Topic: Games You Recently Beat?

Yo Kai watch 1 on 3DS. Turns out I never finished it and went back to finish the job. Worth it! Glad I finally got that closed, and I might back up 2 soon, then 3 around christmas.

I finished Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for the Nintendo Switch. That'll make it the ninth game completed in 2019. Anyway, I "finished" it in the sense of clearing the story mode after having obtained the true ending, and played through the Classic Mode routes for every base character in the game (plus the free DLC Piranha Plant). I've also played through all of the other modes at least once and cleared 107 of the 125+ trophies in the game. I'm pretty confident I've experienced the bulk of the unique content this game has to offer. For the record, this all took me 80+ hours to accomplish.

Smash Ultimate doesn't re-invent the wheel. What it does instead is to radically expand the scope of the in-game content (a hugely meaty adventure mode, 1000+ spirits to collect, an insane 75 character roster that represents pretty much everyone of any note from the Nintendoverse, a stage selection screen so large that it can actually be difficult to find what you're looking for at times, and apparently more than 24 hours worth of unlockable music), as implied by the word "Ultimate" in the title. While much of the content isn't new, having all of it together in one game produces a positively overwhelming effect. There are a few modes missing in this entry, but they're all, invariably, ones I'd consider to be filler, such as home-run contest, or the target mode from the previous game.

While most of the content in this game is from previous entries in the series, it's very much still a 'new' game, and you'll immediately get a sense of this when you start a match. The combat in this game, quite simply, is far slicker, faster, and more visceral (especially now that the game does these wonderful little split-second close-up shots when you've inflicted an attack on an enemy that's likely to smash them) than it was in Smash 4/Brawl, yet it also has a weightiness to it that Melee on the Gamecube lacked. This is the best "feeling" Smash game I've ever played.

I really, really like the way single-player content is handled in this game. The World of Light adventure mode is sprawling, encompassing huge maps, limited puzzle solving elements, character customization via a skill tree, and various spirits in this game are represented through the use of creative battle conditions that act as a sort of reference to the character that the spirit stands in for. Equipping spirits adds a sort of RPG feel to proceedings, and helps structure the way you progress. It's also quite cool starting with Kirby and gradually unlocking all of the fighters over the course of the adventure, and it's a great introduction to the diverse set of fighters you'll be engaging with over the course of the game. Also, the final battle and true ending to adventure mode are, dare I say, quite spectacular. The Classic Mode runs have also been improved: the enemies and bosses you fight are now themed around the character. So, for example, Link will fight Ganondorf as the final boss in his classic mode routes. The Street Fighter characters face off against other, mostly humanoid, fighters in HP battles, similar to how you would play arcade mode in a Street Fighter game. Finally, the spirit board offers a randomized set of spirits to face off against at any given time and is great for quick matches. It's also fun during events to try and collect all of the themed spirits on the board, which also usually reward you with extra gold for defeating them during the event.

The use of spirits really ties this game together as an experience, as you'll use them to unlock new paths and gain the upper-hand in various Spirit Board and World of Light matches, and rewards from pretty much every major game mode grant you materials to upgrade your spirits, new spirits to add to your collection, etc. The gameplay leads to rewards which feed directly back into future gameplay sessions. It's a beautiful cycle.

There are still quite a number of new additions to the cast in this game, and most of them are pretty great. I love the attention to detail with the Castlevania characters, for example, whose animations and controls are extremely similar to the way they're represented in the games they come from. The best additions are Ridley and King K. Rool: the former because of his remarkably aggressive moveset and playstyle, and the latter because of how wonderfully ridiculous he is. Even with characters I'm not fond of, like the Inklings, I still appreciate the amount of considering and detail put into this movesets and animations: everything the inklings do in this game is ripped straight from your average Splatoon match.

Smash Ultimate is also one of the most well-optimized games on the platform. While a number of first-party Switch games have suffered from resolution or control drawbacks in handheld mode (Xenoblade 2 and Yoshi's Crafted World both sink to absurdly low resolutions when undocked; Mario Odyssey's controls are somewhat gimped in handheld mode as well), this game simply looks, runs, and controls perfect no matter how you're playing it. Granted, it obviously looks better in a higher resolution on an HDTV, but this is also the best-looking portable game on the system. Like with Smash 3DS/Wii U, I've again found myself drawn to its value as a portable game that provides highly entertaining short bursts of gameplay, and probably a good 75 of the 80+ hours I've played this have been in handheld mode. It's such a simple thing to pull it out for a quick bout here and there, and having a beautiful HD version of the game be this convenient to play made me fall back in love with the system all over again.

It's definitely the best single-player fighting game I've ever played, but there are some imperfections here. While the adventure mode is lengthy, creative, and fun, it's also lacking in any sort of driving narrative force or gameplay diversity to make it feel like less of a grind. On one hand, Smash does one thing extremely well, and I commend the developers for sticking to their guns in this regard with the single-player modes, but it feels like more could have been done to make World of Light feel like a proper adventure. It's also disappointing that the variety of spirits on display don't really tell you anything about the games they come from. This would have been a very cool feature, especially as it relates to spirits from obscure Japanese games that most people have never played. Missed opportunity there. Finally, while the netcode isn't horrendous, it's not uncommon to run into lag online, which is... disappointing. Especially when other Nintendo games like Splatoon 2 play like a dream pretty much all of the time

To sum up: it's easily the best Smash game ever made, an amazingly well-optimized Switch game, and is a must-own title for anyone even vaguely interested in the genre. Strong 9/10.

@nintendobynature It's okay. This is your first time clearing the game, so it's natural to forget about some details of the story.

@SamusLv7 thanks for not roasting me for it! Like i said I zip thru most games. Mostly only pay attention to detail in zelda games for some reason as i love the story lines

@nintendobynature No problem 😊 By the way, are you going to play Metroid Zero Mission next or a DKC game? Both are excellent games of course.

@SamusLv7 I'm 100% going to get metroid zero mission but not for a little bit. Right now on Wii u I'll be playing thru a link to the past and I'm going to start up castlevania aria of sarrow.. after that ill grab zero mission or super metroid not sure yet which I'll grab first. Either way ill be getting both at some point. And another dkc game down the road for sure. On a side note if you ever want to play smash send me your freind code. I never have anyone to play with unfortunately 😣

Unpopular opinion- I don't like Kirby Canvas Curse. But I did recently beat it on Wii U Virtual Console. The finale is pretty good, but man, that game is a hassle to control on Wii U.

@LoriLoud The game is a hassle to control period. I'm glad Nintendo has long since gotten the urge to shove touch controls into everything out of its system.

@nintendobynature: I highly recommend Zero Mission; I enjoyed it more than Fusion (which is still an excellent game IMO).

Also, you're all making me want to play through A Link to the Past again....XD

@Tyranexx i love metroid games but I often find myself stuck in spots sometimes and have to consult with a walkthrough. I heard fusion was linear which is why i started on that first. The only other metroid game i beat( not just played as I've played a few), was return of Samus on gameboy.. I own Samus returns and love it but stopped playing a while ago even though I was really far along. I'll go back eventually. I hear zero mission is more exploration which I don't mind but typically struggle with at times. I'll grab it soon though and give it a shot as i hear great things. As for link to the past... yea go get on that! 🤑 one of my favorite zelda games of all time. Halfway thru dark palace.

@nintendobynature: I always say there's no shame in consulting a walkthrough when needed. They save time and sanity.

I may play ALttP again when I fully bust out my SNES Classic soon. I've only played the GBA port that shipped with Four Swords.

@Tyranexx yep I agree. I'm not proud of it but if I have to i have to.

@nintendobynature sure I can send it to you, but can you wait till april 3 or 4? You see, my internet is limited and currently I have only enough data to use it on this site. I am sorry for this issue.

I have finished the storyline of Pokemon Alpha Sapphire just now.
That was the first time i beat Pokemon games in 11 days since i have bought on 3rd March 2019. Never before i have beaten Pokemon games less than 2 weeks.

Now i will keep continue the Post game contents to hunt for some Legendary Pokemons. 😎

Just finished guacamelee STCE! I've said it before but I can't believe i slept on this series until the game went on sale. One of my favorite indie games on the switch for sure. Now that guacamelee 2 is on sale I may grab that too..

Tokyo School Life (Switch) - My first real crack at a VN. Sees you take on the role of an American foreign exchange student (and total Weeb), who is very excited to be spending a summer in Japan (especially considering he happens to be staying in a traditionally all girls dorm). It's of the romance variety, so over the course of the story you'll be able to steer it in a direction where you'll end up dating the girl of your choice (after they dispel your ignorance of what Japanese culture is really like). It was pretty cute when it's all said & done, and the fact that the character portraits had a fair amount of animation made it easier to get into for a newbie.

God of War 2018 (PS4) - Really great "Metroidvania" style action adventure with lusciously detailed environments with tons of treasure chests to open, artifacts to find, puzzles to solve, and enemies to dismember packed into every nook & cranny of the map (seriously, despite the game's large size, it's a very focused experience where no inch of it goes to waste). Combat is satisfyingly crunchy, with a great cast of characters, and a fantastic narrative. If I had to levee one complaint against it, it's that it doesn't offer much boss variety. The few unique boss fights it has are true highlights, but mostly you're going to be up against new variations of one specific boss type, and while they do change things up with a new attack here & there as the adventure goes on, after your second one they're not an intimidating proposition.

2019 Completed Games (newly completed in bold):

Switch

• Fishing Star! World Tour
• NSMBU Deluxe
• Tokyo School Life

PS4

• Dragon Quest XI
• God of War
• Senran Kagura: Estival Versus

Just finished A Link to the Past again. Love that game..

Finished Touhou Luna Nights a few days ago, a very, very good Metroidvania. Even if you don't know Touhou, do give this one a try

The gameplay and the mechanics are really awesome and the super smooth animation too. Pretty much one of the best game I played this year.

Although I must admit that I wish the latter boss fight is a tad harder, or utilize some more mechanics...

Moss (PS4/VR) - My first foray into VR. A very charming medieval fantasy action adventure game. The locales are very lovingly crafted & full of charm, and make compelling use of the VR tech (flat video simply doesn't do the world justice). As for the gameplay itself it largely features environmental puzzle solving, with some light platforming & combat mixed in. The game is absolutely at it's best during the puzzling bits which are fantastic, though while the combat works fine, it's not nearly as compelling so the semi frequent combat sections that see you killing waves of enemies before moving on aren't highlights. It's a good fit if you're just starting out in VR though as there's no sudden camera movement (the screen fades to black in between areas), and while there is scenery behind you, the action itself takes place in a 180° field of vision largely in front of you. It was a pretty fun time all & all, and looked stunning in the headset.

2019 Completed Games (Newly Completed in Bold)

Switch

• Fishing Star! World Tour
• NSMBU Deluxe
• Tokyo School Life

PS4

• Dragon Quest XI
• God of War
• Moss (VR)
• Senran Kagura: Estival Versus

beat bayo 1&2 back to back, then re revelations 2. really enjoyed them all. revelations 1 was to miserable to play, howver.