Lurker > MZero

Final Fantasy X

I'll miss the Football Team

i'm hanging on for dear life

I've never made the playoffs before, but that's at least partially because I tend to miss a week or two

Kuro 2, assuming I get caught up in time

Elden Ring > Pokemon > Horizon

hyped for all 3 though

I just broke my longest trophy streak, currently sitting at 19 days

I'm coming for you ace

Emeraldegg posted...

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/5/1/9/AAb9RHAACxIP.png
This doesn't seem correct

that's gotta be scorigami

I made plans to go see it until I realized it's not out here yet. Cases are low where I live so I might go see it when I can

FFIX

I usually drop games I don't like

I had a shot at the legendary 0-5 level 8 until the Cards won

TheArkOfTurus posted...

Where's the 2022 spreadsheet?

...I actually made it and everything and just forgot to change the link. I'm surprised no one said anything until now! It sucks that I can't edit the first post and it's going to be wrong all year

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_UtEH3lbFCyMIbe_LKgvaL_2qug0-r2kAKh7nplxqeM/edit?usp=drivesdk

Level 8
Kansas City (+1.5)
INDIANAPOLIS (-0.5)
Jacksonville (+22.5)
Arizona (+11.5)
Detroit (+12.5)
GREEN BAY (-0.5)

Bonus: Chiefs/Bengals

Scarlet Nexus. Bought it on release cause it looked sweet and I ended up really enjoying it. i almost never buy games full price so that's the only example I can think of

Sword

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BeamOWar

some good options here!

New for this year, I decided to do monthly themes, just for fun. There's no prizes or anything, just something fun to talk about or help you decided what to play next

In honor of New Year's, January's theme is 6. Beat a game in a completely new series

New year, new you. January is a time to try something new, so why not try a new series?

Happy New Year! Good luck to everyone who participates in this.

Credit goes to tazzyboyishere for first starting this in 2016, and Robazoid for carrying the torch through 2020. Basically, there are 50 challenges outlined below that will require you to beat 52 games total. This isn't a competition and there's no prize for winning aside from a sense of accomplishment. This is just a fun thing to participate in while we all work through our video game libraries. It also gives us a place to discuss what we're playing. Feel free to join in!

Changes from last year:
I decided to combine the WRPG and JRPG categories as well as the FPS and third-person shooter categories. I feel like the lines have blurred with JRPG-esque games developed in the west and WRPG-esque games developed in Japan, and there's not much need to separate them. I don't feel the shooting categories need to be separated either, and a lot of games can switch between perspectives anyway. In their place, I added a category for indie games (surprised there wasn't one already!) and one for simulation games, two categories I feel like have seen a lot of growth in recent years. Of course, the Years categories have been moved forward by one year.

Rules:
- A single playthrough of a game can only be used for one challenge
- Use your own judgment to decide if game fits in a certain category
- Games started in 2020 or earlier are fine as long as they're finished in 2021
- Please add your own games to the spreadsheet linked to below, which anyone can edit
- When using the spreadsheet, please don't mess with checklists/tallies that aren't yours
- There's a tab listing favorite games in the spreadsheet if you need help with Challenge 42
- If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Spreadsheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1zh9gEuppguONyYfioh4xEGKafqN1KGpKn3SRFOryAV8/edit?usp=sharing

Challenges:

Years (5)
1. Beat a game released before 1992
2. Beat a game released between 1992-2001
3. Beat a game released between 2002-2011
4. Beat a game released between 2012-2021
5. Beat a game released in 2022

Series (4)
6. Beat a game in a completely new series
7. Beat a game in a series you've already played some of
8. Beat a spin-off or a game that rebooted a franchise
9. Beat a remake or enhanced port

Creators (4)
10. Beat a game made by a director/composer/artist/etc that you like
11. Beat a game made by a developer you like
12. Beat a game made by a developer you've never tried
13. Beat a game made by an indie developer

Genres (10)
14. Beat an RPG
15. Beat a puzzle game
16. Beat a rhythm game
17. Beat a shooting game
18. Beat a simulation game
19. Beat a platformer
20. Beat an action game
21. Beat a strategy game
22. Beat a fighting game
23. Beat a sports game

Themes (6)
24. Beat a game with romance as a central theme
25. Beat a game with horror as a central theme
26. Beat a game with revenge as a central theme
27. Beat a game with mystery as a central theme
28. Beat a game with the supernatural as a central theme
29. Beat a game with comedy as a central theme

Demographics (6)
30. Beat a game with a female lead
31. Beat a game with a child lead
32. Beat a game with a non-white lead
33. Beat a game with a robot/artificial lead
34. Beat a game with an animal lead
35. Beat a game with a lead that's from a fictional species

Time (4)
36. Beat a game that's been in your backlog for a long time
37. Beat a game you'd dropped or had a long hold on
38. Finish a game in one day
39. Finish a game that took you at least twenty-five hours to beat

Stats (3)
40. Beat a game with a Metascore below 70
41. Beat a game with a Metascore above 90
42. Beat another user's favorite game

Adaptation (3)
43. Beat a game based on licensed stories/characters
44. Beat a game that's been adapted into another medium
45. Beat a game that features historical events or people

Miscellaneous (5)
46. Beat a game you received for free or through a paid subscription service
47. Play a technically unbeatable game for at least six hours
48. Beat a game that starts with the first letter of your username
49. Choose a random page on TVTropes and beat something from the video game section
50-52. Beat three games in a series

Teddie is excellent and Ryuji does indeed suck

dont forget some people have to go to wake up early on the 1st and are trying to sleep

Top 2 Favorite Games of 2021
1. Scarlet Nexus
2. Pokemon Unite

Top 5 Old Games of 2021
1. The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero
2. The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky 3rd
3. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 2
4. Persona 4 Golden
5. Horizon Zero Dawn

Top 5 Games I wish I played of 2021
1. The Legend of Heroes: Kuro no Kiseki (I'm up to CS3!)
2. Lost Judgment
3. Shin Megami Tensei V
4. Metroid Dread
5. Tales of Arise

Vanilla: 8/10
Royal: 9/10

It has some issues, but Kamoshida, Murasame, Futaba's mom, and Shido were great villains/story arcs, but there was a bit of a lull in the middle, and the last segment wasn't the best. The individual character stories were also strong, although there were a few dud S.Links. Royal gets a bonus point because the Yoshizawa and Maruki arc is fantastic

Greetings friend! I got about 2 and a half hours ago

Crescent-Moon posted...

What happened to "If I die I die"

He said "if I die I die", not the rest of the team!

The bonus has been rough for many users this year! I only have 3 myself

It was Soul Calibur VI cause I was playing around midnight. Then I got some trophies on Cold Steel and played Pokemon Shield. Crazy I've already played 3 games this year!

I didn't notice I forgot to post standings last week crap

Level 9
Leonhart4****
SwiftyDC***
WiggumFan267***
ZeroSignal620***

Level 8
Camden****
MZero***
SpikeSetsFire(***)*
theawesomestevr*
xp1337(***)

Level 7
5tarscream*
DpOblivion(****)**
fortybelowsummer*****
foxhead84**
HBJDubs*
MysteriousStan****
Paratroopa1(****)*
pronouncemyname(***)
Runemistress****
Suprak the Stud***
terpaholic
th3l3fty**
thekitchensink*
Xuxon(***)**

Level 6
Arti*
Bartzyx****
Cody11533****
Evil_REmade**
KommunistKoala**
Mewtwo59***
Reg**
resistance_pro****
SpikeDragon*****

Level 5
Crescent-Moon***
Dancedreamer**
LiquidOshawott**
MMXcalibur***
Sir Chris**
Stripperiffic**
Whiskey_Nick****
Wizardsfan1000****

Level 4
Ashethan**
changmas*****
davidponte***
guffguy89*
KCF0107**
MaxedOutRyu**

Level 3
HanOfTheNekos**
Jukkie***
KokoroAkechi**
Ringworm***
TheArkOfTurus****
turbopuns3*
wallmasterz**

Level 2
Maniac64
ScareChan*
VengefulKaelee*

azuarc posted...

All but 9 has English text on screen...

lots of games have English text in the Japanese version

A few ground rules:
-Please say which level you are on when you post your pick. In most cases it will be obvious, but this makes it easier for me to record the picks.
-The deadline to make a pick is before kick-off of the game in question. You cannot pick a game that has already started. Some levels may have different deadlines, so read carefully.
-The deadline to answer the bonus question is at the start of games on Sunday (1 PM ET).
-Please don't edit your picks. If you'd like to change, please do so in a clearly labeled new post.
-I get my spreads from an online site providing lines from several sources, both in Vegas and out. Although these sources may continue to change their lines throughout the week, the ones I post in the topic are frozen and final for our purposes.
-You may use bonus points to skip any level after it is guaranteed you cannot pass it (at the end of the week's games, typically). If you have earned a bonus point during the same week, it is eligible to be used. You may only skip the level before I have posted the next week's topic. The price for skipping is in proportion to the level you are skipping. Skipping level 1 would take 1 bonus point, level 2 will take 2, level 5 will take 5. So on and so forth.

Explanation of Levels:

Level 1: Pick a winner. Simply pick one team to win their game. If they win, you go on to level 2.

Level 2: Pick an Underdog to win. You must pick a team that is an underdog to win their game. Underdogs will always be the team listed second.

Level 3: 2 Games with Spread. Using the spreads I provide, pick 2 games. You must get both correct to move on. Spreads work by giving (-) or getting (+) points. The team that is the favorite to win "gives" points to the underdog. If you choose the favorite to win, they must still win after "giving" those points to the underdog. If you choose the underdog, you would be correct if they win the game after "getting" those points. For example, if a game says "Giants (-2.5) vs. Cowboys," if you pick the Giants, they must actually win the game by at least three points; if you pick the Cowboys, you would win if they actually won the game or lost by two points or less.

Level 4: 2 Game differentials. Pick two games and specify them to have a score differential of either 10+ or 5-. Make sure to specify which you pick, if you pick a score to be 10+ and the score ends up 3 apart, you do not advance. You do not need to pick the winner, as long as the differential is correct, it does not matter which team wins.

Level 5: 2 Over/Unders: I will now provide over/unders for each game. This number relates to the final score. You must choose 2 of the games and decide whether the final score will be OVER the number I provided or UNDER the number I provided. You must get both of these correct to advance.

Level 6: Pleaser: Pick one team to win using the spread, but with the pleaser, you lose 6 points on the spread. In other words, add six points in whichever direction makes it harder to win. For example, a (-2.5) spread becomes (-8.5), a (+3.5) becomes a (-2.5) spread, etc.

Level 7: QB, RB, WR: Pick 1 player to throw a touchdown pass, 1 player to rush for a touchdown, and 1 player to catch a touchdown pass. They must all be from different teams, and must also combine for at least 4 touchdowns in their respective positions. Typically you will be picking a QB, RB, and WR, but you may pick players from other positions to fill those roles (i.e. a TE or RB to get a receiving touchdown). You must make it clear what role you are picking the players for if it is not the standard QB/RB/WR or QB/RB/TE. If the player gets a touchdown in a different way (i.e. your rusher getting a receiving touchdown), it does not count.

Level 8: 5 Game Teaser: This is the opposite of level 6. Instead of losing 6 points on each spread, you actually gain 6 points on each spread. But you have to get all 5 games right to move on. So a team favored by 9.5 will now only have to win by 3.5, a team that is getting 2.5 points will now be getting 8.5 points.

Level 9: Rank 'Em: Pick starting quarterbacks and rank them in order of passing yards they will have this week, from most to least. You must get the entire order correct. TWO CHOICES: You may rank three quarterbacks whose team wins the game, OR any four quarterbacks. All selected quarterbacks must start their game. You must pick all players at once; you cannot make a partial pick to complete later.

Schedule: (Favorites listed first; home team in CAPS)

Sunday, January 2nd
1 PM ET
BUFFALO (-14.5) vs Atlanta 44.5
CHICAGO (5.5) vs New York Giants 36.5
Kansas City (4.5) @ Cincinnati Bengals 50.5
TENNESSEE (-3.5) vs Miami 39.5
INDIANAPOLIS (-6.5) Las Vegas 44.5
NEW ENGLAND (-16.5) vs Jacksonville 41.5
Tampa Bay (-13.5) @ NEW YORK JETS 45.5
Philadelphia (-3.5) @ WASHINGTON 44.5
Los Angeles Rams (-4.5) @ BALTIMORE 46.5

4 PM
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS (-6.5) vs Denver 45.5
SAN FRANCISCO (-12.5) vs Houston 43.5
DALLAS (-5.5) vs Arizona 50.5
NEW ORLEANS (-6.5) vs Carolina 37.5
SEATTLE (-6.5) vs Detroit 42.5

8 PM
GREEN BAY (-6.5) vs Minnesota 46.5

Monday, January 3rd
Cleveland (-2.5) @ PITTSBURGH 40.5

Bonus Question: Choose a game to have more than 50 combined points (you may choose none)

Sword

Arceus looks pretty sweet

cutter

_stingers_ posted...

Yeah that's mildly annoying but I mean... Whatever. Not the worst thing in the world because p5 is amazing on it's own

True but my Sumire :(

Also I'm absolutely playing it now that it's coming to PS+

_stingers_ posted...

great game underrated by spinoff stigma

I got turned off when I found out it ignores Royal

Buffalo Bills
Chicago Bears
Kansas City Chiefs
Miami Dolphins
Indianapolis Colts
New England Patriots
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Philadelphia Eagles
Los Angeles Rams
Los Angeles Chargers
San Francisco 49ers
Arizona Cardinals
New Orleans Saints
Seattle Seahawks
Green Bay Packers
Pittsburgh Steelers

Leonhart4 posted...

Glad I held out on Strikers!

Mac Arrowny posted...

the original (better) name was Persona 5 Scramble

Persona 5 Scramble the Phantom Strikers

they just abbreviated it!

Sword

What's with all the explosions

thanks to this topic, I have purchased Shantae and the Pirate's Curse

are the earlier games required reading or can I skip to this one

UFO

SpikeSetsFire posted...

Europe..
Berlin...
Little River Band...

Not so high expectations there...

what about Asia

I'm so upset I went against my gut and didn't pick the Bills to beat the Patriots

Leonhart4 posted...

That was the last time Holy Excalibur did one. I feel like one has been done in the last few years, but I can't remember who did it.

IIRC one happened like last year and Persona 4 won

edit: found it. Tazzy ran it in 2019 and P4 did indeed win

LordoftheMorons posted...

The order within the list isnt ideal, but its always great to see so many DQ games on Japanese lists!

(VI and VII are the best, of course...!)

A fellow VI fan! Huzzah!

I'm glad you are not dead

I'll never forget Rosch's name because I lost to him a bunch of times and I can still hear Snow saying "don't do it Rosch!" at the start of every battle

That's pretty much all I played

Best one was Trails from Zero or Trails in the Sky 3rd. Oldest was Ys 1

Gives me more time to get a PS5

I actually liked XV, so it beats VIIR

Dallas on pace to score 84

I don't know a single one of these characters

did I consume any media from this year

It's cool that azuarc did that but I hope this doesn't become a thing where people feel pressured to gift more