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Zero Time Dilemma 

 

Deadly Premonition -  Went through this with a friend recently. This is a really flawed game with some amazing storytelling that really caught me off guard. Between the janky animations, rough driving controls, and downright meme-worthy sound editing, I wasn't expecting this story to make me emotional by the game's end, but here I am. I understand this is something of a cult classic, and now I understand why. I really wish more people would look past this game's admittedly prominent flaws, because there's a great mystery narrative here, and a cast of characters that's absolutely overflowing with personality. Not to mention all of the laughs I had with my friend over some of the musical cues and sound editing. 

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9 hours ago, Laclipsey said:

Zero Time Dilemma 

 

Deadly Premonition -  Went through this with a friend recently. This is a really flawed game with some amazing storytelling that really caught me off guard. Between the janky animations, rough driving controls, and downright meme-worthy sound editing, I wasn't expecting this story to make me emotional by the game's end, but here I am. I understand this is something of a cult classic, and now I understand why. I really wish more people would look past this game's admittedly prominent flaws, because there's a great mystery narrative here, and a cast of characters that's absolutely overflowing with personality. Not to mention all of the laughs I had with my friend over some of the musical cues and sound editing. 

 

Deadly Premonition is such a completely bonkers game, but there is something magnetic about its weirdness. And playing it convinced me to watch Twin Peaks, so there's that too.

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5 hours ago, Eliwood8 said:

 

Deadly Premonition is such a completely bonkers game, but there is something magnetic about its weirdness. And playing it convinced me to watch Twin Peaks, so there's that too.

Yeah, I'm now convinced I need to see Twin Peaks. XD Each character in DP is kind of a giant caricature. Coupled with their animations and voice acting, there definitely is something magnetic about them. 

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Knocked out Final Fight II, pretty decent brawler.

 

C: 9

H: 2

PC:

M:

O: 11-1

 

Challenges: 1

http://www.twitch.tv/PixelatedMetalHead

 

Bronze #3: Castlevania Bloodlines

 

Games Beaten:

1. Shining Force: Sword of Hayja (3DS VC) 1/6/2019

2. Shining Force (Switch) 1/13/2019

3. Torna The Golden Country (Switch) 1/31/2019

4. South Park: The Fractured But Whole (Switch) 2/16/2019

5. Pokemon: Let's Go Eevee (Switch) 2/26/2019

6. Final Fantasy XV: Pocket Edition HD (Switch) 3/15/2019

7. Final Fantasy IX (Switch) 3/18/2019

8. Castlevania Bloodlines (Genesis) 4/4/2019

9. Mortal Kombat (Genesis) 4/4/2029

10. Beavis & Butthead (Genesis) 4/5/2019

11. Final Fight II (3DS VC) 4/8/2019

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On 1/21/2019 at 11:54 AM, purple_beard said:

 

4/14 Yoshi's Crafted World

*going to at least also try all the Poochy Pups levels before closing shop on this game as I don't feel the desire to go for 100%s.

 

 

 

Yoshi's Crafted World Thoughts:

 

Conceptually a step above YWW.  Graphically a step above YWW.  However, in comparison to YWW, it lacked the "thing" to make me want to 100% like YWW did with all those Wonder Wools for custom patterns or Amiibo scanning for those custom patterns or even the Custom Yoshi Creator idea from the P&YWW.  The armor things in this game just aren't "that " cool.  Also, I think NIntendo needs to patch the game odd frame rates in non level playing areas.  Some of the jerkiness in those spots was kind of off putting.

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- Trüberbrook (Switch)

Love the handmade visual style, and I appreciate that the puzzles in a point and click adventure game weren't too obscure. Really wish the game were longer though, if only to give the story more time to organically develop. [image]
 
- Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy (Switch)
I remember liking this game well enough as a sort of "B" rated title for the GameCube, but it feels awfully clunky to play today. Shame the developers didn't do more to modernize it and truly remaster it. [image]
 
- Yoshi's Crafted World (Switch)
Nothing all that new or exciting in the gameplay department, but even if it feels pretty familiar at this point it's still a lot of fun. [image]
 
- The Witcher 3 (PS4)
Finally took the time to really get into this game and spent the past several weekends playing it pretty much nonstop. All the praise it has received is well deserved—once you let yourself be enveloped by the game's world it really is fantastically addictive to see every story play out. I'm even more excited to see more of Cyberpunk 2077 now. [image]
 
- Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey (3DS)
The main game is still a lot of fun, though I really don't care for the minions side games in these M&L re-releases. [image]
 

C : 34

H: 1

P: 0

M: 0

O: 35

Challenges: 3 points

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Am I correct in assuming Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy retains its fairly terrible ending? 

 

I don't want to say "worst ending ever" in a video game, but it was incredibly disappointing back then, and I imagine it's even more frustrating today, considering a sequel never happened. 

 

Also, since I'm posting here anyway, I've updated the first post again, so we're caught up through this post. 

Edited by blcdude1
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13 minutes ago, blcdude1 said:

Am I correct in assuming Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy retains its fairly terrible ending? 

 

I don't want to say "worst ending ever" in a video game, but it was incredibly disappointing back then, and I imagine it's even more frustrating today, considering a sequel never happened. 

 

Also, since I'm posting here anyway, I've updated the first post again, so we're caught up through this post. 

 

By terrible ending I assume you mean how you spend the entire game trying to help the mummy regain human form, and as soon as he has the last piece to the puzzle he immediately breaks it? Yeah it's a pretty unsatisfying way to try to build up a sequel with a cliffhanger, as if they couldn't have easily come up with any other reason for another adventure in this setting.

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4/19- Super Dragon Ball Heroes: World Mission for Nintendo Switch 

 

 

 

 


 

I'm a fan of Dragon Ball. I'm a fan of card games. I'm a fan of video games. When I heard that the elusive arcade game Dragon Ball Heroes would be coming to the Switch as the above title, I... was really happy. I wondered how the game would turn out, since I was curious how the arcade game would transition to the console, like how Street Fighter II did to the SNES. I bought the game... and a wave of emotions came out, for better... and for worse. 

 

 The game's story is about stopping a time-traveler named Sealas from creating time anomalies. Though he says he is doing it for the greater good, Trunks and the Supreme Kai of Time won't allow his plan to come to fruition. It then shifts to a kid who is entering a SDBH tournament building. They're a rookie at first, but THE GREAT SAYAIMAN 3 recognizes his potential and asks their help to save the world. Along the way, the kid will meet a group of allies, who sport different race teams, so that they can stop Sealas from changing time itself. Alright, so even though technically Xenoverse did it first internationally, the whole time-travel shenanigans technically came first from the DBH arcade, which this game is based off of. Plus, it has a brand new villain with different goals. Still... not only has the game have its fair share of side-stories and missions... but the arcade mode features what's currently in the arcade game. Yep. There's a lot. It's probably overwhelming because not only are there hundreds of missions... but, I'll get to the real meat and potatoes soon enough. 

 

The one thing that everyone complains about is that the game looks like it borrows heavily from the Budokai 3 art style, and that it looks ugly and rugged and like PS2 graphics. As a guy who really loves Budokai 3, I didn't care. I have another part of the game to complain about anyways. But, it's not the music. The title theme is really great, some battle themes are rocking... overall, the soundtrack is decent compared to other games, like Budokai 3's and FighterZ. 

 

Now, gameplay is a hard thing to talk about. Because like the story, it's a little overwhelming. A person's deck can have only seven cards. Each one fits into a Hero, Beserker, Elite, or Special type. If memory serves, Hero cards are well-rounded, Elite have great defenses and stamina but not much power, and Elite have a lot of power but their defenses and stamina are worse. Stamina is equivalent to speed... and stamina is basically essential to the game. The cards also have abilities, special attacks, and different special abilities that can turn the tide to one's favor. One can increase the Hero Energy of the team +1. Hero Energy is determined by the amount of team power the team accumulates, and for each 3000 increase of team power, the Hero Energy builds up to 10. Hero Energy is essential for abilities and special attacks. As for the placement of the cards, one has to be picky if they need a card to recover stamina in the Support area, or to go all out in the Attacker area. Unless something happens, stamina is lost constantly for each attacker, and if a card receives major damage, they have a chance to be stunned. If another card attacks a stunned card, the stunned card cannot defend and gets more damage dealt to the team's HP. When the team's HP goes to 0, a player loses. That's the basic gameplay, but the game throws in a bit more complicated stuff, like the stuff that requires touch controls or the circle pad. It gets either really hectic or repetitive at times. 

 

... So, what's the real problem of this game? I thought this game was going to be really fun and exciting with all the card combinations I could use. It all happens to go to the CI bar, one of the most ridiculous ways to determine the defense and offense. I think it came from Budokai 3, but that was only for the Ultimate attacks. Anyways, the slider or whatever goes up and down, and the one with the bar filled up the most wins. Let's get into the BS: the speed sometimes can go from really slow to really, really fast. And that partially is because of stamina. And the success of Special attacks also depend on winning that kind of stuff. It's nerve-wracking seeing what the enemy fills up... AND IT REALLY SUCKS IF THE EMENY GETS A PERFECT. The odds of a draw are 10%, but that just raises the speed even more. It's a real game of luck and chance, even though I thought this game was going to be mostly skill-based. Oh, and there's the fact that the computer AI cheats with a good amount of BS abilities, like getting their stamina back and getting more power. And that kind of BS also happens in what the game sometimes classifies missions as NORMAL TWO STAR MISSIONS. And, THERE'S MORE! If one has seen the ULTRA COMPLETION, they have to do really basic stuff like not getting stunned to WINNING A BATTLE WITH PERFECT CI, which is sometimes impossible. And the Ultra Completion is needed for destroying the roadblocks that are covering side missions. It's padding, it's annoying, it's not fun, and I can't believe I get suckered in into finding them on my way to completing the story. ... So, in order to save everyone the trouble, just look for seven of the strongest cards, grind for accessories, the tournaments, grind the avatar's level, and get Super Shenron wishes. (I did not stutter, he's basically Shrenron from B3.) ... And there's no skip scene for really big attacks. I can understand online, but I want the game to move on like how one can turn off the battle animations in Poke'mon. It takes like a minute for Goku to charge up his Spirit Bomb and finally throw it at the enemy very slowly. The pacing of battles can be boring once one has seen a variation of the move. 

 

Now that I think about it, some story missions probably feel like padding as well. The Hero team has to split up occasionally, in which one has to control an ally NOT the avatar, and when I thought I was done with those stupid quests, I have to defeat an enemy just out in the over-world. And I wish I could have liked the whole splitting up thing better, IF I COULD EDIT MY ALLIES' TEAMS! The game locks me into using one of two BS decks I would never use in the game. it's not fun or clever, and I just get upset when I see a branching pathway.  

 

I mentioned the two modes, but the game also has a creation mode, where one can create cards using stuff from the shop. The shop has creation stuff, accessories, and cards. In order to get cards, one must win battles to get gacha tickets in order to put them in several gum-ball machines so that they can collect a card. Basically like a loot-box. The rest can be bought with Zeni. The game also has online battling and created mission battling. I mentioned the tournaments, and the game also has tutorials, if one is lost. The avatar can also change their type and their special attack. But, the races can only be changed by the Super Shenron wish. Yes, the avatar can be a card themselves. Using them might not be practically as other cards, because leveling up the avatar cards become a chore after a while. 

  

So, even though I bashed the gameplay and some story elements... why did I bother playing this game for about two weeks or so? I wanted to see the silly off-trails stuff, I wanted to see Sealas get his butt kicked, and I love the card designs and customization, even though trying to get all of that requires as much patience as an RPG. As I said, I love Dragon Ball. And getting Super Attacks to go for a lot of damage once I knew how to 75% 1 round each match is really satisfying. It has some cracks because of probably archaic choices... but, there's nothing quite like it internationally. Maybe not my favorite Dragon Ball game, but it will have enough drawing power thanks to the incoming stuff.

 

 

4/25- ARMS for Nintendo Switch 

 

 

 


 

I've never been one for fighting games. Except for maybe Tekken. The competitive nature of them always made turn away from them. Not to mention, they have the weirdest of stories, and try too had to be mature at times. As I was looking to take care of some games that I haven't beaten yet, ARMS was one of them. I never played it because it was never going to reach the Mario Party, Splatoon, or Smash Bros. levels of multiplayer fun. Surely it wouldn't be THAT fun... right? 

 

Like any other fighting game, the story revolves around a tournament. But, the game doesn't have any stakes to it except for being the best. With added content, one controls one of I think twelve characters. I immediately jump... picked Spring Man, cause he's the star of the story, like Little Mac to Punch-Out. (Almost fell for the pun.) It's simple, but like Street Fighter II, it adds a few mini-games to spice up the grand prix. 

 

ARMS is vibrant. From the wacky characters to each of their stages. Like Overwatch, it goes for a colorful comic book look. I love how each characters' interactions with everything. And the music... not all of it has stuck with me, but the songs are really energetic and pumping. Not Splatoon levels, but still as bumping. 

 

The gameplay is interesting too. It's a 3D arena fighting game, like that of the Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm series. But, where it differentiates from that game are the controls. One can use the basic or the joypad options. I dug the joypad controls, but could never find out how to move properly, so I went with basic. It was hard to focus my attacks with basic for a little while, but I'm adapting. If one is asking, the game has the block, punch, special, grab, move, and dash motions of a usual 3D arena fighting game. But, in this game, the player has the option to move the trajectory of the punches. Each punch in the game is basically spring-like in nature. Each punch extends for a long distance. It gets a little trickier because the other player can guard, dodge, grab, jump away from, and cancel out one's punches too. Each punch could be advantageous or disadvantageous for each player. And it gets way complex because of the character selection, and the arms customization. Not one battle will feel alike. The stages themselves have unique layouts, and there are different objects that will make each outcome random. Basically, easy to learn, hard to master. 

 

I went to see the online players, asking if there was such an audience. I was shocked to see that there was, and like the arcade mode, there were mini games too, including this one where there was this miniboss that kicked my teammates' and my butts. There's also tag team fights as well. ARMS might not be as BIG as Splatoon 2 right now, but that's not to say I have a problem with ARMS. It's a cool game I can't wait for an inevitable sequel of.  

 

 

5/3- Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance for GCN 

 

 

 

 


 

So, besides another visit to Radiant Dawn I plan on making, I'm officially done with the Fire Emblem series as of beating this game. This was yet another instance of me coming back to a game after a long time. I think I haven't played this game since its release, and the strange thing is that I have beaten its sequel, Radiant Dawn. Because the newer games have improved a lot of what I felt was flawed with the series, is it really worth playing Path of Radiance now? 

 

Instead of the usual main protagonist Lord character the game is often known for, the game goes for a mercenary named Ike. He has a father who is in charge of the self-titled Greil Mercenaries and a sister who cares for the both of them. After they complete a few local favors, they find out that the country of Daien plans on invading the country of Crimea. The Greil Mercenaries unluckily get involved during it, and they soon realize they saved the secret princess of Crimea, Elincia. With her country snatched by Daien, Elincia asks the group to take her to Gallia, home of a race known as laguz who are part human and part animal. Ike and his team now must find Elincia help to take back her kingdom and stop Daien from ruling the continent of Tellius. What's unique about Path of Radiance is the relationship between the beorc, humans, and laguz, and the underlying tones of racism. The laguz are strong beings, but some beorc fear, hate, and district them out of the fact that they're different. Because of that, some laguz hate what the beorc do to them. The laguz race consists of beasts, crows, hawks, dragons, and the nearly extinguished herons. Tensions between both races are bit rocky at the start.  

 

Path of Radiance is one of the best looking GameCube games, from the different locations and characters. Although the series has never come back to the 3D models since the sequel, the grid-layout design does not damper the life of the game. Every character moves perfectly, even though the move speed is quite... average and not as quick and sharp as 2D sprites. And even though I think Radiant Dawn edges out on this game for music, there are some really good songs, like Clash and the first two map themes. Path of Radiance also introduced cutscenes, even though the volume quality is poor and the acting is sub-par. 

 

The core gameplay for Fire Emblem is present in Path of Radiance, so what makes this game special? First, the laguz are able to transform into creatures. However, there is a "timer" for when they can transform and how long they can be in their animal forms. I only used one per battle because I needed to train my regular units to level up. Laguz are potentially game-breaking, but they come at a cost. Not to mention, there are weapons that can deal massive damage to them like an Armorslayer would do for a knight. Next is award/bonus exp, which varies when certain chapter conditions have been met. Anyone can use the bonus exp, thus the need for grinding goes a little bit down. A thing I never got was the biorhythm mechanic, which makes enemies and allies stronger based on the turn, I guess. I'm glad later games removed that system. Last is the base. It has the preparations stuff, a shop, an armory, a forge, the support stuff, and a few other things. One can make different kinds of weapons at the forge. Although I used it in Awakening, I never used it in PoR. ... And now that I beat the game, I think maybe using it might have been a good idea. 

 

 For all of the praise I'm giving it, is there any problem with it? Well, some of the above stuff, and maybe it's me, but like Echoes, there is a lot of RNG BS sometimes. There's also loads of enemy reinforcement karma. And, I've never been one for permadeath. Maybe it's just me, but I somehow found Path of Radiance harder than Radiant Dawn. Still, the game has good moments and great bosses, like the Black Knight, who is a juggernaut of an opponent. Although I know the pricing of Radiant Dawn, I'll have to give the game a try again to see how different my viewpoints changed with that game, along with another game that eschewed was bad. PoR might not be my favorite Fire Emblem game, but I'm glad it exists.

 

   

5/6- Professor Layton And The Unwound Future for DS 

 

 

 

 


 

I planned on beating this game after Diabolical Box about two years ago. ... And then other games came around. Until a game marathon kind of thing came along, I had no reason to come back to Unwound Future. I kind of hated Diabolical Box for how hard some of the puzzles were, and since I don't have much in terms of complex riddle solving, I didn't like it compared to Curious Village. So, what hardships did I face with The Unwound Future? 

 

Professor Layton and Luke Triton go to a scientific unveiling that is presenting a time machine. However, the machine explodes, and a few scientists and the prime minister have vanished. Later on, a mysterious letter from FUTURE LUKE says that his world is in danger, and that the duo must help him stop whoever is causing trouble. And the person responsible for making the future a worse time is... FUTURE PROFESSOR LAYTON. There are a lot of interesting turns in this game that I won't say, but this currently my favorite story of the series. Layton has a lot more personal stakes this time around, not only because of his future self, but also because of events that happened in his past.  

 

For a DS game, the character models, environments, and music are really charming. The voice acting is average, but Professor Layton and Luke have a lot more emotion to their characters this time around. The cutscene quality is good, even though on a New3DS it looks a little odd. 

 

The game follows the tried and true puzzle formula, interacting and moving with the stylus, and getting information from people. And now that I think about it, there's one thing that has bothered me a little bit when it comes to the series as of this game. They sometimes needlessly halt progression through puzzles. Sometimes when it's for the sake of story, it's fine. But, when it's with some random character, it gets rather monotonous. And then there are those times when one has to complete an absurd amount of puzzles to get through a roadblock. Most of these puzzles this time around are okay. Some of the final ones were a little bit too hard that I had to look online for their solutions. I just wanted to see where the story was going, not to find out the liar among truth-sayers.

 

Unwound Future could be my favorite of the series... even though a certain crash left my save file corrupted, and I had to start from another save from another player. It's emotionally gripping, and save for some "puzzle-roadblock nonsense" attitude I acquired through playing the game now, it's a  beautifully constructed game.  

 
 

 

 

5/13- Mortal Kombat (Reboot) for PC 

 

 

I've never been much for fighting games. My main go-to series was Tekken for a while, and although I like Street Fighter... it does have a few things that I don't like. Now I'm going to talk about the third in the trifecta I've always looked away from: Mortal Kombat. And as for KOF... *throws it out the window*. I heard that this game was a reboot of the first game... or three, and it revolves around time travel. With the original game being the one indirectly responsible for the ESRB rating back in the day, and since I've never been one for blood, guts, and the like, how does the first in the modern trilogy hold up? 

The game starts with only Raiden and Shao Khan as the only fighters left, and Armageddon soon arriving. With basically no hope left in the present, it's all in the hope of... the past. It begins with the last nine out of ten Mortal Kombats to determine the fate of the Earthrealm, where the first game basically began. But, the Raiden of the past gets dire warnings to stop the future from turning bad, so he decides to change certain outcomes. But, even though some changes are beneficial... others make the timeline a little worse. Although Raiden is trying to save the world, others often question his predictions, as lives are still lost or hurt either way. And a good amount of them are tragic, like Sub-Zero being forced into becoming a cyborg, and the same for a soldier after he becomes a human barbecue. The cast borrows the cast of the first to third MK games, so if you haven't played those games, this is a good alternative. The game's story is structured by chapters, and each chapter is a different character. Some are fun to use, others, like Cyber Sub-Zero, are difficult to master. Not to mention, each character basically has a boss at the end of their arc, so... it's not all sunshine and rainbows.

Still, during cutscenes, some of the details are a little pixelated and when they began, they slow down a bit. That's the only problem I have with the game, because everything else is really amazing. As for the blood... I've been conditioned with the first three Resident Evil games, and except for a few parts, nothing really crept me out. The game is also known for... THAT, but honestly THAT rarely got my focus when playing the story. The music is atmospheric too. Maybe not my favorite of fighting soundtracks, but it's still really cool to listen to. 

Alright, the game-play. It's a must to go to the controls first if one's a newcomer because the special moves behave a little different from other fighting games. (Actually, I think it should be a "law" for fighting games to have those.) I think without the tutorial, MK9 is maybe the hardest to master in my opinion. The game featured the X-Ray move, where when a fighter fills three bars of their Super Meter, a devastating and often bone-crushing attack is played out in mostly slow-mo. It's honestly really fantastic to pull those off. Other than that, it's a really fun game to play and master.  

The story can have cheap fights at times, even at the BEGINNER setting. Still, the cast is one of my favorites, like Street Fighter Alpha 3, Street Fighter III 3rd Strike, Tekken Tag Tournament 2, and King of Fighters XIV. It's a same I was in college by the time this game was out.

 

 

5/14- Mortal Kombat XL for PS4 

 

My browser restarted unexpectedly, so I'll just say this: fun new gameplay additions, great DLC, great story, I like 2/3rd of the new cast, about 2/3rd of the old cast (that includes those who weren't in the last game), and the places and music. It's hard to think which is better. 

 

5/15- Mortal Kombat 11 for PC 

 

 

 

 


 

Okay, maybe I was a little harsh with my review of the Mortal Kombat reboot because I just found a working PC controller, and it worked wonders playing MK11. But back to the matter at hand, I felt like the last game improved some things while making a few poor choices. The run button was not my cup of tea, some of the old cast were worse, some of the new cast was iffy, the difficulty was like the last game, and the game once again left on an odd cliffhanger. So, i finally decided to play the latest game in the series, which is no doubt one of the strongest of the series, but has been criticized for a certain problem. How does it hold up to MK9 or MKX? 

 

The story begins with an all out assault of the Neverealm, after the defeat of Shinnok in the last game. The Special Forces plan to detonate bombs in the temple, headed by Cassie Cage and co. The team is successful, but it comes at the cost of Cassie's mother. The Revenants Liu Kang and Kitana know it's over for them, but Kronika, mother of Shinnok, plans to erase the events Raiden created by turning back time and... erasing Raiden for good. She brings fighters from another timeline, some good and some evil, to keep Raiden and company at bay while she gains power and completes an hourglass that can change time. The good warriors of the past and present must stop her from rewriting history. Like the last two games, I like the whole time concept, this time with both past and present. As for the character selection... I like about 80% of the returning characters because some of them aren't undead nor are worse than their children nor their younger counterparts. I wanted Kung Jin to return because he never had any time with his cousin Kung Lao. By the way, what about Cyrax, Sektor, Reptile, and Sheeva, who are clearly seen in cutscenes? Okay, maybe Cyrax and Sektor could be considered clones next to each other, and Reptile is a semi-clone, but Sheeva could've been a missing Goro in this game. Poor Nightwolf, Smoke, and Sindel were never given proper conclusions. Nightwolf and Sindel were really fun characters... still, Smoke is another ninja. Maybe the DLC can make the roster a little better. As for the new characters... Cetrion and Geras have cool powers, but I don't like Kollector. The cast is a step up from X in my books... even though it will never be as grand as a reunion as MK9's cast. As for the story progression... third time's the charm with inconsistent difficulty. 

 

The music and locations are as beautiful as always. A little less frame issues with this game. The best looking Mortal Kombat game by far. 

 

As for the gameplay, I'm glad it got rid of the run, but the X-Ray Specials are somewhat gone in execution. Fatal Blows are their replacement... but they require 30% of health and restart each round. And now for the B.S.: Character variation. Not only does it go for skins, but different attacks. And how must one require skins and different attacks now? Meeting certain character requirements. I can't vow for the attacks, but the skins are not the same as costumes. There's no real nostalgia like the last two games. Plus, the micro-transaction debacle made this game a little worse. 

 

 Mortal Kombat 11... is potentially worse than the last two games. For me, the X-Ray Specials were cool, the villain is not as impactful as Shinnok and Shao Khang even though she is stronger, the difficulty is still at odds, the ending is another cliffhanger, and the micro-transactions make this game a little worse. I feel like the series will go down another spiral if the creators make more baffling decisions.

 

 

5/18- Chrono Trigger for Wii  

 

 



 

It's about time that I have finally sit down and defeated one of the greatest RPGs of all time. I'm not joking: Chrono Trigger is one of the most timeless games ever. Not only does it share some gameplay elements from Final Fantasy, time travel, and character designs from Akira Toriyama, the legendary creator of Dragon Ball, but it also has a great story, one of the best casts ever, amazing music, and very emotional moments. I began playing Chrono Trigger because of a review by a YouTube personality... currently under scrutiny. Regardless of the current situation, I wanted to get into the game because of word of mouth. And I was for the most part impressed. 

 

The game begins with an unconventional beginning, as a boy named Crono is about to tend the Guardia Millennial Fair. He meets a girl named Marle, and the two spend a little time together having fun. All seems peaceful. The two later meet Lucca, Crono's childhood friend and a scientist, and her invention: time travel devices. While Lucca does an experiment, Marle is sent through the portal, with Crono giving chase. They both land in 600 A.D., four hundred years earlier from the game's present of 1000 A.D. After events happen, the group finds out that a creature named Lavos will cause chaos in 1999 A.D.: apocalypse. With time travel on their side, the group must stop Lavos from achieving his mayhem before it's too late. Yes, that is a simplified version, because a lot of moments in this game are so incredible that I shouldn't put it all in a review. Crono Trigger has one of the best stories and even side-quests because of their relevance to Lavos. Everything is connected in some way or another. And the time travel aspect is done very well, from the beginning of man to the future. Better than Ocarina and Majora's Mask. All of the main protagonists are lovable too. 

 

The game is beautiful. From the scenery to the character sprites, nothing seems out of place... well, maybe the over-world main party sprites. What is up with Crono's hair in particular?! The environments complement each era as well. As for the music... There are some powerful and emotional songs, like Battle Theme 1, Crono's Theme, Frog's theme, and the 600 A.D. music. This game seemingly has little-to-no flaws. Can the gameplay ruin that? 

 

Well... no! The battle controls are as follows: attack, tech, or items. The first and second are explanatory, but techs are different techniques or magic. Like Final Fantasy, some characters are good at packing punches, healing, making magic attacks, defending, and being balanced. And most of the cast have different magic attacks, like only Crono can use Thunder attacks. Still, it gets crazy when Double, and even Triple Techs are introduced. The Double and Triple Techniques are used by certain character combinations only, like Crono and Frog's X-Slash. The tides are changed when they are executed. Finding the next location or next part of a place can be difficult, if one does know where to go. I looked up online where I needed to go, because the game had a little problem communicating the next destination nor had a detailed map where each setpiece was. Crono Trigger may not be perfect, but it's still a great game. 

 

Some bosses were challenging, and the last one was especially annoying to work with until my team grinded up to level 60. But, when the last boss is defeated, this is where the game truly shines: New Game + and other endings. Chrono Trigger has over 10 endings, and I'm okay where I'm at because I'm good with the ending I got. Chrono Trigger is simply magnificent and pure.

Edited by XLW
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NOT a game beaten,  but where else should I post this?    Seemed silly to create a whole new thread.     And I worked really goddamn hard on this it's tough as shit!    (Was playing it on WiiU, actually.)


That sentence below should read  "I wonder how many  players will have a stroke to see this message?"

 

 

 

 

 


 

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Edited by mikecamper
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I have to make a new post for this because even though I beat it, I used an emulator to beat it. It's Japanese-Exclusive only, but what's fair is fair.  

 

 4/25- Fire Emblem: New Mystery Of The Emblem for DS 

 

 



 

Until recently, because I was on a roadtrip of games I have yet to beat, I had no real desire to ever play and defeat New Mystery of The Emblem. Shadow Dragon was mediocre, and the rage for it not going international quickly simmered when Awakening came out and blew everyone's mind. Still, the same could be said for Blazing Blade, and I finally gave that game a shot. Although I thought I was going on an RPG hiatus for some time, I decided to finally play through one of the elusive games international audiences might never get. Since I beat Shadow Dragon about a decade ago and remember a few details from that game, and since this is that game's sequel, will New Mystery be adequate as the first or maybe better? 

 

The remake stars... a player avatar. Yes, this game was the first game to introduce the avatar, not Awakening. They want to join the Altean royal knights, and bump into a girl named Katarina, who is a tactician that doesn't fight. After a few sessions of training and impressing the royal knights, the avatar and Katarina join the royal guard. Marth is really impressed by their teamwork and thus asks them. After they are appointed, however, Katarina turns traitor, and it is revealed that she was working with a group of assassins who want to kill Marth. The plan fails, Katarina and the assassins retreat, and the avatar is baffled that Katarina would betray them and Marth. 

 

And that's just the prologue. The story begins a year after the events of Shadow Dragon, when Caeda is about to marry Marth, and Hardin, a royal, is the royal emperor of Archanea. Marth is asked by Hardin to squash the liberation of Grust, who were the evil kingdom of the last game. Although Marth soon realizes that Hardin's actions are villainous in motive, Archanea invaded and captured the kingdom of Altea. Marth begins his quest to take back his homeland and to stop the Archanean Empire and his former ally Hardin from taking over the world, even though he and his army are now branded as traitors. Unlike the first game, where it was it was easy to know who the villains were, this game is a little bit grey when it comes to who is actually evil. Some of the first game's allies become enemies because of their allegiance to Hardin, who in turn believe Marth is the villain himself. The story, "War Of The Heroes", is aptly named. But, there is a big plot reveal about 1/4th in the game later. Still, I think the Fates games did the whole "grey picture" the best of the series, since it was a lot more personal. Also, this game might have introduced the avatar character first, but Awakening did it better because there were support conversations. This game tries to do something similar, but it's mostly praise for the avatar. 

 

The visuals... I thought they were decent with the over-world sprite-work, and very detailed with the character ones when Shadow Dragon came out. But, since Awakening came out, and I also have Radiant Dawn, Blazing Sword, and Sacred Stones to compare it to, they aren't as good as I thought they would be. Decent, but not really good. Everyone's portraits feel mostly emotionless, and even though that could be said for other games in the series as well... I don't have as much attachment to most of the crew. They all have loyalties to certain kingdoms, but in the case of a few, there's not really any quirks to most of them. Again, that could be said for other games as well, but New Mystery of The Emblem has one of the largest casts of characters to recruit, possibly the largest. And it wouldn't also be a problem if I could bring in more than eleven or twelve characters to war. And I always brought my avatar. As for the music... it's decent too, even though there are some songs that return from the last game. 

 

The game takes cues from the Blazing Sword and Shadow Dragon elements, sans Support Conversations, so what is new? First, the avatar. Like Awakening, the avatar can be any of the normal starting classes, like pegasus knight or cavalier. I chose mercenary, because my avatar could be a hero. I'm not sure if this was implemented in Shadow Dragon, but one can buy supplies before a mission begins, although the items are D-leveled, like Iron Swords and Fire tomes. Next are the training grounds, which are like Arenas, but they too can be used before missions and there's no money rewards. This game also introduced the infamous CASUAL mode. Instead of dying, the characters retreat if their HP is 0. I love Casual mode... but its implementation in this game is not really good. Because the game is linear in design, there's not too many chances for a character to level up compared to the open-ended structures of Sacred Stones, Awakening, and Echoes. 

 

The difficulty of this game can be odd at times because of certain enemies that I won't get into. The bosses themselves... unless they were recruitable or once former allies and the like were pretty bland. There was nothing like The Black Fang... except for the assassins, but that's because they were new in the remake. And they don't even come close to The Black Fang, and I don't think any of the villains in this game do. New Mystery of the Emblem felt mostly mediocre at times, even though there were 10% moments of it being grand. It's better than Shadow Dragon. ... And that's all I think it's better than. The newer games have mostly better stuff, Blazing Sword's Support Conversations brought a whole lot more in terms of character, and Sacred Stones... was my first. And I'm sorry, but the extra stuff in the remakes doesn't compared to that in the newer games. New Mystery should only be played for those who wondered what happened after Shadow Dragon. Other than that, skip!

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- SteamWorld Quest (Switch)
I remember when Image & Form put up the Twitter poll asking what genre they should tackle, and I was right there with most people requesting an RPG. Even so SteamWorld Quest surpassed my expectations—I&F has a real knack for putting their own spin on unique genres. [image]
 
- Night Trap: 25th Anniversary Edition (Switch)
I knew this would be weird and goofy but even so I'm still kind of disappointed with this. The disconnect between watching the story scenes and actually capturing the vampires is possibly the dumbest thing about the game. [image]
 
- The Office Quest (Switch)
Cute, funny little point-and-click adventure game with plenty of logic puzzles. It's really short though—I got it on sale for $3 which is a much fairer price than the usual $12. [image]
 
- Baba is You (Switch)
Still haven't managed to finish all puzzles—man these are hard—but I at least got the credits to roll so I suppose that's "beaten," for now. I highly recommend the game though, just be aware it is extremely tricky. [image]
 
- Bendy and the Ink Machine (Switch)
Great horror setting, but the story and gameplay don't really deliver. [image]
 
Challenge complete:
Bronze 3) Simply Spooky & Scary: Beat a horror game (Bendy and the Ink Machine)
 

C : 39

H: 1

P: 0

M: 0

O: 40

Challenges: 4 points

Edited by Eliwood8
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  • 2 weeks later...
- Masquerada: Songs and Shadows (Switch)
Loved the story, both in terms of lore and character journeys. Honestly the gameplay could be a little more engaging in general, but overall it's still a solid tactical RPG. [image]
 
- 2064: Read Only Memories (PS4)
Decent cyberpunk detective story but the writing is so slow—the text speed on screen is literally slow and conversations have a tedious circularity to themselves, I honestly found myself falling asleep a few times while trying to play. [image]
 
- Final Fantasy VI (SNES Classic)
Saved the best for last with my SNES Classic. Even for all the times I've played through the game I'm still impressed by all of the great set pieces in the game, especially in just the first quarter or so: the opera house of course, but also the split paths, Phantom Train, defensive sequences—man I love this game. [image]
 
- Shakedown: Hawaii (Switch)
Solid follow-up to Retro City Rampage. I miss the unending barrage of 80s/90s pop culture references, but satirizing predatory business practices is a nice substitute. [image]
 
- Overcooked! (PS4)
I've played both Overcooked games before with others, but this time I tried playing through the game solo. Surprisingly, it wasn't as difficult as I imagined it would be—though the high scores are much lower for single player. [image]
 

C : 44

H: 1

P: 0

M: 0

O: 45

Challenges: 4 points

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05/11 -- Paper Mario (Wii VC)

 

Not the first time I've played but it is my first-ever true 100% run.     Even I couldn't do it without finally having to consult a guide for one of the Tayce T  recipes (the "Healthy Juice" to be exact.)   But yea.. this run included every little thing I could think of.   All optional bosses (buzzard, anti guy,  Kent C koopa,  all the bloopers.)     Maximum level-up.  Diploma earned from the Dojo Master.  All three radio station trading events done.   All invisible blocks activated.  Perfect power bounce score of 101.   It's all there.  Cant think of nothing I missed, aside from my entire free time off work last week.   

(Save block in last photo is the one immediately before the final Bowser fight.)

Paper Mario .jpg

paper mario 2.jpg

paper mario 4.jpg

paper m ario 3.jpg

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I believe I am now updated through this post. If I missed something, let me know.

 

Second, Challenge Games. As hinted at earlier, one of you has already beaten one of these. But here they are:

 

April:

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May: 

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Edited by blcdude1
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- What Remains of Edith Finch (PS4)
I did like the story structure and the variety of ways the individual stories play out, but eh, overall I really wasn't that taken with the game. [image]
 
- Tales from Space: Mutant Blobs Attack (Switch)
Never played this game from Drinbox Studios, and since it was on sale I thought I'd give it a try. Not as rich as Guacamelee's gameplay but still a fun, short game. [image]
 
- Mortal Kombat 11 (Switch)
I'm not sure when the last time I played a MK game was. Maybe the reboot in 2011, but I'm not positive. Regardless, my lack of skill with the series is clear when I tried playing online. [image]
 
- Retro City Rampage DX (3DS)
Wanted to replay this after playing Shakedown: Hawaii, and it really just makes me like S:H even more. Not that RCR is bad but S:H just feels much more polished. [image]
 
- Resident Evil 2 (PS4)
Loved it; feels like a great balance between preserving key parts of the original while still making the game feel fresh and most importantly surprising. Got a real hankering to replay some other RE games now. [image]
 
Didn't realize I had missed counting Yoshi's Crafted World as a bonus challenge game, so I'm adding challenge points for that and Shakedown: Hawaii, as well as Gold-1 for beating 50 games.
 

C : 48

H: 2

P: 0

M: 0

O: 50

Challenges: 11 points

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