Games Beaten 2014

[Wispmage]

"Today is the day I beat Bioshock Infinite", and I will do so. Today isn't that day.

Not trying to bully you into finishing it by any means, but I will say that the longer you wait to go back and finish it (which would probably take all of a half an hour), the less meaningful the ending will be.

[BoneSnapDeez]

6) Golden Axe PS2

On Sega Classics Collection?

I tried to take this one down late last night and just couldn't do it... Got bored and moved onto something else. Seems twice as long as regular Golden Axe? Do you remember how many levels there are?

[Flake]

1/12: Kirby's Adventure (NES)
1/20: Injustice: Gods Among US (WiiU)
1/25: Super Mario 3D World (WiiU)
1/29: Metroid Fusion (GBA)

This is my umpteenth time completing Metroid Fusion. It's just one of those games that I get the itch to play at least once a year. No matter how many times I play it, I'm still struck by how well done the game is. It doesn't hold your hand too much, there is great variety in bosses and environments, and the story is exceptionally good considering there are only three characters of note in the game and one of them never speaks. For a decade old Gameboy Advance game, the graphics and sounds have aged remarkably well. I think my only complaint is that Nintendo has never followed up on the plot - the game is a bit of a cliff hanger and it currently stands as the last story in Metroid canon.

[BoneSnapDeez]

I have the original Metroid, Zero Mission, and Fusion all for GBA. Been thinking about playing them back-to-back.

[alienjesus]

I have the original Metroid, Zero Mission, and Fusion all for GBA. Been thinking about playing them back-to-back.

Need more Metroid II.

[BurningDoom]

I have the original Metroid, Zero Mission, and Fusion all for GBA. Been thinking about playing them back-to-back.

Fusion and Zero Mission are two of the finest games ever made, IMO. Not quite as good as Super Metroid, but pretty close to it.

[Valkyrie-Favor]

Lately I've been playing PC and handheld games because there was some flooding in my room, my family's TVs are awful, and the PVM I ordered was dead on arrival. All those nice console games will have to wait.

Games beaten 2014:

Bust A Move: Universe (3DS)
Recommended: No.

An American-made Bust A Move, somehow. It turned out pretty well - I like the simplified rules since they allowed a greater focus on puzzle design. Or should have. I beat all the maps in an hour or so, and any challenge is in getting high scores. Lame soundtrack, low difficulty, very short compared to other Bust A Move games.

Hotline Miami (PSV)
Recommended: Yes

Everything about this game was fun. I enjoyed every mission. Controls were interesting on PSV, I wonder how lock-on worked for the PS3 version.

Text: A Summer Story (PC)
Recommended: Yes

Freeware visual novel for PC. You can see everything in about half an hour - a promising ghost story devolves into nonsense. I must praise the cell phone mechanic - your decisions influence whether or not your phone gets charged, and the characters' actions change based on what the protagonist knows.

Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (Game Boy)
Recommended: Yes

Lots of inventive ideas in this game and mind-blowing for the Game Boy hardware. Looks and sounds great on my Game Boy Pocket. The main draw is the surreal levels, which range from "outer space" to "giant lego castle." I beat it in one sitting without dying, so it's easy to recommend to those short on time.

Shinobi (3DS)
Recommended: Yes

It's like Shinobi III, Ninja Gaiden II, and Shadow of the Ninja stumbled into a darkened room during a crazy party at The Legend of Kage's house, and nine months later one of them gave birth to the best 2D ninja game in a decade.

I beat it on Hard mode and plan to play Very Hard soon. This game is a whole lot of fun and one of the top 3 games on 3DS, next to Fire Emblem and Kokuga. It's about an hour long if you don't die. You might get tired of playing the first 9 levels only to get killed by Orn, but it should only take a few tries. It was a fun challenge, but anyone should be able to win if they focus.

Senran Kagura: Skirting Shadows (3DS)
Recommended: Righteous Boobage

When I beat the game, I got these messages:
"You have unlocked a new outfit for the Hanzo Acadamy dressing room!
You have unlocked microphone mode for the Hanzo Academy dressing room! Try blowing in the Nintendo 3DS Microphone while trying on outfits!
You have unlocked Adjustable Camera mode for Costume Destruction scenes! Move the circle pad while your character's costume is being damaged to see...what?"

Skirting Shadows is a lame game with some awesome features. The cel shading and animation are great - and I'm not just talking about the breasts. The 3D work is the best I've ever seen. The music is alright, and I really liked the insert songs. The voice acting was fun, the characters were cute, each of the girls' unique play styles was fun to master.

I can't pick a favorite - just that Asuka is the least awesome. Ikaruga the kendoka, Katsune the fist fighter, and Yagyu (who fights with an umbrella that shoots fireballs) were all pretty fun at first.

Problem is the difficulty - there is none. Knock your enemies into the air, juggle them, crash into the ground, and repeat. I died only once - and that was when the last boss did his unexpected tail attack. The really sad thing is, if only the enemies were smarter. it could have been an awesome game.

You're either fighting one strong enemy or dozens of smaller ones. These attack infrequently but when they do, they're powerful. That doesn't matter though; there's health-restoring milk and free EXP hidden in crates. You get full health and ninja magic when you level up. It seems Marvelous wanted nothing to get between the player and his 3D breasts. The target audience - besides otaku - is 13 year old boys.

If only the crowds would take the initiative and try to surround you and pin you down, it could have been the most thought-provoking beat-em-up of all time. Group tactics vs. one powerful ninja. As it is, you can use the same move on them 50 times in a row.

Those visual novel sections were annoying too. The plot made no sense and it was really dumb thematically. Nothing to be said for them. They put a little more effort into the title. How clever.

It was pretty and novel. Can't say I regret the few hours I put into it, but I'm a bit worried about the $30. Should have bought a better game, or a creepy anime doll. Or kept it in the bank.

I'll recommend it as entertainment, but not as a video game.

Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Recommended: Yes

For a while it's the best VN released officially in English. Very stylish, some very fun murder mysteries (plus some duds). Very strong main characters and some cool side characters too. About 50% of the game's strength comes from Kyoko Kirigiri, who anime fans will be talking about 20 years from now. Mark my words. But the ending DAMN IT WHAT THE HELL.

[BoneSnapDeez]

I have the original Metroid, Zero Mission, and Fusion all for GBA. Been thinking about playing them back-to-back.

Need more Metroid II.

I lost it.

@Valkyrie-Favor
Senran Kagura looks..... ummmmm...... interesting. I didn't know it was ever localized. Digital-only I'm guessing?

[ExedExes]

Fusion and Zero Mission are two of the finest games ever made, IMO. Not quite as good as Super Metroid, but pretty close to it.

I've got them on my want list for GBA, if only because they *look* like Super Metroid. I bet they play just as well.

[o.pwuaioc]

Fusion and Zero Mission are two of the finest games ever made, IMO. Not quite as good as Super Metroid, but pretty close to it.

I've got them on my want list for GBA, if only because they *look* like Super Metroid. I bet they play just as well.

Sadly, no. Fusion has all the atmosphere of Super Metroid with absolutely none of the free roaming experience. It's strictly linear and quite boring, though I'm in the minority. Zero Mission is the original Metroid beefed a bit to be more like Super Metroid. It's a great game, though I'll always have the original in my heart.