Games Beaten 2019:First 50:
51. Mario Party
N6452. ActRaiser
SNES53. GoldenEye 007
N6454. Mom Hid My Game
Switch eShop55. Money Puzzle Exchanger
Switch eShop56. Gunbird
Switch eShop57. Tokyo School Life
Switch eShop58. Musynx
Switch59. Gremlins 2: The New Batch
NES60. Subsurface Circular
Switch eShop61. Yoshi's Woolly World
Wii U62. ToeJam & Earl: Panic on Funkotron
Switch63. Bare Knuckle III
Switch64. Gunstar Heroes
Switch65. Space Harrier II
Switch66. Sonic Spinball
Switch67. Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium
Switch68. Sonic 3D Blast
Switch69. Rabbids Go Home
Wii70. Alien Storm
Switch71. Alien Soldier
Switch72. Untitled Goose Game
Switch eShop73. Landstalker: The Treasures of King Nole
Switch74. Fatal Labyrinth
Switch75. Ristar
Switch76. Golden Axe III
Switch77. Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master
Switch78. Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine
Switch79. Bonanza Bros.
Switch80. Shining Force II [& Sega Mega Drive Classics]
Switch81. Castlevania Bloodlines
Switch eShop82. Puyo Puyo Sun 64
N6483. Chameleon Twist 2
N6484. Cruis'n USA
N6485. Darkwing Duck
Game Boy86. Fortified Zone
Game Boy87. Lock 'N Chase
Game Boy88. Spanky's Quest
Game Boy89. Looney Tunes Collector: Martian Revenge!
GBC90. Puchi Carat
PS191. Battle Garegga Rev. 2016
PS492. Flower
PS493. FlOw
PS494. The Longest 5 Minutes
Switch95. West of Loathing
Switch96. Pokémon Sword
Switch97. Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2
98. Ace Attorney Investigations: Prosecutor's Path
99. Game Center CX: Arino no Chōsenjō 2Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2I got married earlier in the year, and me and my wife went to Japan on our honeymoon. Whilst I was there I picked up a handful of games, including all 3 of the games I’m posting reviews of now. Ouendan 2 was the only one of these games I didn’t need to find a fan translation to play, as it’s generally easy enough to follow without one – it’s a rhythm title where the story is relatively minimal, often told with pictures as well as dialogue, and where it’s not too important to be able to follow it to have fun.
If you’ve played Elite Beat Agents on DS, you know exactly what to expect. EBA is kind of a half remake/half sequel to the original Ouendan on DS, and this title takes a lot of the improvements Elite Beat Agents made and applies them back to Ouendan, then adds new story and songs – it’s more of the same, basically. And that’s no bad thing, because I love Ouendan/EBA.
You play along with a selection of licensed tracks – in this case they’re all obviously Japanese, so they were all unfamiliar to me. This added some extra challenge as I didn’t know the songs as well, but it wasn’t really a major obstacle. As you play, notes pop up on screen numbered 1,2, 3 etc, and you must tap them in order along with the beat as circles close in on them. As well as the standard tap the touchscreen notes, you also have hold notes where you must follow along a path with the stylus, and spinners which require you to spin as fast as possible to get more points.
The story of Ouendan involves a cheer squad who cheer people on to help them overcome various challenges in their life. Each challenge is told via a comic book style sequence and they cover a wide range of scenarios – many of the ones in Ouendan 2 are particularly Japanese though, with things like Ryokan owners and Sumo wrestlers being amongst those you help. Songs are broken down into 3-5 sections, each of which tell of another step to overcoming the hurdles presented – performing well in a section and finishing above 50% health (health drops with each miss and can fall fast on harder songs, but is replenished by doing well) helps the person achieve success, but a bad performance will show them failing, normally in a slightly comical way. Finishing the song with all successes shows the best outcome, but finish with one or more failures shows a partial success. Failing the song obvious gives a bad outcome.
The main issue with Ouendan 2 is it’s length – there are only about 20 songs in the game, and it takes just a few hours to play through them on normal difficulty if you’re good. There’s an easy mode too, and unlockable hard and extra hard difficulties too, but it’s still a short experience – the replayability is mainly centred on mastering the harder difficulties and increasing your score on each level.
But that’s fine, because Ouendan 2 offers everything it needs to and everything you expect of it. The gameplay is fun, the soundtrack is generally enjoyable and bouncy, and the story is silly and hammy but charming throughout. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Ouendan 2, or really any game in the series, to anyone who enjoys a rhythm game or 2. It’s great.
Ace Attorney Investigations: Prosecutor’s PathI’ve been a big fan of the Ace Attorney games for years now, and a personal favourite of mine was Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth, the final release on the original DS. Or at least the final release in the west – over in Japan, there was a sequel to Ace Attorney Investigations. Unfortunately, due to the late release on the system, and probably the costs of localisation and distribution, Capcom elected not to bring this final DS swansong westwards. Luckily enough for me though, some very talented individuals have taken it upon themselves to translate the game into English, and so I was able to enjoy it after all.
And a remarkable job they’ve done too – it’s hard to tell this wasn’t done by the usual translation team. They’ve managed to localise the game faithfully, acknowledging all of the ‘definitely set in America’ weirdness of the canon localisation whilst also faithfully conveying the intricacies of the source material.
Like the original AAI game, this game eschews the usual courtroom drama of the series to focus purely on the investigation component on the game. This is somewhat deceptive though – in reality the core gameplay is still very similar – you find evidence and present it to expose contradictions in peoples stories, press witness testimonies and all the other usual components of the core series. The main difference in reality is the pacing – whereas the usual story focuses on large portions of investigating the crime scene followed by large sections of cross-examination in court, the Investigations series jumps back and forth between the 2 more frequently, and in my opinion, feels better paced as a result.
Story wise, this game picks up after the first Mile Edgeworth game, and explores Miles Edgeworth’s decision on whether he should continue to follow the Prosecutor’s Path or change his focus for his future. The game has a selection of great cases, which at first seem distinctly disconnected from one another – a presidential assassination attempt, a murder at a prison, a case from Greg Edgworth’s past, and more – and then eventually, a case that surprisingly manages to pull it all together for a great conclusion. I’d hesitate to call it the high point finale of the series – there’s definitely been better ones in the series. But the overall quality of each case is phenomenal, and this is my new vote for the potential best of the series.
Prosecutor’s Path features a lot of references and tributes to past games in the series, with many returning cast members from past cases in the series, although it also features many new and likeable (and hateable) characters. I wouldn’t recommend it as a first game in the series for new players despite it’s quality because it really is improved by prior knowledge of the series, but it’s still absolutely excellent quality overall. If you’re a fan of the series, this is a real must play.
Game Center CX: Arino no Chosenjo 2Game Center CX for the DS is a game based on a Japanese TV show where the host, Arino, attempts to complete a variety of old games in one sitting. Arino is renowned for not being especially good at games, but the show has a kind of infectious enthusiasm and a delightfully low budget to it and has become a bit of a cult favourite – even here in the west where people dedicate themselves to translating each episode into English. And similarly, they have dedicated themselves to translating this game too.
Now the first game in the series was actually officially translated and localised to the US under the name Retro Game Challenge. Both games are made up of a variety of mini games, designed to look, play and feel like a game that would have been released in the 80s or 90s, but all original creations. You play through various challenges on each game to progress, unlocking more games as you go, as well as a variety of gaming magazines which offer hints, tips and tricks for the games in question. Each game also includes a manual in game which can be read for details of how to play, and the localisation of both the official and fan translated releases is solid and authentic to the time period.
Being as the game treats each mini-game as if it was it’s own release, I will do that same here and provide mini-reviews for each title:
Wizman: Wizman is a genuinely great Pac-man clone where you play as the titular wizman. Red and blue gems litter the maze, and you can only pick up each crystal by first acquiring the respective coloured wand. Grabbing multiple wands of the same colour speed you up, and with each wand you can cast a few spells to attack enemies – white enemies are weak to either the red or blue wands, but red and blue enemies need hit with the opposite colour. Each level also contains hidden gold wands unlocked in a variety of secretive methods (think Bubble Bobble or Tower of Druaga for example) which are weaker but allow you to pick up any gem and attack any enemy. This one is very enjoyable, and had it released on NES or Game Boy for real I’d call it a hidden gem.
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Mutekiken Kung Fu – This one is a pastiche of the likes of Karateka, with you walking left and punching enemies as they approach. You can find secret warps by punching certain spots in the air. You can also combo enemies to send them flying into each other, which releases icons you can collect to fill the Mu-Te-Ki-Ken meter, which when full grants you invincibility. Boss fights appear which are fought in a fixed arena, International Karate+ style, with you turning to face your opponent when you jump on them. This isn’t a favourite of mine, but it does feel like an authentic take on the inspirations.
Demon Returns – This is the iconic platformer of the game, and it takes inspiration from the likes of Mario, Ghosts n Goblins and Adventure Island. You play as a demon who can slash with his claws. You start small, but grabbing power ups makes you large and then grants a projectile, Mario style. Being hit shrinks you back down. You can slash enemies and then jump on them to ride them, kind of like the skateboard in advanture island – you can double jump from these rides too for extra height. You also can find secret warps, and must grab apples to keep your hunger meter filled – it depletes over time. This one is a solid game, but perhaps not up to the heights of it’s inspirations, mainly due it feeling less focused than those games due to it’s myriad of ideas from other games.
Detective Kacho 1 & 2 – This is actually 2 games, rather than 1, but like similar games on the NES they’re actually all one continuous story with the same gameplay, so I’ll combine them too. This is a text adventure game where the Arino is tasked with solving the 7 mysteries of the office, and you assist him. All of the NPCs in the game are figures from the TV show or from Bandai Namco’s development staff. Unfortunately, this one isn’t a favourite, as the story feels a little inconsistent, and although faithful, there are too many awkward solutions that don’t really make sense and a lack of direction. Neither of these are a favourite.
Gun Duel – Gun Duel is a shmup in the vain of Star Soldier or the Aleste games – you can obtain multiple different weapons and equip one as a primary and one as a secondary fire – each weapon has different effects depending which weapon position it is in, but you can swap at any time. The game is fast paced and fun, and is a personal highlight of the selection for me. In 2 player (which can be played with CPU) you also gain the ability to merge your ships after grabbing a certain power up, combining your firepower to become even stronger.
Triotos – This is a tetris knock-off which is designed to appear as if it’s a GB game. Making matches of icons will make them disappear, and you can trigger special effects by making complete horizontal rows, creating combos or deleting 6 blocks at once. I personally don’t really like this one – the puzzle mechanics feel a bit underdeveloped and the game is unfortunately not that interesting over all
Guadia Quest Saga – This one is a sequel (actually supposedly the third game in the series) to the game Guadia Quest from the first game. This one is meant to be a Game Boy Colour RPG, and it’s very old-school. The game features 3 playable characters who can capture monsters to use in battle. It obviously has some pokemon inspiration, but most battles are fought by your own party and in honesty this feels more like it draws it’s inspiration from Dragon Quest 2. This one is a bit grindy and repetitive, as 8 bit RPGs are known to be, but it’s enjoyable in it’s own way, and surprisingly challenging.
Super Demon Returns – This is supposedly the 16-bit sequel to the first Demon Returns. Mechanically it’s very similar to the first game, but with a few tweaks. Overall it’s more of the same though. It does look better as you’d expect, but I don’t really feel like they pulled off the SNES look very well, unlike their 8 bit games.
There’s a bunch of other versions of games from the first title here too, as well as a game boy colour variant of Triotos. There’s plenty to see and do here, and the game is all pretty decent. The actually progression through the main game is somewhat flawed - the challenges are more like tutorials for each title, and the games unlock sequentially after finishing all challenges meaning you’ll restart them over and over which can be tedious. But once you’re through and have free range to play what you want, this is a pretty decent time. Worth a play.