Topic: Games You Recently Beat?

I wrapped up Mole Mania on the 3DS VC yesterday evening. Definitely a fun action puzzle game and an underrated Miyamoto gem. The player digs around and solves puzzles as Muddy Mole, who is trying to rescue his wife and seven kids from the evil farmer Jinbe. There are all sorts of objects to push and pull around, hazards and enemies to navigate, and secrets to find. An underground area to dig through adds a literal layer to each puzzle and can help make or break if the screen needs reset or not. I was surprised at how difficult the game becomes in later levels, but the challenge was certainly appreciated.

Definitely one for puzzle aficionados and for those looking for something different.

Just beat Mega Man 3 for the first time!

I'm not quite sure what to say about it yet honestly. It's got some absolutely terrible level/boss design moments and the Wily Stages made me want to curl up in a ball and cry with how ludicrous some of the things it was asking me to do were.

And yet....despite all of the pain, suffering and agony I suffered throughout those stretches....it's probably my favourite of the original three. It's got issues, undoubtedly so, but god did it more than make up for it with the sheer across-the-board improvement to spritework, control/physics, music, level/boss theming and the way it was never afraid to take risks with the Mega Man formula, good or bad. I went into 3 with very low expectations since it always seemed to be the awkward middle child of the first three entries: 2 is beloved, 1 is derided and 3 just kind of exists was the sentiment I always saw online. After playing it though? I concur with @Tasuki : Mega Man 3 (to pardon the pun) absolutely rocks.

@Fizza Yeah alot of people consider 2 the top of the mountain but I always enjoyed 3 alot more. The Wily stages never gave me a problem the ones I always hated were the Doc Robot stages. Even the Wily fight I found really easy especially if you use the Top Spin.

Glad to hear you enjoyed it so, you going to go on to Mega Man 4 now??

Yeah the Doc Robot stages were painful (especially when if you die to the first one, you go all the way back to the start of the stage) but I don't think I'll ever be able to recapture the look of absolute anguish that spread across my face when I recognised the Yellow Devil boss room.

Still really enjoyed my time overall though like I said and, although I think 2 and 3 are both 8 out of 10's for different reasons, I'd definitely say I prefer 3 overall

ABSOLUTELY NOT. I've greatly enjoyed my time so far with the classic series, but I'm definitely starting to feel a bit burnt out after playing 3 very similar games back to back to back. For the time being, I'm probably going to move on to either a game from my backlog (Paper Mario, Skyward Sword HD, etc.) or, the far more exciting option, get some new games for my newly found Wii from about a decade ago. Got Mario Galaxy 2 and Zack & Wiki lined up already with games like Punch Out, Warioware Smooth Moves and Madworld not far behind! 😁

I finished Kirby: Planet Robobot not too long ago. It's a fantastic game for sure, and it's easily the best Kirby game on the 3DS. As I've said before, the mech is so much fun to use throughout the levels, and it's got some very solid level design as well. I've acquired all the Code Cubes, too.

If you ever want to get around to MM 4-6

4 is great and has some great music, great mix of weapons, and is challenging. Not "pull your hair out" challenging like 2 is. 4 feels like MM2, if they streamlined it for efficiency.

5 feels like a drag. The weapons you get, IMO, are the weirdest combination of weapons across MM 1-6. Darkman stages and bosses are extraordinarily forgettable. It was kind of boring. The only standout memory I have of the game--and not in a good way--is THAT Crystal Man section. Also, why is THAT stage so long?!

6 is...really easy. Its music is a step up from 5, but nothing in the game felt like a challenge. Just don't do what I did and walk into MM6 thinking that they took in all the feedback from 1-5 and put it all together for one last massive hurrah on the NES. Like, you could be on painkillers and beat the game comfortably.

Completed Ori and the Will of the Wisps after picking it up at ~70% off in a sale.

General consensus holds that it’s a really well designed and brilliantly executed game.

And is it.

I just didn’t like it very much.

Despite the fluid controls, excellent animation, solid level design and general polish, I simply couldn’t find it… likeable. It feels great to interact with, but the story/music/writing/character design — everything that isn’t running, jumping and smashing things — just feels nauseatingly twee and unapologetically ‘on the nose’.

There isn’t a single drop of subtlety to it. It basically feels like a response to a brief. A really, really competent response — pretty much full marks across the board — but lacking in its own vision and identity. It’s not wierd, or funny, or upsetting, or quirky, or genuinely moving. And to be fair, there’s no reason it should have to be; many games that involve running and jumping from side to side have threadbare plots/character development and don’t suffer at all for it. But the game hoists its story and characters upon you, and it’s strangely annoying seeing how much obvious effort and talent has been expended to create something so… insipid. It feels like there’s more personality in just one of Mario’s eyebrows than every Ori character put together.

I was going to compare it to a Marvel movie, in that it’s a safe, well-made, carefully focus-grouped product designed to appeal to as many (and offend as few) people as possible — but I’ve actually enjoyed a few Marvel movies in my time, and it feels unfair to say they’re universally bereft of wit, quirk and self-awareness. (I’m also fairly sure they’ve pissed more than a few people off along the way.) Perhaps Avatar would be a better comparison: undeniably an impressive creation, but a little too long and — in spite of all the colour — somehow numbingly bland as a piece of storytelling.

But err, yeah… It’s a good game, all the same. I just wish I liked it more.

@Maxz I felt similar about the original. I couldn't shake the feeling that it was a high-budget, well-made game that I...just wasn't into, for whatever reason. It felt like the game was trying to make me feel many things that I just ended up not really feeling.

Just finished Little Nightmares II ... it was better than the first one!

Beat Mario & Luigi: Bowsers Inside Story (remake) again. It’s just as good and fun as I remember it being. My only con is that the final area has a good amount of padding in it, but other than that everything is perfect. Probably the best Mario & Luigi game.

Just beat EarthBound Beginnings for the second time. It's pretty good, encounter rate is as wack as everyone says, though.

Commemorated the first (of many) visits to the Game Boy NSO app by both starting and beating Kirby's Dream Land!

Not too much to say about this one honestly. Despite being exceptionally short (took me approximately 32 minutes to beat it) and completely eclipsed by later entries, there's still a lot of stuff here that was and still is very impressive such as the spritework and music. Going to tackle Extra Mode in my own time later on but as a first ever Game Boy game? I don't think I could've picked a better starter

Yesterday i Beat "Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart" and i also recently beat Goldeneye on Xbox, on Agent, i like my games easy i'm in it for the ride not the challenge, i am in the middle of playing LEGO LORD OF THE RINGS on Xbox SX and i am loving it so far, it has the dialogue from the movies and the music too, hope to finish it soon and after that i don't know what i'll play, maybe the original Jak & Daxter, or some Medievil Remastered, there are a lot of good games on my hard drive, i just need time to play them all !!!!

Hi Fi Rush on series S. 10/10.

I wrapped up Chicory: A Colorful Tale earlier this week on Switch. I knew this game was lauded by many, but I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did. In terms of puzzles and some of its perspectives, it reminds me of top-down/2D Zelda games. It certainly has some fun puzzle mechanics, interesting characters, tackles some heavy themes (Some examples: depression, Imposter Syndrome), unique paint mechanics (Have fun painting all the things!...Though it isn't necessary), plenty of areas to explore, and some decent side content. Probably my only complaint would be that the game seemed to drag on at bits, and I did get stuck once. Thankfully, there are phone booths to help out.

Definitely one for those who like exploring, games that can push one to be creative, and/or folks just wanting something a bit different. It's pretty telling when it was a GotY contender for more than a few back in 2021; in fact, it won that award on Destructoid.

Woohoo...!
I finished Pokemon Violet just now, after 8 days in a row I played that game. 😃
The storyline was surprisingly changed my perception about Pokemon games with same formula from previous version.

It was different from previous gen Pokemon so I saw some improvement in QoL and the storyline plot. The thing that made me shocked was the truth inside Area Zero. The ending was kinda bittersweet but it was good.
I still gave the score 6 / 10 for terrible graphic environments and animation from far away.

@Anti-Matter but without the problems what would you give it? Like the new Pokemon, Characters, Gameplay.

@Kermit1
New Pokemons model in Paldea region was kinda back to basic, not too many weird looking Pokemons. The Paradox model was kinda cool, I prefer the Future model than the Ancient model since I played Pokemon Violet.

The character design.... There were a lot of weirdos over there, the gym leaders and the Team Star leaders with bunch of weird hairstyle and weird outfits. The only the best character design in Pokemon Violet in my opinion was Professor Turo and I was shocked to see the truth of him.

Gameplay in Pokemon Violet was a huge improvement if compared with Pokemon SwordSword. Now you can set the skills that have been forgotten, something that never done before from previous games. The TM crafting was kinda creative but looking for certain ingredients was kinda hard as I might haven't meet certain Pokemons. The freedom to choose which things to be finished first (Gym leader, Titan Pokemons, Team Star) was pretty flexible but it was also pretty risky if you have no idea with their level.

Arcade Paradise

Rolled the credits last week. As a person who grew up playing cabinets at local bowling alleys, pizza places, or arcades in the late 70's to early 90's...Arcade Paradise spoke to me on a personal level. The game oozes nostalgia for those familiar with quarter-munching experiences. If you're like me and you have a lot of love for that place in time, don't skip this game.

I beat Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies on 3DS. I got through every case and the extra DLC case. After beating it, I'm surprised that so many people consider it to be one of the weakest in the series. Here's what I liked, and what I was a little lukewarm on.

Story: So overall, I think Dual Destinies' story is great. While the cases are generally not connected to each other, aside from the last 2 cases, I think the isolated stories themselves are very fun and intriguing. And the reveal of The Phantom was really great. I kind of saw it coming, but it was still really cool to see go down. Also, both Blackquill and Athena are incredible characters. Both of them REALLY shine in the last two cases, and I'm super excited to play Spirit of Justice to see where their characters go from here. This game doesn't have a sprawling, overarching story like T&T or TGAA, but in that way, it's pretty similar to the first game, so it's not really too much of a downside.

Gameplay: So far, Dual Destinies has had the best-feeling gameplay in the entire series. Investigations feel incredibly streamlined, cross-examinations don't feel as confusing, and the added features such as the mood matrix and the case breakdown that happens toward the end of a trial are great. It's pretty impressive that with this being their first 3D game it feels as snappy and fast-paced as it does.

Graphics: So I gotta give Capcom props for having a really smooth transition into 3D. For the most part, the environments are great, the UI is very polished, and the new character designs are fantastic. All of that's good. But I do have to complain about some of the returning character designs a bit. I understand that this game takes place like 8 years after T&T, however, characters like Phoenix, Edgeworth, and Klavier hardly even look like the same characters. They all look just so much older, and in some ways lose a lot of detail that was present in the 2D sprites. You get used to it after a while, but it's just something I noticed and I hope that Spirit of Justice smooths things out a bit more.

Music: So far, every Ace Attorney game I've played has had a banger soundtrack, even Investigations 1, and Dual Destinies is no different. It deserves props from its Pursuit theme alone. https://youtu.be/JpTQ7fr2yeM
But there are some great character themes as well. Athena's and Apollo's come to mind for sure, and Blackquill and Fullbright have great themes too. A great soundtrack through and through, but I have heard that Spirit of Justice even improves some of the songs from this game. So I'm interested in that.

Conclusion: All in all, I think Dual Destinies is a great game. I can sort of see where people are coming from when they say that this isn't one of the stronger games in the series, however, I don't think it's bad by any means; it's a great game. I had a blast the whole way through with hardly any downtime, aside from a few drawn-out investigations. I really hope these games get ported to modern consoles because people really need to try the second trilogy out of what I've played so far.

8/10 Great