Board 8 > Post Each Time You Beat a Game: 2021 Edition Part II

(+) Yeah! (+)

It is simple. Just post each time you beat a game throughout the year and the platform you played it on. Do not hesitate to add some discussion in regards to the games you or others beat.

At the bottom of this post is a link to a Google word doc that you are free to edit to immortalize your gaming accomplishments. Feel free to tinker with your color, font, and/or bulletpoint/numbering options, but do know that users are supposed to be in alphabetical order.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1u7U79GRp3A4YGy0FQ4wLKw-4LXFnbC5608U_pmvzG5A
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Octahedron (PC)

The boss fight was unnecessary, but it was otherwise a pleasantly solid and fresh puzzle/action platformer
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I finally beat Yakuza: Like A Dragon today.

It was fine, but I felt like it was way over hyped.

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I just beat Doom Eternal and Dragon Quest 11S very recently. Doom Eternal was cool though some of the new enemies were annoying. Its at least as good as the 2016 one overall. DQ11 was fine. Act 3 wasnt very good and filled with way too many side quests. The final boss is cool looking at least along with the credits, but I kinda wish it had just been thrown into the end of Act 2 instead.

Raging Loop (PS4)

I haven't gone through many pure VNs, but it is the best that I have almost by default.
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Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (PS4)

I liked it, but I think metroidvanias just aren't for me. I'll still finish this for the platinum though.

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Metroid Dread (Switch)

It was a good game.
Best game in the series? Debatable.
It has a lot of cool moments.

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Dead Cells w/ All DLCs (PC)

All bosses beaten. Man this was more tiring than I thought. I think I prefer Hollow Knight but only just by a little bit. Maybe I'm just not into this kind of roguelike progression but this game in particular feels like a slog through each of iteration.

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Destroy All Humans! (2020) (XB1)

Black Forest Games did an excellent job remaking one of the best games from the underrated Pandemic Studios. That final boss still sucks though.
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Nancy Drew 33: Midnight in Salem (PC)

End of an era. End of a saga.

If anyone cares, documented well in KCF's threads and sheets, I began my foray into the Nancy Drew games back in 2018. 32 Point Click shenanigans later, it ends here tonight. I originally fell in love with one of the games even earlier and I knew at the time that there was an announcement for this one in particular. But its release is mired in controversy and drama.

To sum it up, Her Interactive decided to do an Engine change, turning their 2 Games A Year Development Cycle into a 4 Year Slog, which in any other context for any other video game was normal. But after a decade of it for ND fans, it was inconceivable. I was sick of waiting too at the time so I decided to just play every game in order and hope that by then 33 would finally drop. I wasn't disappointed in the publisher. But is this game disappointing?

Absolutely not.

I don't care what longtime fans say as well as the not-so-good sales. This game is great. It "grew up" in a way that I feel was necessary and I hope if there was ever a next one, they could build on this engine that already exists into something more. Basic as this game was, it had everything I ever wanted in a teen mystery videogame (and it didn't help that I was also into the recent TV Series which had the same vibes minus the adulterated content). Mystery was great. Villain was great. Suspects were great. We got to see the Hardy Boys in 3d and they still wouldn't show Nancy's face :/

I think the strongest points were the writing and the music. Unfortunately for a game that came out in 2019 the standards for gameplay have since become more sophisticated. Confusing layouts, crashes and bugs, and an abrupt final act for a 29 dollar game is not acceptable. Moreover, it basically lost its audience for those who loved the previous 32 games even the bad ones. I don't really agree with that last part but it is the major opinion.

If this is the last game in the series, then I'm glad it ended like this. The way it ended in the game is very sweet as well with Nancy finally deciding to go on a vacation with her boyfriend, mystery-free (canon-wise, all 33 games are connected and follow each other so Nancy always didn't have time for her bf :( ). A proper walk into the proverbial sunset I must say. Her Interactive has remained quiet with only a single blip that Game 34 is on its way. It doesn't matter to me at this moment. 4 Years of this on and off and I'm here, a gaming-weight lifted. Just as I finished Dishonored 2 and escaped my Ex's curse, so will I put this one to bed.

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Super Mario Bros 3 (Switch)

Dead Space (XGP)
Not as spooky as I expected, and hot dog I could not aim at body parts to save my life but was still a good time.

Metroid Dread (Switch)
First actual Metroid game, despite loving Metroidvanias. It was a blast!

Superliminal (PC)
Fun little puzzle game! Pretty short, but I really liked it for what it was.


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Crazy Taxi (PC)
One of the first video games I ever played, and man did I ever play the hell out of it. Unfortunately I was too young to actually be any good at the game (or any game, really), so I never came close to anything resembling a respectable score or finished Crazy Box etc.

Now that I'm actually competent, I have righted this wrong. Game still rules, especially with the mods installed to bring back the classic Dreamcast experience. Time to go listen to some Offspring and Bad Religion.

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Carto (XB1)

Pretty cute puzzle/adventure game that didn't overstay its welcome
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Elea (PS4)

I knew it was originally going to be episodic before those plans came to a halt. Still, very little about this game made sense as it was happening.
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Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! (PS4)

I did play the original game on PC, but never put in the effort to get Dan Salvato's message in the game. I've now finally done that, and I'll read these new side stories added to the Plus version at some point.

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Rogue Legacy (Switch)

It was a fun sort-of-Metroidvania, but I don't feel like it has enough depth or polish for me to keep playing after beating it once.

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Pokemon Sacred Gold/Storm Silver (DS/PC?)

Enhancement hack for HGSS by Drayano. Best Pokemon games just made a little bit more enjoyable all the way around.

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Just Ignore Them (PC)

Before I started the game, it gave me 2 options: Play the original or the remake. I opted to play the remake cause according to the Dev, all he did was change some points that didn't make sense in the story to him and everyone. Fixed story, new sprites and music. Seemed like the best option.

You play as Mark who is in a never ending chase to escape monsters that constantly pursue him.

The game is a point and click seen in an overhead view. It's a very simple one. There doesn't seem to be much of a penalty or ways to game over except in the very short first chapter. Sadly I feel the first chapter was more exciting and trolley compared to the rest of the game's chapters. It does have multiple choices to decide your outcome. I ended up getting the Good Ending.

The worst thing about the game is probably the many spelling errors/grammar. I guess English was not the dev's first language and despite having 10 proof readers in the credits, they did not do a very good job.

Overall, it was an ok game and pretty short (about 2 hours).


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Hades (Switch)

First successful escape, anyway (with the bow, 29th attempt)

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Mary Skelter: Nightmares (Vita)

One might look at this game and say 'another dungeon crawler by Idea Factory and Compile Heart, pass' and while that's definitely true, it's probably their best work yet. An amazing first person dungeon crawler with a lot of in-dungeon puzzles that aren't annoying, lots of character customization, and plenty of extra exploration in the various areas that are available. The only thing I didn't like is probably the lack of voiced dialogue in the English dub as the Japanese voices do a lot more, but that's to be expected with a niche game like this one. I'll probably start Mary Skelter 2 on the Switch soon enough, at least before I get sucked into Shin Megami Tensei V.

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Dead Space (PS3)

Despite some clunky controls and the occasionally obtuse puzzle, I loved this game and thought it aged remarkably well. Great action, great tension, fun weapon/ability variety.

Story was good, but the presentation (cutscenes occur through the game engine rather than actual cinematic scenes) held it back IMO. Also, silent protagonist? Cmon now.

Metroid Dread (Switch)

From a gameplay standpoint, this is the best Metroid ever and probably the best 2D game ever. Game is ridiculously addictive, with tight controls, tons of powerups, and mesmerizing boss fights. Story was also surprisingly good.

Only downsides were the music and atmosphere. The atmosphere is what holds Dread back from being on the level of Super and Prime 1/2.

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Demon's Crest (Switch/SNES)

Replayed via Switch.
Got 100%. Got both the Best and True Endings.
Easily one of my favorite SNES games of all time that deserves more love and recognition.
Ghouls 'N Ghosts got several sequels. Gargoyle's Quest series never gets the love and respect it deserves. Demon's Crest is easily the crown jewel. It's downright criminal on how this game was perceived as a failure back in the day.

Another Demon's Crest (Gargoyle's Quest) entry needs to happen and it's long overdue. Highly doubt Capcom will ever do another one but we can only hope.

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Night Slashers (Switch/Arcade)

A beat em' up by Data East that was released in 1993.
You play as either Jake, (American Monster Hunter), Christopher (European Vampire Hunter) and Hong-Hua (Martial Artist). They are the Night Slashers and the world got overrun by monsters, mutants, walking dead and other creatures of the night. It is up to the Night Slashers to stop them.

This was a surprisingly solid beat em' up by Data East standards and it was very fun. It was pretty bloody/gory. My favorite move is the Jumping Down Attack that allows you to stomp an enemy into the ground and they get buried into the ground. You get to stomp on their heads afterward.

I beat the game as Jake and I used about less than 15 credits.
If you like beat em' ups and haven't checked it out yet, I say check it out. It's pretty cool.

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Hellpoint (PC)

5/10 Soulslike. Lore was typical and it was trying too hard to be a Souls clone. Enemies and bosses were okay, but unflattering at best. Probably what sets it apart is the level design which is really more intricate than it seems which is fine if it encourages exploration but about half of those places require precise jumping. Jumping puzzles with DS controls and momentum is ass. I've died more times falling off of something than actually getting killed. It doesn't help that achieving the best ending requires you to do this as well as find some of the most well hidden secrets I've seen in a game like this.

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Knights and Bikes (XB1)

I have very mixed feelings about this game, but one thing is for certain, Honkers is awesome.
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LordoftheMorons posted...

Hades (Switch)

First successful escape, anyway (with the bow, 29th attempt)

Cleared ten times and saw the credits now too

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GOGZero posted...

Demon's Crest (Switch/SNES)

I played this for the very first time via NSO like a year ago and absolutely fell in love with it. What a forgotten gem.

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StartTheMachine posted...

I played this for the very first time via NSO like a year ago and absolutely fell in love with it. What a forgotten gem.

Glad you liked Demon's Crest!

Mega Man 5 (Switch/NES)

Replayed via the Mega Man Legacy Collection.
Even though most of the Special Weapons don't have too much of a use outside of boss weaknesses, Rush Coil having a really bad hitbox to activate the coil itself and the Mega Buster being so OP it trivializes most of the game's difficulty, I still like this entry in the series. Gravity Man's Stage is peak level design with the gravity gimmick in the stage and I'm probably one of the few that likes the Marine Bike section in Wave Man's Stage. I also really like this game's OST and the plot twist with Proto Man, if predictable, was entertaining. Also like the debut of Beat here and how OP he is.

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Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles (PS4)

Rudimentary exploration/crafting game, but that's what I prefer in those kind of games. That being said, some systems seem to be kind of pointless, like farming. I've nearly completed everything and haven't done anything with my four farms.
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Twin Mirror (PS4)

Continuing my efforts of playing all the Dontnod games, I've finally played and beaten Twin Mirror. Honestly, wasn't a huge fan of it. The gameplay was a bit shallow, the game was short, and none of the characters were very memorable so the game fell short for me.

With this, I've finished every game they've released except Remember Me, which I'll probably never get to. I think I'd rank the games like..

Life is Strange > Tell Me Why > Life is Strange 2/Captain Spirit > Vampyr > Twin Mirror

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Katana Zero (PC)
Really a top of the line Hotline-Miami-like that hews closer than usual to HM thematically but is still strikingly unique.

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Mega Man 6 (Switch/NES)

Replayed via Mega Man Legacy Collection.
This entry was ok. The Power and Jet Adaptors are fun to use and Flame Blast is straight up OP.

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Do we include games we're replaying?

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If you want. I personally only include replays if I beat a particular game on a platform that I hadn't before.
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KCF0107 posted...

If you want. I personally only include replays of I beat a particular game on a platform that I hadn't before.

I really meant this more in the sense of whether to count P4G separately from P4.

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I post every time I beat a game I'm replaying and tag it replay. I guess it's on a new platform sometimes.

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Alice: Madness Returns (Xbox 360)

A big improvement over the first, especially with combat. That being said, it had no business being as long as it was.
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Metal Slug 1st Mission

This game was pretty awesome. Fun take on a solid formula.
Seemed more consoley then arcadey, but that was the point.
Also, I skipped a bunch of levels and did quite a few out of order. Game was built that way. It was really a unique game.

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Gorogoa (PC)

I can only recall a handful of games being #1 on my typically lengthy wishlist on Steam, and this was one of them. It didn't quite live up to my hopes, but outside of two chapters that were a little on the overwhelming side in what you had to keep track of, it was a very good puzzle game.
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Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity - Guardian of Remembrance (Switch)
This felt more like an expansion pack than the first one, which was more of a collection of gameplay bits, some of them more worthwhile than others. Focusing on Terrako's memories, you get to er, play as Terrako a lot, which turns out to be pretty fun once you get used to it. There are new story battles with sub-objectives, and collecting all of these is the goal. For some reason, it doesn't tell you all of them in-game, which is baffling, but that's what guides are for I guess. And two more characters who I didn't really use joined the battle, but they seem fine.

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Kena Bridge of Spirits (PC)

When I saw Celeste reveal trailer, I fell in love with it. Then I played it, and it was awesome
When I saw Death's Door reveal trailer, I fell in love with it. Then I played it, and it was awesome
When I saw Kena Bridge of Spirits reveal trailer, I fell in love with it. Then I played it, and it was awe.... ok, no, not really
Guess I can't be right all the time!

The game looks great but the gameplay is not very good. I can't really put my finger on why. The combat is good and boss fights are good too (and also very challenging which is good) but it always feel like something is missing, like something is making the game boring but I can't understand exactly what
Story was unexplained mess but I don't really mind
It's just boring

Not recommending, sadly

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Monster Boy & the Cursed Kindgom - Game was really fun. I got it when it was on sale for $10 on the eshop. It was my first experience with the series which doesnt always go by the same name it seems. 100%d it without too much issue aside from some of the collectibles being really well hidden. The transformations each do their own thing and theyre pretty fun. I believe its considered a Metroidvania so that might interest some people too. Would definitely check out another game in the series in the future.

The Other Half (PC)

Really short but felt worth it. I thought the story it was going for came together pretty well.

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Panel de Pon (Switch/Super Famicom)

I beat Vs. Mode on Hard.
I knew this game as Tetris Attack back in the day so it was nice to play this to see Lip, who I knew from the Lip's Stick item thanks to Super Smash Bros.

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Concrete Genie (PS4)

It was fine. It doesn't take long for it to get repetitive, and while the late-game swerve to the gameplay was refreshing in a way, I wouldn't say it was particularly good. I did love painting random stuff all around town and seeing the monsters move and intract with the world.
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Submerged (PC)

Neat little exploration game that I finally beat after 2-3 years.
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Grandia II HD Remaster (Steam)
Never played the original version and wasn't real sure what to expect, but I really enjoyed my time here. Got a little long in the tooth right at the end - like, the very very end - and had a little trouble with inconsistent writing throughout, but for a 20-year-old RPG I was impressed by how sophisticated it was as a total package. There was a charm here that made the game feel like a bit more than the sum of its parts, and even most of those parts were pretty good. Great battle system, likable cast, sneaky good soundtrack. Super solid, had a lot of fun.

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12 Is Better Than 6 (PC)

You play as The Mexican who has amnesia and is also on a quest for revenge.
The ending left a lot to be desired. I heard the DLC, The Apostles, sheds a little more light on the story and has new game mechanics. I'll check that out another time.

This game is basically Mexican Hotline Miami.
The art style is pretty cool. It's all done in pen and paper with the red blood as an "ink" effect.
Gameplay was ok. Some of the hit detection on the melee weapons were a little dodgy at times but it's not so bad if you just keep retreating and attacking.

Firing the guns is pretty neat. So the revolver works like a real one. After you shoot you also have to reload after every shot. You also get some upgrades you can pay with money. One of my personal fave upgrades is strapping sticks of dynamites to rats and they kamikaze into your enemies. It's as cool as it sounds and looks. The OST is also REALLY good. One of the best parts about the game.

I recommend it if you also liked Hotline Miami.

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The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D (3DS)

The last traditional Zelda game I had left to play and beat is now finished (well, there's still Zelda II ...). The time limit was off-putting for a long time, but that ended up not mattering as I played this version (the 3DS version is even worse with the slowed down time being faster than in the N64 version). This might be the most hit or miss Zelda for me alongside Skyward Sword. Majora's Mask had fantastic atmosphere with all the different characters and their personal and emotional stories, so different from any other Zelda game. All the main dungeons are good as well. Item usage is also near perfect in this one. That being said, I do not prefer this game's structure and focus on side content. I know you're supposed to take it slow and just stumble upon a lot of the quests and stories, but it starts getting really old to use the ocarina.

It's mostly the second half of the main game where my problems started and I'm sure it's partly the 3DS version's fault. The entire Great Bay area was just painfully annoying with the swimming. I was dreading Great Bay Temple and its infamous difficulty, only to find the dungeon itself wasn't that difficult or confusing at all, but rather the pure annoyance of the swimming and the camera not being friends, and that awful Gyorg. Then Stone Tower Temple (great dungeon, don't get me wrong) again felt very straightforward in terms of navigation and puzzles (especially without the Stray Fairies), but getting the stray fairies required an obscene amount of ocarina playing with that Elegy. And Twinmold...this version made me miss 3DS Gyorg, which says it all. One of the most frustrating Zelda bosses I've ever played. I have literally grown a fear of tripping because of this boss. Then the final part of the game was lame and again, fairly frustrating in at least this version.

The time system wasn't really a problem anymore. The only thing I didn't like about it was that I never felt like I could take my time and appreciate the dungeons. They are awesomely designed, but I was also focusing on completing the dungeon within the cycle, and the 3DS version made the slowed down cycle go faster than the N64 version.

Overall, some insane highs, but also some of the most frutrating and tedious moments in the series for me. Maybe the N64 version would have been a better experience, but then again, that one has elements making it even more tedious, so I guess it's just not my favorite Zelda game as I had already expected. Still happy to have played this unique entry and there were still many parts I did love.

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One Piece: Unlimited World Red (Vita)

Given how good the One Piece musou games are, this one seems like a huge downgrade in the combat and the exploration and adventure this one adds doesn't add enough to make it worth playing. The story is also super short, finished in under twelve hours. Unless you're a huge fan of the series this isn't really worth playing. It took me seven years to finish after all, mostly because the stupid guide on this website doesn't even explain how to unlock episode 5, until I randomly stumbled into it while doing something else.

I did play both the PS3 and Vita versions, and there wasn't much difference between the two. Maybe the PS4 version looks a bit better?

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