Lurker > GOGZero

I closed out 2023 with these games
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Streets of Rage 4 (PC)

Replayed with a friend. It was his first time going through the game too. He was Blaze and I was Axel. He wished he had gotten it sooner cause he really enjoyed it.

Belle Boomerang (PC)

This was a neat game. Very NES inspired. It has a few frustrating moments but I persevered from not changing the difficulty. Very pretty looking pixel art and some very creative boss fights. Creative use of the power ups you get in the levels as well.

Angel's Punishment (Switch)

Another Metroidvania that involved archangels and stuff. I face tanked most of the bosses except for one. Beat it in less than 2 hours. An ok Metroidvania but I played much better.

Street Fighter II Champion Edition (Arcade/Switch)

Replayed via Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection
I wanted to go out on a fun note. I finished the game with Guile.

.Cat (Switch)

You play as a white cat that got whisked away from his room into another world.
Short game. It was ok but nothing special.

. Cat Milk (Switch)

A platformer where you play as a white cat and your goal is to retrieve a bowl of milk and bring it back to the little cat house while you jump on platforms, balloons and take portals while you avoid buzzsaws in some of the levels. It has 50 levels. Short game but fun.

Timberman: The Big Adventure (Switch)

A spinoff of the Timberman series. You can play as Timberman or a Bear where they team up to rescue the Bear's wife and baby from the Evil Corp. The pixel graphics in this game are very impressive with some nice animations. You can double jump, float, chop/punch down trees to create a bridge to cross over or use blocks, toss the axe/boomerang as a projectile to hit enemies/retrieve items/hit switches and in all the levels you can even find an arcade cabinet to play Timberman as well for extra points/earn extra lives. I also like the mechanic of punching in the air which allows you to do an air dash. Although it's called the Big Adventure, it's only 3 Worlds with 5 levels each but that's ok. It was fun stuff.

Captain America and The Avengers (Arcade)

I played this via Fightcade with a friend. He was Captain America and I was Iron Man.
This game introduced me to Captain America, Iron Man, Hawkeye and Vision back in the day. I like everything about this game. The presentation, graphics, music, voices and the ability to use the super powers. One of Data East's best games for sure.

The King of Dragons (Arcade/PC)

Replayed via Capcom Beat Em' Up Bundle with a friend. He was the Wizard and I was the Cleric.

SEGA AGES SHINOBI (Switch)

It felt good beating this for the first time. I am excited for the new Shinobi coming out soon.

Mighty Gunvolt Burst (PC)

I have some history with this game. I first bought it on my 2DS XL with all the DLC. Only got through the intro stage and took down 2 bosses, then I got lost in my backlog.

I bought this game again on my Switch. Only played through the intro stage and...well, backlog happened.

I bought this game again on PC and got all the DLC only this time I finally got around to spending time with this game and finally beating it as Gunvolt.
I'm finally glad I spent time with this game. It definitely is better than the first Mighty Gunvolt as many have said (a good game still!). The amount of customization that you can use on your character is incredible and it's fun doing high score runs. I think I'll come back to this game again and play with the other characters at some point.

The Demon Crystal (Switch)

This is an enhanced remake of a game released in 1984 in Japan.

You play as Ares Knither, an imperial guard who has to rescue Princess Chris from the demon Sharud.

You find keys to open doors while you find a master key to proceed to the next level. Bombs are your main attack against the enemies. In some of the levels, you're also given hints to find new item upgrades. Some of them are also cursed to troll you.

Really nice little arcade type of game.

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World: The Game (Switch)

Replayed. Beat the game with Ramona.

Tailbound (PC)

A lewd furry Zelda-like game.
I liked it enough to get all the achievements for it.

Super Mario RPG (Switch)

Super Mario RPG on the SNES is one of my favorite games. I played the ever loving hell out of it since 1996.

This remake is really good. It has a lot of Quality of Life changes and the Post Game Content is also really nice.

While I will miss some of the old names, a few minor lines and few other minor changes, this remake is so good and it's the definitive way of playing this game.

I feel that it might be better than the original. I still love the original no matter what. Both games are great.

Water Margin - The Tale of Clouds and Wind (Switch)

Interesting thing about this game: This was a game released on the Genesis/Mega Drive and it was only available in Hong Kong during the mid 90s.

This game is well...not that good.
It plays like a Knights of the Round knockoff with very similar mechanics except it has no guard mechanic and it has a magic system to do item crashes. The magic effects are very impressive looking at least.

I beat the game with Hu Sanniang. She has the most defense and she has the most range.
The game is just...monotonous with very little variety. Lots of cheapness abound and it felt unbalanced/unfair in some parts. Nothing interesting happens in any of the stages except for the combat itself. I was glad to just be done with it by the end.

I don't think this is a game I will not be revisiting and would rather play much better beat em' ups out there.

Traumatarium (Switch)

This game is a homebrew game from itch.io that can also be played on a Game Boy.

A randomly generated dungeon crawler in the style of Fighting Fantasy.

The aesthetic of this game drew me in. As soon as I started the game I couldn't put it down. It was very addicting.

Haunted Hell House (Switch)

You play as a bunch of teenagers that go into a haunted house at an amusement park and have to run away from a killer clown wielding an ax.

Game is really short and not really scary. All you really do is search the areas for a key, solve a simple puzzle and go onto the next area while dealing with the clown. Doesn't really have much replay value. It's a one and done deal.

Super Ultimate Fighters (Switch)

This is a fun little 2D fighter that features chibi sized characters. Almost resembles River City Ransom/Kunio.

Each character is a master of their own martial art: Kung Fu, Taekwondo, Karate, Muay Thai, Copoeira, Tai Chi, Mantis Style, Jeet Kune Do, Drunken Master, Judo, Boxing, Lucha Libre, Sumo, Aikido, Kalaripayattu, Sombo. You can also unlock 4 more characters that have the styles of Ninjutsu, Xinyiliuhequan, Street Style and Fighting Style.

It recently got a free update that added 5 more characters and 1 more unlockable character: Monkey Fist, Kickboxing, Pro Wrestling, Savate, Pankration and Bear Fist. One of the characters, Michael, is a bear that happens to star in another one of the developer's games: Mysterious Adventure of Michael.

Solid little game that has Street Fighter motions for the special moves.

Gargoyle's Quest (Game Boy/Switch)

Replayed during October.

Spooky Ghosts Dot Com (PC)

Replayed during October. I played this on Switch a few years ago.

Demon's Crest (SNES/Switch)

Replayed during October. I made it a yearly tradition to replay this game every Halloween. One of my faves.

Castlevania Legends (Game Boy/Switch)

Replayed. Quite possibly one of the easiest games in the series. If you utilize your spells through the stages well enough, you'll have no problem handling any situation. Burning Mode also makes every single boss fight a joke.

Night Slashers (Arcade)

Replayed but this time played via Fightcade with a friend. I was Christopher and he was Hong-Hua. I had played this on Switch a few years back.

They announced that this game is getting a remake. That should be cool.

Super Punch Patrol (Switch)

Done by the same developer that did Gunman Clive and Mechstermination Force.
The pencil and paper style is a cool aesthetic like how it was featured in Gunman Clive 1 and 2.
Game is a little clunky but I managed to get a feel for the game after going through it once in Practice Difficulty setting and then I was good enough to beat it on the Normal Difficulty setting.

Today is the last day to earn the theme

One more day to earn the theme

Two more days to earn the theme

The theme is now live.
Go get it.

The update is now live

MikeTavish posted...

Omg if it's the game I think it is, Castlevania Legends is so insanely hard. I must have made over 100 attempts on it as a kid and I don't think I ever beat it.

Fairly certain I made it to the last boss a few times but never got it down.

Excited to give it another run through with save state cheating.

Pro Strats: Use Healing Spell when needed and Burning Mode on Bosses.

Bad Dream: Fever (Switch)

I got through another point and click.
You are in a feverish dream world and trying to wake up.
Some of the solutions were creative and some very meta stuff in it.

Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge (Game Boy/Switch)

Replayed but this time played through the Japanese version. It was nice having access to the Cross instead of the Axe.

Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom (PC)

Replayed via Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara. I was the Elf and my friend was the Cleric.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Switch)

This was a very solid game. I got 100% in it.
Lots of nice variety in the levels and some fun new power ups to use. The Badge system was also nice to tackle levels in new ways and finding secrets.

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1794680/view/6816816781630430097

1 new Stage
2 new Relics
1 new Weapon and Evolution
1 new character
1 new music track

GhoulBoy (Switch)

This game was pretty fun and held my attention once I started it.

A few things didn't fly well with me.
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There is no in game indication that tells you that you can double jump.

There's a power up screen on the title screen to buy really useful power ups they don't tell you about after you start the game. Who knew you had to go back to the title screen after you start the game?

The game freezes/locks up on you when you pause the game on the final world. This can be worked around as long as you don't pause on the final world and stand in a safe spot.

Aside from all that, solid game overall.

Friday the 13th (NES)

I finally got to beat one of the most misunderstood NES games. It's a really neat game when you learn how to play it. I also happened to beat it on Friday the 13th as well. Ha!

Katana Soul (PC)

Replayed. Yet another game I had that did not have a cloud save but that is ok. I did not mine replaying it cause it's such a good simple short and sweet action/platformer. Unlocked Survival again.

G.I. Joe (Arcade)

Replayed with a friend on Fightcade. I was Snake Eyes and he was Roadblock. Looking forward to G.I. Joe: Wrath of Cobra coming out next year.

Cosmos Bit (PC)

A nice little Metroid-like game I got through in 2 hours.

Slain: Back from Hell (PC)

This game is very metal. Game has beautiful pixel art and a good soundtrack to fit the mood. Some parts were a little frustrating but I eventually learned my ways around the rough spots.

Super BOO Quest (PC)

Fun little game. You get to play as a ghost of your choice with different statistics. A game with light puzzle elements and stealth. You go and collect dots to fill your spook meter and frighten your targets.

Bad Dream: Coma (Switch)

This was quite the point and click game.
I got all 4 endings. 1 Good, 1 Neutral and 1 Bad (bad ending has 2 ways to end the game so that's why it technically has 4 endings)

You're stuck in a dream and trying to wake up.
I like the art style in this one and the whole thing was a little unsettling and spooky.

Deep Ones (Switch)

I was a little hesitant due to the low reviews. Been meaning to check it out for myself and formulate my own opinion.

It's a retro arcade platformer with multigenre parts and it's graphically inspired by the ZX Spectrum, Bioshock and works of H.P. Lovecraft. Those three things are what drew me in.

You're a Diver that suffered a crash in his submarine by a Red Octopus and it's up to you get your submarine back.

I didn't mind the little delay of the shooting with your harpoon gun that most of the reviewers complained about. I'm like "Hello? Maybe it's a little slow cause the whole game practically takes place underwater?" You just have to always keep your distance and just shoot. The only thing that was really off with the controls is sometimes the button input will sometimes shoot a harpoon by itself when you're jumping sometimes.

There are parts later in the game where you get to use a sword and even do a dash/air dash.

Riding the seahorse was ok in some of the sections.

I managed to glitch through one section where I needed 7 keys but I glitched through the ceiling when I only had 3. Wow!

One particular boss was a chore and kinda boring but the rest of the game picked up again.

It had a neat little stealth section near the end and I did enjoy the escape sequence .

Got through it in 3 hours.

Was it as bad as the reviewers made it out to be? Not at all, IMO. I thought it was an ok game. It was nothing ground breaking and it set out to do what it wanted to do.

Two more days to earn the theme.

https://twitter.com/NinEverything/status/1706474466560422302

Go get it

Yes.

Yes

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge (PC)

Replayed. The new DLC is aight. Usagi and Karai are fun, Survival is ok but it's no Streets of Rage 4 Mr. X Nightmare and the extra skins are pretty cool.

Dragon Climax (PC)

Replayed. One of the few games I own that did not have a cloud save so I replayed it and unlocked the gallery again. It's a fun Legally Distinct Kung Fu Master/Shinobi game.

Roar of Revenge (PC)

Replayed. Didn't have a cloud save either so I replayed and got the best ending. Unlocked the ending gallery too. A good Legally Distinct Rastan game.

Pokemon Trading Card Game (Game Boy Color/Switch)

Replayed. It has been a good number of years since I last played this game since it came out many years ago. I was really happy to have played this game again. It was fun constructing all of my old Decks again. I also managed to unlock every Card within the game as well. I doubt I'll go after the 2 cards you can get with Card Popping.
I always hoped they would make a bunch of sequels like this game. As far as I know, they only did a sequel to this game in Japan only. Would of been sweet if they kept making this type of game for future consoles.

Vampire Survivors (Switch)

Replayed but this time on Switch. As soon as the Switch version dropped on release day, I was more than happy to play this wonderful game all over again. I unlocked everything and completed the game in 6 days. Poncle deserves my money. The game also runs surprisingly well on Switch.

Mega Serval (PC)

A nice Free game on Steam. Legally Distinct Mega Man but with the Kemono Friends license. It was a little rough around the edges in some parts but it was good enough for me to enjoy it.

@Punnyz

Oh trust me.
It is WAY BETTER than Double Dragon IV. Double Dragon IV was a massive disappointment. The production values of that game were terrible. Double Dragon series deserved much better.

It did not take much effort to be better than Double Dragon IV. Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons is slowly getting the Double Dragon series out of the gutter that it has been for a while.

Hell, even the devs made a thread over on Steam/reddit taking feedback to improve/add more to the game down the road.

Good stuff Pun.

Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons is a damn good game.
I look forward to hearing your opinion about it.

One time I won a free game code of Age of Wonders: Planetfall Premium Edition from playing Marbles on Stream. I gave it to a friend.

I was already hyped for Usagi Yojimbo.
Karai being added extended my hype even further.

Yes

Anagram posted...

Like, I obviously know that Link's been using magic spells since at least OoT (did he have one in LttP? I can't remember), but it was never his main 'thing.'

He used literal Magic in Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.

Magic Meter was also a thing in A Link to the Past.

Anagram posted...

Malo Mart: The... main shop in Twilight Princess? Where you buy the shield? I mean... I don't know if I've ever thought about this store at all after finishing the game. I'm not even sure I thought about it while playing the game. How many shops has Link visited in this series, and you nominated THIS one?

C'mon now
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaYBy0Jc7BA

Anagram posted...

"Although, the Zelda Wiki says Yuga is the counterpart of Agahnim and not Ganondorf? I don't know if I buy that, he looks way more like Ganondorf. I want opinions, weigh in here and tell me if Yuga looks more like Ganondorf or Agahnim. Anyway, to be clear, I have nothing against Vaati, but he's just a pointless interlude between Ganon appearances. He feels almost like someone's OC."

Yuga was whatever. He was a poser that wanted to be Ganon so badly.
He has a great theme though I'll give him that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXDAsGJ5gA0

Anagram posted...

Why the hell was that Link's hair pink, anyway.

Link has pink hair because the developers used a graphical compression technique that limited the color palette in order to get more sprites in the table.

Kass

GTM posted...

most of the things I need to upgrade require a lizalfos tail

You can probably try to save and reload to try to get the drops you want.
Kill and reload until you get the drop.

I was testing this when I was looking for Hinox Guts from a Red Hinox. I saved before I fight the Hinox. When I didn't get the Guts, I just reload and killed it until I eventually did get the Guts.

Kara Kara Bazaar has the green Lizalfos Tails to buy at least.

I finally beat the game today.
I'm glad I stuck with it since the game released. Even went out of the way and beat every Shrine. I wasn't going to put off this game like I did with Breath of the Wild.
I loved it.

The event will end at 2:59 AM Eastern tonight.

Today is the last day to earn the theme

Two more days to earn the theme

I recommend
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Aggelos
A Robot Named Fight
Alchemist's Castle
Spooky Ghosts Dot Com
Xeodrifter

https://vxtwitter.com/NintendoAmerica/status/1676033518135123968

Go get it

I am pleased

It was very nice to see Mega Man Maker.
So much good stuff.