I don't blame you. It did a lot of things right, and it really felt like an adventure. I still have God of War III, Chains of Olympus, Ghost of Sparta & Ascension to play through.
I just dropped Sonic Unleashed. It's actually a good game, one of the better Sonic games I've played in a long time. The graphics are great, it runs well (60fps on Series X), the story and characters aren't complete cringe and it's good fun - even the Werehog stages. Unfortunately they want me to collect medals to unlock stages and I can't be bothered to do that. Just let me play through the levels without stopping me to collect medals.
Finished RE Village. I think it's better than RE7 in almost every way. The only exception is it lacks the tension and jump scares. Village leans hard into the absurdness of the franchise while being more self-aware. The part where Ethan reattaches his severed hand and pours a first aid kit on it had me busting up laughing. Excellent pacing as well. Didn't drag at all and you never spend too much time in one area. I really hope Capcom continues to make this style of game alongside the more traditional RE stuff.
Now on to Record of Lodoss War Deedlit in whatever.
Finished RE Village. I think it's better than RE7 in almost every way. The only exception is it lacks the tension and jump scares. Village leans hard into the absurdness of the franchise while being more self-aware. The part where Ethan reattaches his severed hand and pours a first aid kit on it had me busting up laughing. Excellent pacing as well. Didn't drag at all and you never spend too much time in one area. I really hope Capcom continues to make this style of game alongside the more traditional RE stuff.
Now on to Record of Lodoss War Deedlit in whatever.
Small update before Elden Ring release (longest week ever !)
My challenge :
No 2022 games (or as low as possible). I can buy older games. If I buy a game, I play it immediately avoid growing my backlog.
Physical Backlog* :
The Legend of Heroes : Trails in the Sky (PSP)
Rogue Galaxy (PS2)
Baldur's Gate : Siege of Dragonspear (PS4)
Baldur's Gate 2 : Shadows of Amn (PS4)
Baldur's Gate 2 : Throne of Bhaal (PS4)
Zelda Ocarina of time (N64)
Final Fantasy XIII (PS3)
Project X Zone (3DS) Ongoing !
Brigandine : The legend of Runersia (Switch)
The Mark of Kri (PS2)
Shin Megami Tensei Devil Survivor 2 : Record Breaker (3DS)
Demon's Souls (PS5)Done !
*doesn't include PSplus free games
Games completed :
Demon's Souls (PS5) (Started the 13th of December , finished the 3rd of January, 25h20)
[Replay] Sekiro : Shadows Die Twice(PS5) (Started the 6th of January, finished the 1st of February, NG/NG+/NG++ done in 91h40)
Currently playing :
I didn't want to start any new game before Elden Ring but somehow the announcement of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and Chrono Cross remaster reignited my thirst for JRPG.
Since few weeks I hesitate starting Project X Zone and well... Yesterday (20th of February) I fell for it.
For those who don't know it's a crossover strategy JRPG with characters from Sega, Bandai Namco and Capcom franchises.
I usually play only one game at a time because I need to be immersed in their world but I made an exception for this one since as you can expect from a crossover game, the story is mostly a non sensical comedy where most of the girl have big boogs and short clothing, and a lot of sexual double meaning (or it's just me but when an half naked girl with massive boobs yells "It's time to go hard and fast !" I can't think about anything else xD).
Sounds like a nice game to play with brain off and just enjoy the show that the combats are.
The combat system is reminiscent from Valkyrie Profile : press the face buttons to trigger an attack and time them well to create combo. Except that here it triggers full mayhem on screen and you don't need to be ultra precise to make combo also it doesn't look like you can customize your attack. I take the opportunity to salute again the combat system of Valkyrie Profile which is a masterpiece.
So a funny (and long ! 50+ h according to Howlongtobeat) game to play here and there when I will not be at home to play Elden Ring. In addition, it looks a bit repetitive for 50 hours so playing it by small burst might be a good idea. Also with Elden Ring this year, my backlog will not move a lot so I wanted to tackle another game from it ^^
Man, the 'modern' Ninja Gaiden games, specifically Ninja Gaiden Black and Ninja Gaiden II are really good if you like that type of game (character action)
So I am 10 hours into Project X Zone. It's entertaining but very repetitive and close to zero on the tactics/strategy aspect.
I have done 13 chapters and it always the same. Your characters are being wrap into a new world, you get the same dialogue "Ho where are we ?", new characters show up "Is these guys friends or foes ? Ho cool they are friends", monster appears, after 1 or 2 turns villains (usually barely clothes woman) appear with dozen of enemies.
Objective is always the same : defeat the boss. Due to the numerous small enemies, and rather long (but entertaining) combat animation maps take 1h/1h30 to complete. The last one I did took me 2h...
On strategic side, there are almost nothing to do.
You don't choose your deployment position, you perform as many action as you want per turn (like you can move freely, use as many items/spell as you want, open a chest and then attack), healing spells and items have unlimited range and overall enemies are not challenging at all...
The only thing you have to manage a bit is your XP bar (which is not the experience point, I don't know why they decide to go with this name...) which is basically you "super jauge" like in fighting game. It fills on combat and you can use it to perform a super in combat or use skills on the map or use differents defense option when attacked.
But with all the freedom you have, the difficulty is really low.
I couldn't play this game "full time", happy to play it here and there.
Then today is Elden Ring release ! I am waiting it to be delivered... I can't wait ! I took my afternoon off and next Monday/Tuesday...
It will be glorious !
Then today is Elden Ring release ! I am waiting it to be delivered... I can't wait ! I took my afternoon off and next Monday/Tuesday...
It will be glorious !
I also started playing Joe and Mac on my Super Nintendo. I had forgotten how fun and charming that game is. I'll post thoughts when I beat it. (But I'll beat Red Dead 2 first)
What a game. The world and exploration are amazing with very strong BOTW vibe.
I love how minimalist the UI is. A compass and that's it. No indication expect a "trail of grace" which show you the main path.
The world is so dense. I spend 6h around the starting area and I found many many stuff.
It get better and better after each minutes.
After to be honest, I had few minutes of adaptation on graphics and visuals : I was thinking the textures were not fully loaded but there were... But it quickly fade away (actually it was more due to a specific location's design choice I think) and I am now loving it
Also controls felt a bit "dated" (very "Dark Souls ) but now I am used to it and from what I have seen so far the amount of build customisation seems incredible.
Elden Ring is "Dark Souls Open world" and it's freaking good so far !
I should probably post this in the OT but I don't want to get myself spoiled of anything so I do it here xD
What a game. The world and exploration are amazing with very strong BOTW vibe.
I love how minimalist the UI is. A compass and that's it. No indication expect a "trail of grace" which show you the main path.
The world is so dense. I spend 6h around the starting area and I found many many stuff.
It get better and better after each minutes.
After to be honest, I had few minutes of adaptation on graphics and visuals : I was thinking the textures were not fully loaded but there were... But it quickly fade away (actually it was more due to a specific location's design choice I think) and I am now loving it
Also controls felt a bit "dated" (very "Dark Souls ) but now I am used to it and from what I have seen so far the amount of build customisation seems incredible.
Elden Ring is "Dark Souls Open world" and it's freaking good so far !
I should probably post this in the OT but I don't want to get myself spoiled of anything so I do it here xD
I started today but only got to play for less than an hour. I did the tutorial area and then I got filtered by Tree Sentinel. I went around him and found a cave off to the left. Found a boss in there and died. Will try again tomorrow.
I think it's Dark Souls taken to it's logical conclusion plus improved graphics. I like it a lot
I started today but only got to play for less than an hour. I did the tutorial area and then I got filtered by Tree Sentinel. I went around him and found a cave off to the left. Found a boss in there and died. Will try again tomorrow.
I think it's Dark Souls taken to it's logical conclusion with improved graphics. I like it a lot
I'll still count Red Dead 2 as a +1 and will do a writeup, but... Seems like I've run into an unfixable, game-breaking bug on PC. 50 hours in, no less (*sad face*).
There's a particular mission where the game soft-freezes (my NPC companion won't move on), and I can tell the game is broken because pausing the game doesn't give me the pause menu at all, and takes disproportionately long to get back to the game.
I have been playing games on PC pretty steadily for almost 8 years now, and this is the first time I've run into such a game-breaking bug. C'est la vie, I guess.
When I total up the amount of games in my backlog dating back to the NES, it’s well over 100 titles.
This week I went through the NES TMNT games that I own. I got stuck at the air force base on the first one and temporarily shelved it.
My 5 year old and I played through TMNT 2, 3, and 4 on hard.
We are now going to play through Rescue Rangers 2 and I need to start playing DuckTales 2 once I complete TMNT.
The games that do not have a battery/password backup are kicking my ass with how much little time I have in the evening with my job.
I'll still count Red Dead 2 as a +1 and will do a writeup, but... Seems like I've run into an unfixable, game-breaking bug on PC. 50 hours in, no less (*sad face*).
There's a particular mission where the game soft-freezes (my NPC companion won't move on), and I can tell the game is broken because pausing the game doesn't give me the pause menu at all, and takes disproportionately long to get back to the game.
I have been playing games on PC pretty steadily for almost 8 years now, and this is the first time I've run into such a game-breaking bug. C'est la vie, I guess.
Original hardware running through an HDMI mod I had a local hobby shop do a few years back. He gets the Bluetooth modded NES controller and I play on the 8bitdo arcade stick.
He prefers to play the Switch, but every once in a while it’s fun to do multiplayer together.
Just finished Castlevania: Lords of Shadow (Xbox 360 game on Series X). Good hack and slash that borrows from God of War and Shadow of the Colossus. Quite a long game, there are 46 stages including the final boss. Story was kinda eh until the final mission when it got really good.
Graphics and art work were phenomenal. Sound was good and Sir Patrick Stewart both narrates and voices a major character in the game. Loved the ending. While not as good as say, Devil May Cry, Bayonetta, Ninja Gaiden or God of War, it comes close, and is worthy of your time if you like hack and slash. 7.5/10
Beat God of War: Chains of Olympus (God of War Collection Volume II aka Origins Collection - PS3). I did it in two sittings. I played a while, had dinner, then came back and finished it. I think it was 3 or 4 hours long.
I liked it. I was impressed this game originally ran on the PSP. The HD Collection version for PS3, which is what I played, looks great. If you've played an early God of War game, you know what to expect here. It was less challenging than God of War II, but it seemed like the combat was improved a little. Neat little adventure. I rate it 8/10.
I started and dropped Zone of the Enders HD Collection, namely ZotE The 2nd Runner. I skipped the first game completely because I heard the second was better. Anyone have any positive experiences with this game? I don't actually think it's bad, just not my speed. I liked Kojima but I'm not a fan of mechs. I got it for free with Games with Gold a few months back.
I started and dropped Zone of the Enders HD Collection, namely ZotE The 2nd Runner. I skipped the first game completely because I heard the second was better. Anyone have any positive experiences with this game? I don't actually think it's bad, just not my speed. I liked Kojima but I'm not a fan of mechs. I got it for free with Games with Gold a few months back.
I thought it was fantastic but then again I also originally played it back in the day on the PS2. It's pretty short and you can finish it an entire weekend so there's not much of a time investment there. It's also much faster paced and doesn't have as much of a learning curve compared to other mech games.
I thought it was fantastic but then again I also originally played it back in the day on the PS2. It's pretty short and you can finish it an entire weekend so there's not much of a time investment there. It's also much faster paced and doesn't have as much of a learning curve compared to other mech games.
Yeah it has a lot of good qualities. I thought the artwork/graphics was spectacular and the sound and voice acting was good. I'm just looking for a more traditional hack and slash at the moment that doesn't require flying around and shooting things. I might come back to it
Red Dead Redemption 2, on PC. Current playtime around ~ 70 hrs, beat the main story and epilogue, as well as many side missions.
A lot of the superlative accolades this game got on release (e.g., "one of the greatest games ever!") are actually well deserved. It's not without its flaws, of course, but this is a truly fantastic game and one of the greatest games I've ever played.
Pros:
+ Some of the best characters portrayed in gaming, including who has become quite possibly my favorite video game protagonist of all time, Arthur Morgan.
+ Fantastic voice acting all around. I honestly cannot think of a single voice actor/actress that didn't do a spectacular job here.
+ Awesome locational variety -- snowy mountains, western/Southwestern towns of various sorts, expansive flat lands akin to the midwest part of the US, giant plantations from the Old South, swamps, and even a full blown French-centric city called Saint Denis (an obvious stand-in for New Orleans). While this game doesn't have the equivalent of "Mexico" from the first Red Dead, it does have a brief section in the fictional Caribbean island of Guarma (a stand-in for Cuba).
+ Fantastic side missions -- I had yet to play a video game that rivals Yakuza 0 in its side missions/"substories"... and, this is it. A varied set of side missions with a lot of humor and even more humanity, with fantastic insight into American culture of 1899.
+ Awesome weapon variety -- you get standard revolvers and other sidearms, various repeater rifles, standard and sawed-off shotguns, sniper rifles, bows, knives, and more. And to be honest they ALL feel good to use, although for most battles I used the repeater rifles.
+ Fun gameplay. The gunplay is better than I thought it would be (honestly, Rockstar doesn't have a great track record here), and the improved Dead Eye mechanic feels awesome.
+ A crazy amount of cosmetic variety -- in addition to costumes, the game has a "hair" engine that sees Arthur's hair and beard grow in almost real-time, and you can go to the barber and get it fashioned in any of the ways you could get it fashioned in 1899.
+ A crazy amount of things to do -- you can do Western-trope things like play poker, dominoes, five finger fillet, go on bounty hunting missions, etc. You can hunt (hunting is actually a huge and somewhat important part of the game) a huge variety of wildlife across all regions, fish, manage horses you own or sell horses you either steal or capture in the wild, have all sorts of interactions with random NPCs (these are just regular NPCs, not even the main side story ones). You can shop for weapons, food, outfits, etc. You can rob trains, wagons, even regular people.
+ Fantastic character diversity without it being shoved in your face. After Arthur, my two favorite characters in the gang were a woman (Sadie Adler -- she's batshit crazy, but in a fun way), a mixed Native American/black dude (Charles... he's awesome), another young black man (Lenny, who's also awesome), and an Irishman (Sean)
+ Realistic and natural voice acting, animations, and environments. This game has pretty good animations, which means it's not as blatantly "video gamey" in its movement. Also the attitudes of the people and the setting are very realistic; in contrast to old Western movies from the 40s and 50s, which are somewhat glamorous, the environment here sucks: people's clothes are often dirty and ragged (you can often see armpit sweat on people), the environment is full of threats/wildlife/etc (e.g., lots of mosquitoes in the swamps, you'll see Arthur smacking his neck from time to time when you're in swamps), the food sucks, the weather sucks, etc. The life Dutch and his gang lead is FAR from glamorous, and you get a real sense that it sucks. Despite this, however...
+ ... this has got to be one of the most beautiful games to exist in 2022. Tragically, even though I have a 1440p G-Sync monitor, my graphics card couldn't handle this game at 1440p at a good framerate, so I had to turn it down to 1080p. But even at 1080p this looks good.
+ A lot of cool Easter eggs, both in the self-context of this game, but also as callbacks/foreshadowing to the events of Red Dead 1.
Cons:
- Because this map is so big, and movement is kind of slow, you'll spend a lot of time... riding your horse to places. At some point you can unlock a "Fast Travel" ability but even then, fast travel points are somewhat far from each other. And quite often you'll ride your horse through wide open lands that have a whole lot of nothing. I think it's meant to encourage hunting wildlife and interacting with random NPCs (and in some cases, even trigger the extended side stories), but if you're not into those things, all that riding around can get old quick. I didn't mind it myself, but I can see how someone who's not into it would find it boring and grating.
- While shooting is perfectly serviceable and even fun at times... this game is NOT Vanquish, it's not Gears of War, it's not even Max Payne 3. It's kind of average for a third person shooter. And considering that shooting is probably the MAIN thing you do, if you're a hardcore 3rd person shooting fan, this may drag down the game for you a bit. Again, for me, I found it perfectly fine.
- As amazing as the characters are, the overall story is... surprisingly pedestrian/average. The payoffs at the end are great, but it takes a while getting there.
It's me, so you know some pictures are coming. Unfortunately I had to set the game to 1080p mid/high settings, because my GPU couldn't handle 1440p high at a decent framerate; as such, these pictures do NOT do the game any justice.
The men of the van der Linde gang descend upon Braithwaite Manor at night; Dutch is raising his gun declaring that the Braithwaites are about to get their asses kicked. From left to right: Javier Escuella, Bill Williamson, Arthur Morgan, Dutch van der Linde, Hosea Matthews, John Marston, Charles Smith (partially blocked by John, I couldn't get a better shot), and Lenny Summers. This whole scene is pretty epic.
A stereotypical Western town:
This game features a "kill cam," which is a slow-motion, cinematic sequence that shows when you get a particularly good shot in. Here, Arthur gets a good shot on a dude in what I believe is Angelo Bronte's mansion. John Marston (protagonist of Red Dead 1) can also be seen at the door, in this picture.
One side/small character in the game, Penelope Braithwaite. You do a couple of missions for her. Anyway this picture shows that the "Southern belle" stereotype was far from glamorous: Her hair is disheveled, there are flies and mosquitoes ALL OVER the place, and she's sweating a lot in that dress.
Too many amazing side stories in Red Dead 2, so I chose this one. The guy in the dress (!?) goes by "Margaret," the leader of a circus act that parades "incredible wild beasts" around, but it's all a phony act... for example, that's not a zebra in the cage, it's a painted mule. This whole set of side stories is hilarious as hell, this game is full of them.
Another amusing side story: Yes, the white dude is named "Mr. Black" and the black dude is named "Mr. White".... lots of jokes about that in the game
The game is beautiful. Which means you will at least look at beautiful scenery while horse riding, which you will do A LOT of:
There's actually a lot of gameplay information packed in this picture: Money, location ("Grizzlies"), temperature (your outfits affect how you react to temperature), time of the day, and my current honor standing at the bottom (I maxed out good honor because I'm a goody-two-shoes and when games have a morality system, I play as "the good guy"...
Epic standoff on the snowy mountains
this is John Marston, in the epilogue mission, after Arthur dies
Sadie Adler, one of the best female characters in any videogame I've ever played. I would legitimately just play an extended DLC or even standalone game focused on her. Here she's doing some mission planning with Arthur:
Not only does your player character have stats... but so does your horse. Horse stats are actually kind of important.
One of the many, many Easter eggs/links between Red Dead 1 and this game. If you played Red Dead 1 you should quickly know who the dude on the right is....
Transcript of the conversation -- Guy on the right: "Uhhh.... can I get my own videogame?" Guy on the left: "Fuck you bitch, you already did, this is MY game."
The stresses and dangers of Outlaw life. Arthur starts off like this....
.... and, towards the end of the game, is pretty wrecked, and looks like this -- well, part due to me not shaving his beard, but mostly due to in-game story events (e.g., his sunken, tired, reddish eyes, as well as the wrinkles):
I'm a big baseball fan, so this game is awesome: a little quick pick-up, arcade-y baseball action.
Pros:
+ Colorful, nice sprites (see pics)
+ Pretty basic controls; this is an arcade game, not a baseball Sim
+ Charming aesthetic
+ Under the right conditions, you get to see fist fights
Cons:
- It's an SNK game, so the AI is cheap as hell
- Pretty limited in everything -- number of teams is small, not a lot of options while pitching/batting, soundtrack is repetitive, pretty much no customization, etc.
The main screen during gameplay:
Inning change:
Catching a fly ball:
Yes, even though the AI is a cheating piece of shit, I did manage to hit several home runs against it:
Real baseball would be twice as awesome if this were allowed to happen
I'm a big baseball fan, so this game is awesome: a little quick pick-up, arcade-y baseball action.
Pros:
+ Colorful, nice sprites (see pics)
+ Pretty basic controls; this is an arcade game, not a baseball Sim
+ Charming aesthetic
+ Under the right conditions, you get to see fist fights
Cons:
- It's an SNK game, so the AI is cheap as hell
- Pretty limited in everything -- number of teams is small, not a lot of options while pitching/batting, soundtrack is repetitive, pretty much no customization, etc.
The main screen during gameplay:
Inning change:
Catching a fly ball:
Yes, even though the AI is a cheating piece of shit, I did manage to hit several home runs against it:
Real baseball would be twice as awesome if this were allowed to happen
Good work man, you work fast. The art style/sprites is charming.
Literally just finished Otogi 1. Tough game but really good. Love the art style, music and voice acting. When I wrote I dropped Zone of the Enders 2 because I wanted a more traditional hack n slash, this is what I meant.
I always wanted to play this but it was kinda hard to find in Australia and it got overshadowed by Ninja Gaiden for me. When it got added to Series X backwards compatibility I maintain that they saved the best for last. It holds up incredibly well. There are 29 challenging stages. The second last level is a boss rush of 4 bosses, I nearly threw in the towel but stuck with it. The final boss was really easy though if you just spam magic.
It's an early FromSoft game. was this the first game with Moonlight Sword? Btw, 'how long to beat' for this game is way off. I have 06:48 (I tried uploading a photo of the clear screen, didn't work). This game was better than Lords of Shadow, and Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge which I'm playing right now. 8.5/10
Thanks, man! Yeah Red Dead 2 took me a while, it's an open world game, and I had some life stuff going on (work assignments that kept me busy, then a vacation, then catching up with friends, etc). All in all, took me over a month to beat Red Dead 2. But now that it's all behind me, I should be able to start finishing games at my previous steady pace.
Yes, they are! I'm big into retro gaming, and during their height of power through the 90s, SNK put out some really beautiful games. (Real Bout Special, Garou, all the Metal Slug games, Last Blade 2, etc). But even games that weren't in that "god-tier" of sprite work still often looked good, like this baseball game I just wrote about.
Thanks, man! Yeah Red Dead 2 took me a while, it's an open world game, and I had some life stuff going on (work assignments that kept me busy, then a vacation, then catching up with friends, etc). All in all, took me over a month to beat Red Dead 2. But now that it's all behind me, I should be able to start finishing games at my previous steady pace.
Yes, they are! I'm big into retro gaming, and during their height of power through the 90s, SNK put out some really beautiful games. (Real Bout Special, Garou, all the Metal Slug games, Last Blade 2, etc). But even games that weren't in that "god-tier" of sprite work still often looked good, like this baseball game I just wrote about.
While the age-based definition of retro will always keep changing (e.g., some people are talking about the *Wii* being retro now), I personally cut it at gen 6 (Dreamcast/PS2/Xbox/GameCube) because:
- It was the last generation where physical media was the primary way of playing games, before the digital revolution started by the PS3 and Xbox 360
- It was the last generation where standard definition (240p/480i/etc) and was still prevalent, before the HD revolution (720p/1080p/etc) started by gen 7
- Somewhat related to the point above, it was the last generation where analog connection sources (composite, component, VGA, etc) were still prevalent before HDMI took off and we never looked back.
While the age-based definition of retro will always keep changing (e.g., some people are talking about the *Wii* being retro now), I personally cut it at gen 6 (Dreamcast/PS2/Xbox/GameCube) because:
- It was the last generation where physical media was the primary way of playing games, before the digital revolution started by the PS3 and Xbox 360
- It was the last generation where standard definition (240p/480i/etc) and was still prevalent, before the HD revolution (720p/1080p/etc) started by gen 7
- Somewhat related to the point above, it was the last generation where analog connection sources (composite, component, VGA, etc) were still prevalent before HDMI took off and we never looked back.
Gonna be playing two games simultaneously:
- Joe and Mac on Super Nintendo (yes, I keep my Super Nintendo hooked up at all times, and I have quite the backlog for it)
- Bayonetta on PC.
Joe and Mac, on SNES. I've been playing a level or two of this game for years (practically since I was a kid), and now that we have this backlog thing going, I made a dedicated effort to actually sit down and finish it.
(Yes, this is my own personal cartridge of the game; I usually put the main Steam banner of the game, but for hard copies I guess I'll just have the game itself?)
Pros:
+ Solid "action platformer"
+ Good weapon variety -- you have a bare caveman club, projectile bones, stone wheels, a boomerang, and a fire projectile; each weapon has some good advantages and some disadvantages, so it's fun to see what weapon works for what level and what boss
+ Pretty fun, funny, and charming
+ Pretty short; the entire game can be completed in less than an hour
+ Good boss and level variety
+ Good challenge in the latter levels
+ Multiple paths/secrets/exits
Cons:
- Pretty short
- Final level, and final two bosses are pretty cheap
- Jumping (especially high jumping) can take some getting used to.
Anyway, the final verdict is that this is a charming platformer, ideal for short sessions, so whether you own it or just want to play it on an emulator, give it a try!
Anyway, you know me; pics! A note about these pics -- they may look "off-center" and otherwise weird ("weird" = you may see TV artifacts in the colors and stuff, but trust me, the game looks good in person). That's because unlike PC where I can just hit a "screenshot" button, when playing on retro consoles I actually take a picture of the TV screen with my phone.
Game is pretty short, which means that from this screen...
.... to this screen, can be done in less than 1 hour:
A dose of their sense of humor -- this is the story; that's it (there's a second screen talking about the cave babes getting kidnapped or something)
In between, you get to traverse a pretty basic/simple overworld in which you then choose a level to play:
You go through the levels, and each level has a "boss"
And after you beat the boss, a "cave babe" is freed from the boss's captivity and she gives you a kiss:
Anyway you get to free all the cave babes. I don't know if this game has multiple endings, and this ending is the one where the bros. are waiting for the cave babes, but to their surprise, there's a pretty fat chick in the mix, and they run away:
Joe and Mac, on SNES. I've been playing a level or two of this game for years (practically since I was a kid), and now that we have this backlog thing going, I made a dedicated effort to actually sit down and finish it.
(Yes, this is my own personal cartridge of the game; I usually put the main Steam banner of the game, but for hard copies I guess I'll just have the game itself?)
Pros:
+ Solid "action platformer"
+ Good weapon variety -- you have a bare caveman club, projectile bones, stone wheels, a boomerang, and a fire projectile; each weapon has some good advantages and some disadvantages, so it's fun to see what weapon works for what level and what boss
+ Pretty fun, funny, and charming
+ Pretty short; the entire game can be completed in less than an hour
+ Good boss and level variety
+ Good challenge in the latter levels
+ Multiple paths/secrets/exits
Cons:
- Pretty short
- Final level, and final two bosses are pretty cheap
- Jumping (especially high jumping) can take some getting used to.
Anyway, the final verdict is that this is a charming platformer, ideal for short sessions, so whether you own it or just want to play it on an emulator, give it a try!
Anyway, you know me; pics! A note about these pics -- they may look "off-center" and otherwise weird ("weird" = you may see TV artifacts in the colors and stuff, but trust me, the game looks good in person). That's because unlike PC where I can just hit a "screenshot" button, when playing on retro consoles I actually take a picture of the TV screen with my phone.
Game is pretty short, which means that from this screen...
.... to this screen, can be done in less than 1 hour:
A dose of their sense of humor -- this is the story; that's it (there's a second screen talking about the cave babes getting kidnapped or something)
In between, you get to traverse a pretty basic/simple overworld in which you then choose a level to play:
You go through the levels, and each level has a "boss"
And after you beat the boss, a "cave babe" is freed from the boss's captivity and she gives you a kiss:
Anyway you get to free all the cave babes. I don't know if this game has multiple endings, and this ending is the one where the bros. are waiting for the cave babes, but to their surprise, there's a pretty fat chick in the mix, and they run away:
I really loved this game as a Kid I remember it not being totally top notch compared to other platformers but it had a nice atmosphere and humour to it. I think super adventure Island was the better game overall but this had two player at the same time. If I remember
I really loved this game as a Kid I remember it not being totally top notch compared to other platformers but it had a nice atmosphere and humour to it. I think super adventure Island was the better game overall but this had two player at the same time. If I remember
You're absolutely right, this game's platforming is, at best, pretty average. And yeah in my original post I forgot to mention two other strengths of Joe and Mac:
+ Music -- it's pretty good
+ Co-op -- I played by myself but I have played this game with people before and it's fun.
Interesting and funny you bring up Super Adventure Island. I used to play that game as a kid, but played it again a couple of years ago and... Let's just say that it would have been best to just leave that game to my childhood memories. It is not as fun as I used to remember it
That being said, Super Adventure Island is in my backlog so when I get around to it I'll tag you, haha.
You're absolutely right, this game's platforming is, at best, pretty average. And yeah in my original post I forgot to mention two other strengths of Joe and Mac:
+ Music -- it's pretty good
+ Co-op -- I played by myself but I have played this game with people before and it's fun.
Interesting and funny you bring up Super Adventure Island. I used to play that game as a kid, but played it again a couple of years ago and... Let's just say that it would have been best to just leave that game to my childhood memories. It is not as fun as I used to remember it
That being said, Super Adventure Island is in my backlog so when I get around to it I'll tag you, haha.
I really like the music in super adventure Island and yeah I remember the skateboard parts (must 90's plaformers not sonic or Mario have a snow or skateboard section/power up?) were not that good to control, yeah I'm sure it's a lot more basic than I remember, but still there is a reason why Mario and Sonic 2D games from that era are so highly thought of. while others might be remembered but not by all.
I really like the music in super adventure Island and yeah I remember the skateboard parts (must 90's plaformers not sonic or Mario have a snow or skateboard section/power up?) were not that good to control, yeah I'm sure it's a lot more basic than I remember, but still there is a reason why Mario and Sonic 2D games from that era are so highly thought of. while others might be remembered but not by all.
To those reading this who are very young or otherwise not very familiar with the Super Nintendo beyond Zelda and Mario, platformers are the most dominant game genre for that console, and it's not even close. So for every god-tier platformer (e.g., Super Mario World, Yoshi's Island, Mega Man X, etc), there are a dozen average to mediocre platformers.
To those reading this who are very young or otherwise not very familiar with the Super Nintendo beyond Zelda and Mario, platformers are the most dominant game genre for that console, and it's not even close. So for every god-tier platformer (e.g., Super Mario World, Yoshi's Island, Mega Man X, etc), there are a dozen average to mediocre platformers.
I'm a big baseball fan, so this game is awesome: a little quick pick-up, arcade-y baseball action.
Pros:
+ Colorful, nice sprites (see pics)
+ Pretty basic controls; this is an arcade game, not a baseball Sim
+ Charming aesthetic
+ Under the right conditions, you get to see fist fights
Cons:
- It's an SNK game, so the AI is cheap as hell
- Pretty limited in everything -- number of teams is small, not a lot of options while pitching/batting, soundtrack is repetitive, pretty much no customization, etc.
The main screen during gameplay:
Inning change:
Catching a fly ball:
Yes, even though the AI is a cheating piece of shit, I did manage to hit several home runs against it:
Real baseball would be twice as awesome if this were allowed to happen
Joe and Mac, on SNES. I've been playing a level or two of this game for years (practically since I was a kid), and now that we have this backlog thing going, I made a dedicated effort to actually sit down and finish it.
(Yes, this is my own personal cartridge of the game; I usually put the main Steam banner of the game, but for hard copies I guess I'll just have the game itself?)
Pros:
+ Solid "action platformer"
+ Good weapon variety -- you have a bare caveman club, projectile bones, stone wheels, a boomerang, and a fire projectile; each weapon has some good advantages and some disadvantages, so it's fun to see what weapon works for what level and what boss
+ Pretty fun, funny, and charming
+ Pretty short; the entire game can be completed in less than an hour
+ Good boss and level variety
+ Good challenge in the latter levels
+ Multiple paths/secrets/exits
Cons:
- Pretty short
- Final level, and final two bosses are pretty cheap
- Jumping (especially high jumping) can take some getting used to.
Anyway, the final verdict is that this is a charming platformer, ideal for short sessions, so whether you own it or just want to play it on an emulator, give it a try!
Anyway, you know me; pics! A note about these pics -- they may look "off-center" and otherwise weird ("weird" = you may see TV artifacts in the colors and stuff, but trust me, the game looks good in person). That's because unlike PC where I can just hit a "screenshot" button, when playing on retro consoles I actually take a picture of the TV screen with my phone.
Game is pretty short, which means that from this screen...
.... to this screen, can be done in less than 1 hour:
A dose of their sense of humor -- this is the story; that's it (there's a second screen talking about the cave babes getting kidnapped or something)
In between, you get to traverse a pretty basic/simple overworld in which you then choose a level to play:
You go through the levels, and each level has a "boss"
And after you beat the boss, a "cave babe" is freed from the boss's captivity and she gives you a kiss:
Anyway you get to free all the cave babes. I don't know if this game has multiple endings, and this ending is the one where the bros. are waiting for the cave babes, but to their surprise, there's a pretty fat chick in the mix, and they run away:
One of my favorite SNES games back in the day. I would rent this pretty regularly. I beat it last year and it was rough to go back to. There's a lot of slowdown if I remember right and the enemies just fucking fly at you out of nowhere.
Yes, the presentation IS quite nice, it's a really good looking game.
I've never played the NES version, but if it's that worth it, I'll check out some gameplay and then decide if I want to scoop up a copy on eBay. The only baseball game on NES I had when I was a kid was that one "Bases Loaded" game by a company called... Jaleco, I think?
One of my favorite SNES games back in the day. I would rent this pretty regularly. I beat it last year and it was rough to go back to. There's a lot of slowdown if I remember right and the enemies just fucking fly at you out of nowhere.
You bring up a great point; I personally didn't notice the slowdowns a lot, and if I did, they didn't bother me. But the game CAN feel sluggish at times. And absolutely, yes, enemies "appear" so that you have to react to them immediately. It's pretty bad on later levels.
I'm with you that some games can have that effect: when you're a kid they're a lot of fun, but revisiting them as an adult, you realize... Nope. Happened to me with Super Mario Kart, a game I absolutely loved as a kid, and played again a couple of years ago. Let's just say I haven't touched it since
Finished Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge (Ninja Gaiden Master Collection - PS4). Easily the weakest modern Ninja Gaiden game, Razor's Edge is redeemed by an awesome final level, Momoji, Ayane & Kasumi and Ninja Trials.
I originally played Ninja Gaiden 3 in 2012, and it was so bad I dropped it after half an hour or so. Razor's Edge is like the directors cut of Ninja Gaiden 3, and it is at least playable. The story is extremely linear, you go down a path, fight some enemies, go down another path, fight more enemies etc for 30 minutes then you fight a boss. Twice in the campaign you play as Ayane, and she is cute and has a different weapon, magic and playstyle. You go all around the globe like in Ninja Gaiden II, but the stages aren't particularly well made. My favorites were the jungle, Antarctica and Tokyo.
The Ninja Trials you unlock after you beat the game once elevate this game from a 7 to a 7.5/10. They are a lot of fun and in addition to Hayabusa you can play as Momiji, Ayane and Kasumi. They are a lot of fun to use. I could see myself spending a lot of time in that mode. I should also note, this game is hard in normal and above. But there is an easy mode.
That's the end of the Master Collection for me at the moment. I've played Ninja Gaiden Sigma and Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 before, i just needed to beat the third game.
Smashing through these action games. Just beat Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destinyfor PS2. Last year I played the Onimusha: Warlords Remaster and enjoyed it a lot. I wanted to play the other games in the series since this is basically the one Capcom series that got away from me.
The gameplay is similiar to Onimusha: Warlords but there are less puzzles. Mostly stuff like finding a key for a door. You do not have to grind enemies to upgrade your weapons like you did in Warlords. The game seems different at the start because you go to a village that actually has NPCs, a marketplace and a bar. The locations are varied, and there is a nice suprise for people that played the first game.
You can acquire five different weapons
- basic samurai sword
- lightning sword which is about medium speed and strength
- ice spear which is good for poking enemies
- wind blades which are fast. This was my favourite
- hammer with earthquake magic attack
- ???
There are opportunities for many different playthroughs with the gift giving system and multiple sidekicks. You give a gift to a friend and their alliegiance to you will increase, making it more likely they will aid you in certain spots in the game and the story will play out differently. Sometimes you will need to do a side quest as that character and cutscenes may change. I made friends with Kotaro because he seemed cool. Nobunaga makes for a great villain, and one of the bosses, Gogandantess, is based.
I liked it a little less than Warlords, but it was still worth playing. 8/10
You can acquire five different weapons
- basic samurai sword
- lightning sword which is about medium speed and strength
- ice spear which is good for poking enemies
- wind blades which are fast. This was my favourite
- hammer with earthquake magic attack
- ???
Can you keep more than one weapon on you, and just equip the one you want to use? Or can you only ever have one weapon at a time?
How do the framerate and visuals hold up, it being a PS2 game?
Reason I'm curious is someone last year strongly recommended Onimusha (the fist one) to me; I'll likely get into it but will go through my current backlog first
Can you keep more than one weapon on you, and just equip the one you want to use? Or can you only ever have one weapon at a time?
How do the framerate and visuals hold up, it being a PS2 game?
Reason I'm curious is someone last year strongly recommended Onimusha (the fist one) to me; I'll likely get into it but will go through my current backlog first
Finished Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge (Ninja Gaiden Master Collection - PS4). Easily the weakest modern Ninja Gaiden game, Razor's Edge is redeemed by an awesome final level, Momoji, Ayane & Kasumi and Ninja Trials.
I originally played Ninja Gaiden 3 in 2012, and it was so bad I dropped it after half an hour or so. Razor's Edge is like the directors cut of Ninja Gaiden 3, and it is at least playable. The story is extremely linear, you go down a path, fight some enemies, go down another path, fight more enemies etc for 30 minutes then you fight a boss. Twice in the campaign you play as Ayane, and she is cute and has a different weapon, magic and playstyle. You go all around the globe like in Ninja Gaiden II, but the stages aren't particularly well made. My favorites were the jungle, Antarctica and Tokyo.
The Ninja Trials you unlock after you beat the game once elevate this game from a 7 to a 7.5/10. They are a lot of fun and in addition to Hayabusa you can play as Momiji, Ayane and Kasumi. They are a lot of fun to use. I could see myself spending a lot of time in that mode. I should also note, this game is hard in normal and above. But there is an easy mode.
That's the end of the Master Collection for me at the moment. I've played Ninja Gaiden Sigma and Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 before, i just needed to beat the third game.
The Ninja Trials are great but the story campaign is ass. You need to do the campaign to unlock the girls for Ninja trials though. If you do play it, make sure it's the Razor's Edge version. The original is terrible
I just wanted to add, I played this on an actual PS2 connected to a 1080p hd tv (composite cables for the moment). It held up well dude, if it was real bad I wouldn't have played through the whole game. You should know it has tank controls and movement is on the d-pad for Onimusha 2. 3 and Dawn of Dreams have more modern controls apparently
I just wanted to add, I played this on an actual PS2 connected to a 1080p hd tv (composite cables for the moment). It held up well dude, if it was real bad I wouldn't have played through the whole game. You should know it has tank controls and movement is on the d-pad for Onimusha 2. 3 and Dawn of Dreams have more modern controls apparently
When I do get around to these games... Unfortunately I only own a Japanese PS2, so hopefully there isn't a lot of text reading that's necessary to advance in the game. (I used to be huge into fighting games when I was younger and imported most of my fighting games, have why I always had Japanese consoles or consoles able to play Japanese games.)
If all else fails I can start with that Onimusha remaster that is available on PC...
Well, the gift giving system means you need to know what the items are you're giving your comrade, if you care about that. Some items are better to give certain people. It's probably possible to beat 99% of the game without it (you dont HAVE to give gifts), but there was a point where I had to give a gift to progress the story.
When I do get around to these games... Unfortunately I only own a Japanese PS2, so hopefully there isn't a lot of text reading that's necessary to advance in the game. (I used to be huge into fighting games when I was younger and imported most of my fighting games, have why I always had Japanese consoles or consoles able to play Japanese games.)
If all else fails I can start with that Onimusha remaster that is available on PC...
I don't recommend the PC remaster, they ditch some of the most amazing soundtrack because of licensing issue. The music is PS2 Onimusha are some of the best which is completely missing from the remaster.
I just started it and... What the fuck is this game!?
It's fantastic. Low amount of bullshit -- sure, the plot is stupid, characters are "early 2000s" edgy as hell, but the gameplay is fantastic. Stuff on the screen can get a little frantic, so half the time I'm not even sure I can tell what the hell is going on in the screen. But she's got a lot of tools at her disposal, the combos feel great to pull off, and Witch Time is amazing.
Also, I've been around GAF since 2013 or so, and I had no idea where the term "Megaton" came from -- is this the game where it came from??
Uhhhhh... what the hell is going on here? I don't want to know, LOL....
By the way, the intro (kind of epic and throwing you into the action right away) reminds me of God of War 3.
Anyway I only just started the game, so it should be a lot of fun.
