Games Beaten 2014

[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)
1/30: Metroid II: The Return of Samus (GB)
2/8: Metroid Zero Mission (GBA)
2/23: Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (WiiU)
3/9: Megaman Zero (DS)
3/14: Megaman Battle Network (GBA)

So I finally sat down and beat a Battle Network game. I've given this series a lot of grief over the last ten years. I have blamed it for the demise of the Megaman franchise and the inspiration for Capcom's money-grabbing ways. Both those sentiments still stand.

However, there is a decent game to be had beneath the inappropriate use of the Megaman moniker. I really enjoyed the strategy necessary to play the game through without grinding and the story line was kinda enjoyable. I have some serious concerns about the parents of the protagonist Lan - without spoiling anything, I'd like to say that I can easily point out at least three things they do that screams child abuse.

All in all, it was an okay game. Okay enough that I finished it and will probably give the sequel a shot once my random encounter fatigue has worn off.

[GSZX1337]

Thanks for giving me an idea of what to play tomorrow morning. I adore Bionic Commando. The music...

I thought the music was great compositionally, but the percussion started to get on my nerves. Sounded quite staticy.

the spot on controls

The controls were quite good, though for me they took a bit to get used to. Kept on hitting the A button to release during the swing.

Hitler's exploding face,

Yes.

the level designs and atmospheres,

The level designs pissed me off at times, but once I figured out what the designers were doing, I dug them a bit more. The atmospheres were good as well.

and also the "mini game" of commando thrown in to gain continues.

I liked them -- at first. They got pretty boring after a while. Either an increase in difficulty or a bit more variation would've help a lot.

It's also one of the first action games I remember that had a level up system. Strider has that too, but off hand I'm not sure which one was released first.

In the case for both the Arcade and NES games Bionic Commando came first.

My two complaints are that I didn't like were the boss fights and the weapons.

The boss fights were pretty boring as they were too easy. Even the Albatross didn't pose much threat -- I was able to beat it on my first attempt. The enemy rushes are easily negotiated and the *cyborgs just result in a lame pattern of: mount platform, fire weapon, step off, repeat. That "Pi pi pi" robot was absolutely pathetic as I never even received damage from it.

*When I played through the game, I thought these cyborgs were invincible so I never fought them head on.

My problem with the weapons is that when you get the rocket launcher, there's not much reason to use anything else. I only used the wide cannon and the 3-way cannon once each and I only used Super Joe's machine gun for shits and giggles. I got a bit bored with just the rocket launcher. What's more is that the weapons don't differ much in the overhead stages. Again, there's not much point in using anything other than the rocket launcher.

[Luke]

^ I agree with all of your points and comments.

When I first played it, it was when it was first released, so it was a bit ground breaking at the time. If I just picked it up out of the blue, say today, I would enjoy it, but would place it among all the other platformers on the NES, but with a swing arm.

But I do still love that game.

[prfsnl_gmr]

When I first played it, it was when it was first released, so it was a bit ground breaking at the time. If I just picked it up out of the blue, say today, I would enjoy it, but would place it among all the other platformers on the NES, but with a swing arm.

I don't know...IMO, it is still a pretty amazing game. I love the game's mechanics, and there still are not many other platformers without a jump button.

(I adore Bionic Commando, BTW. It is one of my very favorite NES games.)

[BoneSnapDeez]

I tried the arcade version of Bionic Commando (on a PSP compilation) the other day and was confused as hell. Why the hell am I in a forest?! Never knew it was different from the NES version.

[prfsnl_gmr]

I tried the arcade version of Bionic Commando (on a PSP compilation) the other day and was confused as hell. Why the hell am I in a forest?! Never knew it was different from the NES version.

Very different and much, much worse. I tend to avoid the arcade version because the NES version is so much better.

Also, the GB sequels are not bad, and I have read good things about the recent Bionic Commando games.

[Luke]

I tried the arcade version of Bionic Commando (on a PSP compilation) the other day and was confused as hell. Why the hell am I in a forest?! Never knew it was different from the NES version.

Very different and much, much worse. I tend to avoid the arcade version because the NES version is so much better.

Also, the GB sequels are not bad, and I have read good things about the recent Bionic Commando games.

Bionic Commando Rearmed is excellent.

[GSZX1337]

When I first played it, it was when it was first released, so it was a bit ground breaking at the time.

I actually thought about that while I played. Having the map screen, the overhead stages, the sidescrolling stages, and the neutral areas in a NES game is very impressive. I guess after playing Mega Man, Bionic Commando would be mind blowing with its various innovations. I also thought the neutral areas made it feel a bit modern as whenever you fire in one, you're assailed by enemies. It brought to mind games like S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and Deus Ex.

[Sload Soap]

@Sload: Enemy Unknown really is amazing. One of my favorite games of the 360/PS3 generation. And to my knowledge, the first game I ever hit 100 logged hours on. Any plans to give Enemy Within a go now?

Also... I hated Soul Calibur V. I hated the replacement characters. I hated the stupid Story Mode. I just thought it was bad. I didn't even hang on to it long enough to play online, so who knows - maybe the 2P Vs stuff is good, but to be honest I enjoyed SCIV for online, so didn't really see a need to hang onto V.

I'll definitely be tracking down Enemy Within. It seems to be hovering around it's release price at the moment, which is a issue. I'm sure I'll snag a copy of ebay one day though.

I have a renewed appreciation for SCIV now, but honestly I'll just be sticking to Soul Calibur's 1-3 and Soul Blade. I really think Namco need to take good hard look at where Soul Calibur is going. There's no refinement from entry to entry anymore. You get more characters but fewer modes.

[BogusMeatFactory]

1. We Love Katamari (PS2)
2. Major Minor's Majestic Marching Band (Wii)
3. Mario and Luigi: Dream Team (3DS)
4. Petz: Wildlife Rescue (Wii) (Don't Ask)
5. Flow (PS3)
6. Journey (PS3)
7. Shenmue (DC) (5th completion)
8. Ben There, Dan That (PC)
9. Serena (PC)
10. Graffiti Kingdom (PS2)
11. Bushido Blade (PS1)
12. Super Bomberman (SNES)
13. Metal Gear Solid (PS1)
14. Way of the Samurai (PS2)
15. Legend of Zelda: Links Awakening DX (GBC)
16. Donkey Kong Country (SNES)
17. Dust: An Elysian Tail (PC)
18. Chrono Trigger (SNES)
19. Super Mario 3D World (Wii U)
20. Sonic Adventure DX (GCN) (3rd Completion)
21. Burning Rangers (Saturn) (4th Completion)(Beaten Twice This Year)

Just recently beat Sonic Adventure DX and Burning Rangers on my stream and here are my thoughts.

Sonic Adventure DX

Having beaten Sonic Adventure a few times before in my youth, I wanted to revisit the game to see if it had stood the test of time as a fun game. With the horrible controls, terrible camera, an almost infinite number of glitches and a plethora of characters and game modes that just plain stink (I'm looking at you, Big!), Sonic Adventure still has some strange level of charm and fun. I can't describe it very well as there should be no reason to enjoy the game, but when you get into the groove of things, it just feels very fulfilling.

To be blunt, the game is still bad, but I can't help but enjoy it and I really don't think nostalgia has anything to do with it. There is an unspeakable appeal to the game.

Burning Rangers

So I beat the game twice, doing both Sho and Tillis' campaign, which may seem like an achievement, but the game is really only about 2 hours long to beat for each campaign. Although the game is incredibly short, there is a lot of love for the game for all the right reasons. Sonic Team took the idea of firefighting and was able to make a competent 3D game on a system that wasn't really built for it. Not only that, they made the game flow pretty fluidly, with controls that initially were frustrating, once you got used to them you could really put on a show.

The voice acting is mediocre and the plot even more so, with the four missions having almost no relationship to each other. The last level is where things fall apart, having no citizens to save and a huge reliance on platforming that falls a bit flat thanks to the way they animated the characters and how they move.

What makes the game fun is the little things. The levels have a sort of time limit as you struggle to contain fires, if you let them rage out of control it is game over so you have to constantly press forward trying to put out the flames, all the while trying to explore the levels to rescue trapped citizens in this futuristic world. Each citizen has a profile and history, as well as emails they send to you with thanks for rescuing them.

It is just a great game that was way ahead of its time and it is a shame that there was no sequel or at least an HD remake.