Games Beaten 2014

[Stark]

#7 Rain for PS3

Decent little game, short. Nothing major invented here, not even really challenging. At times the game was difficult due to not being able to see your character. Gameplay was simple, as well as the puzzles and platforming. Best lest when you need an easy diversion in your gaming.

Story?

[wclem]

#7 Rain for PS3

Decent little game, short. Nothing major invented here, not even really challenging. At times the game was difficult due to not being able to see your character. Gameplay was simple, as well as the puzzles and platforming. Best lest when you need an easy diversion in your gaming.

Story?

Your basic hero saves girl in peril. Kind of a generic happy ending. I try not to reveal stories as I do not want to spoil it for anyone. Story was best said a "nice little story which breaks no new ground". Maybe even give ya a little toothache LOL.

[Hazerd]

TwitchPlaysPokemon is about the finish the game in another 5 minutes, they are fighting Red's Rival right now.

[Luke]

1) Kung Fu NES
2) Altered Beast Genesis
3) Golden Axe Genesis
4) Golden Axe GBA
5) Golden Axe Dreamcast
6) Golden Axe PS2
7) Golden Axe Sega CD
Golden Axe 360
9) Ninja Gaiden xbox
10) Ninja Gaiden NES
11) Cool Spot Genesis
12) The Duel Genesis
13) Pit Fighter Genesis
14) Hard Drvin' Genesis
15) Death Duel Genesis
16) Sonic The Hedgehog Genesis
17) Mutant League Football Genesis
18) TMNT Hyperstone Heist Genesis
19) Streets of Rage Sega CD
20) Streets of Rage 2 Genesis
21) Golden Axe 2 Genesis
22) Sewer Shark Sega CD
23) Chiki Chiki Boys Genesis
24) Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Genesis
25) Mega Man 2 NES
26) Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! NES
27) TMNT Fall of the Footclan Gameboy
28) TMNT Something Sewers Gameboy
29) Punch-Out!! Wii
30) TMNT Hyperstone Heist Genesis *new*

co-op with a good friend o' mine. Normal difficulty, 5 lives and continues.

Really in the mood to play the original arcade game which I have on a few platforms (I think). Does the arcade game you unlock in Battle Nexus include the original music?

[Damm64]

1-Metroid Confrontation
2-Red Dead Redemption
3-Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare
4- Bayonetta (PS3)
5- Doom 1 (Ps3) (BFG Edition)
6- The Last of Us (Ps3)
7- Condemned 2: Bloodshot (PS3)

8- Resident Evil: Revelations (Ps3) *New*

Well this was a enjoyable game, after the bas taste of resident evil 6 this was a breath of fresh air. It dosen't go 100% back to old school but it does a lot of good things. The first is the atmosphere of the game and you're alone almost all the time... sometimes you're with a AI partner but the AI is almost non existent that you won't notice them. Th game goes back and forth betwen controlling Jill inside a ship and flashbacks of moments that happened before with other characters... these are the weak part of the game since there's a section where you only face hunters and they're really weak and kind of break the flow of the game. Gunplay is the same as other games, maybe you feel less kick from some weapons but is mostly the same, the upgrade system has been changed; instead of expending money to tweak the stats of the gun you find several upgrade's for your weapons and each one has a limited amount of slots avaible for such upgrade's. I like this system since most of the good stuff is hidden in the ship and reward's the exploration and rememberin "where was that weird door".

The genesis scanner is kind f a hit or miss, is cool to find extra ammo and get healing items from it but besides that there's nothing else to do with it... but that didn't stop to scan EVERYTHING like a maniac (even the final boss).

The HD port in general is average since alot of the textures are blurry and the models lack any lipsincking what so ever. But this didn't distract me from the game in general but they could have done a bit more on this.

In general i totally recomend this game, is a step in the right direction for resident evil games, and capcom should take note on that.

[Ack]

1. Blood II: The Nightmare Levels (PC)(FPS)
2. Metal Slug (MVS)(Run and Gun)
3. Clive Barker's Undying (PC)(FPS)
4. Judge Dredd: Dredd Vs. Death (PC)(FPS)
5. Lagoon (SNES)(RPG)
6. Tin Star (SNES)(Light Gun)
7. Cacoma Knight in Bizyland (SNES)(Puzzle)
8. World Heroes (MVS)(Fighting)
9. Mario's Early Years: Preschool Fun (SNES)(Edutainment)
10. Rival Turf! (SNES)(Beat 'Em Up)
11. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (Genesis)(Fighting)
12. SNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium (NGPC)(Fighting)
13. Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen (SNES)(RPG)
14. Super Turrican 2 (SNES)(Run and Gun)
15. Brain Lord (SNES)(RPG)
16. Live A Live (SNES)(RPG)

I finally sat down and finished Live A Live, one of the Super Famicom's many RPG offerings that didn't ever see a stateside release. It's a wonderful mixture of game and story genres mixed together, offering 8 different storylines that fuse into a single entity at the end in a way never quite revealed. 7 characters in different times deal with various trials and styles, followed by the 8th in a much more traditional RPG story setting, and then suddenly the original 7 are trapped in the 8th's empty world and forced to confront him.

Each of the 8 stories offers slightly different mechanics for interaction with the game's set pieces, such as Oboro's stealth aspects, Sunset's finding and setting booby traps while under a time limit, or even Pogo's sniffing the air to track prey. Masaru and Cube have perhaps the most jarring, as Masaru's level is presented as a fighting game within LAL's combat system, and Cube's level has almost no combat at all and instead operates as a graphic adventure. Each one encounters a unique version of Demon King Odio, the ultimate villain and absolute incarnation of human hatred.

Combat is a major element to LAL, and the combat system is unique. All fights are handled on a grid, with player attacks affecting certain locations on that grid. The player can move characters around or have them initiate actions, use items, or pass their turn, but all of these movements take up time and offer a chance for the enemy to perform an action or move. Attacks and abilities are dependent on different body parts and some have a required preparation time which may result in the enemy simply moving out of the way before an attack commences. Generally player attacks are not based on character facing, though enemy attacks often are(and some attacks can cause players or enemies to turn around or otherwise change their facing). Attacks and abilities can also cause fluctuations in both the attacker's and defender's stats, and some abilities may be far more useful for their stat changes than for their damage or restorative abilities.

Certain characters also gain abilities in different ways, such as Cube equipping accessories to enable new types of attacks or Masaru needing to be hit by them, though most abilities are unlocked by characters gaining levels(again with the exception of Cube, who does not gain levels and instead relies on items). As there is no system for expendable resources governing abilities, they can be used infinitely, as long as the character and enemy are still alive. Characters can be reduced to 0 hit points and brought back immediately with any sort of healing ability or item, but if the enemy hits that character again, they are permanently removed from that particular fight(though they will be back with the party and at full health as soon as the fight is over). And every character in the game receives a large variety of moves unique to their setting, so in the final chapter parties can be formed to suit the tastes and needs of the player. And enemy encounters change over time based on the number of characters in the player's party and their levels. A more powerful party will fight more powerful enemies or harder arrangements of enemies, often for diminishing rewards due to LAL's leveling system.

This system for combat is the most entertaining and strategic aspect of LAL, but each mini-story, complete with a variety of secrets hidden throughout, provides a pleasant distraction that can be enjoyed in pieces. There are certain characters and stories I prefer over others, but all are unique and never feel too similar. They also vary in length and difficulty, depending on the player's goals(such as getting all of the abilities for Masaru, completing the video game for Cube, or killing all people in Oboro's mission). And in the final segment, each character has a unique dungeon they can access, along with a set of five secret bosses that hold some of the best armor pieces.

I like the game. It's a strange mixture of short tales that tie together in the end in a weird way but gives me an experience different from the Super Nintendo's NTSC-U library. I really wish this game had come out over here. It's a wonderful title with a lot to offer players of varying tastes.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Nice write-up, Ack. Definitely a game I need to track down. SquareSoft was brilliant back then.

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. 魔法騎士レイアース (Super Famicom)
31. Magic Knight Rayearth (Saturn)

There were seven different video games based on the classic Magic Knight Rayearth manga/anime series. I played two of them.

Ending screens:

Both games were released in 1995 in Japan, with the Saturn game being released a few months before(!) the Super Famicom one. That said, the Super Famicom title was never released in the US (obviously) and the Saturn one didn't come over here until 1998 (it was the last game released for the system in North America).

Rayearth on Super Famicom is a game I have played many, many times before. It was the first fan-translated game I ever stumbled upon and essentially became my gateway into the world of Japanese gaming. This was my first attempt at playing Rayearth in its native Japanese on an actual cart, however.

The game follows the plot of the anime very closely. The player controls three (magical) girls summoned to another world to save a princess in distress and fulfill the prophecy of the magic knights. The gameplay is extremely stock JRPG stuff - attack, magic, item, defend, run. Physical attacks are almost entirely useless and most battles are won simply by spamming the enemies with your strongest spells. There's very little strategy involved and very little overall challenge. There exists certain areas within the game where your knights will have over 3,000 hit points and enemies will deduct just 1 HP with each attack! Graphically, everything is somewhat drab and gives off a "RPG Maker" vibe. On the flip-side, the soundtrack is surprisingly good and arguably the best thing to be seen here. The opening theme (which is itself an adaption of the opening anime theme) is especially stirring. Overall, the game feels like a tie-in with the anime series and has a tough time standing on its own. I enjoy it, but I also adore the anime - I wouldn't recommend this to anyone not familiar with the source material.

The Saturn game is another story entirely. It's gorgeous. The 2D graphics are colorful and vibrant and the animation is smooth and fluid. The screen-filling bosses are quite impressive, as are the adorable super-deformed magic knights and their allies. It's one of the best-looking games I've ever seen, period.

While the game is typically referred to as an "action-RPG" that isn't truly an accurate description. There are no experience points to be found here, and health and magic only increase when you find certain items. It would be more accurate to call this a Zelda-like action-adventure. Superficially, MKR resembles Secret of Mana as all three protagonists are on the screen at once with only one being controlled by the player. However, in MKR the two characters not being controlled cannot attack, be damaged, or get stuck in scenery. They just tag along behind the knight that is being controlled. Essentially, switching between the knights is just a fancier way to switch between weapons. And since Fuu is the only one with a projectile weapon and healing spells I found myself using her throughout most of the game.

Apparently the developers didn't find the source material substantial enough, because the game adds quite a bit. I suppose this could bother some hardcore fans, but I enjoyed discovering the new scenery, enemies, and characters. Most of the game's play time is spent traversing dungeons. They are quite well-designed - many with tricky puzzles that had me reaching for a game guide from time to time. The bosses are spectacular, with each one requiring a different set of tactics to take down.

Since the game was localized by Working Designs I must comment on the translation. It's mixed. They were certainly going for a humorous vibe, which is appropriate as the anime itself is quite lighthearted. Most of the dialogue here is well-done and there are some laugh-out-loud funny moments, but then there are the terrible (and terribly dated) pop culture references. I don't think that a Japanese girl exploring a magical fantasy land would be inclined to make references to Bob Vila or Tina Turner. There are the weird risqué moments too, like the guy who comments about his constant fapping and, uh, this..........

I enjoyed the game quite a bit. Is it worth the $150 price tag though? It's hard to say - if you love the anime and are trying to play every classic RPG-ish type game, maybe. If you're simply looking for a fantastic adventure you're better off just sticking to something like A Link to the Past.

[Gamerforlife]

#7 Rain for PS3

Decent little game, short. Nothing major invented here, not even really challenging. At times the game was difficult due to not being able to see your character. Gameplay was simple, as well as the puzzles and platforming. Best lest when you need an easy diversion in your gaming.

Story?

Your basic hero saves girl in peril. Kind of a generic happy ending. I try not to reveal stories as I do not want to spoil it for anyone. Story was best said a "nice little story which breaks no new ground". Maybe even give ya a little toothache LOL.

Happy ending is not a spoiler?

[wclem]

No, I think it is pretty obvious that it will have a happy ending. Just that type of game. It is the telling of details of getting there that would spoil it.

[BogusMeatFactory]

31. Magic Knight Rayearth (Saturn)

I am glad you enjoyed the saturn rendition. This is definitely one of the most entertaining and intriguing game for various reasons. For me, it was all about the details. You could look at almost every single object and scenery in the game and have each character give their own personal perspective on it, meaning there was huge amounts of Dialog. Supposedly, the Japanese version is fully voiced, whereas the American version only has the major scenes voiced. I don't mind as much, as the actual voicework is really good.

Fuu is OP in the game, that is for sure, but that's ok as the story was great in a very episodic style. I remember beating the game and then immediately going out to by the box set for the anime. This was when the game came out for the Saturn, so you can guess how egregious the box set price was (somewhere around $200). The anime is not nearly as good as the Saturn's story. I could rave forever about the game because of the details alone.