30 Day Video Game Challenge Thing.

[Goafer]

Online Multiplayer

Rocket League

I was tempted to go with an MMO or something similar, but Rocket League is just so fun and unique that I had to go with it.

Honourable mentions to Phantasy Star Online, WoW and Monster Hunter World.

[Will]

Online Multiplayer

I think for this one I have to go for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

Perfect Mario Kart experience in my opinion. I always want to take part in the league here but timing is just terrible for me. I think I’ve managed to make it to a session about twice.

[Glen-i]

3 minutes ago, will' said:

Online Multiplayer

I think for this one I have to go for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

Perfect Mario Kart experience in my opinion. I always want to take part in the league here but timing is just terrible for me. I think I’ve managed to make it to a session about twice.

The problem with changing the time for someone is that there's a good chance that it will mean another person won't be able to join because of it...

Adulthood sucks.

[Ronnie]

I rarely play online multiplayer with a few exceptions like MKWii but I was really into one online game in particular, Splatoon. I didn't pick up the sequel on Switch but I put loads of hours into the Wii U game, such a brilliant concept, and tons of fun. The idea of inking for attack and traversal is such a great Nintendo-like idea. Loved Walleye Warehouse most of all I think, the enclosed space made battles really tense.

 

[Will]

1 minute ago, Glen-i said:

The problem with changing the time for someone is that there's a good chance that it will mean another person won't be able to join because of it...

Adulthood sucks.

Oh for sure. It would suck for basically everyone if the time worked for me. I’ll definitely try and join when we’re in the UK later in the year though!

[Jonnas]

I don't... I don't like playing online. So by default, I give this to...

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Awkwardly cluttered and compressed, barely any room for movement. Just like the online.

[bob]

Best online multiplayer

I don't really have time for online multiplayer anymore, but the game that I probably put the most hours into was:



Halo Reach

Halo bores will probably tell you that the addition of special abilities ruined online multiplayer, but I loved it. There was nothing quite like pulling off a perfectly timed armoured crouch thingy and destroying the person trying to run you over.

[Nicktendo]

33 minutes ago, bob said:

Best online multiplayer

I don't really have time for online multiplayer anymore, but the game that I probably put the most hours into was:



Halo Reach

Halo bores will probably tell you that the addition of special abilities ruined online multiplayer, but I loved it. There was nothing quite like pulling off a perfectly timed armoured crouch thingy and destroying the person trying to run you over.
 

I hated the abilities at first, but I'm finding myself playing Reach more than any other game in MCC. I miss not being able to sprint when it's not there.

[drahkon]

Day 25 - Best Online Multiplayer

Easy: Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction

Still the best ARPG out there.

[Dufniall]

Day 25 - Best Online Multiplayer

There are so many great online games to play, like the aforementioned Splatoon 2, Rocket League and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Also love me a game of Paladins, and on PC I enjoyed playing League of Legends (before it got salty) and the Starcraft II online co-op missions.

But the one game that really wowed me was Battlefield 1. I upgraded my PC with a proper graphics card, and from that moment on I could finally play some more demanding games. It was the first time I played a game with 63 other players online while I could crawl in a tank, pilot a plane, blow buildings to rubble in an all-out warfare. And it looked amazing as well. It was also the first Battlefield I played, so for me it was a fresh experience and all the critics from players who played the previous game were therefore kind of lost on me.

  

[RedShell]

Day 23 - Licensed video game:

GoldenEye 007. Just the perfect combination of franchise, developer and platform, a once in a lifetime event really. I don't expect to see another licensed video game of this quality again, put it that way.

Day 24 - Best final mission:

Operation 009-C from The Wonderful 101. Pure insanity. Platinum always deliver the goods when it comes to extreme OTT action gameplay and finales, but they outdid themselves with this.

Day 25 - Online multiplayer:

Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate. Have enjoyed many hours of online play with the Monster Hunter series, but the Switch version (especially with fellow N-E hunters) has been the most fun and memorable.

Spoiler

1. Earliest video game memory: Bubble Bobble in the late 80’s (C64)
2. Opening section of a game: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES)
3. Local multiplayer: Wii Sports (Wii)
4. Favourite villain/antagonist: Uncle Rupee from Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland (NDS)
5. 3D platformer: Super Mario 64 (N64)
6. Most relaxing navigation: Endless Ocean (Wii)
7. Favourite ranged combat: Time Crisis II (Arcade)
8. Best musical moment: I am Impact! from Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon (N64)
9. Scariest moment: The entirety of Alien Isolation (PS4)
10. Credits sequence: MadWorld (Wii)
11. Town or village: Kamurocho from Yakuza 4 (PS3)
12. Favourite awful game: Wii Music (Wii)
13. Best open world city game: GTA V (PS3)
14. 2D platformer: Super Mario World (SNES)
15. Best story: Papo & Yo (PS3)
16. Most interesting collectables: The treasures in Pikmin 2 (GCN)
17. Racing game: F-Zero GX (GCN)
18. Mini-game: PyoRo from WarioWare, Inc (GBA)
19. Melee combat: God Hand (PS2)
20. Saddest moment: Receiving the Hero's Shield from Grandma in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GCN)
21. Game that takes you back to your childhood: Super Mario Land (GB)
22. Favourite playable character: Mario
23. Licensed video game: GoldenEye 007 (N64)
24. Best final mission: Operation 009-C from The Wonderful 101 (Wii U)
25. Online multiplayer: Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate (Switch)

 

[BowserBasher]

Day 25 - online multiplayer

Super easy for me and it’s been mentioned already. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. 
Thursday nights are not the same without it. Here is the greatest moment of my MK 8 online life. 

 

[Mandalore]

Day 25 - Best Online Multiplayer

Call of Duty. Original PC game was a masterpiece online, such a joy to play with friends. A shame the monster it turned into, but the original was great. 

[S.C.G]

Day 25 - Best Online Multiplayer

Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II

It could only ever be this game, I've spent thousands of hours playing it over the years for a reason, it's a fantastic game which is enjoyable in itself even in single player, but the game comes into its own when you play it online, especially when you get a team of four players, each playing as a different class; HUmars dealing damage with bladed weapons, RAcasts taking out enemies from afar with rifles, FOnewearls providing support techs and casting all of the elements plus maybe a RAcaseal for some extra firepower.

There really isn't any other game like it, you'd log on to the official Sega servers (when they were still operational) after paying a monthly Hunter's License fee of around £5.99 or so and then you could play all that you wanted, especially if you had broaband and the adapter for the GameCube, rather than 56k which was typically metered internet access. Technicalities aside though, when you get online you would find yourself in the lobby area, which is where you would meet other players, you could sit in a chair and talk using a keyboard if you had one.

An official screenshot taken on the GameCube version, saved onto a memory card and uploaded from the console, yes this is the default image size, but it's a cool feature.

From there, you could make games or join one which was already open, though you couldn't join if a quest was already in progress. All of the Episode I areas were available; Forest which is your starting area, the Caves which are intermediate, Mines which contain a lot of annoying robotic enemies and then the Ruins which is a case of 'Nope!' if you're just starting out, but it's all beatable in time. Part of the joy just comes from finding your own drops from creatures, building up your armour set with slot items, or just finding a new weapon to use, of which there are many types to try out, depending on which character class you choose, of which there are twelve different types and also twelve different section I'ds depending on what you name your character.

Episode II which was the GameCube versions biggest selling point, is a whole new set of areas, this part of the game is set on Gal Da Val island, with three main areas, Mountains, Seaside and Jungle. Upon completing these areas, the Central Control Area opens up, where you get to fight the Gal Gryphon, which is this episode's equivalent of the Dragon, then you get to venture to the Seabed area, which is easily the most visually impressive part of the game, in addition to being quite a challenge for a group of four experienced players, let alone playing it solo, as when you get the the main boss, it will make everything which came before it, seem rather trivial.

Playing the game online has always been great fun, it was a sad day when the original servers got shut down, though fortunately there are now private servers which are kept running and so long as you have the original hardware to run the game, you can still play the game online, which is exactly what I've decided to do this year, playing as a FOnewearl character called NiGHTS who was originally just an extra character, as I didn't want to risk my main character, just in case.

An off-screen picture taken with a camera of NiGHTS on the new server, I reduced the image size and quality to try and keep it authentic.

Its all worked out pretty well so far, I've been playing the game again on a reasonably regular basis, have since gotten NiGHTS to over level ninety, I've met some new players on there and it has been great fun just playing PSO online again, which I didn't think I'd be doing in 2020, but there we are, Phantasy Star Online lives on, some eighteen years after this version of the game originally came out, that's pretty amazing.

One thing I wasn't so hyped about though, was typing on my third-party keyboard from back in the day, which is a Datel Powerboard, essentially it's a PS2 style connector keyboard with an adapter that connects it to the controller port on the GameCube, it works for a short period of time usually and then cuts out as the circuitry in the adapter is less then ideal. I'd always thought about getting one of those Official ASCII keyboard controllers but they always seemed out of reach, as they were Japan only, cost a reasonable amount back then, understandably they can cost even more now and I just never got around to it, or talked myself out of it. Until now, that is...

The Officially licensed ASCII Nintendo GameCube keyboard controller.

A boxed unit came up for sale recently for a reasonable price (just over £100, they can go for £200 or so) and I decided to get it, seeing as I knew that I'd get a decent amount of use out of it. The controller arrived today, that's a picture of it above after I'd cleaned it up, I just edited the background out quickly so that you can see the keyboard controller itself without anything detracting from it. Now, it does look pretty huge but the keys are about half the size of standard keyboard keys, so it's a reasonable size and it's susprisingly comfortable.

Anyway, I'd planned to post this significantly earlier but it took a while longer to type all this up and clean the keyboard, but I think it came up quite nicely, all things considered and being that it will be used, it'll probably get dust and debris in it again, so I didn't see any point in buying a really new condition one for over double the price and it is in reasonably good shape, considering how many years ago it came out. Hopefully now it will continue to live on as a functioning Keyboard Controller for many years, I think I'm going to try it out for a bit, it will be nice just to play PSO again online with a reliable keyboard, plus it should be a lot more comfortable to use.

[Londragon]

Day 26 - Favourite NPC

Time for a character that rocked my world.

Spontaneous Bootay.
From South Park: The Fractured But Whole.
The whole game makes it very hard to choose who’s the best, but I laughed a lot during this fight.

[bob]

Favourite NPC



This guy.

Mr Resetti - an angry mole who chastises you every time you switched your game off without saving properly.

I love the idea of replacing the dull, sterile, instruction screens with an absolute arsehole who berates you into good saving practices.

[Cube]

Day 26 - Favourite NPC

Mordin Solus from Mass Effect 2.

 

[Glen-i]

Favourite NPC

Gonna have to give a big "YOOM TAH!" to Wigglytuff (Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness/Time/Sky).

This guy runs a business...

Only Arceus knows how this complete manchild managed to clinch the guildmaster role in Treasure Town. He's meant to keep his employees in line, but is prone to stealing supplies in the middle of the night, whining about how boring his second-in-command is and sleeping during briefings (with his eyes open, no less).

I guess it's kinda cheating, because Explorers of Sky does actually let you play as him in a flashback side-story when he was still an Igglybuff, but I don't care. It wasn't in the original game, and you still can't play as him when he's a Wigglytuff, so he's an NPC. (Although that side-story is also very funny)

[Goafer]

Favourite NPC

Quiet - MGS5

All my favourite personalities are tied up in other days, so I've gone with Quiet from MGS5. Awesomely useful in the game and makes the gameplay more interesting. Plus she's played by the rather attractive Stephanie Joosten, which helps things somewhat.

[BowserBasher]

Day 26 - Fav NPC

another vote for Resetti. I can’t think of another game that threatened you with deleting your entire save just for not saving. And make you type out something which I can’t remember but wasn’t nice for a kid. It’s a shame his role diminished as the games went on.  

[Nicktendo]

Day 26 - Favourite NPC

[nekunando]

7 minutes ago, Nicktendo said:

Day 26 - Favourite NPC

Just when I thought you couldn't possibly have a more sexual pick than @Londragon..

[Jonnas]

Tricky one, this. Lots of amusing NPCs here and there, and many memorable ones. But since my best main character was Link, and my best villain was Ganondorf, it's only fair that I complete the Triforce:

Princess Zelda

I thought she was intangible...?

Princess Zelda started out generic, but she really came into her own ever since she decided to be a ninja for 7 years. Ever since then, she's been a tanned pirate, a stern commander, a sassy ghost, the sweetest girl-next-door, and whatever her deal in BotW2 is. Sure, you need to rescue her at some point in the game, but she's not exactly helpless anymore, making her a truly indelible part of the eponymous Zelda experience.

My vote for best Zelda goes to Spirit Tracks, where she doesn't merely outshine every other Zelda, she outshines every other "companion" in the series. She's childish, selfish, sarcastic, funny, she can possess a giant suit of armour (eat your heart out, Alphonse Elric), and she still makes the cutest pairing with Link. Can't ask for anything more.

...

What's that? Zelda's been playable in Smash and Hyrule Warriors? And you technically control her armour during some points in Spirit Tracks? That doesn't disqualify her, does it? It might? Oh, buzz off with the technicalities, who else am I going to choose? The likes of Midna and Linebeck don't carry the same punch.

Then again...

  Previous picks (Hide contents)

Earliest video game memory - Tetris or Sonic
Opening section - Final Fantasy IX
Local multiplayer - Snipperclips
Favourite villain - Ganondorf (Ocarina of Time)
3D Platformer - De Blob
Most relaxing navigation - Wind Waker
Favourite ranged combat - Worms Armageddon
Best musical moment - One Winged Angel (Final Fantasy VII)
Scariest moment - Doki Doki Literature Club
Best Credits sequence - Super Mario 64
Best Town - Windfall Island (Wind Waker)
Best "bad" game - Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade
Best open world city game - Chaos on Deponia
Best 2D Platformer - Sonic 3 & Knuckles
Best story - Tales of Symphonia
Best collectible - Super Smash Bros. Melee
Best racing game - F-Zero GX
Best mini game - Pokémon Stadium
Best melee combat - Soul Calibur II
Saddest moment - Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
Game that brings me back to childhood - Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge
Best playable character - Link (Skyward Sword)
Best licensed game - World of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck
Best final level - Sonic 2
Best online - Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Best NPC - Princess Zelda (Spirit Tracks)

 

Edited July 27, 2020 by Jonnas

[S.C.G]

Day 26 - Favourite NPC

Quest Gal from Monster Hunter Generations

Just a really great NPC, who has some funny dialogue and is fun to visit when you need a quest.

[Dufniall]

Day 26 - Favourite NPC

I love Cranky Kong for the stubborn, cranky ape who gives out unwanted advice in Donkey Kong Country 1. His lore that he is the original Donkey Kong is just awesome.