Games Beaten 2017

[marurun]

Yeah, it's jerky scrolling, less "frame rate", as it were. Or, you could characterize it as differing frame rates between various elements. It still feels super-sketch to me.

It's basically animation with too few frames. There's not enough video memory to store enough different tile graphics to make the animation smooth. Other PC Engine games use the technique quite smoothly and seamlessly. One other title that does this and fails even harder is Ninja Ryuukenden (Gaiden) on the PC Engine. They tried the same technique and botched it even worse. I think it is the one flaw in the best of the Ys III ports. Maybe you should go and play the SNES version to compare. That one has an interesting soundtrack and is harder, but has the smooth scrolling.

[Sarge]

I've definitely thought about giving the other versions an extended try one of these days. I know the SNES version is way harder, though, which is why I was thinking about the Genesis version instead. I've played both for short periods of time, at least.

[marurun]

The Genesis soundtrack is also rather nice. There's no version of that game that isn't a fantastic auditory experience.

[noiseredux]

13. Guardians Of The Galaxy (Xbox One)

I realize I'm biased as a huge Guardians fan, but bravo. Might be my new favorite Telltale game. I fear it will be slept on and never see a sequel.

Alright, and if you want to read an overly long thing that I was writing while playing but also contains some major plot spoilers, see below...

Guardians Of The Galaxy: The Telltale Series
2017, Telltale


I've been a fan of Telltale for a while now. Not a rabid fan that HAS to play everything they make - but a fan. And certainly they've made some great strides in bringing comic books to life over the years. I was far more interested in what was going on in The Walking Dead games than in the TV show for instance. And The Wolf Among Us made me realize that I had totally overlooked the Fable comics. But with these games I was smart and I waited until the season was done and I could play the "full" game over the course of a week. I've since recognized that this is the way I have to do it. I tried playing Batman last year as each episode came out, but found it less compelling in this way.

As excited as I was for a Guardians Of The Galaxy game, I knew I had to wait until the full series was done before I started playing it. And I was super excited. The two Guardians movies are among my absolute favorites in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. Ironically I went into the first film knowing almost nothing of the characters and being turned off by the kids-movie vibe I was getting from talking racoons and trees, but at least I had the good sense to trust James Gunn. Since then I've seen both movies multiple times. I've read some of the comics (I quite enjoyed the "Grounded" storyline that Bendis was doing before leaving Marvel). And I've totally lost my shit when the Guardians were officially revealed in the Infinity War trailer.

EPISODE I

My first impression of GOTG is good. I mean don't get me wrong... at this point the Telltale engine is looking a little long in the tooth. Many Telltale games were already looking a little dated even by Xbox 360 standards. But whatever. I'm not playing an adventure game like this for the graphics. And I mean, that kind-of-sort-of cell shaded look works pretty well for the tone of a comic book adaptation anyway.

Speaking of which, this mostly does feel like a comic book adaptation. Sure the movies have been what got Guardians into the mainstream, but Telltale's take isn't totally based on the movies. Star Lord definitely talks LIKE Chris Pratt and Rocket totally talks like Bradley Cooper. But on the other end of the spectrum you've got Gamora who doesn't sport her hair down like Zoe Saldana and instead seems much more modeled on her comic book counterpart. This is cool, though. While there's definitely a bunch of feel-good 70's and 80's pop and rock on the soundtrack to make it FEEL like one of the movies, there's a definite respect for the original comics, which I appreciate.

Story-wise, not a ton of stuff happens in the first episode. I'm not saying that in a bad way, but it's basically a setup to acquaint you with the characters and systems. It's the same old QTE's and brief hunting for hotspots style gameplay mixed in with conversation trees. I honestly don't mind the QTE's but I'd prefer if "failing" one actually took the story in a different direction more often than just asking you to TRY AGAIN. Y'know? Think of the QTE's in the same way as the conversation trees. That'd work better in my mind. And those little hunting for hotspot puzzles? Get rid of all of those and I'd be fine. But see, these complaints are minimal. Because the story is so good. The story is why I play Telltale games.

IF YOU CARE ABOUT SPOILERS THEN STOP READING NOW BECAUSE I'M GOING TO TOTALLY TALK ABOUT SPOILERS RIGHT NOW... So pretty early on in the episode the Guardians kill Thanos. Now, if there's anything I know about comic books it's that dead characters don't stay dead. So whatever. But it's still an interesting conceit to start the story with. Like, remember that Gamora is still Thanos' daughter for better or worse.

The episode also ends with Star Lord getting murdered and brought back to life... and also somehow seeing a vision of (maybe) his mother back on Earth again. Let's just say that there's a lot going on in the story even if there's not much to the gameplay. And I'm fine with that right now. I know exactly what I'm getting into with a game like this, so I'm content.

EPISODE II

Things are progressing here and the story gets even heavier. Yondu makes an appearance which is cool. This take on Yondu is pretty clearly based on the one in the movies. Oh and more importantly Nebula is now in the story, and that gets complicated as you might expect. Gamora and Nebula never got along, so the death of Thanos is certainly not going to help things.

But what really killed me in this episode was a flashback concerning Rocket. Ugh. So you have to play through a section that has Rocket remembering the experiments that were done on him. And that's pretty rough. But way WAY worse are his memories of Lyla, a lady-friend who he clearly loved and was also being experimented on. Their exchanges are sweet and as you may guess, Lyla does not have a happy ending in the lab. It's a pretty heart-wrenching scene, but one that serves a purpose: it actually does add something to Rocket's character here. Maybe it gives you more of an understanding of his gruffness or inability to get close to the other Guardians.

Either way, it made me feel like a total asshole since I had chosen to stick with the plan to track down Nebula that Gamora wanted me to do instead of helping out Rocket like I had promised. Having to go through this section of the game knowing that I had bailed on him just made me feel like shit as I tried to hold back some tears.

EPISODE III

I forgot to mention how much I like the little "Next Time On..." things at the end of each episode. Instead of actually showing things that are coming up, these are little Real World-style video confessional journals of each character. They're just little snippets such as Gamora saying "...but what came next was even worse..." that will allude to SOMETHING. They're neat.

Some good stuff happened in this episode. For one thing we got to meet Mantis. And even better, I managed to get Gamora and Nebula on good terms. This felt good.

But then some bad stuff happened. Some really bad stuff. See, I had to make a huge choice. There's this device that can raise people from the dead and I had to decide to either destroy it (smart) or power it up (not smart). I went with the Not Smart option. Now in the defense of my own intelligence, I 100% new this was a not-smart thing to do as I was doing it, but I just felt so bad for Rocket because of the flashback from last episode. I really had good intentions here.

But yeah. Shit hit the fan. And I'm pretty sure that Gamora's all set with me now.

EPISODE IV

As easy as it is to point out that Telltale's engine for these adventure games can make characters look like they're in an early 360 title, I've got to say that a lot of the space stuff is really pretty looking here. Kind of a big deal to get the galaxy looking nice in a game with Galaxy in the title, eh?

Anyway the fourth episode is basically all about making me - the player - feel like garbage.

This time around we get a flashback to see Drax and his daughter. It's obviously touching stuff, but of all the flashbacks in this game so far, nothing has made me as sad as Rocket's. But it's really this episode that it's hit me just how much this game is about sadness. But not in a bad way. I mean... maybe "sadness" is the wrong word. It's about the things that we all go through - the losses or what have you - that are left unspoken, but shape us into who we are. In a weird way a game about aliens and racoons and trees is a game about the human psyche. Rocket can be a total dick. And even after knowing why he's such an emotionally unavailable dick, I can still think that he's being a total dick. But I also understand a bit better WHY he's an emotionally unavailable dick. Y'know?

As the episode went on, things got worse. Much worse. The death of (SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!) Nebula was really rough. It was also touching because at that point she and Gamora had mended their relationship - thanks to me. But Nebula's death was really the beginning of the end. It lead to a landslide of bad feelings.

By the end of the episode Drax had sacrificed himself for us. It was bittersweet. I genuinely felt like I did the right thing by not stopping him. It's exactly what he wanted to do. He was a warrior. He felt he had a purpose. He seemed happy. But it left the rest of the Guardians damaged. I had spend all these hours trying to help Gamora and make her happy, and she walked away from the team after Drax's death. Mantis and Groot would follow.

So here we are. Just Star Lord and Rocket: The Guardians Of The Galaxy.

EPISODE V

Well the stakes didn't really stay too high for too long. I have to say though, "death" in this game certainly feels like a true comic book. Which is to say that almost immediately after starting this episode both Mantis and Groot had a change of heart and came back to the Guardians. And then we found out that Drax wasn't dead. And that helped convince Gamora to come back. So the implosion of the team didn't really last all that long.

But at the same time I knew the whole time that this episode was leading up to one big decision. Actually, I knew that pretty much the whole game. When a game is ABOUT family and loss, and there's a device that can bring back the dead, the big decision is obvious. And when it came time to finally make that decision, I had to pause the game and think about it for a bit.

The first two options were fairly easy for me dismiss. Bringing back Drax's family didn't seem like a great idea because much of the dialogue that I'd had with Drax had involved him pushing through his grief and feeling satisfied with his role in his new family (The Guardians). It just seemed to me like his story had reached a fitting conclusion.

Though the story of the game (and movies) heavily makes you aware of the pain that Peter felt - and still feels - for the loss of his mother, bringing her back just felt like the wrong choice to me. I mean, wouldn't it be weird for her to come back to life and now have to adjust to like... living in space? And having a superhero son? I don't know. Seemed like a weird ending to me.

The real decision for me - the one that was actually difficult to make - was whether I should bring back Rocket's girlfriend, Lyla or if I should bring back Nebula. I spent the whole game feeling like I owed it to Rocket to fix things for him. But ultimately when the decision had to be made I realized something. Star Lord is the leader of the Guardians and as such he must do what's best for the team. The same way that bringing his own mother back would do nothing for the Guardians as a whole, I had to realize that Nebula was the right choice. It wasn't FOR Gamora. It was for the Guardians. It meant that we'd have another member.

Hopefully I'll see her in the next game.

[dsheinem]

Games Beaten 2017
The first 50:

Inside - PS4
Street Fighter V - PS4
TIMEframe - PC
Rituals - PC
Mother Russia Bleeds - PC
Horizon: Zero Dawn - PS4
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Switch
Here They Lie - PSVR
Dexed - PSVR
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard - PSVR
Last Voyage - iOS
Ghost Blade HD - PS4
What Happened to Edith Finch - PS4
Fast RMX - Switch
Puyo Puyo Tetris - Switch
Garou: Mark of the Wolf - Vita
Star Wars: Republic Commando - PC
Battlefield 1 - PS4
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - Switch
Shock Troopers - PC (Arcade)
Shock Troopers 2nd Squad - PC (Arcade)
Gravity Bone -PC
A Thousand Flights of Loving - PC
Forza Horizon 3: Hot Wheels - PC/X1
Eve: Valkyrie- PSVR
Farpoint - PSVR
Painkiller: Battle Out of Hell - PC
Ghost Squad - Wii
Monument Valley 2 - iOS
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare - PS4
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 - 360
Tekken Advance - GBA
100ft Robot Golf - PSVR
Final Fantasy XV: A King's Tale - X1
Star Wars Racer Revenge - PS2
Just Cause 3 - PS4
Toadled - PC
Gulity Gear Xrd -Revelator- PS4
Mortal Kombat XL - PC
Destiny 2 - PS4
Dishonored - PS4
Dead Nation: Apocalypse Edition - PS4
Nex Machina - PS4
Dying Light - PS4
Arizona Sunshine- PSVR
Dead Rising 3 - X1
Soul Dimension - PSVR
The Bug Butcher - PS4
Super Mario Odyssey - Switch
King of Fighters XIV - - PS4

Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds - PS4
Alienation - PS4
Forza Horizon 3: Blizzard Mountain - PC/X1
Destiny 2: Curse of Osiris - PS4
Doom VFR - PSVR *new*


Total: 55

Previously: 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010

I think playing and beating the newest Doom title was a hell of a way to kill some time on my birthday as the game is basically the realization of many of my childhood dreams about what video games could some day be. There are a good number of tense/intense battles in this one, which largely takes the forumla (and most of the mechanics) from the most recent (and excellent) Doom title...and offers an entirely new campaign with it! My only gripe is that it was a little shorter than I had hoped, but the bonus VR classic levels are a hoot and I can see going back to this one to play through more of it. I hope they add a leaderboard/high score arcade mode like they did with the other recent Doom title!

[PartridgeSenpai]

Partridge Senpai's 2017 Beaten Games:

Previously: 2016

1. Tales of Hearts R (Vita)
2. UPPERS (Vita)
3. Volume (Vita)
4. Overlord: Minions (DS)
5. Kirby: Planet Robobot (3DS)
6. Overlord II (PS3)
7. Overlord: Dark Legend (Wii)
8. La-Mulana (Remake) (PC)
9. Infamous: Second Son (PS4)
10. htol#NiQ: The Firefly Diary (Vita)
11. Blood Bowl (360)
12. Dead to Rights: Retribution (360)
13. Bioshock Infinite (360)
14. Bioshock Infinite: Burial At Sea Part 1 (360)
15. Bioshock Infinite: Burial at Sea Part 2 (360)
16. Singularity (360)
17. Seifuku Densetsu Pretty Fighter X (Saturn)
18. Ultraman: Hikari No Kyojin Densetsu (Saturn)
19. Donkey Kong 64 (N64) (repeat)
20. Song of the Deep (PS4)
21. Naruto Gekitou Ninja Taisen 3 (GCN)
22. Banjo-Tooie (N64) (repeat)
23. Wario Land (VB)
24. Yakuza HD Edition (PS3)
25. Yakuza 2 HD Edition (PS3)
26. Vanquish (PS3)
27. Watchdogs 2 (PS4)
28. Pikmin (Wii)
29. Pikmin 3 (Wii U)
30. Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker (Wii U)
31. Super Mario 3D World (Wii U)
32. Tales of Innocence R (Vita)
33. Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii)
34. Boing! Docomodake DS (DS)
35. Kirby Triple Deluxe (3DS)
36. Magicka 2: Learn to Spell... AGAIN! (PS4) (repeat)
37. Pokemon Moon (3DS)
38. Pokemon Black 2 (DS)
39. Pokken Tournament (Wii U)
40. The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth + (Switch)
41. Dynasty Warriors: Gundam (360)
42. Saints Row (360)
43. Saints Row 2 (360)
44. Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell (PS3)
45. Shadow of Mordor (PS4)
46. Youkai Watch 2: Honke (3DS)
47. Youkai Watch Busters Shiroinutai (3DS)
48. Cave Story+ (Switch)
49. Youkai Watch Sangokushi (3DS)

50. Youkai Watch 3: Sukiyaki (3DS)

So after 215 hours, more than my entire time with the other 4 Youkai Watch games I've played COMBINED (they clock in a smidgen over 200 hours all together), I'm comfortable putting down Youkai Watch 3. God damn, WHAT A GAME. Needless to say, I REALLY liked this game. It continued the good trend that Sangokushi started and just kept it going and going and going.

The story is head and shoulders above any of the other main-series games. The main gimmick with the 3rd game's plot is that you have Keita (Nathan), along with Jibanyan and Whisper, moving to the USA and having wacky adventures there with a new Tom Sawyer-type friend while a new protagonist Inaho (who has no English-localized name yet, as far as I know) gets her own Youkai Watch and tags up with USAPyon to start their own detective agency! Each of them has their own 5 chapters all to themselves, with their stories occasionally linking up (you can't progress any further in one without going a bit further in the other), and each character having their own inventories, quests, and youkai collections. Then, once they both completely chapter 5, they of course meet and join up their collections and inventories to go through another 5 chapters.

The comedy and refernces are just off the wall. There was more than one time I couldn't help but burst out laughing just because of how off the wall or how on point the parodies were. Star Wars, X-Files, Indiana Jones, Slenderman, Twin Peaks, Terminator, just to name a few of the ones I can recall off the top of my head. On that same note, this game also has some really good messages it puts through its story. Things about not being ashamed of being a big nerd/otaku, that bad people can change for the better, that single-parent families are super normal and there's nothing wrong with them. Every element of the storytelling has improved so so much. You can really tell they took a 2-year gap between YW2 and this one, because the effort shows.

It also shows in places like the scads of content this game has. Just about the entire old map of Youkai Watch 2 is in this game, with the only exceptions I could find were that you cannot time travel to the past-main city and that the hell and heaven post-game gauntlet areas have been omitted (but replaced with another kind of smaller gauntlet. The America area and all the maps it has are freaking huge. Not quite as big and packed as the original Japanese map, but it's still a much larger improvement than just Kemamoto and Nagisaki in the 2nd game. This is like if past-Sakura Newtown actually had a huge amount of content to do in it and wasn't just huge and empty. It took me some 150 hours to even get around to finishing the main story, and that wasn't just from running around hunting impossible to find youkai, that was from doing side quests, doing the main story, and doing the incredibly improved new Busters Treasure Mode.

The stand-alone Youkai Watch Busters game that came out a couple years back doesn't hold a candle to how incredibly fun and expansive the Busters mode included alongside the main game is in Youkai Watch 3. Gone are the recycling of old maps and collecting of orbs for XP, and here to stay are procedurally generated maps of corridors and rooms filled with monsters, treasures, and traps, almost like a real-time mystery dungeon game. Couple that with a bunch of new youkai and big bosses to fight and an extremely improved loot system with no time wasting-crafting and you have a mode that is far far more fun and compelling to play even though youkai don't have a choice of moves to pick from and the story that runs through it is fairly shallow and nearly entirely separate from the main game's narrative.

On that note, the way the main game is even played has be really radically revamped. Taking cues from YW Sangokushi, no longer are your youkai bound to a ring that you just switch around back and forth, but now are free to move, 3 at a time, around a 3x3 grid while your other 3 wait in reserves. Youkai standing directly in front of other youkai will draw attacks away from the ones standing directly behind them, and one standing side-by-side will do small supporting attacks when the other connected youkai does a real attack. Super-moves have also been totally changed to support this, with the mini-games to activate them now all new as well as their AOE's no longer universal, but specified to certain areas of the opponent's 3x3 grid (most of the time). There are a good few new de-buff removing mini-games as well, as well there being 3 levels of difficulty that debuffs can have (meaning they're more difficult to remove). Couple that in with the 200 or so new youkai and the 3 significant post-launch free expansions (one re-adding the Kemamoto area and the others mostly putting in new silly sidequests, adding new powerful youkai to recruit/fight, and expanding the Busters mode) and this game is just one giant pile of brand new that works really well to their benefit.

Verdict: Highly recommended. While it certainly doesn't have the finesse in its presentation and quality of writing that something like FFVI does, this is still probably my new favorite 3DS game ever, and near the top of my list for favorite RPG's ever. I can't think of any other that I've played that I've come even close to how much this one grabbed me. This is also head and shoulders in quality and quantity of any Pokemon game I've ever played. I'm really hoping this pushes Nintendo to up the ante in 8th gen, because I really liked most of the changes in 7th, but I think there's still more they could do to freshen up the series. Even if they don't, YW3 has certainly cemented me as a Youkai Watch fan.

[Blu]

1. Runbow - Wii U
2. Battlefield 1 - Xbox One
3. Until Dawn - PS4
4. Super Mario Sunshine - Gamecube
5. Titanfall 2 - Xbox One
6. Wario Ware, Inc: Mega Party Game$ - Gamecube
7. Pikmin 2 - Gamecube
8. Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Wii U
9. Dawn of War 2 - PC
10. Dawn of War 2: Chaos Rising - PC
11. Sonic Mania - PS4
12. Castlevania IV - SNES
13. Super Monkey Ball - GameCube
14. Yakuza 0 - PS4
15. Chu Chu Rocket - Game Boy Advance
16. Overcooked - PS4
17. Wolfenstein: The New Order - Xbox One
18. Steamworld Heist - Wii U
19. Steamworld Dig - Wii U

I recently picked up this double pack for the Wii U as Gamestop is thinning down their Wii U selection. I got it among ZombiU, Legend of Kay Anniversary, and Captain Toad, Treasure Tracker.

Needless to say these two Steamworld games were something special. I love the Steampunk robots and the future apocalyptic settings. I really enjoyed Heist and the 2D turn-based strategy they offered. Between the different classes, abilities, equipment, and upgrades, the gameplay really stood out. Additionally, the characters are all pretty cool and the artwork has an awesome vibe. Easily one of the better small developer games I've enjoyed recently.

Steamworld Dig also had a cool vibe to it. I was able to play through this in an afternoon and evening. It's another 2D game, but gave me Penguin Land (Super obscure SMS game) / Dig-Dug vibes. You go claim your uncle's mine, and dig through the depths searching for treasure, upgrading your character through the plot and upgrades you purchase in town. It gave me somewhat of a 2D Diablo / Torchlight game.

Each of these games I give a 9/10. They were super awesome. If you're looking for an affordable package of quality games, you can't go wrong here.

[Ack]

Congratulations, Partridge, on finally beating Youkai Watch 3!

[Sarge]

Previous games:

January:
1) The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition (PC) (8.5) (1/1) (~5.5 hours)
2) ActRaiser (SNES) (8.0) (1/2) (~4 hours)
3) Bonk's Revenge (GB) (6.0) (1/3) (~1 hour)
4) Tiny Toon Adventures: Babs' Big Break (GB) (6.5) (1/3) (~1 hour)
5) Blackwell Legacy (PC) (7.0) (1/5) (2.6 hours)
6) Blackwell Unbound (PC) (7.5) (1/7) (2.2 hours)
7) Blackwell Convergence (PC) (8.0) (1/7) (2.4 hours)
Blackwell Deception (PC) (8.0) (1/8) (4.7 hours)
9) Blackwell Epiphany (PC) (9.0) (1/9) (6.5 hours)
10) Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (PS4) (8.0) (1/22) (~55 hours)
11) Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (360) (8.0) (1/28) (~.5 hours)
12) Deep Duck Trouble Starring Donald Duck (SMS) (6.5) (1/31) (~1 hour)
February:
13) Quackshot Starring Donald Duck (GEN) (7.5) (2/7) (~2 hours)
14) Fire Emblem Heroes (Android) (8.0) (2/9) (~10 hours)
15) Super C (NES) (9.5) (2/20) (~0.5 hours)
16) Contra (NES) (10.0) (2/20) (~0.5 hours)
17) Mickey's Dangerous Chase (GB) (6.5) (2/24) (~1 hour)
18) My Nintendo Picross: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (3DS) (8.5) (2/25) (~19 hours)
19) Mega Man 2 (NES) (10.0) (2/28) (~0.8 hours)
March:
20) Final Fantasy XV (PS4) (8.0) (3/2) (~33 hours)
21) Blaster Master Zero (NS) (9.0) (3/10) (~6.5 hours)
22) Espgaluda II Black Label (360) (8.0?) (3/17) (0.5 hours)
23) The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (NS) (9.5) (3/28) (~70+ hours)
April:
24) Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment (PC) (8.5) (4/7) (~5.5 hours)
25) Hyper Light Drifter (PS4) (8.0) (4/9) (~8 hours)
26) Gekido Advance: Kintaro's Revenge (GBA) (7.5) (4/16) (~3 hours)
27) Vanquish (PS3) (8.5) (4/17) (~7 hours)
28) Journey (PS3) (6.0) (4/19) (~2 hours)
29) GunForce (SNES) (4.0) (4/22) (~20 minutes)
30) GunForce 2 (ARC) (7.0) (4/23) (~30 minutes)
31) GunForce: Battle Fire Engulfed Terror Island (ARC) (6.0) (4/23) (~20 minutes)
32) Mighty Final Fight (NES) (8.5) (4/29) (~30 minutes)
May:
33) Final Fantasy V (SFC) (6.0) (5/1) (~33 hours)
34) Super Adventure Island (SNES) (7.0) (5/2) (~1 hour)
35) Dragon Spirit: The New Legend (NES) (7.5) (5/3?) (~30 minutes)
36) Mighty No. 9 (PS4) (5.0) (5/6?) (~5 hours)
37) Contra III: The Alien Wars (Hard) (SNES) (8.5) (5/11) (~1 hour)
38) Operation C (GB) (7.5) (5/22) (~1 hour)
June:
39) Super Dodge Ball (NES) (9.5) (6/1) (~15 minutes)
40) Bare Knuckle III (GEN) (7.5) (6/3) (~1 hour)
41) Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES) (9.5) (6/5) (~30 minutes)
42) Wizards & Warriors X: Fortress of Fear (GB) (4.0) (6/8) (~1 hour)
43) Castlevania: The Adventure (GB) (3.5) (6/9) (~1 hour)
44) Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King (PC) (8.0) (6/15) (~8.5 hours)
45) Streets of Rage (GEN) (9.0) (6/17) (~45 minutes)
46) Ghouls 'N Ghosts (GEN) (6.5) (6/17) (~4 hours)
47) Contra: Hard Corps (GEN) (8.5) (6/18) (~50 minutes)
48) Mighty Gunvolt Burst (NS) (7.5) (6/23) (~3 hours?)
49) Exile's End (PC) (8.0) (6/24) (~5 hours)
July:
50) Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (PS4) (8.5) (7/1) (16h53m)
51) Pharaoh Rebirth+ (PC) (8.0) (7/3) (7 hours)
52) Jackal (NES) (9.0) (7/9) (45 minutes)
53) Golden Axe III (NES) (2.5) (7/9) (~45 minutes)
54) Rygar (NES) (7.0) (7/10) (~2 hours)
55) Faxanadu (NES) (8.0) (7/14) (~6 hours)
56) Tekken 3 (PSX) (6.0) (7/24) (~20 minutes)
57) Horizon: Zero Dawn (PS4) (8.5) (7/30) (38h16m)
August:
58) Contra: The Alien Wars (GB) (3.5) (8/1) (~30 minutes)
59) Super Smash Bros. (N64) (8.0) (8/6) (~20 minutes)
60) Battletoads (Japan) (NES) (7.5) (8/10) (~40 minutes)
61) Castle of Dragon (NES) (2.5) (8/10) (~1 hour)
62) The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (NES) (3.0) (8/10) (~30 minutes)
63) Strider (NES) (6.5) (8/11) (~2 hours)
64) Commando (NES) (3.5) (8/11) (~1 hour)
65) Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa (NES) (6.5) (8/12) (~1h30m)
66) Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie (GEN) (4.0) (8/12) (~1 hour)
67) Dragon Scroll: Yomigaerishi Maryuu (NES) (5.0) (8/13) (~4 hours)
68) Mega Man 8 (SAT) (7.0) (8/17) (~4 hours)
69) Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap (PS4) (8.0) (8/19) (4h42m)
70) Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix (PS3) (6.5) (8/25) (~30 minutes)
71) Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth (DS) (7.5) (8/27) (25 hours?)
72) Daikatana (GBC) (6.5) (8/28) (~3 hours)
73) Bionic Commando (NES) (9.5) (8/30) (~1.5 hours)
74) Adventure Island II (NES) (6.5) (8/31) (~3 hours)
September:
75) The Mafat Conspiracy (NES) (5.0) (9/1) (~1.5 hours)
76) Snake's Revenge (NES) (8.0) (9/4) (~4 hours)
77) Ys: Memories of Celceta (VITA) (7.5) (9/4) (~25 hours?)
78) Skate or Die 2: The Search for Double Trouble (NES) (5.0) (9/7) (~2 hours)
79) 1943: The Battle for Midway (NES) (7.0) (9/9) (~2.5 hours)
80) Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom (ARC/360) (5.0) (9/9) (~1 hour)
81) Arkista's Ring (NES) (6.0) (9/9) (~1 hour)
82) Bad Dudes (NES) (4.0) (9/9) (~45 minutes)
83) G.I. Joe: The Atlantis Factor (NES) (7.0) (9/10) (~2 hours)
84) Target: Renegade (NES) (2.0) (9/10) (~1 hour)
85) Gyruss (NES) (8.5) (9/11) (~1 hour)
86) Renegade (NES) (3.5) (9/12) (~30 minutes)
87) Metroid: Samus Returns (3DS) (9.0) (9/18) (11h35m) (16h total time)
88) Rambo (NES) (4.5) (9/19) (~3 hours)
89) Return of Double Dragon (SFC) (8.0) (9/20) (~1 hour)
90) Wizards & Warriors (NES) (6.5) (9/21) (~1.5 hours)
91) Wizards & Warriors III - Kuros: Visions of Power (NES) (6.5) (9/23) (~4 hours)
92) Wolverine (NES) (3.0) (9/23) (~1 hour)
93) The Jetsons: Cogswell's Caper (NES) (6.0) (9/23) (~1 hour)
94) Ironsword: Wizards & Warriors II (NES) (6.5) (9/24) (~2 hours)
95) The Flintstones: The Rescue of Dino and Hoppy (NES) (6.0) (9/24) (~1 hour)
96) RodLand (NES) (7.0) (9/30) (~1 hour)
97) Gradius (NES) (7.0) (9/30) (~30 minutes)
98) Life Force (NES) (8.0) (9/30) (~1 hour)
99) Gradius II (NES) (8.0) (9/30) (~1 hour)
October:
100) Guerilla War (NES) (6.0) (10/1) (~1 hour)
101) Gun-Nac (NES) (7.5) (10/2) (~1.5 hours)
102) Mega Man 9 (PS4, via MMLC2) (9.5) (10/7) (~2.5 hours)
103) Star Wars (NES) (5.5) (10/7) (~1.5 hours)
104) Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana (PS4) (9.0) (10/25) (49h20m)
105) Super Mario Odyssey (NS) (10.0) (10/31) (10 hours?)
November:
106) Super Castlevania IV (SNES) (8.5) (11/11) (4 hours)
107) Transformers: Devastation (PS4) (6.5) (11/18) (5h56m)
108) Dracula X: Rondo of Blood (DUO) (8.0) (11/26) (2 hours)
109) Castlevania Chronicles (PSX, X68K mode) (6.5) (11/29) (6 hours)

December:
110) Faussete Amour (DUO) (5.0) (12/4) (3 hours)
111) Ys III: The Wanderer from Ys (DUO) (5.5) (12/7) (~5 hours)
112) Kaze Kiri: Ninja Action (DUO) (6.5) (12/9) (~1.5 hours)

Well, first off, the Duo is giving me fits with burns. I can never guess what's going to work right and what doesn't. Gonna try to track down a different burner, none of the four I've used so far have worked completely properly.

Still, it was enough to get me through Kaze Kiri. Apparently a quite rare game, this one tries to be a late-gen classic, but is a little too repetitive to really stake out hidden gem status.

So, at its heart, it's a 2D plane-scrolling beat-'em-up, much like Kung Fu or Vigilante. The game does a few things to differentiate itself, though; your hero has a lot of moves you can pull. Throwing kunai (which depletes your life, oddly enough), sword combos, a sliding kick, backflips, an aerial drop kick... there are a lot of ways you can use to take out your enemies. And really, the whole game revolves around that. Take out a certain number of enemies and you can continue forward to the end of the section. Sometimes that ends the stage; other times, there's a boss to defeat. These play out more like Street Fighter segments than a typical brawler. Still, there are a lot of ways to exploit the AI that makes it not too difficult. That aforementioned sliding kick is one of the best ways to get in and deal damage safely, particularly because you are invincible during the slide.

Unfortunately, there aren't enough enemy types or enough ways to really use that varied moveset. The stages themselves are a flat point-A-to-point-B affair as well, with no hazards to speak of to spice things up. For a game as smooth as this, I'd have loved to have seen a bit more creativity in the rest of the design. I almost think it could've been a sort of secret Strider-esque game in many regards, because I love all the stuff you can do.

It doesn't last all that long, but it's not a good sign when you're already a bit bored halfway through a 1.5 hour game. It's not bad, it just needed more meat on the bone.

[PartridgeSenpai]

Congratulations, Partridge, on finally beating Youkai Watch 3!

Ahh! Ack Senpai noticed me!

Thank you, though, really . At least for almost 2 weeks, there will have been a period of time where I will have completed every 3DS Youkai Watch game! At least until Busters 2 comes out in Japan on like the 14th

I'm gonna hold of on that one though, at least for now. I remembered the other day that I have Tyranny to play over the coming holiday break, and I'm SUPER stoked for that!!