Topic: Games You Recently Beat?

Erica

Platform: PS4

Playthroughs: 2

Erica is what is known as an FMV game, where footage of real actors is combined with light adventure game mechanics. I've never played one, so when this became available via PSPlus, I thought it was a good opportunity to expand my horizons a bit.

Erica is a decent speculative horror tale that follows the daughter of a brutally murdered researcher who begins receiving grotesque 'gifts' in the mail, perhaps from her father's own killer. She's moved by the police to Delphi House, the mental care facility where her father previously worked, but it quickly becomes clear that not everything is right in paradise.

The "game," if it can be called that, largely plays out in a similar manner regardless of what is chosen until the very end of the game. Erica plays out largely as a live-action movie with brief elements of interactivity sprinkled throughout to keep the player invested.

Erica is a playlink-compatible title that allows the player to use their smartphone as a touch screen controller, which is a bit more intuitive than controlling the entire game via the DS4's touchpad. The player makes simple motions and gestures to unlock doors, open drawers, and whatnot throughout the experience. The player will also be able to drag their finger around like a stylus to point Erica toward an interactive vector in the environment.

I enjoyed my time with this title, although I don't know how much it has sold me on FMV games are a concept. There are no NG+ features to help with replayability. Even if this game is short, it's irritating to sit through the same scenes over and over to try and find new endings and moments of interactivity. Additionally, the quality of the acting is very forced, taking away from the filmic quality of the production. I can't help but feel this would have been a better overall product as a film with better acting, less filler, and a stronger narrative push toward a particular ending.

***

Mega Man 9

Platform: Nintendo Switch (via Mega Man Legacy Collection 2)

Playthroughs: 1.5

Mega Man 9 was the glorious return of the Blue Bomber after twelve years of dormancy. This entry, along with Mega Man 10, was created by the often brilliant talents at Inti-Creates (a name you should keep close to your heart if you like retro-style games; after all, they created the Mega Man Zero and ZX games as well, along with Blaster Master Zero/Zero-II, the Azure Striker Gunvolt games, Mighty Gunvolt Burst, and the brilliant spinoff classicvania Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon), who took more than a little inspiration from the acclaimed Mega Man 2.

Mega Man 9 is very close to MM2 in a variety of ways: from how some of the weapons work (the Plug Ball, for example, bears a striking resemblance in terms of how it can be used to MM2's Bubble Lead, as well as it being the primary weakness of the last boss' final form, also like in MM2), to the streamlined structure of the game itself (eight stages, a small handful of Wily Castle stages, rematches against the robot masters you fought earlier, and then on to the final boss), to Mega Man's limited moveset (as in MM2, you merely run and jump; no charge shot or sliding for Mega Man, which were innovations introduced in the third and fourth NES games). Even certain setpieces recalll that Capcom classic. With that said, "borrowing" elements from one of the best action platformers ever made is not necessarily a bad thing, and, IMO, Mega Man 9 is the strongest game in the series overall since the original NES trilogy

There are differences, of course: the in-game narrative is actually presented throughout with cute, brief cutscenes instead of relegating story to a series of screens at the very start and very ending of the game. Although, and this might seem like anathema to certain hardcore Mega Man fans, story doesn't really matter in any of these. There's also an in-game store that you can buy items from, akin to other later games in the series.

Mega Man 9 also has a series of built in trophies to clear, challenges to complete that were added to the Legacy Collection, multiple additional difficulty modes, and, most notably, a Proto Man Mode, which, obviously, allows you to play the game again as Proto Man. Unlike Mega Man, he's actually able to slide and charge his buster weapon, meaning he controls like MM did in 4 - 6. So there's quite a bit here to dig into.

@JoeDiddley Yeah, the pacing of the S;G anime is largely the same. Kind of glacial first half that slowly builds up to a shocking and engaging second half. It's probably one of my favorite time-travel narratives overall.

I've thought about getting S;G0 for years, but I think I want to wait for an Elite version of that game.

If you're interested, another Science Adventure property, Robotics;Notes Elite and its sequel, are releasing on Switch this year. It's in the same universe as S;G, and certain characters even reappear.

Ghost Blade HD

Indie developed shmups feel like a dime a dozen these day. But the game plays well enough, minus some slowdown when the screen becomes cluttered. And I really enjoy this game's music more than some other shmups of a similar quality. My 20-minute playthrough was great, enjoyable enough to do it again at some point.

7/10 - An above-average shmup with a unique soundtrack.

Blazing Chrome

I don't understand the hype that surrounded this one. I think I placed my expectations too high before playing it? It's a competent homage to the run'n'gun genre (Contra, Midnight Resistance, etc.). The gameplay is fine, but the overall experience felt pedestrian. It's the music I blame. If you're trying to be like Contra, you need to lay down a fierce music track right from the get-go, not almost put me to sleep.

6/10 - A good run'n'gunner. It's too bad we couldn't get some serious metal in here like good olde Contra.

@Tyranexx Ah, you finished Inside. I loved the blast waves near the end

A Hat in Time

Imaginative, funny, and occassionally janky. The game peaks way too early. By the time I reached the natural last chapters, dlc chapters, and death wish challenges I was kind of sick of it. Between the camera and the controls I had a lot of trouble with the harder challenges. I managed to get all the timepieces and about 40 deathwish tokens.

I would still recommend the game. I didn't enjoy it as much as Mario Odyssey, but it when it was on-point it was fantastic. Just don't bother getting everything.

@baller98 I played it post-update, so I'm not sure what was improved. However, what I did notice was:

-Long load times. Annoyingly long when I had to retry things.
-Framerate stutters occassionally, but nothing too bad. The game does freeze for a second during busy scenes. I noticed this happening at least a dozen times during my playthrough.
-At least two dash crashes during my 30+ hour playthrough (I take way too long to finish games).
-It's kind of ugly. Little jaggy, little muddy. The art style and character charm shine through regardless.

Marathoning through multiple SMT and Persona games to prepare for Nocturne remastered. I'm about 30 ish hours into P2 Innocent Sin and just got to the Last Battalion base on Mt. Katatsumuri. After Innocent Sin and Eternal Punishment I'll be doing P3P on my PS Vita, as well as Persona 4 Golden on Steam in addition to emulating Nocturne, the Raidou games and DDS

Finished Rayman Redemption. I've never actually beaten the original Rayman, so I don't know how different the end of this is. But this was great. It's not quite AM2R but its even harder to tell its fan made based purely on the game itself. If someone said this was a Ubisoft made game, I'd believe it (until the credits anyway :V).

@Ralizah I’m more drawn to original art than Elite but I’ve not tried both to know for sure. That’s what I opted for with Steins Gate anyway. I’m a fast reader so I assumed I could go more at my own pace.

I do want to get around to other games in this series eventually. But I have Danganronpa V3, Zero Escape VLR and the Ace Attorney Trilogy in my backlog first.

Some FMV games offer at least a few significant choices, although those have to be rather limited, @Ralizah .... Then, most allow you to skip through the scenes you've seen before on a replay, which helps a lot

Finished up 2064: Read only Memories. It was a lot more visual novel and less point-and-click adventure than I thought it was going to be, but it was pretty good. Not sure about the twist ending. I don't think it had much of an impact because the character involved wasn't too important up to that point so the awe factor wasn't what it could have been.

@JoeDiddley Well, definitely get to those first, then. VLR, DRV3, and the first and third AA games are some of my all-time favorite experiences. I kinda envy you: I wish I could experience them for the first time again.

@Ralizah you’ve got me excited!

I know what you mean feeling that way.

@WoomyNNYes The blast wave sequence was fun!...and very punishing. There were some unique solutions to make it through that area.

Pac-Man Championship Edition Demake

Exclusive to the recently released Namcot Collection / Namco Museum Archive Vol 1. I'm not sure if a game that only has a score attack qualifies as a game that can be beaten? But just playing a round is short, sweet, and exhilarating. Of course you get ten other NES games with the collection, but those take a backseat to this glorious version of Pac-Man.

I just finished Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definite Edition.

Next is Pokemon Sword Expansion

I finished paper Mario origami king for 100% took me around 55+ hours.
Game is great.

@Losermagnet Regarding A Hat in Time, do I need to complete the Time Rift challenges to advance & complete the game? One of these rift challenges where you have to traverse all the floating white blocks with the parade band following, was pretty rough, couldnt tell where to go many times.😠😢😭😥

I just finished DKC 2

Finishing up Color splash now before I get origami king

Yo-Kai Watch 2: Fleshy Souls (3DS)

This one is an interesting, albeit gimmicky monster-catching RPG series from Level-5 that was quite popular in Japan for some time; the concept is based off of Japan's yokai folklore. Yo-Kai in this universe are spirits/beings responsible for life's daily problems and other occurrences. True to the Pokemon approach, this game has a twin (Bony Spirits) and an enhanced "third" version that compliments them both (Psychic Specters). There are certainly some improvements from the first game, but not quite enough to call this version "#2" IMO.

While each series has its own identity, there will be a couple of Pokemon comparisons here.

Positives

• As with many Level-5 games, the presentation here is vibrant and colorful. Rooms, buildings, and other locations are for the most part unique and have had a ton of detail put into them. The 3D effect, while not essential, is definitely put to good use. I highly recommend using it if possible!
• Some areas are recycled (understandable as this is the same town as the first game), but there are plenty of new ones too.
• The plot this time around is less episodic than the first entry for the most part; there is an overarching narrative. It doesn't stray too far from the stereotypical "bad stuff happens, save the world!" concept, but some of the plot details are certainly intriguing. This is all counterbalanced by some odd, silly moments.
• Much of the writing is entertaining, and many characterizations (such as with your self-proclaimed companion/Yo-Kai butler, Whisper) are more in line with the anime this time around. The game also exhibits some rare self-awareness and tests the fourth wall. Don't go in expecting something TOO serious.
• To go along with the above, many of the side quests also have some interesting, silly, and/or unique story lines that make many of them worth seeking out.
• Much of the music is recycled from the previous game and the anime, but this also makes many of the soundtracks recognizable and enjoyable. Some of the boss music (particularly for the final battle) is catchy IMO.
• There are over 400 Yo-Kai (though some are palette swaps with different names) and a lot of bugs, fish, and items to collect; completionists will have a field day.
• There are a ton of other extras outside of the main game, such as locating Baffle Boards (riddles where you guess/input the name of a Yo-Kai, then summon the correct one when you recruit it to that location), Gates of Whimsy (odd, random doors that can be found in the overworld with different functions, though most are battle rooms) from which you obtain Gate Globes, and a mode (with the Version 2.0 update) that makes the original Yo-Kai Watch: Blasters game playable. Just to name a few.
• As with the first Yo-Kai Watch, there's a good chunk of post-game content. Such as reaching S Rank with the Yo-Kai Watch and discovering/visiting the Infinite Inferno.

Neutral

• I didn't mind the battle system the first time around, but it's almost TOO random. What a Yo-Kai does in battle is completely by will, outside of setting their target (if multiple enemy Yo-Kai are on the field), moving the wheel on the touch screen to rotate three Yo-Kai in at a time (up to six Yo-Kai can be set on the wheel) and their Soultimate attacks; the latter are activated by playing a mini-game of sorts using the touch screen. The stylus is best for this, but many of these moves can be pulled off with buttons as well. In normal fights, the clunky battle system isn't much, but it does shine somewhat in boss fights; this is where the true strategy lies. You can manipulate the natures of Yo-Kai using items (such as giving a Yo-kai a Tender nature to make them more likely to heal party members), but these also aren't 100% foolproof.
• Yo-Kai recruitment isn't quite as finicky in this game, but it's still pretty random at times. The player can increase their chances by feeding an enemy Yo-Kai their favorite food and by having certain Yo-Kai in their party to bolster their odds, but this is still very RNG reliant. I spent well over an hour trying to recruit one Yo-Kai to finish a side quest and had no problems getting a few others without trying.
• I'm...not sure what to think about riding the train. It's a novelty to ride the train in real-time (game-wise) the first time around, but after that it gets old and boring fast. This becomes much less of an issue after fast travel is unlocked.
• The game's difficulty is a bit on the easy side...up until the final boss sequences. Then there's a significant difficulty spike. I get this is a game aimed at kids, but if so...shouldn't this progression have been more gradual?

Negatives/Nitpicks

• The big one for me: I get it, some aspects of Japanese culture need to be localized for audiences who may not fully understand some concepts. To an extent, I'm not against localization. But it's extremely hard, with the game's setting, to sell the fact that "Springdale" is set in America. Between shrines, the abundance of Japanese foods such as rice balls and mochi, the styles of some buildings, and the use of a "$1" coin for a gashapon machine/Crank-A-Kai (Such coins do exist in the USA, but they aren't commonly used) in the opening act, there HAD to be a better way of handling this.
• While I enjoyed many of the side quests, it was a mild annoyance to have to do a certain amount of plot-related ones (usually related, but not always) before the story could advance.
• Actually locating a Yo-Kai, once its general location is pinpointed, is an annoying pain sometimes.

Overall, I recommend this game to series fans, collect-a-thon lovers, or to anyone who's looking for a unique, monster catching RPG that isn't Pokemon. I'd argue that its story and amount of side content blasts more recent Pokemon entries out of the water. Odd difficulty spike near the end aside, the game is relatively easy, and the battle system isn't for everyone. There is a ton of meat to this game, and much of it (outside of introductory quests earlier on) is fully optional. I've logged about 45 hours on my save file and do plan on doing a bit of the post-game content and cleaning up some loose ends.

@WoomyNNYes I'm pretty sure they weren't required. I believe they were extra time pieces and had no bearing on the story chapters. However, the pink time rifts have the story book pages, which will provide a little insight on the characters. They aren't required either, it's really up to you if you want to collect those.

That mission you referenced is a pain. Dead Bird Studios was my favorite section, EXCEPT THAT PART. Having to restart the whole thing after failing was so frustrating.