A Winner Is You! (2012)

[KimbleJustice]

Metal Gear Solid (PS1)

I can't remember how many times I've completed this game, but I can find any excuse to go through it - I did it this time because I'd finally replaced my old, broken down PS2 - so obviously I decided to put it through its paces with a PS1 game from 1998.

Yeah, I love this game. I love the insane, convoluted plot and endlessly twisting cutscenes, the sheer amount of exposition spewed forth in all those codec conversations (it helps that pretty much all the voice acting has a lot of earnestness and conviction about it, whether it's the inimitable gruffness of Solid Snake or Liquid Snake hamming it up like a madman) - and of course, all that glorious stealth. And I even still love the way it looks - most people don't have many kind words to say about the graphics on PS1 games these days, but...gah, there's just something about them. It's like going to a different time and place, even more so than playing a 16-bit game. The best looking games of the era just have a style about them, from the way the textures look to how the game and characters move - like they're covered in grime, but there's still a murky beauty to them. There's other games that are good examples - Silent Hill, Bushido Blade, Tenchu, Alien Trilogy, certain parts of Tomb Raider, the pre-rendered games like FFVII and the Resi series...but none more so than Metal Gear Solid. It's somewhere where you actually struggle to see when you're in an air vent.

This time through, I was kind of struck by just how much the game feels like a boss rush with cutscenes. The meat and potatoes of the game is supposed to be studying the guards' movement and avoiding them, but thinking about it - how many rooms are there where you really have to do that? Really, there's only a few throughout the whole game, and most of them are at the beginning. The game starts out that way and puts less and less emphasis on it - from Gray Fox onwards, you barely see a regular guard until you get to Disc 2 - and all the ones you do see are ones you have to engage with. In the meantime, you go through Psycho Mantis, 2 battles with Sniper Wolf, the whole torture section and the Hind. Disc 2 brings back grunts a little, but they're so much barer than the earlier rooms...the Blast Furnace has 2 guards in it. Rex's Lair, perhaps the biggest area in the whole game, is occupied by one solitary guard. I suppose a lot of that's to do with limitations, especially when you consider that usually a lot of the space between boss fights consists of backtracking (the keycard section being the most irritating example).

It's not really a complaint though, as the boss battles are generally bloody amazing. I still happily play along with the mind-bending antics of Psycho Mantis ("Put your controller on the floor!") - easily my favourite fight in the game just for all the weirdness...and despite beating him quite a few times, I still struggle with Metal Gear Rex - I had to continue a few times there...even though I know the strategy off by heart, the timing's still very tough and it's a long fight to boot. And then the cutscenes and music add so much more - you may well be able to pick holes in the story for sport, but...gah, it's just so earnest. As earnest as Earnest Evans.

Next up?...hell, need you ask? I'm going straight off to MGS2, a game that I love just as much because it's even crazier. I need scissors! 61!

[goldenband]

47. Robowarrior (NES)

I have fond, though bittersweet, memories of this game from when I was a kid. I never actually owned it, but got a few stages into the game while I had it on loan (I think I made it to the first boss). It struck me as a tough, unforgiving title, but something about it appealed to me -- the tunes were great, and so was the presentation. Maybe the fact that I'd never read anything about the game, and didn't have a manual, played a role; I felt like I was in on a secret -- and since this game has more than a few secrets, it was a fair match.

I played through the game today for NA's "every NES game in a year challenge", and unfortunately Robowarrior hasn't aged well. There's still a lot to like about it, but the basic gameplay mechanic is just so tedious that it wears on you after a while. Ultimately the protagonist is his own worst enemy -- his own bombs are a far bigger threat than just about anything else, including the bosses. The game's difficulty curve is very strange, too; since your defenses grow with your score, it eventually gets to the point where almost nothing can hurt you -- and since the game is lavish with most items, it's easy enough to heal up any damage you take, and the boss fights are a cakewalk.

That said, I consulted a walkthrough and maps for this playthrough, and that inevitably distorts the gameplay a bit. But only a bit, since there's no way around the basic "bomb everything" dynamic -- and that makes the game more fun to beat than to play. 5/10.

[QuickSciFi]

7. Treasure Planet - PS2

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff498/quickscifi/TreasurePlanetPS2.jpg?t=1344580238

I had been looking forward to play this game since it came out. It's one of the few games I remember testing-out at EB back in 2002 before I bought my first PS2. I thought it looked really impressive for a movie franchise game. It may also have had to do with the fact that I really love SciFi and classical literature and I really dug this new take on Treasure Island (one of my favorite books). But going back to the business of franchising, this game was to me the equivalent of Shrek on the Xbox at the time (they weren't exactly launch titles, but they represented for me, somehow, the notion that gaming technology had become advanced-enough already to pull-off a game with graphics nearly as good as the movie). And, also, it was because Treasure Planet was in 2D that the 3D game felt even more impressive (of course, this was back when 3D animation was on the rise, right alongside the establishment of 3D gaming :?).

My thoughts:
Although this game has excellent controls (and I mean top notch!), it has terrible camera work ( in some boss fights or tricky platforming missions, the camera gives you an obligatory, unnecessarily-uncomfortable rotation; sometimes forcing you to walk, or even jump, blindly). Other than that, the game is solid from beginning to end. In fact, I really dug that I didn't have to re-learn some weird control maneuver like with Shinobi or Devil May Cry. I had just finished beating The Sands of Time and the controls are exactly the same. I know you can change them around, but that's one less hassle anyways. The real problem for me, however, is that this game follows the "achievement points" formula (like other games that use this format, you are forced to replay each level, tediously, just to get a certain number of points to unlock the next level). After playing this game, I came to the realization that I don't just dislike this format of gaming, I loathe it! In attempting to add to the overall time-frame and replay value of the game, it makes it feel like less of a game and much more of a chore to play (I much prefer to play each level only once. If I want to revisit the levels, I'd rather it'd be a bonus element and not obligatory). Another game that uses this formula (and even makes you buy the freaking levels with coins) is Wario Land: Shake it!. This isn't exactly the "achievement" style of gaming you'd see in games like Sonic Adventure or the like (where revisiting levels is just for fun and to do better than you did the last time), with Treasure Planet (as even more with Wario Land Shake it!), it's like the entire game is an obligatory series of bonus stages (not "freebie" stages, mind you, but "hard-as-fuck" bonus stages :?).

Speaking of such:




Technically I beat Kid Icarus Uprising long ago, but I'm not "done" with the game yet.
^@MrMatthews: That post of yours reminds me of how I've yet to settle with Kirby Superstar Ultra on the DS myself. I've beaten all but the Boss Rush (I'm sure there's probably one or two more mini games after that :?). Oh well, the things I learn even now. I think I'm going to start sifting through all my games for those dreaded achievement-style games, or at least be much more selective, before I dedicate that much time to such a long game just to get my ass handed to me at the end and never be able to beat it because of some idiotic obligatory bonus stage. It's just ridiculous.

[goldenband]

48. Jeopardy! (Genesis)

Pulled this out on a lark, and it was pretty much what I expected: a lazy, phoned-in home version of the show. I scored $16k vs. my computer opponents' $2800 and $2200, so I'm calling this one beaten. The questions are OK (if a bit on the easy side), but the pacing is terrible and the presentation is mediocre at best. And there are no difficulty settings -- indeed, there are no bells and whistles whatsoever.

All of which means that the site review (http://www.sega-16.com/2004/07/jeopardy/) is way, way too generous. 3/10.

[QuickSciFi]

8. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - PS2

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff498/quickscifi/TheReturnoftheKingPS2.jpg?t=1344761297

The Two Towers and this one have excellent gameplay, but I'd rate The Two Towers two bars above this one. Is it just me or is this game too short? Oh well, at least it's a solid game and one more venue for my favorite book of all time. After playing through all the main Middle Earth titles, I would rate it in order of awesomeness:

1. The Two Towers
2. The Hobbit (It would hit the #1 spot if it didn't make me dizzy at times).
3. The Fellowship of the Ring (It has Tom Bombadil. What more does a fan need, right? :D)
4. The Return of the King (Just shy of the #3 spot because it felt a bit too short).

P.S.> On another note, I beat it on Normal. But, still, is it just me or was this game harder than the usual franchiser? (Don't get me wrong, though, I dug that it was hard; but it actually came as a surprise).

[The Jackal]

Sonic: Before the Sequel

Awesome, kickass fangame. This is what Sonic 4 SHOULD of been. Highly inventive and absolutely addictive gameplay. Just beat the game, earning the Normal ending. Seriously, you NEED to play this; you can grab it here if you're interested: https://sites.google.com/site/sonicbts/

http://oi48.tinypic.com/207nbmc.jpg
http://oi50.tinypic.com/2ex4jo0.jpg
http://oi46.tinypic.com/2q0m3qx.jpg

Now, just need to replay it to get the Good/Super Sonic ending...

[green.eyes]

Gamecube- Luigi Mansion
Wii- Skylanders Spyro's Adventure (including fully leveling up all 37 characters)
Game Gear- Crystal Warriors

[goldenband]

49. Shamus (Game Boy Color)

I'm told this port of the Atari 8-bit game -- which plays like a cross between Berzerk and, say, Temple of Apshai -- is actually relatively faithful, though it offers certain amenities that weren't in the original, e.g. a password system. Once I realized that mapmaking was essential, I was able to quickly progress through the game and reach the ending.

But not the best ending: that would require, as it turned out, 3000 points (which hasn't before been noted on the Internet, AFAIK). And that's pretty close to the absolute maximum that you can score in the game.

(The game offers you a series of taunts at lower scores, at roughly 500-point intervals; if you get more than 2500 but less than 3000 points, it simply says "Oh dear.")

So what seemed like an easy (and extremely repetitive) port is, instead, a rather challenging (and extremely repetitive) port, because it's quite hard to make 3000 points. You get 1 point per robot slain, and a 10-point bonus for clearing the room of enemies, so over the course of ~128 rooms you can earn around 2500-2600 points, plus another 500 or so from certain (non-random) bonus items.

But if your character dies, if you leave the room and re-enter, if you touch any items in the room, or (I assume) if you take too long, then you get no further points from that particular room. However, the enemies still respawn when you leave and re-enter; you just don't get any points from killing them.

You can only afford to screw up three or four times during the entire game; otherwise you simply won't have enough points at the end. And passwords don't preserve your score, making that whole functionality essentially pointless: you have to play through the whole thing in one sitting.

So it turns into something more like Pitfall! -- a marathon of a game that requires near-perfection -- but unlike Pitfall!, which is always the same, the enemies are placed randomly in Shamus and that can easily screw you over. Add to that the game's control issues; a certain enemy's habit of teleporting through your shots; and the fact that the game itseif is dark and hard to see (at least on a GBA), and you end up with a seriously rage-inducing task.

Ultimately, I managed to get 3045 points and the best ending (which was just a couple lines of text, like all the others). But even though it didn't take that long, beating Shamus was a frustrating process that just wasn't much fun. 3/10.

BTW the game has a few interesting quirks: a valid password is automatically triggered once all digits are correct (which is unexpected, but has its charm); the pause mode is triggered by the START button, but can be canceled by any other button (which is a bad idea); and the in-game credits list two developers, both of whom are female!

[QuickSciFi]

9. Gladiator: Sword of Vengeance - PS2

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff498/quickscifi/SwordofVengeancePS2.jpg?t=1345190416

I would rate it a 3/10, and I'd be extremely generous. The difficulty level is all over the place. You can't tell which level is next unless you memorize the last entrance (which is nearly impossible, because this game is ridden with impossible camera angles and auto-rotation that will drive you insane!). You can tell someone watched Gladiator (The Movie) and a quasi-good idea sprung-up in his mind, but that was the end of it. Broken gameplay, sub-par graphics for a 2003 6th gen game and extremely dull execution (no pun intended); so dull it feels like an early PS1 game that has been blurred to look like an N64 title. I wouldn't be surprised if this game could be flawlessly downported to the N64. The game lacks in every aspect of production (except voice acting; which went to the shitter anyways because of terrible sound editing). If this game has any real difficulty it's because of its broken gameplay that brings you cheap deaths. You could be fighting an enemy and all of the sudden you loose control somehow (or the character lags tremendously). I thought it was my wireless controller at first, but I changed my batteries and that was not it. Just about the only real enjoyment was fighting the bosses. It's the only time you see any real dynamicity in the gameplay. Even the "puzzles" (if you can call them that) were as plain as could be (seriously, it's like a five year-old was in charge of level design).

Excuse me now while I print this IGN Review (http://pc.ign.com/articles/441/441007p3.html) and wipe my ass with it. :?

[The Jackal]

Freedom Planet (Demo)


Yeah, it's only a demo, but what a demo! The game is a mix of Sonic and Rocket Knight, with some Ristar added in for good measure. One to watch out for.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxR8iSIB3jo&feature=plcp

[NeoZeedeater]

and the in-game credits list two developers, both of whom are female!
That depends on your definition. I'm assuming Cathryn Mataga (the original's creator) is one listed. She was born a dude. ;)


Freedom Planet (Demo)
That looks so choppy. It looks like it has potential, though.

[The Jackal]

That looks so choppy. It looks like it has potential, though.

It lags in a few places (pushing blocks for example), but it is a demo build after all, it'll be fixed. Also, that video I posted, I didn't recorded right (I'm still pretty new at recording/capturing); here's a new vid I made a little while ago, which I *think* corrects the FPS issue with the first video:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1J9WKQePSA&feature=youtu.be

[goldenband]

50. After Burner III (Sega CD)

Beat Easy and Normal yesterday, and Expert today. I'll post some thoughts in the review thread (http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthread.php?550-Afterburner-III&highlight=afterburner), but I'd give it 4/10, though oddly enough I think it's a slightly better game than the review (which gives it 5/10) makes it sound.


That depends on your definition. I'm assuming Cathryn Mataga (the original's creator) is one listed. She was born a dude. ;)

That seems to happen a lot! Oh well, at least there was one... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qe9CKDJZCcw)

[N.Saibot]

5296

I have beaten Wonderboy in MW today. This game is so good! Especially towards the end once you get the best sword. One of the best endings too. I'd give it a 9/10, just because of the last hour of gameplay.

[goldenband]

51. Terra Cresta (NES)

It feels a bit strange to claim to have "beaten" a game that loops endlessly, but by beating the full cycle of bosses I met AdamL's criteria for victory (http://www.gamefaqs.com/nes/916386-nes/faqs/26831), which are the standard they're using for the "beat every NES game in a year" drive over at NA.

Actually the game doesn't "just repeat from the beginning" after the last boss, in that it's harder on the second loop and new enemies are introduced. But the bosses follow the exact same cycle, and I have no reason to doubt that the game loops endlessly. In any event, I made it to the end of the second loop -- in fact, I got through most of the loop on one ship! -- but missed out on a golden opportunity to KO the final boss, so I didn't quite loop it twice.

Anyway, it's a fun if simplistic shmup; though marred by disappearing bullets and repetitive stage layout, the basic gameplay is pretty good. 6/10.

[QuickSciFi]

10. Evolution: The World of Sacred Device - Sega Dreamcast
http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff498/quickscifi/EvolutionDreamcast.jpg?t=1345491554

Finally! I've been waiting to play this game since it was first announced prior to the Dreamcast's release; nearly 14 years now. This is definitely my first RPG with randomly-generated dungeons. I had always had a preconceived notion that without a set layout, I might loose the nostalgia factor that is involved in memorizing the dungeons; but at least with this game, the dungeons are easy enough to traverse without any help (unlike any other RPG I've ever played). This sure opens-up a world of possibilities for me. Already I have a couple of DS RPGs I've been putting-off just for this; now I can't wait to see what they're like.

I beat it in exactly 20 hours (level 75), then I went-on for another 15 hours revisiting the dungeons and trying to pay-off my debt. This is definitely my kind of game (turn-based RPGs in general). I could play them for hours on end. To be honest, it was a really easy RPG (very minimal grinding, until you get to the "final boss"). I ended up at level 93 (which was a nice touch to be mentioned-upon by one of the characters on the sequel; very neat touch :)). It was also a nice surprise to see that virtually all (if at least 95%) of the enemies and battle system took its inspiration on the Medical field. At any rate, not to spoil it or anything, but this first part (at least) is not over until you beat one final dungeon and pay-off another "incurred" debt (part of the game's design). I found it very endearing, so I went on to revisit every dungeon all over again. It worked-out perfectly (I managed to pay-off the whole debt by the second dungeon run). I can't say I'd be doing the same for other RPGs, though; but this one was just awesome. It was simple and on the easy side (I finished with the highest ranking of "S"); but then again, I was pretty thorough on this one.


11. Evolution 2: Far-Off Promise - Sega Dreamcast
http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff498/quickscifi/Untitled.jpg?t=1345491575

As can be expected with any sequel, several changes took place in the controls and overall layout, but these were subtle-enough not to feel too invasive. The first game was very simplistic , so part 2 felt a bit more refined in some areas (the only part in which I thought it lacked from the first one was the Dungeon design. Part 1 had beautiful, individualized layouts (the crystaline dungeons were particularly awesome). In part 2, however, it feels like they had a preset engine and simply changed textures all around (although, at the same time, these new dungeons do look and feel easier on the eye overall and much easier to traverse).

I beat it at level 63. I really didn't expect the final boss to be that easy (the one before that one was the only real hard fight, actually. I had to go back and level-up from 43 to 52 just to beat it). I also finished the tower; but I don't think I'll be replaying the entire game all-over again, though (unlike the first one where you can continue playing one extra dungeon and also the rest of them to pay off a debt, you don't get to keep your level on part 2 after you beat the final boss. It's more of an alternate ending type thing in Far-Off Promise, so I don't really feel I'm missing-out on much). What can I say? I loved this game. Although, I think I may have enjoyed part 1 a lot more. They're no Skies of Arcadia or Grandia II, but I still enjoyed both of them very much. And, to be honest, they're both great games. I'm glad I got to play them

[goldenband]

52. Alleyway (Game Boy)

I'd like to say I had fun with this Breakout clone, but the truth is, it's a drag. Between the repetitive gameplay, the lack of bells and whistles, and the tedious stage designs, there's really not much to enjoy. In order to finish it, you have to play it for 90 minutes straight, and by the end my eyes were giving me hell. It's the kind of game where success gives you little feeling of accomplishment, and failure (i.e. losing a life) just makes you feel stupid and/or mad at yourself.

So as they say in Tomcat Alley when a missile misses the mark, "no joy". But at least the controls work well. 3/10.

[QuickSciFi]

12. From the Abyss - Nintendo DS

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff498/quickscifi/FromtheAbyssDS.jpg?t=1345858205

This game was ultra simple, and that's probably why I enjoyed it very much. It somehow reminded me of the time I played through Crystal Warriors on the Game Gear. From the Abyss is an action RPG with similar gameplay format as the Evolution games on the Dreamcast (including randomly-generated dungeons). The only real difference, apart from being a different game with a different plot, is that, in town, you have a set screen in the style of old text adventures (except here you also have some faces to accompany the text, kind of like in Shining in the Darkness on the Genesis).

After Evolution 1 and 2, this was exactly the kind of game I wanted to play. I actually would've preferred a turn-based style of gameplay, but this game turned out to be thoroughly enjoyable. Although, I must put it in my list as the easiest action RPG I've ever played in my life (also very short). But it was beautiful and lots of fun. Its sheer simplicity is probably what warrants its less-than-quality reviews. Honestly, there's a game for every occasion and mood, and this is exactly what I wanted to play atm. Heck, I'm still in the mood for another fun, easy, quick RPG like this one. It may be a while till I buy another of the sort.

The real fun is in the gameplay, and this game is non-stop, "casual" fun. A definite must, imo. :)

[goldenband]

53. Altered Beast (Genesis)

Beat this on Hardest difficulty with 5 lives and 5 health bars today (after beating Normal and Hard first). I may revisit it later to try to get down to the default 3 lives/3 health bars, but whenever a game gives you the option of going down to ridiculously low numbers, then I stop caring about trying to beat it on the toughest settings.

(In this case, that would be 1 life/1 health bar, which would basically mean you have to no-hit or one-hit the entire game. Actually I've no-hit the first level, and can imagine doing the same for most levels, but doing it for all of them consecutively is not an interesting use of my time.)

As for a grade, I dunno...the game's camp value probably outweighs its short length and slightly wonky collision detection, but I really don't like the fact that there are no health powerups, because it puts the player in a negative mindset. That is: since you can't recover from any errors, the game is about avoiding failure, not embracing success. So, call it 5/10.

BTW I still haven't found a good pattern for the Level 4 boss -- that's where I would lose more health & lives than anywhere else. All the others are super-easy as long as you execute properly, especially the Level 2 & 5 bosses who are practically mindless to beat.

EDIT: Now I've beaten Hardest with 4 lives and 5 health bars, but I only used 1 life + 3 health bars, so I used 8 health bars total. Since you get 9 health bars in the default 3 lives/3 health, I think that's that. Actually, I can totally see no-hitting this game, particularly now that I've figured out that a cautious approach works quite well against the Level 4 boss. Certainly, a 1LC with 3 health is absolutely possible.

EDIT #2: And now I've beaten Hardest/3 lives/3 health, using only 1 life + half the next life's health. I didn't lose a life in the first four levels.

[NeoZeedeater]

The Darkness II
Digital Extremes tweaked Starbreeze's formula with improved combat and pacing. Good for a 6 or so hour action fix.

[goldenband]

54. Warrior of Rome (Genesis)

I think I might write a review of WOR for the site, so I'll be brief for now: basically speaking, it's a disaster. I haven't decided whether to give it 2/10 or 3/10 -- I could go either way on that -- but notwithstanding the satisfaction I got from beating the game, that's really all it deserves.

[QuickSciFi]

13. Pier Solar and the Great Architects - Sega Genesis

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff498/quickscifi/PierSolarReprint.jpg?t=1346497929

Outstanding game!:D

Man, oh man, did I love the story and the writing. I can't give enough credit to that aspect of the game. It's what drew me into the game and kept me going and interested until the end (which was awesome, btw). At first, I couldn't help but feel underwhelmed (probably a whole 5 hours or more); and this was partly due to the hype/ partly due to the fact that I kept wanting to grind and the opportunity just wouldn't present itself because I hadn't yet advanced enough in the game (most of the first three hours of gameplay is character chatter and plot development; which is not necessarily a bad thing, especially considering the extent of this game). The bosses, for the most part, can be beaten with minimal levels (but not necessarily with fluid ease. That is to be expected when one hasn't leveled-up enough in an RPG; which is why I like to grind to find bosses or long, difficult treks a breeze). But, thankfully, this game was very long and it paced itself as such; and, like with any RPG (intended or not), one could always find a grinding loophole (quick attacks with considerable XP gained and minimal HP/MP loss). It was after this point in the game where I began to really enjoy it gameplaywise; that's not to say I didn't enjoy the heck out of the story (I found that this game is not only extremely well written, but it happens to be one of the few 16bit RPGs with actual content with substance. This is my favorite aspect of Pier Solar). The obligatory minigame Magic School trials were a pain in the ass, no question; but they're doable if one persists (It took me nearly three hours to finish this very hectic portion). And I was led to believe that this trend would continue as one neared the ending; but it so happened that, as one approaches it, it's a walk in the park (again, leveling here is utterly, minimally necessary) and the very tiny precipice portion can be avoided by simply using the "save" feature. However, it goes without saying that leveling certainly does help (and I ultimately found plenty of awesome spots in which to level-up at various times in the game; which made for an awesome experience; not to mention the number of items/accessories/etc you get to discover along your quest that will really help you go through this game with ease).

My best advice to anyone who hasn't yet played it, but unfortunately has read too many reviews (like I did), is to keep in mind that this is a labor of love and it will certainly not let you down. At least for me, it felt like the game just kept getting better and better gameplay-wise, graphics-wise, music-wise and story-wise as one progressed. I really got everything I wanted from this game, and more. It is extremely professional and now one of my favorite games on my favorite system. What more can I possibly ask for?

[N.Saibot]

Oh yes, Pier Solar is absolutely outstanding and the story writing, as well as the ending, are what puts it in top 5 RPGs for me.

I've finished the Eternal Slip minigame yesterday. All hail me now :) because I've finished it both ways: came to the finish AND returned back. Apparently I took the easier path though, because the professor told there is no gift for me, for taking the shorter path.

[goldenband]

55. Mazer (3DO)

Got this the mail yesterday, put it in to test this morning, and ended up playing through the whole thing. It's total early '90s cheese, a quasi-isometric run-'n'-gun that resembles a cross between, say, Robotron: 2084 and Pit Fighter -- or Smash TV and Shadow: War of Succession -- or...well, you get the idea. Goofy digitized sprites, gratuitous zooming and scaling, flaky controls, questionable hit detection, and thankfully, unlimited continues.

Is it a good game? ("I'll bet it's a good game, she said.") Well, together with what I said above, the fact that I played through it on my first try, but was willing to invest several hours to do so, should tell you everything you need to know.

However, just in case: no, it's certainly not a good game -- but of the bad games I've played recently, it's certainly among the more entertaining and (in its later stages) challenging ones. And who doesn't like getting a boss stuck on the scenery and pounding the crap out of it with impunity? 4/10.

[QuickSciFi]

14. Lady Sia - Game Boy Advance

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff498/quickscifi/LadySia.jpg?t=1346637632

I can't believe I finally beat this game. I actually had given up on it on the penultimate area, Sia's Palace, eons ago. The game was extremely fluid except for that insanely difficult level. This is one of those games where the difficulty lies in the levels and not the bosses; which can lead to utterly insane levels (but like I said, except for that one level, the rest of the game was fluid). The visuals are outstanding (I still can't believe it's an early GBA game), and the gameplay is excellent (right from the start you know you're about to play a really fun game; but just beware of that level ;)).

[MrMatthews]

33. Pikmin 2 (GameCube): I wouldn't have thought this game would be that long, but it took me 47 hours to 100% the game. Fantastic graphics, clever and addictive gameplay, adorable characters, and just-okay music. Controls and camera were a tad clunky, but not enough to sour the experience.

Superior to the original in almost every way.

[NeoZeedeater]

I love Pikmin 2, moreso than any 3d Mario or Zelda even.

Alan Wake's American Nightmare
Worth playing through for a few hours but still a disappointing expansion due to the heavy repetition of areas and the fact that they built the story around that laziness.

[goldenband]

56. Tigger's Honey Hunt (Nintendo 64)

Sweet-natured 2.5D platformer that's clearly targeted at younger kids, but still offers some challenge for the experienced gamer who seeks 100% completion. And I reached that mark, but not without effort: the last stage is tricky, and some of the time trials are pretty demanding!

I didn't pick this game up in a big lot, but bought it à la carte on Ebay after seeing a Youtube gameplay video that intrigued me. A few flaws notwithstanding -- unskippable cutscenes, excessively trivial minigames, and one too many layers of collectathonismus -- I have no regrets. It controls well, looks very pretty (which is mainly why I bought it -- I'm a sucker for 2.5D games in this style), and sounds nice.

Plus you get the incongruous cutscene where Rabbit suddenly appears without explanation, shouts "Tigger, please!", and runs away again. (No, I'm not kidding.) 7/10.

[The Jackal]

Streets of Rage Remake

Was finally able to beat this thanks to the wired 360 pad I bought the other day. Good game, shame Sega C&D it.

http://oi46.tinypic.com/jl7490.jpg

[green.eyes]

3DS games
Mahjong Mysteries Ancient Athena 3D
3D Mahjongg
Batman 2 DC Super Heroes

[M4R14NO94]

Putt-Putt Joins the Parade (Windows)

Decided to try this out alongside other SCUMM-based games with ScummVM a few weeks ago. Played it today and beat it in around 15 minutes.

Woo.

[goldenband]

57. Star Wars: Rebel Assault (Sega CD)

I beat Easy and Normal last year, and started on Hard on New Year's Eve IIRC -- but since Hard takes away your targeting and dodge cues, a couple of the levels were essentially unplayable without memorization. When I ran into one of those (Level 6, the asteroid mission), I gave up in disgust and shelved the game. But then tonight my fiancée was kind enough to help me map out the two problem levels, and with her guidance I got through them.

Actually the asteroid mission wasn't too bad, and only took a couple tries to beat. It was the final Death Star trench run that was really ridiculous: you literally can't see most of the enemy turrets until it's too late, so shooting blindly into memorized locations is the only option. (The other tough mission is the approach to the Death Star, when you have to save a fellow pilot who comes under attack from several enemy ships that are almost impossible to hit -- but that was equally tough on Normal.)

Is it fair to hold Star Wars: Rebel Assault accountable for the kind of game it becomes on Hard? Yes, I'd say so, especially since it points up the basic flaw that scuttles so many FMV games: either you cue everything and it's Simon Says, or you cue nothing and it's unplayable.

The middle path is to cue just enough to guide the player, and Normal sort of does that -- but even with that in place, it's still plagued with poor hit detection, bitcrushed graphics that make it difficult to see what's going on, frustrating controls, counterintuitive stage design, and a laggy, buggy UI. At least it has passwords. 3/10.

[retro nick]

Chrono Trigger (DS)
Just reached 2 of the "Beyond Time" ending variations. Took me just under 32 hrs. to get there. I'll start a New Game+ soon.

So epic.

So awesome.

[M4R14NO94]

(NOTE: Copypasta'd from another forum I'm in 'cause I'm too lazy to think up a new post)

Les Manley in Lost in LA (DOS)

Decided to finish it for some strange reason. It's quite possibly the dumbest adventure game I've ever played. It really is. Comments on it:

-How does Les end up in bed with the two girls from the mud wrestling club? BY TALKING TECH. As it turns out they're both studying at a tech school. You get a DOS bootdisk from them (where they had it hidden I don't know)

-Speaking of the mud wrestling thing... it's represented by a smoke cloud and stars. Interspersed with trying-way-too-hard-to-be-fanservicey (as excellently put by one of the members of Hardcore Gaming 101 in their IRC) shots of the two gals on top of a shirtless Les.

-I take it someone at Accolade wasn't a huge fan of Madonna? Basing myself off of their thinly-veiled parody, Maladonna, I guess...

-Before actually encountering Maladonna you end up in the set of a Friday the 13th ripoff. The way you fix the boat to get across the lake? BY USING PIGEON POOP. I don't think even that one Gabriel Knight 3 puzzle was dumber than this!

-And on there you get chopped in half by a Jason Voorhees expy (Jason Myers... good one, guys) after telling him Freddy's scarier. But as it turns out it was the magic of special effects. Seriously. Les gets up and zips himself up.

-There's a flashback scene to the original Les Manley using screens from that game. But in black and white.

-The finale at the wax museum is way, WAY dumber than anything else. After leaving some stuff next to the wax figure of Helmut (that's Les' buddy, by the way) Les gets caught by the Blonde Zombie Bimbos (really), then ends up laying in some bed. He got caught by Abe Goldstein, owner of Paramounds. But then he turns out to be Tony Leoni, who runs a star agency. But then he turns out to be Dr. Nick, surgeon of the stars. But then it turns out he actually is Mad Wax! Yes, he was four people in one. Anyway, after Helmut goes down using Tarzan's cloth as a makeshift parachute and freeing Les from the steel straps using the Alien figure's drool he carried with a cup made out of wax (really) Mad Wax gets him, and the Blonde Zombie Bimbos come after Les. How does Les get rid of them? BY SHOWING THEM HIS CREDIT CARD, AND THEN THEY MELT (REALLY). Then Les and Helmut throw Mad Wax off of the bell tower after some cooperation, and they scream out "WE LOVE LA!". Credits roll, the end.

THIS FUCKING GAME.

[goldenband]

58. Star Odyssey (Genesis)

Finally. Last year I'd reached the final boss (and gotten whupped) when I stopped for the night, planning to grind the next morning, and my savegame was corrupted overnight. (On discovering this, I think my exact words were "Are you fucking kidding me?")

This year I didn't make the same mistake, grinding continuously as soon as I reached the final planet, and beating the boss on my third attempt. The first time I was just too weak, but after the second try, I suddenly realized I'd overlooked my offense-boosting magic -- and the magic's effects are cumulative, so pretty soon my Tolerian was dealing out more than enough punishment to compensate for the boss's 600HP-per-round gain.

It was actually sort of fun to play through the game again, but it is too heavy on the meet-'n'-greet quests, and otherwise there's not all that much to it. (I did find an item I'd overlooked on my first playthrough, though: the News, oh boy.)

The combat is extremely easy, and I didn't need to do any real grinding until the end -- in part because of the ridiculously high random encounter rate, of course. And the manual really is undercooked, with no explanation of the game's Force Items, and insufficient detail about the Force system itself: why isn't there a chart listing the number of Force Points used by different spells? Why doesn't it list the minimum ability required to combine elements?

Anyway, I'd give it 7/10, but I couldn't argue with 6/10. And if I go back in a few days and find that my savegame is corrupt again, this time I'll laugh -- but I'll still dock it that point.

[M4R14NO94]

Double Dragon (Genesis)

Beat it a few days ago; continued once and played with the max amount of lives and credits (6)

DAT ELBOW

[QuickSciFi]

15. Streets of Rage 2 - Game Gear
http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff498/quickscifi/SoR2GameGear-1.jpg?t=1349589161

I hear part 1 on the Game Gear is very difficult, so I skipped right to this one. It certainly was easier than the Genesis version of part 2. I haven't been able to beat that one yet. I may have to retry that one in Co-Op like I did with part 1 on the Genesis.

As for this one, it was pure awesomeness. The gameplay is just as fun as its 16-bit counterpart, and the music, though simplified, is still as jacked-up as it should be (I'm still listening to the tunes on my headphones as I write this).

[MrMatthews]

34. Kung Fu Master (Game Boy): I'm guessing this is the sequel to the game that appeared on the NES. Graphics are much better than the NES game, as the character looks a bit more like Jackie Chan or Bruce Lee (whoever starred in the movie), but the control is not quite as good, and neither is the sound.

If I didn't have such an affection for the NES game, I would have tossed this cartridge back on the shelf and ranked it just a couple steps higher than Cheetah Men. But as it is, I'd give this game a solid 7/10.

[MrMatthews]

35. Mickey's Ultimate Challenge (Game Boy): I was expecting an experience not unlike the Capcom Mickey Mouse games, but I found instead that not only is this a kid's game, it is merely a collection of mini games that can be completed in about 15 minutes.

[green.eyes]

3DS Green Lantern Rise of the Manhunters

[Theretrogamer12345]

Wow I haven't been counting this far so I'm getting a late start. Anyways #1 Super Mario World on SNES and #2 Legendary Wings on NES. Both got revisited this weekend and my friend and I beat them. Even though its like the 3rd time I beat Super Mario World and the 50th time I beat Legendary Wings, they both are still as fun as the day I originally beat them.

[M4R14NO94]

Worms Ultimate Mayhem (XBLA)

Beat the Worms 4: Mayhem story about a week ago and bought everything at the shop (I think; there's probably some more stuff left to get)

CONCRETE DONKEY

[WarmSignal]

Games I've completed lately

- Paper Mario
- Paper Mario: Thousand Year Door
- Super Paper Mario
- Spray (Wii)
- Luigi's Mansion
- Ghost Hunter (PS2)

[QuickSciFi]

Streets of Rage - Sega Genesis

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff498/quickscifi/StreetsofRage.jpg?t=1350222115

I already beat it last year in Co-Op mode with my GF (http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthread.php?15518-A-Winner-is-You-%282011%29/page17&highlight=winner) , so I won't count it towards this year's beaten list.

This game is awesome.

Max Score: 387200

[NeoZeedeater]

Dishonored (PC)

I love how the environments are made so if it looks like you can stand on something, there's almost always a way to make it to it. And not in a simple Assassin's Creed "you can just scale any building" kind of way but much more creative thinking-based in design. Tenchu and Thief impressed me with their verticality of movement back in the '90s but Dishonored goes far beyond what the hookshots and rope arrows did. It feels like the best elements of those stealth games combined, evolved, and mixed with Deus Ex and Bioshock. And like Arkane's last game Dark Messiah, it manages to have plenty of personality of its own despite the obvious influences.

Anyway, this is my favourite game of recent years. I played through it on hard (which wasn't that hard but still challenging enough to make me strategize). Next time I'll set it to very hard and try different paths.

[MrMatthews]

36. Balloon Kid (Game Boy): It took a few tries, but I finally saw the end of this endearing, erm... "sequel" to NES black box title Balloon Fight. Rather than rehashing the concept of being a blatant (albeit competent) Joust clone, this title expands upon the original's Balloon Trip mode, during which you guide your hovering hero through an auto-scrolling obstacle course.

I'm almost certain this game was handled by Gunpei's game development team as it looks like Mario Land and sounds like Mario Land 2. With just the right amount of challenge, a terrific soundtrack, and a clever and well-executed concept, I'd personally rank this game above either Mario Land title.

[MrMatthews]

37. Kid Dracula (Game Boy): This game is not perfect by any means, but there are few games I've played from the Game Boy's library that have come as close. Graphically, the game is a marvel. Characters are large and detailed, but manage to avoid the claustrophobia that many other games with similarly-proportioned sprites evoke. Best of all, the game moves smoothly with surprisingly little of the ghosting or motion blur that have sullied Konami's earlier efforts (**glares pointedly at Fall of the Foot Clan**). Upgrades are doled out regularly, allowing you to get used to each new weapon in turn. The gameplay is challenging, but not overwhelmingly so. Plus, easily-won extra lives are available between rounds to effectively make the game as difficult or as easily as one would like.

The game feels more like a Mega Man game than something tied into the Castlevania franchise, but unfortunately lacks the ingenuity of Mega Man's Wily levels, which typically task the player to use most of, if not all the powers earned during the game's previous levels. And outside of a cutesy remix of Castlevania's Beginning, the music is pretty lackluster. I was also disappointed with the game's password system. Passwords are only given out at the Game Over screen, which was irritating. After collecting so many lives during the bonus rounds, I had little choice but to complete the game in one sitting.

Complaints aside, however, this is certainly one of the best games on the system; every bit as good as the best offerings from Capcom or Nintendo themselves. It's a shame the game costs a fortune, though.

[goldenband]

59. Blackthorne (Sega 32X)

Beat this tonight, after playing it off and on for a couple weeks. I'll write more in the review thread, but basically, I think this game is wildly overrated, and hardly deserves to be cited as a pearl of the 32X library (or if it does deserve it, then that's pretty damning for the 32X). The pace is sluggish, the gameplay is repetitive and plagued with slowdown, the puzzles are trivial, the sound is buggy, and the overall aesthetic is off-putting at best. I'd give it 5/10, and that might even be a bit generous.

[The Coop]

#19 Black Belt (SMS)- An old Fist of the North Star "edited for the US" game, I finally figured out how to beat the fourth, fifth and final bosses, and saw the little ending for it.

#20 V-Five (arcade) #21 Strikers 1999 (arcacde) #22 ESPGaluda (arcade) and #23 Super Star Shooter (doujin)- Four shmups that I beat for the first time, in a shmup tournament this year. I've beaten the Genesis port of the first game, but never really played the arcade version.

#24 Torchlight II (PC)- Just as fun as the first game, and I'm already playing the "+" run through with the same character.

#25 Bloodwake (XBOX)- Not a bad little boat game. The moon physics get a bit old when you're trying to not get shot, and your boat goes floating through the air for a rather long time, but the game itself is enjoyable.

#26 Slap Fight MD (MegaDrive)- Beat both versions of this little shmup. Not a bad game, but hardly worth the cash required to buy it. Unimpressive overall.

#27 Razor2: Hidden Skies (PC)- A generic shmup with decent graphics and music. Nothing's really broken in the game, but there's nothing that stands out beyond how much of a hit the game's performance takes when turning on the simple shadows it uses.


Edit:

#28 Donkey Kong Country (SNES)- I finally broke down and got a copy of this and the two sequels from a flea market last weekend. Beat the first one about an hour or so ago. Nice game, but the lack of shadows kind of bugs me.

[goldenband]

60. Shadow Blasters (Genesis)

On the surface, this seems like a decent action platformer in the lineage of NES games like Mega Man, Shadow of the Ninja, Whomp 'Em, et al. To help you overlook the weak graphics, it's got decent tunes, reasonably good controls, and some nice perks -- four different characters, a kind of leveling-up system (collect items to improve your stats), and stage select. But then you discover the difficulty curve...

...which starts at sea level and goes downhill from there. Some have complained that Shadow Blasters offers unlimited continues, but if I'm able to 1CC/1LC the game on Hard on my second playthrough ever, is that really the issue?

Admittedly, those unlimited continues did help me learn the game on my first playthrough, mainly in figuring out the final boss fight -- which, since I mentioned it, is like a dance at parochial school: just orbit in each other's vicinity without actually touching, and you won't get in any trouble.

A generous 4/10 since, outside of its extreme lack of long-term value, it's inoffensive and might bring a beginning player some joy.

[M4R14NO94]

Worms Ultimate Mayhem (XBLA)

Finished the Worms 3D campaign a few days ago.

[goldenband]

61. Gain Ground (Genesis)

This, on the other hand, is one of my favorite games in the Genesis library. Bizarrely enough, I'd never played it on anything but co-op before, and had also only ever played Easy difficulty (which we beat earlier this year).

But it's the kind of game where the main challenge is in learning each character's strength and how to approach each stage, so Hard didn't change too much; if anything it simplifies matters since you no longer have to avoid killing all the enemies in order to rescue your comrades.

OTOH the dynamics of the game totally change in single-player mode, since you can no longer rely on having two complementary characters (i.e. one fast-moving, short-range fighter to clear out the first wave of nearby enemies, and one slow-moving artillery type to nail the foes at the back without risk).

Anyway, this is an absolute classic that accomplishes everything it sets out to do, so the Sega-16 rating is absolutely correct: 10/10. (On another site it might get 9/10 for the lo-fi graphics and abortive ending, but why quibble?)

[QuickSciFi]

16. Vectorman 2 - Sega Genesis

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff498/quickscifi/Vectorman2.jpg?t=1350871752

I had been holding-off for this one since the last days of the Sega Genesis. I remember purchasing it, along with a bunch of other cardboard-box only Genesis games, from Toys R Us. I remember it being a major let-down back in the day. Vectorman (the first part) was such an iconic game. It was so well refined and polished. After all these years, decided to give this one another try once and for all. I was pleasantly pleased this time around to find that the gameplay mechanics (specifically, how you control Vectorman) is still very much the same as in part 1. Even though the game turned out to be a little less polished than the first one, I'd say it's still a solid game all-throughout. Boy, what a treat. Vectorman ftw. :D

[The Coop]

#29 Choplifter HD (PC)- As a fan of the original arcade game, when this sequel went down to $3.50 for everything (game and DLC together), I decided to give it a try. There were some cheap spots in some of the stages, but I had fun with it. Some of the bantering was humorous, the visuals were pretty good (nice sense of depth), and it offered a decent challenge to get five stars on everything and find all the secrets. Not sure if I'd pay $14 for the whole package, but it was definitely worth $3.50.

[The Jackal]

Batman Arkham Asylum - Game of the Year (PC)

Fantastic game. Beat it on Normal, loved it from start to finish. Final boss was a little easy for my likening though, but the rest of the game was challenging enough. Gonna restart on Hard and then do the extra modes.

[QuickSciFi]

17. Castlevania: Bloodlines - Sega Genesis

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff498/quickscifi/CastlevaniaBloodlines.jpg?t=1351419860

I can't believe I actually beat my first pre-Symphony of the Night Castlevania. This game has everything going for it, gameplay, graphics, music, you name it. Definitely a Grade A title for the system (and 16-bit gaming overall). The game is definitely hard (even on Easy mode), but mainly due to the platforming elements, as is true of virtually every Castlevania game. The bosses are a treat, since you can memorize some of their moves. The only boss I actually had trouble with was the "Gargoyle"/Dragon boss. It requires a lot more concentration than the other ones (even Dracula). I beat it on Easy, and I will consider this one "beaten". At least for now. This game is so addictive, I think it was that very quality of it that allowed me to hone my skills so rapidly. It doesn't feel like a chore at all; and that's when you know you've got a great game at hand.

Grade A title, baby! :D

[EDIT] I just went back and beat the game in "Normal" mode. I'll definitely consider this one beaten. Good times. :D

[Kollision]

updating

# 27 – Gradius (PS1)
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eXefViyUvgs/T_OFgzisGRI/AAAAAAAACQ0/L8JG8UT-OxA/s320/gradiusDeluxePack_Box.jpg
From the Gradius Deluxe Pack, in every way equivalent to the Saturn one. Classic.

# 28 – Scramble Spirits (Master System)
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Dk0PTlSFf_s/UBBDn-wINYI/AAAAAAAACVE/wLxKlh17Fe8/s320/scrambleSpirits_Box.jpg
Poor port of the Sega arcade, quite easy even with the iffy hit detection.

# 29 – R-Type (XBLA)
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g7fQInvo00A/UBBDgxURG_I/AAAAAAAACU4/LTl8ik0LUpk/s320/rTypeDimensions_Box.jpg
The HD overhaul is absolutely gorgeous.

# 30 – In the Hunt (PS1)
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o3foY-wcFdo/UBs_4iWFX9I/AAAAAAAACXE/W7bzn2s9oyA/s320/inThe%2BHunt_Box.jpg
The “Metal Slug”-type graphics are very nice, but I wish the pace was a bit faster.

# 31 – Salamander 2 (Saturn)
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u76IqEf12_U/UC54hz3H0TI/AAAAAAAACZM/mdhit11BGro/s320/salamanderDeluxePackPlus_Box.jpg
Stunning sequel that improves on the original in every possible way. Awesome soundtrack as well.

# 32 – Sine Mora (XBLA)
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dYuR8bmgnQw/UEIWn3ULE5I/AAAAAAAACaQ/9OG2jDKelZI/s320/sineMora_Box.jpg
A bit misunderstood due to its differences from the norm, and also very cruel to a few stupid mistakes. Still a beautiful game though, worth a try if you’re able to appreciate distinct styles of gameplay.

# 33 – Imperium (SNES)
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8e2EM97oP2o/UF-neo5FKBI/AAAAAAAACc0/h1KzNzg8LTk/s1600/imperium_Box.jpg
A poor man’s MUSHA that gets very hard halfway through.

# 34 – Blazing Star (Neo Geo)
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Rv6ipnC16Jk/UGvIipqKA3I/AAAAAAAACds/jrrQ9lBezuA/s1600/blazingStar_Box.jpg
Probably the most impressive of the Neo Geo shooters. Graphics, sound, challenge, all top notch.

# 35 – Gradius II (NES)
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1APO3w3XZ94/UG5uKfe0zcI/AAAAAAAACfc/P7F1oUJhhUA/s1600/gradius2_Box.jpg
A little disappointing as far as the well-known difficulty of the Gradius series goes, but fun while it lasts.

# 36 – Hyper Duel (Saturn)
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oj4Pq9jH-dc/UHnQSOQ_VpI/AAAAAAAACh0/Y3gw6WSlVd8/s1600/hyperDuel_Box.jpg
Good old Technosoft goodness, the game is just beautiful in Saturn mode. It’s decent, albeit a bit too short.

# 37 – Strike Witches (Xbox 360)
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dFSomsjDBSc/UIDZIzCvNTI/AAAAAAAACi0/nKEA8a4kIL0/s1600/strikeWitches_Box.jpg
Twin-stick shooter with poor graphic design, but there's a mildly engaging scoring system hidden in there.

# 38 – Gradius III (SNES)
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DvS3w2ezLbQ/UH5KA-lu8DI/AAAAAAAACik/fsfsBS1h2do/s1600/gradius3_Box.jpg
The watered down difficulty makes this a considerably easier game than the arcade original. Still a very nice game.

[goldenband]

62. Onslaught (Genesis)

Beat Amateur/Tutor mode last night, and Professional/Human mode today, albeit using two very different approaches.

I'm planning to review this hybrid platformer/strategy/tube shooter for the site, so I'll refrain from saying anything except: uggggggh.

[MrMatthews]

38. Castlevania Chronicles (PSX): This is probably the hardest game I've beaten so far (thank god for unlimited continues). Fortunately, the considerable difficulty never made me want to snap my PSP in half. Although there were some spectacularly cheap moments in the game's latter half (eat my fucking asshole, Clocktower, you goddam cunt), it was nice to see that levels that seemed truly insurmountable on the first few playthroughs became much more manageable once the level design and enemy lay-outs became more familiar.

In the end, Dracula himself ended up being a bit more of a pushover than I expected. After using half a dozen continues getting the hang of his attack patterns, he eventually fell to the age-old tactic of spamming boomerangs in his face.

Special shout-out to the soundtrack. I've been enjoying "Tower of Dolls" on my iPhone for a while and never knew which game it came from.

[QuickSciFi]

^I felt the same about Dracula in Castlevania Bloodlines. To this day, the hardest end-level boss I've had to beat has been Dracula in Circle of the Moon (and that's with all kinds of power-ups, sub-weapons, magic cards and such. Go figure).

[MrMatthews]

I beat CotM a looooong time ago (as in, there were probably only a dozen other GBA games to choose from at the time), so I don't remember the specifics of the battle. But you aren't the first person I've heard who said that Dracula battle in particular was especially annoying. I don't remember struggling with it very much, but I remember it taking forever. My strategy, as I recall, was to keeping super jumping past the top of the screen, but I don't remember exactly what advantage that afforded me.

[QuickSciFi]

Yup. you remember it alright. That's pretty much the only strategy I remember myself. It was more of an endurance battle than anything else. And that's what made it difficult.

[QuickSciFi]

...bump

18. Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi - Sega Genesis

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff498/quickscifi/ShadowDancer.jpg?t=1351653755

I can't believe how easy this game was, especially with the one-hit-kills that take you all the way back to the beginning of the level. I thought this was going to be some hardcore game like Revenge of Shinobi, or even Rolling Thunder 2 (with which is shares the same style of gameplay). I really liked this game. It reminds me of earlier sidescrollers like Two Crude Dudes, with just 5 levels, but all of them awesomely addictive. This is what gaming is all about. Perfectly-smooth gameplay, lightning fast responsive controls (I'm looking in your direction Revenge of Shinobi) and no frustrating levels in the middle of the game that would break an otherwise perfectly smooth of gameplay (I'm looking in your direction Earthworm Jim). I give this one to thumbs way up.

[goldenband]

Took out three Game Boy games while the power was out:

63. Jimmy Connors Tennis (Game Boy)

Decent groundstroke mechanics that reward attacking play, but undermined by ridiculously slow serving, shoddy programming, and repetitive gameplay (you take on the same opponent over and over again). Looks like a rush job, but it does encourage you to play a bit like Connors ca. 1991: retrieve improbable overheads, take big cuts at powderpuff serves from well inside the baseline, and win points with artless but punishing half-volleys. 4/10.

64. Go! Go! Tank (Game Boy)

You're a plane, and your job is to get the eponymous tank to a fortress at the end of the level. You use a hook attached to the bottom of your plane to move blocks around, remodeling the landscape so that the tank doesn't endlessly crash into walls (or fall into irretrievable pits). Meanwhile, enemies shoot at you and otherwise harass you. Great concept, but the execution is overly frustrating, thanks to finicky timing and occasional cheap hits from edge-spawning enemies on a small screen. 5/10.

65. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of the Foot Clan (Game Boy)

Competent action-platformer offers a stage select from the beginning -- but also offers a better ending than the one I got if you play through from start to finish with no GAME OVERs, so that adds some necessary challenge and I'll probably revisit it. Still, I thought this was just OK, and was disappointed by the lack of differentiation between the turtles. 6/10.

[M4R14NO94]

Felony 11-79 (PS1)

Finished all three (yes, THREE) missions today. Shame it was THAT short, since it was a pretty fun game. I still need to unlock all cars, though.

I think I should move on to Runabout 2.

[AlecRob]

I've reached my 1000 posts milestone! Do I get some kind of prize or something? :D haha

[QuickSciFi]

^Lol. I meant beat a game and post it here as your milestone.

You get MERC status.

[AlecRob]

^Lol. I meant beat a game and post it here as your milestone.

You get MERC status.
I sill feel like I beat something, nonetheless. Haha

[Bloodreign]

Rainbow Islands Extra on Taito Memories II Gekan.

Credit feeding my ass off, I finally beat the game just using the continue and money bag code. Earned the double rainbow potion on my own (the Extra versions game mechanics work the same yet differently from the original RI, items and levels shifted around, but the secret items in the hidden boss room door can be turned into whatever you like. Diamonds must be collected in correct order to find this secret door). The game has a score cap of 9,999,990, but that can be overcome by either cheat code, or by pretty much perfecting the game, but the game requires you to jump through more hoops than a hula hoop festival. I now consider this game far harder than the Makaimura series.

The MD version seems to work like the original RI and not like the arcade RIE, so that version with it's continue limit (the Big Book of continues for unlimited credits past level 7 doesn't work like it should, credits are still limited).

Great to finally beat this game, but I think I'll move on to another Bubble Bobble series title for now, this game is just too hard to be successful unless you practice a ton.

[NostalgicMachine]

Gradius III (SNES)

Classic space shooter is classic.


Mega Man X (SNES)

In my top 5 SNES games of all time without question, I can play and complete this one over and over again. All items, weapon/armor/health upgrades, secrets etc. Another one that gets more rotation as the weather gets colder.


Streets of Rage 2 (Genesis)

Picked up the cart a couple of weeks back at my local retro/classic gaming shop. I had forgotten how incredible this game actually is, and I enjoy and appreciate it leaps and bounds more than I did when I was five or six.

[goldenband]

66. Marvel's X-Men (NES) (aka Uncanny X-Men)

Is it a good game? Heck, no, at least not by any traditional definition. But it's not quite as bad as claimed, either, and the Electric Frankfurter (http://www.electricfrankfurter.com/2010/08/closer-look-at-uncanny-x-men-for-nes.html) makes a good case for why. Pity about the forced two-player mode, though. 3/10.

[goldenband]

67. The Itchy & Scratchy Game (Genesis)

On Easy, this game is a mindless but low-stakes romp, where the only real challenge is picking out your preferred method of dispatching Scratchy, and figuring out the mechanics of a couple tricky boss fights. Sure, the collision detection is a little wonky and you get cheated out of an attack now and then, but it can be completed, easily, in under a half-hour.

On Medium, it's more challenging, largely because Scratchy's miniature underlings can now harm you. The tricky boss fights now become a pain in the ass, but only one of them (the pirate ship) is really annoying, and unlimited continues make the hurt go away. Right around here, you realize that there's no real reason to explore any of the stages; just pick a spot and wail on Scratchy until he dies. It took me just shy of 40 minutes.

On Difficult, it's a cheap, frustrating SOB, because now you do only a fraction of the damage you did before, and Scratchy takes upwards of 30-40 hits to kill. Meanwhile you take more damage, though that might've already happened on Medium. And now you really can't explore, since you've got your hands full just getting enough hits on Scratchy before time runs out, especially on earlier stages where the time limit is very tight. The only good option is to find a short platform that's vertically offset and nail Scratchy in mid-air whenever he shows up.

And then you have the boss fights, which are now tedious at best, hair-pullingly aggravating at worst. You can only hurt Scratchy with special items (projectiles), so in order to be sure of having enough, you have to farm his underlings to get 40+ items. But it's impossible to do that within the time limit and have enough time left over to kill Scratchy, so you have to sacrifice a life and dedicate it just to item farming.

Now, you have to hit Scratchy 30-40 times. That's not too bad in some of the boss fights, and some are still embarrassingly easy (the underwater and Western stages come to mind). But the medieval, pirate ship, and construction site stages are all maddening, because you're constantly put in situations where either it's impossible to attack without getting hit, or impossible to dodge Scratchy's attack at all. And you can't take a cautious approach, because of the time limit.

Of course, there are tricks in each case; otherwise I wouldn't be posting in this thread. But it's basically a quintessential example of a game that takes the wrong approach to Hard mode: crank up the required number of hits, force the player to engage in tedious item collection and exploit patterns, and generally make the game unfun. (And consequently, this time it took about 2 hours to beat.)

A much better idea would've been to find some way to encourage the player to explore the stages; maybe they could've had Scratchy take the same amount of damage, but only from limited-use items? That would've at least added something other than red tape and frustration, but maybe the problem is more fundamental. 4/10.

[The Coop]

#30 Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure (PC)- It chugged quite a bit on my old PC, but I beat the game with Cynder. Not a bad game really. Kind of like Diablo for kids in a way.

#31 Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box (PC)- Not as much fun as some of the other Burnout games, but it was enjoyable. I kind of miss the stunt sections being about utter destruction, but some of the new modes were entertaining (Marked Man and Road Rage, namely).

[NostalgicMachine]

I honestly don't have a count for my completed games this year, as I wasn't counting!

Street Fighter II: Special Champion Edition (Genesis)- Classic Street Fighter, and probably the best on the Genesis. I've been playing New Challengers since it was released, but CE pulls ahead by just a tad for me. Completed on max difficulty/max turbo setting with Sagat.

[goldenband]

68. Greendog: The Beached Surfer Dude (Genesis)

This island platformer has a very strange ending -- at first I thought I was about to get hit with another level, but I guess they were leaving the door open for a sequel. I'd played it very briefly in 2010, and then made it to Jamaica last week in my first session, before beating it in a second attempt tonight in a little over an hour.

There's no doubt Greendog is flawed, with slightly sketchy jumping controls, obnoxious skateboarding levels that don't add anything positive to the game, obvious bugs in the music code, and a fetish for traps that send the player back to the start of the stage. In truth, it's a basically short, easy game with a few, brief, tooth-grindingly difficult parts.

And yet none of that matters much. Partly it's the amiable vibe, and partly it's good stage design that successfully minimizes aggravation. But either way, Greendog is enjoyable enough that its pleasures (mostly) outweigh its annoyances. 7/10.

[QuickSciFi]

19. Dynamite Headdy - Sega Genesis

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff498/quickscifi/DynamiteHeaddy.png?t=1352612387

From the other thread:

Dynamite Headdy.
There have been plenty of levels that have made me want to express how hard this game is, but then I keep and keep at it until I master it and put it behind me. It's been a hectic ride thus far, but every day I get a little bit closer to the final boss. Right now I've managed to master all the levels up to level 8-5 with just two or three lives lost (which is nothing, compared to how difficult this game is). It's hard to gain more continues (I haven't yet mastered a proper technique to grab enough of those T-squares after each mini-boss). Now it's all about beating 9-1.

If anyone knows how to get all the Headdy extra lives in "Fun Forgiven", please share.

[EDIT] Beaten! :D

Well, I've finally beaten this game (Final Points: 335,600; although I really didn't try to get any extra points and, though I'm able to get all four basketball numbers down, I chose to make it more fluid and skip all the mini-games). This is one of the most difficult games I've beaten thus far. But, like any platformer, once you get the hang of the levels down, you're pretty much a master at it (which reminds me very much of how I approached the difficulty of the Sonic games). BTW, no one tells you that the best head for the final boss is the mini head. One forgets that the mini head is pretty much the only one that is constant; the other ones have a time limit. I kept losing and losing to the final boss until I figured out to simply select the mini head once at the beginning and get as close to the boss as possible. 'Turns out, the final boss is actually one of the easier bosses now for me.

This is what I love about platformers, that no matter how difficult they are, as long as you keep at it day after day, you're just bound to get better and better; every day getting further and further until you beat it. Man, what a ride! :D

And, btw, although Gunstar Heroes is one of the best games I've ever played on the Genesis, after beating this game I now consider Dynamite Headdy to be slightly superior to it somehow. It may just be my opinion, but somehow the music, feel, gameplay, graphics, music, cut-scenes, innovation, weirdness and overall beauty draw me more towards Dynamite Headdy. I still love both, though. But now that I've finally beaten Dynamite Headdy, I really wonder just what kind of a ride McDonald's Treasure Land Adventure must be. If it's even 50% of what Dynamite Headdy is, I'll be completely satisfied. :)

And now for another Grade A platformer :D

[NostalgicMachine]

ToeJam & Earl (Genesis) - Perhaps the greatest Easter egg hunt in the history of gaming. Non-linear, random levels keep this one fresh for eternity; you'll never play the same game twice! A 10/10 title for sure.

[QuickSciFi]

20. Castle of Illusion - Sega Genesis

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff498/quickscifi/CastleofIllusion.jpg?t=1352686522

I had never even played this one before. It's an ok game, but nothing extraordinary. It was nice and easy enough, so I liked it and definitely enjoyed it. And now off to finally beat World of Illusion. :)

[QuickSciFi]

21. World of Illusion - Sega Genesis

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff498/quickscifi/WorldofIllusion.jpg?t=1352737243

Finally! I can't believe I had actually gotten to the final boss and given up a long time ago. I beat the main "Mickey" quest, so I consider this one beaten. I'll leave the Donald Duck path for another day. Good times. :)

[The Jackal]

I'll leave the Donald Duck path for another day. Good times. :)

Donald's levels are harder and much more memorable (imo), I always play as him due to the fact the game's just better as him. And that end theme, I love that music.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Batman: Arkham City (PC)

Beat the game on Normal, including the Catwomen segments. I'm not 100% sure if it's better than Asylum, but it's still one of the best games I've played in the last ten years, if not of all-time.

[QuickSciFi]

^ I agree with you. I tried Donald afterwards for a few minutes and it just felt much more fluid, quicker-paced. I know I will enjoy it a lot more with Donald when I get back to it eventually. :)

[QuickSciFi]

22. Mickey's Ultimate Challenge - Sega Genesis

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff498/quickscifi/MickeysUltimateChallenge.jpg?t=1352763871

'Beaten on "Medium" difficulty. I don't know what it is about these kiddie games (i.e.-The Berenstain Bears, Richard Scarry's Busytown, Art Alive, etc), but I always seem to find something awesome about them. What I liked the most about this one were the Solid colors that, for a 1994 game would have been obsolete. It may look and feel like an 8-bit game from beginning to end, and kick me in the gut for saying it but I loved that about it. It's nice to have these sort of relaxing games for the Genesis. I really dug it.

23. Ariel: The Little Mermaid - Sega Genesis

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff498/quickscifi/TheLittleMermaid.png?t=1352764102

Yup. This game was easy. I beat it with Triton. As I've always said, it's a poor man's Ecco the Dolphin, but still somewhat enjoyable.

[M4R14NO94]

FUN FACT: Mickey's Ultimate Challenge was one of the first games developed by WayForward. I think the credits mention them.

[QuickSciFi]

24. Sorcerer's Kingdom - Sega Genesis

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff498/quickscifi/SorcerersKingdom.jpg?t=1353299074
This game surpassed all my expectations. I didn't think I was going to enjoy it so much. Part of it must be the fact that the gameplay is superb. I can't believe I haven't seen any other games out there with the same strategy format. It's like a marriage of the usual strategy with the tiled tactical floor; except more fluid than both (it's very rapid). The only real problem I found with this style of strategy is that only one character is able to perform damage at a time (while multiple enemies will perform multiple attacks), so you're bound to just concentrate on your melee fighter(s) and leave the other three in the back, hoping they don't get hurt too much.

And, like I said, the gameplay is very rapid, fluid; it's what makes this RPG so fun and quick to play. Add to it the fact that it is probably the shortest RPG on the Genesis (and perhaps of all RPGs I've ever played) and you've got a great little game that will satisfy even the most ADHD of retro gamers (i.e.-the usual non-RPG croud). It could have done with an extra quest or two, but I dug this game.

P.S.> Someone mentioned somewhere before that the final boss was the "hardest final boss" they've "ever played in an RPG", or something to that effect. This really stuck with me to the end and it made me really anxious in that final fight (expecting something really really long). 'Turns out it is entirely the opposite; so whoever said it (I can't remember who it was) must have either been joking or probably only played the one RPG in their lifetime, because it was the easiest final boss ever. In fact, this is actually the easiest RPG I've ever played. Good times. :)

[AlecRob]

I beat panzer dragoon zwei! It was really hard at certain parts, even bullet hellish during some of the bosses. The art style and graphics were incredible. It is truly an amazing game I would even put it up there with sin & punishment on the N64. Of all the rail shooters Ive played for 5th generation consoles, this is definetely one of the best, especially with the 3D controller.

If you like old school rail shooters, I cannot recommend this enough. Seriously, go out and buy panzer dragoon zwei now. Download teh romz, get SSF, whatever it takes. Just play this game!

[goldenband]

69. Raid on Bungeling Bay (NES)

Technically this game doesn't have an ending, but since I beat one round each in Game A and Game B (which is the equivalent of starting in Round 3 of Game A), I'm calling this one done. The maps and stage layouts stay identical through every loop, and Game B throws the full arsenal at you; the only thing to look forward to would be an increase in missile damage from 40% to 50%.

For an early Famicom game, it's actually quite good, with responsive controls and interesting gameplay. But there are a few demoralizing cheap shots (cannons that respawn a split-second after you blow them up), and it's a pity that it abandons the structure of the C64 version (which does have an ending). 6/10.

[goldenband]

P.S.> Someone mentioned somewhere before that the final boss was the "hardest final boss" they've "ever played in an RPG", or something to that effect. This really stuck with me to the end and it made me really anxious in that final fight (expecting something really really long). 'Turns out it is entirely the opposite; so whoever said it (I can't remember who it was) must have either been joking or probably only played the one RPG in their lifetime, because it was the easiest final boss ever. In fact, this is actually the easiest RPG I've ever played. Good times. :)

Heh, same here -- I think you may be remembering Dark Sol's comment here (http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthread.php?14484-Sorcerer-s-Kingdom&p=310817&viewfull=1#post310817), which was probably what I had in my mind. I agree with him that the beginning is a little tricky, especially if you do what I did and accidentally skip the intended "first" area and head straight to the tougher monsters of the second. But the ending? No way, it was a cakewalk.

[MrMatthews]

22. Mickey's Ultimate Challenge - Sega Genesis

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff498/quickscifi/MickeysUltimateChallenge.jpg?t=1352763871


35. Mickey's Ultimate Challenge (Game Boy): I was expecting an experience not unlike the Capcom Mickey Mouse games, but I found instead that not only is this a kid's game, it is merely a collection of mini games that can be completed in about 15 minutes.

So did our experiences differ too much? In my version, Mickey went back and forth between about 7 or 8 rooms in a single castle, playing mini games for folks like Claribell, Daisy, Goofy, and Donald. The final "boss" was a slide-puzzle with the giant from Mickey and the Beanstalk.

[QuickSciFi]

^What's your point?


Heh, same here -- I think you may be remembering Dark Sol's comment here (http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthread.php?14484-Sorcerer-s-Kingdom&p=310817&viewfull=1#post310817), which was probably what I had in my mind. I agree with him that the beginning is a little tricky, especially if you do what I did and accidentally skip the intended "first" area and head straight to the tougher monsters of the second. But the ending? No way, it was a cakewalk.

Yeah, that was the comment. But I can't say I agree about the beginning either. It may just be me who likes grinding to the core, but I expect all my RPGs to start rough and end smoothly.

[MrMatthews]

^What's your point?

Really? Get prickly much? :?

My point is that I played a "dumbed-down" version of the game you played. I was wondering if there was much of a difference between the Genesis version and the Game Boy version.

[QuickSciFi]

I misunderstood what you meant by different versions. I should've known it was the Game Boy version, being you who has beaten more GB games than anyone else in this forum.

The games were probably the same. In fact, like I stated in my comment about the game, I bet the Genesis version could have seemlessly ported to the SMS; or any 8-bit counterpart. But then again, what I found "awesome" about mine were the extravagant use of solid colors and simplicity of design, which was unlikely at that point for a 1994 game. And that's the aspect of it one can't appreciate in a Game Boy version.

[NostalgicMachine]

Golden Axe II on all difficulty settings. What a classic!

[QuickSciFi]

25. Dragon Warrior II - NES

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff498/quickscifi/DragonWarriorIINES.jpg?t=1353902374

I beat it with level 32. This is the formula I like best in my RPGs; and now I can't wait to finish the NES series with III and IV (I definitely can't wait to play part IV :)). What a great series.

[NostalgicMachine]

^Most excellent.

Playing through Streets of Rage 2 with all characters on the "Mania" setting. Needless to say, it's quite the challenge. Also, this month marks the 20th anniversary of the game.

[QuickSciFi]

^I just had a Streets of Rage marathon myself about a month ago.

[The Coop]

#32 Wolfenstein (PC)- A fair number of people didn't like this entry in the franchise, but I enjoyed it. No undead or anything, but a fair bit of sci-fi and some fun battles to be had.

#33-#35 Command & Conquer 3 (PC)- I beat all three campaigns. Better than C&C 2, even though there were a few REALLY unfair missions. I also flat out caught the CPU opponent cheating, spawning multiple vehicles at once over and over from a single war factory. But, it's been bested, and now it's off to "Kane's Wrath."

[The Jackal]

Sonic the Fighters (360):

Bought it, completed it and got all Achievements in 20 mins; exactly 20 mins. Was cheap, so I don't care that much.

[NostalgicMachine]

Turtles in Time (SNES) on hardest difficulty setting. Still not very difficult lol.

[M4R14NO94]

Zombie Panic in Wonderland (WiiWare)

Finished it last night. Apparently the last time I played it (which was about a month or so ago, when I got the game) I was two levels away from the final one. And now I gotta beat it three more times to unlock the other characters.

yay

[goldenband]

70. Out of This World (3DO)

I figure the SNES version of this game will always be dearest to my heart, partly for the excellent soundtrack and partly because the slow frame rate somehow makes the game feel more stylized and mysterious. Or maybe it's nostalgia talking. Either way, though, I expected to be put off by the 3DO's updated textures and soundtrack.

But actually the textures are basically fine -- mostly inoffensive though sometimes off the mark, and occasionally an arguable improvement -- and the soundtrack is a non-issue. What's more jarring is that the 3DO version is very quick, almost arcade-like in places, which changes the feel of the game though oddly, the underwater section later in the game suffers from major slowdown. But it's not a problem, and you get used to it. The teaser for Heart of the Alien is a nice touch; too bad it didn't come out on the 3DO, and too bad it looks unlikely to be a worthy successor to Chahi's creative vision.

Anyway, none of this matters much because the underlying game is intact, and that will always be one of the all-time classics in my book. 9/10.

[The Coop]

... too bad it didn't come out on the 3DO, and too bad it looks unlikely to be a worthy successor to Chahi's creative vision.

You'd be mistaken in thinking that. Yes, this is all "IMHO" and all that, but Heart of the Alien is a very enjoyable game. In some ways better, in some ways worse, than the original, but overall, a worthy followup.


#36 Sagaia (GB)- Not the same game as the arcade/Genesis ones, but rather, a weird mix of Darius 1 and 2, with a few original bits thrown in. 8 levels long with linear stage progression, it's not a bad little GB shmup. Some decent renditions of famous Darius tunes, familiar bosses, and even a funky little parallax effect when you go up and down.

#37 Command & Conquer: Kane's Wrath (PC)- A solid followup to C&C3, but with only one campaign to play through. Even so, it was done pretty well, filling in some blanks within the C&C3 timeline, and giving you a little peak into what was to come.

[The Jackal]

Skyrim; Dragonborn DLC/"Add-On":

Uber fast; took me about two hours and a half to finish the main quest (10 hours + my arse). That's my only complaint; there still boat loads of side quests, towns and dungeons to explore so the DLC itself is still value for money imo.

[The Coop]

#38 Drakan: Order of the Flame (PC)- It took a fair bit of patching, and some patience thanks to various crashes, but I got through this older game. Not a bad Psygnosis game for its time. Some parts were funny, and the characters (namely the dragon) were pretty good. A very disappointing ending to be sure, but the game overall was fun.

[goldenband]

71. Star Wars: Rebel Assault (3DO)

Sat down today to play this through. Since I beat it on the Sega CD earlier this year, I just went straight to Hard, and after a few hours of gameplay (in separate sessions) I blew up the Death Star.

The 3DO version should be a slam-dunk over the Sega CD in every department, but actually there are a few faults. The most glaring problem is in the Storm Troopers level (or whatever the level where you're on foot is called), where the handy targeting reticule has been replaced with one of the worst aiming schemes I've ever seen. In addition, I found that the reticule movement in some of the space missions was slow and fairly granular (moving in little steps), which makes aiming more difficult; that wasn't the case in the Sega CD version IIRC.

Still, the graphics are a big (and functional) upgrade, and there are some significant improvements to the HUD, including a readout which tells you when you're locked onto a target and when to fire. So, now you can see what you're shooting at, and know when to shoot it. That makes the final Death Star trench run infinitely more playable than the Sega CD version, but the asteroid mission is still a memorization game.

Oh, and there's an extra level, which is OK. And if you're feeling generous, so is the game. 5/10.

[M4R14NO94]

Pipe Mania (DS)

Finished all levels on Classic mode, on Normal.

Much better than the newer mode, honestly.

Dragon Ball Z: Taiketsu (GBA)

It's so baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad.

...in all seriousness, it's one of the most horribly broken fighting games I've ever played, yet I strangely had some sort of morbid enjoyment out of it.

Only finished Tournament mode as Goku. Behold, his ending:

http://i.imgur.com/cbVyf.png

srsly

[goldenband]

72. Super Street Fighter II Turbo (3DO)

Played through this yesterday with E. Honda on 8-star difficulty. I'd beaten 1-4 stars last year, and decided to abandon my gradual ramping-up and just go for it. Didn't get Akuma, of course -- I might go back and try to reach him at some point.

The world isn't exactly in desperate need of SFII series reviews, but I will note a couple things: first, I think the voices in this port are sped up, and run 5-10% too fast. Not too terrible, but certainly noticeable.

Second, the AI is sometimes as dumb as a post! I was able to win many fights with simple Super Zutsuki (flying headbutt) patterns. For example, using just the Super Zutsuki, I was able to get a Perfect victory in the second round against M. Bison. I didn't by any means win every match (I think I lost around 12-13 of them), but I was able to beat most in two rounds.

Oddly enough, my main challenge didn't come from the big name-brand characters -- Ryu, Chun Li, M. Bison, all of whom I beat in one match -- but from Vega, Blanka, Dee Jay, and especially Cammy who seemed to fight much smarter than the other characters. Maybe a SSFII Turbo expert would be unsurprised by that (or would scoff at my failure), but it took me off-guard. 8/10.

[The Jackal]

Dragon Ball Z: Taiketsu (GBA)

It's so baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad.

...in all seriousness, it's one of the most horribly broken fighting games I've ever played, yet I strangely had some sort of morbid enjoyment out of it.


Yeah that games is balls (pun intended). Bad on all fronts, how they released it in that state I have no idea. Kudos to actually sitting down and completing the crap, though.

[M4R14NO94]

Yeah that games is balls (pun intended). Bad on all fronts, how they released it in that state I have no idea. Kudos to actually sitting down and completing the crap, though.

It truly sucks dragon balls.

[M4R14NO94]

(NOTE: Copypasta'd from the HG101 forums)

Spice World (PS1)

"Finished" it as Victoria/Posh Spice. Blame it on that Game Grumps video. Then again I don't think you could even consider this a "game" at all. It's a terribad multimedia disc thingy. I am kinda proud of my Say You'll Be There "remix", though (I'm saying it in quotes because, since the samples they give you are a bit of a disjointed mess, I ended up making it closer to the original song)

Also the bonus videos are quite odd. One of them is footage of a concert where they were (pretending to be) naked, while sitting on a chair. Also stuff like one of the girls saying she wanted to "grab Prince Charles' bum" and in one bit a bleeped-out swear word. Keep in mind this was rated Everyone.

Also I still can't believe it was PSYGNOSIS that published it in the US. To quote someone on the HG101 IRC, "They should have put on the box 'From the creators of AGONY' - That should give it some perspective x3"

[goldenband]

73. Battle Chess (3DO)

Beat this on the highest difficulty (9) with the black pieces. Thankfully it has a savegame function, since the CPU uses at least 20-25 minutes per move -- our 51-move game took over 20 hours of computer time -- and my tolerance for chess programs without a clock is approaching nil.

I'm indifferent to the battle scenes, the chess engine itself is mediocre -- NES Chessmaster is quite a bit stronger -- and there are appallingly few options. So there's really not much to recommend here unless you're determined to play chess on the 3DO. 3/10.

[NeoZeedeater]

Steel Diver
This is a much better game than it gets credit for. Sure, it's a little on the short and easy side but I think I'll actually want to replay the levels for better times. The periscope sections gave me flashbacks of playing Sub-Roc 3D almost three decades ago.

[The Coop]

#39-#40 Enclave (PC)- I've owned this game for quite a while on PC and XBox, but I never really sat down to play it. That's changed now, as I've beaten both the Light and Dark campaigns. Not a bad game. The collision detection can be a bit wonky at times, but the gameplay's solid and the music is quite good. Even the graphics stand up pretty well after nine years.

#41 Serious Sam 3: Jewel of the Nile (PC)- A little DLC pack for Serious Sam 3: BFE. Took about 3-4 hours to beat, but it was still fun.

[goldenband]

74. Kung Fu Kid (SMS)

The high-jumping protagonist of this middling action game can often avoid conflict by simply encouraging three enemies to follow him: since the game can't summon a fourth, they just obligingly tag along until an obstacle or a boss is reached.

And the bosses seem like the best part of the game -- but because most bosses are motionless and vulnerable after getting hit, you only need finesse for the first attack; after that, brute force suffices, but without much satisfaction.

Music's OK, but the garishly colored art design makes Sunset Riders look like Johnny Cash. 4/10.

[The Coop]

#42 Duke Nukem Forever: The Doctor Who Cloned Me (PC)- Yes, I own Duke Nukem Forever. Laugh all you want, but it's really not the bane of video gaming some make it out to be. It pretty much average overall, with a lot of ups and downs on all fronts. I got the DLC when it was dirt cheap a while ago, and finally got to play it. It's not a bad little campaign, with some fun spots and such scattered throughout. However, the load times are even worse than the main game, and you'll spend about one third of the time playing it, staring at "Now Loading."

[goldenband]

75. Cyborg Hunter (SMS)

Another day, another SMS game that can be beaten in one sitting. Actually, it took me two playthroughs, since the game pulls the "Oh, gee whiz, you made it to the final boss? Well, I guess now you can't continue anymore" gambit which is the coward's way of extending a game's length. But the second time it was easy enough.

There are a few nice touches in this vaguely Metroid-ish title, like the fact that some late opponents are actually more easily subdued with your punches than your gun. The radar works pretty well, too. But it's neither challenging nor deep, and the otherwise-solid controls suffer from the nutty decision to use Up to set bombs, which naturally leads to lots of wasted detonations when you're just trying to go through a door. 5/10.

BTW for a free laugh, check out this review (http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=17406&tab=review). "[S]ort of a mesh between Metroid and Metal Gear" -- yes, OK, but "like Metal Gear, there's no password or save system" -- say what?

[AD2101]

Just finished The Walking Dead, and it totally lives up to the GOTY hype.

[NostalgicMachine]

Super Castlevania IV, just for kicks last night :cool:.

[NeoZeedeater]

Shantae: Risky's Revenge (DSi)
Easily Wayforward's best game and a big improvement over the GBC original. I was hoping it would recapture that Wonder Boy III feeling given the strong similarities, and for the most part it succeeds. My only big complaint is that it's on the easy side for enemies. I beat the last boss on my first try.

[The Coop]

#43 Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter (PC)- Beat it, and found out that I can get it to run pretty nicely on my old PC. A bit of tinkering in the right places gave me a playable framerate, without losing all the visual nicities. Some, but not all.

[The Coop]

#44 Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter (PC)- As with the previous one, beat it. Kicked a fair bit of ass at times too.

#45 Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter - The Legend of the Beast (PC)- The new(ish) DLC for this game. Not nearly as good as the DLC for SS3, as the levels weren't as well designed as the ones in the main game, and the enemies came at you in slower, more manageable waves. Plus, you didn't even get to use about 1/3 of the weapons, and spent a stupidly long time being stuck with weaker weapons against strong foes. It didn't have the intensity or the fun. Not bad for $1.24, but a let down. The only really interesting part was the final boss fight, and what you had to do to beat it (which was actually pretty easy).

[NeoZeedeater]

Sakura Samurai (3DS)
A short and charming little action/adventure. The combat is addictive, similar to Punch Out but not as memorization heavy.

Shinobi (3DS)
As I mentioned in another thread, as a huge Shinobi fan I had my doubts based on videos of it but it is surprisingly well made. I would say it's the most difficult game in the series. I'm guessing it was originally intended for the old DS as the 3d effect doesn't work so well (too much double vision) and the graphics are blocky at parts.

[The Coop]

#46 Dead Space (PC)- I've actually owned this game for a while, but never really sat down to play it. That changed over the last few days, and I have to say, this was quite a good game. Ran pretty well on my old PC, too. Nice graphics, good atmosphere and story, though the controls were a bit odd. Laggy keyboard and mouse controls, even after the fixes I found online. Still, I got through it and won. Now for the sequel!

[The Coop]

#47 Dead Space 2 (PC)- Like the first game, I've owned this one for a while. The was one great sequel. Good story and atmosphere, great graphics, interesting characters, more diverse gameplay, and it ran MUCH better on my PC (guess they did a better job optimizing it). Can't wait to eventually get to play Dead Space 3.

[The Jackal]

What's your specs, Coop? I've wanted to get into the Dead Space games for a while now and I'm currently started to amass a PC collection of my own.

[The Coop]

What's your specs, Coop? I've wanted to get into the Dead Space games for a while now and I'm currently started to amass a PC collection of my own.

Windows XP SP3
Pentium IV 3.00GHz (Hyper Threading)
Nvidia 7800 GS (overclocked version from EVGA)
2GB PC 3200

You will have to turn things down, but not all the way. I had everything on medium at 1024x768, and the game was quite smooth in DS2. DS1 just wasn't optimized as well as it should have been, but it was still quite playable.

[The Jackal]

Windows XP SP3
Pentium IV 3.00GHz (Hyper Threading)
Nvidia 7800 GS (overclocked version from EVGA)
2GB PC 3200

You will have to turn things down, but not all the way. I had everything on medium at 1024x768, and the game was quite smooth in DS2. DS1 just wasn't optimized as well as it should have been, but it was still quite playable.

Cheers Coop. My computer's just about the same (Pentium D, 4gb ram, HD 6450), so I should be able to run it pretty much on the same settings as you.

Thanks man. :)

[The Coop]

#48 Velvet Assassin (PC)- Got this for $1.99 off of Amazon. Read some reviews that seemed all over the board, but for two bucks, I figured I'd try it. It's not a bad game, really. It plays a bit like a WW II version of the early Splinter Cell games; sneaking around, killing enemies and hiding their bodies, etc. Of course this time, you get a shapely British female agent to control. The graphics are pretty good, the atmosphere is well done, and the controls are fine. It doesn't excel to the point of awesomeness, but it's a decent game. The ending, however, was a bit WTF.

[The Coop]

#49 Scramble Spirits (SMS)- Beat this one a while ago, but forgot about it. I came damn close to looping it, getting to the final stage a second time before I lost my last plane. Not a bad little shmup for the on SEGA 8-bitter.

#50 Painkiller: Hell & Damnation (PC)- This is supposed to be a remake of the original game and its expansion. It does use 14 redone levels from those two things, but the story actually feeling like a sequel. It makes references about things that happened in the first game several times, making the game feel more like a strange kind of Groundhog Day-like event in the main character's life; being forced to retread old levels, with knowledge of what happened the last time he was there. The only problem with the game, besides how short it is (the original and expansion were 34 levels total, while "Hell & Damnation" are only 14), is that the ground graphics in the game on some levels were missing. You were walking on open space, with the structures and objects floating out there with you. Couldn't find a fix for it, but I still won.

Edit: #51 Satazius (PC)- A little Steam shmup I bought during the Summer sale. Heavily influenced by the Gradius series, it's not a bad game per se, but it doesn't really have much to make it stand out, the music is repetitive, and the graphics have a weird "cut out" look. There are some good weapons and decent bosses, but it's really pretty average all around.

[Kollision]

Final update

# 39 – Side Arms (PS2)
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Kv2EXp3PxLY/UI8AmF1VTDI/AAAAAAAAClo/x7GQP5ic6R4/s1600/capcomClassicsCollection2_Box.jpg
I don't think this game aged well, especially its music. Gameplay at least gets quite frantic halfway.

# 40 – R-Type II (PS1)
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-w4-3bY8gjq8/UKVAhn_QSRI/AAAAAAAACm4/0RM3iSaUD5E/s1600/rTypes_Box.jpg
Awesome game. Overall R-Type II is more balanced than the first (no restart syndrome), but the 2nd loop is a lot nastier.

# 41 – Zap Zap: Pew Pew (XBLIG)
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RUhtYqd1_Po/ULOUUW-P3PI/AAAAAAAACqs/x96kTxHorwQ/s1600/zapZapPewPew_Box.jpg
Extremely simple yet imaginative little shooter. Good potential for a meatier game, it would be great if expanded.

# 42 – Metal Black (PS2)
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-t0Bcfqz4eiY/ULFEZ5xql0I/AAAAAAAACoc/q3BGIXzK2i0/s1600/taitoMemories1-1_Box.jpg
Cheap-ass gameplay wasn't as tough as I remembered. Nice laser beam duels. Soundtrack grew on me this time.

# 43 – Captain Planet and the Planeteers (NES)
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XZMqJMJrPSg/ULoILjjVgXI/AAAAAAAACss/9_kPmOZm5o8/s1600/captainPlanetAndThePlaneteers_Box.jpg
Starmist is to blame for me playing this one, an underrated action/shooter hybrid with the good old NES difficulty standard.

# 44 – Psychic Storm (PC Engine CD)
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-12nkkuPpHpE/UL1JzvOnZAI/AAAAAAAACtc/SbT1RB9qyl0/s1600/psychicStorm_Box.jpg
Poor shooter with almost null replay value, but with nice visuals and decent music. A shame.

# 45 – Magic Girl (Mega Drive)
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qXXqg6WdPrk/UMpupS00WTI/AAAAAAAACvI/OGZ7k4p4Dbo/s1600/magicGirl_Box.jpg
Choppy as hell but strangely busy, albeit easy, from start to finish. Will finish a review for it soon.

# 46 – DoDonPachi (Saturn)
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2R-1OXq_tWs/UMlYd4kAACI/AAAAAAAACu0/2ykvTI3QN9s/s1600/dodonpachi_Box.jpg
Finally I did it. Amazing game, I even achieved the criteria for the loop and reached 2-2.

# 47 – Nexzr (PC Engine CD)
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zBHaMr6kdrw/UNjH2iW-alI/AAAAAAAACwY/9gEk8qHooK4/s1600/nexzr_Box.jpg
Sleek and stylish spaceship shooter with an amazing soundtrack. Probably one of the best the PC Engine CD has to offer.

[MrMatthews]

39. Castlevania (NES):

I've been making multiple attempts to complete the original Castlevania on the NES, but every run I've made at Dracula has been thwarted by a faulty game cartridge that consistently freezes up right around the Death battle.

My sister & brother-in-law gave me a CIB copy of the game for XMas, so tonight I gave the old cartridge one final chance to play nice for me before retiring it completely. Right on cue, it froze up during my third or fourth attempt at defeating Death (what would have been the FINAL attempt, I'm sure - the battle was going pretty well). So I took a break and then swapped out the cartridges in the old toaster.

Wouldn't you know it? I played better than I ever had. I marched straight through the first five levels, taking down Death with a barrage of level three boomerangs on my first attempt. It took me a few tries to get through the final level: only two or three times before I realized that I could trot right past all those vampire bats at the beginning without a second thought, and quite a few more to negotiate the gauntlet of hunchbacks in the level's final stretch.

I've beaten Dracula many times now in his various incarnations, most recently in Castlevania IV and Castlevania Chronicles. I've never been particularly impressed with these final battles, especially with these last two games. It has always seemed that the road to Dracula was more grueling than the final battle itself. Not so, here: it took me no less than three dozen tries to beat this bastard. Most battles with Dracula begin with him teleporting randomly all over the room, but in this first appearance, there's little warning as to where he's going to reappear next, and his sprite is too large to avoid easily. It only took me a few tries to defeat Dracula in his final form, however; less than a quarter of the times it took me to get past the first form, I'm sure.

AVGN says that if I get hit even once during Dracula's first form, I have almost no chance of beating him in his second.

Well, James is wrong. But if you get hit MORE than once, you might as well throw in the towel and start from scratch.

[The Coop]

#52 X-Blades (PC)- This game took a lot of flack, and some of it was deserved. The battles in some of the arenas take for-fucking-ever to get through, with wave after wave of enemies that barely make a small dent in the "how much more you have to fight" meter. Hell, some arenas had four or five of those meters to get through, with each successive one taking longer to whittle away at. The graphics were pretty good, as was some of the music. The controls were fine, except when you tried to pull off some of the special moves. Regular movement had no issues, but doing things like "LMB x2, MMB" combos was way too inconsistent. It was worth the $1.99, but not much more than that.

#52.5 Serious Sam 3: BFE (PC) again- Yeah, I was playing Wonder Boy in Monster World, and the final boss go me so fed up and frustrated (all I did over and over was bounce around like a damned pinball because of the buzz saw, the lasers, and the final boss' face), I just wanted to make shit go boom. So, I beat this game again, and threw that frustrating piece of shit Genesis game back into the closet to collect dust.

[NostalgicMachine]

39. Castlevania (NES):

I've been making multiple attempts to complete the original Castlevania on the NES, but every run I've made at Dracula has been thwarted by a faulty game cartridge that consistently freezes up right around the Death battle.

My sister & brother-in-law gave me a CIB copy of the game for XMas, so tonight I gave the old cartridge one final chance to play nice for me before retiring it completely. Right on cue, it froze up during my third or fourth attempt at defeating Death (what would have been the FINAL attempt, I'm sure - the battle was going pretty well). So I took a break and then swapped out the cartridges in the old toaster.

Wouldn't you know it? I played better than I ever had. I marched straight through the first five levels, taking down Death with a barrage of level three boomerangs on my first attempt. It took me a few tries to get through the final level: only two or three times before I realized that I could trot right past all those vampire bats at the beginning without a second thought, and quite a few more to negotiate the gauntlet of hunchbacks in the level's final stretch.

I've beaten Dracula many times now in his various incarnations, most recently in Castlevania IV and Castlevania Chronicles. I've never been particularly impressed with these final battles, especially with these last two games. It has always seemed that the road to Dracula was more grueling than the final battle itself. Not so, here: it took me no less than three dozen tries to beat this bastard. Most battles with Dracula begin with him teleporting randomly all over the room, but in this first appearance, there's little warning as to where he's going to reappear next, and his sprite is too large to avoid easily. It only took me a few tries to defeat Dracula in his final form, however; less than a quarter of the times it took me to get past the first form, I'm sure.

AVGN says that if I get hit even once during Dracula's first form, I have almost no chance of beating him in his second.

Well, James is wrong. But if you get hit MORE than once, you might as well throw in the towel and start from scratch.

MASSIVE congrats on finishing this epic, legendary game. It took me many, many, MANY tries to get through it, but a buddy and I did it about two years back. Several dozen attempts sounds about right; the teleporting aspect was what was kicking our ass every time. He'd appear almost right on top of us, and absolutely decimate our health meter every round. I don't think I've thrown an NES controller at the floor harder than with this one!

This segues beautifully right into my FIRST completed game of 2013...

1. Castlevania: Bloodlines (Genesis)

While the game felt short, but more than made up for it with the frustration factor (returning full force), it's a fantastic 'vania title, and one of the best all-around on the Genesis for me. The last battle with Dracula was rather unique, if not for merely appearing on a SEGA console. It's no Super Castlevania IV or SoTN, but it's a damn good addition to the collection for sure!

[green.eyes]

Wii: Skylanders Giants
32X: Pier Solar

[MrMatthews]

Squeaked one last game in, this year:

God of War: Chains of Olympus (PS3): On the Origins compilation disc I bought myself for Xmas. I've beaten it a few times before, but this is the first time with the re-vamped PS3 controls. Not a bad game at all, but VERY unmemorable.

[NostalgicMachine]

So do we need a "A Winner is You! 2013" thread? Because I'm still playing mad carts! :cool:

EDIT: Nvm, just saw the thread lol.

[Drakon]

*bump*. I cleared shinobi 3 in the very end of 2012. On easy. WHAT an epic game....

Nostalgic machine I must say I'm jelous, I've been wanting to finish bloodlines for a while now. Heck I finished castlevania 2 for the gameboy I should get around to bloodlines it's a wayyyy better game.