Games Beaten 2022

[Markies]

Markies' Games Beat List Of 2022!
*Denotes Replay For Completion*

1. Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster (PS3)
2. Max Payne 2: The Fall Of Max Payne (XBOX)
3. Streets of Rage 4 (NS)
4. The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time Master Quest (GCN)
5. Dirge Of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII (PS2)
6. Darkstalkers (PS1)
7. Evolution: The World Of Sacred Device (SDC)
8. Ogre Battle 64: Person Of Lordly Calibur (N64)
9. Draogn Quest VI (SNES)
10. Batman: The Video Game (GEN)
11. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! (NES)
12. Mario Kart: Super Circuit (GBA)
13. Pokemon Red (GB)
14. Wii Sports (Wii)
15. Splatoon (WiiU)
16. Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (PS2)
***17. Final Fantasy IX (PS1)***
***18. Out Run (GEN)***
19. Assassin's Creed (PS3)
20. RBI Baseball 2 (NES)
21. Puzzle Kingdoms (Wii)
22. Operation C (GBC)



I completed Operation C on the Nintendo GameBoy this afternoon!

I seem to have a love/hate relationship with the Contra series. I love to play them, but I am not the best at them so they become incredibly hard for me. With the series turning 3D and going handheld, I thought I was finished with the series when I finally beat Contra: Hard Corps on the Sega Genesis. Well, with the addition of some new consoles, it seems like the Contra series was able to pull me back in. So, when I was rebuilding my Backlog, the GameBoy version jumped out at me as a game I had to own. Since it is not too expensive, I decided to jump on it rather quickly and thought it would be a good change of pace after an intense Puzzle game and a good second Beat after Pokemon.

Operation C is a perfect example of how to do a handheld done correctly. It is not a port of the games on the larger console nor does it offer significantly less than the console versions. It is just a smaller version of Contra on the NES. The game only has five stages, but it still feels and plays like a NES Contra game. Granted because of the hardware limitations, there are less bullets on the screen and much more respawning enemies instead, but it still looks and plays like a NES Contra game. Even better in some aspects as you start with the Machine Gun and you don't have to mash the fire button for any of your weapons. They all just automatically fire, which is fantastic. They only have three special weapons; Fire, Spread and Homing, but you can upgrade them and they become more powerful if you get a second powerup of them. That Homing shot is amazing as it just plows through bosses as you only have to concentrate on avoiding attacks. Any game that gives you a powerful Homing weapon is fantastic in my book. Also, the game has a much more deliberate pace as you are not exactly running and gunning. It's more like walking and stopping, but once you get in that mindset, you feel absolutely unstoppable.

Overall, I really enjoyed my time with Operation C. It's still a Contra game, so it can be rather challenging and the constant stream of enemies can get annoying. But, it is a slower paced Contra game with some fantastic weapons. I like it much more than the insane action the series would be known for. It is a great complimentary game to play alongside the NES versions. I think it is a great starter Contra game to see if you would like the series as it hits that perfect sweet spot.

[MrPopo]

Previous Years: 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

1. Underworld Ascendant - PC
2. Castlevania: Harmony of Despair - PS3
3. Ni no Kuni - PS3
4. Operencia: The Stolen Sun - PC
5. RPM Racing - PC
6. Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem - PC
7. Pokemon Legends: Arceus - Switch
8. Ni no Kuni II - PS4
9. Everspace - PC
10. PowerSlave Exhumed - PC
11. Horizon Forbidden West - PS5
12. Elden Ring - PS5
13. Shadow Warrior 3 - PC
14. Ghostrunner: Project_Hel - PC
15. Triangle Strategy - Switch
16. Tiny Tina's Wonderlands - PC
17. Nightmare Reaper - PC
18. Kur - PC
19. Gundam Versus - PS4
20. BIOTA - PC
21. Chantelise - PC
22. Xenoblade Chronicles - Wii
23. Forgive Me Father - PC
24. Xenoblade Chronicles X - Wii U
25. Steel Assault - Switch
26. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge - Switch
27. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 - Switch
28. Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna ~ The Golden Country - Switch
29. Kirby and the Forgotten Land - Switch
30. Toejam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron - Genesis
31. Postal Brain Damaged - PC
32. Valkyrie Profile Lenneth - PSP
33. Super Cyborg - Switch
34. Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX 2 - Switch
35. Stray - PC
36. Live A Live - Switch
37. Subwar 2050 - PC
38. Radical Dreamers - Switch
39. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 - Switch
40. Azure Striker Gunvolt 3 - Switch
41. Soul Hackers 2 - PS5

Dropping the Shin Megami Tensei name in the west due to no longer needing the branding to sell, Soul Hackers 2 is the fifth entry in the Devil Summoner spinoff series and serves as a setting sequel to the first game, much like how the Persona games are set in the same world but aren't actually story follow ups to each other (just some nods to prior games). It serves as a sort of mid point between SMT5 and Persona 5 in terms of gameplay, and presents an interesting look at a world where demons are a part of things, but aren't apocalypsing things.

The Devil Summoner sub series involves a world where some people are able to forge contracts with demons and utilize them for ill defined tasks. The series also always involves a guy with the last name Kuzonoha somewhere in the story; sort of their version of Cid, though in this case it's a long running clan of devil summoners. The two Soul Hackers games are set in the near future, so you get all the glitz and drama of the modern world. Soul Hackers 2 starts when an entity born of pure information known as Aion spawns off two independent sub processes to try and thwart a predicted end of the world scenario; one of these is your player character and the other is your mission control. You quickly pick up three friends (well, revive from death more technically) and the four of you work together to keep the world spinning.

On the gameplay end I would say things lean more towards Persona 5. Each character equips a demon which gives them stats and spells, as well as elemental affinities, and this can be changed mid combat when needed. Like other games, striking enemy weaknesses is key, though here it has a unique reward. When you strike weakness one of your demons will show up as a silhouette around the enemies, with additional weakness strikes (or later game passives) giving you more, up to the max demons you have in your stock. At the end of your turn you trigger all those demons to attack all enemies for damage, similar to Persona's all out attack. Sometimes a demon can trigger a special skill, like stealing money or healing the party as part of the damage, and the amount of damage is directly based on how many demons are stacked up for this attack. But this means that you only get four actions a turn (barring some specific later game things that can give you an additional action to one character), then enemies get to take their turn. This system is overall weighted towards the player; no downing like in Persona or ability for enemies to get extra turns like Press Turn.

Like other games, demon fusion is a thing, and it's more on the SMT5 end. There's no mechanism to give them bonus experience, so you still need to level demons to get all their skills (and an item when you get the last skill). There are only two fusion types; regular and special, where special is some fixed recipe (all of which are three or more except for the requisite Shiva special fusion). It felt like the inheritance rules were stricter this game, so you're going to have more holes in your elemental coverage for attacking.

The game also takes one final cue from Persona; in addition to the story dungeons there is a more abstract optional (except for two specific story visits) dungeon available. This latter is a reflection of the souls of your party members, and doing it will unlock passives and their history. There are also conversation pieces that flesh out characters. But unlike Persona's social links, there is no failure here and none of it is to drive a character's story arcs. Those are handled in the main plot.

Overall it's a solid JRPG that hits a good middle ground between the other two big series. It drops the VN stuff from Persona that turns some people off while having a more relatable story than SMT (and dials back the difficulty a bit; they removed all instant death attacks and no party member death causes an instant game over). If you've always been curious about the overall Megaten franchise I would call this a very good starting point.

[MrPopo]

Previous Years: 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

1. Underworld Ascendant - PC
2. Castlevania: Harmony of Despair - PS3
3. Ni no Kuni - PS3
4. Operencia: The Stolen Sun - PC
5. RPM Racing - PC
6. Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem - PC
7. Pokemon Legends: Arceus - Switch
8. Ni no Kuni II - PS4
9. Everspace - PC
10. PowerSlave Exhumed - PC
11. Horizon Forbidden West - PS5
12. Elden Ring - PS5
13. Shadow Warrior 3 - PC
14. Ghostrunner: Project_Hel - PC
15. Triangle Strategy - Switch
16. Tiny Tina's Wonderlands - PC
17. Nightmare Reaper - PC
18. Kur - PC
19. Gundam Versus - PS4
20. BIOTA - PC
21. Chantelise - PC
22. Xenoblade Chronicles - Wii
23. Forgive Me Father - PC
24. Xenoblade Chronicles X - Wii U
25. Steel Assault - Switch
26. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge - Switch
27. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 - Switch
28. Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna ~ The Golden Country - Switch
29. Kirby and the Forgotten Land - Switch
30. Toejam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron - Genesis
31. Postal Brain Damaged - PC
32. Valkyrie Profile Lenneth - PSP
33. Super Cyborg - Switch
34. Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX 2 - Switch
35. Stray - PC
36. Live A Live - Switch
37. Subwar 2050 - PC
38. Radical Dreamers - Switch
39. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 - Switch
40. Azure Striker Gunvolt 3 - Switch
41. Soul Hackers 2 - PS5
42. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters - NES

Now that I'm finished with my RPGs it's time to dive into the Cowabunga Collection! First up is Tournament Fighters on the NES. It's a fighting game on the NES, and it is shockingly good. It's obviously not going to play as good as Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat (even ignoring the fact you only have two buttons), but it is a goddamn technical marvel for the NES.

The cast consists of the four turtles, Casey Jones, a guy named Hothead who is apparently a fireman who merged with a dragon spirit, and the Shredder. The main mode has you pick one of the four turtles and need to defeat the Shredder. So first you fight your brothers to see who is the strongest, then Casey and Hothead for ill-defined reasons, and finally Shredder. Matches are best of three, and between the turtles and the rest is a quick bonus stage where you need to blow through a series of walls. Think of an alternate version of the brick/car breaking games from Street Fighter.

Your move set consists of kick on A, punch on B, your array of crouch/jump/block, a dash (double tap) into a flying elbow or kick, and a throw (toward and punch when close). Each character then has at least one special move, such as Ralph's spinning drill or Leo's quad kick combo. Finally, midway through the match a flying thing will drop an orb. This can be picked up and used to shoot a single fireball, which loses you the orb. You can also have the orb be knocked out of you Smash-ball style. Frankly, the orb isn't worth the trouble, because throws are king.

The game differentiates the characters reasonably well. The turtles have different specials and different health/damage stats. The other characters have different hit boxes and again, different health/damage. The game also has a turbo mode, which speeds things up to the level of Street FIghter II Turbo. Without turbo turned on it feels like what you might expect an NES fighting game to feel like, but turbo suddenly makes you go "how is this on the NES?"

Overall, it's not a deep game, but it's entertaining enough, especially as part of the collection. And again, it's amazing they pulled it off at all.

[elricorico]

1. Pokémon Brilliant Diamond (NS)
2. Metal Slug 3 (XBO)
3. Wii Sports (Wii)
4. Castle of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse (GEN)
5. Arc the Lad (PS)
6. Rayman Origins (PC)
7. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (PC)
8. Final Fantasy IX (NS)
9. Kirby's Return to Dream Land (Wii)
10. Mario Golf - Advance Tour (GBA)
11. Cat Quest (PC)
12. Soul Calibur VI (PS4)
13. Hyrule Warriors (WiiU)

14. Mario Kart 8 DX (NS)

A couple of days back I "finished" Mario Kart 8 DX on the Switch. I had decided once I was done placing first in all 100cc and 150cc Grand Prix, and beating all of the staff Time Trial ghosts at 150cc I'd call it a finish.

I love Mario Kart, and have beat them all over the years. I spent more than 100 hours playing Mario Kart 8 on the Wii U, a lot of which was the time trials. This new version didn't add terribly much, but when the DLC courses started coming out I decided I wanted to polish off my skills before buying them. It also gave me a quick game to play and beat while I was grinding through some other much longer RPGs(which I still might not beat until 2023 ).

This was mostly easy, I think just one of the Cups required me to replay as I didn't get first overall on the first playthrough. About 4 or 5 Time Trial courses required some repetition, with Big Blue at the end likely taking the most retries before I beat the ghost.

I'm not going to tell anyone on this board anything they haven't heard already about Mario Kart as a series, and 8 DX as a game, but I I think I'm in the majority in saying that this is one of the top iterations of Mario Kart overall.

[MrPopo]

Previous Years: 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

1. Underworld Ascendant - PC
2. Castlevania: Harmony of Despair - PS3
3. Ni no Kuni - PS3
4. Operencia: The Stolen Sun - PC
5. RPM Racing - PC
6. Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem - PC
7. Pokemon Legends: Arceus - Switch
8. Ni no Kuni II - PS4
9. Everspace - PC
10. PowerSlave Exhumed - PC
11. Horizon Forbidden West - PS5
12. Elden Ring - PS5
13. Shadow Warrior 3 - PC
14. Ghostrunner: Project_Hel - PC
15. Triangle Strategy - Switch
16. Tiny Tina's Wonderlands - PC
17. Nightmare Reaper - PC
18. Kur - PC
19. Gundam Versus - PS4
20. BIOTA - PC
21. Chantelise - PC
22. Xenoblade Chronicles - Wii
23. Forgive Me Father - PC
24. Xenoblade Chronicles X - Wii U
25. Steel Assault - Switch
26. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge - Switch
27. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 - Switch
28. Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna ~ The Golden Country - Switch
29. Kirby and the Forgotten Land - Switch
30. Toejam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron - Genesis
31. Postal Brain Damaged - PC
32. Valkyrie Profile Lenneth - PSP
33. Super Cyborg - Switch
34. Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX 2 - Switch
35. Stray - PC
36. Live A Live - Switch
37. Subwar 2050 - PC
38. Radical Dreamers - Switch
39. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 - Switch
40. Azure Striker Gunvolt 3 - Switch
41. Soul Hackers 2 - PS5
42. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters - NES
43. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of the Foot Clan - GB

Fall of the Foot Clan is the first of three Game Boy games for the turtles, and frankly it's not good. But it's also not awful. It definitely shows all the telltale signs of early Game Boy output, but manages to be quick and not too cheap. It takes inspiration from both of the first two NES games. It's a belt scroller where each turtle serves as a life; if you run out of health then that turtle is captured and you restart the screen with a different turtle. Run out and it's game over. Enemies pop onto the screen from the left and right as you move, and all but one in the last level die in one hit (that one dies in two regular hits or one jump kick). But then the bosses take a lot of inspiration from the arcade game.

Like most early Game Boy games, the game suffers from gigantic sprites. While this means you can see what your dude is supposed to be, it also means that you can't really see anything around you. Fortunately, hazards only spawn on screen, so you don't really have to worry about blind jumps or anything. The game is very samey, unfortunately, as there's only a handful of enemy types and only one or two hazards per stage. You'll figure out everything in the first minute or so of each stage, and then it's just a slog and trying to avoid taking too much damage. There is no difference between the turtles mechanically, but they do have a decent move set. Your basic attack comes out fast, and the hurt box is instant (great when you're mashing left and right to get enemies spawning on both sides). Crouching throws a star, which is useful on certain enemies which go low (though you're better off jumping over when you can). And you can do a jump kick which has an absurd hurt box. Basically, your whole body becomes something that kills enemies, which makes it great when things get too frantic. There's also almost no cooldown, so spam it away.

As a first effort, the game isn't bad, but it's certainly nothing you should rush out and play. I would only recommend it if you already have it, such as it coming on a giant collection of turtles games.

[Markies]

Markies' Games Beat List Of 2022!
*Denotes Replay For Completion*

1. Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster (PS3)
2. Max Payne 2: The Fall Of Max Payne (XBOX)
3. Streets of Rage 4 (NS)
4. The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time Master Quest (GCN)
5. Dirge Of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII (PS2)
6. Darkstalkers (PS1)
7. Evolution: The World Of Sacred Device (SDC)
8. Ogre Battle 64: Person Of Lordly Calibur (N64)
9. Draogn Quest VI (SNES)
10. Batman: The Video Game (GEN)
11. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! (NES)
12. Mario Kart: Super Circuit (GBA)
13. Pokemon Red (GB)
14. Wii Sports (Wii)
15. Splatoon (WiiU)
16. Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (PS2)
***17. Final Fantasy IX (PS1)***
***18. Out Run (GEN)***
19. Assassin's Creed (PS3)
20. RBI Baseball 2 (NES)
21. Puzzle Kingdoms (Wii)
22. Operation C (GBC)
***23. Illusion Of Gaia (SNES)***



I completed Illusion Of Gaia on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System this evening.

Back in the summer of 2012, I picked up the Illusion of Gaia for the SNES. I had an amazing hole in the wall retro game store near me and I used to hit them up all the time. One night, I walked out with Illusion of Gaia and several other games. I had always been interested in the game as I built my early SNES collection on the 16-Bit Gems Youtube series. It took me until the summer of 2015 to finally play through and beat the game. I had finally set up a way for me to play my longer older games and Illusion of Gaia fit that perfectly. Now that I am going back and replaying games on a frequent basis, I always wanted to replay Illusion of Gaia and do the last few parts. Well, I finally collected all Red Jewels and beat the Final Dungeon, so the game is now complete.

My favorite part about Illusion of Gaia is the combat. I think it beats Link to the Past hands down and is some of the most satisfying combat on the platform. The way the character swings his sword is such a fluid motion and it is so natural. You see where the enemy is, you hit the button and you almost instantly hit him. What a great concept. I also love the level progression as the game doesn't have experience points, but you gain stat upgrades every time you empty out a room full of enemies. It gives incentive to kill all of the enemies you can find and seek out every part of the dungeon. With some great music and some under-rated visuals, the game has a very nice and welcoming package.

Unfortunately, the story isn't the best. It ranges from hackneyed kids saving the world to being a bit goofy to downright depressing and that switches very rapidly. It's kind of jarring and nothing that will really grab you. Also, the bosses can be quite a pain. You either learn their patterns and can beat them without getting touched or you die horribly. And speaking of bosses, the final boss rush is completely annoying along with the final boss as well.

Overall, I still loved playing Illusion of Gaia. I think I may have enjoyed the simplicity of Soul Blazer a little bit more, but Illusion of Gaia is right there. Illusion of Gaia is still a great play through and a must play for anybody who enjoys dungeon crawling Action RPG's. I will be adding Terranigma to my collection very shortly, so I can't wait to finish off the Gaia trilogy as I have been very excited to play that one too.

[MrPopo]

Previous Years: 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

1. Underworld Ascendant - PC
2. Castlevania: Harmony of Despair - PS3
3. Ni no Kuni - PS3
4. Operencia: The Stolen Sun - PC
5. RPM Racing - PC
6. Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem - PC
7. Pokemon Legends: Arceus - Switch
8. Ni no Kuni II - PS4
9. Everspace - PC
10. PowerSlave Exhumed - PC
11. Horizon Forbidden West - PS5
12. Elden Ring - PS5
13. Shadow Warrior 3 - PC
14. Ghostrunner: Project_Hel - PC
15. Triangle Strategy - Switch
16. Tiny Tina's Wonderlands - PC
17. Nightmare Reaper - PC
18. Kur - PC
19. Gundam Versus - PS4
20. BIOTA - PC
21. Chantelise - PC
22. Xenoblade Chronicles - Wii
23. Forgive Me Father - PC
24. Xenoblade Chronicles X - Wii U
25. Steel Assault - Switch
26. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge - Switch
27. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 - Switch
28. Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna ~ The Golden Country - Switch
29. Kirby and the Forgotten Land - Switch
30. Toejam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron - Genesis
31. Postal Brain Damaged - PC
32. Valkyrie Profile Lenneth - PSP
33. Super Cyborg - Switch
34. Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX 2 - Switch
35. Stray - PC
36. Live A Live - Switch
37. Subwar 2050 - PC
38. Radical Dreamers - Switch
39. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 - Switch
40. Azure Striker Gunvolt 3 - Switch
41. Soul Hackers 2 - PS5
42. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters - NES
43. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of the Foot Clan - GB
44. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Back from the Sewers - GB

The second Game Boy outing of the turtles, Back from the Sewers takes the same basic gameplay as the first game and makes it worse. It's actually amazing how much worse it plays compared to the first game, considering they had a working template to begin with. As far as I can tell it collapsed under the weight of its own ambitions, as this game definitely is more ambitious than the first.

Like before, the game is a belt scroller with enemies that die in one hit, only now there are a lot more platforming components. Still no pits or anything, but a lot more level verticality and a new move where you can cling to certain ceilings (and pull yourself up, important for progression). You again have a standing attack, but the crouching shuriken was replaced with the standing attack but slightly lower. You again have a jump kick, but it now lasts the entire time of your jump (unless you turn) and the hitbox has been extremely nerfed. Which is not good, considering the general structure of the hazards.

The game continues to have enemies that just spawn on either side of you, though now it introduces sections where the enemies are infinite. So you end up having to keep stopping to turn back and get enemies from behind you and you need to keep pushing forward. This gets worse at points where the placement of the spawns means you're just going to take damage. Hope you didn't take too many avoidable hits ahead of time. Similarly, bosses now are much harder to avoid damage on, and you pretty much need to trade hits. Which is ok on end of level bosses (the game is good at giving you pizza ahead of time) but not so much in the last level that has three bosses in it (with some, but not enough healing). The one saving grace is in between levels if you lost a turtle you get to play a mini game to rescue them (which is challenging, but there is a consistent strategy).

The one thing I can unambiguously praise in the game is the graphics; the sprites are more detailed and the backgrounds are FAR more detailed, with some really nice effects at time. But frankly, in terms of playability the first game is far better. And given how mediocre it was that's a really damning assessment of this game.

[prfsnl_gmr]

I am loving all the GB reviews on this page. I agree with markies that Operation C is excellent (and I loved how WayForward brought back that game’s antagonist for the series next portable entry, Contra 4). I also agree with popo that the portable TMNT games are, for the most part, pretty terrible. It has been a long time since I’ve touched any of them, though, and I’m not sure I’ve ever beaten any of them. I may have to remedy that soon.

…..

First 40

1. Space Warrior (Switch)
2. Itta (Switch)
3. Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn (Switch)
4. Mask of Mists (Switch)
5. Metagal (Switch)
6. Foxyland 2 (Switch)
7. Submerged (Switch)
8. Back to Bed (Switch)
9. Thoth (Switch)
10. 140 (Switch)
11. Infinite: Beyond the Mind (Switch)
12. Ninja Striker (Switch)
13. Kid Tripp (Switch)
14. Miles & Kilo (Switch)
15. Neon Junctions (Switch)
16. Golf Zero (Switch)
17. 198X (Switch)
18. Macbat 64 (Switch)
19. Kiwi 64 (Switch)
20. Toree 3D (Switch)
21. Toree 2 (Switch)
22. #RaceDieRun (Switch)
23. Micetopia (Switch)
24. Tomena Sanner (Wii)
25. Contra ReBirth (Wii)
26. Unstrong Legacy (Switch)
27. Quarantine Circular (Switch)
28. Infernax (Switch)
29. Cosmos Bit (Switch)
30. Ape Out (Switch)
31. Return of the Double Dragon (Super Famicom)
32. Contra (Famicom)
33. Summer Carnival ‘92 RECCA (Famicom)
34. Bionic Commando (Arcade)
35. Shinobi (Arcade)
36. Super Meat Boy (Switch)
37. Chex Quest HD (Switch)
38. King’s Field II (PSX)
39. Mechstermination Force (Switch)
40. Swords and Bones (Switch)

41. The Solitaire Conspiracy (Switch)
42. Super Cyborg (Switch)
43. Blazing Chrome (Switch)
44. Son Wukong v. Robot (Switch)
45. King’s Field III: Pilot Style (PS1)
46. Kirby’s Dreamland 2 (GB)
47. Metal Gear (NES)
48. Vampire Killer (MSX)
49. Super Skelemania (Switch)
50. Just Shapes & Beats (Switch)
51. Super Cable Boy (Switch)
52. Rainbow Laser Disco Dungeon (Switch)

Just Shapes & Beats is outstanding. It is a rhythm-based dodge ‘em up (so, like a bullet-he’ll shmup, but without the shooting). You play as a little blue square hit box, and you dodge everything pink for a few minutes. You have a dash move that lets you avoid obstacles a little more easily, and while the game is by no means a rhythm game, it throws (a tremendous number) of things at you to the beat of its outstanding soundtrack. The soundtrack features music from Chipzel, Danimal Cannon, Sabrepulse, and other really great chip tune EDM artists, and I loved it. (Another highlight is the game’s most difficult bonus track: Mortal Kombat by The Immortals.) Just Shapes & Beats is video gaming at its purest, and pure bliss for those who love video games. I really can’t recommend it highly enough, and it’s easily in the running for my GOTY.

Super Cable Boy is an accessible die-and-retry platformer with some good ideas and hit-or-miss execution. In it, you play as a small Gameboy console trying to extricate a glitch from a computer system. This mostly involves jumping on platforms and avoiding glitched sections of the levels, which kill you instantly. The game has very solid graphics, with a consistent aesthetic, and the ambient music is also very good. The game also has a really good central mechanic: by switching the cart in your little Gameboy, you can switch between different abilities. One cart allows you to dash and double jump; another allows you to switch background colors to reveal hidden platforms (and obstacles): and the best one allows you to use your power cable as a grappling hook. Time pauses when you switch carts, and switch mid-jump or mid fall is critical to completing some of the game’s toughest platforming challenges. Finally, the game has some excellent boss fights, which are really rare for pure platforming games.

Super Cable Boy falters a bit, however, with regard to a few design choices. First, the base controls are just a touch too loose, and I often died because my little Gameboy ran a bit too far when I needed him to move only a little bit or because he had a bit too much momentum going into a narrow jump. This made the controls feel a bit too unpredictable, which isn’t great for precision platforming. Second the levels, despite being relatively short, are too big. I couldn’t scan them and plan a route the way I could in games like Electronic Super Joy or Super Meat Boy, and this resulted in a lot of blind jumps and trial-and-error gameplay. Finally, and while the game’s secrets are completely optional, some are a bit too well-hidden. I appreciate the game letting me know, at the outset, that the collectibles are there only as a challenge and don’t unlock anything, but I did not appreciate how mystifying it is to track them down. Even after scouring the game, beating every level, watching both endings, and collecting everything, my file is still only at 88% completion. (What did I miss?!)

In short, I enjoyed Super Cable Boy, but I didn’t live it. It does, however, have some accessibility options that make the game much easier than other games in the die-and-retry genre. (I discovered these after I beat the game and used them to take the edge off the game’s most insane challenges.) Accordingly, it might be a really good choice for people curious about the genre but intimidated by its alleged difficulty.

Rainbow Laser Disco Dungeon is a loving, psychedelic (and budget!) tribute to Robotron. In it, you play as a dancer fighting robots in the year 2084(!) with laser guns that fire to beat of the game’s groovy soundtrack. Your goal is to rescue Doctor Dysco and unlock his Rainbow Laser to defeat the robots once and for all. Aesthetically, the game is all vector graphics, swirling colors, and garbled voice samples that recall both Robotron and Berzerk. The gameplay, like Robotron, is twin-stick shooting, with traps, hazards, and enemies that move to the beat of the music. Finally, and to the “dungeon” aspect of the title, each run is a series of randomly arranged rooms leading you to the captive Doctor Dysco and, ultimately, an exit. Unlike Robotron, the game is quite forgiving, simply resetting your score when you die. While there’s a mode that lets you attempt the game with a single life, you can always complete a run on a lower difficulty setting, but getting a good score requires considerable skill. The game is a lot of fun, and if you’re a fan of Robotron, like me, you’ll love it. (It joins Akane as one of my favorite score-chasers on the Switch.) The soundtrack alone is worth the game’s $1.99 asking price, and the really fun game you get with it makes the package a steal.

[marurun]

1. Final Fantasy IX (Nintendo Switch)
2. Megami Tensei: Soul Hackers (Nintendo 3DS)
3. Streets of Rage 4 (Nintendo Switch)
4. Pixel Puzzle Collection (iOS)
5. Hero Emblems (iOS)

Hero Emblems (iOS)

I swear I'm playing "real games", but I'm near the end of two different Switch games right now and struggling to seal the deal. Games like Hero Emblems aren't the problem, but they definitely aren't helping.

Hero Emblems is a match 3 RPG battler a little in the vein of Puzzle Quest. Each character has a role (healer, defender, physical attacker, magical attacker) and a symbol on the board, and matching these symbols has someone in your team attacking. Match 4, or an L, or 5 and get different special blocks. Enemies can put status effects on the board, some of which must be matched one or more times to clear, some which must be matched near one or more times to clear, and some which must be dropped to the bottom of the board. Your team has a single health and defense pool which enemy attacks peg away at. Enemies attack on timers so only you are actually matching the board. There are chests to open (or fail to open), trapped floors which occasionally blast you as you peg away at the baddies, and status effects galore. I played on "casual" mode, which means I didn't lose experience or items when I died in a dungeon or encounter. It meant I could slowly improve even as I failed, and I definitely failed. Some of the encounters don't pull their punches at all. Some bosses have elemental resistances, some are immune to all normal attacks (only special or super attacks work), and some have both elemental resistances AND immunity to normal attacks. Thankfully, elemental resistances and attack immunities aren't super common in regular enemies.

The graphics are decent, the music is decent to good, the sound effects are typical generic mobile shlock, and the matching action is actually really good. This isn't the best match 3 I've ever played, but it's pretty good and catchy and a solid challenge. The best thing about this game is it has match 3 action that is at times reminiscent of freemium style games, but it has no in-app purchases, just a single up-front purchase price ($3). So you can scratch that itch without the annoying baggage. Will it be the best $3 you spend on a mobile game? Nope. Will it be a fun time-waster? Yeah, it will.

[MrPopo]

Previous Years: 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

1. Underworld Ascendant - PC
2. Castlevania: Harmony of Despair - PS3
3. Ni no Kuni - PS3
4. Operencia: The Stolen Sun - PC
5. RPM Racing - PC
6. Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem - PC
7. Pokemon Legends: Arceus - Switch
8. Ni no Kuni II - PS4
9. Everspace - PC
10. PowerSlave Exhumed - PC
11. Horizon Forbidden West - PS5
12. Elden Ring - PS5
13. Shadow Warrior 3 - PC
14. Ghostrunner: Project_Hel - PC
15. Triangle Strategy - Switch
16. Tiny Tina's Wonderlands - PC
17. Nightmare Reaper - PC
18. Kur - PC
19. Gundam Versus - PS4
20. BIOTA - PC
21. Chantelise - PC
22. Xenoblade Chronicles - Wii
23. Forgive Me Father - PC
24. Xenoblade Chronicles X - Wii U
25. Steel Assault - Switch
26. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge - Switch
27. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 - Switch
28. Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna ~ The Golden Country - Switch
29. Kirby and the Forgotten Land - Switch
30. Toejam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron - Genesis
31. Postal Brain Damaged - PC
32. Valkyrie Profile Lenneth - PSP
33. Super Cyborg - Switch
34. Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX 2 - Switch
35. Stray - PC
36. Live A Live - Switch
37. Subwar 2050 - PC
38. Radical Dreamers - Switch
39. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 - Switch
40. Azure Striker Gunvolt 3 - Switch
41. Soul Hackers 2 - PS5
42. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters - NES
43. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of the Foot Clan - GB
44. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Back from the Sewers - GB
45. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters - Genesis

Interestingly enough, when Konami made the Tournament Fighters games they actually created three completely different games, other than being fighters. Now, that makes sense for the NES game to be different due to the hardware constraints, but it's surprising that the Genesis and SNES games are so different. The Genesis game is the worst of the bunch, in my opinion, though it does manage to be better than Ultraman on the SNES.

The setup is that Krang has kidnapped Splinter and taken him to Dimension X. So the four turtles, Casey Jones, April doing her best Blaze cosplay, and two randos set off to rescue her. You first fight evil clones of the cast (and the fighter name is literally Clone X). Once you've done so you go through three boss fights a la the original Street Fighter II. You have to beat the game on the highest difficulty to see the real ending; otherwise you just get a "that was just a Doombot" ending.

The game only supports the three button controller, so your attack set is a bit limited. You have punch, kick, and taunt, but you can do a stronger attack by pushing towards the enemy. This is also how you throw, and you will beef a lot of throws because the game arbitrarily decided that no, this time it'll just be a strong kick. You have your standard array of Street Fighter style special moves, with varying hitboxes and i-frames (up to Casey's "completely invincible except to throws for the entire move" spinning attack). On some stages a sufficient number of hits that knock down someone will cause them to fall through the floor and you jump down after them, reminiscent of Mortal Kombat 3's multi-tier stages.

Speaking of Mortal Kombat, the bullshit in the AI of Tournament FIghters puts MK to shame. Even on the easiest difficulty the AI reads your inputs and counters you. The difference between difficulty levels is the rate at which the CPU takes actions; the actions are always the best at the time. Your hopes are to either go full counter (which is really hard, given how messed up a lot of the attacks are in terms of high vs. low), or cheese the fuck out of the AI. If you can get an initial knockdown then you can trap them in a throw loop with the right timing. And you're probably going to want to; the game likes to drop inputs so fighting fair is a recipe for disaster.

Ultimately the only thing this game has going for it is the license, and it doesn't even use that well. The stage backgrounds are all weird space backgrounds, so there's nothing to tie them to the franchise. Play one of the other games instead.