Games Beaten 2013

[BurningDoom]

15. Ducktales (NES)

Another NES game I had never played before, and I was quite surprised by it. This is a really top-notch little platformer I'm a sucker for cool secrets, and this game is chalk-full of them. Although the game isn't difficult per-se, I didn't find it a cakewalk like Rescue Rangers. The music in this one is just awesome. I especialy enjoyed the cave level's tunes. Overall, I really enjoyed the game. So, now that that is out of the way, here are some gripes I had that didn't take away from the awesomeness, but are fun to poke at.

-Why do I have to push Down AND B to pull out my cane, and hold both until I hit the ground? B does nothing while you are in-air, and mapping it to B would allow easier left-to-right movement while pulling out the cane. At least 90% of my deaths were due to this.

-Why is the boss in Transylvania so much harder than anything else in the game? The stage is listed 2nd! Sure, you can choose your order, but you can't save Transylvania until last, as you need to clear it before going into the (much easier) caves.

-Speaking of Transylvania, why do they make me go back here so many times? Going back to get the key was slightly silly, as if you are doing the stages in order, you just came from here... but then they make it the final stage too? I don't have to revisit any other level, not even once, but I have to come back here twice? Were they just really proud of this stage, to the extend that they didn't even feel the need to program a final stage?

All that silliness aside, this is a great game that I am quite likely to re-visit.

One of my all-time favorites. Not counting the Super Mario Bros. games, I think it's the best pure platformer on the NES.

9. Panzer Dragoon Orta (Xbox) - 2/23/2013
10. Panzer Dragoon (Xbox Port)[/b]

Panzer Dragoon Orta was quite amazing. I first played through it on Normal, then kept getting my rear end handed to me on the final boss. Seriously unforgiving third stage of the final boss. I ended up going back through on Easy, which was honestly five times easier. I think I'll go back on Normal though, and knock it out, unless I get frustrated from lack of success. This might be my favorite rail shooter of all time, more than Space Harrier. Smooth framerate at all times, and better graphics than some of this current gen's offerings. 9.5/10

Panzer Dragoon is an unlockable on Panzer Dragoon Orta. I feel satisfied that I paid 9 bucks for Orta, because it came with this gem. I have always wanted to play this first Panzer Dragoon, and it didn't let me down. It certainly looks dated, but the gameplay feels just as smooth as Orta, so it balances out. It's compelling me to check out the other games in the series, though its doubtful I'm going to find Saga anywhere. I certainly missed out on this awesome series, what's wrong with me!?

Panzer Dragoon: Orta is one of the best games on the Xbox and one of the best games I have ever played, period. It is breathtakingly beautiful and the music is superb and complements the visual beauty perfectly. It's a truly a piece of video game art.

Just like you, I played Orta before playing the original, and felt the same. Despite the aged graphics, it was a fantastic game and a perfect complement to Orta. I liked it so much I bought an original copy for my Saturn.

I've heard that Panzer Dragoon: Zwei is the pinnacle of the series (not counting the spinoff PD: Saga here) from fans, but I haven't played it yet. I've been on the lookout for it, but recently saw that the value of it has shot up a bit.

[BurningDoom]

Just finished the SNES version of Chrono Trigger via Wii Virtual Console. Pretty awesome JRPG involving time-travel.

Now I need to track down Chrono Cross on PS1.

[MrHealthy]

I was one that wasn't too into the second game. They really overblew it with Isaac's character, brought no new enemy types to the table (that I remember), and the environments weren't great.

There were quite a few new enemy types. Spitters (a variant of the standard slasher), pukers, the pack (small children), crawlers (expolsive babies), tripods (giant necros with 3 legs made up for at least 5-6 people), and my favourite, stalkers.

[Luke]

15. Ducktales (NES)

-Speaking of Transylvania, why do they make me go back here so many times?

The ending you get depends on how much money you gather and how many hidden treasures you find. The only way to really rack up the money is to play levels multiple times.

[alienjesus]

I've heard that Panzer Dragoon: Zwei is the pinnacle of the series (not counting the spinoff PD: Saga here) from fans, but I haven't played it yet. I've been on the lookout for it, but recently saw that the value of it has shot up a bit.

Before playing it, I had heard the same, but having played all 3 of the shooting games in the series, I'd have to say it's easily the weakest. It has some nice ideas like an evolving dragon or split paths, but both were done better in Orta. It's also really lacking in difficulty compared to Orta, and especially the Original - the levels often seem a bit barren of enemies, it's kinda odd. It's still a decent game, but I'll never understand why it's considered the best.

[REPO Man]

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (360) - Main Game.

Gonna tackle the Richter Mode next.

[dunpeal2064]

15. Ducktales (NES)

-Speaking of Transylvania, why do they make me go back here so many times?

The ending you get depends on how much money you gather and how many hidden treasures you find. The only way to really rack up the money is to play levels multiple times.

Hot damn! I had no idea. I did come across one of the hidden treasures, but thought it was just a boost in money, and that money was just a sort of score. I'll have to go see what I can find.

[Luke]

Hot damn! I had no idea. I did come across one of the hidden treasures, but thought it was just a boost in money, and that money was just a sort of score. I'll have to go see what I can find.

You should double check what you need for the "best ending". I'm almost certain the gameboy and nes versions have the same requirements, but I could be wrong.

The "best ending" may not be worth all the extra effort for everyone, but I for one like seeing a "best ending".

[alienjesus]

Hot damn! I had no idea. I did come across one of the hidden treasures, but thought it was just a boost in money, and that money was just a sort of score. I'll have to go see what I can find.

You should double check what you need for the "best ending". I'm almost certain the gameboy and nes versions have the same requirements, but I could be wrong.

The "best ending" may not be worth all the extra effort for everyone, but I for one like seeing a "best ending".

Pretty sure it's $10,000,000 for the 'better' ending.

I've heard there's a secret ending for beating the game with $0 too.

[noiseredux]

1. NHL '94 (SCD)
2. Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo (Sat)
3. Bust-A-Move Pocket (NGPC)
4. Sonic The Hedgehog (DC)
5. Columns (DC)

at what point would y'all consider Columns "beaten"? Obviously the arcade mode is just a marathon, but there's Flash Mode -- similar to Tetris' B-Type where you must get rid of all the junk on the screen and take out one shining jewel at the bottom of the screen. The default level is Novice (there's Novice, Amateur and Pro) and the default height is 2 (out of 2-9). I've beaten the default Amateur on height 9, so feel pretty good about my improved skills. But is that beaten? Cuz honestly, playing Pro-9 is absolutely ridiculous. Like I honestly have rounds where I'm lucky to last a full minute (that's what she said). Do you feel like it's not beaten unless you beat it on the hardest settings possible? Or is that just mastery, and beating it is just beating it on default?

EDIT: Y'know what? Fuck that. I've always kind of used the default setting as the way to consider a game beaten. And actually Novice is default... And in the case, I did so on the Amateur difficulty and on the hardest heightso yeah. Beat. Good. I like Columns quite a bit. But it's mostly nostalgia. It came bundled with my Sega CD back in the day and I played it a lot. It's not a perfect puzzle game by any means, but it's fun enough. I think the problem is the speed ramps so dramatically in just a few levels that it's hard to really marathon it like you can Tetris. But eh, good music and a decent enough concept. Truth be told, I've clocked a fair share of hours in the past week because really arcade style puzzle games can be a great way to lose time.