Topic: Games You Recently Beat?

@N00BiSH

Honestly I never got that criticism of Wonder - when I think 2D Mario, I don't typically think difficult games.

As for art direction - not sure what you mean here, care to give any examples? I personally think it's aged gracefully, one of the best looking 16-bit games of all time.

As for world theming - couldn't disagree with you more tbh. Part of why I love SMW (and Sunshine even) is the strong cohesion in its world. Unlike most Mario games where it feels like you're jumping from the (frankly, now overdone) generic desert world to generic water world, etc., SMW's map actually feels like it could be a real place and stands out for it. But yeah I guess that isn't for everyone.

I agree with this. I've never really heard that as a complaint before. Even the whacky post-game shows cohesion. I was slightly disappointed Wonder didn't feel quite as cohesive as World — one of the few minor quibbles I have with the game.

Environments look fine overall, but the character spritework can be a little inconsistent. A good example is when you first start Chocolate Island 1, which is where you first encounter the Dino-Rhinos, who look like this:

Their incredibly detailed sprite with the colored outlines and stronger values kind of sticks out in comparison with the other enemies, who all mostly stick to simple black outlines with minimal detail, and they're not the only ones, either: Dry Bones and Blaargs are guilty of this too.

Then you have the Koopalings. Larry, Morton, Roy, Iggy and Ludwig all look fine - they stick to a pretty basic design throughout, but then you get to Lemmy and Wendy, who have much cruder sprites in comparison(something that Mario Maker 2 kind of remedied when they were brought in to that title):

Princess Peach has an odd mix - her hair and face are well detailed, but her dress is a few flat colors(SMAS Peach sprite for comparison):

I should stress, none of this ruined the game for me or took me out of it and I fully understand why the visuals turned out the way they did, and all things considered it's still a fine looking game - no argument there. I just thought the oddities in the sprite details were something worth considering.

It's not that I don't think the world isn't cohesive, but I think the smaller pool of level themes kind of deprives the individual levels of any strong visual identity(with some exceptions). You bring up Sunshine, which is interesting because I think that does a better job of conveying a more lived-in space thanks to its stronger commitment to its tropical vacation theme.

@N00BiSH Good analysis. I'm not gonna argue with you here - these are some strange inconsistencies. Tbh I grew up with Super Mario World so the art direction is something I just accept (and adore) for what it is; so probably a lot of my own bias there.

On the world variety - yeah I just think this is preference. Tbh it probably helps that I personally am generally less of a fan of desert / snow worlds in particular, but often like island settings in my games. I do agree that Sunshine overall does a better job of making the world feel "lived in" though...2 generations and 3D exploration plays a strong part in that IMO.

@Buizel In terms of world themes, they don't even have to be deserts and such - they just have to be a more interesting setting to compliment the garden variety grasslands and caves and water and so on - stuff like Tropical Freeze's Juicy Jungle or Wonder's Shining Falls for example - just themes beyond the usual conventions. I mean, given the game takes place in Dinosaur Land, I feel there could've been a lot more dino-themed areas.

All this talk of SM, and with mario day rolling around the corner, I've decided I'm going to replay Wonder and whatever other 2d Mario's I have time for before XCX laughed. As soon as I'm finished with DQ3 wonder is my next stop.

Tokyo Xanadu Ex+
An action/rpg from Falcom. Originally developed for the PS Vita, and it shows. The dungeons themselves are constrained in their size. And the overworld areas are equally as small. A fair graphical comparison is the recent Monster Hunter Stories remaster. The smallish size of the tiles in the dungeon can result in your death if you run into multiple enemies in a hallway.

The combat is quick and responsive. Your given enough offensive abilities to power your way through tougher enemies. Along with several handouts of healing items. The game isn't difficult to power through.

At the beginning I like how the chapters slowly introduced each character in your party. There's even some intrigue with a couple side characters. Unfortunately, the story falls apart at the end. Which is mildly disappointing for a developer known best for their Legend of Heroes franchise.

7/10 - Good characters and combat, but a story that faceplants the ending.

Been playing some of my old consoles on my little crt tv as of late. Just beat Castlevania Curse of Darkness for ps2. I got this one used years ago but never actually beat it, just found it kind of dull and repetitive. Hector still runs way too slow, but for whatever reason it clicked with me this time around. Finding materials to craft new weapons and evolving your innocent devils was oddly addictive. The environments aren’t anything to write home about, but the enemy designs are some of the best in the series. Loved that one boss that’s a zombie with a harpoon riding a giant undead fish monster. The final showdown with Dracula, (oops spoilers;)), is also very badass.

Would love to play Lament of Innocence again, I remember preferring that one, but I sadly no longer have my copy.

I finished Boxboy + Boxgirl. Nice puzzle platformer, and I liked this one as much as the 3DS ones. There were some levels that really had me thinking, lol. I just did the main story.

@NintendoByNature Nice, I just started Axiom Verge 2 recently. From what I played of it, it is a bit different from its predecessor. My first impressions were better with the first game, but I'll still keep plugging away at the second. It's funny you mentioned replaying Wonder since I was thinking of doing the same with Odyssey... maybe I'll start replaying that on Mario Day. It's been a long time since I played it.

@MarioVillager92 first game is far better. 2nd game is just OK. Still a decent time.

I've played way too much of odyssey so I'll be waiting to play that down the road at some point. I really want to play wonder, NSMB ds and wii, as well as NSMB 2 and maybe even yoshis new island this March. Also considering 3d World and Land. Not sure what order other than starting with wonder.

Mario Wonder compares well to the older 2D Mario games overall (although it is far easier than the NES trilogy even if you take the whole lives system out of play, c'mon).

The big distinction is that those games are incredibly old, so their deficiencies are easier to overlook. They were peak 2D platformers in their respective release years. Comparing Mario Wonder to... say... Rayman Legends, or Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, or, hell, Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair, on the other hand...

I'm wondering why we don't get better variety in level design (the Wonder Flower gimmick setpieces don't really count for me), or actually interesting bosses, or better music, or, yes, a more satisfying difficulty curve.

I mean, yes, I'm glad we've left NSMB hell now, finally, but I yearn to see 2D Mario evolve in the same way the 3D games have, which is why those are consistently the best 3D platformers of their respective generations.

It'd be like if every 3D Mario had the same feel and setup as something like Mario 64, only making little iterative changes here or there, and never committing to bold new themes, huge mechanical changes, opening up the level design with new technology, going big with the music, etc.

Honestly, at this point, I still consider the 3D subseries (3D Land/World) to be a better overall evolution of the 2D Mario formula.

I kinda beat Star Wars Roque Squadron for the Nintendo 64 today. I say kinda because the cardridge does not save anymore. It is also not possible to delete saves, because when I try to, the save will be back after a reset. Thankfully the last user beat every level, so I could just select the levels one by one and beat the game. Still it does not feel like an honest playthrough. I think some of the weapons and shields were at least a little bit improved.

It probably was a great game, when it was still new. It must be challenging to go for 100%. Well, I like the game.

Sonic X Shadow Generations (PlayStation 5)
Got the platinum trophy, plus S-ranked everything. It was a nice little challenge at times. I watched playthroughs of Sonic Generations, more than a few times and the game is really as fun as it looked, if not even more. Great vibes and locations in Sonic Generations and very refined and fluid gameplay in Shadow Generations. If the next game can combine those things, it will be so awesome.

Mega Man X8 for the fun of it (screw Sigma’s Spikey House of Death), and then Mega Man 11, Mega Buster only with no usage of the Double Gear system. It was fine until Torch Man’s Freaking Terrifying Forest of Pandamonium. I then proceeded to cruise through the Fortress stages (I still think the Yellow Devil’s a piece of cake). I love that game. Now I’m thinking about replaying Mario Odyssey. Easter isn’t too far away (which also means I won’t be playing Animal Crossing).

Finally put down Snowrunner (Switch) and finished off DKC Returns HD. Really fun game but I still will say Tropical Freeze was superior in my opinion. I collected all the KONG letters and completed all the bonus levels. Those bonus levels are all over the spectrum in difficulty. Some were a bit easier but there was a few that were straight up a b!tch! Still had a lot of fun trying. Unlike what I did with Tropical Freeze I'm not going to collect all the puzzle pieces this time. Not feeling it.

I finished Alone in the Dark on xbox last night. So I'm going to power through DQIII and then start up mario wonder + specter of torment. Both are replays until xcx drops.

A few games recently:
1) The most overrated game of all time (i.e. Mega Man 2)
2) Super Mario Odyssey
3) Mega Man X DiVE Offline

1) Mega Man 2: Holy cow, this game was a nightmare. Glitches, constantly respawning enemies, and invisible blocks that have such awkward patterns, this game has it all. I hate pretty much every stage in this game, except Bubble Man, Metal Man, and maybe Quick Man. The bosses range from pathetic to “I’m joining the army”. Flash Man is a joke, Bubble Man’s not too bad, Air Man’s fine if you damage boost through the Wind projectiles and shoot him up, Wood Man has a stupidly large hit box with his leaves and is really annoying, Heat Man is pretty easy, Crash Man’s a pain, and Quick Man is Quick Man. The Balloon Dragon is a piece of cake, the Block Devil ancestor is a stupid jerk, Guts Tank is easy with the boomerangs, Boobeam Trap is very much a creation of the devil, the Wily Machine is fine if you use the Crash Bombs, and Alien isn’t too hard but is incredibly annoying mainly due to the fact you can only hit damage him with the Bubbles. Soundtrack wise, this game isn’t my favorite. I liked Bubble Man’s theme the most, but the rest were kind of “eh”. The Boss theme is great. Wily Stage 1 is the song that got me into Mega Man in the first place, but it definitely sounds a bit scratchy in some parts. Overall, I hate this game.
2) Super Mario Odyssey: I have not replayed this game enough. Sure, some kingdoms are kind of boring, but most of them are fantastic. The bosses are a bit too easy though. The soundtrack is great for the most part, though the music for the obstacle levels aren’t my favorite, besides the first one and the remixed Super Mario World theme. And the ending still makes me laugh. The scene where Mario and Bowser mourn with each other after getting rejected by Peach will always live rent free in my head. This game is a masterpiece.
3) Mega Man X DiVE Offline: This game is fine, but it can be difficult to recommend due to the fact that it can be incredibly demanding. The gameplay itself is a bit mindless, as you’re just getting from point A to point B while destroying enemies. Sounds typical for a Mega Man game, but that’s pretty much where the similarities gameplay-wise end. The bosses feel the same way as the levels; fighting them is mostly just spamming shots in their face while scrambling around. The story is incredibly confusing, thanks to the deplorable translation. What’s supposed to be the cool thing about this game is that you can play as a bunch of different Mega Man characters… most of this roster is filled with alternate versions of the same characters, not to mention the original characters (ViA is awesome, though). And these characters really aren’t differentiated enough, as each one only gets two unique special attacks. But it doesn’t matter, because Next DiVE Armor X is easily the best character. The soundtrack for this game is mostly lifted from other games, with a few remixes here and there. I’m not gonna be able to fully explain this game here, as it contains a bunch of mechanics, most of which I’m still not sure how they work. Overall, if you want a Mega Man game on your phone, this is the best option. But it definitely isn’t for everybody.
…why do I keep writing such ridiculously long comments?

One more Classicvania is off my list of unfinished CV games, Castlevania The Adventure. It is not a high point of the series for sure, but it is not that bad of a game either

Mega Man X7. I know that game has its problems, but I still enjoyed it. The voice acting is so goofy, but it’s nowhere near as bad as Mega Man 8’s or X4’s. I decided to start fresh, so I didn’t have X/Glide Armor X or fully upgraded characters. The game starts with two cutscenes, setting up the game’s poorly explained plot. After that, time for the intro stage! I got through it with only one death, but it was still tricky since I had to get used to the awkward controls. Once I finished that, I had to sit through another pretty long cutscene and cope with X’s stupid voice and jerkish behavior. I’ll talk more about him later. After that, I was greeted by the stage select screen. I went with Soldier Stonekong first (you’re gonna have to get used to these stupid boss names). I was playing terribly at first, and was constantly dying. Thank God the game still lets you continue from the last checkpoint you reached, even when you get a game over. Eventually, I was able to reach the boss, and… he was pretty easy. I then sat through another cutscene (I don’t remember if they’re skippable or not, I know the boss interactions aren’t for some reason, but I’m not sure about the story ones, but it doesn’t matter for me because I always watch them regardless). I then decided to go for Flame Hyenard (because I like my days having terrible starts). His stage wasn’t too bad, though those annoying satellite beam thingamajigs were a large nuisance. As for Hyenard… “BURN TO THE GROUND!!!” yourself, you stupid mutt. Seriously, it was pretty much impossible to hit him with Axl, and Zero kept getting too close, which led to him constantly getting knocked over (which takes Mario Kart-length intervals to recover from). About half a dozen tries later, I finally managed to beat the annoying buffoon. Another cutscene (one plays after defeating each of the initial 8 bosses) and I decided to stop by… Vanishing Gungaroo’s? Try saying that with a straight face. Seriously. It’s harder than you think. Anyway, the stage is pretty fun to go through (you can find and travel on big mechs), though it does drag on for a bit. I honestly found Gungaroo to be a really fun boss to fight, as you have to constantly run and jump around and try to hit him while dodging his attacks. It’s tough at first, but once you become more prominent at moving the camera, it becomes much more manageable. Tornado Tonion was my next pick, and the stage consists of ascending a corkscrew tower, fighting an annoying mini-boss, ascending another corkscrew tower, and fighting the boss. This stage is very simple and is kind of short, but considering the length of most of the other stages, it’s a nice opportunity for a breather. As for everyone’s favorite Trans- produce item (“I’m a gourd, yeah!”), Tonion was pretty easy. It was just avoiding his tornadoes and metallic peels while shooting him. Nothing too crazy. But his voice is hilarious, and I would be lying if I said I didn’t have a large grin on my face during the whole fight. Off to Splash Warfly’s stage I went. This stage is okay. It has a couple of mini-bosses to fight, but it’s nothing too special. Warfly was a little annoying, as he was constantly jumping into the water, forcing me to wait for him to pop back out so I could smack his stupid insect face with my saber. After that, I went to Snipe Anteater’s stage. This level is not for those easily prone to motion sickness, as it has a cyberspace design and requires you to alternate between running on top of and on the bottom of geometric platforms. Not my favorite stage, and the boss is no better. Anteater is easily the most chaotic boss to fight, even more so than Hyenard, as he progressively summons more drones to fly around and attack you while setting bombs across the cylindrical field. Winged Crowbar was my next target, and his stage, while frustrating at first, is one of my favorites. You start off on an aircraft, an have to navigate by jumping from aircraft to aircraft. It can be tough at first, but once you get used to the physics, it becomes a lot more enjoyable. After that I had to destroy a couple of laser beams and a mini-boss. I then navigated through a large aircraft and made my way to the boss. Like most of the bosses, he wasn’t that hard, but he was a little bit on the annoying side. Once he was scrapped, it was on to the last remaining boss, Ride Boarski. The stage has you in a ride chaser (a hovering jet ski) and requires you to collect a bunch of bombs before they go off. This one was pretty hectic, as there were enemies all over the road, but I managed to get the last bomb literally right before it was too late. Boarski was very annoying, as he wouldn’t stop driving around me, which made him tough to hit. Eventually, I managed to turn him into metallic barbecue. With all 8 members of Red Alert (the group of vigilantes that you’re up against in this game) terminated, it was on to the Crimson Palace stages. The first one was a pain, as I had to run from a giant machine for a long time before finally reaching the palace and destroying the machine. After that, it was on to the second and last stage in the game. This stage is probably the longest stage in the entire Mega Man franchise, and has a length comparable to the finale stages in the later 3D Mario games. You start off in a section where you have to wall jump up walls (sounds funny but that’s what you’re doing) while waiting for conveniently placed boulders to roll down and break so you can move on safely. It was tedious, but I got through without much damage taken. After that, it was time to fight Red, the leader of Red Alert who should’ve showed up more throughout the game because he’s pretty cool. Red was fun to fight, though the camera can make it a bit tough to navigate through the arena. Once Red was beat, the place collapsed and apparently ended Red’s career. Then, it was time to move on… I’m not even going to bother summing up the rest of the level, it goes on for so long. Once I got through that endurance test, it was time for the best part in most Mega Man games, the boss rematches. It was nothing worth talking about, except for a funny (and frustrating) glitch that occurred while fighting Crowbar that left him stuck spiraling in the air for the rest of eternity (or at least until I jumped off the stage and died, resetting the fight). After that, it was time to fight the despicable villain herself, Mrs Nesbitt (who is commonly mistaken for Buzz Lightyear). Nesbitt’s first phase was annoying at first, until I realized that I could avoid most of her shots by crouching behind a glass platform on the floor. Her second phase was incredibly tedious, as she had such a large amount of health and was usually too far away for me to hit. But after a bunch of game overs, I finally took her down. Another cutscene plays, where Axl launches Nesbitt out of a window (maybe it was Buzz Lightyear, actually). Anyway, X refuses to make Axl a hunter, and the credits roll. This game is often considered to be the worst Mega Man game… I seriously have no idea how that can be. There are so many other Mega Man games that are worse than this, X6 obviously, but even Mega Man 2 is, imo, worse than this. Sure, this game is slow and clunky, and it has bad voice acting, and it has some really annoying moments, and the stages are pretty long. But, the game has a pretty good soundtrack, is still functional, is unique compared to most other Mega Man games, has a ton of charm, and, overall, is just pretty fun to play through, at least with enough patience. But what this game does that cannot be redeemed is it’s terrible characterization of X. He is such an arrogant jerk, and is very whiny during the cutscenes. And he’s not even available to play as at the start. Seriously, I know this game is mainly about Axl, but then why bother making it a Mega Man X game? It should’ve been the start of a brand new series. But, at the end of the day, I still like this game… there, I officially admit to being insane.
(my word this was way too long)

Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake (PlayStation 5)
I love it! Easy to see now, how this game became a phenomenon in Japan. It is impressive, how much fun a classic JRPG can be, with some quality of life improvements. A beautiful game, with beautiful music. I feel like trying the hardest difficulty and going for the platinum trophy. Will definetely get I+II when it releases. Thanks Square Enix, your game made me happy.