Games Beaten 2022

Post by **MrPopo** » Sun Dec 25, 2022 3:29 am

Previous Years: 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

First 50:

51. Prodeus - PC
52. The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero - Switch
53. Arkos - PC
54. Valkyrie Elysium - PS5
55. AWOL - PC
56. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022) - PC
57. Warhammer 40000: Shootas, Blood, and Teef - Switch
58. X Rebirth - PC
59. Star Ocean: The Divine Force - PS5
60. Pokemon Scarlet - Switch
61. X4: Foundations - PC
62. The Incredible Machine 3 - PC
63. Metal Head - 32X
64. Tactics Ogre: Reborn - Switch
65. The Return of the Incredible Machine: Contraptions - PC

Return of the Incredible Machine serves a similar purpose to The Even More Incredible Machine; it rereleases the base game and adds in a chunk of new puzzles. In this case, it's a full reskin of Incredible Machine 3 that then adds in about 25% more puzzles. You can basically copy and paste the majority of the previous review, so I'm going to cover the changes.

The first, most obvious change, is the visual overhaul. Instead of 2D spritework everything is in prerendered 3D. This mostly serves to make it harder to figure out how to position things, as there is less crispness in the visuals. Most egregiously, the blimp is now a zeppelin but has the same hitbox, which really throws you.

In terms of the new puzzles, they are sprinkled throughout. For the most part, I found them to be of lesser quality than the ones in the original game. Some of them are too clever for their own good, relying on weird physics tricks that don't make sense or requiring really nasty timing or positioning of pixel perfect elements. The puzzle descriptions also are a bit more clumsy; they tend to give a hint like "do the primary goal, and also do a thing that will naturally happen as part of that".

Overall, I think TIM 3 is the better experience. That said, if you have this game it's probably because you got it through the mega pack on GOG, so you might as well try out the new puzzles.

Post by **MrPopo** » Sun Dec 25, 2022 3:41 pm

Previous Years: 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

First 50:

51. Prodeus - PC
52. The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero - Switch
53. Arkos - PC
54. Valkyrie Elysium - PS5
55. AWOL - PC
56. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022) - PC
57. Warhammer 40000: Shootas, Blood, and Teef - Switch
58. X Rebirth - PC
59. Star Ocean: The Divine Force - PS5
60. Pokemon Scarlet - Switch
61. X4: Foundations - PC
62. The Incredible Machine 3 - PC
63. Metal Head - 32X
64. Tactics Ogre: Reborn - Switch
65. The Return of the Incredible Machine: Contraptions - PC
66. Front Mission 1st: Remake - Switch

Square decided to surprise us by announcing they were going to do modern updates to the Front Mission series. The series has been underserved in the past, so it's nice to see them going back to it as part of their general "the 90s was the best time of our output and we're bringing it back" initiative. We had previously received a straight port of it to the Nintendo DS, but this version is a full graphical update.

Front Mission kicks off a series of near future mecha strategy games. They envision a world that has grouped into a handful of superstates that engage in Tom Clancy-style brinksmanship. The major change to the military is the rise of the wanzer, short for wanderung panzer (walking tank). They can carry more firepower than traditional tanks and have less terrain restrictions. The conflict in Front Mission is fairly small scale; it is set on Huffman Island, a small island in the Pacific that first formed in 1995. The Oceania Cooperative Union (Japan, Korea, Australia, and some of SE Asia) and the Unified Continental States (the Americas) have a fight over it, and eventually sign a treaty that gives each of them half of the island. Since this is the only shared land border between the two superstates, this naturally is a point of continuing tension. And this is where the game begins; you are a member of the OCU military who is investigating a facility on the UCS side of the island. This mission goes wrong and kicks off the Second Huffman Conflict. You are drummed out of the military but get hired to lead a mercenary company to augment the OCU forces as you push across the island. Although, what was at that facility that kicked off everything turns out to be part of a larger plot that you will uncover.

The game is an isometric strategy game, using a "your side, their side" movement order. Now, I can't remember if the original game allowed you to select the order you moved in, but the remake definitely does, though it isn't obvious. You have to move the cursor to one of your units and select it, which will move the activation list to that point, then continue from that point. The enemies ALWAYS move in the same order. The missions are almost exclusively "kill all the dudes" without much in the way of extra considerations. And this, combined with the leveling mechanics, encourages you to just solo with your main character, as you become a god of death.

Let's talk about the combat mechanics. A wanzer is built from four parts, a body, legs, and each arm. You can then equip a weapon in each hand and on each shoulder. Hand weapons can be machine guns, rifles, bazookas, and melee weapons, while shoulders are either missile launchers or shields. Everything you equip has weight and needs to fall within the power budget produced by your parts (primarily the body). This high level of customization is a key element of the series. Only missiles and bazookas are able to attack at a range other than adjacent, and do not allow return fire. When you engage in adjacent combat there is a priority system. The attacker goes first unless they are using melee against a gun wielding opponent, in which case the defender fires first, unless the attacker procs the "First" skill. And skills are things you learn as you level up which give you bonuses, like the aforementioned "not getting automatically hit first by guns", as well as the ability to target a specific body part. Skills are a major force multiplier, but what really stands out is your stats. See, each character has a stat in physical, short, long, and dodge. Dodge makes you harder to hit, while the other three increase your damage with the given type. Now, this appears to be a flat damage bonus, not a multiplier. This makes machine guns the, by far, best weapon in the game, as they multi hit. And you gain points in these stats by doing, so using short weapons causes you to do better with short weapons. The game also appears to have no experience scaling. The sum total of this is the best option is to give your main character two machine guns and solo everything. Within a few missions you will one shot every enemy, and if you choose the right parts you also quickly become unkillable until the very end of the game, at which point you have to start shielding on enemy turns instead of going for the counterattack.

Now, something that was added in the DS version (it might have originally been from a mobile port) and carried into this version was a second campaign following the UCS. This fleshes out more of the story and provides another perspective on the events. This campaign ends up being harder for two reasons. The first is the beginning of the game doesn't give you the same ability to start soloing, so you need to take some real risks to get your main character off the ground. But if you get past that initial hump you're in the clear. The second is that a handful of missions are extremely luck based; one is against high level enemies that are severely weakened, and it comes down to damage and location rolls. The other is where you need to protect a target on the other side of the screen who won't take steps to stay safe AND the enemies actually are coded to focus on them, instead of whatever is closest. Again, you're hoping for the right damage and location rolls.

The game definitely has some jank to it; Square was still figuring out how to produce a balanced strategy game (which was why the pickup of the Tactics Ogre devs was such a boon to the company). But it launches a really interesting game universe, and mechanically things get better as things go on. This port updates the graphics to be somewhere between 3 and 4; it has the model and texture quality of 4 with the animations of 3. This does make things feel a bit better, as the original had very minimal sprite animation, partially to handle the customization. I recommend it to strategy fans, and am eagerly awaiting the second game, which we have yet to see in the West.

Post by **Markies** » Sun Dec 25, 2022 5:13 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)
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)***
***24. Super Mario Brothers 2 (NES)***
25. Forza Motorsport (XBOX)
26. Super Mario Strikers (GCN)
***27. Grandia II (SDC)***
28. Shadow Hearts (PS2)
29. Shovel Knight (WiiU)
***30. Bust A Move 99 (N64)***
31. Borderlands: Game Of The Year Edition (PS3)
32. Excitebike (NES)
***33. Doom 3 (XBOX)***

I completed Doom 3 on the Microsoft XBOX this afternoon!

Back in 2016, I beat Doom 3 on the XBOX. I absolutely loved the game from the atmosphere to the setting to the fear factor and all of the monsters in the game. It was absolutely terrifying and a rush of excitement throughout the entire game. Since I own the Collector's Edition, I have Ultimate Doom and Doom II on the disc as well. So, to mark Doom 3 as complete, I wanted to go back and beat the original two games, which I decided to do. This review will be a little strange (and controversial) as I will be talking about Doom I and II.

Back in the day, I played very few PC games. However, through some friends, I had the first chapter of Wolfenstein and Doom. I enjoyed Wolfenstein much more, but I did play Doom a fair bit as well. So, replaying the first chapter of Doom was very nostalgic. I enjoyed the simple enemies, the tight corridors and the brisk pace the game was going for in the early levels. However, as I completed each stage, the game grew more and more tiresome. The tight and constricting levels turned into giant mazes and puzzles that took me longer and longer to figure out. Suddenly, I am spending 30 minutes just to beat one level. Also, the game starts throwing harder and harder enemies at you along with bosses as normal enemies. Yes, you get more powerful weapons, but the enemy placement can be cruel and annoying at times.

And then I continued on with Doom II and it just got worse. The part of Doom that I liked never appeared in Doom II as the levels became even larger and the amount of enemies grew absolutely absurd. In fact, the level design grew cruel and almost trollish in a way. You spend half the time looking at your unhelpful mini map and the other half trying to figure out who is shooting at you. Also, the enemy design became even more powerful, but I only got an upgraded shotgun. The super powerful demons started showing up everywhere and behind almost every wall.

Overall, my enjoyment of Ultimate Doom and Doom II faded quickly the more I played the games. I know they are hallmark games and loved by so many of them and I am glad that I got to finally play through them all, but going through them all for the first time was not a fun experience. The crazier and more insane Doom got, the less I enjoyed the games. I guess when it comes to the Doom series, I much prefer Doom 3 instead, which is probably blasphemy! :gentlemen:

Post by **Note** » Sun Dec 25, 2022 8:51 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)
9. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time (SNES)*
10. Warriors of Fate (Switch)
11. Knights of the Round (Switch)
12. Armored Warriors (Switch)
13. Battle Circuit (Switch)
14. OutRun (GEN)*
15. Kirby's Adventure (NES)
16. Shadow of the Colossus (PS2)
17. Shadowrun (SNES)
18. Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance (PS2)
19. Ratchet & Clank (PS2)
20. Final Fight 3 (SNES)
21. The House of the Dead (Arcade)
22. Die Hard Arcade (Arcade)
23. Final Fantasy II (SNES)
24. Streets of Rage 2 (GEN)*
25. Double Dragon (SMS)
26. Ninja Warriors (SNES)*
27. Mega Bomberman (GEN)
28. Donkey Kong Country (SNES)*

29. Star Fox 64 (N64)*

For starters, since this is a repeated game beaten, I'll keep the review short. One night last week I had a craving for some comfort gaming and decided to throw in Star Fox 64, which is probably my favorite single player game on the console. I recall getting this game as a gift on the 4th of July, about a week after it had been released. However, we purchased the game on the way up to my extended family's get together, so I'd have to wait until later that night to experience Star Fox 64.

Later in the summer and throughout the years that follow, my cousins and I would fire up the single player mode and take turns playing through the levels together, which was a really fun way to experience the game. I remember my cousins cracking up and making fun of the dialogue, as the US release has some hilarious lines and fun voices for Star Fox's pals who accompany you throughout the adventure. Some of the quotes here are instantly recognizable and still give me a laugh all these years later.

Love the pick up and play action Star Fox 64 offers, and always have a good time trying to best previous top scores and take alternate routes to see different levels in the playthrough. While, I didn't top my all time best score, I played well and ranked pretty high in comparison to the other runs on my cart. The gameplay, impressive soundtrack, funny dialogue, and introduction of Nintendo's Rumble Pak all come together to create a very fun experience on the Nintendo 64. This is still my favorite Star Fox game and I'd argue it's the best game in the series.

Overall, if you're a fan of the 32-bit era of gaming or rail shooters in general, this is one to not be missed! Check it out!

Post by **Limewater** » Mon Dec 26, 2022 2:22 pm

Finally beat a second game this year.

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS)

Not a bad game, but my new least-favorite Zelda game.

I really liked the continuation of art style from Wind Waker, and generally the adaptations for handheld play and touchscreen usage were solid.

I did NOT like having to draw things on the screen to open doors, warp, or activate powers. This was particularly frustrating in teh final boss battle, where they require you to draw on the screen during the battle.

For comparison, I played through Okami on PS2 in 2010 or 2011 and had no issues at all with the symbol-drawing system. I found it very frustrating desperately attempting to draw a figure-8 and failing over and over again. That's just an embarrassing problem to have.

The game also requires you to return to the Ocean King Temple and replay floors several repeatedly with time limits, with new powers allowing you to complete floors more quickly. I never found myself looking forward to this dungeon. I generally liked all of the other dungeons, though.

I'm glad I played it, but I have no desire to try to go back and find the heart containers I missed or search for the best ship parts.

Post by **MrPopo** » Tue Dec 27, 2022 11:43 pm

Previous Years: 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

First 50:

51. Prodeus - PC
52. The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero - Switch
53. Arkos - PC
54. Valkyrie Elysium - PS5
55. AWOL - PC
56. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022) - PC
57. Warhammer 40000: Shootas, Blood, and Teef - Switch
58. X Rebirth - PC
59. Star Ocean: The Divine Force - PS5
60. Pokemon Scarlet - Switch
61. X4: Foundations - PC
62. The Incredible Machine 3 - PC
63. Metal Head - 32X
64. Tactics Ogre: Reborn - Switch
65. The Return of the Incredible Machine: Contraptions - PC
66. Front Mission 1st: Remake - Switch
67. Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis - GBA

Knight of Lodis was the last game made by Quest before they were purchase by Square and serves as the most recent new game in the Ogre Battle saga (since then we have had two ports of the original Tactics Ogre). It serves as a prequel to the games that came before it, filling in some more backstory in the world and giving the perspective of the Holy Lodis Empire, which has served as a background antagonist faction; never the primary driver of events, but always being a force that drives people's decisions.

It is interesting to compare and contrast how the game plays compared to Tactics Ogre. They both share obvious common DNA, like the isometric grid based movement with facing and height mattering, as well as a magic system where your MP starts at 0 and goes up over time, making spell casters slow to start (and methods that get around that are powerful tools). But there's a lot of differences as well. The first is that the game does not have interleaved turns based on a speed stat; instead it is a Fire Emblem "your side goes, their side goes" system. This greatly affects how you approach things, as you are better able to focus fire. To counterbalance this, damage is generally lower compared to HP across the board, while healing has enough effectiveness to be worthwhile into the end game. My cleric was able to heal a 5 square cross for half my warriors' (and all my mages') HP by the end game, so she always was useful.

While Tactics Ogre only required you to find class changing items, and allowed any unit to change into any class you had the item for, here you have a requirements-based system. The most common requirement is needing to have a certain amount of key stats for the class you want to change into, which is not too dissimilar to many of the promotion requirements in the original Ogre Battle. New to this game is that some classes require you to earn an emblem. These are a series of achievement-esque awards that are gained in combat for various feats. For example, to become a Valkyrie a female unit must hit two units with a spear in one attack; this gives you the Lancer award. Some awards give you passives; the Sniper award for hitting five targets without missing with a ranged weapon gives you a permanent +10 agility bonus. Not all of these passives are beneficial; there are some emblems that are gained through either stupid actions or actions the game wants to discourage, like over-grinding in training mode.

The overall balance of the game is focused around your stat gains; equipment upgrades are few and far between, so your stats are very important. It is vital to not waste time in bad classes for what role you want characters in; if you want them to be casters get them into a basic casting job ASAP or their Intelligence will be too low to be useful. And when you do have opportunities to get some great equipment (like the Snapdragon swords) you can make some major leaps over the competition.

The game starts off slow, but it's a solid enough SRPG that doesn't overstay its welcome. Even with some grinding for some rare items in the Quest feature (which are challenge maps accessed from the main title using your save data) I finished in about 25 hours. I'd say it's worth a look, especially if you're a fan of the overall Ogre Battle world.

Post by **elricorico** » Wed Dec 28, 2022 4:49 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)
14. Mario Kart 8 DX (NS)
15. Flashout 3D: Enhanced Edition (PC)
16. Fast RMX (NS)
17. Dragon Quest XI S (XBONE)
18. Monument Valley 2 (Android)

19. Metal Slug (PC)

Amazon Prime Gaming gave away a batch of games this week and Metal Slug was the first one I wanted to play. Classic over-the-top run and gun arcade action at its best, I don't think there are many people reading this that won't immediately be able to picture some of the amazing pixel art that comes with the Metal Slug series.

I'm not good at these games, so I credit fed my way through, spending an embarrassing 31 credits. Some of it was sloppy playing by me and some of it was that the game is pretty hard and designed to eat your quarters if you don't play well. That said this is definitely a game worth going back to, hopefully I'll improve with more play.

Post by **MrPopo** » Thu Dec 29, 2022 5:15 pm

Previous Years: 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

First 50:

51. Prodeus - PC
52. The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero - Switch
53. Arkos - PC
54. Valkyrie Elysium - PS5
55. AWOL - PC
56. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022) - PC
57. Warhammer 40000: Shootas, Blood, and Teef - Switch
58. X Rebirth - PC
59. Star Ocean: The Divine Force - PS5
60. Pokemon Scarlet - Switch
61. X4: Foundations - PC
62. The Incredible Machine 3 - PC
63. Metal Head - 32X
64. Tactics Ogre: Reborn - Switch
65. The Return of the Incredible Machine: Contraptions - PC
66. Front Mission 1st: Remake - Switch
67. Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis - GBA
68. Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call - 3DS

Curtain Call is the sequel to the original Theatrhythm, and improves upon it in every single way. It expands the soundtrack, expands the cast, and expands the gameplay with the new Quest mode. In short, there is no reason to bother with the original when you have access to this one.

The Theatrhythm games are, as the name implies, rhythm games using the music of Final Fantasy (and with the DLC, other Square properties). Now, we all know the Final Fantasy soundtracks are full of bangers thanks to Nobuo Uematsu, and these games serve as a massive celebration of his work. Which is not to say that you don't get to see songs from other composers, it's just his stuff ends up being the best for the gameplay.

The basic mechanics of a song is that you have one of three actions. There are taps, holds, and slides. The last one is a modifier to a tap or hold; you either flick the tap or end the slide by flicking in the indicated direction. These elements are charted against the song, in one of three difficulties. One thing you'll notice is that the chart will switch between different elements of the song; sometimes playing the prominent instrument, sometimes playing the backing stuff. Some of this is due to wanting to keep the gameplay fresh in a given song, as many of the older tracks will need to loop two or three times to have an acceptable song length.

In addition to being able to play individual songs, you can engage in the Quest mode. This involves a random map that you traverse, with branching paths eventually terminating in a final boss. The stage will be littered with song nodes, and your goal is to finish the map. Upon finishing or losing a map a new one will be generated. The first time you beat a boss you also get a one-time prize; initially these will be crystal shards for unlocking characters, though over time it will switch to items.

Overall, it's a very fun rhythm game set around one of the greatest collections of video game music ever produced. You probably already knew if you were interested or not before you read this, but I can confirm if the idea of "Final Fantasy rhythm game" appeals to you then this game is amazing.

Post by **MrPopo** » Thu Dec 29, 2022 7:35 pm

Previous Years: 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

First 50:

51. Prodeus - PC
52. The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero - Switch
53. Arkos - PC
54. Valkyrie Elysium - PS5
55. AWOL - PC
56. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022) - PC
57. Warhammer 40000: Shootas, Blood, and Teef - Switch
58. X Rebirth - PC
59. Star Ocean: The Divine Force - PS5
60. Pokemon Scarlet - Switch
61. X4: Foundations - PC
62. The Incredible Machine 3 - PC
63. Metal Head - 32X
64. Tactics Ogre: Reborn - Switch
65. The Return of the Incredible Machine: Contraptions - PC
66. Front Mission 1st: Remake - Switch
67. Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis - GBA
68. Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call - 3DS
69. Mega Man 10 - WiiWare

Mega Man 10 is the second of the 8-bit throwback Mega Man games. They hearken back to a simpler time, when Mega Man was flat and didn't have a charge or slide. Mega Man 9 was a smash hit, so Capcom greenlit a second game in the same style. Mega Man 10 has more DLC features than the first game (you now have Bass in addition to Protoman), but the overall design is not as tight as 9's.

The story is classic Mega Man; there is a robot virus going around and Wily is working with Light to develop a cure, because apparently 9 times was not enough for us to realize that Wily is bad. Naturally, once the eight robot masters are defeated Wily takes the medicine machine and holds the world's robots hostage. But it's not like you came to classic Mega Man for the story.

The game has the classic structure; eight robot masters you can tackle in any order and with one being weak to the weapon of another. Once you defeat all eight you do a five stage Wily castle; stage four is the boss refights and Wily Machine while stage five is a short one before the Wily Capsule. In between stages you can visit the shop, which lets you trade in bolts picked up in stages for lives, E-Tanks, and some defensive boosts like a consumable that saves you from pits.

One thing I noticed was the boss weapons just don't feel quite as good to use as in 9. They handle a bit more clumsy (or a lot more clumsy with the thunder wool) and while they hurt bosses at the rate you expect, this clumsiness means you're going to take a lot more damage than you would in other games in the series. And it feels like boss damage is amped up compared to previous games. This all comes to a head in Wily 1, where you have three boss fights against machines that mimic previous bosses, three per room and each one is from a previous game. The boss patterns are unchanged from the base games, which doesn't often play well with their weaknesses. I blew through three E-Tanks on that set of bosses alone.

Overall, it's a solid game, but doesn't reach the heights that 9 did. If you're a fan of classic Mega Man you owe it to yourself to play, just be prepared for some cheap hits/deaths.

Post by **MrPopo** » Fri Dec 30, 2022 2:21 am

Previous Years: 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

First 50:

51. Prodeus - PC
52. The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero - Switch
53. Arkos - PC
54. Valkyrie Elysium - PS5
55. AWOL - PC
56. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022) - PC
57. Warhammer 40000: Shootas, Blood, and Teef - Switch
58. X Rebirth - PC
59. Star Ocean: The Divine Force - PS5
60. Pokemon Scarlet - Switch
61. X4: Foundations - PC
62. The Incredible Machine 3 - PC
63. Metal Head - 32X
64. Tactics Ogre: Reborn - Switch
65. The Return of the Incredible Machine: Contraptions - PC
66. Front Mission 1st: Remake - Switch
67. Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis - GBA
68. Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call - 3DS
69. Mega Man 10 - WiiWare
70. DuckTales Remastered - Wii U

DuckTales Remastered is a revisit of the classic NES game, bringing it into the modern era with a major graphical and minor gameplay overhaul. It is notable for featuring the entire original cast of the TV show, which really lends a major blast of nostalgia to gamers of a certain age. Unfortunately, the game has some segments that are harder than they should be, and it's hard to say how much is due to the graphical translation and how much was inherent to the original.

The premise of the game is simple; Scrooge McDuck finds a treasure map that points out five treasures. Naturally he must collect them, so he goes around the globe and to the moon in order to further enrich himself. And this is where you'll notice the first major difference from the NES game (outside the obvious existence of story scenes). While the original featured levels with multiple paths, most of that map was unnecessary to get to the boss. The remaster instead adjusts the levels; sometimes there are new sub goals that force further map exploration, other times they just rearrange some of the map to put more on the critical path. The net result is that you will experience all of the game, rather than just the small part needed to win. The game also adds two new levels. The first is a tutorial that kicks off the storyline, and the second replaces the old "go back to Transylvania for the final boss fight" with a new level that puts you through a gauntlet before the final boss.

Speaking of bosses, they have been given greatly expanded move sets. You'll need to really be on your game, as they go through ever escalating patterns as you damage them. There is a weird difficulty curve to them, though. If you just do the stages in order you'll find you have boss difficulty frontloaded. The final boss is of I'd say average difficulty among the bosses; going in blind you'll take a lot of damage, but all the patterns are very baitable to avoid damage. Defeating the final boss gives you the final change; instead of a simple climb you must navigate an obstacle climb, then a race against rising lava. Both of these have very little leeway for failure; think the escape segments in Ori. And this is unfortunate because these segments feature some surprisingly precise movement requirements; if you don't bonk your head climbing a chain you'll be a few pixels too low to make a required jump and fall to failure.

And this is the overall feel I found; the game at times really demands some precision in your movement but doesn't really give you the tools for precise movement. At many points it was easier to damage boost through a section rather than trying to get the exact right jump heights to not take damage from an overhead enemy while traversing a damage floor. And the pogo physics are floaty, which hurts precision, but it feels like the hitbox of the damage is narrower than the NES game, which leads to needing to land it more precisely than you think.

I think overall it's a good update, but there are some rough edges. The fact it's got the original voice cast and all the spritework is lovely really does help, though. I'd say it's worth playing, though it certainly isn't the best of its platforming era.

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