Board 8 > Post Each Time You Beat a Game: 2020 Edition

(+) Yeah! (+)

Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 (PS3)

Still the best anime arena fighter out there and still the best way to experience the first parts of the World War arc.

Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (NES)

Ancient replay. Been a good number of years since I last played it.
I took Sypha as my partner and stuck with the upper path levels.
It's still one of my personal favorite games in the series.

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PictoQuest (Switch)

It's picross, you pretty much know what you're getting. The RPG part was inconsequential.

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Black Mesa (PC)

Holy shit. Game of the Year. Strong contender at least. I never liked Half-Life 1's dizzying level design and yet even the parts that were copied exactly, I never once felt lost and confused in Black Mesa. Anyways, it s a very faithful adaptation. Better than anything I've ever played in a long time. They improved everything: The enemy AI, the weapon balance, and Xen. Motherfucking Xen.

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Doom Eternal (PC)

Fun game though I did get tired of the loop towards the end. The plot goes to some crazy places

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Untitled Goose Game (XB1)

I began this back in December, but I didn't get around to finishing it up until the past two days. I appreciate how each area was better than the last, and it culminated in a relatively tense (not that it wasn't easy to overcome any obstacles) final segment with a pretty funny conclusion.
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Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice (PS4)

Wanted to play a Norse inspired game and I heard good things about this one. First game on the PS4 that I played with headphones on and it was a pretty cool experience. The creative direction for the game was pretty unique but I do get the criticism that the game mechanics are fairly shallow. Overall decent game.

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Soul Axiom Rebooted (PC)

It was okay. I played it because I heard it was a cyberpunk game. It's sort of there but you have to dig a little for that sweet implication. It has an interesting premise, and great environments and puzzles. Being in a virtual realm for memories gives the devs an excuse to come up with whatever backdrop they wanted. It's also strange that this is actually a sequel to a horror game. I'd like to think they've matured as devs since.

I can admire the charm and look past the sometimes-clunky part of the interface. I also kind of hated the jumpscares. Some of them unnecessary tbh.

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Marvel's Spider-Man (PS4)

This was so good! One of my favourites of these types of games, and I like it more than Batman: Arkham City. Incredibly fun to swing around, great and varied battle system (really surprised by all the options you have) and, most surprisingly, a well-paced and satisfying story. Usually with these open-world games, I get disconnected from the story, but not in this one.

I don't really have many negatives to say about this one. Maybe it's on the easier side (especially boss battles), it's a very forgiving game, but I've come to expect that from Insomniac Games. For some reason they just know how to keep a game fun and fast-paced throughout its entirety. After already loving the Ratchet & Clank games, now they've really shot up as a favorite developer of mine in general.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses... again

Second playthrough, Golden Deer this time (did Blue Lions first time through). I definitely liked it more the first time but it's still good, even if the school shit got old and the plot went off the rails when it became about molemen with nukes.

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Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes

Overall was an okay game. The writing was great and the gameplay was pretty fun, though it got pretty repetitive by the end. I wish the games you went into were more like their minigame aspects rather than playing those for about 30 seconds at a time then going back to the hack and slash. The final level was really, really long - but it was also far more difficult which made up for that. The story was... Bizarre, and I didn't care much for that aspect. Never played as Badman, pretty much always stuck with Travis.

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Nancy Drew 29: The Silent Spy (PC)

My 2nd playthrough of this and frankly, I think I appreciate it more. I didn't quite understand it the first time the emotional weight carried in the backstory and eventual closure concerning Nancy's mom. Also, back then I didn't know that the terrorist organization in question was more of a red herring because I remember one of my criticisms being that the plot was all over the place. As it turns out, there was also a character that "returns" which just boggled me back then but now I know which ND game she came from. Now I see why this game is a strong contender in many a fan's top 10. Everything in this one was just so different from formula, that it felt refreshing despite introducing some old tropes.

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Ori and the Blind Forest (PC)
Not bad. But screw whoever decided to lock you out of areas and make items missable, then charge more for a fixed version.

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God of War II (PS3)

2 > 1 > Chains > Ghost

3/2 - Wildermyth

• Kept it in my selection because I wanted to try a five chapter game. The Skies of Arcadia was a fun cast to play around with.

3/9 - Wildermyth

• Third completion, this time basing characters off Trials of Mana. Had a fun time figuring out the kids. Kevin had three generations of family (Karl, Ludgar, and Gauser respectively), and Luna unexpectedly had a daughter. Which was cool because I learned Luna was replaced by Aura in another Mana game! So much fun with this one.

3/12 - Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel

• Jack the Doppelganger victory!

3/21 - Trials of Mana (Demo)

• Today the full release comes out! Looking forward to my Hawkeye/Kevin/Angela team.

3/23 - Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel - Claptastic Voyage DLC

• Usually I wouldn't list DLC separately, but my god, that was a ride. That was a lot of fun action, some cool levels, but that emotionally hit haaaarrrd. Incredible storytelling.

3/24 - Dead Rising

• Finished all the cases and won Overtime mode, but missed about five NPCs. Learning the Small Chainsaw book combo made the last few days a breeeeeze, because I only had to worry about Survivors and cases and not searching for back-up weapons and keeping inventory well-stocked. Fun game, but uncomfortably sexist a lot of the time. Half the girl zombies would attack right at the crotch, most of the female survivors couldn't take weapons and just wanted to hold hands, there was a lot of cheesecake and rewards for taking lewd pictures. There were a lot of stereotypes and over-the-top personalities, but those aspects made me feel grosser than doing loops in the downtime just mowing down thousands of zombies in the tunnels.
• Also, Overtime was a great capper. I thought that ending of the main game was insanely dark and depressing, and the sudden plot of Frank being infected because he collapsed, which was after his way out and beacon of hope exploded and after all the people he helped save were all zombies or spirited away by special forces, but then we learn more about Carlito's plot and... yeah, I can see why that was the 'best' ending. Any other ending with a successful or unsuccessful escape were delayed bad endings. I'm trying to think of another game that had something like this, but it's not coming to mind. Maybe I read about Dead Rising's ending on TvTropes long ago and forgot? Maybe a Nonary Game? Ooh, maybe the first Danganronpa? Hrmm...

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Healer's Quest (PC)

Very fun, very unique RPG based solely around being a healer. You better believe it pokes fun at all the JRPG tropes out there. My favorite was a dungeon that mocked Mobile Casual Games. It gave you "Daily Rewards" and an imaginary currency that was only used to decorate said dungeon.

What I originally thought was a tiny and simple game turned out to be quite the brain bender due to only having 4 skills at any time, each with their own unique skill trees and hidden perks. My only gripe is that the game forces you to respecc to change your strategy constantly with each boss which wouldn't be so bad if the respecc place wasn't only in 1 location and you could only move slowly like in a classic JRPG on the overworld. That said, if you can get over the grinding (admittedly DQ games have softened my hatred for them), the game is a blast and especially cathartic once you beat the 2 true bosses and get the real true ending.

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Metroid Fusion (GBA)
Yeah okay, it's linear compared to Super Metroid, but it has a story between the beginning and end. With a xenomorph.

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Tales of Berseria

Took a long time. I started playing it during CBX, playaed 99% of it then stopped once I realized the optional endgame quests were too long and difficult. Now yesterday I started again, skipped those quests and dashed through the end.

Overall a good game. Story is one of the best I've ever seen in any media. Gameplay is mostly good but with some very annoying flaws. I think it all averages to a 8.5.

Half-Life (PC)

With this I've now beaten all versions of Half-Life (Souce, Black Mesa, and the original). I played source years and years and years ago and was my favorite game for a long while, and my favorite game in the HL series still. Anyway, with the release of Black Mesa I decided to replay to original to see the differences and re-experience it. Still a fantastic gaming experience, and I think I still prefer it more than Black Mesa. It wasn't as showy, but the game felt a lot quicker paced (to me). Xen is extremely short in this game, but on the flip side in Black Mesa it was way too long (in my opinion). Still didn't like On a Rail...

May try to beat the side/spin-offs that take place at the same time.

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Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Spirit of Justice (3DS)

Quite happy to finally be caught up on the mainline Ace Attorney game SoJ DLC case still to come. Especially happy that I wasn't as spoiled coming into this as I was with Dual Destinies or Prosecutor's Path. Only real spoiler I was aware of was the 6-4 culprit.

Now to eventually tackle Layton vs. Wright and the two Dai games

Final Fantasy VIII Remastered (Switch)

First time playing FFVIII. Enjoyed it well enough; I still don't like ATB as a battle system but the junction system was cool. The plot gets pretty silly near the end but it's not bad or anything.

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My Nintendo Picross - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (3DS)

So I recently found out that platinum coins were a thing a decided to get the only worthwhile looking thing there.
Man I miss Club Nintendo

Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth2: Sisters Generation (Vita)

Quite the mouthful. I completed the Conquest ending a few days ago for TrueTrophies' event and never updated it here.

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Pikuniku (PC)

Charming little game

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Shadow of the Colossus (PS4)

Played it for the first time, but I had already seen playthroughs of it years ago. Still, an incredible experience that I'm glad to say I've now experienced myself. Well, aside from the annoying controls and camera, that is.

Super Mario World (Switch)

Figured since I have online now I might as well give this another playthrough. The real challenge is not abusing the cape to fly over levels.

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel + Clastastic Voyage DLC (PC)

Jack is so OP. I dunno, maybe they just didn't care by the end. In the end of it all, it was ultimately the loot that survived me, but the entire gimmick behind Jack's abilities are so exploitable. Anyways this was very enjoyable and I'm glad to put it all behind me.

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Agent A: A Puzzle in Disguise (Switch)

That was a much longer game than I thought it was going to be
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Murder by Numbers (Switch)

Well, I'm on the board earlier this year than I was last year.

Cute little cross between Ace Attorney and Picross. Not a masterpiece, but I do recommend it.

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Batman: Arkham City (360)

Honestly it was just kinda frustrating. The combat, stealth, and platforming all felt really clunky. Mercifully short though.

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Way of the Passive Fist (Switch)

You play as the Wanderer who travels across the planet of Zircon V that was once a prosperous mining colony that is now on the brink of destruction.

The character designs have the whole apocalyptic feel to it (reminded me of Mad Max a little) and the 2D Sprites are very nice.

The game itself is a beat em up with a twist: it has a Timing and Rhythm based combat system.
You can Parry, Check/Shove, Dodge attacks. Along the way you earn XP and can have a bigger life meter, a Dash (very important for some enemies/bosses) and super moves: A Power Punch (only exception of hitting enemies/bosses, heh), Super Slam (that also damages enemies around you) and Gravity Well (AOE/Smart Bomb move).

The combat is very fun and satisfying. You have to watch the enemies movements/listen to sounds and use your defense to drain their stamina bar. Each successful defense fills up your super meter which will allow you to do a super move. The game also has modifiers to adjust the difficulty.

I really enjoyed it. It's one of the most original concepts of a beat em' up I have ever played. I recommend it if you want something different in your beat em' ups.


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F-Zero (Switch)

Continuing down Switch online rabbit hole of clearing my SNES backlog. Could have sworn that this had multiplayer.

Assassin's Creed: Freedom Cry (PC)

Just cleaning up the last few AC games I missed. I put this one between Liberation and Rogue. There is nothing really worth playing for in this one except for that dark storyline and amazing music. It's yet another one of Ubi's excuses to cash in on something. Still. It was nice to sail and fight as a real ship again and not the bullshit Odyssey was. My next AC game will be the King George DLC for ACIII, then bringing it back home with the 2 DLCs for Odyssey, and then I'll be truly done with the series.

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Necodrop (Mobile)
Sonic Adventure DX (Steam)

• Own it for GCN, but played more of it on Steam than back then. Much much easier game than I remember, though still just as glitchy. 108/130 Medals, might keep it around to do the rest but some of those missions seem brutal like the ski flag one.

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Fire Emble: Three Houses - Golden Deer

Second route I completed for my GOTY of last year. I don't think the narrative holds up as well as for Blue Lions and the game would really benefit from more variety in maps, especially in the first half, but still a blast.

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inFAMOUS (PS3)

Was contemplating doing the Blast Shards again, but then noticed that inFAMOUS 2 gives you bonuses based on trophies and not save files and went fuck that.

Control: The Foundation DLC (PC)

I think this is the first time in awhile where I'm actively playing something current and not just doing a backlog or an old game. It was quite short but I just can't get enough of the battle system in this game so any excuse to keep shooting and messing around with the physics of this game is a welcome addition.

Can't wait for the next DLC.

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Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (360)

I'm no good at it, but this game is great. Exactly the right amount of stupid. Also surprisingly realistic villains for how conceptually absurd they are.

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Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood (Mac)

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RE3make (PC)

Not as good as the RE2 remake, but I still enjoyed it.

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Pilotwings Resort (3DS)

Had this sitting around for years and years. Knowing it was essentially the Wii Sports of the 3DS, I wasn't expecting much in terms of depth, but it was a nice little distraction during quarantine. I may go back someday and try to 3-star the missions that I only 2-starred.

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Gato Roboto (Switch)

As far as "mini Metroidvanias on the the Switch that cost less than $3" go, I think I like Xeodrifter more, but both are worth a pick-up if you like the genre.

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ARMS (Switch)

I took advantage of the free full game trial to not only play the game, but to check out the whole cast to see which one of the characters will be joining Smash Ultimate in June. I think Misango would be a good choice due to his mechanics but he probably won't be the one chosen. Maybe as a Spirit. Who knows.

I beat Grand Prix on Level 4 difficulty setting. Fought the true final boss Hedlok and watched the credits.

So ARMS...is a video game, yes.
Some of the fighters have some neat mechanics.

Game is fun to play with someone for about...10, 15 minutes. That's just how I feel. Props to the people who have been playing this game since the beginning and are still supporting it.

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Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Switch)

I usually consider an Animal Crossing game beat once I get all the house upgrades, but this one had somewhat of a plot line for a bit and I reached the end of it earlier today. Not sure how I feel about it overall because while it is a very enjoyable game I can't help but feel that it's an incomplete one.

The Legend of Zelda (Switch)

My dad recently started playing this again and I got the urge to give it another playthrough too. Ended up knocking it out in a few hours since I still know where everything is in the first quest. Fringe top 10 Zelda game

The Missing: J.J. Macfield and the Island of Memories (Switch)

Very good and very gay. Recommended!

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Borderlands 3 (PC)

I enjoyed this well enough, but I think I prefer Borderlands 2

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Celeste (PC)

Fantastic platformer, both very fun and with a very strong story.

Not sure how much of the post-game content I'll do, probably just the strawberries because I'm only about 30 left to go.

Virginia (PC)

I don't know how I feel about this game

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99Vidas: Definitive Edition (Switch)

This was an ok Beat Em' Up except for two things that bothered me.

1.The game sometimes kept mistaking my inputs that I was pressing both the attack and jump button a few times when I totally wasn't trying to do my desperation attack when I meant to do a jump attack.

2.When doing netplay, sometimes enemies tend to teleport as if you were playing on really bad GGPO rollback.

Other than those two things it was an ok game. Has a bunch of references to the 80's/90's/references from other games and I also liked upgrading your character at the shop with the points you earn to get more moves.

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