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Markies
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Re: Games Beaten 2022

by Markies Mon Jul 04, 2022 4:58 pm

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)

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I beat Splatoon on the Nintendo Wii U this afternoon!

I remember when just a few short years ago when Splatoon was released, that game was played constantly especially on Twitch. After watching several streams of it, I was kind of interested in trying it out myself. By the time I got around to play Splatoon, Splatoon 3 is already being released for the Switch later this Fall. So, obviously, I couldn't play any of the multiplayer maps. But, while building my WiiU Wishlist, I was happy to find out that Splatoon had a single player campaign. With the game being rather cheap, I figured it would be fun to give it a shot.

I absolutely love the aesthetic of Splatoon as the world has this beautiful Tokyo look to the game. The Squid characters are really interesting looking and I like how you can customize their looks as well. After the tutorial, you are interested to this Hub world that is Inkopolis. To play the single player mode, you go talk to the Grandpa looking character as he tells you a story and you are whisked away to the single player mode. There is something fitting about me going to talk to the Old Man to play a game offline while all the young kids go online to play against each other. There are a little less than 30 missions and none of them get too long or too difficult. They have some challenging parts, but the difficulty never gets too bad. Once you get halfway through the mode, you really begin to get a feel for the controls and the gameplay. It is a really great introduction and introduces you to the enemies and the platforming of the game. The shooting and the moving around feels great as I never had a big issue with the controls or camera.

The single player mode is spread across 4 unique areas that all have doors to open to find the next stage. When you unlock the next area, the doors are hidden and you have to find them and shoot them. By the end, this became its own puzzle and kind of a pain. You have to search every little area for these doors when you just want to continue on in the game.

Overall, I am glad that I got to experience some time with Splatoon. Ironically enough, I really don't have any interest in playing online as the Team Shooter genre just doesn't appeal to me at all. However, for a short and fun 3rd person Shooter with some unique controls, I had a blast playing through the single player campaign. As long as the series continues to have one, then I will keep playing them.
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Note
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Re: Games Beaten 2022

by Note Mon Jul 04, 2022 8:31 pm

Nice review of Kirby and the Forgotten Land, popo. I'd like to play through this game eventually as well.

Also, Markies, good write-up on Splatoon. This is a game I was curious about, as the gameplay videos I've seen looked fun. I didn't realize it had a single player campaign mode, that's good to know. Another title I'd like to try down the line.
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Note
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Re: Games Beaten 2022

by Note Mon Jul 04, 2022 8:43 pm

1. Star Soldier: Vanishing Earth (N64)
2. Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike (Arcade)*
3. Metal Slug 6 (PS2)
4. Time Crisis II (PS2)*
5. Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown (360)
6. Shining the Holy Ark (SAT)
7. Final Fantasy Mystic Quest (SNES)
8. Soul Blazer (SNES)

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9. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time (SNES)*

I'm planning to purchase a physical copy of Shredder's Revenge on the Switch and am pretty excited to finally try it out, but in the mean time I wanted to revisit other TMNT beat 'em ups, including Turtle in Time on the SNES. I wrote a lengthy review on the game last year, so I'll keep this one a lot shorter. I think the graphics, sound, and gameplay have all aged well in Turtles in Time. It's definitely one of the best beat 'em ups on the console and it's been fun to revisit it in anticipation of the new title. My only nitpick with Turtles in Time, is some enemy attacks really take out a large chunk of your health meter. It can be a bit frustrating to lose a life after getting hit maybe three or four times, but I guess that's the 16-bit era for you! Especially with a game like this, which was originally made to be a quarter muncher.

This game's still a great time and always worth revisiting if you haven't in a while!
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MrPopo
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Re: Games Beaten 2022

by MrPopo Mon Jul 04, 2022 9:46 pm

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

The original Toejam & Earl was a weird roguelike on the Genesis, where you're on this very abstract board surrounded with pits that is supposedly Earth, and you need to rebuild your spaceship to get back to Funkotron. The sequel is a platformer set on Funkotron, which ends up being far more approachable, but also removes the only thing that made the original worth note, which was relative uniqueness of gameplay. As a platformer, Panic on Funkotron is below average, and that's AFTER you've enabled infinite super jars.

It turns out that a bunch of Earthlings hitched a ride on the spaceship, and they're stealing the funk, or something. So you need to jar them up and toss them onto one way rockets back to Earth. And that jar thing, that's literal. You throw jars at enemies, and when you hit them enough times they turn into jars that must be collected (and they'll escape if you wait too long). Some are on screen, while others only appear when triggered by traps, or by checking the scenery. Aside from that, it's standard platforming of the era, with an emphasis on triggers that cause items to appear.

Let's start with the good. The game has pretty good graphics, with lots of cartoony detail and a lot of animation available for the heroes. There's also no final boss fight, which, given the combat engine, is very much for the best. That's about all I can say that's good. The jumping is very floaty with a huge amount of momentum, which is not good when you need to do precision platforming. The camera also puts your character just below the midpoint of the screen, with a bottom status bar. This means that you have to do a LOT of blind jumping, which is made worse that there are a lot of invisible platforms that only appear when you get near, so you have a second lair of blind to your jumping. Your jar attack is cumbersome, and it auto attacks sometimes, but not other times, leading to you taking damage. There are also some enemies that can put you in a cycle of hurting you can't escape; the tourists and the jackhammers stand out in this regard. If the RNG hates you they'll stunlock you to death. Finally, all the enemies have far too much health given how cumbersome the jars are to use. Fortunately, you can unlock the ability to have infinite super jars, which are one hit captures. And you'll want this. If you value your sanity you'll enable it through a code, though you can earn it through gameplay.

Overall I can't recommend this game to anyone. Fans of the original will be disappointed by the change in genres, while fans of platformers will be disappointed by the gameplay. Give this a pass.
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Ack
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Re: Games Beaten 2022

by Ack Tue Jul 05, 2022 4:42 pm

1. Record of Lodoss War - Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth (PC)(Action Adventure)
2. The Citadel (PC)(FPS)
3. Gothic 3 (PC)(RPG)
4. Witchaven (PC)(FPS)
5. Unpacking (PC)(Puzzle)
6. Firewatch (PC)(Adventure)
7. Perilous Warp (PC)(FPS)

8. The Ascent (PC)(RPG)
9. Borderlands: Game of the Year Enhanced - The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned (PC)(FPS/RPG)
10. Borderlands: Game of the Year Enhanced - The Secret Armory of General Knoxx (PC)(FPS/RPG)
11. Borderlands: Game of the Year Enhanced - Claptrap's New Robot Revolution (PC)(FPS/RPG)

12. Kingdom of the Dead (PC)(FPS)
13. Monument (PC)(FPS)
14. Bloodwash (PC)(Horror Adventure)
15. Dead Estate (PC)(Isometric Shooter)


Bloodwash

Bloodwash is the story of a newly pregnant grad student who must get her laundry done at a late night laundromat, while a killer known as the Womb Ripper stalks the streets. Everything is dingy, most people are creeps, and the setting is unsettling as I realize just how weird some of those places I used to frequent in strip malls really were.

But hey, I love a sleazy 1980s horror movie, and Bloodwash does its damnedest to deliver a video game equivalent. You travel your small world, finding evidence and strange items, questioning the locals, until suddenly you are face to face with the flesh mask of a slasher film killer. That's where the beauty of Bloodwash comes in, or should I say lack thereof? Because it's more filthy and unsettling than anything, and it's lo-fi graphics just further add to that sense of decay. Yeah, we're talking PS1 generation here. You know what? It works.

Also, the game offers a good mix of slasher inspired junk scares along with strange dread. A moment early on involves a creepy guy on the bus who wants to sit next to you. He stands behind your seat and repeatedly looks over at you with an unsettling smile...until you look out the window, and suddenly he's right by your ear, asking to sit beside you. It's a fraught moment that helps ratchet up tension without doing much at all. At least not until he talks.

There isn't much in the way of complexity in Bloodwash's gameplay, so you can probably beat it in just a few hours, though since it has the feel of a 90-minute straight-to-VHS horror masterpiece, it is exactly what I want.


Dead Estate

Newgrounds has helped bring us some fun games over the years, and Dead Estate is another example. It's an isometric shooter where you pick a character from a largely unlockable roster and then blast your way through numerous rooms of a monster-filled mansion, gathering new weapons and items along the way to help you out. But you better get a move on, because you're also being chased by a one-armed monstrosity named Chunks, and he's gonna bash you...into chunks. Yeah.

The gameplay here is fast and frantic, which each level offering new challenges and bosses to learn and adapt. At the end, you can go take on the boss or loop the game all over for a harder experience, and with multiple characters, multiple endings, new areas to find, and higher difficulties to try out, the game offers a lot of challenge.

Unfortunately, the one thing I dislike is that aiming isn't quite as precise as I would like, but otherwise controls are responsive and feel great. Sure, some enemies feel cheap, but for the most part it's a blast to play.

Or maybe you just want to spend all your time in the shop with Cordelia, a witch who's curvier than a mountain road. No judgement here, pervert.
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REPO Man
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Re: Games Beaten 2022

by REPO Man Tue Jul 05, 2022 10:43 pm

I fucking LOVE Puppet Combo's games. As a fan of early PS1-style games and obscure '80s horror films, it's hard NOT to fuck with their games. I'm also one of their Patreon patrons.
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elricorico
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Re: Games Beaten 2022

by elricorico Wed Jul 06, 2022 12:21 pm

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)


Yesterday I rolled the credits on Hyrule Warriors for the WiiU. I played about 15 hours, mostly on Legend Mode(which is the main story mode). I dabbled with Adventure Mode and Challenge Mode a little as well. There are likely hundreds of hours of content remaining if I was to be a completionist, but more likely I'll play this for another 10 to 15 hours before fully moving on.

Hyrule Warriors was the first licensed "Musuo" game if I'm not mistaken. I had enjoyed a couple of them before(Dynasty Warriors 4 and Samurai Warriors 3) and I was excited when it first came out. If time hasn't skewed my memory I bought this game from retail as soon as it dropped to a clearance price. I played a couple of hours back then, but some other game took me away from it and I hadn't been back for years. A couple of weeks back I had a friend over and we were looking to kill some time - I suggested popping this in and after a couple of levels in co-op I was sure I'd keep playing after my friend had left.

If you enjoyed/have nostalgia for 3D Zelda games and get any joy from Musuo games this will likely entertain you for some time. The gameplay isn't complicated, but it manages to stay interesting with some enemies having special requirements to beat them. You'll need to use bombs, arrows, boomerangs and the hookshot to work through different levels no matter which character you are using. The storyline is mostly forgettable, but that was my expectation considering the style of game.

Adventure Mode gives mostly smaller levels with specific tasks to unlock a whole grid of maps. Here you can find rewards you can't find in the Adventure Mode and it seems to drive much more varied character usage. It is a good distraction from the story mode if you need a little break from the big levels, and it really pads the game's content if you want to get a ton of hour out of it.

I'm sure the switch version of this game has a boatload of extra content, and probably a little less slowdown(which I only noticed about 4 or 5 times in the whole playthrough so far), but this was a worthwhile playthrough for me. By the time I'm ready to put it back on the shelf I'm sure I'll have got my money's worth in entertainment.
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Re: Games Beaten 2022

by marurun Wed Jul 06, 2022 12:21 pm

  1. Final Fantasy IX (Nintendo Switch)
  2. Megami Tensei: Soul Hackers (Nintendo 3DS)
  3. Streets of Rage 4 (Nintendo Switch)

Streets of Rage 4 (Nintendo Switch)
Much has been written about this game and justly so. This is a 2D brawler that inherits the classic Streets of Rage universe and characters and imbues them with an almost fighting-game-style combo system and a high-res hand-drawn art style. I beat this game some weeks ago but put off the review because I was planning on going back to it to unlock more characters and improve my skills, but that just hasn't happened, so I guess it's time.

Depending on the kind of purist you are you'll either love the game or be annoyed at it (while perhaps still enjoying it). The main reason is because while the primary combat feels similar, the new additions required some changes which for some folks may break some of the mystique. For me, it was close enough. For others those differences may break some of the nostalgic magic. I won't be going into the mechanics since other reviews do a fine job of it. Instead, I'm going to just pick some personal highlights and nitpicks to add some color to the backdrop of glowing reviews.

Likes:
  1. The art and animation are gorgeous.
  2. The ability to unlock classic characters with their more limited movesets and movement, but adjusted a little to be stronger to make up for the lack of advanced abilities.
  3. The soundtrack: the classic tracks are still awesome and the new tracks, while different in feel, are very good on their own.
  4. The fact the game is beatable on normal by a scrub like me while still feeling like a really tough challenge.
  5. The bevy of moves and mechanics on offer are challenging but not overwhelming (not completely, anyway).
  6. The last boss is pretty unique for a brawler boss.

Dislikes:
  1. Movement for many characters is slow (and often lacking in any dash or run options), and enemies often out-move you, making some fights MUCH more frustrating for certain characters.
  2. As with most beat-em-ups, some enemy moves, especially boss moves, have stupid high priority and can feel difficult to deal with because you have only 1 tool to evade, escape, or counter them.
  3. Tough to play with a pad. A stick is so much better for this game.
  4. Some of the combos are just super picky on timings, and I often felt like inputs were getting dropped following certain moves perhaps because of timing or input buffering quirks.
  5. The last boss is pretty easy compared to, say, the second boss.

Highly recommended. Looks good, sounds good, mostly plays good, and has lots of replayability to unlock and learn the new characters.
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prfsnl_gmr
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Re: Games Beaten 2022

by prfsnl_gmr Fri Jul 08, 2022 10:03 pm

Great review, marurun. Your experience with SoR4 mirrors my own.

…..

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)


The Solitaire Conspiracy is a game by Mike Bithell, the designer behind Thomas Was Alone, The Subsurface Circular, and other critically acclaimed games (that I respect more than I enjoy). In it, you play as a spymaster who manipulates spy teams, represented by playing cards, to disrupt the operations of a rival organization. This means, basically, that you play a special version of solitaire where the face cards of different suits have different abilities. When activated by playing an ace, the various face cards, when placed on a stack, will shuffle it, sort it, remove cards, etc. Using them well will allow you to sort the suits much more efficiently, and they are critical to solving the game’s puzzles. (For each level, the game lets you select “casual” play, where the cards are shuffled randomly and you have unlimited moves to sort them, or “difficult” play, where the game presents you with a puzzle that must be solved in a certain number of moves. I played both, and I found them equally challenging. The puzzles were just more frustrating.) The game has a few corny FMV scenes, and it’s pretty fun and engaging…if you like solitaire…because, at the end of the day, that’s all there is to the game. A lot of solitaire. Still, I enjoyed it.

Super Cyborg is a shameless Probotector/Contra clone…AND IT RULES. There’s not much more to say than that. If you’ve played the NES ports of Contra or Super Contra, you’ll be right at home. You’ll still be challenged, though, since this game completely removes any hardware limitations on the amount of stuff that can be thrown at you. With branching paths, multi-phase bosses, and an absolutely insane last level, any fans of the run ‘n gun genre will love this game, and I really can’t recommend it highly enough.

Blazing Chrome is a shameless Super Contra/Hard Corps clone…AND IT RULES. Not much else to say. Blazing Chrome is now probably my favorite run ‘n gun game (just edging out Super Cyborg!), and I really can’t recommend it highly enough either.

Son Wukong vs. Robot is a mini-metroidvania in which you play as the titular Chinese folk hero escaping, improbably, from a robot prison in the future. It’s just OK, and you can beat it in 80-90 minutes if you take your time. It’s not that much fun, and the Switch port crashes constantly. Not recommended.
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REPO Man
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Re: Games Beaten 2022

by REPO Man Fri Jul 08, 2022 10:08 pm

Portal for Switch, an excellent port of an excellent game. I banged out the last few areas while doing my laundry today and binge watching Daria on Paramount Plus.
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