Games Beaten 2014

[noiseredux]

Maybe I should get to Borderlands soon... Next year perhaps?

I think you'd like it a lot. You liked PSO, and a lot of Borderlands mechanics feel like PSO combined w/ an FPS.

[prfsnl_gmr]

Maybe I should get to Borderlands soon... Next year perhaps?

Me too...perhaps. Borderlands and, particularly, Borderlands 2 sound like awesome games that I just do not have the time to play.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Maybe I should get to Borderlands soon... Next year perhaps?

I think you'd like it a lot. You liked PSO, and a lot of Borderlands mechanics feel like PSO combined w/ an FPS.

I'll pencil it in for next year.

On a side note, during a long power outage here in Maine I sank some hours into Phantasy Star Zero and didn't like it at all. Think I'm gonna give Phantasy Star Portable a go instead.

[noiseredux]

On a side note, during a long power outage here in Maine I sank some hours into Phantasy Star Zero and didn't like it at all. Think I'm gonna give Phantasy Star Portable a go instead.

Yeah I couldn't get into Zero either sadly.

[BoneSnapDeez]

The graphical style just didn't work. The game is too grainy and the character and enemy sprites are too large. The look of the game reminds me a bit of the DS remakes of FF III & IV - those can get away with it because they're turn-based but PS0 can't as it's an action-RPG. I found it simply too hard to read what was going on and enemies were able to sneak up on me far too easily. The ranged combat also felt sluggish. Dunno if you had the same issues but that's what killed it for me. I really wanted to like it because the core gameplay is so similar to Phantasy Star Online.

I guess you could say PSO is a much better game than PS0 nyuk nyuk nyuk.

[Exhuminator]

If you want to play 3D DS games and have the graphics not look grainy and crappy, try this:

http://abouttake.com/games/playing-nint ... solutions/

[noiseredux]

I'm not adding it to my list, cuz it's stupid to add a demo to my list, but I beat The Talos Principle demo tonight. It's interesting. Kind of a Portal type game with bits of Tetris thrown in. That's what that Sirgil game is basically - practice for the Tetris puzzles. It's interesting and I'll probably end up playing the final game but it's nothing earth-shattering. Was fun testing it maxed out and seeing my FPS average 75FPS. The benchmark is crazy, as you basically watch the devs beat the demo in about 3 mins.

[BoneSnapDeez]

First 100:

1. Bad Dudes vs. DragonNinja (Wii - Data East Arcade Classics)
2. Caveman Ninja (Wii - Data East Arcade Classics)
3. Crude Buster (Wii - Data East Arcade Classics)
4. Heavy Barrel (Wii - Data East Arcade Classics)
5. Secret Agent (Wii - Data East Arcade Classics)
6. Wizard Fire (Wii - Data East Arcade Classics)
7. Super Mario Land (Game Boy)
8. Burning Fight (PlayStation 2 - SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1)
9. Magician Lord (PlayStation 2 - SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1)
10. Metal Slug (PlayStation 2 - SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1)
11. Sengoku (PlayStation 2 - SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1)
12. Top Hunter: Roddy & Cathy (PlayStation 2 - SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1)
13. Metal Slug 4 (PlayStation 2 - Metal Slug 4 & 5)
14. Metal Slug 5 (PlayStation 2 - Metal Slug 4 & 5)
15. Metal Slug XX (PSP)
16. Phantasy Star Online (Dreamcast)
17. Smash TV (PlayStation 2 - Midway Arcade Treasures)
18. Total Carnage (Xbox - Midway Arcade Treasures 2)
19. Skyblazer (SNES)
20. Mega Man II (Game Boy)
21. The Monkey King: The Legend Begins (Wii)
22. Ys (Saturn - Falcom Classics)
23. Super Mario Bros. (SNES - Super Mario All-Stars)
24. Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels (SNES - Super Mario All-Stars)
25. Super Mario Bros. 2 (SNES - Super Mario All-Stars)
26. Super Mario Bros. 3 (SNES - Super Mario All-Stars)
27. Super Mario World (SNES)
28. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (SNES)
29. Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (Game Boy)
30. Mahou Kishi Rayearth (Super Famicom)
31. Magic Knight Rayearth (Saturn)
32. Disney's Aladdin (SNES)
33. Kirby's Dream Land (Wii - Kirby's Dream Collection)
34. Kirby's Adventure (Wii - Kirby's Dream Collection)
35. Kirby's Dream Land 2 (Wii - Kirby's Dream Collection)
36. Kirby Super Star (Wii - Kirby's Dream Collection)
37. Kirby's Dream Land 3 (Wii - Kirby's Dream Collection)
38. Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (Wii - Kirby's Dream Collection)
39. Kirby's Epic Yarn (Wii)
40. New Super Mario Bros. U (Wii U - New Super Mario Bros. U + New Super Luigi U)
41. New Super Luigi U (Wii U - New Super Mario Bros. U + New Super Luigi U)
42. Shock Troopers (PlayStation 2 - SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1)
43. Shadow Blasters (Genesis)
44. Final Fantasy (Game Boy Advance - Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls)
45. Super Mario Advance (Game Boy Advance)
46. Sonic CD (PC)
47. Donkey Kong Country (SNES)
48. Battle Arena Toshinden (Game Boy)
49. Crusader of Centy (Genesis)
50. Joe & Mac (SNES)
51. Ys: The Vanished Omens (Sega Master System)
52. Code of Princess (3DS)
53. Ys (PSP - Ys I & II Chronicles)
54. Ys II (PSP - Ys I & II Chronicles)
55. Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi (PSP - Sega Genesis Collection)
56. Gradius (PSP - Gradius Collection)
57. Shinobi (Xbox 360 - Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection)
58. Otomedius Excellent (Xbox 360)
59. Deathsmiles (Xbox 360)
60. Sonic the Hedgehog (Xbox 360 - Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection)
61. The Lost Vikings (SNES)
62. The Lost Vikings (Genesis)
63. Final Fantasy II (Game Boy Advance - Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls)
64. Final Fight (PSP - Capcom Classics Collection Remixed)
65. Alien Syndrome (PlayStation 2 - Sega Classics Collection)
66. Exile (Genesis)
67. Ristar (Xbox 360 - Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection)
68. Final Fight (Xbox 360 - Capcom Digital Collection)
69. Classic NES Series: Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (Game Boy Advance)
70. Classic NES Series: Metroid (Game Boy Advance)
71. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (Xbox 360 - Konami Classics Vol. 1)
72. Ys (DS - Legacy of Ys: Books I & II)
73. Ys II (DS - Legacy of Ys: Books I & II)
74. New Super Mario Bros. (DS)
75. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (PSP - Sega Genesis Collection)
76. Golden Axe III (PSP - Sega Genesis Collection)
77. Muramasa Rebirth (Vita)
78. Magic Sword (PSP - Capcom Classics Collection Remixed)
79. Mega Twins (PSP - Capcom Classics Collection Remixed)
80. Super Mario 3D Land (3DS)
81. Super Mario Bros. Deluxe (Game Boy Color)
82. Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom (PlayStation 3 - Dungeons & Dragons: Mystara Eiyuu Senki)
83. Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow Over Mystara (PlayStation 3 - Dungeons & Dragons: Mystara Eiyuu Senki)
84. Ys III: Wanderers from Ys (SNES)
85. Ys III: Wanderers from Ys (Genesis)
86. Ys: The Oath in Felghana (PSP)
87. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (Xbox 360 - Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection)
88. Contra (NES)
89. Sonic & Knuckles (Xbox 360 - Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection)
90. New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii)
91. Ys IV: Mask of the Sun (Super Famicom)
92. Ys IV: The Dawn of Ys (PC Engine CD)
93. Ys (Famicom)
94. Ys (Turbo CD - Ys Book I & II)
95. Ys II (Turbo CD - Ys Book I & II)
96. Popful Mail (Sega CD)
97. Dodonpachi Resurrection (Xbox 360)
98. Ys V: Ushinawareta Sunano Miyako Kefin (Super Famicom)
99. Gorf (VIC-20)
100. Gorf (Commodore 64)

101. Vay (Sega CD)
102. Ys Origin (PC)
103. Commando (Xbox - Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 1)
104. Mercs (Xbox - Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 1)
105. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (Game Boy)
106. SonSon (PSP - Capcom Classics Collection Reloaded)
107. The King of Dragons (PSP - Capcom Classics Collection Reloaded)
108. Knights of the Round (PSP - Capcom Classics Collection Reloaded)
109. Eco Fighters (PSP - Capcom Classics Collection Reloaded)
110. Forgotten Worlds (PSP - Capcom Classics Collection Remixed)

I've been lazy updating. Playing catch-up now.

Commando and its sequel, Mercs, are two excellent top-down run 'n' gun arcade games by Capcom. As expected, both follow the story of a lone Rambo-esque soldier as he attempts to save the world. Mercs is the vastly superior entry as it features more power-ups, improved graphics, and actual bosses instead of just a huge onslaught of normal bad guys at the end of each stage. It's also an easier game too, mainly because bombs are so much more effective. Somewhat paradoxically though, Commando is the only one I can finish on one credit, though that has more to do with how damn short it is.

For the record, I tried to round out the trilogy but Commando 3 is one of those 1cc-or-gtfo games. I can only manage to get about halfway through it. With some further practice it will hopefully appear on next year's list.

Link's Awakening is phenomenal. It's like an amalgamation of the best qualities of the original Zelda and Link to the Past. It features beautiful LttP style graphics while maintaining the old-school screen-scrolling navigation of the original game, which makes it very easy to navigate and map the world/dungeons. The OST is very memorable and the game has this quaint "sad" nostalgic vibe similar to Mother or EathBound. I love it.

Next I had an arcade/PSP Capcom marathon during a power outage. I avoided listing anything that was egregiously credit-fed.

SonSon is a very rudimentary platformer with a constantly scrolling screen. Controls are a little stiff, but it's a nice distraction and only takes like 20 minutes to complete.

Beat 'em ups aren't really my thing, but The King of Dragons and Knights of the Round are decent. Although both are greatly overshadowed by the vastly superior D&D games that followed a couple of years later. Of the two I'd say I prefer Dragons a bit more as it features a copious amount of fantasy monsters, while Knights is all about fighting other humans. Neither game seems to have playable female characters, which is a bummer.

Eco Fighters, a cute 'em up (I guess?) with an environmental theme, is the most fun I've had with a shmup in a long time. The gimmick here is that you can rotate your gun with the L and R buttons. Additionally, at the end of your gun is a large "ball" that can damage enemies and be shot off as a more powerful projectile. The challenge is well-balanced, the stages are colorful and fun, and I dig the game's plot despite (or maybe because of) it's inherent silliness.

Forgotten Worlds makes me think of a shmup version of Total Carnage. It's stupidly difficult and you play as a rugged shirtless dude. Like Eco Fighters, your gun can rotate. Upgrading weapons is done by collecting money dropped by defeated enemies and then visiting shops that pop up. I think the "trick" to this game is knowing which weapons to buy and when. During one playthrough I screwed myself by attempting to save money for the super-duper weapon as opposed to buying the next upgrade I could afford. I ended up hitting a point where I could barely damage enemies.

Fun game, but hard as balls. Surprised to see it has many console and computer ports. May check some of those out.

[dunpeal2064]

Forgotten Worlds is sick. Random fun fact, if you play the Genesis version, the game switches to a harder difficulty if you use a 6-button controller.

If you like that style (rotating-ish shmup?), I think you'd dig Trouble Shooter/Battlemania Bone. It has this cool, 80s anime vibe, dirty pair-esk heroines, and its made by Vic Tokai.

[BoneSnapDeez]

I have Trouble Shooter! Awesome game. Don't think I've completed it though. From what I recall the difficulty seemed wildly inconsistent. Like, I always found the second stage to be the hardest.