Your 2018 Gaming Diary

[Glen-i]

Spoiler alert @Jonnas GBC Shantae is my least favourite of the series, I still think it's good though. It definitely gets better from there. Pirate's Curse is especially fun and a nice shake up to boot.

[Jonnas]

4 hours ago, Glen-i said:

a nice shake up to boot.

Why do I get the feeling that I'm going to see this pun used in that game?

[Grazza]

Nice to hear your thoughts on Shantae, @Jonnas.  I was a big fan of the series (not sure I still am), but agree the first game is rough around the edges.  I couldn't play it without Restore Points, so well done if you did!  Risky's Revenge and Pirate's Curse are fantastic, so you're in for a treat with those.

[Jonnas]

57 minutes ago, Grazza said:

I couldn't play it without Restore Points, so well done if you did!

I only use save states on games with "password checkpoints" (like between stages in old-school Megaman games). If the game never had passwords, I may also use save states to "hibernate" a game when I need to take a break (and only hibernate. No using that break as a full save point).

So no, I didn't use restore points for Shantae. The game gives me save points, so I stuck to them.

[Glen-i]

Octopath Traveler is an old-school RPG by some of the people who made the Bravely games on the 3DS. It was released on the Switch back in July. The game sold amazingly well for a game of it's genre.

The game follows... um... Well, that's kinda up to you. You're given a choice of having any of the 8 playable characters as your main character. The game follows the individual stories of these 8 characters as they meet and work together to achieve their own goals. Is it just coincidence that brings these travelers together?

In my opinion, the 8 stories range from pretty good to pretty eh. There's some nice ideas here, but nothing amazing.

Spoiler

There is one exception, and that's the backstory that links the 8 narratives together. There's a lot of small side details in each story that hint at what's really going on. It's all laid out for you once you finish every story and discover the final dungeon. And it was one of those moments when I felt really stupid for not noticing it sooner. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and it saves the plot from mediocrity.

The voice acting is pretty solid too. No complaints here.

The gameplay is where the game truly shines. Just like the Bravely games, the battle system is nothing short of spectacular. It revolves around storing BP and spending it to power up your attacks. But as you progress, you get a wealth of options to fine tune your party to just how you like it. Strategy plays a big part in this, and the right one can really turn the tide in your favour.

Spoiler

Unfortunately, a massive hump appears if you go for the proper final boss. It's very difficult, which wouldn't be a problem, if it wasn't for the fact you can't save once you enter the final dungeon. It can take a good hour to get to the final battle and has already soured a lot of people on that whole section. It was satisfying once I finally pulled it off though.

Can I just post one of my favourite pieces of music? Because the soundtrack is stonkingly good! Almost every battle music is top-notch and I keep humming some of them to myself.

I'd also be remiss if I didn't mention the visuals. Dubbed "HD-2D" by the developers. A cool mixture of 16-bit sprite work with modern day locations and very heavy lighting. It kinda looks like a diorama and I certainly enjoy it. I also like how visually exciting battles can look. It reminds me of playing Golden Sun, where attack animations are incredibly satisfying. I'd post a GIF, but it really doesn't do it justice.

So all in all. I think Octopath Traveler is proper solid. It's not perfect, and it's only for the bigger fans of turn-based RPG's. But what is there is one of the more imaginative games of the genre you'll see these days. It deserves all the success it got. 

[bob]

Finally finished LA Noire.

I've posted enough rants about the interrogation system in the LA Noire thread, but other than that, I thought it was a great game. I really enjoyed the feel of being a 1940's detective, and the plot-line was really well done with a satisfying conclusion.

 

If they made a sequel I would definitely buy it, maybe in a different city, or a different decade - but they would have to fix the interrogation system first. Fuck that.

[Aperson]

So, I've been playing a game called Spider-Man (PS4). It's pretty good, but I'm sure no one's played it... just kidding.

 

While it doesn't do anything new, the game is still fantastic. The boss fights aren't too challenging but they do look great and are very cinematic.

 

 

I beat the game eventually and it had one of the saddest endings in any video game.

 

Afterwards I started a playthrough of Earthbound (SNES) (Wii U Virtual Console). Wanted to play this game for years, got as far as beating Frank and preparing to start Giant Step.

My playthrough however was interrupted by the arrival of the beta for Soul Calibur VI (PS4). I've been really interested in this game since it was announced at the Game Awards last year and the more I see of it the more I'm convinced this is going to be a great game... but the online hasn't exactly been great so far. I uploaded a few videos on Youtube of me playing this game, you can see some of the matches I did below.

 

 

 

 

I've only actually won one match overall so far...

[Jonnas]

Here's another update. One for September, a very busy month in my life, so much so that I decided to drop Skullgirls from my list (there's nothing wrong with it, but a fighting game requires a certain level of investment that I unfortunately cannot give right now). Nevertheless, I managed to sneak in a few portable games:

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening

Like a few others, I replayed this one in September, and already gave my thoughts in the thread a while back. Still an excellent romp.

Boxboy!

This puzzle game looked cute, and it's from HAL, so I gave it a shot. The image above is pretty good at explaining what the mechanics are: make clusters of blocks in order to overcome/navigate obstacles.

The puzzle design is very competent and the difficulty curve is smooth, but at the same time... The mechanics do feel quite restrictive and, at times, unintuitive. As someone who loves physics-based mechanics, this game definitely could not scratch that itch. Furthermore, while I praised the difficulty curve, I didn't feel like the game was truly challenging until near the end.

I do admit to enjoying the score & time challenges (the former encourage creative use of the mechanics, the latter are a very clever take on the concept of a time challenge), but other than that, the game felt pretty cookie-cutter. Plus, the aesthetics aren't interesting, and the weird story may as well not exist.

I wondered if it was from this game, or if I was burned out from puzzle games in general. So I played...

Pullblox

I had a better time with this one. Each puzzle consists of a mural composed of different-coloured mosaics, and you can "pull" those mosaics from the wall so that they become three-dimensional "blocks" (hence the name). The goal is to reach the top of the mural using these simple mechanics, a bit like navigating a labyrinth etched into a mountain.

Despite a slow start (god, that tutorial is handholdy to the max), I quickly started having a jolly time with these puzzles. Many of the murals depict sprites (half of which are NES-themed), and honestly I just had a better time climbing something like a butterfly than I did climbing an abstract mural. And it's not like puzzle complexity was sacrificed for these murals, in fact, the difficulty curve was pretty steady (I started having trouble around the halfway mark, with the post-game bonus world being some of the most challenging puzzles I've ever seen from Nintendo)

My one issue is that the game presents the puzzles in order, and allows you to skip one if you can't solve it (so you can just go back and try again when you want to). I hate the feeling of "skipping" puzzles though, so this design choice infuriates me. It would be better if every "world" had all puzzles available from the start, and you were allowed to solve them in the order you wanted to.

All that said, I do think I'm burned out on puzzle games. Partly because I played a lot of that genre this year, partly because Pullblox is a pretty big game (252 puzzles in total!). I need a change of pace right now.

  My 2018 log (Hide contents)

Played/Beat/Completed:

-The King of Fighters XIII (2010) Beaten (February 17th)

-Gunman Clive (2012) Completed (April 4th)

-Gunman Clive 2 (2015) Completed (April 8th)

-Alleyway (1990) Beaten, I guess (April 26th)

-Rhythm Paradise (2008) Beaten (April 29th)

-Hotel Dusk: Room 215 (2007) Beaten (July 12th)

-Mighty Gunvolt (2014) Completed (July 15th)

-Mole Mania (1996) Completed (July 31th)

-Super Mario 3D Land (2011) Completed (August 1st)

-Sonic Mania Plus (2018) Completed (August 2nd)

-Hydroventure: Spin Cycle (2012) Completed (August 7th)

-Shantae (2002) Completed (August 15th)

-Wario Land 4 (2001) Beaten (August 29th)

-Steamworld Dig (2013) Completed (August 31st)

-Boxboy! (2015) Completed (September 10th)

-The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (1993) Beaten (September 29th)

-Pullblox (2011) Completed (October 14th)

 

Currently Playing:

-Castlevania

-Bravely Default

 

Dropped/Hiatus

-Edge It sucks

-Final Fantasy Tactics Advance Fire Emblem revival postponed this

-Skullgirls Lack of time

 

[Jimbob]

Started to pick back up my gaming time since the move from my parents to my own place.  So far since the summer, only managed to finish Spider-Man.  Took me near a month to get done, because i kept getting distracted by the side missions and the random events that popped up.  Was not a bad game overall, loved the city and the story was pretty decent to go along with it.

Moved onto Shadow of the Tomb Raider afterwards.  It's not as bad as some people and reviewers have said, but it's certainly not as good as the first.

[Ronnie]

2018 so far for me:

Celeste: Fantastic, a game that could have been frustrating was made near perfect thanks to the quick respawns. Amazing soundtrack and lovely visuals for the most part. Nice storyline. 5/5
Owlboy: Disappointing. Pixel art was outstanding, but that's pretty much it. Ho hum gameplay. 2/5
Shadow of the Collossus: My first time playing this and had a great time. Felt a little dated in the fact that there wasn't much else to do but still brilliant and very cinematic. 4/5
Darkest Dungeon: Been playing this for a long time but finally finished it this year, on Switch. It's in my Top 5 of all time, just fantastic. 5/5
Kirby Star Allies: Serious case of buyer's regret getting this, I'm not sure what I was thinking. Didn't enjoy it at all, and I've liked the 3DS games in the past. Felt very very cheap and lazy. 1/5
Rise of the Tomb Raider: Loved it, maybe not quite as much as the first one as the locations were a bit forgettable here, but still had a great time. 4/5
Blossom Tales: Really impressed with this and how it nails that ALTTP feel. Highly recommended, a cute, fun, adventure game with lovely visuals. 3/5
God of War: One of the most impressive games I've ever played. Far from perfect and it really lost it's way towards the end for me personally but otherwise, probably my GOTY so far. 5/5
Flood Kids: Another case of buyer's regret but the visuals are cool so there's that. 1/5
Oxenfree: Enjoyed it, enough to buy their next game. Again, nice visuals. 2/5
Old Man's Journey: Chill game, beautiful to look at. Gameplay a bit limited but overall enjoyed it a lot. 3/5
Detroit Become Human: Loved it, especially Conor and Kara chapters. Marcus' ones weren't particularly fun at all, but overall I had a great time 5/5
Yoku's Island Express: Could have been a Nintendo game it was so bursting with charm. Great idea executed pretty much perfectly. 3/5
Horizon Zero Dawn: Loved the combat. Hated the openworld. I just couldn't be bothered to take in the sights or explore much. But apart from that, a fantastic game and I'm looking forward to the sequel. 5/5
Hollow Knight: A really special game, probably in second place for my GOTY but up there with my favourites ever. World building, combat, visuals, tone, gameplay all absolutely brilliant. 5/5

Currently playing:
Octopath Traveller: I might have to give up on this as I do with most JRPGs, had a great time with it but the grind started to get to me a bit.
Spider-Man: A perfectly good game but nothing more IMO. I really don't see what all the fuss is about. Really desperate to just finish it and move on to something else.
Mega Man 11: I'm enjoying it but I find the way you can cheat to victory by buying loads of supplies a little sad and the game seems to be balanced so that you have to do that.

[Aperson]

Been playing Earthbound. Lots and lots of Earthbound, partly because I want to finish all of the main story before Soul Calibur VI comes out, a game I'm personally very much looking forward to as, Tira DLC aside, this is looking like an excellent game that has impressed everyone who's played it. Including myself when I played the beta a few weeks ago.

 

Anyway, with a recently acquired Elgato I've been filming my boss battles on Earthbound, so I thought I would share my Sanctuary boss battles so far. Hopefully the video below works as a playlist

My actual point of progress is having just recently rescued Apple Kid from the starmen and I'm about to get a book to take to Tenda Village. I'm somewhere between the sixth and seventh Sanctuaries but that stretch is very long. Hopefully I can finish the game soon.

 

I've also been playing a bit of Pokemon Ruby (GBA) because of the Pokemon Twitch Marathon at the moment although all I've done was catch Pokemon and raise my old Leaf Green team up a few levels. I managed to catch Rayquaza which I was surprised I hadn't done yet on this playthrough (it was my second playthrough of Ruby), It happened in dramatic circumstances where he got confused with Outrage on red health... and then the very next Ultra Ball caught him. If he had hurt himself then it would have been curtains for that attempt.

Finally I've gone back to Soul Calibur IV (PS3) and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U (Wii U) in order to prepare for the upcoming games in both new series. I made significant progress on the Tower of Souls in Soul Calibur IV, reaching Floor 42, which along with 43 and 44 are proving to be very difficult due to the enemies regenerating health and an incredibly annoying to beat Zasalamel on Floor 42. I see there are 60 floors of this in total but I don't think I'm going to finish this tower before VI comes out, as I will be invested in that game instead and likely may never touch IV again.

[bob]

I just finished Act 2 in Marvel's Spider-Man, so I guess I'm two thirds of the way through? It's sooooo good. Definitely my game of the year, although I think it's the only game that was released this year that I've actually played.

[Jonnas]

October update!

Castlevania

On the 3DS, as part of the N-Europe Game Club for October. Check the thread for overall thoughts on the game, from myself and others alike. Maybe one day I'll accomplish the fabled continueless run...

 

What Remains of Edith Finch

I bought this on sale a couple of months back. I recall the Easy Allies considering this one of their best games of 2017, as well as a friend of mine praising it (and he doesn't usually play games like this), so I figured it would be a neat, short Halloween game. As it turns out, this wasn't a horror game at all, it was more like a bittersweet tale.

It's part of the "Environmental Narrative" genre (also called "ENG" or "Walking Simulator" for short) and can be finished in 2-3 hours. You play as Edith Finch, a young woman visiting her abandoned family house and learning about her family history through the lens of magical realism (not unlike the book 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez).

Without spoiling too much, this game's presentation gets creative and keeps you engaged all the way through. By the end, you'll be weaving theories about the more ambiguous parts of the plot. As with most games from 2017, I highly recommend it.

 

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

While the previous game turned out to not be that spooky, this ENG ended up scratching the Horror itch I had. The premise and appeal are way more straightforward to explain: at the behest of a boy called Ethan Carter, a hard-boiled paranormal detective investigates some murders (and other peculiar oddities) in an eerily quiet rural estate in Wisconsin.

Essentially, the game drops you into a valley and then deliberately omits the mechanics involved in solving anything you might come across. It wants you to get immersed in the game's world and unravel its mysteries all by yourself, and does a tremendous job at it. Nothing here feels straightforward, so patience and temperance are advised when delving into this game (even though most players agree that it should only take you around 5 hours or so).

Another selling point is the valley itself. It was based off a real location in Poland (where the developers are from) and reproduced with photogrammetry. You can tell from the central European architecture, the German writing in old monuments, and the fact that everything looks gorgeous, even from a technical standpoint. Heck, even the creepier elements feel like an European Horror story (I considered changing the voices to Polish at one point, but hey, the setting's American, so I kept with the default settings).

Another highly-recommended game. I don't even tend to enjoy Walking Simulators, and suddenly, two fantastic experiences in a row.

 

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance

Hallellujah, I finally beat it! So let me give you my brief history with this game: I first played this game around 12-13 years ago, still in high school, but got eventually tired of it and never finished it. It stuck as a sore point for me (one of the few GBA games I never finished), so I decided to dust it off in late 2015, while still unemployed, with the intent of casually playing it to its eventual completion. I ended up finding something busy in Germany soon, so I played it much more rarely then (though progress was being made. Slowly). Eventually, in late 2016, I started working a job that required decent commutes (15+ minutes per trip) and picked up the pace with this game. In 2017, I found a new job that required even longer commutes, when suddenly! A Fire Emblem direct. That FE direct rekindled my dormant love for that franchise (I replayed Blazing Blade, downloaded FE Heroes, bought a 3DS with Awakening and Echoes...), and FF Tactics was forgotten... Until around a month ago, when I finally decided to buckle up and finish it. As it turns out, I was a couple of missions away from the end! What a needlessly long hiatus I took.

And that's how it took me more than a decade to finish this game.

Aesthetic and gameplay-wise, there's a lot to like. Sprites look great, art style is whimsical and done in watercolour (giving it a storybook feel), and the music is super uplifting. Characters are raised via a mish-mash of the job system from FFV and learning skills from equipment like in FFIX (the best of both worlds), and there's a lot of job and skill variety with which to experiment. Creative strategies tend to work out, even if they're rarely spur-of-the-moment decisions (a lot in this game is about micromanagement and set-up, which I also like).

Main issue is the speed: everything is slow in this game, from the battles, the dialogue, the mission board... Even the menus take longer than they should, since they're so clunky to navigate (this is especially noticeable near the end, when you need to cycle through dozens of weapons to find the one you want, with no search or shortlist option). For a handheld game, this turned out to be overbearing near the end of the game (hence the long hiatus, as well as the reason I quit it in the first place all those years ago).

Plot-wise, I'll spoiler my opinion, since this is running long:

Spoiler

 

First, forget everything you know about the original FF Tactics or Ivalice games (such as FFXII) in general. FFTA is about a group of kids in a modern-day setting who are suddenly transported into the fantasy world of Ivalice, where they get to be adventurers, warriors and mages. Our protagonist Marche is trying to return to the real world in a story where the main premise is "escapism is bad".

The writing, unfortunately, is not up to the task. Several characters oppose Marche ideologically, but he seems incapable of presenting a good argument for his motivations (a lot of the dialogue felt like "Staying in this world is bad!" "No, it is good!" "I see where you're coming from, I guess..?"); Marche's methods are questionable (he's literally going to destroy a world with sentient beings on it), but the story never addresses this properly; It is painfully unclear whether Montblanc (Marche's second-in-command) is aware of what Marche's goal even is (he is one of the sentient beings living in this world, after all), etc.

There's also the fact that FFTA is a game that demands dozens, if not hundreds, of hours, making this one of the worst possible games to preach about spending too much time in a fictional world. In fact, gameplay and story are consistently at odds in several instances.

Despite all of this, the characters are endearing, and their interactions managed to keep me invested in the setting. Ritz, Mewt, Cid, Doned, and even Marche are all believable kids, and seeing them get a happy ending was genuinely satisfying.

 

All in all, 104 hours of recorded play. Probably more in reality, since I reset a lot of missions. This is an obscenely long game, guys. At least when bothering to do side missions and experimenting with classes and skills. I guess you could rush to the end with a small party, but then you'd be missing on the part of the game that's actually fun.

Anyway, it's finally done! That's one less burden off my back.

  My 2018 log (Hide contents)

Played/Beat/Completed:

-The King of Fighters XIII (2010) Beaten (February 17th)

-Gunman Clive (2012) Completed (April 4th)

-Gunman Clive 2 (2015) Completed (April 8th)

-Alleyway (1990) Beaten, I guess (April 26th)

-Rhythm Paradise (2008) Beaten (April 29th)

-Hotel Dusk: Room 215 (2007) Beaten (July 12th)

-Mighty Gunvolt (2014) Completed (July 15th)

-Mole Mania (1996) Completed (July 31th)

-Super Mario 3D Land (2011) Completed (August 1st)

-Sonic Mania Plus (2018) Completed (August 2nd)

-Hydroventure: Spin Cycle (2012) Completed (August 7th)

-Shantae (2002) Completed (August 15th)

-Wario Land 4 (2001) Beaten (August 29th)

-Steamworld Dig (2013) Completed (August 31st)

-Boxboy! (2015) Completed (September 10th)

-The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (1993) Beaten (September 29th)

-Pullblox (2011) Completed (October 14th)

-Castlevania (1986) Completed (October 16th)

-What Remains of Edith Finch (2017) Completed (October 31st)

-Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (2003) Beaten (November 1st)

-The Vanishing of Ethan Carter (2014) Completed (November 6th)

 

Currently Playing:

-Bravely Default

 

Dropped/Hiatus

-Edge It sucks

-Skullgirls Lack of time

 

Edited November 7, 2018 by Jonnas

[Aperson]

Blimey, haven't updated since September!

 

OK, time for an update, during October and most of November I've primarily been playing two games. The first being Earthbound (SNES) which I've already been playing in the previous month... and I've beaten the game now. Here are the seventh and eight sanctuary bosses:

 

 

 

I also recorded the "Ness' Nightmare" boss battle.

 

 

And finally, the highlight of the game and what it's been building up towards, the final boss battle:

 

 

 

 

The other game I've been playing for nearly a month now is Soul Calibur VI (PS4), a game I didn't think would ever happen and it turned out to be a much more substantial game that I had initially anticipated, at least on the single player side of things. Two full story modes, an arcade mode and, best of all, a character creator that lets you create anything. I know Fighting games are something of a niche genre due to the complex button inputs for the best moves and expectations from their players, but I still highly recommend this one as it's more accessible than other fighting games are. Plus, one of the single player modes is an RPG mode so you have leeway to level up and make yourself stronger if you are finding any problems.

 

Arcade Mode:

 

 

 

Soul Chronicle Story:

 

 

 

 

That not appealing? What if I told you that this game has a character creator which has enough options to allow you to create ANYONE? There's a lot of potential in what you can make (someone even made a Magikarp) and I did a video of some of the possibilities you can do:

 

 

I've created at least 11 more since recording this video mind as the following video shows:

 

 

I also reacquired F-Zero GX (GCN) recently. I borrowed the game a few years back but left it unfinished (that said, the game is really hard so that's not too surprising. I still haven't finished Chapter 3 of Story mode).

 

Still need to pick up the Deltarune demo but the next game I'm looking towards is the Spyro: Reignited Trilogy. That will be my main purchase this month. Yes, even over Fallout 76 and Pokemon Let's Go...

[Jonnas]

A couple more games I got for sale on the 3DS eShop:

The Mysterious Murasame Castle

...Ooph, this was a tough one. I figured I'd try out this supposed old-school, JPN-only classic (it keeps being mentioned in Smash Bros discussions). To my surprise, it's a hack'n'slash in top-down "Zelda"-style. Infinitely-spawning enemies, tons of shuriken/fireballs flying around (to the point that it resembles a bullet hell at times), and our protagonist Takamaru can fire shuriken of his own. From what I hear, one of Koei's Samurai Warriors game even remade the game's 5 worlds/levels in 3D, since it's a similar genre.

It's fast-paced and fun, but... so difficult. Ninja Gaiden levels of difficulty. But a lot of it is poor design, unfortunately. It's a lot of small things, like the sword, shuriken, and chest-opening being all assigned to the same button (hidden chests can suddenly be too frustrating to find), or how Takamaru often gets stuck in corners (awful when bullets are everywhere), or that the game is only saved at on game overs, or how enemy ninjas run as fast as their own projectiles, or how they alternate between blockable and unblockable projectiles, or the sudden difficulty spikes (here's a new enemy that can teleport across the screen and leaves traps everywhere. Your first encounter with one also features two infinitely-respawning ninja), or...

I actually found this game pretty fun (I did beat all 5 worlds and beat the final boss). I loved the aesthetic, with the Japanese fields, castles and Daimyos (and the final level is a labyrinth made of skulls with pools of blood that we must wade through. I should've played this for Halloween), but there are so many issues. I actually wish Nintendo would revive this into a full-blown series, a modern take on this game, with all the kinks ironed out, could be pretty enjoyable.

I've also decided to delve into Pocket Card Jockey...

...and I'm having a blast! It looks like an absurd idea for a game, but it's super addictive. I recommend trying out the demo, as you'll know right away if you like this brand of Solitaire or not.

The reason I'm mentioning this game now is because I don't expect to "beat" or "complete" it. I'll take it for a spin every once in a while, and if my opinion on the game changes somehow, I'll mention it.

  My 2018 log (Hide contents)

Played/Beat/Completed:

-The King of Fighters XIII (2010) Beaten (February 17th)

-Gunman Clive (2012) Completed (April 4th)

-Gunman Clive 2 (2015) Completed (April 8th)

-Alleyway (1990) Beaten, I guess (April 26th)

-Rhythm Paradise (2008) Beaten (April 29th)

-Hotel Dusk: Room 215 (2007) Beaten (July 12th)

-Mighty Gunvolt (2014) Completed (July 15th)

-Mole Mania (1996) Completed (July 31th)

-Super Mario 3D Land (2011) Completed (August 1st)

-Sonic Mania Plus (2018) Completed (August 2nd)

-Hydroventure: Spin Cycle (2012) Completed (August 7th)

-Shantae (2002) Completed (August 15th)

-Wario Land 4 (2001) Beaten (August 29th)

-Steamworld Dig (2013) Completed (August 31st)

-Boxboy! (2015) Completed (September 10th)

-The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (1993) Beaten (September 29th)

-Pullblox (2011) Completed (October 14th)

-Castlevania (1986) Completed (October 16th)

-What Remains of Edith Finch (2017) Completed (October 31st)

-Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (2003) Beaten (November 1st)

-The Vanishing of Ethan Carter (2014) Completed (November 6th)

-Pocket Card Jockey (2014) Continuous play

-The Mysterious Murasame Castle (1986) Completed (November 13th)

 

Currently Playing:

-Yoshi's Island

-Fire Emblem Awakening (replay)

-Pocket Card Jockey

 

Dropped/Hiatus

-Edge It sucks

-Skullgirls Lack of time

-Bravely Default I'll get back to this, I swear!

 

Edited November 17, 2018 by Jonnas

[Ronnie]

I’m getting a bit overwhelmed by how many games I’m keen to play. I don’t like to have more than two games going at once (on separate consoles) but I’m struggling at the moment. 

Really keen to finish Red Dead but I’ve only just started chapter 4 and I haven’t actually played it for a couple of weeks.  

World of Light is neverending and I haven’t even touched the Classic mode yet. 

Really want to get Elite Dangerous on Xbox, and play AC Odyssey, and Forza Horizon 4, not to mention “smaller” games like Below and The Messenger and a million other Switch indies. 

Plus the looming threat of Anthem in a couple of months

ARGH!!

 

Edited December 12, 2018 by Ronnie

[S.C.G]

@Ronnie welcome to the joys of being a multi-platform gamer.

It can be hard to keep up, can't it? While it's nice to have so much available to play, it's definitely overwhelming at times.

I've decided that I'm only going to be buying physical Switch games and the odd "essential" PS4 and Xbox One game on day one for 2019.

What with a wealth of games being released this year, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate coming out and the N-E Game Club... I've got enough to keep me going.

[Ronnie]

20 minutes ago, S.C.G said:

@Ronnie welcome to the joys of being a multi-platform gamer.

It can be hard to keep up, can't it? While it's nice to have so much available to play, it's definitely overwhelming at times.

I've decided that I'm only going to be buying physical Switch games and the odd "essential" PS4 and Xbox One game on day one for 2019.

What with a wealth of games being released this year, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate coming out and the N-E Game Club... I've got enough to keep me going.

I've always had a big backlog but Red Dead and the prospect of Assassin's Creed shortly aftwards is just overwhelming

We can't complain really, the quality of games is ridiculously high these days, on all platforms.

[Aperson]

To be honest, the one thing I've found with going multi-platform is that games you might have bought before are no longer on your radar because you can play the best of what another console has to offer rather than some lesser known title on the system you already own. I got a PS2 nine years ago and began to buy retro PS2 games to fill the gaps in between major Nintendo releases, but then my brother acquired a PS3 and PS4 and that opened the door to play games on those systems, especially the PS4 since that was another avenue for current games, which my Wii U collection was severely lacking in. So, now I'm in a situation where I'm getting both PS4 AND Switch games and subsequently sticking to the franchises which stand out to me the most albeit with some interest in trying new ones out at some point.

 

Anyway, it's been a while since my last update... and this might well be the last update I do for the 2018 gaming diary although I'll round it off in 2019 when I know what my final total is going to be, but after finishing Soul Calibur VI I didn't play much until I got Spyro Reignited Trilogy (PS4). Activision's enforcement of a digital download didn't put me off playing this game and I had great fun finally getting to play through these classics. I played the original Spyro on PS1 years ago but it was at a friend's house and I never owned it subsequently. I also never played Spyro 2 and 3 but finally got to play through all three games...

Yes, that is every boss in the trilogy in the playlist above.

 

After finishing Spyro 3 (Platinum Trophy for that game which is the first time I got that on PS4) I proceeded to start on Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep (PS4). My plan is to play this and Dream Drop Distance as story catchup for Kingdom Hearts III and I am challenging myself to do both games within the next two months and finish right on time for KHIII.

I only got as far as the Cinderella world in Terra's storyline though, right after getting Cure. One ultimate obstacle is stopping that is Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Switch) and it's hefty World of Light campaign mode which is proving to be quite substantial in length, far more than I originally anticipated which was what made me think I could fit two KH games into the next month.

I am quite some way through World of Light now actually, I think I may be getting towards the end but I don't really know for sure. I've heard there are multiple endings to the game and that there is a TRUE ending as it were... but not sure how I'm going to get that!

 

2018 has to be one of the most substantial years for beating games I've ever had. The full list of games beaten this year are:

 

Xenoblade Chronicles 2

Golden Sun

Donkey Kong 64

Donkey Kong (Game Boy)

Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins

Burnout 2: Point of Impact

Prince of Persia: Sands of Time

A Hat In Time

Prince of Persia: Warrior Within

Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones

Spider-Man 2

Viewtiful Joe

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

Timesplitters 2

Marvel's Spider-Man

Earthbound

Soul Calibur VI

Spyro The Dragon

Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage

Spyro: Year of the Dragon
 

Games I've played this year but haven't beaten yet:

Dark Souls

Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Edited December 21, 2018 by GenericAperson

[Aperson]

Final update of 2018 time.

 

Finished World of Light mode in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Switch). Been uploading the boss battles to Youtube as part of my playlist, just the final boss left to go. World of Light is such a slog, but the ending is worth it, those final few moments were amazing.

 

Also got the Season Pass for Christmas so I will be getting Joker and all the other DLC fighters without needing to pay anything else which is awesome. I've also registered Piranha Plant so will be getting that when the character is released. That wasn't the only Season Pass I got as I also got the season pass for Soul Calibur VI (PS4) so I now have Tira and 2B on the roster. 2B is ultra powerful, maybe a bit broken with so many crazy combos through stances which I haven't really understood...

 

The game I've been mainly concentrating on is Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep Final Mix (PS4). I have finished Terra and Ventus' stories and am in the middle of a playthrough with Aqua which has seen me change strategies. Aqua's attack power is terrible but her Magic stat is extremely high so I've been abusing the fact that there's no MP in this game by stacking her command deck full of spells and used melding to try and get the strongest commands as soon as possible. I've just finished Disney Town and already I have Blizzaga and Firaga. Also got Aerora in the deck as well as I look to try and get Fission Firaga.

 

This game is far shorter than I anticipated, as such I have no qualms about being able to do two KH games before III comes out. In fact, this game has made me want to do III on Proud mode when that comes out since I feel I am gaining more of an understanding about some of the more in-depth systems in these games, especially after Spirits in Ultimate.

 

But that will have to wait until 2019. So long 2018, you were a fun year of gaming and I don't think I've ever beaten as many games in previous years as I have in this one even when I was gaining so many every year. You helped me put my backlog back in order excluding a few games. Here's to 2019, with Kingdom Hearts III and Pokemon as new games to look forward to as well as getting to play through Nier: Automata for the first time.

Edited December 31, 2018 by GenericAperson

[Magnus]

I completed sixty games in 2018, and I made a list. People like lists, right?

[Jonnas]

Time to round up the games for December for the last update of 2018:

Yoshi's Island

Played in November, finished in December. As per usual with the Monthly N-E Game Club, you can check my impressions in the respective thread. Long story short, I wasn't as wowed by it as most players seem to be. Still enjoyable, though.

The Legend of the Mystical Ninja

Played in December, finished in January 1st. The full thread contains more of my thoughts, but the gist of it is that this is a very fun, charming beat'em up, though a tad brought down by design conventions of the time.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

I haven't even touched the World of Light, but I know I'll be having fun with this game for years to come. It would not be fitting to arbitrarily declare it "beaten" based on the WoL alone. So I'll just mention it now, as a 2018 game (I do consider it such), and it'll stay in the background even while I'm playing other stuff.

Speaking of other stuff, I'm still in the middle of a Fire Emblem Awakening replay where I'm trying to optimise the kids to go and beat the tougher DLCs. Just figured I'd mention it at least once.

  My 2018 log (Hide contents)

Played/Beat/Completed:

-The King of Fighters XIII (2010) Beaten (February 17th)

-Gunman Clive (2012) Completed (April 4th)

-Gunman Clive 2 (2015) Completed (April 8th)

-Alleyway (1990) Beaten, I guess (April 26th)

-Rhythm Paradise (2008) Beaten (April 29th)

-Hotel Dusk: Room 215 (2007) Beaten (July 12th)

-Mighty Gunvolt (2014) Completed (July 15th)

-Mole Mania (1996) Completed (July 31th)

-Super Mario 3D Land (2011) Completed (August 1st)

-Sonic Mania Plus (2018) Completed (August 2nd)

-Hydroventure: Spin Cycle (2012) Completed (August 7th)

-Shantae (2002) Completed (August 15th)

-Wario Land 4 (2001) Beaten (August 29th)

-Steamworld Dig (2013) Completed (August 31st)

-Boxboy! (2015) Completed (September 10th)

-The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (1993) Beaten (September 29th)

-Pullblox (2011) Completed (October 14th)

-Castlevania (1986) Completed (October 16th)

-What Remains of Edith Finch (2017) Completed (October 31st)

-Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (2003) Beaten (November 1st)

-The Vanishing of Ethan Carter (2014) Completed (November 6th)

-Pocket Card Jockey (2014) Continuous play

-The Mysterious Murasame Castle (1986) Completed (November 13th)

-Yoshi's Island (1995) Beaten (December 1st)

-The Legend of the Mystical Ninja (1991) Completed (January 1st)

-Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018) Continuous play

 

Currently Playing:

-Fire Emblem Awakening (replay)

-Pocket Card Jockey

-Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

 

Dropped/Hiatus

-Edge It sucks

-Skullgirls Lack of time

-Bravely Default I'll get back to this, I swear!

All in all, this has been a productive year. I cleared a lot of my 3DS backlog, bought the Switch, started engaging in the N-E Monthly Game Club, and most importantly, managed to beat several of my old shames when it came to backlog (FF Tactics Advance, Hotel Dusk, Yoshi's Island, Rhythm Paradise, Shantae...). What I haven't been much proud of are my diary entries in this thread, I feel like they started to come out more rushed as time went by. I'll try to improve on that in 2019.

EDIT: Huh, just noticed I started the year with a fighting game, and ended it with another one.That's neat.

Edited January 1, 2019 by Jonnas