Games Beaten 2013

[Luke]

Batman NES has such great music.

It's one of my favorite Batman games. Actually, it's one of my favorite games for the NES. The music, graphics, and level design are all top notch. It also isn't exactly easy.

On the other hand, Strider is pretty simple. Still like it though despite its many flaws. Pretty good music on this game as well, and the Africa stage's music reminds me of WoodMan's level in Mega Man 2. It's also one of those games that has weird ending credits. Well, uless there is some guy named Vampire M who worked on the game.

[Ack]

Actually that is pretty standard fare for Capcom's games, Luke. Watch the end credits of their games, and you will see lots of nicknames.

[AppleQueso]

It was actually company policy at a lot of publishers/devs back then. The idea was that other companies couldn't just read the names and steal away the programmers.

[Luke]

Very interesting. I'll have to give Code Name Viper and Legendary Wings to see if they follow suit.

[J T]

I always liked the name Hip Tanaka. It's just so hip.

[BoneSnapDeez]

It was actually company policy at a lot of publishers/devs back then. The idea was that other companies couldn't just read the names and steal away the programmers.

This seemed to be really common among Sega titles. Ever watch the credits of the Phantasy Star games?

[BurningDoom]

Batman NES has such great music.

...all of Sunsoft's NES games do actually.

Indeed. One of the best games on NES, all around.

[dunpeal2064]

1. Mega Man (NES)
2. Kirby's Adventure (NES)
3. Toejam & Earl (GEN)
4. Mortal Kombat (SCD)
5. Rockband (Hard) (360)
6. Mega Man 2 (NES)
7. Metal Storm (NES)
8. Little Samson (NES)
9. Castlevania (NES)
10. Super Mario Bros (NES)
11. Chip & Dale: Rescue Rangers (NES)
12. Contra (NES)
13. Super Mario Bros 3 (NES)
14. Pro Wrestling (NES)
15. Ducktales (NES)

Another NES game I had never played before, and I was quite surprised by it. This is a really top-notch little platformer I'm a sucker for cool secrets, and this game is chalk-full of them. Although the game isn't difficult per-se, I didn't find it a cakewalk like Rescue Rangers. The music in this one is just awesome. I especialy enjoyed the cave level's tunes. Overall, I really enjoyed the game. So, now that that is out of the way, here are some gripes I had that didn't take away from the awesomeness, but are fun to poke at.

-Why do I have to push Down AND B to pull out my cane, and hold both until I hit the ground? B does nothing while you are in-air, and mapping it to B would allow easier left-to-right movement while pulling out the cane. At least 90% of my deaths were due to this.

-Why is the boss in Transylvania so much harder than anything else in the game? The stage is listed 2nd! Sure, you can choose your order, but you can't save Transylvania until last, as you need to clear it before going into the (much easier) caves.

-Speaking of Transylvania, why do they make me go back here so many times? Going back to get the key was slightly silly, as if you are doing the stages in order, you just came from here... but then they make it the final stage too? I don't have to revisit any other level, not even once, but I have to come back here twice? Were they just really proud of this stage, to the extend that they didn't even feel the need to program a final stage?


All that silliness aside, this is a great game that I am quite likely to re-visit.

Now, since I don't have a Ninja Gaiden cart yet (I had been playing it on an emulator before I started collecting carts again), I think I'll go try Batman, after seeing the love it is getting in this thread.

[Ack]

1. Sniper Elite V2 (PS3)(TPS)
2. Teen Agent (PC)(Point and Click Adventure)
3. Alpha Protocol (PS3)(RPG)
4. Beneath A Steel Sky (PC)(Point and Click Adventure)
5. Imscared - A Pixelated Nightmare (PC)(Horror)
6. Ys III: Wanderers from Ys (SNES)(RPG)
7. Celestial Mechanica (PC)(Platformer)
8. Gravity Bone (PC)(First Person Adventure)
9. Secret of Mana (SNES)(RPG)
10. Lure of the Temptress (PC)(Point and Click Adventure)
11. Mario's Early Years: Fun With Numbers (SNES)(Edutainment)
12. CoD of Duty (PC)(FPS)
13. The Bard's Tale (PS2)(RPG)
14. The Great Circus Mystery, Starring Mickey and Minnie (SNES)(Platformer)
15. Deus Ex (PC)(FPS)
16. The King of the Wood (PC)(FPS)

This is an interesting, free, and short FPS in which you play a detective or private eye of some sort who has been given a simple task: go to a mansion and execute the cyborg who has usurped the owner and is now impersonating him. Simple, right? Only the cyborg is completely aware you are coming, and while he doesn't plan to fight directly and is somewhat resigned to his fate, he has turned on the mansion's security system.

The King of the Wood is a near-futuristic take on stories like Blade Runner done in the style of Gravity Bone. You have to navigate the traps and security robots within the mansion while finding the keys to get past the various locked doors. Of course if you get hit, you simply restart with all of the progress you have made, so if you destroy a machine or disable a trap, it is done permanently. But the game also provides a brief slice of life of the reclusive cyborg, who has a fine taste for wine and literature but also smashes the mirrors in every room and writes somewhat cryptic love letters via email to a woman named Diana.

You will find the cyborg playing the piano at the end, though having gone through his tastes and seen the wake of his existence, I felt quietly content to sit and listen to him play his music for a short while until finally and wordlessly doing the job I had been asked to do. I must admit, I didn't really want to. Instead I wanted to get back in my car and leave him to his piano, his alcohol, his failed love life, and his seeming misery...yet I had to do my job. So when he fell lifelessly to the side of the piano, I sat and took his place.

[Blu]

1. Assassin's Creed 3 (Xbox 360) - 1/6/2013
2. Phantasy Star Online Episode 1 & 2 (Gamecube) - 1/11/2013
3. Metal Gear Solid 2 (Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, Xbox 360) - 1/20/2013
4. Metal Gear Solid 3 (Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, Xbox 360) - 1/22/2013
5. Sega Bass Fishing (Xbox 360) - 1/22/2013
6. Sonic & All-Stars Racing TRANSFORMED (Xbox 360)- 1/26/2013
7. Yakuza (PS2) - 2/2/2013
8. Yakuza 2 (PS2) - 2/22/2013
9. Panzer Dragoon Orta (Xbox) - 2/23/2013
10. Panzer Dragoon (Xbox Port)

Yakuza 2 did everything that the first game did right, and improved everything that needed some improvements. This game was hilarious, the plot insane, and I believe is much better in Japanese, with subtitles. 8.7/10

Panzer Dragoon Orta was quite amazing. I first played through it on Normal, then kept getting my rear end handed to me on the final boss. Seriously unforgiving third stage of the final boss. I ended up going back through on Easy, which was honestly five times easier. I think I'll go back on Normal though, and knock it out, unless I get frustrated from lack of success. This might be my favorite rail shooter of all time, more than Space Harrier. Smooth framerate at all times, and better graphics than some of this current gen's offerings. 9.5/10

Panzer Dragoon is an unlockable on Panzer Dragoon Orta. I feel satisfied that I paid 9 bucks for Orta, because it came with this gem. I have always wanted to play this first Panzer Dragoon, and it didn't let me down. It certainly looks dated, but the gameplay feels just as smooth as Orta, so it balances out. It's compelling me to check out the other games in the series, though its doubtful I'm going to find Saga anywhere. I certainly missed out on this awesome series, what's wrong with me!?