Games Beaten : 2011

[Flake]

1/11 Guardian Heroes (SAT)
1/14 Sonic Adventure (GCN)
1/17 Marvel vs Capcom 2 (DC)
1/17 X-Men vs Street Fighter (SAT)
1/22 Dragon Ball Z Budokai (GCN)
1/24 Street Fighter III - The New Generation (DC)
1/24 Street Fighter Alpha 3 (DC)
1/25 Mega Man X (GCN)
1/26 Dragon Ball Advanced Adventure (GBA)
1/31 Tatsunoko vs Capcom (Wii)
2/1 Megaman X2 (GCN)
2/2 Marvel vs Capcom (DC)
2/3 Megaman X3 (GCN)
2/3 Megaman X4 (GCN)
2/4 Megaman X5 (GCN)

My Megaman X marathon continues. This is the daunting part of the journey though...all the good games are behind me. Now the slop that is Megaman X6 and X7 remain...pray for me.

[noiseredux]

wow Flake, yr flying through these.

[Flake]

wow Flake, yr flying through these.

Well the first 4 I more or less have memorized. I can beat Megaman X in about 45 minutes. X4 in just shy of an hour. After this I am a little fuzzy so I will probably be slowing down.

Just wait till the follow up Megaman Classic marathon: I'll probably clear the first 6 in a single sitting.

[geozeldadude]

- wario land 3 (GBC) (1/16/11) -- high
- NEW metroid: other M (wii) (1/27/11) -- low
- NEW kirby: canvas curse (DS) (2/4/11) -- medium

on my blog i just rank games as high ("greatest games of all time"), medium (enjoyable, would definitely play again), and low (little to no incentive to ever play again), so i'll go with that here as well.

despite really, really wanting to like it, in the end other M was a big disappointment. the bottom line was not that it didn't feel like a metroid title (which it didn't), but that even as action games go this just wasn't that fun since the action side of it ended up being so dumbed down. it will definitely be interesting to see where they go from here, though.

kirby: canvas curse was a surprisingly solid little platformer, though, and has become one of my favorite kirby titles. has a lot more depth than the average kirby game, and the line-drawing mechanic surprisingly doesn't get old since the difference between just getting through a level and getting through it with perfectly drawn lines is quite big.

as before, more extensive reviews can be found on my blog for anyone who's interested.

[final fight cd]

castle of illusion - sega
disney's aladdin - sega
the lion king - sega
mickey mania: the timeless adventure of mickey mouse - sega
mickey mania: the timeless adventure of mickey mouse - sega cd
disney's the jungle book - sega
dungeon explorer - sega cd

dungeon explorer: very limited story, no dialogue, and all gameplay. the game is boss.

at first i was kind of put off by it with the first dungeon being a maze. drawing out your own maps won't do shit because the portals aka doors send you to different parts of the dungeon. orientation is completely lost right away. but, once i finally figured it out the dungeon boss could be reached within mintues of entering the dungeon. thankfully, the first dungeon is the only maze-type level in the whole game with the rest of the dungeons being pretty much straight forward. the last 2 or so dungeons were also lengthy as shit, taking 45 min to an hour to complete. awful feeling when you would die at a dungeon boss, knowing that you have to waste another 45 min to get another chance at him.

one thing i have mixed feelings about is the food/hunger system. not only do you have to worry about power, but you also have to worry about the food level. when food reaches zero your guy becomes "hungry" and power is slowly lost. on one hand, it forces you to hurry and not dick around, but on the other hand you always can't find food. you get food and other items from treasure chests, but the chests are completely random as to what you get. sometimes you could go through a whole dungeon and not find any food.

the game also has multiplayer! how awesome is that! but, i have no friends. i think it would be pretty cool to run through this with another player or even 4! somebody needs to figure out how to mod a sega for online gameplay.

i know opa opa is writing a sega cd hidden gems article. i hope he at least considers this game. even though its first appearance was on the turbo grafx, i definitely think this is a sega cd hidden gem.

[Flake]

1/11 Guardian Heroes (SAT)
1/14 Sonic Adventure (GCN)
1/17 Marvel vs Capcom 2 (DC)
1/17 X-Men vs Street Fighter (SAT)
1/22 Dragon Ball Z Budokai (GCN)
1/24 Street Fighter III - The New Generation (DC)
1/24 Street Fighter Alpha 3 (DC)
1/25 Mega Man X (GCN)
1/26 Dragon Ball Advanced Adventure (GBA)
1/31 Tatsunoko vs Capcom (Wii)
2/1 Megaman X2 (GCN)
2/2 Marvel vs Capcom (DC)
2/3 Megaman X3 (GCN)
2/3 Megaman X4 (GCN)
2/4 Megaman X5 (GCN)
2/5 Megaman X6 (GCN)

Nothing makes you look foward to playing Megaman X7 like playing Megaman X6.

Of course, not that I am playing Megaman X7 I am looking forward to quitting gaming and getting a life. Damn I hate Megaman X7.

Edit: Forget it, I quit. Megaman X7 is just too god awful for words. On to Megaman 1.

[Mr.White555]

Braid-PC
Half-Life: Opposing Force-PC
ActRaiser-SNES
VVVVVV-PC
Smash TV-PS2(Midway Arcade Classics)
Contra-NES
Super C-NES
Operation C-GB
Contra III: Alien Wars-SNES

Total:9
VVVVVV is such a great little platformer. The art style and the music are a delight as well as the mechanics. Next is flip mode!

I just beat all those Contras in a row cause I had nothing better to do. Contra and Super C were on one continue but Operation C and Contra III gave me some trouble and I had to use multiple continues. I was hoping to beat Hard Corps too but I got destroyed in the final phase of Col. Beaumont. These games are freakin' sweet.

[jfrost]

Super Meat Boy - PC
Braid - PC

Second game beaten of the year. Hell, I am slow. I enjoyed a lot the art style of this game, but I've got to say, Tim's puny jumps drove me nuts. They made the game unnecessarily difficult to control. It's not that you have to commit to your jumps like in Ghosts 'n Goblins, and it's not that you have complete control over them like in Super Meat Boy. It's a weird in-between that I can't get the hang of, no matter how much I try. That makes the speed runs a chore to beat.

Also, I'm not sure I even want to try to get the stars. Getting the puzzle pieces was difficult already, and I just learned about the stars almost by the end of the game. They feel more like easter eggs than actual goals in the game to me, though. Nowhere they are mentioned anywhere in the game (actually, there's a supposed reference in the sky at the beginning, but whatever), and there doesn't seem to be any benefit in getting them (maybe the books at the end will say something...?).

I enjoyed the story too. Convoluted as it was, it was pretty clever the way they tied with the games mechanics. I loved the story told that Tim's commitment ring made anyone hesitant to approach; in-game, the ring slows down anything in its vicinity. There's cool touches like these spread all over the game.

Overall, the only gripe I have is that it could control better. But it was fine nonetheless.

[final fight cd]

Super Meat Boy - PC
Braid - PC

Also, I'm not sure I even want to try to get the stars. Getting the puzzle pieces was difficult already, and I just learned about the stars almost by the end of the game. They feel more like easter eggs than actual goals in the game to me, though. Nowhere they are mentioned anywhere in the game (actually, there's a supposed reference in the sky at the beginning, but whatever), and there doesn't seem to be any benefit in getting them (maybe the books at the end will say something...?).

i ended up getting all the stars. for one of you them you have to wait 2 or 2.5 hours for a cloud to move across the sky. yeah, i actually waited the required time to get that star. for the most part they weren't too difficult to get, but you will need a guide. i have no idea how people originally found them, though. and like you said, i think they are completely useless.

[dsheinem]

Metal Torrent- DSiWare
Kirby Super Star Ultra - NDS
DoDonPachi - PS1
Cruis'n USA - N64
Cruis'n World - N64
DonPachi - PS1
Cut the Rope - iPhone
Cut the Rope: Holiday Gift - iPhone
Mass Effect - 360
Galaga Remix - Wii
Tatsunoko vs. Capcom - Wii
Mushihimesama Futari 1.5 - 360
DoDonPachi Dai Ou Jou - PS2
DoDonPachi Resurrection - iPhone
Triggerheart Exelcia - DC
Heavy Barrel - Wii/Arcade *new*
Tetris (Rev A and Rev B) - Game Boy *new*

Total: 17

Heavy Barrel is an Ikari Warriors-esque arcade game on the Data East Arcade Classics collection. It's certainly one of those games designed to eat quarters, but is a fun playthrough nonetheless. The interesting gimmick is that as you collect certain powerups you build a the titular weapon, a powerful cannon that can rip through all enemies like butter for the 30 seconds or so that it lasts. Worth checking out for fans of overhead shooters like Ikari, MERCS, Commando, etc.

As with last year, I count Tetris as beaten when I can get the best ending for both Rev A and Rev B. I did both yesterday to the delight of my one and a half year old, who boogied down to the Russian musicians and watched in awe as the spaceship went "bye bye".