Topic: Games You Recently Beat?

@Ralizah hahah you got me. And I'm not going back to edit my post. I typed that out of shear excitement from finally beating the game that my fingers were slap happy. This day will forever be one of happiness and typos 😉

Batman: Return to Arkham Asylum (PS4) - A remaster of the PS360 title for modern platforms.

Pros:

• The core beat 'em up combat is pretty fun, and it feels good to get a lengthy combo going. Although I never got too good at it, the stealth mechanics were well concieved too.
• There was a pretty good variety of gameplay on offer, with most combat scenerios often going back & forth between straight beat 'em up action (areas where enemies didn't have guns) or stealth (all enemies would have guns and you'd have to take them out without drawing attention to yourself), and then it would further break up the action with some God of War (2018) style platforming or light puzzle solving (which sometimes would be mixed with the platforming).
• It had classic "Metroidvania" style world design & progression, with absolutely brilliant atmosphere (the creepy Medical Facility in particular creeped me the heck out).
• I liked how it handled the collectables. Instead of items that would directly increase your health or attack as you would find in Metroid, they all gave you EXP instead, which largely allowed you to upgrade at your own discretion. The collectables themselves would often have other purposes beyond just granting you EXP as well, like Interview Tapes & Arkham Chronicles providing in game world building/lore, Solving Riddles would often grant you character bios of various Batman characters (most not even in the game), and others would grant you character trophies.
• While it's roots as a last gen game came through in places, I generally found it to be a nice looking game even by modern standards.
• The banter of the Joker & Riddler throughout the game was a highlight.

Cons:

• Not a big fan of the boss fights in the game, which is a shame considering they could have done some cool things with a slate of supervillains. One early game boss had his whole combat shtick aped by special late game enemies (I hate it when a boss, usually an early game one, essentially becomes a regular enemy in late game), a couple were pretty cool, but don't actually involve fighting them, a couple (including the final boss) devolve into little more than fighting waves of regular enemies in a hazardous environment, and then you have exactly one that is a traditional, unique fight.

Overall I thought it was a pretty good time though, and though I'll be taking a break from the Bat, I'm looking forward to continuing the series (I also got the remaster of Arkham City in the same bundle).

Crash Bandicoot 1 on switch. That was my first play through of the series and game. While I think the game was fun overall, I cant help but say there were some levels with very poor design and controls. Quite a few were down right frustrating. The ones that spring to mind are the " up in the clouds" ones where you have to land on very thin boards while avoiding hogs and turtles. Or in some cases, turtles are required to be used as a trampoline and many times, I accidentally killed them meaning you cannot cross the gap without them. Only solution? Jump off the ledge and start over.

The controls were a little clunky even given the era they came from. This made it especially hard landing on ledges. Not to mention, most of the non side scrolling levels were so hard to master because the depth of which you had to jump to, was hard to visualize. On screen, it was so hard to tell if I should do a full jump or half, causing way too many deaths than I care to share.

Now i will say, there were still some really fun levels to be had and the thing that saved it all, was the boss fights for me. I thought they were really well done and took some good trial and error.

By no means will this ever be the quality that a Mario game is, or even a yoshi game, but I got this trilogy on prime day for $20. Needless to say, I'm happy with the purchase. I can only imagine the next 2 games will build upon the 1st, and hopefully some of those frustratingly difficult levels are more balanced.
7/10

@NintendoByNature The first game is universally considered to be the worst of the original trilogy. IMO, CB2 is the best, as Warped (the third game) was overrun with irritating level gimmicks that ruined the game for me.

I'll never understand the nostalgic fondness people seem to have for these games. The levels are like literal hallways! I guess, in that respect, nothing has changed for Naughty Dog.

I'm looking forward to the Spyro collection, though. They're really excellent early 3D platformers.

@Ralizah well I'm glad i have no where to go but up 😆. But In all seriousness I agree. It's like hallways with all sorts of craziness going on but you can't tell how far you need to jump. Then they throw an "unlit" level at you where you can't even see where you jumping( depth perception aside). When i got a PlayStation growing up , I was kind of over platformers unless it was Mario, So i skipped this. I'm sure if I grew up playing it I would enjoy it more. Like i said it's not bad, but there was some poor choices in the design. Graphics, characters worlds were all top notch though. Playing doom 3 now and mm2. When im done with doom 3 I'll give 2 a shot

Fire Emblem: Three Houses

@Lilseb93 Which route? I'm in the middle of a Golden Deer playthrough atm.

@Ralizah I picked the Blue Lions. I loved the characters in the house and I wanted to be part of a more royal knight-like house. Plus it was blue. Dimitri wasn't the most interesting character at first, but his character arc got really interesting in part 2.

Just beat Mutant Mudds Super Challenge from the Mutant Mudds Collection. Is there actually a way to play as Grannie on the Mudds' home planet? Because the ending makes it sound like it but there doesn't seem to be any way to do it. I've gotten everything in the game except for all of the secret characters.

Finally completed the third campaign of Fire Emblem Fates. I think I've clocked in over 200+ hours in total completing all three routes.

I have taken my time though, ensuring that I have completed all of the paralogues, recruiting all the babies, and S ranking everyone (including the children) before proceeding to the final boss in all three routes. I also paired everyone up in the battle with somebody who they still had unlockable support conversations with, which added to the overall play time.

I just got a game over on Nelke and the Legendary Alchemists on Switch on day 29. I had only got a handle on the mechanics of the game when it was just a little too late (around day 22 or so), so I've just lost, I'm guessing, about 8.5 hours of play time. The game is surprisingly addictive. If I fail in this playthrough, I might just give up.

YIIK is finally beaten. It is not as good as what Nintendo Life said about it in their review, but it is better than what a lot of other people said.

Beaten Owlboy. Twas a fun if kinda frustrating time with this game. (The characters and some of the pixel day and night art were a highlight for me.) but is isn't something I'll be 100% because some of the areas aren't exactly fun to traverse in the second go-around in (the dark cave is a good example) and because you lack a map, it's very easy to get lost. Probably see if there's another ending on YouTube.
8/10

Diggerman.

.19 cents was too hard to resist.
If you like an addictive arcade style digging game while not minding the get more currency timers to buy battery upgrades and more pallete swap characters then go ahead and pick this up.
8/10

Outlast. Enjoyed seeing the blood and mutilated body parts.

Working my way through the Whistleblower DLC.

Doom 3

It was my first go round with the game and the series aside from playing small pieces at a young age of doom 1. I'm also chipping away at doom 2 on switch from time to time.

Doom 3 is one of those games that keeps you on your toes the entire time with zero breaks. It's non stop gunning down hordes of demons and creatures. Oh and if you have arachnophobia, good luck with this game. Giant spiders are constantly crawling of cracks in the floor and walls. All sorts of nasty monsters and demons are popping up all over the place. The lighting in the game is superb and really adds to the creepiness. There was a great variety of enemies which was cool. Some of which were pretty hard to take down. It's an older game obviously so there's not much more i can say about the game that hasn't already been said, but for $10, it's a must buy for anyone who has an inkling they'll like the game. If you like run and gun, resident evil style games, or fps, you'll enjoy this game as it checks all those boxes. It's without a doubt the best game I bought on switch for $10 or less. It's a Shame they're only charging $10 for a game of this quality, but I'm not complaining 😊.

Only real negatives were the fact that i did have 2 crashes. The other is the final boss, the cyber demon is one of the easiest boss fights I've had in a while. It only took me a few tries. I probably shouldn't consider this a negative, but it's just something to make note of that Couldve been better. Maybe the best way to describe it is constructive criticism. He looked great and hellish for sure, but I'm just saying. I shouldn't complain too much considering bael from bloodstained took me far too long from being extremely hard. If I had my pick of extremely hard or pretty easy, I suppose I'd take pretty easy after playing the game for 12 hours or so. By then I'm ready for the credits to roll. Other than that I had zero issues with graphics or frame rate issues that I noticed.

Oh and did I mention it's only $10? 😉
8/10

Just finished Ittle Dew 2+
Not bad little 2D Zelda clone, some parts are pretty hard but once you figure out the paterns not too bad. A few little jokey bits of dialogue too.

Ah well on to Earthlock

Took down My Time at Portia the other day. Loved it. Took me 105 Hours, a few frustrating late day crashes, but really enjoyed the game. Probably still pick it up and play and mess around now that the story is over. Now on to Saints Row!

Just beat Anodyne, which sort of felt a bit like an amateur 2D Zelda (I don't mean this as an insult). On the one hand, it lacked the technical polish and superb world/dungeon design that the 2D Zeldas are known for, but being an indie, it also did a lot of unconventional stuff that you would never see in a Zelda title. It's not the most amazing game ever, but I had a good time with it, and I will be going back in to finish up with collectibles. I'd probably give the game a 7 or 7.5 out of 10.

Beat Mario Tennis Aces Adventure mode.

Pluses.
The opening cutscene where Wario and waluigi are digging.
The story while it's a maguffin hunt with a couple of familar beats, it takes advantage of that narrative limitation by polishing what little story it has to a shine making it a fun adventure. Simple narratives don't have to be boring if you take the time to make it fun.
Fun scenarios like taking out train hiking shy guys via a snowball fight.
The before/after battle script courtesy of the island opponents you meet and ya boy Toad grant a bit of charm and few points of self-awareness on the game. That'll have you at least crack a smile.
The bosses are very fun; Final boss especially.

Plus or minus.
You can clear this with a bit in a couple of hours (probably an afternoon) but I think it works for what it was without feeling bloated. Maybe they can take the template of what's been done in Adventure mode and improve upon it whenever theres a Mario tennis Switch 2.
No Strategic advantage for getting a new racket. A new racket is only stronger than the last one. But it does count for additional lives.

Minuses.
Mario's jump is delayed by a couple of frames so you gotta jump a couple of frames early if you want to have an easier time with the bosses.
This is basically a one and done affair. Especially with what little post game it has.

So its a one and done and it has a simple gameplay loop but you gotta give it to them to make this a fun one. This is worth a play-through.
7.5/10.

Just finished Super Neptunia RPG. My thoughts on the game are kinda a mixed bag. There are some things about it that I really enjoyed, it has all the 4th wall breaking humor, references to other games and gaming culture and anime girls that I would have expected from a Neptunia game and I enjoyed that part quite a bit. From Pokemon parodies to a literal Mario Bros section, it does all of that very well. And it always feels good at the end of an RPG when your characters are totally crazy strong.

In terms of game play however it's not as positive - for a game with a focus on it's 2D nature, it baffles me why we cannot use the D-pad to move in the platforming sections. I can't think of a good reason for this. Also, the break gauge mechanic is utterly broken and non-functional. I beat the entire game without ever having a battle where I even triggered it once - aside from the tutorial. The break gauge is increased by hitting enemies, but everything, even bosses die way before you get even the lowest tier charged. Unless you deliberately use attacks the enemy resists - however doing that makes everything painfully slow because you get an action point penalty for doing that. And this is another issue, because of the way this game handles damage, it is possible to find yourself totally locked out against an enemy if you don't have a type they aren't immune to. Thankfully this is rare - but this just shouldn't be a concern.

Moving on, another issue is a general lack of polish in the game. For starters, on the main menu, selecting load game doesn't have a sound when you press the button, and takes a moment before going to the save game list - and on that list it does not default to your most recent file, simply starting at game 1. Selecting the game has the same problem, you press A and wait a very noticeable 3-4 seconds before the game responds. Once you are in the game, things generally run smoothly - unless you use the speed up button - which can cause the game to soft lock at the end of the battle and happened to me enough that I stopped using it almost entirely for fear of triggering the glitch.

Another issue I didn't like was the use of foreground decoration to hide pits, enemies and items, and enemies being right in your face when you get to a new screen with no time to react. All very annoying.

My final issue was the cut scenes. I am perfectly okay with cut scenes, I even like visual novels which are basically nothing but cut scene... But that content needs to have a purpose, character development, humor, world building, plot, something. I'd estimate at least 40 minutes of the game was spent listening to Neptune talk about eating pudding. We get it. Anyone who plays the Neptunia games knows she loves pudding - you don't need to repeat that joke in every single scene several times! Further, if you're going to have so many cut scenes, animate your characters better! GBA titles had sprites with more animation than these characters did, aside from Neptune I think everyone only had like 4 different animations. And one character consistently started moving before her walk cycle actually began! She just weirdly floated for a moment then moved her legs - repeatedly!

All in all, I had fun playing the game, but I seriously doubt I'll revisit it ever. It just lacks the polish and the creativity to warrant that. If you are a big fan of the Neptunia series, this game is worth a play through, once. It's got the humor and the characters you already know you like. But for anyone else, it's probably not worth going out of your way for. I'd give it a 5 out of 10.

SteamWorld Dig (Wii U)
I played this as part of the physical SteamWorld Collection. This wasn't my first time with the game since I've also played it on the 3DS.

Positives

• The gameplay is equal parts intuitive, relaxing, and addicting for me. It doesn't take long at all to learn the controls and almost never seems unfair. Just a bit more ore, then I'll quit....Just a bit more....
• This game's assets are quite stunning in HD. A lot of care clearly went into the art.
• The residents of Tumbleton, on the whole, are quite interesting to talk to. However, they aren't the meat of the experience.
• I quite like the exploration in this game as you continually mine to deeper depths in search of ore and secrets. To avoid some enemies, hazards, or damaging falls, you have to plan your route to an extent.
• All of the upgrades are useful or fun in their own way, plus they can all be obtained with patience (and if you don't need repaired too often).
• While nothing from the track stuck out too much, it's still an enjoyable sound experience overall. The music definitely fits the Western vibe. I think I like the main theme best.
• It's so, SO satisfying when you use the game's physics to do away with some enemies.
• I enjoyed the secret cave area that served as a clear nod to the Mario franchise. I'm not sure if I missed this when I played the 3DS version, or if it was added later.

Neutral

• I've seen some compare the HD version on various platforms to the 3DS version. In my opinion, both are decent in their own right: One has a nice coat of HD paint, while the other has wonderfully rendered 3D layers that also add to the experience.

Negatives (Mostly small nitpicks)

• I wish some of the Tumbleton residents had been expanded on more personality-wise. While they imparted some useful information, some of them didn't really feel relatable.
• Most of the enemies, on the whole, are fairly easy to deal with or avoid.
• You won't hear this from me often, but I wish the game had been a little longer.
• I feel as though there should have been more boss fights with this game. The end boss fight itself is pretty easy once you know what's up.

I haven't played SteamWorld Dig 2 yet, so it's very possible that some of the above has been addressed there. I had as much fun with this game as on the 3DS, perhaps even more so this time around. It's definitely a fun Metroidvania, though it's a little on the easy and short sides. It's an excellent game to unwind with.

On to SteamWorld Heist!