Your 2020 Gaming Diary

[Cube]

Just finished the DLC for Control, both are great, giving more details and mysteries of the world of both this and Alan Wake.

I'm going to carry on hunting for trophies (something I've not done in a game for ages) as I don't want the game to stop. 

I think this is likely my favourite game of this generation.

[Londragon]

Managed to secure a preview code for Bertil Horberg's newest game, Super Punch Patrol.  It's an old-school side scrolling beat 'em up, with no frills, but Bertil's attention to detail and the 1080p/60fps play make this game smooth as hell.  Check it out,

[Lee Plays] Super Punch Patrol (First Look)

Old NIntendo Gamer takes a look at the streets of Gravy City, and comes away impressed at what Bertil Horberg has built there.

[Londragon]

A look at the local 2-player mode in Super Punch Patrol.

[Let’s Play: Together] Super Punch Patrol (Part 1)

Old Nintendo Gamer & Son battle through the violent and corrupt streets of Gravy City. Do they bring the Crime Boss to justice? And, how does the game run in local two-player on one Switch?

[Cube]

Finished Watch Dogs 2. The on foot gameplay was much improved from the first, with more non-lethal options and the two kinds of drones. I liked the main story and characters more, too.

Oddly, the driving may as well not exist. It's just there to get from A to B. The first game had great car chases, the hacking from a car is not efficient at all, most of what you can do is just make other cars swerve and slightly slow down enemies - the traffic lights, bollard takedown are just gone.

The other boy thing missing is the crime predictor, it was great stopping random crimes. 

[Aperson]

PENULTIMATE EPISODE TIME

This covers the travel to planet Phaaze and journeying into it's depths.

The finale will cover the final boss battle. Also my mic is slightly louder than usual as I had to update Windows 10 so it reset some of my settings. I fix them for the Finale.

 

@Sckewi might appreciate one of the jokes early on in the episode...

 

Also played more Timesplitters: Future Perfect and made significant progress. I finished the Robot War levels so I only have three more to go in the campaign, albeit on Easy difficulty.

 

The scenarios where you meet up with yourself are consistently hilarious, especially this one:

 

 

Edited September 16, 2020 by Aperson

[drahkon]

Finished Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII.

Gameplay was meh. I really didn't like the battle system and RNG based leveling.

Story was ok. Went a bit apeshit at the end, but that's par for FFVII Looking forward to how the next part of FFVII Remake handles the character(s) of Crisis Core.

Overall, not a bad experience but certainly not the best.

Edited September 17, 2020 by drahkon

[Rummy]

As I'm layed up at my folks for a few days despite grabbing my ps4 yesterday haven't set-up and deciding to utlise Switch a bit. Just cracked into a classic I originally discovered via my sister on GBA which is on the SNES VC - Breath of Fire 2. I loved it on GBA but never played the SNES version(later tried to do BoF1 SNES-wise but found it lesser - we'll see if my tolerance has changed after this). It's been seriously ages since I played an old school RPG style like this because I tend to find turn-based boring but I'm feeling weirdly...excited for my adventure! Hopefully I'll finish it without abanoning it and actually write up my thoughts here! Otherwise probably also just working through some SNES VC - notable SMB3 atm via All Stars.

[drahkon]

3 minutes ago, Rummy said:

I tend to find turn-based boring

I hate you.

[Rummy]

11 minutes ago, drahkon said:

I hate you.

Look man give me a decent turn-based game like a Mario RPG and I'll be all on it

[drahkon]

7 minutes ago, Rummy said:

Look man give me a decent turn-based game like a Mario RPG and I'll be all on it

Never played it.

(go ahead, tell me how much you hate me )

[bob]

I hate everyone.


What are we talking about?

[Rummy]

How awesome all the Mario RPGs have been even since the very original on the SNES that we never got and that it awesome because despite being turn-based it was awesomely pioneering in making it less boring by giving bonuses to moves and damages if you timed button presses well to and so you kinda had the two simulataneous options to have a shit gameplay experience or a super awesome gameplay experience depending on your personal preferences

 

EDIT: GGGGEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOO. Get him in a game!

[Aperson]

Well, after over two months uploading this and posting the clips on here... the last episode is finally on here.

 

Here's the Finale to Let's Play Metroid Prime 3: Corruption - Goodbye Forever Dark Samus

 

 

 

While I was at it, I also finished Timesplitters Future Perfect albeit on easy difficulty. Still a lot of content to do on that game. That being said, inspired by the release of 3D Allstars recently I'm in the mood to get back to playing some older Mario games that I've already beaten with a view to do the extra content.

[Glen-i]

On 18/09/2020 at 1:57 PM, Rummy said:

How awesome all the Mario RPGs have been even since the very original on the SNES that we never got and that it awesome because despite being turn-based it was awesomely pioneering in making it less boring by giving bonuses to moves and damages if you timed button presses well to and so you kinda had the two simulataneous options to have a shit gameplay experience or a super awesome gameplay experience depending on your personal preferences

 

EDIT: GGGGEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOO. Get him in a game!

I will never understand the love for Geno. He's the most boring character of the 5 party members. Mario has comedy value through the various ways he tells stories. Bowser and Peach started their RPG personalities here, even Mallow has a character arc. Geno is just... There.

[Rummy]

1 hour ago, Glen-i said:

I will never understand the love for Geno. He's the most boring character of the 5 party members. Mario has comedy value through the various ways he tells stories. Bowser and Peach started their RPG personalities here, even Mallow has a character arc. Geno is just... There.

Pew pew wizard hands, duh!

 

Maybe I'm just a basic sucker for Pew Pew wizard things though. Go get Spellbreak!!

[Aperson]

What is this? A gaming diary update WITHOUT any videos to post? I must be mad...

 

So yeah, after finishing Timesplitters: Future Perfect I took some time out to do some of the extra content, mainly the multiplayer leagues. About halfway through the second league now. but there's something else I wanted to play...

 

Inspired by the release of Super Mario 3D Allstars I decided to go back and boot up my Gamecube to play Super Mario Sunshine. That's right, I'm playing it on it's original console, not this fancy new Switch version everyone else is playing right now

 

I never 100%ed this game unlike 64 and Galaxy so now seemed like a good time to boot up my old save file and do so. Let's see...

 

 

Hmm, it looks like I was on 89 Shines. Well, that number is about 101 now. I was missing a Secret Shine on Ricco Harbor, the 100 coin Shine on Gelato Beach, all of the Secret Shines on the last three levels as well as the 100 coin Shines and I hadn't even done Pianta Village's final main Shine. That's a lot! I think after I beat the game by beating Corona Mountain I was ready to move on and play something else, I bought a lot of games that year and the seventh Shadow Mario mission basically opened up the endgame so I went and did that. So as a result I'm on track to finally getting 100% in this game.

 

There's just one major problem to that...

 

 

BLUE COINS

Also...

 

 

 

 

It's amazing just how buggy Sunshine can actually be sometimes. Clips are seemingly easy to do, some of which take you completely out of bounds. If the game really was rushed then it explains a lot about why it is the way it is.

Edited September 23, 2020 by Aperson

[Rummy]

On 18/09/2020 at 12:19 PM, Rummy said:

As I'm layed up at my folks for a few days despite grabbing my ps4 yesterday haven't set-up and deciding to utlise Switch a bit. Just cracked into a classic I originally discovered via my sister on GBA which is on the SNES VC - Breath of Fire 2. I loved it on GBA but never played the SNES version(later tried to do BoF1 SNES-wise but found it lesser - we'll see if my tolerance has changed after this). It's been seriously ages since I played an old school RPG style like this because I tend to find turn-based boring but I'm feeling weirdly...excited for my adventure! Hopefully I'll finish it without abanoning it and actually write up my thoughts here! Otherwise probably also just working through some SNES VC - notable SMB3 atm via All Stars.

It seems in my grave smartness to play BoF2 as I thought I had played it on GBA as a kid...that this has not actually ever been the case -.-

Tho I think I played this a bit before I should have just gone in order lol(tho I will go back and do BoF after!) it is just proving a bit longer than I recall and I have a feeling I did not finish it when I was younger...still - its pretty decent an RPG so far but went a bit grindy in places to avoid too much challenge - tbh the Switch rewind is a godsend in saving a lot of time from messing up or just horrifically cruel RNG battle hits! Feels like its still got ages to go yet though.

[Londragon]

It's been a while again since I last posted, and my The Messenger playthrough is up to Part 25 today, and our Borderlands co-op playthrough is up to Part 20.

As for what else I've been up to, how about tackling the longest ever track in a trials game, hypnotically mesmerising.

[Lee Plays] Trials Rising (Part 1) Gigatrack

Old Nintendo Gamer tackles Trials Rising's longest and biggest track, and the biggest that has ever appeared in the franchise's history. Can he even make it through to the end?

[Londragon]

[Let’s Play: Together] Borderlands (Part 21)

Trying to follow Patricia Tannis’ footsteps takes us to the Eridian Promontory, and a surprise meeting with the final boss of the game. Only the DLC packs stand between us and true completion. Wow!

[Londragon]

We are going old-school and traversing the attractions of NintendoLand, starting in Samus' Arena.  This game still looks and more importantly plays amazingly.  Reworked Switch Port, please.

[Let’s Play: Together] NintendoLand: Metroid Blast (Part 1)

Old Nintendo Gamer & Son take it to the Geemers as they blast through the first 10 missions of Metroid Blast (missions 1-10).

[Aperson]

2 minutes ago, Londragon said:

We are going old-school and traversing the attractions of NintendoLand, starting in Samus' Arena.  This game still looks and more importantly plays amazingly.  Reworked Switch Port, please.

[Let’s Play: Together] NintendoLand: Metroid Blast (Part 1)

Old Nintendo Gamer & Son take it to the Geemers as they blast through the first 10 missions of Metroid Blast (missions 1-10).

To think... other than Smash Bros. this is the only Metroid representation we got on Wii U.

 

Anyway, update time, Mario Sunshine is going pretty well for collecting blue coins, I have all the blue coins on Bianco Hills, Ricco Harbor, Gelato Beach, Pinna Park and, thankfully, Sirena Beach! But I think there's still quite a few of these things to go, this is going to take a while...

 

Even longer when I'm also playing Magic Arena in between. There's an upcoming banned and restricted announcement and it looks like Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath is going to be banned, so I guess I'm going to have to get the most out of my 4 copies of the card before it gets banned.

[Cube]

Playing through Breath of the Wild again. Decided to to enough shrines for the Master Sword, followed by Devine Beasts and the second DLC, which I've just finished. This means I have plenty of exploring, shrines and quests left to complete to actually make use of the Master Cycle Zero. 

[Londragon]

I got given an Indie developer code for the soon to be released Shmubedi Boo.  At first glance it looks a little un-interesting, but it controls well, and gets very difficult, very quickly.  Here's my first look, and over the next few days I'll have a few other videos with my son, too.  2-player is more competitive.

[Lee Plays] Shmubedi Boo (First Look)

Old Nintendo Gamer takes a very quick look at the upcoming eShop title Shmubedi Boo. A quirky 2D platformer that tasks you to collect many apples.

[Dufniall]

I’ve been neglecting this thread for 2 months now so I guess it’s time for an update. In my defense, I haven’t finished that many games, although I’ve been playing my fair share of titles like A Short Hike, Kotodama, Super Mario 3D All Stars, Resident Evil 6 and replaying Starcraft II.

For now just some titles I have finished in the last months. 

The Legend Of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (Nintendo 3DS)

 

I never got around to playing this during the 3DS days, which is weird because A Link To The Past is still one of my favourite Zelda titles and I’ve always been curious about this sequel. 

Since it is part of the Nintendo Selects series and therefore is cheap I decided to finally pick it up (with the less appealing cover…) and return to ALTTP Hyrule. I had some trouble with going back to 3DS graphics when I played Metroid: Samus Returns earlier this year. But ALBW was spot-on from the beginning. Lovely aesthetics and great use of 3D here.

The whole item rental system is interesting at first, but I never was short on rupees so I ended up renting everything and only once lost a couple of items. After being able to buy stuff instead of renting I just gathered a couple of items after every dungeon. I did like the upgrades though, it’s fun to find out just how an upgrade affects an item.

The new mechanism that was impressive though was the wall merging. Damn, it’s brilliant! Always being on the lookout for possible 2D paths never got old during the game, and with the draining magic meter I had some tense moments if I was going to make a certain walk yes or no. Very clever.

It is interesting to play a new Zelda game while you already roughly know the map, as you kind of know where to go and what to expect. On the other hand it is fun to find the differences.

Storywise I wasn’t that impressed, although the term Lorule is clever and the. I also didn’t find the game hard, I kind of breezed through it. Even the Battle Tower on hardest difficulty was very doable with plenty of upgraded items and some potions. Haven’t finished it 100% but I did do a little sweep after completion and I’m going to leave it at that. Glad to have played it!

Castlevania Anniversary Collection: Super Castlevania IV (Nintendo Switch)

 

I got the Castlevania Anniversary Collection recently in a sale mostly for two reasons: Kid Dracula and Super Castlevania IV. The first I never played, and the latter I have played a long time ago but never finished it. 

It was an interesting experience playing this, and I’m not sure if I loved it or hated it. First of all: save states were used quite a bit. The vibe is great and the soundtrack as well. But it suffers from the early Castlevania nuisances such as enemies like the Medusa heads flying in, the disability to change direction in a jump and the weird way stairs work. 

Still, I love the character and the settings, but I think after Kid Dracula I will look into the GBA games as I loved the DS trilogy. Just out of wonder, are there any good 3D Castlevania games? Is Lords of Shadows worth checking out?

Jotun: Valhalla Edition (Nintendo Switch)

 

After reading American Gods and Norse Mythology my interest in the Scandinavian mythology rekindled. Jotun was on sale so I picked it up on a whim.

The artstyle appealed to me as well as the theme, but I didn’t really know what to expect gameplay-wise. The story revolves around the fallen warrior Thora, but she drowned which isn’t considered a worthy death so no Valhalla for her. You get a chance to redeem yourself though by slaying the Jotun (mythological giants).

The gameplay is simple enough. You wield a hammer, and that gives you a quick swing or a heavy hit which costs some time to perform. For evasion you can do a dodge roll. Later on you will pick up some special skills like healing, increasing speed or attack or throwing a spear.

You then battle your way through a number of locations from the Norse mythology, like the tree Yggdrasil. Each level (accessed through a hub) consists of 2 areas and a battle with the Jotun. The levels themself are quite empty, as in there are almost no enemies in them (with a few exceptions). It is mostly about exploration, solving puzzles and finding the rune to unlock the next area and the skill and health upgrades. 

The level ends with a Jotun though, a screen-filling giant that usually can take you out in a couple of hits. Suddenly the game changes from an exploration game to a bossfight game, and you need to learn patterns in order to tackle the behemoths. This is a strange transition, coming from bare levels to an intense fight.

These fights can become quite frustrating and sometimes feel unfair, but after finding out the patterns and a little bit of luck they are doable.

The game looks gorgeous though with its hand-drawn graphics, and it isn’t overstaying its welcome with about 5 hours of playtime. For me it was worth the couple of euros just for that and for the setting. But it’s a tricky one to fully recommend.

Bomb Chicken (Nintendo Switch)

*Usually I start with my "I finished the game" tweet but Bomb Chicken somehow doesn’t allow captures.

Another indie title that was on my wishlist for a while now was Bomb Chicken, and since it was on sale recently I finally went ahead and got it (and also because @markderoos kept praising it :grin:).

In this 2D puzzle platformer you take on the roll of a mutated chicken who lays bombs instead of eggs. The whole mechanism revolves around this. You can lay a bomb and kick it to the side, or you can lay multiple eggs as a stack in order to reach higher places. Just get off it before they explode.

This leads to quite some clever puzzles and mechanics, all set in a charming 2D pixel world. The game does get pretty brutal later on though, and I cursed quite a bit during it. Later levels are chaotic, and there are also a couple of bosses which are tricky. One hit means KO which especially in the boss levels is pretty hardcore.

It is a pretty short game, you can go through it in just a couple of hours. I would recommend it though, as despite the shortness and the frustrating bits, it is a great little and charming title. I can see a lot of potential in the mechanism, so I’m hoping we’ll see a Bomb Chicken 2 which refines it a bit.

[Aperson]

Officially 100% completed Super Mario Sunshine.

 

Considering how infamous the Pachinko and poisonous lilypad levels are I'm surprised I never had any memory of doing either... turns out that I never actually did either level. I couldn't find the Pachinko level and never did the task of getting to the lilypad level. So in a mammoth gaming session when I was getting all the blue coins I noticed a shortfall in the amount of shines I had so I figured that I was missing a fair amount in Delfino Plaza. That was indeed correct.

 

 

 

So yeah, I used internet guides to help me find the blue coins and after wrestling with Corona Mountain (worst final Mario level ever!) I was able to do this:

 

 

 

Taking a break from playing briefly to work on a Youtube video now.