Summer Game Challenge 2013 - Begin when ready!

[noiseredux]

pie, I've had Grandia II in my pile of "I should play this soon" for a while. How'd you feel about that one?

[alienjesus]

Although the Summer Challenge is over as far as my definitions are concerned, I thought I'd just post that I finally finished Metal Gear Solid and I posted my thoughts about it over in the Games Beaten 2013 thread. Needless to say, I thought it was pretty great, and if I had finished it during my Summer Challenge, it'd have been up there with Earthbound and Diddy Kong Racing as one of the better games I'd played.

[pierrot]

90 hours? Did you do all the side missions and go to max level or something? Grandia should only be half that length.

Yeah, I have two tendencies with these kinds of lengthy RPGs that I forgot to mention: 1) I tend to leave them idle while I break for, say, football viewing, or something, which probably accounted for ten of those 90 hours; 2) I don't know why, but I usually just take longer than normal to work through things. I take my time, and work through things methodically. Generally it takes me about 20% more time than the average person in doing things; probably out of a fear of making mistakes.

I didn't max out any levels, but I did go through the three bonus dungeons.

pie, I've had Grandia II in my pile of "I should play this soon" for a while. How'd you feel about that one?

I like the sequel a lot, but I have to qualify that by saying that it's been over a decade since I last played it, and that was the only time I've played it. I was a much younger person then, but I remember having an extreme desire for a sequel after beating it. (I've not played Grandia III, though.) I'd have to replay it to really know exactly how I feel about it, but it's good. I would ultimately put games like Skies of Arcadia and Elemental Gimmick Gear ahead of it in terms of games in the same genre on the console, I think. If they're also in that pile, I would recommend them over Grandia II.

I do remember that the story in G II works on demonizing organized religion, and while that was a story mechanic I enjoyed in high school, I think it's a bit lazy and antagonistic these days. If that's not a deal breaker, I'd recommend giving it a shot at some point.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Is the Digital Museum worth playing at all?

[pierrot]

Yeah, I think it probably is. There are new four dungeons to go through in order to collect a bunch of items that fill up some digital library sections like: concept illustrations, character portraits, enemy info, mini games, original drama tracks. There's also the collection of save files available immediately, which allow for revisiting certain scenes (and a few secrets) from the original game.

There seems to be a tiny bit of story, though I think it's almost entirely irrelevant to the original story. A lot of the supporting cast makes appearances in the museum, which gives some small resolution to a couple things.

I was thinking of playing through it soon, since it seems like it really wouldn't take very long to complete. It's first and foremost a fan-disc, but there's a bit of playability to it (new equipment, as well) that make it seem worth playing through to unlock all the content.


Edit: Apparently the saves aren't actually available from the beginning. There are four 'cartridge slot' items that unlock them.

[prfsnl_gmr]

Goodbye Summer 2013...Here is my final post...

1. Hotel Dusk: Room 215 (DS)
2. Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land (GB)
3. Wario Land 4 (GBA)
4. Wario Land 2 (GBC)
5. Wario Land 3 (GBC)
6. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door (GC)
7. Nectaris: Military Madness (PS1)
8. Return Fire (PS1 port)
9. Decathlete (SS)
10 Guardian Heroes (SS)

I wrapped up Wario Land 4 - and my summer gaming challenge - yesterday. Although I revised my list a bit throughout the summer, I made a good dent in it, and I really had to push myself through a couple of games (Hotel Dusk and Paper Mario). I also had a really, really good time playing through most of the Wario Land series, a series with which I had absolutely no experience before this year's challenge. Based on my experiences this year, I will definitely: (1) play through the remaining games in the Wario Land series (i.e., Wario Land (VB) and Wario Land: Shake It! (Wii)); (2) play through Wario: Master of Disguise (DS) and Wario World (GC) for the hell of it; and (3) place every game in another classic series on my summer gaming challenge list next year.

I will also keep trying to push through - or start - the other games on my list. I have been messing around with Nectaris and Return Fire for years, but I just cannot will myself to push through either of them despite their placement on my summer gaming challenge list for two consecutive years. Likewise, I have been meaning to make a serious attempt at both Decathlete and Guardian Heroes, but I just have not willed myself to do it yet. (The fact that I picked up a PS3 recently probably will not help me with my goals either...3D Dot Game Heroes (PS3) is beckoning me to play it the second I polish off Pandora's Tower (Wii)...)

That said...I thoroughly enjoyed this year's challenge, and I really enjoyed reading about the games that other members placed on their lists. (In particular, I enjoyed reading other member's impressions of classic games that they were playing for the first time.) I think that the summer gaming challenge is a great forum tradition, and I am very much looking forward to next year's event.

[Retrogamer0001]

Almost time to start thinking about Summer Game Challenge 2014...and yes, I'm excited!

[alienjesus]

Almost time to start thinking about Summer Game Challenge 2014...and yes, I'm excited!

Haha, and I thought I was jumping the gun when I set this thread up in May last year.

*has secretly been thinking about games for his summer list since september*

[Retrogamer0001]

Almost time to start thinking about Summer Game Challenge 2014...and yes, I'm excited!

Haha, and I thought I was jumping the gun when I set this thread up in May last year.

*has secretly been thinking about games for his summer list since september*

I had quite a bit of fun with this last year so I'm looking forward to another go-around. I think May is a great time to start, especially for those of us who are procrastinators, like myself. Ocarina of Time and Final Fantasy VII are definitely on my list for this summer.

[BogusMeatFactory]

Almost time to start thinking about Summer Game Challenge 2014...and yes, I'm excited!

Haha, and I thought I was jumping the gun when I set this thread up in May last year.

*has secretly been thinking about games for his summer list since september*

I was gonna say....you are not the only one. I don't mind starting in may, because I have some Japanese RPGs on the list that I need to get through desperately. What is worse is that, the list I had last year....is pretty much the list for this year. Curse my procrastination!