VideoGame_Discussion

#17 down: Kayak VR: Mirage on PSVR2. I'd like to count this one toward the Race Drivin' badge. I finished all of the races and got at least a bronze medal in every one (and higher in some). The Olympic one only has a gold medal, but I still placed #150 in the world on it, so I'm pretty confident that would have been enough to get at least a bronze if they had one for that course.

3/7 #4 - Pac-Man (Arcade) new high score 102790

I have to count this because I got on a tear the other night and blew away my high score by 40k (previously 62550)! It was hard enough to get back to my old score in the 60k range. I discovered a new opening pattern and it was very effective. I know there are guides for patterns to follow, but I've stayed away from them. This is all self-discovered.

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#18 down: Aerial_Knight's Never Yield on PC. I'd like to count this as the game I need to finish off the Grown-A** Man badge (alongside my previous clear of Inscryption).

The tags on Steam for this game include the tag "difficult," and I died tons of times along the way. The game has the feel of an endless runner. You're constantly moving forward but can speed up (and, in fact, have to speed up at times to outrun enemies or run through glass doors). You can jump over things vertically, do a side spiral jump thing, slide under stuff, or speed up and run through stuff. Sometimes there's a little leeway (insofar as you might be able to clear a side jump with a vertical jump, but other times there is not (if you vertical jump when you need to side jump, then it might make you go too far forward, so there's no time to react before you need to slide or do something else). Most obstacles require you to make the one correct choice, and one hit spells death. The checkpoints start out fairly generous, but, by the end, you're going through tons of obstacles between checkpoints, making it progressively harder to get through each checkpoint. To add to the difficulty, some obstacles are obscured by the scenery (e.g., you have to slide under something, but it's hard to see, because there is a gate in front of it obscuring your vision). Toward the end, there are also parts where you start switching between running in one direction to running in the opposite direction or even sideways up a hill (making it so that you either have to try to navigate the game with everything sideways or turn your head sideways at a weird angle. This was pretty wild. I wouldn't recommend buying it, but it was definitely an unexpected departure from what I usually play and interesting enough for something I got free from Amazon Prime Gaming.

I beat WWE2K16 on the xbox1

I finally beat Final Fantasy VI, so that covers my SNES for the year.
[imgt w=640 h=480]https://i.imgur.io/lxIPePm_d.webp?maxwidth=640&sha...[/imgt]

I already posted my brief thoughts on Renaissance2K’s Game of the Month thread, so I’ll spare you here. Good game and all, but I raged a lot in the second half, which is rarely something I long to do in an RPG.

Just beat Star fox 64 3d on 3ds. Since the space badge isn't existent anymore does this one count towards the destroy the core badge?

Jumbo Airport Story - Ipad

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2nd of March, 6th , 15 overall
Kentucky Route Zero
Earns me Guybrush I guess, Pupperazzi was first title

I started this largely because I heard good things and only really pushed to beat it b/c it's set to leave GP in a handful of days. Very odd 'game' that's more reading dialog than anything else.

The Virtua Fighter party is over, at least as far as this thread is concerned. I played through the game on the last three platforms that were readily available.

Number: 9
Full Title: Virtua Fighter PC
Platform Played: PC
Collection: N/A
Native Platform: PC
Original Platforms: Arcade
Applicable Badge: Street Fightin' (already earned)

Number: 10
Full Title: Virtua Fighter Remix
Platform Played: Saturn
Collection: N/A
Native Platform: Saturn
Original Platforms: Arcade
Applicable Badge: Street Fightin' (already earned), Facelift (1/2)

Virtua Fighter 10th Anniversary attempts to remake the original game's aesthetic and sound design with the Virtua Fighter 4 engine, throwing in the enhanced move set and roster for good measure. It's a pretty dramatic upgrade when you pick it up, despite the surface level similarities, so I'm nominating it for the Facelift badge.

Number: 11
Full Title: Virtua Fighter 10th Anniversary
Platform Played: PlayStation 2
Collection: N/A
Native Platform: PlayStation 2
Original Platforms: PlayStation 2
Applicable Badge: Street Fightin' (already earned), Facelift (2/2)

Finally, a Final Fantasy music junkie like myself had to pick up the latest Theatrhythm game when it came out for the Switch. It doesn't use touch controls like its 3DS predecessors, but it's still a good time.

Number: 12
Full Title: Theatrhythm: Final Bar Line
Platform Played: Switch
Collection: N/A
Native Platform: Switch
Original Platforms: Switch, PlayStation 4
Applicable Badge: Rhythmic (1/2)

I'm going to play through Virtua Fighter a few more times with the remaining characters in the roster before putting that one to bed. I'm still probably going to be busy with Final Fantasy VI for the next few weeks or so.

#19 down: Kentucky Route Zero on Xbox Series X. I’d like to count this toward the Guybrush Threepwood badge, as it’s a point and click walking sim.

I played this because it’s leaving Game Pass soon, and I’ve never seen it on sale for less than $15. On its face, this is a story of a man delivering his last package for an antique shop, but it’s ultimately a much bigger story about the impacts of capitalism. At varying points, it made me think, surprised me (with real world interactivity like calling an actual working phone number and having it connect to the game in a neat way), and bored me to tears. At times I couldn’t finish it quickly enough, but then it would do something clever and regain my interest. The ending was satisfying but in a quiet nod of respect way. I’m not sure if I could recommend it, and I could completely understand if somehow played it and didn’t like it, but it was a unique journey unlike anything I’ve experienced before.

OP updated!

#9- The Callisto Protocol 7.5/10
I can kinda see why some people didn’t like this. If you directly compare it to Dead Space, you’re gonna have a bad time. It has Dead Space like elements sure like stomping on enemies and shooting tentacles but in most other regards it’s more of an in your face meaty action horror title with a heavy emphasis on dodging, countering and melee attacks over shooting off limbs. It does rely more on gunplay in the final boss fight though and one other before it. You also get a cool GRP force pull feature that allows you to toss enemies and projectiles around which was fun. I really loved the atmosphere here. It was eerie and the prison was haunting at times. The graphics were pretty gorgeous. Lighting was lush and shadows displayed realistic affects with the voice acting being pretty to notch for the most part. The framerate could have used some work though because at times there were too many stutters even on my VRR OLED display. And the controls felt a bit sluggish when aiming a weapon down the sights even when using auto aiming. Other than that this is a solid action horror title that people of the genre would enjoy albeit it’s a rather short romp. Only about 8-10 hours so I say wait for a price drop or get it on a sale. I’d say it is worth about $35-40. Not the asking $70. And do not play this on last gen consoles. It’s very rough around the edges. I tried the XB1 version and I do not recommend. At. All.

My #15 is Resident Evil 2 Remake

What a great game. They really did a lot to the remake. Graphics are amazing and story makes more sense than the original. Played through as Claire. 9/10

#7 is Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS4)

Never played the original so this was an interesting experience. Seen a lot of complaints about bloat and too many sidequests but it seemed like a typical JRPG in that regard to me.

#20 down: Immortality on Xbox Series X. This (alongside my previous clear of Kentucky Route Zero) gets me the Guybrush Threepwood badge.

I can't say enough good things about this game. It's a FMV point and click mystery game in which you try to find out what happened to an actress who filmed three movies and disappeared. On the face of it, this describes something I would normally have very little interest in, but I tried it because of Game Pass and the game's high review scores, and I'm so glad I did. You start with one clip and then can pause the scene and click on various people and things in the scene to unlock other clips. There are hundreds of clips across the three movies and from rehearsals, interviews, and other scenes. You can also fast forward and rewind scenes (which is crucial to uncovering the real story of what happened and to roll the credits). It was really interesting going through the clips. I'm trying to be deliberately vague, because there are some shocking moments you discover by using the various mechanics, and the ending was really well done. This game is going to stick with me for a long time. Once you figure everything out, you realize how carefully every detail was placed. It's just brilliant.

I beat The Walking Dead: The Final Season on the xbox1

Unpacking -

Finally got around to playing my LRG copy of unpacking. Def a fan. Quick fun romp. Definitely has some addictive qualities as I'm already thinking of playing again at a later date to try to earn more hidden stickers. Solid 8/10.

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3rd of March, 3rd , 16th overall
Quake (remake)
Earns me 2nd Amendment badge with High on Life

After averaging basically a game completed every 3 days in Jan, I've for sure slowed down with this only being my 6th in 42 days since the end of Jan. I've been gaming a little less, but also needed to make more progress on several titles it seems. I never played Quake in my youth, was into Wolfenstein and Doom instead for whatever reason. After finally playing it, I'm glad I went Doom instead. That series, especially 1/2/Final just resonated way more with me, could be the nostalgia glasses but Quake was just okay. I got the credits from beating the 4 acts and the final boss level after, but there are I think 2 sizable DLCs on offer, so I may keep this one going, though with so many other games in the pipeline and waiting in the wings, maybe not, especially since I didn't love it.
I've got a goal to beat a PC game from all 7 of the PC store/platforms - why so many, that I have installed and have at least like 2 dozen games on, this is my 3rd.

#21 down: Killer Instinct: Definitive Edition on Xbox Series X. I'd like to count this toward the Street Fightin' badge. (I beat it with Cinder and Sabrewulf). I've never been a big fan of fighting games like this, but KI:DE was easier to get into than some of the others I've played. I also tried Guilty Gear: Survive (playing as Nagoriyuki), but I couldn't beat the CPU Nagoriyuki (Boss 8). He kept pulling out this move that it didn't seem like I could use where he would warp around and his sword would turn blood red and slash across almost the entire screen, taking off a huge chunk of damage. I could beat him one round but not two. Then, I tried to switch characters, but I didn't realize that would start me back at the beginning of arcade mode. At that point, I gave up. I think I'm going to find another game to finish the Street Fightin' badge instead.

#5 Star Ocean The Last Hope International

I've been buying up each Star Ocean since I became a fan after I purchased Second Story around its initial release. That being said, I haven't played a console one since the PS2, these games have been sitting on my shelf for years! Last Hope I believe is the general consensus of when the series started going down hill...maybe even TtEoT. There were some glaringly obvious issues, like not being able to change your target manually in combat, or the need to infinitely mash the square button to dash in the open world. I didn't find the synthesis nearly as exciting in this iteration as in the past entries. Despite these things, I had a decent time with it. The story is fine, and the combat is still fun. Played for just over 68 hours, and did most of the side quests. I did not play the optional dungeon(s) after story completion and do not plan to. Almost 70 hours is plenty of time to spend with this installment. Time to move on!

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#22 down: Tekken 3 on PlayStation. This gets me the Street Fightin' badge alongside my previous clear of Killer Instinct: Definitive Edition and is my first clear of the year on the PlayStation. Tekken 3 is a classic. It's old, but I still had fun with it.

My #16 is Resident Evil 3 Remake.

Wow this is a great game! I got a new computer and the graphics are amazing at 2560x1440. It's scary being chased by the Nemesis and each of the boss battles was done well. 9/10

OP updated! Keep 'em coming!

You have me down in the top list with 3 badges but gave me 4 in my listing, 4 is accurate.

Slickriven wrote:

Fixed.

Number: 7
Full Title: Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
Platform Played:
Collection: Castlevania Anniversary Collection
Native Platform:
Original Platform:
Applicable Badge: N/A

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails...

This was one of the first few NES games I got way back in 1988(?), and I still have a soft spot for it. Unfortunately, I was a day too slow for the good ending this time.

My #17 is Resident Evil 4 (2005).

https://imgbox.com/liqIAQqM

Still a great game once you get to terms with the tank controls. Some cheesy one liners that I hope make it to the remake. 8/10

Beat 2 matches in munchkin on android and gets me the first half of the all aces badge

River City: Tokyo Rumble -

I sold both River City 3DS games years ago, I got them back again (with keychains). Good game. Stupid of me to sell it. Was fun, glad to finally beat it. And the 3D quality was good (this isn't universally true)

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Number: 8
Full Title: Life Force
Platform Played:
Collection: Arcade Classics Anniversary Collection
Native Platform:
Original Platform:
Applicable Badge: N/A

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails...

Comparing the US and Japanese (Salamander) versions is interesting. The Japanese has different speech and a theme much closer to Gradius without the organic spin.

I beat these since my last post:

Signalis
Metroid Prime Remastered
Metroid Fusion
Paranormasight

All on Switch.

I beat Picross e .
[imgt w=640 h=853]https://i.imgur.io/ADkHt6z_d.webp?maxwidth=640&sha...[/imgt]

But more importantly, I beat Kirby’s Return to Dream Land and its new remake, Return to Dream Land Deluxe .
[imgt w=640 h=480]https://i.imgur.io/iICfqbs_d.webp?maxwidth=640&sha...[/imgt]

This game is a certified classic. It changed what we expect from Kirby in the modern age and created countless treasured memories for those who played it. With a new physics engine, a story with gradually unfolding intrigue, the addition of attack items to break up the gameplay, Challenge stages to test the player’s skills, and ultra-destructive Super Abilities, this game revolutionized the series in 2011. I loved this game to death during my adolescence and still love it now. So what about the remake? Is it a better experience or a step back?

I’d say yes and no. For starters, it has HD visuals and two brand new modes, one full of past subgames to play with friends, and the other a short score attack mode starring the lovable marauder Magolor. These modes are a lot of fun and don’t overstay their welcome IMO (though the subgames can be a mixed bag, depending if you liked certain ones in the past). Some nice additions were made to the main adventure too, like new Copy Abilities and Challenge stages to go with them. Quality of life changes were also made: Midbosses will drop an ability star when defeated, so you can inhale that if you accidentally destroyed the midboss too quickly to inhale him. Flavor text was added to all bosses, and past texts were changed to add more context to the story. Extra Mode is also a bit harder now, as it doesn’t give out healing items very often, and the ones it does give are less potent than in Main Mode. The True Arena has more bosses, too, though it’s debatable if that added difficulty is an improvement over the previous version. (It caught me off guard the first time, but you still get sufficient healing items, so it’s fine.)

Now for the stuff I don’t like. The improved graphics honestly make the game look worse in some places. The HD coat of paint makes everything much brighter, so some areas like the first world end up looking washed out compared to the vibrant saturation of the original. King Dedede was controversially changed to drop his original design in favor of his Forgotten Land appearance, which looks too goofy for the more neutral tone Return is supposed have, and Forgotten Land fans will notice how shrunken he looks. The awesome Scope Shot subgame from Return was omitted because it required motion controls, and that’s a real shame since the new Merry Magoland subgames aren’t as good (Checkerboard Chase comes close). One line of dialogue was changed that makes a later plot point was more obvious, which robs it of its intended effect. Characters aren’t as expressive now.

Also, it doesn’t feel like the game was redesigned with the same intentionality as the original. The original game unlocked Challenges, subgames, and ability rooms based on how many Energy Spheres you collected, and they were methodically chosen to coincide with how many Spheres you could realistically obtain at certain times. If you nabbed all them in World 2 and returned to Magolor’s ship, you’d find you’ve unlocked the first ability room (containing the first few abilities from the adventure), the kinda lame Ninja Dojo subgame, and the Whip Challenge (since you just discovered the Whip ability in World 2). Now that there’s more to unlock, the Whip Challenge is unlocked partway through World 3, and kinda-lame Ninja Dojo is one of the last unlockables period. The new Sand and Mecha abilities are cool, but it’s quite obvious the original game didn’t have them—they’re thrown at you so frequently to hide the fact that they were tacked on.

Altogether, both games are great! Highly recommend! But I still prefer the original.

#23 down: The Light Brigade on PSVR2. This (alongside my previous clear of The Last Kids on Earth and the Staff of Doom) gets me the Heavy Machine Gun badge.

Such a great game. It’s mostly a VR roguelite run n’ gun, but you can also teleport and use a wand (though I only used the wands occasionally). The art style is simple but neat, and the sense of scale is really cool in the last couple of levels.

I beat Road 96 on the xbox1 (beating this and unpacking gets me the guybrush threepwood badge)

#24 down: A Memoir Blue on Xbox Series X. This (alongside my previous clear of Samorost 1) gets me the Brain Teaser badge.

This is a point and click game in which you basically just solve a series of not very complicated puzzles to reveal a story about an accomplished athlete and the price of her accomplishments. It is simple but a bit touching/thought-provoking. I only played it because it’s leaving Game Pass soon, but I don’t regret it.

I beat Puzzlebox Setup .
[imgt w=640 h=853]https://i.imgur.io/6f3ALjL_d.webp?maxwidth=640&sha...[/imgt]

Bought this for the novelty of playing a 3DS game upside-down. Was decent, but not a major recommendation.

4th of March, 17th overall, 7th
Recore
Want to count this towards Bear & Bird as while you could count it as a 3rd person shooter, there is a TON of collecting of resources and yanking cores out of foes instead of killing them. I earn that badge along with Bugsnax - wow did I pick two totally rubbish games for this badge.

Recore had a lot of potential, it could've been pretty decent, but ultimately the camera and lock-on were really bad, especially when it's asking you to do 3D platforming - that camera needs to show you where you are in 3D space and it failed a bunch. I started this up b/c Xbox had a task to earn an achievement in a woman led title for Women's History Month, but I also had an interest in it for a good while as it was an Xbox exclusive. It's inclusion in GP at least means I didn't pay anything for it, thankfully.
The version I played was the Definitive release that includes the DLC, that DLC gave me access to another companion frame the T8-NK that you could ride around like a tank-treaded ATV, only it didn't control all that well. It also included another area of the map to explore and the new frame was basically required for this area with quicksand that it could ride on, plus 3 areas setup almost like motocross circuits and you had to chase down a security bot on them to unlock the 3 dungeons in which you earned a new form of your main weapon's alt-fire mode. I'm glad I had that DLC as the 1 mode was pretty useful as it did up to 6 locked-on shots simultaneously.
I apparently didn't explore too much as I only hit level 29 in the final run-up to triggering the credits and level 30 was an achievement, before the DLC (I think), so who knows. There are a number of Achievements that I'm reasonably close to earning, so I just might play this a little more, but I do not expect to play enough to get to level 36 which is the requirement for the next (likely final) dungeon in the DLC. This game frustrated me too much to really want to play for several more hours to get there, but a single session for ~1 hr to earn a few Achievements could be okay. It's a shame really b/c I normally like to explore and I liked the color switching in combat (though it mapped to the d-pad left me doing finger gymnastics), I also like the lore/story some but the camera and bad HDR (too bright/blown out most times) dropped this from really a possible solid 8+ to like a 5.

Yikes. I had considered playing this eventually, since it’s an Xbox exclusive, and I have a bunch of those left to play, but now I think I’ll pass. Thanks for the heads up.

Slickriven wrote:

@Bleed_DukeBlue I think @TalonJedi87 liked it and I can see why. I put over 14hrs into it and went back a few times after getting frustrated. My final session wasn't all that bad, it was better than the prior session and thus section of the game.
If you're better at giving up on games that annoy you then it could be worth a shot. I sort of wished that I wouldn't have started it because it has plenty of issues for a bit, but now that I've beat it I am glad I finished it and I've played worse games.
Basically I don't think it's so terrible that nobody should even try it, but I wanted to caution folks that its 60% score on metacritic is deserved IMO.

Recore? It was a solid game pass game, I'll say that much. Plus it came out during a time where Mega Man was enjoying a small resurgeance with it's Legacy collections and it reminded me of the Mega Man games with using certain weapons for enemy weaknesses and such which is why I have a soft spot for it since I love the MM games. Other than that though, it was kinda forgettable and redundant.

OP updated! We got a lotta badges this time!

I beat Feeding Frenzy 2 on the xbox360

Number: 9
Full Title: Mega Man
Platform Played:
Collection: Mega Man Legacy Collection
Native Platform:
Original Platform:
Applicable Badge: Heavy Machine Gun (2/2)

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails...

This has never been my favorite series, but I am revisiting it after lots of years. I wish Contra got 37 same-ish sequels instead of Mega Man.

#10- A Plague Tale: Requiem
It was great returning to this series again after a few years. I didn’t think it would net a sequel even though it was a great stand alone game but am glad to have experienced it until its bitter end. The sequel is just more of the same with more rat hordes and enemies to either stealthily sneak past or strategize how to take out with your limited arsenal of alchemist concoctions. You get a crossbow too for when things get really hairy and can upgrade your tool belt to expand on your gear making surviving and dealing with enemy encounters more manageable. The sequel felt a bit longer than the first game too. I think it took me almost 20ish hours to finish it. Overall if you’re looking for a good stealth game with action elements set during the dark ages with an emotionally driven narrative this will satiate your plague infested appetites.

5th of March, 18 overall, 1st OR MAME since it technically wasn't on the Genesis
Virtua Fighter
Badge Street Fight'n (still need a 2nd)

I beat this for Ren2k's RTT GotM and man was the 2nd title a TON better. When I got my Sega Saturn for Christmas '95 my parents were able to get me the MTV promotion deal with Daytona USA, Virtua Fighter 2 and Virtua Cop, plus the console my dad got also had the first Virtua Fighter inside. I recall playing the first game and finding it okay, but once I tried the 2nd I'm not sure I ever went back. The 2nd played and looked SO much better, plus I really like both new characters - Lion was my go to. So when VF was selected for RTT I sort of hoped that VF2 would count but alas Ren2k said no. I didn't want to dig out my Saturn so I was looking for emulation options and my old PC just doesn't do most Saturn games very well and I haven't got RetroArch setup on my newer gaming focused PC yet. Then I recalled I have a RaspPi4 setup and dug that out and thankfully the 32X version of the game was on there.

So after taking a little while to get my sea legs under me with such a simplistic but still quite challenging title I beat it with Jacky pretty easily shockingly and even beat Dural. Then for this thread I tried with Sarah and she was a lot harder for me. Pai kicked my butt as her and I actually ended up switching to Pai to beat herself. Then Wolf did me in as Pai so back to Sarah, whom I used to reach Akira. Akira then kicked my butt a bunch of times as both Sarah and Pai as I tried to get a better outcome. I was finally able to get him with Sarah and took on Dural, whom I actually did better against but ultimately lost to.

Since I have a MAME icon and this came to arcades and I beat it on the system that I essentially play Arcade games on and I never owned a 32X, let's just list it for MAME.

Number: 10
Full Title: Maniac Mansion
Platform Played:
Collection: N/A
Native Platform:
Original Platform: II /
Applicable Badge: Guybrush Threepwood (1/2)

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails...

I have a serious pet peeve with games that won't let you see everything in one playthrough. I didn't want to spoil everything, so I wound up not picking one of the "best" characters in terms of endings.

I beat Power Rangers:Battle for the Grid on the xbox1 (beating this with soulcalibur gets me the street fightn badge)

#1 Toree 3D

Cevil wrote:

Welcome! Been a bit since you submitted your list. Hope to see your beat list grow.

After about a month of play, I finally beat Freakyforms Deluxre: Your Creations, Alive! .
[imgt w=2048 h=1536]https://i.imgur.com/UM4rTY9.jpg[/imgt]

It was a weird game for the early 3DS eShop, now given a physical release (which is good, since all versions of Freakyforms were delisted from the eShop way back in 2018). You make weird creatures called Formees using a giant collection of pieces and then make them explore an ever-growing world. I had a good bit of fun creating the Formees on workbreaks. But the gameplay itself leaves something to be desired--you just roam around doing basic sidequests for NPCs and unlocking treasure chests with keys find lying around. It's pretty apparent the game was made for the younger crowd, as it gets repetitive quickly and expects you to make a whopping 50 Formees just to reach the credits. I was ready to be done a while ago, TBH.

Deluxe adds dungeons with auto-controlled RPG battles, but these are just an addition to the main gameplay rather than a new focus. They can get unfairly difficult if you get unlucky with the stats your Formee is randomly given. But I saved King Roy and can call this game soundly done.

Here are my personal favorite Formees, if anyone wants to see/download them.
[imgt w=2048 h=1536]https://i.imgur.com/KNxGY1K.jpg[/imgt]
[imgt w=2048 h=1536]https://i.imgur.com/wXHne3L.jpg[/imgt]
[imgt w=2048 h=1536]https://i.imgur.com/GMlj76u.jpg[/imgt]
[imgt w=2048 h=1536]https://i.imgur.com/Y6jnckz.jpg[/imgt]
[imgt w=2048 h=1536]https://i.imgur.com/iVuH07f.jpg[/imgt]
[imgt w=2048 h=1536]https://i.imgur.com/qWjSk0k.jpg[/imgt]
[imgt w=2048 h=1536]https://i.imgur.com/89LYNyy.jpg[/imgt]
[imgt w=2048 h=1536]https://i.imgur.com/hNV3N0z.jpg[/imgt]

Just finished Metroid Prime Remastered. I'm going to use that as my GameCube entry though, since that's the console it originated on.

I really enjoyed it, but man was it more difficult than I anticipated. I kept getting very lost. Thankfully I managed to defeat the final boss without having fully upgraded missiles.

#2 Macbat 64

#25 down: Hogwarts Legacy on PS5. This (alongside my previous 100+ hour clear of Marvel's Midnight Suns) gives me the Days Gone By badge. Here's my proof of going over 100 hours: https://imgur.com/a/YsclOjR. Even having put so many hours in, I'm still not finished with the platinum. There is so much to do in this game.

I was never a huge Harry Potter fan, but I like games based around magic, and I did read the first few books and watch a couple of the movies. This game nails the atmosphere and the aesthetics. It also has so many details to appreciate from the Slytherin common room door that appears in the form of a snake slithering into the outline of a door to the paintings that move and talk to the ghosts randomly going around. There's something to look at everywhere you go. At one point, I found a secret kitchen, and there were a bunch of house elves working. When I passed one particular house elf, he was tenderizing some meat with his feet. When I headed back toward the door, he had rolled up the meat and started slicing it into spirals and then was stacking it. You get a strong sense that people in the world are actively living their own lives around you. The combat is solid with lots of interesting ways to chain spells together. The story held my attention, and even the side stories were interesting with characters who seemed multidimensional. The only real downsides are the overwhelming amount of collectibles (which is avoidable if you aren't going for the platinum) and the tedium of a few of the puzzles (but I've never really been a fan of puzzles in general, so take this with a grain of salt). Overall, this is a great game. It feels like Avalanche Software's breaking out moment like Horizon: Zero Dawn was for Guerrilla or Ghost of Tsushima was for Sucker Punch.

Finally beat Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana -

Not that I didn't enjoy it. But I beat it on back in the day. And it's pretty long. I have a backlog and was ready to move on to the next game in my switch collection.

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I actually beat a game, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity
I really like this game, it had na interesting story, but the time travel thing really threw me off. The old characters were kinda like "yeah so that just happened... oh well" and it's never explained how the new champions go back in time to the old champions.

If you've played any Warriors style game before, you know what this is all about. It's just a good ol hack n slash button masher. I never got into the original Hyrule Warriors, but that might have to by my game to beat this year! I don't like fighting games too much because I can never remember the combos but in HW it's all just Y then X and you get to kill a whole slew of enemies.

I played through this game to get hyped for TOTK, and I am so ready for it to come out in a month and a half!

great game @ErickRPG

ErickRPG wrote:

Nice! I played that over the span of a year in 2020. Right when I was ready to pick it up again, my cat died, and I set it down for months again. But I got there eventually.

My #18 is Resident Evil 4 Remake

https://imgbox.com/liu0lQ08

What a game! Stays true to the original while updating things and adding some new content. I spent the most time not with a boss but with the defending the house early in the game. I think it took me 3 hours to finally beat it. 9.5/10

DemonAlcohol wrote:

Is it still corny? I won’t play it if it’s not.

I beat Detana Twinbee (originally ).
[imgt w=640 h=480]https://i.imgur.io/xwEzsiR_d.webp?maxwidth=640&sha...[/imgt]
I like it. It’s challenging and a little short, but it’s a nice little shmup. I’m still working on the Hard mode, but I cleared Easy and Normal. This counts as the first half of Localize Mother 3, since this version of the game was never localized outside of Japan. (The arcade version was, but not the TG16 version.)

SupremeSarna wrote:

Yes I think you mentioned it. You offered condolences for my Oliver who died around that time I think. Sorry bout your cat. I've got two 1 year old cats now. It took me a year and a half b4 I was ready to get another cat. But I've never had a bonded pair, and they are super close, it's wonderful to see.

ErickRPG wrote:

That’s wonderful! My last childhood kitty is in her final days, which is sad to see—it’s one per per year these days, sadly. But we have adopted a pair of happy cats (bro and sis—they love each other) amid the deaths, so maybe we can get some peace for a while.

SupremeSarna wrote:

Ya, still has some of the same lines from the original and a few new ones.

I've had a really hard time sitting down and finding the time to spit out a write-up, but with April fast approaching, I think it's time to call out that I finished another game and another platform, in the name of the Retro Talkshop Thread. And it's a big one.

Number: 13
Full Title: Final Fantasy VI
Platform Played: MiSTer
Collection: N/A
Native Platform: Super Famicom
Original Platforms: Super Famicom
Applicable Badge: Level Up! (1/2)

I've been jumping around between Crisis Core Reunion, Doom 64, and Circle of the Moon, but once the Retro Talkshop Thread vote is over, things will likely settle on another longer title, based on how things are going.

SupremeSarna wrote:

It's incredibly hard to lose a cat. But we'd never get to enjoy all the happy times if we didn't do it again. My 2 babies are both almost 1 year old. I'm already so much happier with them around, they are a joy to watch and play with. And it's the first time I've personally had a bonded pair, I never would get to see that if I just made Oliver the last cat I'd ever own.

Number: 11
Full Title: Contra
Platform Played:
Collection: Contra Anniversary Collection
Native Platform:
Original Platform:
Applicable Badge: Facelift (1/2)

https://steamcommunity.com/id/yossydesune/screensh...

I'm not as fond of this one as I am of the NES version, but it's still enjoyable.

#11 Stray
I thought this was a solid 5ish hour game and felt that even though it mostly encompasses what it feels like to be a feline some things felt more so constructed solely for progressing in the story like there’s one part which pretty much turn the cat into a dog by having them fetch and retrieve something but anyone who owns a kitty knows the majority of the time while they will run after toys and play with them they’ll as soon as swipe the object down a drain or off a cliff before returning it to you. Other than that I felt while the focus on a dystopian future was appreciated it was mostly forgettable in the end and was solely there to drive the game forward but on the other hand I would rather a story based game about being a cat vs a goat sim like game where there’s no direction other than to do anything you want. But perhaps if it was structured more like that untitled goose game with a clearer focus on small objectives of mischievous deeds it might have fared better.

Oh and @SupremeSarna I’m not sure if you saw yet but my #10 was A Plague Tale Requiem on I noticed my list still says 9 games beaten and that’s the missing link. Thanks!

My 1st of April, 19th overall, 6th
My Friend Pedro
Badge: Counting towards Heavy Machine Gunner as it's somewhat similar to Metal Slug, only with platforming

This was another GP title that's been installed on my system for a good while b/c I was curious about it and I finally pulled the trigger (literally) and started it up a few days ago. It's was pretty enjoyable, though the talking banana's voice was just noise and that was actually rather grating, but since you can't understand it, you have to read the dialog bubble and can hit B to skip forward faster. Otherwise it was your somewhat standard fare of head generally right and shoot the dudes and other things that get in your way. There's also a decent bit of platforming and obstacles to maneuver around. I did generally alright with the shooting, but didn't dodge or take advantage of the bullet-time like feature a ton. You get ranked on your performance each level with C-B-A ranks generally. I mostly got C's. Got a handful+ of B's and only a few A's and I think maybe 2x S's.
Game was decent, short but I have about zero interest in replaying any levels to rank-up or whatever. Moving on to the next one. I would generally recommend this as it was surely enjoyable and easy to jump in/out of and overall only like 2-3 hours I think. Plus if you were into chasing leaderboards I could see that appeal - most levels were pretty quick.

I beat who wants to be a millionaire on the ps1 beat on ps2

Got my 2nd of April, 20th overall, 1st
Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet
Don't think there's a badge I could apply it to

Was just clicking through some older, longer owned, untouched games and decided to give this one a try. It wasn't bad, didn't overstay its welcome and was worth the couple of hours I put into it. I did collect every power-up but missed 4 of 2 different categories of collectables while exposing 99% of the map. Without fast travel points I was ready to move on and didn't care about those last few missed things.
I suppose the game could *almost be called a metroidvania, as areas of the map do require upgrades, but it was pretty short and didn't have much else in common so eh.

#26 down: Gotham Knights on Steam Deck. With my previous clear of the Deadpool DLC for Marvel’s Midnight Suns, this gives me the Quest for Peace badge.

I was on the fence about this game given the negative reviews, but it was part of a bundle for Ukraine, so I went for it. The story’s not bad, the combat is reasonably fun, and the traversal is pretty solid as well (you zip across on hookshot type lines you shoot out or ride a motorcycle). I appreciate that the movement doesn’t feel boxy or weighed down, and you can actually run at a reasonable speed. There are some annoying parts (like fighting talons, which dodge almost everything, and the process required to find and interrogate people). The graphics are pretty disappointing. It basically looks like a PS3 game. However, I had some fun with it.

I'll update this today after Splatfest ends.

Number: 12
Full Title: 1943
Platform Played:
Collection: Capcom Arcade Stadium
Native Platform:
Original Platform:
Applicable Badge: N/A

image

This is a noticeable improvement over 1942, but it is still too long. Surprisingly, I liked the fuel bar mechanic, despite my general despise for Euro shooter that employ it. It made for some interesting choices about when to take a new weapon and when to restore fuel.

#12 Little Hope
I got this with my PS Extra upgrade and decided to give it a whirl since I enjoyed Man of Medan. I thought this was better than Man of Medan in the biggest way which was that Silent Hill 2 like feel with walking on fog dense filled streets. I also enjoyed the Salem witch trial esque plot going on here but did think the ending I got with that one big twist was kinda silly to an extent and the voice acting felt really stiff at times minus Will Poelter that is. And whenever you actually had to control and move players that too felt rigid as it did in Man of Medan. And that was fast button still feels just as useless as it did in Man of Medan as well.

Got my 3rd of April, 21st overall, 7th
Forza Horizon 5: Rally Adventure DLC
Not counting towards any badges since DLC doesn't count IMO at least

FH5 is a game that I've continually gone back to weekly since it came out and according to Xbox info I've got over 11 days worth of time spent playing it, I really enjoy it. When the Hot Wheels DLC dropped last year I bought the offered DLC pack for both, so I had paid for and was waiting for this to come out. Overall it's pretty good. It's nowhere near as impressive as the HW one b/c it's not a toy-like floating island in the sky - but the roads, courses and overall feel is good and I enjoy most rally titles and team Horizon did a pretty good job.

I beat the 'story' aspect here, which consisted of

I will have some things remaining as I didn't do every single thing, but I did a very large chunk and what is considered the core of the DLC. I will for sure keep playing this, just like I have been over the past many weeks and months. But it's certainly completed now.

OP updated for March! With that month done and dusted, here are some stats:
-We collectively beat 71 games this month, trouncing February's 59 but falling short of January's 97. I can't decide if St. Patrick's Day drunkenness helped or hindered that total.
-We earned 16 badges this month. That's a lot! That tops January's 11 and February's 9. I noticed Guybush Threepwood and Street Fightin' were the popular ones, the latter inspired by Virtua Fighter becoming the Game of the Month in a different board.
-Cevil beat a few games. Welcome in, dude! RVM, nonamesleft, and Scott haven't beaten anything yet, but I hope you'll update whenever you can.
-I spent way too long beating Freakyforms Deluxe, but enjoyed making weird creatures. Kirby's Return to Dream Land and its new Deluxe remake were a lot of fun, too!

Let's keep the momentum up in April! And don't forget to investigate any strange icons you might see around GameTZ; you won't regret it!

As always, late to the stats post. For March:

Bayonetta 2 (Switch) Took me multiple months to finally beat this. The experience gets better and faster once you stop trying to make any sense of the story and just treat it like a score attack thing. Now that I know that, I might play the first one at some point, as it didn't make any sense for me either some years ago. The over-the-topness is on another level, lol.

Red Death (PS4)
Project Starship (PS4) A couple of fast shmups. Red Death is better IMO, although nothing too memorable. What's the deal with the obsession with Cthulhu?

Sine Mora EX (PS4) You start playing this and you don't know wth is going on. You finish this and you might have an idea of what's going on. Cool effects and enemies.

Tembo the Badass Elephant (PS4) Some nice references to Rambo, and a couple of challenging levels.

#'s 8, 9 and 10 of the year for all three games in the Mass Effect - Legendary Edition (PS4). I think this is my 5th time through the trilogy, first time on PS4. Still as epic as ever :)

Number: 13
Full Title: Metal Gear
Platform Played: (GOG)
Collection: N/A
Native Platform:
Original Platform:
Applicable Badge: Grown-Ass Man (1/2)

I could not remember how to take screenshots through GOG, so I hosed this up.

It's pretty amazing how well this one has held up over more than a quarter century. This was one of the few Konami games I didn't play on NES, and it makes me regret it. The free time and patience of youth would have benefitted me greatly.