MontyCircus

Our family motto is: "LG? Not even if it's free."

A while ago I googled for lists of the best Sega Genesis games. I looked for long lists each at least 50 games long, that were ranked. I assigned points based on rank and added them all up. I was left with 16 lists, 396 unique games and 1,465 total entries.

Lunar: Eternal Blue / Lunar 2 ended up the #53 best Sega Genesis game.
Lunar: The Silver Star ended up the #90 best Sega Genesis game.

And keep in mind, that on some of the lists (perhaps less than half of the lists I surveyed?) included Sega CD games at all. Which means among lists that included Sega CD games, they would both easily make the top 40 or even higher.

Getting from last week:

• Rift of the NecroDancer (rated "Overwhelmingly Positive" by over 2,600 users on Steam)
• SaGa Frontier 2 Remastered

Getting from this week:

• Arcade Archives ASSAULT PLUS (this enhanced version relased outside of Japan for the first time I believe)
• Monument Valley I & II (award winning mobile games)

So...the TV Edition...I'm assuming the camera modes are only for online play?

I mean, you can't have 3 friends in the same room, locally, and have the camera accommodate all of you at the same time right?

I assumed it would be for solo gamers playing online with friends? Just like the video chat function?

"Is $80 for Mario Kart World too much?"

I would click "Yes, but I'm still going to buy it..."

Honestly, this is all pretty shocking sticker shock. I will be much more choosy with my Switch 2 purchases compared to what I'm used to for Switch 1. So, I'll be skipping a lot of smaller indie games I think, and sticking mostly to the big AAA games.

I heard someone say about the FFVII remake trilogy:

"3 games released 12 years apart, on 3 different consoles. Yeah...maybe let's not do this again..."

"Hogwarts Legacy broke a 14-year streak of Call of Duty dominating the sales charts, becoming the best-selling game of 2023."

It would be silly not to make it available in its proper form on Switch 2. I didn't get it on Switch, but easy purchase for me on S2.

So, to recap, this movie, that will "not be like Lord of the Rings", will be a fantasy trilogy shot in New Zealand back-to-back-to-back.

So to recap:

• There will be plenty of Switch 2s for everyone, and pre-orders will start the day of the Direct.
• Also, Switch 2s will sell out immediately, when pre-orders start a week after the Direct.

Will get:

• Arcade Archives SENKYU (a falling puzzle piece game)
• Blue Wednesday (a musical visual novel adventure game)
  Already have it on GOG, it's double-dipping time!:
• I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream (a great psychological horror adventure game)

My Visa is ready.

There are 3 games here that aren't in the Arcade Classics Collection:

• Gradius III (a solo Arcade Archives release)
• Salamander 2
• Salamander III

Yeah, there's a lot of overlap, but 2 games new to Switch.

This is the worst Direct I've ever seen.
I think I've been more impressed even by all the indie directs.
Most any game interesting has already been revealed before.

I added the Patapon 1+2 Replay and Gradius Origins to my wishlist. That's it.

In the end I'll probably end up buying a bunch more, but not sold on much anything else that was newly shown.

I'm calling it now: Super Soccer HD Deluxe Remastered

I think I read that now you can change the name of your leader, etc. to whatever you want.

That's a fun opportunity for silliness.

Bought Day 1:

• Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition
• Assault Suit Leynos 2 Saturn Tribute

Will buy:

• Arcade Archives Juno FIRST

Will buy if the Switch performance improves?:

• Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & The Envisioned Land

Anticipating because I love the genre, but I skipped the original:

• Gal Guardians: Servants of the Dark

One weekend my buddies and I rented Nobunaga's Ambition for NES.

It did not come with instructions.

So we fumbled along. When we figured out the rice planting and harvesting seasons, things really got cooking.

Never played the SNES version. I like that the tune is the same.

I'm sure Uncharted Waters will be the best game titled New Horizons that I've ever played.

You might be asking yourself: "Who is buying a Switch in late March 2025??"

I was at GameStop today in Canada (buying Xenoblade X naturally). An older couple came in and said: "How can we play Game Boy?"

The employees started explaining the Switch to them. "You want a Switch, that's the red box right there."

@Riverlution

Yup

Although Gold Points are being phased out, Nintendo has clarified they can still be redeemed for a maximum of 12 months after you've earned them

...Already Getting A Director's Cut...

Anger builds! This is Shin Megami Tensei V Vengeance all over again!!

The good news is this will be an update to the existing game, so if you've already downloaded a copy from the eShop you'll apparently be ready to go when the Director's Cut arrives on 15th April 2025.

Knights Peak and Vea Games...we salute you!

I've been saying it, I predict that GameCube, Wii, DS, 3DS (maybe Saturn, Dreamcast) libraries will be added to the NSO2, only available on Switch 2, to get people to want the new console.

I'm interested in the original arcade game, I believe it was a Japan arcade exclusive.

Getting:

• Expelled!
• One Btn Bosses (already have it on Steam, it's double-dippin' time!)

Really light week.

@Member_the_game

Always a pleasure to meet another docked gamer!
55" TV screen > 6" Switch screen

What am I going to do? Whip out my Switch for 5 minutes of gaming at the doctor's office waiting room?

Depends on the criteria. I think this is a "most fun to play today" type of list.

But if you're asking for "most-important, most revolutionary"? Then it's SMB1 or 64.

NL users (that's you and me!) rate:

Mario's Picross the #9 Best Game Boy Game
Donkey Kong the #3 Best Game Boy Game (behind only Link's Awakening and Tetris)

Getting:

• Suikoden I & II HD Remaster: Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars (PS1 Classics!)
• Ever 17 - The Out of Infinity (very well-regarded visual novel from a long time ago)
• Sorry We're Closed (Rated "Overwhelmingly Positive" by Steam users, the highest possible rating; and a "9" from NL)

Already have:

• Arcade Archives DEAD CONNECTION (in the Taito Milestones 3 collection)

Looks cool, but want some reviews:

• Beyond the Ice Palace 2

@Mana_Knight

I'm not even defending Nintendo, I don't think the "average of all your games" is very useful.

In 1995, Square released Chrono Trigger, Secret of Evermore, and Trials of Mana / Seiken Densetsu 3.

Does anyone care if they made a dozen or two dozen flops that year? No! It's irrelevant. It's a fantastic Square year!

Or to put it another way, you might hear someone say "the '80s were a great time for action movies!"

Would someone then start listing all the bad '80s action movies? Who cares? They were ignored then and forgotten now.

When evaluating gaming companies, we remember the "hits".

In 2017 Nintendo released Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey.

Would anyone care to be pointed out if they also released a dozen other forgettable games that year? That doesn't make those 2 game any less awesome.

We remember developers and publishers for their "hits", and ignore their misses. I would rather MetaCritic say...tally up their "85+" score games released, maybe bonus points for "90+" and "95+". That would better reflect what they have contributed to our industry.

GameFaqs did a poll of the 100 Best PS1 Games of All Time. There were a few hundred respondents.

Suikoden finished #18
Suikoden II finished #10

@Solomon_Rambling

I have:

• 35 Neo Geo games (and a dozen more on my wishlist).
• The Arcade Classics Anniversary Collection of Konami shmups
• All 3 Taito Milestones collections

I'm too lazy to tell you at the minute how many Arcade Archives releases I have. But it's lots.

NL users (that's you and me!) rank Super Soccer the #58 best SNES game on the NSO (out of 70).

I found a Ranker.com list where nearly 700 people ranked the SNES soccer games.
Out of 36 games, Super Soccer ranked #3, behind only International Superstar Soccer and its Deluxe sequel.

@zockermiller

I check DekuDeals, and at least here in Canada, nearly all games are only available digitally. Here are the last bunch I've been interested in:

• Sorry, We're Closed
• Star of Providence
• Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog
• Momodora: Moonlit Farewell
• Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector
• Laika: Aged Through Blood
• Robobeat
• Turbo Overkill

That's a whole month of games. None available at retail in Canada. Maybe somewhere, in some far-flung country they're available, but they're all the same to me as all-digital.

NL users (that's you and me!) rank Super Soccer the #58 best SNES game on the NSO (out of 70).

That puts it in the bottom 20% of choices available.

@zockermiller

Aren't like...80% of games digital-only?

THAT is how you use a license!
Stages ripped directly from the scenes from the film.

I don't usually wishlist games without reviews...but this is an exception.

Getting as long as it's a good port:

• Glover

Looking at with interest but waiting for reviews:

• Everhood 2
• Freddy Farmer (it's one those "one-screen" early-'80s-style games, which I have a nostalgic soft spot for)

You're assuming Xbox will make another console. I think the Series X/S is their Dreamcast.

I'll probably keep it. Probably wouldn't be worth much anway.

A bit worried my account, etc. would still be on it (that's why I have a drawer of old laptops and phones).

And if I had 2 Switches then maybe 1-Switch-per-TV games like Splatoon would be fun with friends and family.

Nintendo's 8 year old console (whose successor has been announced and is just months away) is selling more units than Microsoft's 4 year old console.

Getting:

• Cosmic Fantasy Collection2 (2 former Japan-exclusive PC-Engine CD games)
• Ninja Five-O (A good old Game Boy Advance game)
• Star of Providence (Rated "Overwhelmingly Positive* by nearly 1,900 users on Steam)
• Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog (3 strong Switch reviews so far)

I guess I'll have to double dip.

When I dip you dip we dip.

Critics reviews rank it the worst mainline Civ yet.

I found an article, ranking them all by MetaCritic score, and it ended up 10th-best in the entire series including spinoffs.

I've also read the top Steam users reviews, and oof, their complaints make a lot of sense to me.

Most games with numbered sequels tend to iterate and grow on their previous instalments. Change things just enough so that it rides that line between familiarity and shininess.

Firaxis apparently missed this particular industry-wide memo, and thus the Civilization series will happily buck its own trends and well-established ideas in order to deliver something fresh every single time

I believe the usual rationale for making a new Civilization games was:

• ⅓ the same
• ⅓ improved
• ⅓ new

Historically accurate where it needs to be, historically inaccurate when it's more fun that way

One of Sid Meier's lessons he learned from a failed game was:
"when forced to be given a choice between giving the gamer 'realism' or 'fun', give them 'fun'."

Well, certainly in the next 4 years...

I suppose the games will go right into the landfill right next to their ugly dolls.

Tariffs will make the sticker price the same in the U.S. as it is in Canada.

That will be funny.

one of its three games can be considered a genuine classic.

Whoa, let's slow down.

There was a poll on GameFaqs, for users to list their Top 10 PS1 games. Hundreds of people voted and it resulted in a Top 100 list.

Tomb Raider ended up #35.
Tomb Raider II ended up #74.

The other 3 PS1 TR games didn't make it.

Critics reviews rank it the worst mainline Civ yet.

I found an article, ranking them all by MetaCritic score, and it ended up 10th-best in the entire series including spinoffs.

I've also read the top Steam users reviews, and oof, their complaints make a lot of sense to me.

China has 814 billionaires. The most in the world.

Someone with $1 billion, invested in stocks at 8% return makes a quarter million $ a day.

They'll be able to afford another $40,000 Switch 2 every 4½ hours.