoyable game, with satisfying side-scrolling action, great boss fights, and a pretty detailed and sped-up simulation of rice farming that’s irresistible to ignore once everything clicks.
Just beat Luigi’s Mansion 3. Played it with my older daughter, though I did most of the play through. Fun stuff, really charming, and not much else like it out there that I know of. Kind of cool to rescue Mario for a change, too, LOL.
Castlevania 3: Finally did a full playthrough. Took the Sypha and Grant route. Mainly played Trevor only. The final boss was actually much tougher than I thought he would be. Going to work on doing NG+ soon.
Castlevania Symphony of the Night: Where do I start with this one. First off the music is absolutely amazing. Sometimes I’d find myself putting the controller down and just listening to the soundtrack. While the game starts off challenging it’s starts to get really easy once you find good equipment. I accidentally ran into the final boss and ended up easily killing him since the sword I was using had a freezing effect. This was actually the bad ending so I will have to make time to go back and try and get the good ending.
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Castlevania 3 has a NG+? I had no idea…
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I think most classic Castlevania has “NG+” It’s just the same game but way harder.
Think Stage 1 enemies doing endgame damage when you get hit.
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[76]: Sega Ages Shinobi
I shouldn’t have dismissed this one as a Rolling Thunder clone. As mentioned on the other thread, Shinobi very much feels like its own game thanks to more plentiful, varied level design, more breathing space, and a real good melee attack option that makes taking down trickier enemies a risky but rewarding endeavour.
While it’s very challenging it rarely felt unfair, only one stage towards the end required rote memorisation, otherwise enemies displayed logical and understandable behaviour so it was down to the level designers to try and overwhelm you. I don’t think I’ll ever get good enough to clear the game on a single credit, having used a few dozen to clear the Arcade game for the first time, but I managed to do so on the more lenient ‘Ages mode’.
[77] Topolon (G-MODE Archives reissue)
Pretty chuffed about this - made it into the top 3 of the online leaderboards too.
Topolon is a lost cellphone game from the mid-2000s, brought back via digital reissue on Switch from developer G-MODE. It’s really good fun even if it’s also pretty unfathomable at first. But once its rules ‘click’ it’s both a frantic and thoughtful action puzzle game - you need to constantly think to rack up combos and score high, but later stages have trickier and tricker time limits, so the pace of the game slowly develops.
[78] 3D Fantasy Zone
Managed to clear this with the difficulty settings ratcheted up to max, and the starting parameters turned down (not quite to their lowest).
The 3D in this is incredible, hats off to M2 who kept bettering themselves with each new super scaler 3D Classic release.
But the game is still very entertaining today despite its relative lack of depth compared with other into-the-screen shooters. And very much ahead of its time, some level design material clearly served as big inspiration for the Star Fox 64 team a decade later, and even the wing damage from your aircraft.
Interesting re-issue here.
Yeah, I didn’t realise it made it to North American cellphone networks the following year in 2005 either and reviewed well back then.
The other Archives game that’s a cool reissue is Yuusha Shisu (Hero Must Die). Pyramid’s original game had been lost to time and it’s still a very unique RPG with portable sensibilities behind it. But the remake (Hero Must Die Again) is also very faithful.
[79] Majestic Twelve: The Space Invaders Part IV (included in Space Invaders Invincible Collection)
Had a blast with this, enough to play it obsessively and attain top 10 rankings in all modes, including the North America adaptation Super Space Invaders '91.
It’s a really fun fixed scrolling shooter, with great variety in enemy formations and level themes, fun bonus stages and really good pacing with its route map. Puzzlingly the North American version does away with the route map entirely and forces you to play through all stages in order, messing with the pacing and making a run through three times as long.
My only niggle with it really is how little variation there is in the scoring between regular stages, and an overimportance in the power up that increases your shot fire speed. Without it you’re basically stuffed at having a fair shake in the second half of the game.
[80] GG Aleste (Aleste Collection)
If it weren’t for special mode I don’t think I’d play this again - it’s very technically impressive but on modern hardware it’s also rather dull with little threat to your ship. It’s pretty clear that the designers probably designed around the game gear screen’s notoriously low contrast and high motion blur, and it is indeed more challenging under those conditions!
[81] Power Strike II (Master System, Aleste Collection)
Finally cleared this game without continuing! Really enjoyed it. Okay, the first two stages are uneventful, but the second boss prepares you for the rest of the game. Stages 3-8 are just great fun, and the power-up system encourages experimentation rather than discourages it as in Mark III Aleste and GG Aleste. The quickest route to the finish isn’t the easiest.
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My list was roughly:
PSX
DigitalGlider Airman GOTY
Runabout 1
Runabout 2 GOTY
Touge MAX G
The Italian Job
Bravo Air Race
RC Helicopter
Wreckin Crew: Drive Dangerously
GC
The Italian Job
Rally Championship
Pro Rally
Smashing Drive
PS2
Runabout 3
Flying Circus
WRC Rally Evolved
ShoX
Wii
Super Monkey Ball BB
TrackMania
Kororinpa
NS
Membrane
Mario Odyssey
DC
Super Runabout
3DS
Crash City Mayhem
DS
Sideswiped
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