Games Beaten 2021

Post by **Markies** » Thu Aug 05, 2021 10:30 pm

Markies' Games Beat List Of 2021!
*Denotes Replay For Completion*

1. Midtown Madness 3 (XBOX)
2. X-Men 2: Clone Wars (GEN)
3. Sonic Adventure 2 (SDC)
4. Mega Man 7 (SNES)
5. Xenosaga Episode III: Also Sprach Zarathustra (PS2)
6. Bust A Move 4 (PS1)
7. Phantasy Star IV (GEN)
8. Gunbird 2 (SDC)
***9. The Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GCN)***
10. Fable: The Lost Chapters (XBOX)
11. Growlanser: Heritage Of War (PS2)
12. Double Dragon (NES)
13. Star Ocean (SNES)
14. Pokemon Snap (N64)
15. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (GCN)
16. Castle Of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse (GEN)
17. Stella Deus: The Gate Of Eternity (PS2)
18. Super R-Type (SNES)
19. Threads Of Fate (PS1)

I beat Threads Of Fate on the Sony Playstation 1 this evening!

Many years ago, a friend of mine bought a copy of Threads of Fate. He sat down and played it one night and I don't think he liked it all that much. Despite that fact, it got me interested in the game as I always wanted to try Square's Non-RPG's on the PS1. Years went by and the game was always on my wishlist when I found a near perfect copy at a local game store. After looking it over some more, I decided to take a chance and have my take on it. After playing through some heavier and tougher games recently, I was looking for something lighter and I was glad that I picked Threads of Fate.

First of all, the music in Threads of Fate is utterly fantastic. I kept scenes going longer than I should have because I liked the music so much. They were all addictive and so amazing. I know Square did some great music in the PS1 and the guy who did the music for Threads of Fate would go onto help in the music of Final Fantasy X, my favorite game of all time, so that probably helped in liking it. Also and I don't say this too often, the game is one of the funniest I have ever played. I played through the Mint story and she is hilarious. There are slapstick, pratfalls and hilarious facial expressions along with clever writing that make it a joy to play through. To be fair, the game is MOSTLY dialog as the dungeons and combat are really nothing to write home about. You have magic that you can use with several different kinds doing different amounts of damage. Every enemy either drops HP or MP, when hit an enemy with an attack your magic meter goes up and when you take damage or use Magic, your maximum HP/MP go up as well, when combined together, the game is mostly a breeze. Some of the bosses can be annoying until you know when to hit them, but most of them can be beaten on your first or second try. I didn't enjoy the game for the thrilling combat or deep dungeons, but they don't get in the way or make the game annoying either.

Overall, I really enjoyed my time with Threads of Fate. I would almost call this a guilty pleasure game, but I think it has a pretty positive reputation. For me, the story, the music and even the beautiful art style really makes the game shine. I think I will have some fond memories of this game that will grow as time goes by. So, if you want a funny and enjoyable Action RPG that is not too difficult, give Threads of Fate a try!

Post by **prfsnl_gmr** » Fri Aug 06, 2021 12:45 am

First 35

36. Robo Warrior (NES)
37. Blaster Master Boy (GB)
38. Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars (3DS)
39. Donkey Kong Land (GB)
40. Mario & Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move (3DS)

Since 2019, I’ve been intentionally working my way through every game in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series. That series, which can be traced back to 1981’s Donkey Kong, slowly evolved from a rudimentary platformer (i.e., Donkey Kong) to a puzzle-platformer (i.e., Donkey Kong (1994) and Mario vs. Donkey Kong) to a series of pure puzzle games, starting with 2006’s Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis. Since that entry, the series has involved, in one way or another, indirectly controlling a group of clockwork Mario figures to overcome obstacles, collect coins, and reach a goal. (The mechanics are very similar to Psygnosis’ Lemmings, and fans of those games will find a lot to like in the most recent Mario vs. Donkey Kong games.)

Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars is the penultimate game in the series, and it plays very similar to its predecessors. That is, you guide Mario, Luigi. Pauline, Peach, and Toad figurines through a 2D maze by placing blocks, constructing bridges, and building ladders. The puzzles become increasingly complex, and the “bonus” puzzles are incredibly challenging. The game features a very robust level editor, and it allows players to share homemade levels online. The single-player game is a bit barebones - It doesn’t iterate on previous entries, and I got a simple “Congratulations.” message when I beat the game - and I think the level-editor and online capabilities were the game’s selling points. (In fact, it is impossible to unlock all of the level editor’s features without playing online, and I think Nintendo used this game to test a lot of the concepts that it would deploy, to greater effect, with Super Mario Maker.). I didn’t really utilize these features, but still, I enjoyed the game, even if the single-player experience was a bit ho-hum in comparison to previous entries in the series.

Mario & Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move, in contrast, is entirely different. It is entirely a single-player experience that deviates significantly from previous entries. Specifically, in this game, you guide a mini-Mario (or mini-Peach or mini-Toad) to a goal through a 3D space by placing tiles on a grid. The grid determines the mini-Mario’s path, and you get additional points for collecting coins on your way to the goal and reaching the goal as quickly as possible. The game features four play modes - Mario’s Main Event, Peach’s Puzzle Palace, Toad’s Many Mini Madness, and DK’s Giant Jungle. In the first mode, Mario’s Main Event, tiles fall into a pipe on the right side of the screen, there are many, many ways to fail. If the tiles fill up the pipe, you fail. If your mini-Mario , which moves automatically, falls off a tile, you fail. If mini-Mario touches an obstacle, you fail. If you run out of time, you fail. These mechanics combine to create a very unique and very, very hectic puzzle experience which I enjoyed tremendously. Peach’s Puzzle Place, in contrast, is a much more serene experience, that has you using a limited number of tiles to reach a goal. Toad’s Many Mini Madness requires you to shift and rotate tiles to guide multiple minis to a goal, and DK’s Giant Jungle is similar to Mario’s Main Event, but with multiple goals and set on a much larger grid. By completing puzzles, you unlock more puzzles, but you also unlock new figurines and touch-screen mini games. The game has a tremendous amount of content, and while I’ve rolled credits on it twice, I have only competed about half of the game. Finally, the game sounds great, with a selection classic Mario and Donkey Kong themes, and the 3D effect is stupendous, (I’m sorry, but the 3D effect on the 3DS is still like magic to me.) I really, really enjoyed Mario & Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move, and unlike Tipping Stars, I recommend it wholeheartedly.

Donkey Kong Land is the game I played between Tipping Stars and Minis on the Move, and it is almost a Gameboy port of Donkey Kong Country. It is only almost a port because it features some unique enemies, levels, mechanics, and settings. It also features really slippery controls and an even more zoomed-in perspective, which make it hard to recommend. Thankfully, from what I’ve played so far, the sequels are much better, and I expect to beat both of them in relatively short order.

Post by **Raging Justice** » Fri Aug 06, 2021 4:53 pm

prfsnl_gmr wrote:First 35

1. Horace (Switch)
2. Ghostrunner (Switch)
3. Mickey’s Adventure in Numberland (NES)
4. Mickey’s Safari in Letterland (NES)
5. Castle of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse (Genesis)
6. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess Picross (3DS)
7. World of Illusion starring Mickey & Donald (Genesis)
8. Castle of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse (Game Gear)
9. Land of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse (Game Gear)
10. Legend of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse (Game Gear)
11. Portal 2 [co-op] (PS3)
12. Operencia: The Stolen Sun (Switch)
13. The Knight of Queen (Switch)
14. Q.U.B.E. - Director’s Cut (PS3)
15. What the Golf?! (Switch)
16. Prune (iOS)
17. Kenshō (iOS)
18. For the Frog the Bell Tolls (GameBoy)
19. Holedown (iOS)
20. King’s Field (PS1)
21. My Friend Pedro (Switch)
22. MO: Astray (Switch)
23. EQI (Switch)
24. Foxyland (Switch)
25. Carrion (Switch)
26. QUBE 2 (Switch)
27. Aaero (Switch)
28. Portal 2 (PS3)
29. Alwa’s Awakening (Switch)
30. Alwa’s Legacy (Switch)
31. Mega Man 11 (Switch)
32. Superliminal (Switch)
33. Shantae & The Seven Sirens (Switch)
34. Halo 3 (360)
35. Legacy of the Wizard (NES)

36. Robo Warrior (NES)
37. Blaster Master Boy (GB)
38. Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars (3DS)
39. Donkey Kong Land (GB)
40. Mario & Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move (3DS)

Since 2019, I’ve been intentionally working my way through every game in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series. That series, which can be traced back to 1981’s Donkey Kong, slowly evolved from a rudimentary platformer (i.e., Donkey Kong) to a puzzle-platformer (i.e., Donkey Kong (1994) and Mario vs. Donkey Kong) to a series of pure puzzle games, starting with 2006’s Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis. Since that entry, the series has involved, in one way or another, indirectly controlling a group of clockwork Mario figures to overcome obstacles, collect coins, and reach a goal. (The mechanics are very similar to Psygnosis’ Lemmings, and fans of those games will find a lot to like in the most recent Mario vs. Donkey Kong games.)

Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars is the penultimate game in the series, and it plays very similar to its predecessors. That is, you guide Mario, Luigi. Pauline, Peach, and Toad figurines through a 2D maze by placing blocks, constructing bridges, and building ladders. The puzzles become increasingly complex, and the “bonus” puzzles are incredibly challenging. The game features a very robust level editor, and it allows players to share homemade levels online. The single-player game is a bit barebones - It doesn’t iterate on previous entries, and I got a simple “Congratulations.” message when I beat the game - and I think the level-editor and online capabilities were the game’s selling points. (In fact, it is impossible to unlock all of the level editor’s features without playing online, and I think Nintendo used this game to test a lot of the concepts that it would deploy, to greater effect, with Super Mario Maker.). I didn’t really utilize these features, but still, I enjoyed the game, even if the single-player experience was a bit ho-hum in comparison to previous entries in the series.

Mario & Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move, in contrast, is entirely different. It is entirely a single-player experience that deviates significantly from previous entries. Specifically, in this game, you guide a mini-Mario (or mini-Peach or mini-Toad) to a goal through a 3D space by placing tiles on a grid. The grid determines the mini-Mario’s path, and you get additional points for collecting coins on your way to the goal and reaching the goal as quickly as possible. The game features four play modes - Mario’s Main Event, Peach’s Puzzle Palace, Toad’s Many Mini Madness, and DK’s Giant Jungle. In the first mode, Mario’s Main Event, tiles fall into a pipe on the right side of the screen, there are many, many ways to fail. If the tiles fill up the pipe, you fail. If your mini-Mario , which moves automatically, falls off a tile, you fail. If mini-Mario touches an obstacle, you fail. If you run out of time, you fail. These mechanics combine to create a very unique and very, very hectic puzzle experience which I enjoyed tremendously. Peach’s Puzzle Place, in contrast, is a much more serene experience, that has you using a limited number of tiles to reach a goal. Toad’s Many Mini Madness requires you to shift and rotate tiles to guide multiple minis to a goal, and DK’s Giant Jungle is similar to Mario’s Main Event, but with multiple goals and set on a much larger grid. By completing puzzles, you unlock more puzzles, but you also unlock new figurines and touch-screen mini games. The game has a tremendous amount of content, and while I’ve rolled credits on it twice, I have only competed about half of the game. Finally, the game sounds great, with a selection classic Mario and Donkey Kong themes, and the 3D effect is stupendous, (I’m sorry, but the 3D effect on the 3DS is still like magic to me.) I really, really enjoyed Mario & Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move, and unlike Tipping Stars, I recommend it wholeheartedly.

Donkey Kong Land is the game I played between Tipping Stars and Minis on the Move, and it is almost a Gameboy port of Donkey Kong Country. It is only almost a port because it features some unique enemies, levels, mechanics, and settings. It also features really slippery controls and an even more zoomed-in perspective, which make it hard to recommend. Thankfully, from what I’ve played so far, the sequels are much better, and I expect to beat both of them in relatively short order.

I really like that series of games with the Mario minis, though I can't play them for long stretches. Puzzle games get a bit boring to me when played in long play sessions. I just get that itch to play something with some actual action in it (something which Valiant Hearts, an excellent puzzler, sprinkles in from time to time to break up the monotony)

A great series that is similar to these games is the DodoGo! series, though some might find them a little too cutesy (even compared to Mario games)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKt9ajv0CPk

Post by **pook99** » Fri Aug 06, 2021 5:36 pm

36 blue fire (switch)
37 golden force (switch)
38 fate extella link (switch)
39 shantae seven sirens (switch)
40 Balan Wonderworld (switch)
41 cotton reboot (switch)
42 Blasphemous (switch)

Just a little blurb about each:

36. Blue fire

Really great game that combines elements of zelda, dark souls, mario, metroid, and hardcore 2d platformers like hollow knight in a 3d environment. Great, challenging game that takes a lot of inspirartion from various sources but combines them in a way that has not been done before. The last 2 missions are definitely weak and mar an otherwise phenomenal game but this is definitely worth a playthrough for anyone who wants a challenging metroidvania in 3d.

37. Golden force

This game is a pretty standard 2d platformer, you have a jump, a dash, a vertical dash, and make your way through 4 worlds with 4 levels each that end in a boss battle. While offering nothing original it nails the basics, has a hard but fair difficulty level, and has some extremely well designed boss battles that are a ton of fun to learn and take down. The game economy is pretty broken, the shop in between levels sells next to worthless items(mostly) for way too much gold, but if you ignore that aspect of it there is a very solid game here

38. Fate extella: link

This is the first musou game I have ever actually played through to completion. Lots of cool characters, based on historical characters (some real like king charlemagne, some fictional like robin hood) to use with tons of moves and very fast and frantic gameplay. The game offers replay value in the form of branching paths so if you want to see everything the game has to offer multiple playthroughs are required, but you can do so in new game + where you keep all the characters and upgrades you acquire, I don't have any real basis of comparison here but I definitely had a blast playing through this game

39. Shantae and the 7 sirens:

If you have played any of these games you know what to expect, great metroidvania with colorful visuals, likeable characters, and a fun story. Definitely on the easy side of things but tons of fun regardless, there is a good chance that when my daughter is old enough to play videogames her first game will be in this series

40. Balan Wonderworld

Writing a blurb about this game will not do it justice, I have a lot to say about this game and would like to find the time to write a full review about it at some point

41. Cotton Reboot:

2d schmup which has you playing as a witch on a broomstick, lots of stuff going on at once, this is a very frentic game and fans of schmups will find a lot to like here

42. Blasphemous:

The most visually disturbing game I have ever played, this is a 2d metroidvania with less of an emphasis on getting upgrades and more on world building, combat, exploration, and very tough bosses. Unlike most metroidvanias you get very few movement upgrades but you do get health, mana, sword, and item upgrades, progression comes more from beating x bosses to get keys to unlock the next area than it does from getting some random power that unlocks new areas. It is almost more of a 2d dark souls than anything else., absolutely terrific game with a depressing ending, but well worth a playthrough.

prfsnl_gmr wrote:
pook99 wrote:Been awhile since I have been on, being a new father really cuts down on free time, but I literally could not be happier. My little girl is the sweetest, happiest, little thing on the planet. I still lurk reading reviews and such, usually with my phone in one hand and my baby in the other so keep them coming, here is what I have been playing when I occasionally have free time, I'll just write a very short blurb about each:

pook! It’s good to hear from you, and I’m glad you’re doing well. I know you have your hands full, both literally and figuratively, but I’m glad you’re still finding some time to check in and play a few games. I actually joined the site just after my daughter’s birth (12 years ago!). Chatting with others about video games, and playing games on my then-new Nintendo DS Lite really helped me a lot when I was a new parent..

Thanks, if not for portable gaming I don't think I would ever play any games at all, definitely excited for the steam deck to come out next year. Being a parent is definitely an amazing experience and more than makes up for any gaming that I am not doing though, my baby is also at the age where she is noticing everything so I am now more careful about what I play in front of her, I was playing blasphemous last week and she started watching me so I had to immediately turn it off and put on something more kiddish instead, that game is just way too gruesome for her to watch.

Note wrote:
pook99 wrote:Been awhile since I have been on, being a new father really cuts down on free time, but I literally could not be happier. My little girl is the sweetest, happiest, little thing on the planet. I still lurk reading reviews and such, usually with my phone in one hand and my baby in the other so keep them coming, here is what I have been playing when I occasionally have free time, I'll just write a very short blurb about each:

Also glad to hear you're doing well, pook! Enjoyed reading your blurbs -- I was aware of Tanuki Justice but hadn't seen any reviews on it so I'm glad to hear you liked it.

9 Monkeys of Shaolin and Shing look like really fun beat 'em ups. I might have to track those down.

they are both pretty unique and stray from the standard beat em up formula, but both definitely are worth a look.

Post by **Markies** » Sat Aug 07, 2021 7:52 pm

Markies' Games Beat List Of 2021!
*Denotes Replay For Completion*

1. Midtown Madness 3 (XBOX)
2. X-Men 2: Clone Wars (GEN)
3. Sonic Adventure 2 (SDC)
4. Mega Man 7 (SNES)
5. Xenosaga Episode III: Also Sprach Zarathustra (PS2)
6. Bust A Move 4 (PS1)
7. Phantasy Star IV (GEN)
8. Gunbird 2 (SDC)
***9. The Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GCN)***
10. Fable: The Lost Chapters (XBOX)
11. Growlanser: Heritage Of War (PS2)
12. Double Dragon (NES)
13. Star Ocean (SNES)
14. Pokemon Snap (N64)
15. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (GCN)
16. Castle Of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse (GEN)
17. Stella Deus: The Gate Of Eternity (PS2)
18. Super R-Type (SNES)
19. Threads Of Fate (PS1)
20. The Bouncer (PS2)

I beat The Bouncer on the Sony Playstation 2 this afternoon!

One of my favorite games is Final Fantasy X-2. Maybe much has to do with the fact that it is the sequel to my favorite game of all time, but I have always loved playing through X-2. Something about the combat, presentation, music and game play made it such a joy to play through. Well, I found out a while ago that the composer that worked on X-2, also worked on The Bouncer. I had heard about The Bouncer, but I never really put much stock into it. After that fact, I really wanted to try it out. While walking around a local gaming convention, I saw a rather nice copy for an extremely cheap price. I want some more more shorter PS2 games, so I decided to give this one a whirl.

Right off the bat, the opening scene sounds like something ripped out of X-2, so that was great to see. Also, the character design is done by Tetsuya Nomura and that is completely obvious considering their wardrobes and looks. Besides that, everything felt really new to me and unlike any game I had really played before. Much like Threads of Fate, the cutscenes make up the bulk of the game. The game is only about 2 hours long and I'd be shocked if there was 30 minutes of gameplay in it. There is only one true level, that you can actually skip if you would like. Besides that, it is mostly cutscene and then fight with a boss or some dudes and that's it. Now, the fighting is some of the best 3D Beat'Em Up Action I've ever seen, but there really isn't much to it.

I was expecting a bit of grinding because you can power up your statistics, but that never really comes. So, it is important to do all the fights and to get the kills from your partners as that is the only way to gain experience. If you don't, then the game can become a massive chore and almost unwinable. Besides that, the fights are either incredibly easy or stupidly difficult. Replaying them helps in you beating them, but there isn't much strategy as once you find a good combo, you can use that for the rest of the game.

Overall, The Bouncer is a rather interesting experience that I still enjoyed. It's unlike any video game I have ever played before as it didn't feel like a video game. It felt like an interactive movie or one long cutscene with quick-time events. That being said, I would still recommend the game if you like Beat'Em Ups and can get for rather cheap. It certainly is a new experience!

Post by **elricorico** » Sun Aug 08, 2021 1:21 am

1. Cosmic Star Heroine (NS)
2. Boom Blox (Wii)
3. Grandia (NS)

4. New Super Mario Bros. (NDS)

I was looking for a palette cleanser after Grandia, something shorter that I could play a little more casually and still come to an ending. New Super Mario Bros on the DS fit the bill.

Here's a terrible gaming confession; New Super Mario Bros U was the first 2D Mario game that I ever actually beat. Platformer games were just not my thing for most of my gaming life. I enjoyed them a little, but not enough to buy any for myself and not enough to commit to beating any. I still have never beaten SMB 1, 2, 3 or World, despite dabbling with them all from time to time. I have grown to enjoy platformers since starting to collect, and count games like Rayman Legends and DK Tropical Freeze amongst some of my favourites over the last several years.

This game was quite enjoyable, but it really didn't create any real memorable moments. Gameplay and controls are solid, just what you'd expect from a Mario game. Level design is good as well, though I found it quite easy up until World 8 when the difficulty spiked. By the last 5 or 6 levels I was dying enough that I had to keep running back to World 1 to gather 1ups. I'm sure it still doesn't rate high on the difficulty scale, but I will be the first to admit that I'm no expert at these games.

Unfortunately I found the boss battles to be very lacking in variety. It seemed that for many the only change was the room you meet the boss in. I guess the idea was that this game paid homage to older games, but I did find it a bit of an odd choice to limit the variety of bosses when levels didn't seem to have similar bounds.

All in all, I got what I wanted from this game-something I could beat relatively quickly in small bites. Worth playing, but I had higher expectations from a Mario Bros game.

Post by **PartridgeSenpai** » Thu Aug 12, 2021 5:27 am

Partridge Senpai's 2021 Beaten Games:
Previously: 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
* indicates a repeat

Games 1~51

52. Wai Wai World 2 (Famicom)
53. Tiny Toon Adventures (Famicom)
54. King Kong 2: Ikari No Megaton Punch (Famicom)
55. Yume Pengin Monogatari (Famicom)
56. Rock Man & Forte (SFC)
57. Rock Man X2 (Switch)
58. Rock Man X3 (Switch)
59. Rock Man X4 (Switch)
60. Rock Man X5 (Switch)
61. Rock Man X6 (Switch)
62. Rock Man X7 (Switch)
63. Rock Man X8 (Switch)
64. Mega Man: Powered Up (PSP)
65. Magical Taruruuto Kun: FANTASTIC WORLD!! (Famicom)
66. Maken Shao (PS2)
67. Getsu Fuuma Den (Famicom)
68. Rock Man D.A.S.H (PSP)
69. Brave Fencer Musashi (PS1)
70. Joe & Mac (SFC) *
71. Atelier Lilie: The Alchemist of Salburg 3 (PS2)
72. Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link (Famicom)
73. The Bouncer (PS2)
74. Rapid Angel (PS1)
75. Atelier Totori: The Alchemist of Arland 2 (PS3)
76. Drakengard 3 (PS3)
77. Alwa's Awakening (Switch)
78. Hermina & Culus (PS2)
79. Atelier Meruru: The Alchemist of Arland 3 (PS3)
80. Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti (Switch)
81. Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana (PS2)
82. Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana 2 (PS2)
83. Mario Kart 64 (N64)
84. Super Mario Kart (SFC)
85. Mario Kart Super Circuit (3DS)
86. Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time (N64) *

87. Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (N64) *

I've always considered this Zelda my favorite of the style pioneered by Ocarina of Time, but it'd been so long since I played it I was really curious how it held up to my memory (and I also still really had the itch for more 3D Zelda after finishing OoT :b). I wasn't sure how much I'd do in it, given that I had already gotten all the masks before when I last played it however many years ago, but I ended up having so much fun that I got all of the masks again and all but about 8 of the heart pieces. It took me about 30 or so hours to do all that in the Japanese version of the game on original hardware.

Majora's Mask (or as it is in Japanese, "Majura's" Mask) is one of the few direct sequels in the larger Zelda series. Taking place a little after Ocarina of Time, Link bids Hyrule farewell as he sets off on a quest to find something he never could on his last quest: a friend. He finds himself eventually in the land of Termina, where he's attacked by a Skull Kid (or as they're called in Japanese, "Stalkid", I guess to connect them to Stalfos) wearing the titular mask. The masked assailant steals Epona and the Ocarina of Time and after a brief chase, Link finds himself still without both AND turned into a Deku Scrub. With his only company being Tatl, the fairy companion that Skullkid left behind, Link sets off on an increasingly dire quest to save Termina from the very angry moon about to crash into it.

Where Ocarina of Time is more of an apocalypse lacking characters, Majora's Mask is much more intimate perspective of a world on the cusp of destruction. Link only has three days before the moon falls, but using the song of time, he can reset back to the start of those three days as many times as he likes. Every NPC in Termina has their own (often quite simple) schedule that they follow and their own problems that arise at different times during the countdown to the final moments, and all of that constant resetting gives you a lot of time to get to know the world and the characters in it. From quests as fundamental as joining the bombers to get the code to their hideout to the infamously time-intensive and involved quest to find the lost Kafei, there is no shortage of side quests you can embark on to help people out and get a bigger perspective on the world.

Majora's Mask ends up being a tale oozing with character as well as the genuine tragedy. All of the imperiled lands of Termina are the result of Skullkid's mischief, who himself is (quite well) painted as another victim of the passage of time and the inevitable changes it brings. MM is deeply sewn with these themes about the importance of helping others, fighting against inevitability, and accepting what you can and cannot change. It's a story I ended up liking even more than I remembered, and it is definitely one of the highlights of the game as a whole.

Another theme is the masks we all wear. Not only the fronts we use to interact with different people and different situations, but also on a mechanical level as well. While MM has four big, beautiful dungeons to trek through, there are also oodles of masks to collect along those many side quests of helping others in Termina. Many of them are used for just a heart piece or two and/or used to progress the story, but there are famously a few that allow you to transform into a Deku Scrub, a Goron, and a Zora. The different mechanics and abilities of each add a large amount of variety to the gameplay as you can fly around and bound on water as the Deku, roll around as a spiky boulder as the Goron, and swim with great speed as the Zora. Granted the rolling around as the Goron and swimming as the Zora can be a bit fiddly at times, all it takes is some practice to get the hang of it, and you're never pressured too badly to master these systems. All of this transforming does put a strain on the item quick change system, however, as constantly needing to go into your inventory to change between normal items and masks becomes more than just a bit of a pain as time goes on. Still, it makes playing through the game a very different experience and allows for scads of new puzzle designs to differentiate this from its predecessor.

Those puzzle designs are by and large quite good, but occasionally they veer a bit too inscrutable. The water dungeon in particular is quite the head turner, but the game in general has much more puzzle-involved dungeon design than Ocarina of Time. On top of that, the signposting on how to progress to the next dungeon in the first place can be quite hard to pick out at times. Though you do only have three days per cycle to actually finish a dungeon, slowing down time with the song of reverse time does make that time limit not nearly so much of a problem. Aside from that, the game plays and feels very much like Ocarina of Time, and will feel very familiar to anyone who has played that game.

The presentation of this game REALLY flexes the RAM expansion that the game requires to be played. While the music and character design as are excellent and iconic as ever, the graphics really do look remarkably better than Ocarina of Time's do, with a larger resolution and textures of much higher quality. It's one of Nintendo's last big games on the N64, and damn if it don't look like it.

Ocarina of Time is nearly identical between English and Japanese, but I was really surprised at just how much is different between the English and Japanese versions of Majora's Mask. A lot of it is making certain challenges just a bit easier (a more lenient time limit here, a slightly easier platform placement there), but the biggest one for me is that you can't save at owl statues in the Japanese version. If you want to save the game, you NEED to reset the time loop with the song of time, and that can be very anxiety inducing at times. Sure, the Japanese version of MM is cheaper to acquire and has three save slots instead of two, but that ability to save more often without resetting the cycle (in addition to making Zora swimming a bit easier) makes the American version the easily superior version in my eyes.

Verdict: Highly Recommended. I was a little nervous going in on how much I'd still like this game, but it's definitely still a big favorite of mine. While I think I do prefer the English version for its small balance changes, both versions of the game are still excellent experiences for a fan of 3D Zelda games and action/adventure games. Majora's Mask has a bit of a divisive place among Zelda fans, but I'm firmly on the side of it being an excellent spin on the formula and one of the all time greats in the series.

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88. Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap (3DS) *

I wanted to play more Zelda, but I didn't have any more 3D Zelda games to play. That's when a friend of mine mentioned that she had just started Minish Cap, and I just had the urge to play through it again. While I don't have a physical cart anymore, I have it via the Ambassador Program on my 3DS, so that's how I played through it. It took me around 11 or so hours to play through the English version of the game on my New 3DS XL.

The last 2D Zelda game made by Capcom, Minish Cap is a mid-life GBA game that reuses a lot of assets from their Four Swords GBA game to tell an all new tale. Long long ago, the land was under assault by monsters until a hero in green appeared with a blade bestowed to him by the very small Minish. This Piccori blade was used to defeat the evil, and the blade has been enshrined in Hyrule ever since. One day, the evil wind mage Vaati destroys the blade, turns Princess Zelda to stone, and releases a massive swarm of monsters into the world in the process. It's up to Link and his strange friend Ezlo to restore the blade and defeat Vaati once and for all. It's a pretty standard story for a handheld Zelda adventure, and it does the job of

Ezlo is a former Minish who was turned into a weird triangular bird thing by Vaati, and he joins Link on his quest by riding around on his conveniently hat-less head (given his very convenient hat-like shape). Ezlo not only gives you advice like Navi does, but he also gives you the ability to turn small like the Minish themselves, and that turning big and small is the most significant gimmick of this game. Being small is generally very similar to being big, mechanically speaking, but getting a mouse's perspective on human-world objects has a delightful charm that never outstays its welcome.

Outside of that, the game is a fairly standard 2D Zelda affair with dungeons to complete and special items to find in them, sidequests to complete, and monsters and bosses to defeat. The dungeons are fun and well designed as are the bosses, but the signposting on how to progress or even fight bosses can be a bit confusing at times. This isn't helped by the fact that Ezlo often doesn't give terribly helpful hints on how to progress, so being a bit stumped on how to progress is a not infrequent issue in this game compared to other mid-/late-2000's Zelda titles.

Like Capcom's Oracle series of Zelda games, there's a bit more involvement with NPCs than in Nintendo's 2D Zelda games, but in this case it takes place in the form of Kinstones that you fuse with other NPCs to both unlike side quests, treasure troves, and sometimes story progression. The Kinstones are a neat collectible and fun to do, but they're also effectively the entirety of the game's side content, so there isn't much writing for side content that doesn't ultimately get reduced to fusing Kinstones and wandering to where they've had their effect.

The presentation is very charming. While the game plays more like the GBC Zelda games, it has the aesthetic of the Four Swords games and Wind Waker, giving it a lovely colorful and cartoony style. The music is also quite good, and the game all around plays and sounds just like you'd expect a Zelda game should.

Verdict: Recommended. I didn't enjoy this game quite as much as I remembered enjoying it, but I still liked my time with it nonetheless. It can be a little clunky and unclear in places, but it's still a really solid Zelda game and another remarkably good job by Capcom in bringing Zelda to life on Nintendo's handhelds~.

Post by **MrPopo** » Fri Aug 13, 2021 1:03 am

Previous Years: 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

First 50:

51. Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling - Switch
52. Banner of the Maid - Switch
53. CrossCode - Switch
54. Total Annihilation: The Core Contingency - PC
55. Ultima Underworld - PC
56. Betrayal at Krondor - PC
57. Assassin's Creed: Origins - PC
58. Axiom Verge 2 - Switch

Axiom Verge was a metroidvania that threw back to the graphical style of the original Metroid and included a feature where you could "glitch" elements of the game in reference to the bugs that could occur in the original when you did things the game didn't expect and the poor NES started executing code it never intended to. Axiom Verge 2 follows up, but not as a direct sequel in story or gameplay (though the story connections are there). Instead, it pulls more from SotN and gives you a pretty much completely new set of mobility abilities (other than the return of the drone as the morph ball replacement). It is as carefully crafted as the first one, but the changes are such that you aren't guaranteed to enjoy this one if you liked the first one.

The game starts off at an abandoned base in Antarctica, but you quickly do an inadvertant dimension hop and end up in a world where the biome changes rapidly as you move through areas to give you a sense of each place being distinct. You pick up a fragmented message that pulls you deeper, and following these breadcrumbs slowly reveals the story as you proceed deeper and deeper and learn a bit more about the mysterious goings on. You never get a complete picture, but the large number of notes do give a fair amount of backstory and worldbuilding.

As mentioned, the game is more SotN inspired this time. The graphics are now that more natural style, rather than the tile based blockiness of the first game. More importantly, your primary attack is a handful of melee weapons differentiated by swing speed and swing path. I found that there wasn't enough difference in swing speed to make up for the utility of the wide swing and high damage of the biggest axe (frankly, the swing speed difference was fairly negligible). You do gain access to a boomerang as a ranged weapon, but it's a secondary at best, and I spent a good chunk of the game never using it. This is definitely one of those metroidvanias where enemies aren't worth obsessively fighting; there's no experience and they tend to have patterns that can sap your health if you're not careful, so discretion is the better part of valor.

The key mechanic in this game is the Breach, which is an alternate world parallel to the main one which can be entered through portals. This is quite reminiscent of Link to the Past's Dark World, where the alternate world is overall similar but has many key differences that lead to using it to get through barriers. This also leads to the game's primary shortcoming; the signposting is below the level of Super Metroid. This becomes most apparent when you gain the ability to leave the Breach at any time (a la the Magic Mirror in LttP); you frequently need to use this to get past barriers and enter sections of the primary map you've yet to reach. Sometimes you'll get environment objects that try to hint to you that this is a point to make that transition, but other times you need to remember to toggle between the two map views to see if you're in a new area.

Unlike the first game this game has no required bosses (other than a final puzzle boss fight). There are a handful of high HP enemies (though still far less HP than the Axiom Verge bosses) that don't respawn that can be fought, but their arenas do not lock, so they serve as one of the sources of skill points in the game. The game lets you upgrade your abilities, though to be honest only the ability to unlock higher level doors actually matters. I found that the weapon damage upgrades rarely made a difference in hits to kill, which strikes me as some problems with the numbers (you need to think in terms of breakpoints, rather than raw DPS when balancing). The door hack upgrade is also only really necessary to collect items, as the primary path does not require you to rank up the skill. The game does end a bit abruptly; you intellectually suspect when you're about to be at the end but it doesn't quite FEEL like it is, and the ending itself leaves a lot of loose ends and it's clear the developer is planning at least one more game.

Overall Axiom Verge 2 is a very solid metroidvania with a bit of signposting issues and a story that isn't as strong as the first, but those don't really get in the way of the overall enjoyment of making your way through and slowing building up your mobility options. The game does front load a bit of its difficulty combat-wise, but about midway through everything should click pretty well. Definitely recommended for fans of the genre.

Post by **Note** » Sat Aug 14, 2021 11:42 pm

1. Golden Axe II (GEN)
2. Time Crisis [Special Mode] (PS1)
3. Streets of Rage (GEN)
4. Time Crisis: Project Titan (PS1)
5. Rayman Origins (360)
6. Borderlands (360)
7. Streets of Rage 4 (Switch)*
8. King of Dragons (SNES)
9. Wild Guns (SNES)
10. Star Fox (SNES)
11. Guardian Heroes (SAT) [2x]*
12. World of Illusion (GEN)
13. Raiden Fighters Jet (360)
14. Raiden Fighters 2: Operation Hell Dive (360)*
15. Streets of Rage 3 (GEN)
16. Street Fighter III: Third Strike (Xbox)*
17. Mushihimesama Futari (360)
18. Guwange (360)
19. Star Fox 64 (N64)*
20. Soul Calibur (DC)*
21. Street Fighter II: Special Champion Edition (GEN)

22. Xeno Crisis (GEN)

When I first saw screenshots of Xeno Crisis, I had to say I was pretty impressed to see a game with those graphics running on the Genesis. Also, from the gameplay footage I saw, I thought that the background music sounded great too. When most of the reviews of the game came back positive, I added it to want my list but then procrastinated to get the game until a few months ago. I'm finally glad I did, as I've played the game quite a number of times and while the difficulty is really tough, I've had a lotta fun attempting to get through it in both single player and couch co-op with a friend.

Xeno Crisis is a twin-stick shooter that I believe started as a Genesis project, and since it had a successful fundraising campaign, it ended up being ported to many different platforms. Each level is randomly generated, and you will have to fight your way through swarms of strange aliens with some rapid fire artillery, grenades, and a dodge mechanic in the form of a roll. After each level, you have the chance to purchase character upgrades (or continues) based on the amount of dog tags you collected throughout the previous levels. The dog tags will randomly spawn after defeating enemies and sometimes you'll have to maneuver your way through a swarm of enemies to grab one before it vanishes. There are also special weapons that will appear from time to time and extra grenades.

The graphics are great for a Genesis title IMO. The art style that the developer Bitmap Bureau went with looks like something that might've been released on the Neo Geo back in the 90s. The background levels, character sprites, weapons, and enemies are all well done. The boss sprites are especially impressive, with some of them very colorful and taking up most of the screen. The character select screen and cutscenes in between levels also have a well done animation style to them. Regarding the soundtrack, I think it was great to get the producer Savaged Regime involved. He did an amazing job on each level's music, but I especially like the first level's tune, as I feel like it gets the player pretty amped up and fits perfectly with the action packed game. I hope more game development companies tap him in to handle their title's score.

The one issue I had with the game as I'm sure most people did was the difficulty is extremely tough, IMO. Even on the easy setting, I was mostly only able to get through the fourth level. For transparency, I used a cheat code for extra continues in order to finally finish the game after trying for a few months. Even with the insane difficulty setting, I think most fans of the genre would enjoy the game but it would've been nice to have an easier setting for more casual play sessions.

I think this is a great game and it's really awesome to see something of this quality released on the Genesis so many years after the console's original lifespan. I feel like the homebrew scene for the Genesis is very strong, and this might be my favorite title to come out of it so far. I really hope Bitmap Bureau will tackle another game for the console and bring along the same team and Savaged Regime to work on it! I hope they tackle the beat 'em up genre next. I highly recommend Xeno Crisis for anyone that's a fan of twin-stick shooters or Sega's 16-bit console.

Post by **prfsnl_gmr** » Sat Aug 14, 2021 11:57 pm

Great review, Note! I have that game on my Switch “want” list, and your review really piqued my interest in it.

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