Games Beaten 2021

Post by **BoneSnapDeez** » Wed Jun 02, 2021 11:09 pm

prfsnl_gmr wrote:
BoneSnapDeez wrote:That game looks shitty in a way that actually makes me angry.

You definitely have a way with words, Bone! Also, you guys are killing it with the reviews. Maru’s DQIII review reminded me how much I love the GBC version of that game; Pidge just capped off an amazing Mega Man retrospective with a great review of Powered Up, one of my favorite Mega Man games; Raging Justice made an exceptionally solid debut with a review of a game that is now much higher on my Switch want list; and Popo beats games faster than I can read about them. Seriously, this thread is rocking it this year, and I am certain AJ still has something like 10+ reviews backlogged.

Finally, my man Elkin sacrificing for the team so we don’t have to play games like Troll & I and Hentai vs. Evil. (Although, if I do decide to play Hentai vs. Evil, I now know I should play the uncensored Switch version...preferably in a public location.)

.....

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

Alwa’s Awakening is a remarkably solid pseudo 8-bit indie metroidvania. In it, you play as Zoe, a magical girl with a cloak and remarkable jumping abilities, who is summoned to the land of Alwa to defeat a great evil. You quickly acquire a staff that you will use to beat enemies to death for the rest of the game. Shortly thereafter, you acquire three different abilities - the ability to create a block, the ability to creat a bubble (i.e., a floating platform), and the ability to shoot a magic missile. True to the genre, creative use of these abilities allows you to visit new areas and uncover even more abilities.

The game scrolls one screen at a time, like a MSX game, and the world map is fairly small. Nonetheless, the game is impeccably designed and crammed with secrets. There are 99 small orbs that, when collected, increase the amount of damage you do to bosses; optional upgrades; four pieces of a hidden tablet that reveal a secret ending; a hidden level; two Easter eggs; and three clues to a secret password that can be used to access additional content on the developer’s website. The game is also full of false walls, false floors, and other shortcuts that reward exploration.

The game focuses much more on puzzling and platforming than it does on combat, and while the game starts out relatively easy, the challenge escalates quickly. The final section, full of instant-death pits, spikes, and traps is incredibly challenging, and the game <refreshingly!> actually punishes failure by sending you back to the last save point each time you die. (Some reviewers complained about this, but I thought it was a fine mechanic, requiring me to learn how to play the game. Moreover, save points are frequent enough, and the game provides just enough frustration to make victory rewarding.) Despite the focus on exploration, puzzles, and platforming, a few of the boss battles are also quite challenging, but despite the difficulty I never once thought the game was unfair or that the challenge was overwhelming. Rather, every challenge could be overcome with a little patience, planning, and practice.

Overall, I really enjoyed Alwa’s Awakening, and I heartily recommend it to anyone seeking a good metroidvania. I have read that the sequel, alluded to in the game’s abrupt, somewhat shocking ending, is even better, and I anticipate jumping into that game immediately.

Nice review. I've owned the Steam version of that one for ages but have yet to touch it!

Post by **Markies** » Wed Jun 02, 2021 11:33 pm

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

1. Midtown Madness 3 (XBOX)
2. X-Men 2: Clone Wars (GEN)
3. Sonic Adventure 2 (SDC)
4. Mega Man 7 (SNES)
5. Xenosaga Episode III: Also Sprach Zarathustra (PS2)
6. Bust A Move 4 (PS1)
7. Phantasy Star IV (GEN)
8. Gunbird 2 (SDC)
***9. The Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GCN)***
10. Fable: The Lost Chapters (XBOX)
11. Growlanser: Heritage Of War (PS2)
12. Double Dragon (NES)
13. Star Ocean (SNES)

I beat Star Ocean on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System this evening!

My first Star Ocean game was the PS1 game that I played back in 2014. The game was rather tough, but I have fond memories of playing it with a friend of mine and really enjoying it. Also, I have grown to love Tri-Ace games over the years, mostly from my experience on the PS1 Star Ocean. It wasn't until a few years ago that I finally picked up the PS2 version of the game as I had been a bit hesitant on it. However, before I played that, there was the original SNES Star Ocean that I also never played. With my discovery of Reproduction Carts, I decided to make an emergency purchase because I wanted to play the SNES version before I delved into the PS2 version. With my Backlog getting low, I decided to make it a point to play the SNES version this year to save some room for the PS2 version.

The first thing that hit me in the game was hearing voice acting coming out of my Super Nintendo. It's kind of muffled and hard to hear, but it was still voice acting in my Super Nintendo game! Afterwards, I was floored by how beautiful the sprite work and the graphics are in the game. Tri-Ace always had some of the most beautiful graphics I had ever seen and this is no exception. The detail is absolutely insane. Add in a beautiful soundtrack that was wonderful to listen to throughout the entire game and it has a beautiful package. For the game itself, you can really tell that this is Tri-Ace's first game because the staples of their games are all over the place, just in their Alpha Form. There are several characters that you can recruit, grinding is very important, its easy to power up your characters even without grinding and you get a ton of items that you can use to craft. The story is mostly forgettable, especially during the middle of it. The battle system is really fast paced, though it feels like button mashing most of the time. Also, some battles will come out of nowhere and kick your butt for no real good reason.

Overall, I really enjoyed my time with Star Ocean on the SNES. The game is fairly brief as I beat it at a little under 30 hours. In fact, the final dungeon feels a little tacked on, so it could have been even shorter. That was a great feeling as it reminded me of Chrono Trigger in a way. But, this was an interesting experience and one that showed where the Series and the team started. If you are interested in that, give it a shot!

Post by **PartridgeSenpai** » Thu Jun 03, 2021 4:01 am

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

Games 1~51

52. Wai Wai World 2 (Famicom)
53. Tiny Toon Adventures (Famicom)
54. King Kong 2: Ikari No Megaton Punch (Famicom)
55. Yume Pengin Monogatari (Famicom)
56. Rock Man & Forte (SFC)
57. Rock Man X2 (Switch)
58. Rock Man X3 (Switch)
59. Rock Man X4 (Switch)
60. Rock Man X5 (Switch)
61. Rock Man X6 (Switch)
62. Rock Man X7 (Switch)
63. Rock Man X8 (Switch)
64. Mega Man: Powered Up (PSP)

65. Magical Taruruuto Kun: FANTASTIC WORLD!! (Famicom)

A friend of mine played this game very briefly as a part of a variety stream he did sometime last year, and the weird way the protagonist attacks by sticking out his tongue was just so funny that it spawned a meme that our community still uses all the time. Once I got my Famicom, I made sure to ask him what that game was so I could try and actually play the game properly, and I was even more excited when this proved to be quite a common and cheap game. I streamed it myself for roughly two thirds of it, and it ultimately took me around 4.5 hours to beat the game on real hardware.

Magical Taruruuto Kun is a manga very much like Doraemon, where a somewhat loser protagonist one day gets a magical and mischievous friend to help him out when he gets in trouble. It's honestly so much like Doraemon that it's a bit shameless, and it's also a property I know genuinely nothing about other than what's in this game. The game's eight worlds encompass eight different small and largely unconnected stories about Taruruuto Kun helping out his human best friend. It's lighthearted but also makes for some interesting setups for the different worlds you go to.

You play as the titular character as he tries to help out your best friend Honmaru with his various problems, and no matter what the problem is, it always seems to take the form of going through action platforming stages. The game itself has world maps very much like Mario 3. This game came out in 1991, so it's quite pretty, but the world map and cute pastel art style make it pretty clear where the game's inspirations lie. There are even special powerups you can activate before levels to give you an extra advantage during the levels, although the way you get this stuff is a bit different than Mario 3. Quite predictably, however unfortunately, this game is also nowhere near the quality level of Mario 3, even though it's surprisingly okay for a licensed JUMP game on Famicom.

The stages are probably the most underwhelming part of the whole thing, as they are almost entirely constructed of the same copy-and-pasted pieces just realigned and with different enemies put in. It makes for an entertaining enough experience, and those enemy placements get REALLY mean later on in the game, but it definitely makes the game feel pretty uninteresting a lot of the time outside of when it's frustrating you because the stage design is too mean.

Though boring, the game does have some interesting points, such as this game's stand-in for Mario's coins: takoyaki (fried octopus balls). Takoyaki occupy the triple job of money, platforms, and question-mark blocks. Taruruuto Kun attacks enemies by extending his tongue at them, and you collect takoyaki the same way by licking them up into your mouth. Sometimes these takoyaki hold powerups such as extra lives or many more takoyaki (like a Russian doll of takoyaki), but for the most part the game itself doesn't have powerups like Mario has his fireflowers and whatnot. Instead, you collect special items on the world map, and then you can use an expendable item mid-stage to call on that item to help you out temporarily, and that can be anything from a ranged weapon to a rain cloud to put out fires (an extremely useful tool that's all but essential to get through the last few worlds).

There are also powerups you can activate on the world map screen, and these are both bought from the store you go to after you complete a stage (which you spend takoyaki at (just don't think about it)), and won from the scratchcards you get for buying stuff. The game is SUPER forgiving with extra lives, as they're pretty cheap and the game hurls them at you constantly. A lot of the powerups themselves have pretty questionable uses outside of the P-wing equivalent of bat wings you can get from scratchcards, and overall I really would've just loved a Mario mushroom-style thing to just give Taruruuto Kun a little more survivability beyond his "one hit and you're dead" nonsense XP. The game overall has a pretty significant problem with difficulty spikes randomly in a world, where one stage will take you a dozen tries to do yet you did every other stage in just one try, although at least the bosses are generally not too hard.

The presentation of the game is fine and about what you'd expect on the Famicom in '91. It's got the aforementioned cute art style and color palette that's very reminiscent of Mario 3, but the aesthetics feel so arbitrary that it's hard to really grasp onto much and really make it memorable (outside of the game's most terrifying enemies like the falling stars, who are memorable for a different reason than their design XP). Taruruuto Kun himself is quite well animated though, and his tongue attacks are hilarious. The music is very forgettable and nothing special, but it's not actively annoying at least.

Verdict: Hesitantly Recommended. This is an exceptionally "fine" game on the Famicom, but not exactly one worth playing. It's quite unpolished and clearly quite cheaply designed, if not cheaply made, with how repetitive the level design is. You probably won't dislike it if you play it, but this is another case where your time can probably just be better spent playing something else.

Post by **REPO Man** » Thu Jun 03, 2021 9:12 am

Alwa's Awakening is getting an official NES port, FYI.

Post by **PretentiousHipster** » Thu Jun 03, 2021 12:01 pm

I'll go a lot more in-depth into it later, but I've just beaten Age of Calamity, and I honestly might have liked Zelda's Adventure more. Here is how the 2nd last level was to show its frustrating nature.

Post by **prfsnl_gmr** » Thu Jun 03, 2021 12:47 pm

REPO Man wrote:Alwa's Awakening is getting an official NES port, FYI.

I know! I liked the game so much, I may pick up the NES port too.

Post by **ElkinFencer10** » Thu Jun 03, 2021 10:22 pm

prfsnl_gmr wrote:
REPO Man wrote:Alwa's Awakening is getting an official NES port, FYI.

I know! I liked the game so much, I may pick up the NES port too.

Yo, are they selling the ROM as a download? Shoot me that link if they do so I can put it on my Everdrive.

Post by **MrPopo** » Thu Jun 03, 2021 10:36 pm

Previous Years: 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

1. EYE: Divine Cybermancy - PC
2. Legend of Grimrock - PC
3. Legend of Grimrock 2 - PC
4. Shovel Knight - Wii U
5. Yakuza: Like a Dragon - PS4
6. Yoshi's Island - SNES
7. Vectorman 2 - Genesis
8. Super Mario Sunshine - GC
9. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Master Quest - GC
10. Bomberman '93 - TG-16
11. Cannon Fodder - PC
12. Panzer Dragoon II Zwei - Saturn
13. Dragonborne - Game Boy
14. Rock n' Roll Racing - PC
15. The Lost Vikings - PC
16. Blackthorne - PC
17. Contra III: The Alien Wars - SNES
18. Bravely Default II - Switch
19. Axelay - SNES
20. Ryse: Son of Rome - XBOne
21. Killer Instinct (2013) - XBOne
22. Heretic Kingdoms: The Inquisition - PC
23. Thief: The Dark Project - PC
24. Killer Instinct - XBOne
25. Killer instinct 2 - XBOne
26. Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth - PC
27. Thief 2: The Metal Age - PC
28. Wing Commander II - PC
29. Wing Commander III - PC
30. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV - Switch
31. Shadow Man Remastered - PC
32. Wing Commander: Privateer - PC
33. Salt and Sanctuary - Switch
34. The Elder Scrolls: Arena - PC
35. The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall - PC
36. Resident Evil Village - PC
37. SaGa Frontier Remastered - Switch
38. Metaloid: Origin - Switch
39. SaGa Scarlet Grace: Ambitions - Switch
40. Metro Exodus: The Two Colonels - PC
41. Metro Exodus: Sam's Story - PC
42. Panzer Paladin - Switch
43. Returnal - PS5
44. Dark Void Zero - DSiWare

Dark Void Zero was a companion game to Dark Void as a small bit of marketing to hype up the main game. Unfortunately for Capcom it is much better than Dark Void. It's a short 8-bit inspired game consisting of three sprawling levels that you slowly navigate through by collecting keys, swapping weapons, and busting out your jetpack.

The bare bones plot is aliens are invading and you need to close the portal they come through. To do so you need to progress through three stages to get the shutdown codes. To get the shutdown code in each level you need to collect keycards to unlock doors. This causes you to backtrack through the levels several times. You are aided in this by your jetpack, which is the key mechanic for the game. You need to collect it, and certain static barriers will destroy it (forcing you to do regular platforming for a bit), but once you have it you have infinite fuel. It has two modes. The first is a fast jetting when you hold down jump; this makes you ascend rapidly. The second is if you do a fast double jump tap from standing you go into hover mode; this moves slower but gives you "fine" control to maneuver in all directions. I use quotes because it has a LOT of momentum, so it is really easy to run into hazards. The game utilizes a lives system that carries from level to level; dying respawns you at the last respawn point you manually activate so you don't lose any progress.

At the end of each stage is a boss fight; this utilizes hover mode and is a fairly standard shmup boss. It gets a new phase for each level, so what you learn in the previous fight applies to the next one, but there is something new. Once you defeat the third boss the game is over and you get a little victory screen. Overall it's a cute little title and it's sad that it ended up being more fun than the base game, because you can knock it out in under an hour.

Post by **REPO Man** » Thu Jun 03, 2021 11:08 pm

ElkinFencer10 wrote:
prfsnl_gmr wrote:
REPO Man wrote:Alwa's Awakening is getting an official NES port, FYI.

I know! I liked the game so much, I may pick up the NES port too.

Yo, are they selling the ROM as a download? Shoot me that link if they do so I can put it on my Everdrive.

Beta ROM: https://eldenpixels.itch.io/alwas-awakening-nes
Official site: https://eldenpixels.com/alwas-awakening-nes/

It's also getting an official cart released by Retro-Bit.

Post by **Ack** » Fri Jun 04, 2021 1:04 am

1. Frog Detective 2: The Case of the Invisible Wizard (PC)(Adventure)
2. Revulsion (PC)(FPS)
3. Nonogram - Master's Legacy (PC)(Puzzle)
4. Sekiro (PC)(Action-Adventure)
5. Grim Dawn (PC)(Action RPG)
6. Grim Dawn: Ashes of Malmouth (PC)(Action RPG)
7. Grim Dawn: Forgotten Gods (PC)(Action RPG)
8. Viscera Cleanup Detail: Santa's Rampage (PC)(FPS)
9. Viscera Cleanup Detail: Shadow Warrior (PC)(FPS)
10. Shrine (PC)(FPS)
11. Record of Lodoss War - Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth (PC)(Adventure)
12. Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone (PC)(Action)
13. Red Alliance (PC)(FPS)
14. The Forest (PC)(Horror)
15. Pixel Puzzles: Japan (PC)(Puzzle)
16. 12 is Better Than 6 (PC)(Top Down Shooter)
17. Torchlight II (PC)(RPG)
18. An Elder Scrolls Legend: Battlespire (PC)(RPG)
19. Port of Call (PC)(Walking Sim)
20. NeonCode (PC)(Walking Sim)

NeonCode, or as it is stylized, [Neon.Code], is an experimental walking sim available on Steam for less than a dollar. Why experimental and so cheap? Because it was effectively a test game using pregenerated Unity assets put together into a buggy experience by one person to build experience in game development.

You probably are wondering why I played this. Well, it's because this is a cyberpunk walking sim. And it's not quite a walking sim either. You play a private investigator who hears gunshots nearby and discovers a murder. As you come across the body, you begin investigating. From there, you go from place to place, searching for clues, driving vehicles around, and even grabbing a couple of guns and participating in some good old fashioned FPS action. Not necessarily well done, but it's certainly an interesting take.

It does have problems. You can skip sections by simply walking into areas earlier than intended, because this dark, rainy world is quite open. Initially it blocks a little, but as you progress, you end up getting into a vehicle, and the map opens up. Considering it's all premade assets put together, it works. And with the night sky, the rain, the seedy bars and cheap apartments, it actually is an impressive use of these assets.

Look, for setting that's less than a dollar, yeah, it works out pretty well. It doesn't resolve cleanly, and that's part of the beauty. And the creator is also active on Steam, so if you want to ask questions or chat about the experiment, yeah, you can.

So, NeonCode, worth it? Again, it's less than a dollar, why not?

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