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Video Games Finished in 2020


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Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan 

Shadow of the Colossus 

Castlevania

Golden Sun

Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna - The Golden Country 

 

Boktai: The Sun is in Your Hand - Sometimes I feel like the only one who remembers this series. Which is inexcusable, considering how many people I know who were exposed to Django through MegaMan Battle Networks 4-6. This is my second time going through the first game, and this time I got the good ending. Having always wanted to play the unlocalized Boktai 3, and having not played Boktai 2 in some fifteen odd years, it's been my intention to go through the trilogy all in one go. Lunar Knights was alright, but it sacrificed the spaghetti western visual and musical aesthetic that makes me love the Boktai trilogy so much. I leave you with one final thought: In a perfect world, Django would be Smash DLC.

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Beat: Final Fantasy VII Remake

 

Igneous42 2020 Games Beaten

1/8: Dragon's Crown (PS4] 

2/19: Monster Hunter World (PS4)

3/8: Monster Hunter World: Iceborne (PS4) 

4/26: Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS4)

 

C: 4

 

It's weird that it was that long between Iceborne and Final Fantasy VII but I guess it makes sense. FFVIIR is a big one so as always gonna put it in spoilers, gonna avoid spoilers though. 

 



I'm sure I've told my story about the original somewhere on Nsider in the past. For much of my life I considered it one of my favorite games of all time but also probably my biggest gaming regret of all time. I got to just before the final section and my third party memory card wiped itself, that was the day that prevented me from ever really buying third party products again with a few exceptions. Always meant to go back, even with the Remake I still haven't for the original. It's been so long I can't really say I counted it among my top favorites since first playing it, but I always remembered it fondly, even if the fanbase sometimes made me want to distance myself from it. Not that I mind getting passionate about a game, but I think people know what I mean. 

 

So when the Remake was announced I was decently excited, but can't sit here and claim I've been eagerly clamoring for it this whole time. Still excited enough that I picked it up day one, and I liked it a lot. I have my criticisms but overall it left a good experience and I'm super excited to see what comes next. They managed to keep a lot of the games charm and quirkiness even though it has a more realistic style even if it still did seem very animeish still. The scenes people were afraid wouldn't work seemed even better in some ways because the more realistic take made them all the more ridiculous. The infamous "cross-dressing scene Each character seems really fun, though I definitely preferred Cloud and Tifa the most. 

 

As far as gripes, probably some of the same as a lot of other's. Linear narrow hallways make up a lot of the more dungeon like sections, padding at certain points of the game disrupts the momentum of moments that are supposed to high stress situations. The combat was fun and fluid, but a lot of the fights, especially bosses were too formulaic. They would feel really tough on the border of cheap even, till you found the little thing that exploits their entire fight which trivializes it. Even the final few bosses had these kind of moments and it was a bit jarring. In many ways that is what helps keep it's RPG feel even with the real time combat, but I actually felt myself sometimes wishing the real time stuff would be more rewarding. Reading bosses and dodging/positioning never felt rewarding compared to just finding the one thing that breaks them. Some of the post game-fights may be better in that regard but for most of the story fights felt that way to me. 

 

This is probably long enough and I'm not even going to try to touch the story or end game events because I'd be here all night. What I will say is I fell in love with these characters all over again. The game had a great mix of appealing to nostalgia while also still feeling like something new. It didn't satisfy the itch to play the original as much as I thought it would, but I think that's a good thing in many ways as it allows the original to always have it's place. So I can continue to hold on to my 20+ year regret of never having actually beaten it. Despite considering one of my favorite games of all time for much of my life, when I actually tried to keep a list of that sort of thing.  

 

Even though my games this year haven't been remarkable by any means I actually feel like I'm doing a bit better than the last few years. I'm on a pretty decent stretch of not having an MMO I'm actively into so it seems like I'm finding a lot more time for single player games. Next up I'm thinking I may revisit Shadow of the Colossus again, continue some the nostalgia FFVII Remake initiated.

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5/2- Streets of Rage 4 for Nintendo Switch 

 

I played the first two Streets of Rage because of a duo that pitted the series against the original Final Fight Trilogy. Even though they're not my favorite games, I will admit Streets of Rage 2 was really close to being in my Top 100. Decades later, fans finally got a fourth game in the series. Even though much has changed since the 90s, the game is thankfully a two-player 2-D beat-'em-up. Still, Double Dragon Neon (from what I'm told) and Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World were some of the best when it came to 2010s standards. With the revival of certain Sega games coming out early this decade, how does Streets of Rage 4 fare? Does the series need to continue on? 

The game begins ten years after Mr. X and his syndicate are no more. Even though peace seemed to be permanent wherever the crew lived, a new organization headed by Mr. X's siblings, the Y Twins, soon takes over the streets. Axel Stone, with the assistance of his old partner Blaze and two newcomers Cherry (daughter of Axel's colleague Adam) and Floyd (a student of Dr. Zan or so), now take it upon themselves to rid the streets of the new threat in town. The plot might seem basic, but there are some genuinely interesting twists. Even though the cutscenes feature only those four protagonists, one can eventually unlock old pals, like Adam. The story can be picked up from any stage, so if one gets a game over, they don't have to play the entire game all over again. As a gamer who hates the "old school game over" mentality, I welcomed this pace.  

Some people might not appreciate the new art style, but I think the style fits perfectly for how much time has gone by. It has a comic book-like design, and the cutscenes do make it stand out as well. The cutscenes do not have voice acting, and are short and skippable. That doesn't mean all the levels are beautifully, because some of them are dreary. When compared to the amusement park ghost part of Streets of Rage 2, it's really unappealing. The music might not hold up to the bops that were in Streets of Rage 2, but I think it fits the whole techno vibe of the 90s. It feels energetic, and that's what I want in a beat-'em-up. 

The gameplay of Streets of Rage is nearly the same, so what has changed? New characters means new gameplay balance. I can't say how they differ, because I so far only played Axel, Blaze, and Adam. Sorry, I wanted to go to my roots when it came to this game. The only thing I think is new are the super moves. In each level, each character starts with only one star, but can collect more as the stage goes on. Press certain buttons, and they'll use a star to do a super move. Against bosses, it is vital. There might also be a combo system too, but pulling off big combos also drains health. The only way to regain health is to beat up more baddies and acquire meals. So, I didn't do those often. 

So, I should say that I think the game is easy, right? No. It has some of the challenging enemy design of the 90s, and falling off means half of the health bar is gone. And, the game is too brutal to play alone. Even with horrible internet randos and lag, I was able to beat some stages, and to an extent, all of the bosses within a day. The game might be B.S. at times, but the game on a first playthrough will be short. Unlocking other stuff will take more time and effort. If you're a fan of beat-'em-ups, simple stories that can be done within a day, and/or cartoony art styles, Streets of Rage 4 is a satisfactory game.

 

 

5/10- Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen for DS 

 

 

Dragon Quest III was one of the most genuine surprises I played. After not getting into the series for some time for who knows what reason, I think that Dragon Quest III was one of the best retro games I missed out on. About a year later, I finally gave the sequel a try. I thank one of my brother's friend for letting me borrow their DS copy, because Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen is a solid game. 

I think the reason for my appreciation of Dragon Quest IV is how it reminds me of Octopath Traveler, in terms of structuring its narrative. The plot is sliced into a prologue and five chapters. The prologue begins with a child version of the Hero of this game. Everyone from his village is barred from going outside because of monsters. But, he has a childhood lover keeping him company for now. Chapter 1 begins with Ragnar, a knight of Burland. There's news of monsters kidnapping children from nearby towns, so he goes to save them. But, he soon hears about the evil villain Psaro and his desire to rule the world. In Chapter 2, Alena, a princess of Zalenagrad, and her retainers, knight Kiryl and sage Borya, escape her father's castle to save the world from the forces of evil. She and her friends saves a town's women from being sacrificed, heals her father's voice using a certain item, and saves Endor's princess from marrying Psaro by competing in a gladiator tournament. (She doesn't fight Psaro in the finals, and that's perhaps a good thing.) But, she gives a dangerous accessory to criminals in exchange for a woman who pretended to be her, and later discovers that her father and everyone that was in his castle have disappeared! More questions than results. Chapter 3 is a bit unorthodox. Torneko is a merchant who works at a weapon shop, and tends to his wife and kids. A player could pretty much stay on this daily loop for a while, because there is no one from telling Torneko to be a hero or do something else important. Or even LEAVE. His kid does tell him that a man wants to see him, and the man tells Torneko about a treasure, but it's up to the player when things should be different. After getting the treasure, Torneko goes to a nearby castle. The king wants to invade the closest kingdom of Endor, but the prince says that he has a huge crush on Endor's princess. The bridge between the kingdoms has been destroyed, however, and the architect is nowhere to be seen. After revealing the illusion of a mirage town full of trickster foxes, the architect finally returns to work and repairs the bridge, and Torneko gives a love letter from the prince to the princess. The kings agree to the marriage of the lovestruck duo. After receiving permission from the king and paying off the money, Torneko has his own shop in Endor. After some more merchant and treasure hunting work, Torneko gives an elderly man the money to hire workers to dig a tunnel to the east. Torneko's wife says she's fine with Torneko's new adventures, and Torneko takes the new path to the rest of the world. Until I voluntarily decided to leave the town, I thought Torneko's chapter was perhaps the worst and weakest in an RPG setting. In fact, I still think Torneko has the worst motivation in this game. But, he makes up for it by other means. Chapter 4 sets the stage for the darker parts of the plot. Maya, a dancer, and Meena, a fortune-teller, are twins of a late and great alchemist. Their boss tells them it is time to leave the troupe and to track down their father's killer. They also hear that the king of Palais De Leon has been murdered. After some events happen, the twins come across their father's killer and the current leader, Balzack. The twins momentarily defeat Balzack, but a new monster, Marquis de Leon, overpower the twins. The duo escape the castle, and board a ship to a world unknown. Chapter 5 is where things pick up. Psaro and his minions have finally found the home of the hero, and begin slaughtering the townsfolk. The Hero's girlfriend morphs into a copy of the Hero, sends them into a secret underground room, and later dies. Thinking that they killed the real Hero, Psaro and his minions leave the town. The Hero's friends and foster foster family have died. The town is in ruins. The Hero has no choice but to leave and embark his quest to defeat Psaro. But, it will be impossible to do so alone. The Hero will also have to find those whose lives have also been affected by this new evil. Ragnar, Alena, Kiryl, Borya, Torneko, Maya, and Mileena will be in the party eventually, and a caravan will join the group anytime to allow party formation and customization. Compared to Octopath Traveler, I think this structure in this game is a lot better. Because all... most of the main characters' struggles come from Psaro, there this a huge motivation to defeat him. Torneko's reason for joining is actually ridiculous and coincidental. He was just chased by monsters thanks to the tunnel that was made and needs bodyguards. Or something like that. It's not because of revenge or justice. 

I love most of the art design in this game. The human characters are simple, and the monster designs are both simple and unique. Still, some of the NPC like the town men and women models look mean because of their eyes, and some of the city, kingdom, and dungeon layouts seem similar with colors. And, I never had much of an issue with frame rate, but it seemed sluggish in some areas. Last, some of the places allow for 3D rotation, while others don't. This made navigation sometimes annoying. Still, nothing seemed out of place. And, the animations of the attacks from both the monsters and the playable characters are fluid. I think for the DS generation, it's a lot more fluid than any of the Poke'mon games. Thank you, Akira Toriyama! The music in this game is great, even though I wish there was more in terms of dungeons, boss battles, and other areas. There's nothing wrong with the current soundtrack, it's just that I got bored hearing most of it after a while. 

Ragnar, Alena, and perhaps Kiryl are the heavy physical hitters of the game, Kiryl and Mileena are the healers, Torneko's a tank and a random loose cannon at times, and Borya and Maya are the destruction mages. The Hero is the jack of all of them, or maybe queen. But, each one of them have useful abilities inside and outside of battles. Torneko's the only one who can summon monsters, while Kiryl has the only moves that can buff team mates. Even if a player thinks they'll never use Ragnar, Torneko and so on, they'll be thrown into a loop. EVERY. ONE. IS. IMPORTANT. Like what Octopath Traveler did. Speaking of which, the caravan allows for more moments to change party formations than Octopath's towns. And, it allows those not in the main party to use magic outside of dungeons and towns. The change I had to get used to were enemy formations. I don't remember if III did it too, but some enemies were grouped up, while others were by themselves or part of another group. Certain spells and attacks don't hit everyone, so prioritizing who to hit is key. Some battles, including boss battles, were tricky because of this new train of logic. For example, the destruction mages went off against the grouped ones, and the physical hitters went after the lone wolves. That's how I did it at least. The Hero can also be female. I'm not sure how that changes the game, since I never played as the female version.      

Dragon Quest IV can be beaten within a week. That is, if one knows what they're doing, and if they naturally grind. Quite simply, the game does not tell the players what to do for some story beats, and it's annoying to be lost at times. Some of the enemies and bosses are also cheap, and the order of who goes next seems to be random at times. There's not much consistency in battles. Still, even though the last boss is a nightmare, I defeated this game with my characters around the early to late 30 levels. Though, maybe that's because of how EXP and the monster variation are handled. By the time my game ended, some of my characters were more powerful than and had more levels compared to the Hero. Other than that, this game may be a bit short. I know the casinos and the mini-medals were also the biggest parts of this game, but I didn't care much about the collectibles and so on compared to other RPGs. There's also post content in the DS version too, but I'm satisfied with the ending I got. Dragon Quest IV is a fun game. Both III and IV are big highlights of the series from what I can tell. Maybe I'll play V, or VI, or VII soon. 

 

 

5/16- Dragon Quest V: Hand of The Heavenly Bride for iOS 

 

 



 

After I played Dragon Quest IV, I thought with Mother's Day still in my mind, and my dad's birthday a week later, I thought it was a great time to play a game about family, Dragon Quest V. But, looking at the physical DS prices, I went for the wallet-friendly mobile port. But, why is Dragon Quest V acclaimed as one of the best in the series? And, has age made this game worse or better at all? 

 

Dragon Quest V's story is a bit personal. A king is waiting patiently for his son's arrival. The avatar's birth. But, after the queen delivers the son, she is soon kidnapped. The king and his newborn son go around the world to look for his wife and the legendary Zenithian Hero. Yes, the stories of IV, V, and even VI, are connected by Zenithia, a heavenly utopia. Time passes, and the duo return to the father's new hometown. The father is now living his life as a swordsman, and has a friend named Sanchez, who I think is of Latin descent in the international version. (It's in the dialogue.) The avatar, still a child, retrieves an item for a shopkeeper, goes to a spooky mansion with a new acquaintance named Bianca, gets a new interesting pet, and enters the Faerie World to help their people change the seasons from winter to spring. When one think this game gets any more happier... it gets really sad. The father-son duo head off to a castle. The king of Coburg needs his own son to behave, and wants his son to get along with other children. The prince, however, is kind of a jerk. He fools the avatar to fetch a badge from his chest, which is empty, and seemingly disappears from his room. The son eventually finds out there's a trick staircase, and confronts the prince about his actions. The prince is kidnapped, and the father goes to save the prince from his kidnappers. The son decides to follow his father's whereabouts, and soon comes across ruins. He eventually finds his father and the prince. But, things don't go so well, as they are eventually cornered by an evil wizard and his two chess pieces... I mean two commanders. The children are knocked out, and when the father still decides to fight, the evil wizard uses the son as a bargaining chip. Either the father dies... or the son dies. The father has no choice but to die slowly by the commanders' strength. Before he dies, the father tells his son that his mother is still alive somewhere. The evil wizard then takes the children into custody.  

 

Years pass by, and the two children have now become men. And they are now slaves to a cult bent on resurrecting their evil lord. The prince has regretted everything he did, and wants to make things right. Some stuff happen, and the avatar, prince, and a woman who regrets ever being a part of the cult escape in a barrel to wherever it goes. They wash up near a church. Although the woman stays at the church to atone for her past, the avatar and prince head off to their homes. The avatar's home is ruined, and it turns out the prince's step-mother is now in charge of Coburg. More stuff happens, and Harry becomes the rightful king of Coburg once more. Harry then asks the avatar to resume his father's mission to find his mother and the Zenithian Hero. The avatar later finds his childhood pet again, and arrives at a mansion, where the master will allow anyone to marry his daughter if they retrieve two rings. (The avatar has met the daughter and her sister briefly when he was a child, but I hardly remembered that over Bianca. Speaking of...) After the avatar gets the first ring, he then goes to a village and meets the adult Bianca. The two get the last ring, and Bianca asks the avatar who he really loves. After staying the night at the city's inn, the avatar chooses Bianca, Nera (the daughter up for wedding), or Debora (the DS/iOS exclusive sister of Nera, and basically Kate from Taming of the Shrew). Whoever the avatar chooses, he gets married, and he gets an important item and a boat from the master. The avatar and the bride sail to his father's old kingdom. He is welcomed by everyone, and finds an older Sanchez there too. The king, the avatar's uncle, will allow his nephew to rule if he passes a rite, even if the chancellor is baffled by the king's decision. Still, that's not the only surprising thing. The wife is pregnant! When the avatar returns with the right item, the king begins the coronation, and the wife has delivered twins. During the night, however, like the avatar's father before him, his own wife has gone missing! The whole kingdom is now pursuing the kidnappers. Even though the lovers are reacquainted, the evil wizard ruins their moment. He turns them into stone. A pair of relic thieves or whatever find them and begin to sell the duo. A merchant buys the avatar's statue, while the thieves hold onto the wife's statue. 

 

More years go by, and an old man accompanied by two kids see the statue. The girl undoes the stone curse on the avatar. The children run around, the avatar might be a bit confused. The children tell him... they're his! The twins finally found their father! But, the mother is still missing. As it turns out, the mother was actually a descendant of the Zenithian Hero. The avatar's son is now the rightful heir to the Zenithian Sword and so on! The evil wizard was kidnapping wives and children to stop the legend from happening when his leader came back. Now, the avatar has to to find his mother and wife, get all the Zenithian Armor and Sword for his son, and stop the return of another demonic lord.  

 

If there's any parallel story that makes me think of this game, it's Geneology of the Holy War. Even though this game is a bit personal with the avatar, the stakes are much more raised in Geneology, and there's a much darker and serious tone in that one too. The evil wizard isn't as complex as the bad guys in Geneology. The beginning is a lot more cheerier, because not much tragedy has happened to the avatar as a kid. Things seemed to have gotten better as an adult, even though he was robbed of his will, and his friend a kingdom's. That was temporary. And after years of being turned into stone, the kids undo that. There's not much deus ex machina in Geneology to save the day. And I won't say anything about the tragic moments that happened in Geneology, but it's one of the most depressing Fire Emblem games.  

 

The game in the iOS version borrowed much from Dragon Quest's IV update, so the art design and music are similar. Though, thanks to grinding, I turned off the music for the most part. And, the overworld theme is strange. There's a weird series of notes that sound unnatural. And, I think this game borrowed songs from IV too, and not just the main theme. 

 

So, what was new in this game that stood out? Boomerangs and whips can be used by mages to attack enemies, so now they don't have to use MP from time to time. Though, those items barely do much against minibosses and bosses. And the big draw of this game is monster taming. The original game did it before Poke'mon came out. So, one just has to battle them, and there's a chance the monster asks to join the party. Seems simple, right? *Flashbacks on hours spent on getting metal slime* Yeah, no. Unlike catching Poke'mon, it's a lot more tedious. Especially for those who think they can run and flee. Also, not every monster in this game is tamable. So, even though the taming mechanism would have been been horrific, it's not work battling metal slime knights and metal slime kings. Just K.O. those guys! I spent days on ONE monster with a horrible tame rate. What I got out of it was... it soloing 1/3d of a really hard boss fight. 

 

Like V before it, this game does not do well of how to guide the player. As for difficulty, I think because this was even worse because of the new taming mechanic. And I could not count the times I gave the middle finger to the last dungeon. It's not the Crystal of Tower from Final Fantasy III, but it was close. The last boss, Nimrod or whatever, is a worse reveal and has a worse design. And, he was worse to fight by this game's gameplay too. That said, I won't say I regretting paying ten bucks for the iOS port. (Too bad we never got the PS2 version.) It has some really great things about its story, and the taming mechanic was the inspiration of Poke'mon. But, is it better than III or IV? Only time will tell.

 

Edited by Link, the Hero of Dreams
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- Vampyr (Switch)
I was pretty disappointed with this one, from the story to the gameplay to the way it ran on the Switch. The concept is great, I just didn't enjoy the execution.
 
- Persona 5 (PS4)
First time playing a Persona game, though from playing other SMT games and Tokyo Mirage Sessions I mostly knew what to expect. Really enjoyed it, and the music is going to be stuck in my head for weeks. Would've preferred a more even balance between palaces and real-world activities, but I did enjoy both aspects of the gameplay.
 
- Trials of Mana (Switch)
There are definite areas where the remake should have further improved over the original (??? seeds are still needlessly annoying to collect and grow), but even after having played the original last year the remake is a blast and has some fun new features.
 
- Picross S3 (Switch)
Color Picross is a pretty fun addition. Once I got the hang of it I really liked the new perspective on solving picross puzzles.
 
- Bioshock (PS4)
Felt like replaying this since I got it on PS Plus a couple months ago; I'll probably go through the whole trilogy in fact. Man, I still absolutely love the aesthetic of the game—just that opening scene of entering Rapture alone is worth the price of admission. But for all my fond memories of the game I had managed to forget that you are constantly hacking shit, and I even like the hacking mini-game but it is exhausting to do so frequently.
 

Console: 45

Overall: 45

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Beat: Ikari Warriors, Ikari Warriors II: Victory Road and Ikari III: The Rescue, Switch

 

Continuing with some more SNK 40th stuff. 

 

As an aside, that brings me to 19 this year, which puts me over my total from last year. Admittedly, a lot of this SNK games from the 1980's are quite short, but they're also all new beats. In fact, everything on my list is a new beat so far. 

 

Edit:

Beat: SAR Search & Rescue, Switch

Riding the SNK train to 20! 

Edited by blcdude1
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If i remember correctly, Cat Quest was the most recent game I beat. Gotta admit that this game was kind of cool and I really ought to start Cat Quest 2 someday in the future. That way i can proclaim myself as the "Cat Quest Champion" to my social circle and brag about how I'm the best cat gamer ever but let's face the facts here: It's not gonna happen. Not after what happened when the whole "incident" occurred at the you-know-where. You know what I'm talking about, Jerry.

 

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Beat: Altered Beast, Switch

 

Switched from SNK to Sega, playing more old games that I haven't played before! I think we all know Altered Beast- you know, the one with "Rise from your grave!" and "Welcome to your doom!" It's admittedly a cool concept, but it's really showing its age. It comes off as plodding and slow paced. 

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Beat: P.O.W.: Prisoners of War, Switch

Beat: Time Soldiers, Switch

 

Touching on Time Soldiers, it's amazing how well the rotary joystick SNK games translate into twin stick shooters. Of the bunch, my favorite is likely the Alien-inspired SAR: Search & Rescue, which I hadn't even heard of prior to getting this collection. 

Edited by blcdude1
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Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan 

Shadow of the Colossus 

Castlevania

Golden Sun

Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna - The Golden Country 

Boktai: The Sun is in Your Hand

 

Boktai 2: Solar Boy Django - I'm really happy to finally have completed this one after fifteen long years. And it holds up beautifully, especially coming off the tail end of Boktai 1, which has some rough edges in comparison. I remember that when I was fifteen, I'd gotten to the last purification fight with Dainn, but never had enough sun to be able to beat him. With the power of the solar sensor patch, it is now possible. I put Dainn in the ground and saw the ending to what has long been one of my favorite GBA games. Jormungandr is absolutely terrifying, y'all. Boktai 1 laid a great foundation for an amazing sequel. I love the way Boktai 2 continually sets up and bucks your expectations in exciting new ways (Django losing the Gun del Sol, turning into a vampire, and the sections where you play as Sabata. This could have been a by-the-numbers sequel, but it's a much grander adventure than its predecessor, and it is well worth getting to the end. I'm starting Boktai 3 right now because I've waited for more than a decade to play it. 

 

Go play Boktai, folks. I promise it's worth it. :D

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- Wandersong (Switch)
Very cute game, glad I finally got around to playing it. Perfect for a light, uplifting little adventure game.
 
- Bioshock 2 (PS4)
I can understand why some people were underwhelmed by 2 since it really is quite similar to 1, but it also made some valuable quality of life improvements to the combat and hacking mechanics. Besides, Rapture is still a blast to explore. Also played Minerva's Den for the first time which was a great side story.
 
- River City Girls (Switch)
The game nails the classic beat 'em up experience, but I found myself wanting more from the game than a retread of familiar genre beats. Still fun, but not as engaging as I'd hoped.
 
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch)
The game is, of course, a masterpiece, and the perfect distraction to lose oneself in these days. Master Mode though, eh, I didn't really love it. Really the problem was the regenerating health, which sort of requires you to fight more aggressively and makes fun, silly tactics like dropping boulders or shooting exploding barrels much less effective. Mostly it made me just want to avoid combat which is kind of a shame since normally it's pretty fun to sweep through a bokoblin encampment and destroy everything. It definitely makes the early game more intense though, and of course the Trial of the Sword—hoo boy, that took a couple of years off my life from stress.
 
- Bioshock Infinite (PS4)
Rounding out the Bioshock trilogy. God this game is beautiful, and I love the soundtrack, especially examining each song's thematic connection to the story. For some reason I enjoy using the Vigors more in this game compared to Plasmids in previous games—I think it helps that you don't have to buy them, so it doesn't feel like needlessly spending ADAM, but also since you're limited to two guns at a time it makes more sense to rely on Vigors more.

 

Console: 50

Overall: 50

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