Your 2024 Gaming Diary

[Glen-i]

Shantae and the Seven Sirens is the latest game in the Shantae series. It's a Metroid style platformer developed by WayForward and released on all modern platforms in 2019.

Shantae (Half-human, half-genie), her uncle, and two of her best friends have been invited to Paradise Island for an all expenses paid vacation. Shantae soon discovers that five other half-genies have also been invited. The small print turns out to be that Shantae and the 5 other half-genies take part in Paradise Island's brand new "Half-genie festival". They agree, but during the festival, every half-genie except Shantae mysteriously disappears. Suspecting foul play, Shantae explores the ruins underneath the island to try and find them using her powers...

Yeah, that. Thank you.

Like most of the Shantae games, this one consists of a big interconnected area where most of it is inaccessible until you unlock more abilities for Shantae to use. I'm sure all of you have played a Metroid game, you get how it works. Shantae distinguishes itself by also having Zelda style dungeons. Granted, it's closer to Zelda 2 because of the side scrolling nature of the game. Seven Sirens specifically takes notes from Castlevania with the monster card system. Whenever you kill an enemy, there's a chance they'll drop a card of themselves. There's 50 of these cards, and you can activate three of them at a time to give Shantae some kind of passive ability. None of them are required to finish the game, but they add an extra layer of customisation. Even if a certain one that replenishes magic over time is way too good.

One thing to note about this is that in 2021, a pretty sizable update was added to this game that included 4 extra difficulty modes. Alongside the 2019 Legacy Mode, there's Beginner Mode, which makes Shantae invincible and crazy strong. Definitive Mode rebalances enemies to be harder, makes boss patterns faster, but adds extra dialogue, and quality of life features to make 100% completion far more reasonable. Full Deck Mode gives you all 50 monster cards from the start, and Rule Breaker Mode removes the three card activation limit, and lets you have every one you find active all at once.

Rule Breaker Mode sounds like a lot of fun, but this was my first time playing this game, so I went with Definitive Mode. I'm glad I did, the extra map features were very much appreciated, especially the one that hints at what dance you might need in each room. Considering that there's a lot of invisible goodies with not much in the way of hints to help signpost them, I can't imagine trying to find everything in this game with the original release (Legacy Mode).

Hmmm. The Screen Clearing Blast is my favourite character.

Honestly, I don't know why it took me 5 years to play this. I like all the Shantae games, and this one is no different. I'd put it right in the middle of the 5 games in terms of quality. It's great. But Risky's Revenge and especially Pirate's Curse outdo it.

 

Sea of Stars
Chained Echoes
Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore
Princess Peach Will Star As The Main Character In A Brand New Game
Star Ocean: The Second Story R
Hi-Fi Rush
Sonic Superstars
Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising
Theatrhythm Final Bar Line: Premium Digital Deluxe Edition (100%)
1000xRESIST
Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Switch) (100%)
Miitopia (100 flipping per ceeeeent!)
Metroid Zero Mission (100%, Under 2 hours, Normal) 
Chico and the Magic Orchards DX
Super Metroid Redux
Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster
Densetsu No Stafy
Densetsu No Stafy 2
Densetsu No Stafy 3
Final Fantasy II Pixel Remaster
Final Fantasy III Pixel Remaster
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team
Final Fantasy IV Pixel Remaster
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
Gravity Circuit
Final Fantasy V Pixel Remaster
The Plucky Squire
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes
Banjo-Tooie (100%)
Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythmic Adventure Pack
Shantae and the Seven Sirens

Edited November 16 by Glen-i

[Hero-of-Time]

 

Yeah, this took a crazy amount of effort. It's easily the most difficult and longest platinum I have went for in a very long time. With me playing through Final Fantasy 1-6, as well as INTERmission, it was now the turn of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth to be added to the platinum list. I played it earlier in the year when it was released but I just played through the main story and called it a day. After taking a 8-9 month break, it was time to tackle the platinum.

This journey meant I had to complete every side quest, tackle every super boss, beat every mini game on their hardest settings, play through all the Golden Saucer games on their hardest difficulty, replay the game again on hard difficulty, pretty much level up every materia to it's max level and take on all of Chadley's battle simulator challenges. A lot of this stuff is very time consuming but relatively simple. It's the battle simulator challenges that are the stuff of nightmares.

The battle simulator consists is very similar to what was in part 1 but everything has been dialled up to 11. A lot of them have you needing to go through a series of 10 fights against insanely difficult enemies, some of which are summon beasts or actual super bosses. Fail one of the fights and it's all the way to the start again. You pretty much have to play perfectly for 10 fights/half an hour for each of these challenges. There are a few that pit you against either Sephiroth or Odin as the final battle. Both of these have the ability to completely wipe out you and your party with a single attack. Honestly, my heart was racing and hands shaking after getting through these battles. What a rush.  

Like when I played replayed INTERmission on hard, it gave me a new appreciation of the battle system. I didn't really faff on with it back when the game was first released but going through all those challenges required me to really learn the ins and outs of the materia system and learn how to best link up certain ones with each other. The effects of some of these combos are devastating and I imagine pretty much required usage for when getting through the Brutal and Legendary challenges. 

After finishing those challenges, going through the game again but on hard difficulty wasn't that bad. Even the final boss battles were pretty tame in comparison. Going through it again but skipping cutscenes and only engaging enemies when I needed to really did highlight just how much fluff is in the game. Honestly, there was probably only 10-15 "random" enemy battles that you actually need to do in the whole game. The rest of the battles are boss fights. Playing this way means the game is only around 10 hours long. It's nuts just how much filler has been put in this entry. 

To give some perspective how long this all took, back on release I finished the game sitting on 42 hours played but by the time I had unlocked the platinum, my time played finished at 152 hours.

Worth it.  With it finally done, it meant I had my landmark platinum 800 in the bag. 

For those who aren't part of the PlayStation ecosystem, once you earn a platinum the game is locked on your profile in that position, unless some DLC is released and you earn another trophy. This means my road to 800 list will always be a reminder of the time I played Final Fantasy I-VI, INTERmission and Rebirth games all off the belt. Year of the JRPG indeed.

[Hero-of-Time]

Finished a few games over the past few days.

I played and completed the first game a month or two back and enjoyed it so much that I bought the sequel. This is a massive step up from the original on every level. Graphics are no longer in the style of the NES era but rather the SNES, the amount of moves that you have at your disposal has increased, and navigation around the map is much better. Cracking Metroidvania.

I've been waiting for this to go on sale and I'm glad I did. The game does a great job of recapturing the feeling of the classic show but it's ridiculously short. I got it at just over half price (11.99) and I still feel robbed. It was only an hour and half long!

The game plays like Super Mario Bros 2. Each of the kids represents one of the characters from that game. Tommy plays like Mario, Chuckie plays like Luigi, Phil plays like Toad and Lil plays like Peach. The difference here is that you can switch the kids at any point in the level. I always hated Chuckie in the show and I'm sad to say he's the most useful here.

This is another one that I've been waiting to drop in price. I'm a big fan of the original, both arcade and SNES versions, and was keen to see how this remake fared. The graphics are a bit weird but the gameplay is spot on. The game even has some free DLC, complete with extended stages and Trophies, which was much appreciated.

I'm always on the hunt for new Indie games and I came across this earlier in the year. The game is a very cozy JRPG that has a fantastic battle system, cooking system that help levels you up and a town building system to help the inhabitants of the world. I also like that it's a very breezy experience. Most RPGS last for hours on end but this can be clocked in around 12 hours. The fact that you can also fast forward the fights is a welcome addition and makes grinding levels super fast. Game is absolutely gorgeous as well.

Nothing much more to say about this series that I haven't said before. I discovered these games this year and have been snapping them up whenever I had a spare slot in my gaming calender and if they were on sale. Think I only need to play two more now.

I picked this up during my BF gaming binge. It's a bit of a mixed bag. The combat is decent, with encounters being fast and fluid, and there's a weird/fun Persona style system in place that encourages players to talk with NPCs to increase their stats. The problems the game has are that it gets very repeatative, with levels repeating constantly, and the loading times are pretty bad and numerous. There's a decent game in there somewhere but it needed more care and attention before release. Story is decent though. It takes places a few months after the most recent movie, which I loved.

I played through Donkey Kong Land on the NSO. Really enjoyed it. It's another cracking example of a Gameboy game being much better than it had any right being. The music from the SNES DKC game that is used here sounds amazing for the hardware it's running on and the game doesn't look all that bad now that you can actually see what's going on! I did get a laugh at King K. Rool during the boss battle. He's tiny in this version! Diddy Kong is bigger than him!!

[Glen-i]

22 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Game is absolutely gorgeous as well.

Oh, it certainly is! No prizes for guessing where the inspiration for that visual style came from.

*Adds to wishlist*

[Hero-of-Time]

4 hours ago, Glen-i said:

Oh, it certainly is! No prizes for guessing where the inspiration for that visual style came from.

*Adds to wishlist*

The main inspiration was Breath of Fire 3, with Dark Cloud inspiring the town building sections. 

Had a holiday from work today and so cranked out a few more games.

My physical copy finally arrived. Absolutely fantastic collection of games. These are some of my all time fav 2D fighting games and to have them in a single collection, and on a modern platform, is a dream come true. It was nice to actually play a version of COTA that doesn't run like garbage. I had it on both the Saturn and PS1 when I was younger and neither of them ran that well. 

I'll always appreciate Capcom and Marvel using Onslaught as a final boss in MvC. It was a huge event in the comics at the time and having him appear in a game as the big bad was fantastic. Playing it again, I completely forgot they even used his famous quote ("Behold my mighty hand!") in the game. Good stuff.

Due to me not doing PC gaming or faffing on with emulators, I've never had the opportunity to play The Punisher. It's a shame it's taken this long to make it widely available but it was worth the wait. It's a classic Capcom scrolling beat-em up with a Marvel skin attached. Loved every second of it.

Most of these games were a big part of my teenage years and playing them all again was such a nostalgia trip. What's impressive is that everyone single one of them holds up. Playing them in order of release (had to complete every game for platinum) you can see how each of the games gets tweaked and refined until you are left with the perfection that is MvC2.

From one collection to another...

I was looking forward to revisiting the SNES and Mega Drive games in this collection. I played both of them when I was a kid and remember enjoying them.

I played through the other games in the collection first. I have memories of playing the Gameboy game but have no idea where or when. I don't recall owning it but certainly remember parts of the game. Very weird.

The second Mega Drive game was pretty frustrating. For some reason it was the only game in the collection that required me to complete it on hard difficulty for a trophy. The levels themselves are very confusing and with enemies constantly respawning, it made for slow progress. Also, for some reason you aren't allowed to kill a lot of dinosaurs. If you do, you fail the mission. It isn't really explained and I didn't realise what it was all about until halfway through the game.

I really enjoyed playing the first Mega Drive JP game. It's a fun action/platformer and it allows to play as both dinosaur and human characters. The raptor takes some getting used to but is fun enough to use once you get the hang of it. It's a game I never owned myself but played the hell out of it when my friend came on holiday with me and he brought his Mega Drive.

The SNES game...yeah, this wasn't good at all and certainly didn't live up to my memories. I do remember it being tough and I never did complete it as a kid but I remember having fun with it. Not so much now.

The main map is a bit of a confusing mess. You are constantly met with barriers that need lifting by going into the buildings and using the computers. These sections are an FPS but they run like garbage and the controls are very fiddly. At least if you clear these areas out of enemies they never respawn upong revisiting them. Had the game kept to a top down shooter like it is in the overworld, I think it would have been a far better experience. Due to its difficulty, I imagine the game featured heavily in hints and tips sections of gaming magazines at the time. I vaguely remember having a map with all of the dino egg locations on it but I'm not sure if that came with the game or if I got it from something like Gamesmaster/Nintendo magazine.

[nekunando]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Hero-of-Time]

Donkey Kong Land 2 is done and dusted.

It was decent enough but I probably preferred the first game. This feels like a much like a lesser version of DKC2. Dont get me wrong, it's still amazing what they've pulled off here but the first DKL game pivoted away from DKC1 and carved its own identity. Sure, some of the levels weren't great but it was trying to do something a little different.

Bring on the 3rd game! I wonder if they put the Japanese exclusive GBC version of DKL on the service? I've always wanted to play that.

[Glen-i]

1 hour ago, Hero-of-Time said:

I wonder if they put the Japanese exclusive GBC version of DKL on the service? I've always wanted to play that.

Probably on the Japanese app, seeing as there is no Game Boy version of DKL 3 in Japan.

Edited November 29 by Glen-i

[Hero-of-Time]

26 minutes ago, Glen-i said:

Probably on the Japanese app, seeing as there is no Game Boy version of DKL 3 in Japan.

Guess I won't be playing it then. I don't faff on with the eShops from different regions.

[Hero-of-Time]

It's finally done.

I essentially finished this in August but there was one final trophy I still needed. This required me to get 100k dinosaur kills. I think I was sitting on around 20k when the credits rolled and so it's been a hell of a grind getting this.

During this grind I finally got to play through the Monster Hunter event.

This certainly helped with my kill count as you get swarmed by Velociprey. Fighting Rathalos in the arena was a very fitting battle. Just like MH, you could even smash parts of its body and cut off its tail.

Fun game and one that I'm surprised hasn't hit PS+ yet, if only to boost the online users.

[nekunando]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm not sure how many games I played this year that were released in 2024 but Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown basically wins by default!

Thankfully, it's pretty good 😃

I never felt completely comfortable with the multitude of controls to remember and moves to execute during the heat of battle in the boss fights but I always got there in the end.

I definitely grabbed defeat from the jaws of victory on more than one occasion, though. It was always frustrating that each enemy would choose the exact move I had most trouble with just as I was close to dealing the killer blow!

 

[Hero-of-Time]

Yeah, Prince of Persia was great. I imagine it won't be on many best of 2024 lists due to it being released so early in the year and being smothered by the more recent games.

[Hero-of-Time]

Finished Detective Pikachu Returns today.

Awful game. The thing just doesn't know when to shut up. Also, it's pretty annoying when you know the culprit or what to do next but you can't just call the person out or skip a step. You are forced to go through each and every boring step. It's up there with the Phoenix Wright Trilogy as the worst/most boring game I've played this year.

Speaking of disappointing games...

After enjoying RCG, I picked this up in the recent sale. I was hoping for a kinda demake of RCG but what I got was a very basic brawler that lacked real hook. Glad I didn't play full price.

I also played through Mercs on the NSO service. 

Fun game, if a little short. I would have been fuming if I got this as a kid. Paying £50+ for a game that's about an hour long. Yikes. It was a decent try at porting an arcade game to the Mega Drive but it runs like garbage when things get a little frantic on screen.

[Jonnas]

I have been swamped with work for the past couple of months. Thankfully, it's finally over.

A Jonnas Arcade Update

Nothing too big. These will be games I tried briefly. Rare breaks. Writing might feel disjointed.

Fatal Fury

The origin of Terry Bogard! I didn't quite like FF2, but I was curious to see how the original, goofy entry in this series felt like. This should be before they had the two-lane sys-

Oh, this game has two lanes? They...they had that from the start? Yeesh, that's rough.

Regardless, despite me disliking the two-lane system, I thought I could have some fun with it, but... this game is wonky. And sluggish. And hard to control. I could not pull off a single move, heck, I could barely jump. As a game, this feels like it aged far worse than the original Street Fighter 2 (but not as badly as Street Fighter 1).

I do respect the plot of this game, and the effort to give every character a personality. There's a goofy charm that permeates all of Fatal Fury, and it started right here. Too bad I don't actually enjoy playing it. 1 star

Fatal Fury 3

Now, this one is nostalgic. I played it a long time ago as a child, on a cousin's emulator. Picked that monk with the hat, figured out on my own how to use one of his special moves. Good times.

Going back to it, it's actually quite fun. The plot has a few twists and turns, there's a few new villains running around, you can pick your first fight in the Arcade mode... And the presentation rocks, look at that character select! There's even a chibi version of your character running around the city (Bob Wilson's spins around like a Hitmontop!), it's delightful.

I really dig these sprites. Colourful, chunky, charming. Characters pop a lot, and they look very memorable. Furthermore, most of the cast is new to this entry (only 5 characters from previous entries return), and they're really nice. Even minor newcomers like Bob Wilson and Franco Bash will stick to your mind.

The now three-lane system feels more fleshed out here, with characters being able to launch attacks across lanes. To my surprise, when playing Blue Mary, I found out her typical anti-air actually hits across lanes as well! To think that some of these classic moves were originally designed to interact with this system.

Overall, I didn't get too far. Game has some tough AI.

Despite me disliking the first two Fatal Furies, and not feeling too strongly about the Real Bout games, I'm really fond of this one. MOTW is excellent, but if Fatal Fury had kept this direction, I wouldn't have complained. 3 stars

SNK vs. Capcom: Chaos

The one made by SNK! The weird one! The one with the weird cast! The one with jank that feels unfinished! The one that- okay, that's enough hearsay and preconceptions. I finally tried this weird little game for myself.

Honestly? It's really fun. Janky and sloppy for sure, but it's kind of a blast to play and have some casual fun.

Some inspired roster picks for sure: Earthquake and Hugo? Dimitri and Zero? Mars People from Metal Slug and the Red Arremer from Ghosts n'Goblins? And the Capcom characters look brilliant in the KOF style, look at Dhalsim!

The writing seems good, but the game weirdly skips through the dialogue excessively quickly. I do like some of these interactions (Dan Hibiki thinking Mr.Karate is his dad is *chef's kiss*)

I personally really enjoyed playing as Hugo. He's already a fun oaf to use in Street Fighter 3, and he's not much different here, but the arcade stick makes landing those 360 inputs (including a 720º input) really satisfying. I also really wanted to use Zero, but I didn't quite understand his moveset, and there's no Training Mode in the arcade.

Yup, the remaster is squarely on my wishlist. I understand that this is a janky fighting game, but it's my type of jank. 3 stars

[WackerJr]

Spyro Reignited (PS4)

Having played Crash Bandicoot and not really enjoying it, I ventured into more PS1-era platforming by giving Spyro a try.  I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed this a lot more!

I played through all three games in chronological order.  The platforming was pretty standard, but I can imagine being incredibly impressed if I’d played this on PS1.  It’s no Mario 64, but the item collecting and platforming are perfectly playable.  

As Spyro you’re tasked with collecting the abundance of gems hidden throughout each level.  While ultimately the levels are quite linear in the route needed to reach the exit, they’ve been designed with plenty of opportunity to explore just off the main route.  It is necessary to explore everywhere in order to locate every hidden gem. Thankfully Spyro has a dragonfly companion who points in the direction of the nearest gem, which alleviates some frustration as some are sneakily tucked away in orifices I wouldn’t initially have thought to have explored.

Spyro’s basic controls involve jumping, with the ability to float a little, and blasting fire from his mouth to defeat enemies (he is a dragon after all!).

The games are enhanced by the bulky animated characters and enemies that ooze with personality.  One of my favourite moments is knocking rock monsters into lava, at which point they look at you forlornly and wave farewell before exploding!

The trilogy increases in quality from the first to the third game.   Frustrations in the first get actioned in the second and third, and while the gameplay doesn’t really change between them, there are just enough tweaks to iron out issues and give more structure to levels (for instance, each level of the 2nd game introduces a character to help, which is then the main goal of that particular level). 

In the first game you were also finding other dragons to rescue and they’d also give tips when rescued.  90% of these were completely pointless though!  It would often be a tip on how to use one of Spyro’s abilities, but you’d often have to have actually used it to rescue the dragon in the first place!  It’s almost used mockingly that they tell you how to defeat the enemy guarding them, having already spent time working out how to defeat them to carry out the rescue in the first!

Imagine if after getting past Bowser in world 1-4 of Super Mario Bros and the Toad telling you that you could jump on the axe at the end of the level!?? 

The developers know this too as Spyro even references this later on!

As is common in early 3D platformers the difficulty is pretty variable.  It’s ok for the most-part and certainly doesn’t cause Crash Bandicoot levels of frustration, but there are some points, such as the early flying challenges and most of the first games over-reliance on chase sequences, where the difficulty unexpectedly spikes.  In all games the camera being so close to Spyro causes some of this.

I think my expectations were a little too low going into this, and everything impressed me more than I expected it too.  For me, the gameplay still holds up today and the coat of paint it’s been given highlights the personality and charm the characters have been designed with.  A good remaster.

 

(Link to my 60-second video review: Link)

Edited Monday at 05:56 PM by WackerJr
Added link to video review

[Hero-of-Time]

Yeah, the Spyro games were far more accessible than the Crash ones. More fun too. Once again proving that Insomniac Games>>>>>Naughty Dog.

It's so sad these remakes didn't lead to a new game. Activision suck.

[Julius]

I've got some catching up to do (read: a lot), so let's try to keep this relatively brief, at least for the games I've talked about elsewhere on N-E....

 

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker | 2010

Set in Costa Rica 10 years after the events of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Peace Walker sees us once again suit up as Snake/Big Boss. The game serves as a follow-up to the ending of Snake Eater, with a recording of the voice of The Boss found -- more than enough reason for Snake to pick up the trail and want to get to the bottom of just what, or who, is the voice behind the voice, and the potential threat of nuclear war. 

Peace Walker is split between two main forms of gameplay, the first of which most will be familiar with: the more typical Metal Gear Solid missions - albeit pieced out in smaller and more digestible chunks, which is no surprise given the game was originally designed and released for the PSP. In terms of gameplay it feels like a stripped back Snake Eater, with mechanics like camouflage returning from that game, and naturally, you're ranked on your performance in each mission. As missions are typically short but also relatively barren, the game consistently felt to me like a marriage between Snake Eater and the first Metal Gear Solid; perhaps it was down to its pared back nature and design, but I feel like this really allowed for the gameplay to shine. I would typically go non-lethal through missions, with a bit of a keen emphasis on speed, and had a blast. This game also introduces the Fulton system, which allows you to quickly attach Fultons - a surface-to-air recovery system - to retrieve supplies and kidnap enemy soldiers.

This leads into the other form of gameplay: an army management mode which will see you grow the Militaires Sans Frontières from a small band of mercenaries into one of the world's large private militaries from Mother Base. Enemy soldiers can be rehabilitated and recruited, squads can be formed and sent out on missions, and you can assign new recruits to different departments. Naturally, you gain some recruits through the story, too. 

What helps Peace Walker stand apart from other Metal Gear Solid titles is its distinct approach to cutscenes, with art clearly inspired by Yoji Shinkawa's art throughout the years animated in a graphic novel style, coupled with basic but interesting interatcive elements which go beyond the typical QTE structure - honestly, at times, these cutscenes are kind of like a point-and-click. There is a healthy balance between returning and new faces in Peace Walker, but what's most noticeable to me is just how memorable some of these characters are. Paz, Huey, The Professor, Miller, Amanda, Chico...it's an excellent ensemble, which is nothing new for MGS, but it's crazy just how well these characters are built up throughout shorter missions and cool but relatively basic cutscenes. Backed by great music which punctuates some stellar and epic story moments - songs like Heavens Divide starting to play when cornered by swarms of enemy soldiers and a Hind chopper, an excellent battle theme, or a touching piano rendition of the Snake Eater theme often accompanying any mention of The Boss - Peace Walker feels like an MGS game in every sense of the word, but is doing so by doing so much with so little. 

And the opposite of little is big, and let me tell you, the main bosses throughout the game you take on are these massive, hulking mechs which feel like a fun combination of Monster Hunter meets Metal Gear, from how you need to target different parts which can fall off during battle, to climbing into the boss and collecting Chips under the pressure of a time to help make your own nuclear deterrent back at base: Metal Gear ZEKE. Heck, one of the control layouts is based on - and calls out - Monster Hunter! 

So, as you might have figured out, there's a natural synergy between the different elements of gameplay: completing missions to earn credits to spend on the base, while using the Fulton system to recover supplies and soldiers to rehabilitate and then recruit, which all feeds into also helping you improve equipment, while building up your own formidable Metal Gear with pieces from bosses. On paper, it sounds great. 

In reality, it is...until credits roll, the game teases a secret ending with Chapter 5, and you have to build out your base in a very specific way and have certain departments at certain recruitment levels and have ZEKE at a certain capacity and unless you've been following a guide you're probably not going to know about any of this until it's too late and you're grinding things out to get to the desired level for a certain prison to escape...like five times, and between each time you need to grind out missions. Honestly, it was a pain, and while the secret ending and final fight were great and clearly set up what comes next for Big Boss, it definitely left a sour taste in the mouth after having such a great time with the game to find out at the end that some grinding out needed to be done. It creates this weird pace seeking out the secret ending in such a way that makes perfect sense for a handheld like the PSP where you can chip away at it, but playing it via the HD Collection on PS3, I was a bit letdown that they didn't think to shake things up a little bit with some other type of approach to unlock the ending, because it just didn't feel suited to a home console. 

That being said and put aside, I had a great time with Peace Walker, and thought it was a more than worthy follow-up to Snake Eater.

 

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree | 2024

Shadow of the Erdtree is on par, for me, with Bloodborne's The Old Hunters DLC as the greatest DLC/expansion that I've played through. 

After over 30 hours in the Land of Shadow, I think what makes this DLC so strong is, despite only looking on the map like it's the size of a couple of regions in the Lands Between (the map of the base game), there is a keen emphasis on saturated newness by all means when it comes to every element of the map. Enormous cliff faces or chasms constantly greet the player with a question of "well, how do I get up/down there?", much more so than in the base game, while secrets and hidden paths are concentrated around every corner (a ladder? A tunnel? A hold in the ground?), and a smaller map means you are constantly running into something new and exciting.

This is great, as while you are following in the footsteps of Miquella and running into his followers, the challenge in Shadow of the Erdtree is a noticeable step up from the base game -- yes, even the endgame content, which was nothing to sneeze at. For me, the DLC then being locked behind taking down Radahn and Mohg, two of the tougher six main story bosses in Elden Ring, makes perfect sense. After first arriving in the Land of Shadow, everything - and I mean EVERYTHING - is out to show you how much of a step up the challenge is, and even having finished the main game at Level 210 (after plenty of grinding) and respecing after some research to take my magical knight a step further by adopting DEX and a long samurai sword into my strategy, I was getting beat down early on in this DLC. This is because there is a unique type of power-scaling in the Land of Shadow, the Scadutree Blessing, which requires you to find and collect Scadutree Fragments throughout the world in order to level up, which directly applies a multiplier to a number of your stats from the base game, most noticeably damage taken and damage given; naturally, this emphasises exploration in order to level up and get to grips with how tough so many of the unique enemies of the Land of Shadow are. And, while I won't get into specifics, the bosses are easily some of the best in the game, too, even if some do, I think, show that From might be going a bit too far in terms of what is fair to the player of times, with one or two bosses in particular being very difficult to read or just janky enough to feel unfair due to the in-game camera getting overwhelmed. The music for the bosses is a step or two up from the base game, so still not quite at that Bloodborne level, but there are certainly some fights backed by equally epic scores. 

So much of Shadow of the Erdtree manages to look different and wholly unique compared to locations in the base game. The legacy dungeons in Shadow of the Erdtree are brilliant, with one in particular - the Shadow Keep - easily becoming my favourite in the entirety of Elden Ring for the way it hides so many secrets, has so many entrances, and so many more exits. The place is massive, and its placement, but also where it leads, just raises so many questions, while making sure to hand you just enough indirect answers to tease you along, in typical From Software fashion. This was perhaps my favourite element of playing and so quickly completing this DLC: for the first time with a From Software game, I found myself constantly checking item descriptions in the search for answers and directions, and time and time again, piecing the world and its history together in such a way blew me away. One in particular tied into a one of the earlier trailers we got for the base game, and it gave me chills to learn of the words we saw mouthed but never heard in the trailer. Similarly, though, answers aren't just found in item descriptions, but as is the case with all From games, the clues are left strewn out there in the world - whether it be in an abandoned village, ornate murals, statues, or the kind or creepy words of an NPC - to help you build your own ideas of what happened. A number of revelations in Shadow of the Erdtree, once I twigged on to what the game was hinting at, overwhelmed me and left me needing to walk away from the game - in a fictional world which is, by its nature, so filled with malice, without words exchanged with anyone I found myself overwhelmed with a feeling of hollowed out empathy. "What if I, or they, had been here to stop this?", I often found myself wondering. To say that feeling and question is timely given the real world atrocities we have come to see committed regularly in the last few years would be an understatement; some locations and the aftermath of some events haunt me still. The overall vibe of the Land of Shadow, which feels even more damaged and broken and abandoned than The Lands Between, as well as its music, makes Shadow of the Erdtree one of the absolutely pinnacles of gameplay-relayed storytelling. 

One minor complaint I had about the base game was in the form of smaller dungeons just due to the repetition and samey feeling of them all, and while catacombs return, every catacomb I found myself trudging through felt fresh and full of possibilities, whereas one cave took me from the top of a mountain to the bottom of another. There is also the addition of a new type of mini-dungeon, forges, which reward you with top tier crafting items upon completion. These places are filled with interesting puzzles and ideas which build upon the solid foundation found in the base game, while also looking for any excuse to do something new and different. 

Back in 2022, Elden Ring was my Game of the Year; it is not a flawless game, but it is undeniably brilliant. So, for me to be sitting here, typing that Shadow of the Erdtree feels like some of the best that Elden Ring and From Software has to offer - whether it be for the feeling it gave me epicly scaling a mountain in hunting down a dragon in a way which evoked myths and legends of yore, or falling into a bottomless, purple abyss to be met with a face I thought I'd meet elsewhere - and is as essential a game to play as the base game is no mean feat. 

Shadow of the Erdtree isn't just a great piece of DLC and quite possibly one of the best pieces of DLC released in the medium to date -- it is a masterfully crafted gaming experience in its own right which deserves to be appreciated and played by any and all remotely interested in the best that gaming has to offer. 

 

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic | 2003

The second game I completed this year on my list of Pledge Games, Knights of the Old Republic is an absolute sweeping epic across The Galaxy Far, Far Away, the story, dialogue, and basic mechanics of which hold up to this day. Unfortunately, the combat - which is what you'll spend most of your time with outside of exploration - felt pretty dated, and there's a good bit of jank to this game which resulted in one or two brief moments of frustration. KOTOR hasn't aged the best, but it's clear to me now why it is appreciated as much as it is, and while I think it is a blessing in disguise that the remake seems to be stuck in a bit of a devlopment hell, I do hope that someone capable pulls their finger out and can make a remake worthy of this game. 

 

Star Wars Outlaws | 2024

Star Wars Outlaws is the worst game I've played in years and not worth digging into and bringing attention to here when I've done gone on about it more than it deserves in the game's own thread, so I'll just link those posts instead (warning: I kind of go off about the game) - Post 1, Post 2, Post 3, Post 4, Post 5. 

Even with lowered expectations, I am immensely frustrated and disappointed in what Ubisoft and Massive put out. They should be ashamed of themselves for releasing this mess. 

 

Katamari Damacy | 2004

The third game I completed from my list of Pledge Games for the year, Katamari Damacy is the exact type of game in my backlog which I hoped pledging to play would bring out: this is one of the most pure, joyful, and unique experiences I've ever had with a game. 

For those who don't know, you roll around a ball to pick up objects which stick to and expand the ball, but the genius of this game is that you can't pick up objects greater in diameter than the ball you're rolling. Definitely takes a beat or two to get used to rolling the ball, as both the left and right sticks are responsible for different aspects of rolling. You're doing this all to put stars in the sky at the behest of your father, and so each main level has you needing to make a ball of a certain diameter by the time that, well, time is up. This means that every level ends up being a unique journey of escalation from micro- to macro-, and similarly, every main level is a perfect escalation from the last: while you pretty much always start off small, one level you might end up with a ball big enough to roll up a couple of pieces of furniture, the next you might be rolling up people, and after that you might be rolling up houses! I won't spoil it, but let's just say that the escalation up to and including the final level makes it perhaps one of the greatest final levels I've ever played through in a video game. We're talking Tetris levels of calculated perfection. 

There are optional bonus levels unlocked after most if not all of the main levels, but I'll be honest, I only did a couple of these - I was having too much of a blast experiencing the main story levels. That being said, the highlight of these for me was one level which wanted you to roll up the biggest cow you could find, but the twist to this level was that there were cows everywhere, and the first cow you rolled up would count as having cleared the level. Clearly, the aim of the level is to roll up everything you can that isn't a cow to the roll up the biggest cow you could find. Hilariously, though, the game sets up one of the smallest cows I've ever seen right next to the starting point, and so I just nudged the ball into it and clear the level - my father was not happy, but I was absolutely laughing my ass off. 

I think what helps to tie this game together is its style. There's its flat but bright colour palette, and I feel it's rare to see a game after the advent of 3D gaming which clearly intends to look as solid and flat as this one does, and so then the feeling of rolling around a ball - a distinctly 3D shape - in a flat yet colourful 2D-looking world. The game's cutscenes are just straight-up hilarious. The hijinks and back and forth - or rather, lack thereof - with your father always made me chuckle. But you know what really puts the cherry on top of this mountain of an ice cream sundae of a game more than anything else? 

Its music.

There's the punchy jazz-pop vibrancy of Lonely Rolling Star...

The simple, childlike expression of innocence found in Cherry Blossoms...

And the rock and roll of the game's credits, Ball of Love...

If you ever find yourself fawning for fun and simpler times, I think the gaming equivalent to an antidote would be Katamari Damacy. This is one of my favourite games that I've played through this year, and I look forward to seeing what the deal is with other Katamari games in the future!

 

Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes | 2014

After the mess that was Outlaws, one aspect of the game left me with a feeling of wanting to do one thing above all else, which I can only sum up in three words: Tactical. Espionage. Action. 

Ground Zeroes takes place mere months after Peace Walker, serving as a prologue to Metal Gear Solid V proper, The Phantom Pain. In it, you once again step in as Big Boss, this time infiltrating a black site in Cuba to save some of your friends from Peace Walker. 

I loved it. If I'm being honest, I just replayed the main mission a couple of times for a quick stealth fix, and it's just so crazy how deep some of the systems seem to go. The game also just looks absolutely stunning a decade later, to the point that if it released today, I would probably think it was a brand new game (lack of 4K aside). 

My appetite is absolutely whetted in anticipation of getting to The Phantom Pain, the last of the Metal Gear Solid games. Next year to round off what will then be a 5-year MGS journey, perhaps?

 

Uncharted: The Lost Legacy | 2017

The Lost Legacy really surprised me. It was originally intended as DLC for Uncharted 4, which in my opinion is the weakest of the Uncharted games, and so I wasn't quite sure where to place my expectations, even knowing that the game eventually evolved into a shorter standalone title ahead of its release. 

Well? It's probably my second favourite Uncharted title after Uncharted 2. Obviously I knew Chloe from earlier games in the series, but Lost Legacy really peeled back some layers and did an excellent job of getting me to connect with her -- she feels like more than just a female Nathan Drake, and by the time credits roll, has really carved out her own space as a potential protagonist for future games. What really helped to flesh out Chloe was her back and forth was Nadine's presence, as the two come to loggerheads several times throughout the game, but there's just a contrast which makes for some great character growth as well as just some hilarious moments (such as when talking about the Drake brothers). 

In terms of gameplay, Lost Legacy is your pretty typical run-and-gun, hide-behind-wasit-high-walls cover-based shooter, just like the other Uncharted games, but I think what sets it apart is an open wide section where you can explore and traverse to your heart's content and in whatever order you see fit relatively early on in the game. While The Last of Us Part II has something similar, I think the combination of a throughline - tracking down these tokens, which eventually unlock a reward - and the Jeep to help you quickly traverse this section elevates it up above what Part II manages to do with its open-wide section. The reward I mentioned the tokens unlocking is the Queen's Ruby, which helps you locate the typical Uncharted treasures you find throughout the game via controller vibrations. It is a simple yet effective reward, and the proof is in the pudding: I ended up with dozens more pieces of treasure than I typically collect in Uncharted games, and it really helped me to try to explore that bit more when I knew something was around, as opposed to just aimlessly looking around where it feels like there might be treasure. 

With an epic and daring climax, Lost Legacy has me wondering -- when will we next get to go on a new Uncharted adventure? 

 

Astro Bot | 2024

I feel like I've already said a lot about Astro Bot in the game's own thread, so to keep it relatively brief: what a tremednous celebration of PlayStation's 30 years, and gaming in general.

Playroom back at the start of this generation was a sensational early experience with what the DualSense would offer, and now with Astro Bot, it feels like Asobi have taken things up a notch - when no-one has come close to even trying to match what they did with Playroom back in 2020 in the four years since the start of this console generation. Every surface feels so textured with the DualSense in hand, and so many of the new mechanics - my personal favourite being the time-slowing mechanic - feel so uniquely and interestingly integrated. It's a joy starting up each level and being met with fresh bursts of ideas, and new Bots - VIP cameos or otherwise - to collect along the way, and the way in which they infest the game's main hub world is absolutely awesome. Each of the main 'worlds' end with an absolute A-bomb of a level, too, some of which capture the essence of what they're trying to emulate to a very silly degree. My favourite example of this is Astro doing the "squeeze through a tight space" which has become so common in the realm of AAA, that got an audible chuckle out of me. 

The Mario Galaxy inspiration is clear, but given that it has been well over a decade at this point since Mario Galaxy 2 released on the Wii, if someone was going to attempt to emulate what Nintendo were doing with those games -- who better than Asobi, at this point? The addition of a collectible-seeking bird you can pay to use on level replays to point you in the direction of missed collectibles was an excellent in-game solution to looking up collectible locations on, say, your phone -- which felt so distinct and made the game feel very accessible. It feels like so many studios with a history of strong platformers have moved onto bigger - but not necessarily better - things, and so this game existing after the closure of Japan Studio feels like nothing short of a miracle, and the game's success combined with Concord's failure feels like it has shined a harsh bright light on those at the very top of PlayStation with the question of "well, how are you going to capitalise on this?"

One of my favourite games of the year, for sure. Astro is that unique combination of cat and small child which means he is adorable and aloof. 

Oh, and shoutout to Kenneth C.M. Young for his work on the game's OST. Crash Site, the hub world song, is this high energy take on a Morricone-type spaghetti western, whereas Marine Serene is very obviously an homage to David Wise's Aquatic Ambience. My favourite, though, has to be Tite Mites (Crystal Cave):

A really special game, which I'm glad to see Asobi have continued to support, and while I don't know where it will rank in terms of figuring out my personal GOTY come the end of the year, I will absolutely be pulling for it to win at the TGAs tonight. 

 

Games completed in 2024

Spoiler

1. Chrono Trigger (1995) - completed 16th January [REPLAY]
2. The Last of Us Part II (2020) - completed 30th January [REPLAY]
3. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (2019) - completed 18th February
4. Final Fantasy VII Remake: Episode INTERmission (2021) - completed 29th February
5. Star Wars Battlefront II (2005) - completed 28th March [REPLAY]
6. Star Wars Battlefront (2004) - completed 29th March [REPLAY]
7. Lost Judgement (2021) - completed 2nd June
8. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (2010) - completed 19th June
9. Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (2024) - completed 2nd July
10. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (2003) - completed 24th August
11. Star Wars Outlaws (2024) - completed 29th August
12. Katamari Damacy (2004) - completed 30th August
13. Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (2014) - completed 30th August
14. Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (2017) - completed 2nd September
15. Astro Bot (2024) - completed 8th September [Platinum]

We've still a few more games to go, but I'm tapped and want to get a nap in before TGAs tonight, so will leave it there for now. I'll be back before you know it to round things off ahead of the Christmas holidays, where I've still got a couple more games I'd like to get to in store  

Edited Friday at 05:39 PM by Julius

[Glen-i]

On 12/9/2024 at 5:03 PM, WackerJr said:

Having played Crash Bandicoot and not really enjoying it, I ventured into more PS1-era platforming by giving Spyro a try.

Creepy... I just bought this during the Black Friday sale, and I'm also a guy who became disillusioned with most PS1 3D platformers because he played Crash (and Croc) as a kid and rightfully declared them to be crap.

I should probably give it a go then.

Edited Thursday at 06:19 PM by Glen-i

[Dcubed]

I love how unhinged you get over Star Wars Origins @Julius 

[Glen-i]

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island is an absolute mouthful of a title developed by Spike Chunsoft and released on Switch at the beginning of this year. It just got a PC port a couple of days ago, but I didn't play that one.
It's a roguelike dungeon crawling game that's not quite as well known as it's spin-off, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon. Not many games with that dubious honour, at least Shin Megami Tensei has company.

You know? Pokémon Mystery Dungeon? I might have mentioned it a few times. This is Spike Chunsoft's original IP version of their Mystery Dungeon games. Despite my absolute love for PMD, I've never played a Shiren game before. So why not start with this newest installment?

The game, shockingly, follows Shiren, and his ferret friend, Koppa. They wander around some vague Japanese setting under a severe drought. They've both had dreams about Serpentcoil Island. This place has many rumours about a great treasure inside a monster's stomach. Shiren decides to investigate and debunk this stupid rumour. However, in between him and this monster is a "Mystery Dungeon" spanning the entire island.

The game then abruptly jumps straight to the final boss. Technically, you can win this, and you even get to see the ending if you do. But you'd have to be extremely skillful, and extremely lucky. I was neither, so Shiren was punted back to the beach town at the bottom of the island. He's not one to give up, so he sets off again. He'll get it next time, right?

...Right?

He must be playing Dream Drop Distance

Because I'm lazy, here's my synopsis on what the Mystery Dungeon games are about, copy-pasted from the Pokémon spin-off thread I did.

Quote

A long time ago, Chunsoft were the developers of the Dragon Quest series, they worked on the first 5 entries. But we want to look specifically at the 4th. Around the development of this game, the co-creator of Dragon Quest, Koichi Nakamura, discovered a PC game called "Rogue", a difficult game that tasked the player with reaching the bottom of a randomly generated dungeon. He became quite enthralled by it and wanted to make a series of games with a similar kind of ethos. So in 1993, Chunsoft developed the game "Torneko no Daibōken: Fushigi no Dungeon" A Dragon Quest spin-off featuring one of the characters from the 4th entry, where the main character, Torneko, explored randomly generated Mystery Dungeons to find items to help make his shop famous. So in an amusing kind of way, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon is an inadvertant Dragon Quest spin-off. Wacky!

In order to see the credits, you need to get through a 31 floor "Mystery Dungeon". Mystery Dungeons are places whose layout is randomised each time you enter it. On each floor, you need to find the stairs or exit so you can progress to the next floor. Succeeding comes down to levelling up by fighting enemies, scavenging items along the way, and using them well, and maybe a bit of luck as well. That said, Shiren is an exceptionally hard game. If Shiren runs out of HP at any point, and you don't have a revival item, you're booted out of the dungeon, lose all your progress, all your items, money, and even the levels you gained. Back to square one! Tough luck, try again. (Yes, @drahkon, for once, you can't complain that I called this a Roguelike, it's completely accurate)

To really hammer the point, the game lets you see the completion rate of dungeons. The first dungeon? Around 5%. I don't feel so bad that it took me 20 attempts to do it now.

A lot of things are against you in this game, you have to juggle equipment (Which some enemies can weaken for the rest of the run), item management (Which some enemies can use against you, even ones you currently have on you), keeping Shiren well-fed, hidden traps. Seriously, everything is out to kill you.

But this game seems to have taken a cue from the game, Hades. As you inevitably fail, and traverse through the dungeon again, there's a number of side stories that play out. Seeing them to completion by reaching various points on the map will eventually add new items and events to dungeon spelunking. You're still starting off at level 1, but at least you have more flexibility.

The music is pretty good, definitely a more Japanese vibe compared to PMD, for obvious reasons. But I'm still not sick of it, which is good. Amusingly, I recognised a lot of sound effects from Pokémon Mystery Dungeon. It probably originated from Shiren in the first place, but I'm not gonna bother finding out.

Anyway, the credits rolling is only the beginning, a veritable ton of different modes and dungeons come along. I most certainly will not be 100%-ing this game, it's far too difficult. But I'll be playing a lot more.

 

Sea of Stars
Chained Echoes
Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore
Princess Peach Will Star As The Main Character In A Brand New Game
Star Ocean: The Second Story R
Hi-Fi Rush
Sonic Superstars
Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising
Theatrhythm Final Bar Line: Premium Digital Deluxe Edition (100%)
1000xRESIST
Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Switch) (100%)
Miitopia (100 flipping per ceeeeent!)
Metroid Zero Mission (100%, Under 2 hours, Normal) 
Chico and the Magic Orchards DX
Super Metroid Redux
Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster
Densetsu No Stafy
Densetsu No Stafy 2
Densetsu No Stafy 3
Final Fantasy II Pixel Remaster
Final Fantasy III Pixel Remaster
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team
Final Fantasy IV Pixel Remaster
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
Gravity Circuit
Final Fantasy V Pixel Remaster
The Plucky Squire
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes
Banjo-Tooie (100%)
Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythmic Adventure Pack
Shantae and the Seven Sirens
Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island

Edited Friday at 11:14 PM by Glen-i

[Jonnas]

I haven't just been playing Arcade games, by the way.

Baba is You

Baba is You is an indie puzzle game from 2019, made by practically one Finnish developer (Hempuli). I personally obtained it when itch.io ran that charity fund for George Floyd back in 2020, and BIY was part of it. It's been waiting for a while.

The game made some waves due to its incredibly unique mechanic: you can rewrite the rules of the game in any given level. Wall Is Stop? You can turn that off. Flag Is Win? You can change that. Baba Is You? Not necessarily.

Sounds like a one-trick pony at first, but Hempuli explores this mechanic for everything it's worth. New mechanics keep popping up throughout the game, and you'll be surprised at the amount of option you'll get. Some puzzles even rely on weird edge cases only programmers would think of. You can change anything, everything, and nothing. Literally. This game will question everything you thought you knew.

There have been a few puzzles where I looked up the solution, I will admit. Some of these solutions use specific exploits of the game's logic, and feel like glitches (there were even puzzles where I recognized that's what I was meant to do. Looked up the execution anyway, because much that reasoning was often beyond me). Regardless, I only recommend looking up solutions after you've exhausted everything else, because figuring it out yourself is one of the most satisfying feelings you can have as a person.

Presentation-wise... the game has a unique simplistic look, and a pleasant, relaxing soundtrack. No plot whatsoever, it's a pure puzzle game. This is normally an uphill battle for when it comes to me reviewing this genre, because I believe puzzle games should have some style to go with their substance (whether it's the thought-provoking writing in Bastion, the simple charming characters and bosses in Mole Mania, or Portal's entire package, style does a lot for a puzzle game). Thankfully, the general aesthetic in BIY works really well, and the substance is incredible, off the charts.

The reason I had this specific game on my pledge was because... I was determined to follow a new career path this year. One more geared towards programming and development. I figured, Baba is You represented that desire quite well. In fact, I have been playing it sporadically since... the beginning of May or so (around the time I dedicated myself full time to that goal).

The credits have rolled at the end of November, but I knew there was more content. I figured out how to unlock the bonus levels and... they're a handful. Since I don't want to rush through them, I will mark this game as finished (for the purposes of the pledge) and keep solving the bonus levels sporadically on my own time, without pressure.

All in all, Baba is You is an excellent game, and a mind-boggling experience. Serious contender for best puzzle game I've ever played. 5 stars

 

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

That's right, @RedShell, I finally did it.

I think everyone here knows the convoluted and difficult history behind this iconic 2019 game. Being a Castlevania fan, and having loved the Curse of the Moon games, I wanted to play it as well, of course, but the constant updates always left me thinking "Eh, when it's done I'll play it".

I actually bought a physical Switch version during the pandemic (wanted to support a smaller shop), but it sat on my shelf for a long time. Added it to my pledge half-heartedly (because I needed a 10th game), but there was a reason: I wanted something appropriate for Halloween season. Furthermore, if I like this series already, I was just procrastinating on what's supposed to be the main game.

So I added it with the intention of playing it in October, and I started on its first week. October and November turned out to be busy, overwhelming, horrible months to have a curse, but I chipped at this game regardless, just a bit every night and then. Eventually finished it at the start of December.

SO. The game itself was actually a lot of fun. It's an Igavania, and in that sense, it was very familiar and cozy. Helped me face it as comfort food when all I wanted to do was relax for an hour or so before bed. It controls like an Igavania, it follows the same design philosophy as one, I knew what I was getting into.

And having not played OoE or SotN... I have to say, this feels like the most refined Igavania to date. It's got it all, the Souls Shards, the weapon variety (which feel much more fleshed out than in previous games), the skills (now with a much better system than what PoR was going for), the quests, the various equipment effects, the movement tricks that the game doesn't tell you about... It feels like the best version of everything that came before, while never forgetting to add new elements (boots as weapons? So fun).

There's new ideas as well: the Alchemy system is low-key excellent. You can use it to craft new weapons on your preferred style, improve your favourite Shards, or engage with the new cooking system (clearly an idea that was there since PoR, where the dishes were just glorified potions. Here, not only do they need to be crafted, they provide permanent stat boosts, carving its own niche). There were sessions where I did nothing but plan something to craft, farm items, and then produce what I wanted. It's pretty well thought out, with even some loopholes and shortcuts that feel intended by the developers.

You can also customise Miriam's appearance. Though that option irks me to some extent (I'm not your character designer, buddy), I do appreciate the attempt to do something new.

The map feels new and familiar at the same time. Very familiar areas (like the water caves and the garden) alongside some new environments (the underground desert being one of them), and progress was handled in surprising ways at times. I could never predict which power-up would be key to explore something new, which was a nice feeling to have (only one niggle: the Aegis Plate was pretty damn bullshit to find).

Beyond the mandatory parts, the castle had dozens of cool secrets to find. It was lovely to just stumble into a whole mini-gauntlet hidden behind some ceiling, or a cool secret boss designed by a kickstarter backer, or finding out on my own that you can make the fairy sing.

Regarding aesthetics... I have mixed feelings on Bloodstained.

Starting with the positive, the music is predictably excellent. Michiru Yamane don't miss, but even something like Gears of Fortune (Ryusuke Fujioka) matches her vibe. Sound effects are great too, as weapon strikes, monsters, and traps have the right amount of "crunch" at all times.

The voicework is good for the most part (especially when Miriam chants something overly elaborate for a spell), the only awkward bits were the quipping bosses, which feel out of place. Most bosses don't quip, and the ones who do feel VERY awkward.

The plot is pretty straightforward and somewhat schlocky, which is fine. I think ArtPlay was aiming for a semi-serious ambiance anyway (dark and gothic for sure, but never forgetting the sillier bits, or the occasional nonsense), so the plot didn't need to be deep. The way the backstory and worldbuilding is told via books on shelves is pretty good, it's nice to reserve those parts of the plot to side content like that.

What bothers me is that the characters feel too shallow, like each one represents a trope, and that's that. You'll occasionally get a twist where a character reveals something about themselves, but instead of this fleshing them out, it just feels like they switched from to another shallow trope. It doesn't help that dialogue scenes are so... stiff. Characters barely move and emote when talking to each other, it's a notably bland spot in a vibrant game.

Which leads me to a possibly controversial point: I really like the art style and character design for this game... but I don't like how it looks. Hopefully this will be clear in a moment.

I knew going in that the monsters' design would be something to behold (I did play the Curses of the Moon). These monsters are very grotesque, very slimy, and still very intuitive to understand as videogame enemies. Furthermore, the developers were going for a Castlevania feel without actually doing Castlevania: considering Castlevania was doing every known horror trope under the sun, it felt like an impossible task... and yet Bloodstained preservered, with skeletons that aren't skeletons, Medusa Heads that aren't Medusas, and so on. And the bosses are something else! From satanic mermaids, to half-headed dragons, and a blood-bending vampire, there's no dearth in creativity here.

But here's the thing: I've seen these guys before in (pseudo) 8-bit, and they looked awesome. Looking at them in 3D... it's surprising how underwhelming they are. They have stiffer movement, the lighting does them no favours, they don't do half of the cool shit they did in CotM... it feels like they couldn't realise their own designs, in their main game.

It isn't just the bosses. Regular enemies are often reskins of each other. Human characters barely move, even during dialogue scenes. 3D cutscenes feel like they lack polish in both direction and editing. Many platforms blend so much into the background, they're easy to go unnoticed. There is a LOT in this game that doesn't look like it was meant to.

I get the distinct feeling that this team never got used to 3D. Many (if not all) of these shortcomings can be explained by inexperience with the visual medium. It definitely explains some other odd moments (like how you can somehow hit enemies that look far away in the background), but I understand it was a conscious choice to make the game this way. I wouldn't be surprised if the decision to make this game 3D came exclusively from someone having the idea to do the Twin Dragon Towers.

That's not the only issue: the game is so poorly optimized, it is embarrassing. I knew going in that the Switch version was the worst-performing, but holy shit, I didn't expect to notice it so often, and in the ways that I did. Random slowdowns, seconds-long freezes, the shopkeeper changes into different resolutions while you're browsing the shop. Like, come on! Handheld is a huge plus, but it usually doesn't come with so many drawbacks.

Worse still, this isn't just about the Switch. Even this year, they were still putting out patches for this game, and one of those patches brought a softlock to every version of the game (easy to run into while browsing the shop). Also caused the ending credits in the Switch version to bug out and kick you off the game. These issues went unaddressed for months (they're fixed, now), and they were introduced 5 years after the release of the game! Also, from what I understand, they had a patch that improved performance on Switch, and a later patch somehow reverted it back.

This is all fucking shameful, honestly, borderline amateurish. How do you screw up this kind of support? The game barely holds together as it is, and new updates make things worse? It's a serious flaw.

Granted, many of these updates were needed. There a LOT of stretch goals to fulfill (the patches alone make up more than 3 GB), and these include a Classic Mode, Boss Rush Mode, randomizer and speedrunner modes, two more playable characters/campaigns (an Igavania tradition), and of course, Classic Mode 2 (which might be canon?). They might as well have made a spinoff with this much content (in fact, they did. Twice). There is a lot of content to go around here.

Also, a lot of crossovers: Shantae equipment, Shovel Knight enemies, Child of Light character, a Kingdom: Two Crowns segment, a Journey boss, and who knows what else? I appreciate that the developers always found distinct ways to incorporate each of these crossovers, it feels respectful.

By the end, I considered the game "Beat" after I fulfilled some milestones: 100% map, enemies, bosses, shards, and recipes, and having seen every ending. I did not bother to obtain/craft every piece of equipment, as that would be insane. Still, there's so much stuff to do in this game, this is one of those rare instances where I actually wanted to have a version of the game with achievements.

I haven't done any of the extra modes. I'll leave them to play some other time.

So yeah! Massive game, very cozy and fun, simultaneously well made and poorly made. I debated myself for quite a while, which score to give it. The graphical issues and the glitches cannot be ignored, but the rest of the game is pretty dang good. I keep telling myself that this game deserves 4 stars, but I also recognize that many of these issues will not be seen if you start, say, the Steam version today (but if you had started it 6 months ago, you'd likely run into a softlock).

After much deliberation, I ultimately decided this game scrapes its way into 5 stars, because what it does well, it does really well. There's a lot of love put into this game, and that deserves recognition.

(Fun fact, before this game, the only Igavania to get a 5 from me was Aria of Sorrow. Every other Igavania I played had some serious flaw that held it from greatness)

----------------------

So, we're in December and I've only done 7 titles from my pledge. I am clearly unable to complete it before the end of the year (there's a narrow chance I might still finish up Three Hopes, but I wouldn't hold my breath).

This is fine, the pledge was non-binding from the start. It was incredibly fun to keep it as a general guide though, and I plan on doing a new one for 2025. I don't plan on ignoring the three I missed, either.

[Glen-i]

In order to not fall into the trap of having to bump this thread once the new year rolls around, I'm bumping it now when it's still relevant. A mad concept!

Here are a couple of games I replayed recently.

Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling is a turn-based RPG developed by Moonsprout Games and released on PC in 2019, and then Switch, PS4, and XBox One. The reason I replayed it is because it recently got a hefty free update that added features, including a fishing minigame.

She's right, you know?

The game follows Vi the Bee. She wants to be an explorer, but the local association doesn't accept solo applicants because it's too dangerous. Kabbu the Beetle overhears this, and seeing as he also wants to become an explorer, suggests to Vi that they form an exploration team together. They do, and go off to explore Snakemouth Den, a dangerous cave that supposedly houses a great treasure. While in the cave, they save a moth called Leif from a monstrous spider. Leif has magical ice powers, and is all sorts of mysterious. He also isn't entirely aware of what happened to him. The three of them then go across the land of Bugaria to solve these mysteries.

Look at any screenshot of the game, and you'll immediately peg that this game is heavily inspired by Paper Mario. Specifically, the first two entries. It's not subtle. And this applies to the gameplay, as well. Each of the three playable bugs have various techniques that help with exploring the world. Battles are turn-based, and revolve around action commands to fight more effectively. Bug Fables does try to put it's own spin on things, mind you.

Paper Mario tends to have Mario himself be the de facto fighter in those games, with various partners he meets along the way taking the role of a second, smaller party member. Bug Fables have all three playable bugs play equal billing, and unlike Mario, who can do most everything, each of these bugs have a specific kind of enemy they excel in fighting. Vi can hit flying enemies and make them plummet, Kabbu can pierce defenses and flip certain enemies over, but can only hit the frontmost opponent, while Leif does more damage to plant-based monsters, and can hit anyone who has burrowed under the ground. You need to think about the order everyone attacks in to fight effectively, because it's not easy to actually raise the amount of damage you do. There's no equivalent of Boot and Hammer upgrades in this game, so 2 damage is pretty much the base damage the three bugs will do throughout the game.

We've all been there

There are some things you can do to tip the odds in your favour. You can freely change the position of each bug, the one in the front does 1 more damage, but is more likely to be targeted. You can also have one bug donate their turn to someone else, so they can act twice. Handy if a particular bug is not effective for the situaton, but any bug that attacks twice will do less damage on the second attack.

Much like Paper Mario, when you level up, you can choose between improving the team's health, Teamwork Points that are used to perform special abilities, or Medal Points, which let you equip more Medals.
Badges to you Paper Mario fans, they're badges, and the biggest issue with this game!

If you're more of a hardcore Paper Mario fan, you'll likely agree that Badge Points are by far the most useful thing to invest in, and if anything, Bug Fables' equvialent is even more so. If you were to choose to upgrade HP or TP on a level up, the amount you get is so piddly and pathetic (1 HP per bug, or 3 TP), that you may as well go for the 3 Medal Points every time. The max level in this game is 27, and there's no limit to how many times you can choose MP, and the Medals you find are really effective. They're the only reliable and flexible way to improve attack and defense, for starters. Not to mention many other very powerful passive effects. The "Danger Mario" strategy isn't just a fun way to exploit the system, it's basically required in this game. When bosses can get into the realm of 80 HP, you need all the boosts you can get.

You can really tell that Paper Mario fans designed this game, but they seem to have forgotten that not everyone who plays Paper Mario is looking to utilise these meta tactics, and Bug Fables ends up punishing those who try to balance things out.

If anything, this latest update only doubled down on that. There are new medals, and some of them even come with new mechanics, which means there's even less reason to choose anyhting else.

Despite that, the game is a lot of fun. Incredibly inflexible, but play along, and you'll find a enjoyable, and very funny game. A lot of love is in this game, even if it clouded the developers from the bigger picture.

Bayonetta is a character-focused action hack and slash game developed by PlatinumGames. It originally released on the PS3 and XBox 360 back in 2010, before getting ported to the WiiU alongside it's Nintendo exclusive sequel in 2014. I played the 2018 Switch version, which is effectively the same as the WiiU one, but not the same as the PS4 and Xbox One version, due to it featuring numerous Nintendo based bonuses.

Bayonetta is the last Umbran Witch, a pretty much extinct clan of women who makes contracts with demons in exchange for great magical powers. Part of these contracts means they have to fight angels to feed to demons. Bayonetta has been asleep for 500 years, and she wakes up with no memories, but an inexplicable urge to find "The Eyes of the World" Things get complicated when she runs into another person with similar powers to her. Bayo ends up following this person to Vigrid, a place quite close to Angels.

That previous paragraph sounds somewhat serious, but it's not. Bayonetta is an incredibly dumb game, and it plays it up to the extreme. Taking this game seriously is a fool's errand. And let's face it, the plot is not important.

What is important is the gameplay. It's a lot like Devil May Cry, but I think it's better, mostly down to Witch Time. If you can dodge an enemy attack at the last moment, then you activate Witch Time, and slow down time for everything except Bayonetta, letting you wail on enemies freely, and get extra combo points. There's something immensely satisfying when everything flows together and you end up looking incredibly skillful, even if deep down, you're likely making some clutch decisions out of panic.

Yes, she's dressed up as Daisy. Yes, it's incredibly silly. The Nintendo costumes are lots of fun, they have special mechanics, like Bowser replacing the big fists she normally summons, and the currency being replaced with coins (complete with Mario World sound effects). I can't believe Nintendo OK'd them. I can't believe they're the reason the Link one is more revealing then the original suggestion PlatinumGames made!

That said, as much as I enjoy this game, it has some flaws that make it my least favourite of the three Bayo games. The visuals are really drab. Very much of it's time, the whole PS3-era "Realistic is Brown" mindset is in full effect here. There are also some absolutely BS QTE moments that will kill you because they happen so quickly. Not to mention that Witch Time is weirdly inconsistent, some attacks just do not trigger it, and it's never clear why that is. Future games would fix these issues, so Bayo 1 will likely always be my least favourite, but I still like it.

 

Sea of Stars
Chained Echoes
Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore
Princess Peach Will Star As The Main Character In A Brand New Game
Star Ocean: The Second Story R
Hi-Fi Rush
Sonic Superstars
Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising
Theatrhythm Final Bar Line: Premium Digital Deluxe Edition (100%)
1000xRESIST
Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Switch) (100%)
Miitopia (100 flipping per ceeeeent!)
Metroid Zero Mission (100%, Under 2 hours, Normal) 
Chico and the Magic Orchards DX
Super Metroid Redux
Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster
Densetsu No Stafy
Densetsu No Stafy 2
Densetsu No Stafy 3
Final Fantasy II Pixel Remaster
Final Fantasy III Pixel Remaster
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team
Final Fantasy IV Pixel Remaster
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
Gravity Circuit
Final Fantasy V Pixel Remaster
The Plucky Squire
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes
Banjo-Tooie (100%)
Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythmic Adventure Pack
Shantae and the Seven Sirens
Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island
Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling
Bayonetta

Edited 8 hours ago by Glen-i

[RedShell]

15 hours ago, Jonnas said:

only one niggle: the Aegis Plate was pretty damn bullshit to find

I almost went crazy looking for that on my first playthrough, it's so stupidly placed.
But yeah, great to hear you enjoyed the game, Jonnas. Fantastic write-up too. 👍

 

I don't see myself getting around to doing a comprehensive post before the end of the month  so will simply update my list once again:

• JellyCar Worlds (originally played on Apple Arcade, but picked up my own copy for PC)
• Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
• Withering Rooms
• Vampire Survivors (Ode to Castlevania DLC) (still have a bit to do on this though, it's massive!)
• Sea of Thieves (Season 14)
• Little Kitty, Big City

Have to give a small shout-out to Withering Rooms actually.

This ended up being my Halloween game this year and was a very pleasant surprise indeed!

Anyone who's interested in the horror genre (especially the classics) absolutely needs to be trying this game, you're guaranteed to enjoy something about it. Withering Rooms is packed full of content that covers so many different categories of horror, the variety on offer here is really quite impressive.

The fact that it was all created by a solo dev is frankly impossible for me to get my head around!

Obviously certain aspects of the production are somewhat indicative of that, but for me, the jankieness of those things complement the style of the game and simultaneously enhance its already creepy vibe.

I also thought the story was great, it's based around a really simple idea (which I won't spoil ) but one that works wonderfully for a video game of this type and can be fleshed out as much as the player desires by collecting various fragments as you progress. 

Gameplay is also very good (albeit on the more challenging side ) the combat is fun and can be quite varied, thanks to a large amount of customisation options made possible via gear, weapon selection and player levelling choices. There are plenty of other interesting gameplay mechanics thrown in for good measure too, you even get Eternal Darkness-esque sanity effects to enjoy!

The presentation is... kind of interesting. A jarring combination of often rudimentary character modelling/animation but generally excellent environments textures and lighting effects. Again, I personally love the look of the game, but it might not be to everyone's taste. The soundtrack is sublime though. While mostly appropriate for the setting (Victorian era classical) it gets layered with electronic music at times, there are also unusual variations that get super unhinged depending on the player character's current sanity. It's mixed in a masterful way though, great stuff.

One pretty minor thing about the presentation that I'll also mention, as it's something that I really appreciated, is how every NPC in the game has a completely distinct font for their dialogue text, and yet all of them suit the theme of the game perfectly (take note Bloodstained devs! ). It's a small attention to detail, but one that also helps to further portray each individuals character and, well, just looks cool.

I could go on and on about this one I reckon... if I wasn't lazy, and if it hadn't been a few weeks since I'd completed it... but yeah, I very much enjoyed the game (might even be my GotY for 2024, plus one of my all-time favourites of the genre).

Highly recommended for horror fans.

 

And with that, here's what's likely to be my finalised gaming diary for this year:

Spoiler

• Bramble: The Mountain King
• Stray
• Palworld
• Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (replay)
• No More Heroes III
• Dead Rising
• Metal Slug (replay)
• Prodeus
• Resident Evil 2 Remake (replay) (did a playthrough on Hardcore difficulty)
• Paper Mario
• Castlevania Bloodlines
• Metroid: Zero Mission
• Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope
• Tamagotchi Adventure Kingdom
• The New Denpa Men
• Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy
• Call of the Wild: The Angler
• Bakeru
• Tinykin
• Pac-Man Museum+ (replay-ish) (played a bit previously on Game Pass)
• Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland
• JellyCar Worlds (originally played on Apple Arcade, but picked up my own copy for PC)
• Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
• Withering Rooms
• Vampire Survivors (Ode to Castlevania DLC) (still have a bit to do on this actually, it's massive!)
• Sea of Thieves (Season 14)
• Little Kitty, Big City

If anything else gets added between now and the end of the year it'll be Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and possibly Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess which I've also been playing recently and am about halfway through- oh, and Teardown, almost forgot about that one. Otherwise that's going to do it for 2024.

Edited 6 hours ago by RedShell