Posted April 27 38 minutes ago, Glen-i said: It's weird, I know full well that Mario Wonder is the better game of these two, but that game left me quite disappointed, while Sonic Superstars exceeded my expectations. It's a pleasant surprise! I came to the same conclusion when I played it last year. There's more to do in this game (loved the post game content and true final boss) and it offered more of a challenge. Most of Wonder's levels I could do in my sleep and it was over far too quickly. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted April 27 43 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said: I came to the same conclusion when I played it last year. There's more to do in this game (loved the post game content and true final boss) and it offered more of a challenge. Most of Wonder's levels I could do in my sleep and it was over far too quickly. See, difficulty is whatever to me, my issue with Wonder is that the levels outside of the Wonder Seed sections just don't have anything imaginative or interesting to them. And the Wonder Seed sections are over far too quickly for it to make an impact. I prefer it when they make whole levels designed around an idea and gradually develop it. That barely happens with Wonder. Spoiler Meanwhile, Egg Factory is an absolute masterstroke. Bit of foreshadowing with the timers in-level counting up, before the reveal that Robotnik has a time reversing machine, forcing to you back right out of the level before that timer counts down, and when enemies literally reverse their attacks and platforms fall up, it's a truly genius idea. 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 1 Knocked out a few more games before the end of last month. Spoiler This caught my attention at the back end of last year. It's an indie game that released on the Switch that draws inspiration from the dungeons in Link's Awakening. Lot's of people spoke highly of it and so I snapped it up. As you can see, the visuals are very much a call back to the GBC era. The game captures the charm of that era perfectly. Unlike the Zelda games, there's no real overworld to explore and instead you have a hub that houses all the levels you can play through. Each of these stages/dungeons plays like a 2D Zelda game. They vary in length but they are all puzzle orientated, with very little combat outside of the boss fights. The puzzles in these dungeons are great and some of them definitely feel straight out of a Zelda game. The game is a little short for my liking (you can finish it in around 3-4 hours) but that's probably because I was enjoying it so much. The tight level design also makes the game flow very well and there's pretty much zero busy work or padding in the game, which is much appreciated. The developers have done a great job in recreating the 2D Zelda feel with such a little adventure. Any Switch owners who want a cheap (under a fiver) but great little indie Zelda type game should check this out. Next Up was... Spoiler After finishing Warioware, I was inspired to play through WarioWorld on my GameCube. Looking at my last save file, it was Feb 2004 when I last played through the game. I don't remember much about it other than I thought it was pretty average. Has my opinion changed in the last 20 years? Not at all. The game is still pretty meh. I think the problem is that the game doesn't really know what it wants to be. The controls aren't tight enough to be a true platforming game and the combat is so bare bones that it can't really be classed as a brawler. The fighting aspect of the game is quite strange. It's only really there for you to gain coins from enemies and these coins are used to buy continues. The problem is, the game lacks any real challenge and so the coins themselves are pretty worthless. Had they been tied into the game's ending, much like the currency was in Luigi's Mansion, then that would have encouraged the player to collect them. As things are, I never really went out of my way to collect them or engage with the enemies if I didn't have to. One thing that was pretty frustrating was the fact that when you fall down a hole you don't just lose a piece of health and spawn back to the place you fell from, you instead land in some weird pit where you need to find a spring to jump back to the main game. It's a baffling addition that adds nothing to the game other than to create something that is tedious and annoying for the player. Of course, the main way to avoid this would be to not fall down any holes but, as I mentioned earlier, the platforming isn't that great and so it's something that occurred quite often. The one bright spark in the game were the trapdoor levels/games. Some of them are pretty similar to Super Mario Sunshine's special stages. Some of them do require thinking a little outside the box and there are some great ones towards the end of the game where you need to time your jumps from a pole that fires Wario across the screen. There can be a little trial and error here but thankfully you don't lose any health if you fail and you instantly restart from the beginning again. The game itself is very short, with only 8 levels on offer and a boss fight after each. There are also an additional boss that needs to be fought upon the completion of a world. Most are pretty straight forward, with the last boss being very easy and disappointing. That fight reminded me a little of Banjo Kazooie but instead of the Jinjo's you collected coming to help you, this time it was the Spritelings. The game once again reinforces my opinion that Treasure were never a top tier developer. They had a couple of great games and then the rest were pretty average, this being one of them. As a side note, playing through the game highlighted that my GameCube's internal battery has died. The date and time will only change when the Cube is powered on. I'll have to look into seeing how hard it is to replace. My final game for March was Gravity Circuit. Spoiler Along with Bat Boy, this was another indie game that got high praise when it released last year and yet another game on Sacred Symbols Colin's GOTY list. Like Bat Boy, this certainly deserves all the praise it received. The game is essentially an indie version of Mega Man X, a series which I love. The main difference is that instead of shooting things with an arm cannon, you now use your fists/melee attacks to dispose of enemies. You also have a hook shot to help navigate the stages but also grab enemies and throw them around. The platforming in the game is so tight and responsive, which was like experiencing whiplash when coming from playing WarioWorld. Like the Mega Man games, there are 8 main bosses to take care of and then a few more end levels to finish, before taking on the final boss. The developers certainly weren't shy about their inspiration when it came to the fight battle. It was essentially like Sigma from the original Mega Man X. Again, like the Mega Man games, once you defeat a boss you will have the opportunity to gain extra powers/moves. However, these need to be bought in the main hub but this really isn't an issue due to how much of the currency is kicking about as you go through the stages. You can also rescue NPCs, with 8 being hidden on each stage. These will reward you with other power ups that will make you life much easier if you do the leg work. I enjoyed the game so much that I ended up going through the game 3 times in a row in one sitting. The trophies required multiple play throughs, with things like not buying any upgrades, rescuing every NPC and not getting get hit by anything at all in a single stage. Really fun and really challenging. I actually topped the leaderboard for being the person who earned the platinum in the fastest time. Go me. Fantastic game that gets a big recommendation from me to anyone who loves the Mega Man games. 2 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 1 (edited) Never heard of Chico before, looks cool. Might need to check it a look while the interminable wait for Mina The Hollower continues Edited May 1 by Dcubed Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 1 Recently got through Horizon: Forbidden West as I was hankering for an openworld game. Problem is that after playing Elden Ring the 'joy' of exploring a map only to find shitty shit is really... Shit. This game suffers with overdosing on weapon selections and endless upgrading of all of the gear you accumulate. I basically stuck with "freeze 'em, then shoot wit big damage bow" plan the entire way through. Same as the first game, I felt strung out dealing with all of the generic fights going from A to B, especially because my ADHD brain said I had to engage every time, and using any form of travelling faster was a cheat. Sure, dealing with the big bads it's sensible to use the right rock/paper/scissors ammo-type approach, but in general just douse them with the swampy soup water then freeze and bang and you're good. Story-wise I really appreciated how they dealt with the tutorial section, and how they built up your family. Of course, playing it on steam years after original release means I am comparing it unfairly to other games, but honestly I think gameplay-wise this is on the same level as Mad Max when that first came out. Most recently, though, I am replaying through Nier Automata. The soundtrack alone puts the game amongst my favourites of all time. The unrolling story is a wild ride. An utter tapas of a game with so many moments to savour - and I haven't even (re-)finished the C/D endings yet! 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 1 The next game in my GBA lunch time gaming was completed today. Rock n Roll Racing I played this so much on the SNES back in the day. Remember being blown away by the soundtrack and the commentator so it was a pleasant surprise when I saw this while browsing for my next GBA game to play. Soundtrack and the commentator are still fantastic after all these years but do get a bit repetitive after a few hours of playing. The graphics and course design are spot on with as expected more challenging courses as you work your way through the different worlds in the game. Had to do a bit of grinding in the last couple of worlds as I maxed out my vehicle thinking it was the last one to unlock only for the last vehicle to pop up so I screwed myself over. The vehicle upgrade system is simple but works so well and is so rewarding when you start putting wins together and the cash starts rolling in. Now what do I play next on the GBA... 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 1 21 minutes ago, lostmario said: Now what do I play next on the GBA... What's on the list/backlog? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 1 9 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said: What's on the list/backlog? Everdrive so any game released on the GBA. if you have any recommendations, let me know. I'm thinking Super Mario Bros.3 and playing through all the e-reader levels first. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 2 Man...last year I've finished 22 games by May. This year...the count is at 7. Not really complaining, as 2024 has been pretty eventful for me (and will likely continue for a while) but it's still crazy to me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 2 After finishing SO:FDR, I was still in the mood to play another JRPG and decided on playing Wild Arms. I played and platted this last March (PS5) and decided to go through it again for the double platinum (PS4). It's such a breezy experience. Like Star Ocean, it's pretty much all killer and no filler. With a completion time of around 20-25 hours, it makes for a breezy experience. It's probably one of my favourite JRPGs of that generation, which is high praise given the quality of the genre on the PS1. At times, it can be ridiculously pretty for a game that is 25+ years old. It can look a little rough when it transitions into 3D during the battles but the 2D stuff is gorgeous. Lovely stuff. I've still got a hankering for the genre and may jump straight into another one. Wild Arms 2, Star Ocean: The Divine Force, Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth, Trails of Zero, Ys VIII, Dark Chronicle, Legend of Mana, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth....plenty of options to choose from. 3 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 3 Managed to finish Mass Effect 2 a couple of nights ago. It was pretty good. I've already said how superior it was to ME1 - the writing and plotlines are some of the best i've ever seen in a game. Some of the decisions it has you make are just so cleverly constructed, and go so far beyond most games' "Do choose to kill the bad guy, or let someone else kill the bad guy?". There were some missions where I knew what I was going to have to choose between by the end, but the difficulty of the choice was so bad, that i was dreading making it. The one where you have to decide between destroying all the Geth with the virus, or cure the virus and let them return (but end up sharing their corrupted memories with the other half of the Geth) was such a good one. Or destroying the genophage research, or keeping it. I can't wait to find out how those decisions affect the story in ME3! I don't think it was a perfect game however - I thought the gunplay was a bit crap, and I came to actually dread having to fight anybody. The guns felt ineffectual and imprecise, and all of the biotic powers seemed to be mostly the same. I think i'd give it a 8/10 overall. Games completed in 2024 Mass Effect 1 Uncharted 3 Mass Effect 2 I'll overtake Drahkon at this pace. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 3 25 minutes ago, bob said: Games completed in 2024 Mass Effect 1 Uncharted 3 Mass Effect 2 Quality over quantity right there. Are you jumping straight into the 3rd game or taking a break with another title? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 3 5 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said: Quality over quantity right there. Are you jumping straight into the 3rd game or taking a break with another title? Definitely not starting ME3. Need a break from the format. I might go with Uncharted 4, or I've got Far Cry 4 sitting unopened, or maybe even Tears of the Kingdom? Haven't decided yet. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 3 34 minutes ago, bob said: I'll overtake Drahkon at this pace. Definitely possible *starts another Balatro run instead of playing a different game* 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted Saturday at 12:56 PM Just like I done last year, it was once again time to earn a Star Wars platinum on this the holiest of days. This is a game many Star Wars fans rave about but I've never had the opportunity to play it. That was until Nightdive Studios decided to remaster and release it on modern platforms. The game is definitely a product of its time but not necessarily in a bad way. The maps are very maze like in structure and its very easy to get lost. You really have to take note of where you are going and where you have been. I ended up getting lost a few times but I actually didn't mind all that much. Most FPS games these days are very linear and guide the player to the next objective, whereas here it's all about being aware and learning the layout of the level you are in. I enjoyed the challenge of it. The game really took me back to the era of the original Doom and Wolfenstein. It certainly has the same feel as those games but with a Star Wars coat of paint applied. The enemies could have done with a little more variety. It was mainly Stormtroopers and Imperial Officers that were the fodder, with the occasional Dark Trooper making an appearance. Oh, and the Gamorrean Gurad show up as well. What they were doing on Imperial ships and bases I have no clue. Enemy encounters are pretty fair at the start but by the end you'll be engaging with waves upon waves of enemies in tightly packed corridors. Now I know how Han felt as he ran around that corner in the Death Star. Fun game and one I will probably return to at some point to earn the double platinum. Happy May the 4th, y'all. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted Tuesday at 08:29 PM Credits have rolled on Donkey Kong Country Returns It's been well over 10 years since I last played this so it felt like a new game playing through it. Also, it's been so long since I sat down and put a few hours into a Wii Game with the Wii remote still being really comfortable to play with horizontally. Anyway, onto the game I really enjoyed playing through this again after so many years. Not the most challenging game but I wasn't going back and collecting everything to unlock the 9th island. I can imagine that's where the proper challenge comes in. Graphically, it looks fantastic on my Sony Trinitron CRT TV, vibrant colours and some stunning graphical styles on display on certain levels. Controls, apart from waggle controls, which are horrible, Donkey Kong controls perfectly. Music, I like how it borrows sound bites from the iconic DKC tunes as you would expect but there's nothing really memorable here. Humour, there is none. A couple of the cut scenes got a chuckle out of me but the Rare sense of humour is really missing here. Cranky Kong acts like a completely different character. It feels very safe at times compared to the DKC Rare Trilogy but Retro probably didn't want to take any risks or Nintendo just wouldn't let them. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze will be played but it won't be my next game. 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted yesterday at 06:03 AM 9 hours ago, lostmario said: Music, I like how it borrows sound bites from the iconic DKC tunes as you would expect but there's nothing really memorable here. This was always a gripe of mine when it came to Returns. The series is known for its fantastic soundtrack and it's here where it falls completely flat. Thankfully, Tropical Freeze has David Wise back at the helm and delivers one of the best gaming soundtracks ever made. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted yesterday at 07:48 AM On 03/05/2024 at 10:37 AM, bob said: Definitely not starting ME3. Need a break from the format. I might go with Uncharted 4, or I've got Far Cry 4 sitting unopened, or maybe even Tears of the Kingdom? Haven't decided yet. After playing a game with possibly some of the best writing ever (and some naff gameplay), I decided to go with the complete opposite. A game with possibly some of the worst writing ever (and some pretty addictive gameplay) - Pokemon Arceus I got reasonably far with this the first time i played it, then trailed off a bit as I couldn't stomach any more of the crap dialogue and cut scenes. I thought i'd come back and try and finish it off (the story at least). I got as far as defeating the 3rd angry pokemon, and had 6 stars, so i'm maybe around halfway through? Not sure how far i'll bother trying to fill out my Pokedex. Probably just keep playing until I get bored. 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted yesterday at 08:09 AM On 12/04/2024 at 12:53 AM, Jonnas said: This is not the end of my Shmup journey, but it is a good place to pause Pause over. It's time to tackle a couple of more recent takes on the genre: Enemy Mind So! This 2014 game is actually one of the reasons I wanted to tackle this genre in full. I first heard about it several years ago, in an Extra Credits video. The game sounded interesting, so I bought it on Steam at some point... But a problem came up. The game was clearly designed to be played with a gamepad, which I did not have at the time. I could still play it with a keyboard, but I eventually ran into a level that required me to move with precision, and my laptop keyboard at the time didn't even recognise diagonals that well, so I couldn't beat that level at all. I ended up dropping the game and marking it with a shameful "Unfinished". Time passed. I eventually got better keyboards, a proper pad... But I never revisited this curious little game. Well, one of my resolutions this year involved tackling my "Unfinished" games, so it was time to put this one to rest, once and for all. And that's enough backstory, let's get to the game. At first glance, it seems like your usual shmup fare, controlling a ship, shooting some enemies... But there's this unique mechanic: you can mind control and "take over" any enemy ship. One at a time, sure, which means you're constantly "hopping" from ship to ship. This clever mechanic truly transforms how the game is played, not just because you can move from ship to ship in a skirmish, but because you can escape into a healthier ship whenever your health is low. Furthermore, there are no power-ups or extra guns, only various types of ships with different stats and weaponry. Some craft is lighter and faster, others are large and bulky, some contain a spreader gun, others contain lasers, etc. There's like 20+ ships in the entire game, and they all feel wildly different. This includes alien ships, by the way. One thing to keep in mind is that each type of ship, without fail, contains limited ammo. At some point your bullets run out. I presume this is meant to encourage you to mind-hop more often, and yeah, it does that quite well. Game-feel is pretty pleasant. A bit slower than most shmups I played, but that does mean I relax a lot more with this game. It's not a bullet hell at all. The only times I felt a difficulty spike was during certain bosses, and I can excuse those. One cool thing in this game (that I wish more shmups would adopt) is that you can actually turn and shoot left with most of the available ships. So good, I'll definitely miss it in other games in the genre. Art style is pretty pleasant, and the aliens in particular are quite memorable. More importantly, each ship is visually distinct, and the sprites are large for the most part, so you'll never really find yourself confused over which type of craft can do what. Story is fascinating. It's told in small snippets at a time, every time you complete a level or wave. The twist is that the snippet itself depends on whether you finished that level as a human or as an alien. You could potentially only see human snippets for an entire playthrough, and you'd be missing a lot of vital context from the aliens' perspective. Same thing if you only ever finish levels as an alien. The more likely scenario is that players see a few snippets of one, and a few of the other. It's a narrative choice that piques the curiosity of any player, and there's plenty to find for those who look. Overall, this brilliant little gem is a solid 4 star game. If I liked the genre properly, I probably would've given this a fifth star, but if there's anything I realised after so much exposure to the genre, is that it's not quite my type. I can at least guarantee that this is the best dang shmup I've ever played, even better than MUSHA. Super Amazing Wagon Adventure I originally saw the Game Grumps play this 2012 game on a one-off episode. I thought: "What a silly little short game. And so cheap! Might as well take it", and then I proceeded to not touch this very short silly game for years and years. Until now. So, have you ever played Oregon Trail? Of course not, you're not American. It's a game where you manage a family's migration to the west coast via caravan. A few generations played this game on their school libraries, hence why it's so famous. Super Amazing Wagon Adventure (SAWA) looks a lot like a more silly and action-y version of Oregon Trail (for example, hunting your own food along the way), and I definitely thought it would be just that, a silly short pew-pew game with references to Oregon Trail. Sure enough, there are levels where you mow down buffalo, where you cross rivers, where you're attacked by wolves and zombies in a snowstorm, and even one where you go to space. Somehow, you run into machineguns and rocket launchers in all of these places. It is all very, very silly, yes, but it is also... a roguelike. That's right. The levels and bizarre scenarios your caravan gets through are randomly selected. And after a few attempts, you can even unlock some other caravans, with other attributes and weapon types. I didn't manage to complete a run, but I felt like I got close. It's not a cakewalk or anything, but each attempt was leaving me closer to the goal. It's an enjoyable game, but the humour and aesthetics (and genre) didn't fully click with me. I give my enjoyment 3 stars overall, and for the low price it's at on Steam, I feel like it's a steal, even at a non-discounted price. So here's a shout for roguelike fans, such as @drahkon Starfox ...Wait a sec, this isn't a shmup! Except it kinda is, if you think about it: what are On-Rail Shooters, if not 3D shmups? This is one I had on my pledge. Not only is it part of a genre I don't usually like, it's a whole series that's very popular and beloved by Nintendo fans... but never really clicked with me. Considering I never put much time into any Starfox game (except Adventures, which is a whole different thing), I figured I owed it, and myself, an adequately deep playthrough. As it turns out, playthroughs are quick in this game. You pick one of 3 distinct routes, and it's 6 or so levels exclusive to that route (even the starting level, Corneria, is different depending on the route). I appreciate this kind of difficulty system, offers a lot of fun and replayability. No way around it, the game's graphics were super impressive for the time, but boy do they hurt my eyes now. I appreciate that weak points are colour-coded, but that's pretty much it. Some boss designs work well with the blocky style, at least. On a brighter note, the animal aesthetic for Fox, Slippy, et al. is very charming and memorable, as are the bleeps and bloops for speech. Gameplay-wise, I appreciate there being a health meter, and frequent health pickups. I appreciate the Arwing's maneuverability. The aiming is wonky as shit, but it's better in the first-person levels, where they include a reticle. It's not super important, as movement is the main thing that allows me to survive, and the game never demands pin-point shooting precision at any moment (even when saving teammates, there's so much leeway). I managed to finish runs on the easy and normal routes, but couldn't make it even 3 levels on the hard route. That's one for more skilled fans, and I admit I'm not one of them. I also hear there are secret levels, warps, and easter eggs in the game, which is always good, brings depth to any game. (On a side note, Sakurai must love this game. He's included this version of Andross in every smash game since Melee. It's a memorable boss fight for sure, and now that I'm better versed in the genre, I can't help thinking of Xevious whenever I see his rotating projectiles ) I am happy I gave this game more of a chance. It's still not my style, but it's a very well designed game. I give it 3 stars, it earned that much. ----- Phew... and Super R-Type is still there for me to tackle! 3 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 17 hours ago (edited) Most people consider rail shooters like Star Fox and Space Harrier to be a completely different genre compared to horizontal or vertical shmups, but there is certainly enough crossover that it can at least be considered an adjacent genre. Personally I get more annoyed when people don’t consider Space Harrier or Afterburner to be in the rail shooter genre, despite them basically being the progenitors of said genre! Edited 17 hours ago by Dcubed 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
