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First 50:

51. Ori and the Blind Forest - Xbox One
52. AM2R - PC
53. Total Annihilation - PC
54. I Am Setsuna - PS4
55. Planetary Annihilation Titans - PC
56. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided - PC
57. Dark Reign - Rise of the Shadowhand - PC
58. Dragon Age Inquisition - Jaws of Hakkon - PC
59. Dragon Age Inquisition - The Descent - PC
60. Dragon Age Inquisition - Trespasser - PC
61. The Witcher 3 - Hearts of Stone - PC
62. The Witcher 3 - Blood & Wine - PC
63. ReCore - Xbox One
64. Final Fantasy Tactics - PS1
65. Resident Evil 6 - PC
66. Knuckles Chaotix - 32X
67. Assault Suit Leynos - PS4
68. Might & Magic 2 - Gate to Another World - PC
69. Might & Magic 4 - Clouds of Xeen - PC
70. Might & Magic 5 - Darkside of Xeen - PC
71. Might & Magic 4&5 - World of Xeen - PC
72. Rise of the Triad - PC
73. Batman Arkham Knight - PC
74. Rise of the Triad (2013) - PC
75. Dishonored 2 - PC
76. TIS-100 - PC
77. Tyranny - PC
78. StarCraft II - Nova Covert Ops - PC
79. Raiden Fighters 2 - Xbox 360
80. Pokémon Omega Ruby - 3DS
81. Turok: Dinosaur Hunter - PC
82. 7th Dragon III Code VFD - 3DS
83. World of Final Fantasy - PS4
84. Ys I: Ancient Ys Vanished - TG-CD
85. Ys II: Ancient Ys Vanished - The Final Chapter - TG-CD
86. Duke Nukem 3D 20th Anniversary World Tour - PC
87. Titanfall 2 - PC
88. Final Fantasy - NES
89. Eradicator - PC
90. Final Fantasy II - NES
91. Final Fantasy III - NES

And with that the NES Final Fantasy trilogy is finished. FFIII is definitely the most polished of the NES games and the one that plays closest to its better known 16-bit cousins. This is the game I'd recommend to someone who wanted to play an NES Final Fantasy game and wasn't looking for doing them all.

FFIII ends up being a more refined version of FFI, getting rid of a lot of what FFII added in favor of building on the mechanics of FFI. You once again are using system of spell charges, though now you can have spell charges in the tens. At end game I had 50+ level 1 spells (which was great for healing between combats). This game fully implements dual wielding. FFII had it but it only functioned to increase your rate of leveling up your weapons; your off hand weapon was not used to calculate damage. This ends up being the ideal way to go because healing is pretty nerfed compared to other FF games. Multi-targeting really weakens magic (damage / # targets) so at end game I had an HP pool of 4k and my Cure 4 multitargeted only healed 500ish health. Given the final boss was tossing out 1.5k a turn to the party and other bosses would have a 2k+ attack in their move pool I ended up having to switch up my healing strategy of bouncing around single targeting Cure 4. So a good offense is the way to go to reduce the amount of healing you need to do.

The story has a similar structure to FFI's but is more fleshed out like FFII's. II still has the strongest story of this generation, but III at least has some real story points and characters between locations. The real selling point of III is the job system. This is a prototype of what we'll see in V, X-2, and Tactics. The only thing that carries between jobs is your HP pool, which grows based on your vitality at level up. Otherwise, if you're a Knight and then change to a White Mage you instantly become a weakling but can cast magic (though you won't have spell charges until you rest). The game has a wide variety of jobs, but only about half are actually useful. The less useful jobs end up showing up again in V and get buffed to the point of having a purpose (with some being incredible if you know how to use them). III is kind of weird about how it approaches the job flexibility. At times it really railroads you into certain jobs. A few dungeons require you to be under the Mini status, which means you need to be using spellcasters to do any damage. One dungeon pretty much requires you to use Mystic Knights to keep the enemies from splitting (and the game gives you a preview of that in the immediately previous dungeon so you won't argue with it). And one boss has a sky high defense and a shifting magic defense, forcing you to use a Scholar. But at the same time, the game doesn't let you change jobs willy nilly. There is a cost in CP (which is gained after battles and caps at 255) to switch from one job to another. It's based around your current job in a way that's approximately how close the job you're switching to is to your current job as well as later jobs requiring more. This cost is reduced if you've spent time in the destination job, to the point of being free if you've spent enough time in the destination job. The game also gets stingy with equipment at times, forcing you to switch up your physical attackers if you want them to still do good damage because the next weapon upgrades are for a different job.

The game also has a really brutal end game path. From the last point you can restore you have to go through one dungeon to get to the Sylx Tower (either the Maze of the Ancients or Eureka), traverse that long dungeon, fight a boss, then traverse the Dark World dungeon, fight four bosses, and finally the last boss. Fortunately, at this point the game gives you two amazing classes and high powered weapons and magic so you can work your way through as well as a lot of elixirs so you won't run dry of magic. Still, it takes about an hour from the last save point to get to the final boss, so I hope you don't die against her like I did the first time (bad tactics on my part and a slight underlevel that didn't give me much health buffer).

Unless I can knock out Pokémon Moon in the next two hours this is going to be my last game of the year.

I've still got Nier in the backlog. I wonder if I'll ever finish it.

Final Fantasy III is one of my favorites in the series. Definitely the best on NES, and a shining example of a great 8-bit RPG.

Anyway, it's time for a few metrics!

Unique titles (no DLC counted): 179

Genre breakdown:

Platform breakdown:

Beaten for the first time this year:


A lot more first-time beaten games this year than I thought! I've played a lot of them, just never finished them.

1. Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion (3DS)
2. Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree's Woe and the Blight Below (PS4)
3. Elite Beat Agents (DS)
4. Gunman Clive 2 (3DS)
5. Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter (DS)
6. Fallout: New Vegas (Steam)
7. Disney/Pixar's Monsters, Inc. (GBA)
8. METAL SLUG 3 (Steam)
9. METAL SLUG (Steam)
10. Toy Story (SNES)
11. Shovel Knight (Wii U)
12. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (WiiWare)
13. Hot Shots Tennis (PS2)
14. Phoenix Wright: Justice for All (NDS)
15. Kero Blaster (Steam)
16. The Walking Dead: Season 1 (Steam)
17. Super Bases Loaded (SNES)
18. Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors (Wii)
19. Battle Clash (SNES)

In 2017 I should do write-ups on each game as I beat them (and try to beat more games, too).

Yep, it's over now. I know I sure as hell didn't, but who all cleared the 100 club this year? 50 club? Would like to see a list made. If you did hit these milestones, I applaud your dedication.

Those metrics are so cool, Sarge! I might do one of those just to see the cool pie-chart it makes

Also, apparently I was/am much further from the end of Tales of Hearts than I thought, as the 8-10-ish hours I put in today were not enough to reach the end. I did JUST get the airship though, so that's a progress marker of sorts.

Games Beaten 2016

Spirits of Xanadu - PC
Tales From the Borderlands: Episode 1 - PC
Operation C - Game Boy
That Dragon, Cancer - PC
Contra - NES
Super C - NES
Contra III - The Alien Wars - SNES
Tekken - PS1
The King of Fighters '99 - PS1
Street Fighter Alpha - PS1
Call of Duty: Black Ops III - PS4
Three Fourths Home - PC
Firewatch - PS4
Street Fighter V - PS4
Far Cry: Primal - PS4
Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax - PS3
BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma EXTEND - Xbox One
Android Assault Cactus - PS4
Table Top Racing - Vita
The Room - iOS
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle - PS3
The Room 2 - iOS
Broforce - PS4
Toybox Turbos - PC
Peggle 2 - PS4
R-Type (R-Type Dimensions) - 360
The Room 3 - iOS
Rampage - SMS
Doom (2016) - PS4
Dungeon Siege III - - 360
Uncharted 4 - A Thief's End - PS4
NES Remix - Wii U
Moon Chronicles: Episode 1 - 3DS
Outrun 3D - 3DS
Box Boy - 3DS
Splatoon - - Wii U
Nano Assault Neo X - PS4
Mamorukun Curse! - PS3
Hyperburner - iOS
The Beginner's Guide - PC
Halo 5: Guardians - Xbox One
POP: Methodology Experiment 1 - PC
Amplitude - - PS4
Slave of God - PC
Power Drift 3D - 3DS
Bio-Hazard Battle - Genesis
Thunder Force II - Genesis
Thunder Force III - Genesis
Lightening Force - Genesis
DiRT: Showdown - PC
Battleborn - PC
140 - PC
Last Duel - Arcade (PSP)
Alien on the Run - 3DS
Undead Bowling - 3DS
Chain Blaster - 3DS
Runny Egg - 3DS
Bound - PS4
Parasite Eve - PS1
Destiny - PS4
Destiny: The Dark Below - PS4
Destiny: The House of Wolves - PS4
Destiny: The Taken King - PS4
Otomedius Excellent - 360
Crimsonland - PC
Planet of the Eyes - PC
Destiny: Rise of Iron - PS4
The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing: Final Cut - PC
Eve Valkyrie: Gunjack - PSVR
Elegy for a Dead World - PC
SOMA - PC
The Typing of the Dead: Overkill - PC
Until Dawn: Rush of Blood - PSVR
Actual Sunlight - Vita
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare - Jackal Assault VR - PSVR
Letter Quest: Grimm's Journey Remastered - Vita
Thumper - PSVR
Burrito Bison: Launcha Libre - iOS
Trackmania Turbo (VR Campaign) - PSVR
Gears of War 4 - Xbox One
Caladrius Blaze - PS4
Dariusburst Chronicles - PC
Assault Suit Leynos - PS4
Touhou Genso Rondo: Bullet Ballet - PS4
ABZÜ - PC
There's Poop in My Soup - PC
Forza Horizon 2: Storm Island - - Xbox One
Titanfall 2 - PC
Battlefield 4 - PC
Super Mario Run - iOS
Nihilumbra - Vita
Murasaki Baby - Vita
Bullet Hell Monday - iOS
Tetris (Rev A and Rev B) - Game Boy
Optimus Prime - Terror Of The Monstercons - Game Boy
Bust A Move Pocket - NGPC *new*
Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and the Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist - PC *new*
Superhot - PC *new*
Nidhogg - PC *new*
Octodad: Dadliest Catch - PC *new*

Total: 100

Previously: 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010

I finished off 2016 by beating five games in one day . I beat my first ever game for the Neo Geo Pocket Color - Bust A Move Pocket - by playing all 99 levels of it through a chunk of the day on Friday and finishing around 12:30am Saturday. It is a charming little version of the game, even if the repetitive music was a little grating by the end.

Dr. Langeskov is the first game from Stanley Parable co-creator's William Pugh's Crows Crows Crows studio. It features some of the same kind of humor that made Stanley Parable so memorable, even if it is quite a bit shorter. It should only take anyone interested about 30 minutes to play through, and it is free on Steam.

Superhot is really something special. The time-moves-when-you-move idea is implemented quite well, and at its best moments it was as intense/twitchy and enjoyable as one of the Hotline Miami games (it similarly often feels more like a puzzle game than a shooter). I don't know that I was too enamored with the "story" grafted over top of everything, but that's not the reason to give this a look. It is a fantastic proof-of-concept game that I would love to see as the basis for a more full fledged title in the near future.

Nidhogg was way better that I expected it to be, and the campaign mode really delivers on the promise of making you feel like you are engaged in epic silver screen sword-fights. The game is well animated, visually striking, and has a rockin' soundtrack to boot. I feel bad that I let this languish in my library as long as I did.

Octodad: Dadliest Catch was equal parts frustrating and funny. There are some great ideas here (e.g. the arcade games that you play at one point, the opening "tutorial" stage, the underwater sections) but also some other ideas that highlight the problems with taking the control scheme in certain directions (like having to climb things). The script is fairly well done for the most part (typical "video game humor" abounds), and it was a decent enough way to wrap up 2016 before settling in to watch the ball drop.
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This year is by a healthy margin the most "modern-centric" list I've compiled before the end of the year, with a scant 17 games that were played on a retro system making the list. That's ok, though, because I think I really branched out a bit this year in terms of genre; almost 20% of the list are games that I couldn't neatly characterize into a particular genre, and even some of the ones that are relegated to a genre in the stats below aren't necessarily neat fits. I am surprised by the absence of some systems (this is the second year in a row with no DC or SAT games, and there was nothing here on an Atari platform), but glad to see more love for Nintendo consoles that I typically show (16% is actually pretty good for me). Next year I'd like to see more RPGs, and if I stick to my resolutions, there will be a fair amount more retro titles here too.

Some Stats:

Total Games: 100

Modern: 83 across 10 systems (PC: 26, PS4: 20, 3DS: 8, iOS: 7, PSVR: 5, Vita: 5, X1: 4, PS3: 3, 360: 3, Wii U: 2)
Retro: 17 across 8 systems (PS1: 4, Genesis: 4, GB: 3, NES: 2, SNES: 1, Arcade: 1, SMS: 1, NGPC: 1)

Genre Breakdown:
Other: 19
FPS: 16
Shmup: 13
Platformer: 10
Racing: 8
Fighting: 7
Run-n-Gun: 6
Puzzle: 6
RPG: 3
Third Person Shooter: 3
Twin Stick Shooter: 3
Rail Shooters: 2
Rhythm: 2
Click 'N Point: 2

Best game I've finished that was released this year: Can't decide! Doom, Uncharted 4, Titanfall 2, Abzu, Bound, and Thumper all make the shortlist...
Best retro game I finished for the first time: Parasite Eve

Total since I started keeping track (2010): 635

mmm delicious stats n graphs

Here's my set of numbers:

Games beaten this year: 91
Games beaten last year: 112

Games beaten by platform:

32X 1
3DS 6
DC 1
GC 4
Genesis 1
N64 4
NES 4
Nintendo DS 1
PC 47
PS1 1
PS4 7
PSN 1
PSP 1
PSX 1
SNES 3
TG-CD 2
Wii U 2
Xbox 360 1
Xbox One 2
3DS 1

Once again you see that I have a heavy PC focus (which makes sense, given the PC is the place I have the most games by far). There's two interesting things here compared to last year. First is that there isn't a major secondary platform like I had with the NES last year. The second is that I was playing across 33% more platforms than last year.

Games beaten by genre:

Action 8
FPS 12
Platformer 12
Puzzle 1
RPG 27
RTS 10
Shmup 1
Simulation 1
Sports 1
Strategy 9
Survival 9

Last year I was pretty balanced between FPS, Platformers, and RPGs. This year I not only finished more RPGs but I finished a lot less of the other two. Additionally I got several more Strategy titles in there compared to last year, as well as a few more RTS's. Since I skewed towards longer games I'm not surprised I wasn't able to make the 100 club this year, though I came close.

Sarge, did you make up those graphs yourself?

I just used a Pivot Chart in Excel. I always forget how to do 'em up, so I had to do some quick Googling to get things right. I didn't spend a ton of time cleaning it up and making it super-pretty, though. I thought it worked better than just listing my stuff, though, and it ended up a bit faster in the long run, too.