Games Beaten In 2012!

[Christophero Sly]

Golden Axe (Genesis) -- A solid beat-'em-up. A bit on the short side, but the challenge is almost perfectly balanced. It took several attempts to defeat Death Bringer, but when I finally did, I walked him. It's funny how that happens with games. You'll be tearing your hair out in frustration repeatedly trying to overcome some challenge, then finally it clicks, and you easily blast through it. The only other complaint I have is with the game's bland and generic backgrounds. In a game that displays what is otherwise strong art direction, the backgrounds are a bit disappointing. Regardless, I reckon this game is a classic. B+

Edited August 4, 2012 by Christophero Sly

[+thegoldenband]

46. Goofy's Hysterical History Tour (Genesis)

 

Beat Simple difficulty (the game's term for Easy) a few days ago, and then beat Not So Simple and Pretty Darn Hard! today. I've posted some thoughts in the game's review thread at Sega-16; suffice it to say that this could've been a classic, but is bogged down by laborious gameplay and poor stage design. I'd give it a C, bordering on C-minus.

[+thegoldenband]

47. Robowarrior (NES)

 

I have fond, though bittersweet, memories of this game from when I was a kid. I never actually owned it, but got a few stages into the game while I had it on loan (I think I made it to the first boss). It struck me as a tough, unforgiving title, but something about it appealed to me -- the tunes were great, and so was the presentation. Maybe the fact that I'd never read anything about the game, and didn't have a manual, played a role; I felt like I was in on a secret -- and since this game has more than a few secrets, it was a fair match.

 

I played through the game today for NA's "every NES game in a year challenge", and unfortunately Robowarrior hasn't aged well. There's still a lot to like about it, but the basic gameplay mechanic is just so tedious that it wears on you after a while. Ultimately the protagonist is his own worst enemy -- his own bombs are a far bigger threat than just about anything else, including the bosses. The game's difficulty curve is very strange, too; since your defenses grow with your score, it eventually gets to the point where almost nothing can hurt you -- and since the game is lavish with most items, it's easy enough to heal up any damage you take, and the boss fights are a cakewalk.

 

That said, I consulted a walkthrough and maps for this playthrough, and that inevitably distorts the gameplay a bit. But only a bit, since there's no way around the basic "bomb everything" dynamic -- and that makes the game more fun to beat than to play. C.

[BillyHW]

Can't remember if I listed this already, but I finished Super Mario Bros. 3 recently, with no flutes. Also Mega Man 2 and Civilization. All A+ games.

[+thegoldenband]

48. Jeopardy! (Genesis)

 

Pulled this out on a lark, and it was pretty much what I expected: a lazy, phoned-in home version of the show. I scored $16k vs. my computer opponents' $2800 and $2200, so I'm calling this one beaten. The questions are OK (if a bit on the easy side), but the pacing is terrible and the presentation is mediocre at best. And there are no difficulty settings -- indeed, there are no bells and whistles whatsoever.

 

All of which means that the Sega-16 review is way, way too generous. I'd give this game a D, bordering on D-minus.

[+thegoldenband]

49. Shamus (Game Boy Color)

 

I'm told this port of the Atari 8-bit game -- which plays like a cross between Berzerk and, say, Temple of Apshai -- is actually relatively faithful, though it offers certain amenities that weren't in the original, e.g. a password system. Once I realized that mapmaking was essential, I was able to quickly progress through the game and reach the ending.

 

But not the best ending: that would require, as it turned out, 3000 points (which hasn't before been noted on the Internet, AFAIK). And that's pretty close to the absolute maximum that you can score in the game.

 

(The game offers you a series of taunts at lower scores, at roughly 500-point intervals; if you get more than 2500 but less than 3000 points, it simply says "Oh dear.")

 

So what seemed like an easy (and extremely repetitive) port is, instead, a rather challenging (and extremely repetitive) port, because it's quite hard to make 3000 points. You get 1 point per robot slain, and a 10-point bonus for clearing the room of all enemies, so over the course of ~128 rooms you can earn around 2500-2600 points, plus another 500 or so from certain (non-random) bonus items.

 

But if your character dies, if you leave the room and re-enter, if you touch any items in the room, or (I assume) if you take too long, then you get no further points from that particular room. However, the enemies still respawn when you leave and re-enter; you just don't get any points from killing them.

 

You can only afford to screw up three or four times during the entire game; otherwise you simply won't have enough points at the end. And passwords don't preserve your score, making that whole functionality essentially pointless: you have to play through the whole thing in one sitting.

 

So it turns into something more like Pitfall! -- a marathon of a game that requires near-perfection -- but unlike Pitfall!, which is always the same, the enemies are placed randomly in Shamus and that can easily screw you over. Add to that the game's control issues; a certain enemy's habit of teleporting through your shots; and the fact that the game itseif is dark and hard to see (at least on a GBA), and you end up with a seriously rage-inducing task.

 

Ultimately, I managed to get 3045 points and the best ending (which was just a couple lines of text, like all the others). But even though it didn't take that long, beating Shamus was a frustrating process that just wasn't much fun. I'd give this a D.

 

BTW the game has a few interesting quirks: a valid password is automatically triggered once all digits are correct (which is unexpected, but has its charm); the pause mode is triggered by the START button, but can be canceled by any other button (which is a bad idea); and the in-game credits list two developers, both of whom are female!

[Austin]

32. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)

 

Finally got around to beating this game a couple of nights ago. Overall it was a fun game, but I felt the star collecting dragged on for too long primarily due to the numerous fetch quests involved. Had the game been more traditional platforming like what's found in the last stage, I don't think I would have been wishing the game to end in the second half like I did. Still, a quality game for sure--I'm just not sure if I will go back to it to finish up the levels I missed (you just need a certain amount of stars in order to get to Bowser's castle and finish the game).

[Protoplasym]

Hi guys,

 

Wishing you and your love ones a very happy and sincere new year and happy to restart the yearly games beaten topic on Atariage.com!

 

Enjoy!

 

Beat Kid Icarus for the NES! and Halo Anniversary for Xbox 360!

 

Anthony....

 

I don't even know how that's possible... I can barely get 30 minutes into the game before dying... and dying, and more dying.

 

 

You sir, are skilled

 

 

(for me, not many)

 

1. Pixel Junk Eden

2. Pixel Junk Shooter

3. Pixel Junk Shooter 3

 

 

I wish I had more to state... I'm not much of a completist tbh (I've been playing Morrowind with the same character since '06 for example )

[+thegoldenband]

50. After Burner III (Sega CD)

 

Just beat this on Expert, after beating Easy and Normal yesterday, and it's an interesting case: a bad game that's still kinda fun. Now, I say that as someone with zero attachment to the After Burner series, and no doubt I'd feel differently if I had played the crap out of the arcade game.

 

But unexpectedly, I found ABIII mildly addictive, and wanted to see it through. Within the context of the game (and its faults), the difficulty curve is tuned fairly well, and it took me 3-4 tries to finally beat Expert. I enjoyed the early levels and ground-based missions to some extent, and having unlimited missiles is great (especially since the regular gun is useless).

 

That said, the game's technical shortcomings and gameplay flaws make it a disaster. It could be, for example, that the designers intended for the player to depend mainly on radar to dodge incoming missiles, so that the severe sprite breakup and flicker wouldn't be as much of an issue. But that just doesn't work when the action gets fast and furious, and it especially doesn't work when you've got a missile on your tail (or whatever it is that suddenly forces you into third-person mode with no plane in pursuit, often at the worst times and without benefit of radar).

 

Similarly, the game seems to want you to target incoming enemies early, so that they don't get the chance to fire missiles -- and if they do, a light touch on the afterburner will help you evade the attack. But the enemy spawn patterns make that impossible; you simply can't target most enemies in time, so you're forced to endure constant incoming missile fire, and with the afterburner on, everything goes too fast for you to have time to return to a neutral position.

 

Thus the game's last levels are spent frantically flailing around, trying not to burn through your reserves of extra lives (and it's pretty easy to accumulate a healthy supply in the early levels) and continues, while enemy planes unleash parallel barrages of nearly-undodgeable missiles. And that part isn't fun at all, but it's just short enough that you can make it through.

 

So I'd give it a D+ -- but, I'm glad to say, with no regrets for the time I invested in the game.

[+thegoldenband]

51. Terra Cresta (NES)

 

It feels a bit strange to claim to have "beaten" a game that loops endlessly, but by beating the full cycle of bosses I met AdamL's criteria for victory, which are the standard they're using for the "beat every NES game in a year" drive over at NA.

 

Actually the game doesn't "just repeat from the beginning" after the last boss, in that it's harder on the second loop and new enemies are introduced. But the bosses follow the exact same cycle, and I have no reason to doubt that the game loops endlessly. In any event, I made it to the end of the second loop -- in fact, I got through most of the loop on one ship! -- but missed out on a golden opportunity to KO the final boss, so I didn't quite loop it twice.

 

Anyway, it's a fun if simplistic shmup; though marred by disappearing bullets and repetitive stage layout, the basic gameplay is pretty good. I'd give it a B- or C+.

[+thegoldenband]

52. Alleyway (Game Boy)

 

I'd like to say I had fun with this Breakout clone, but the truth is, it's a drag. Between the repetitive gameplay, the lack of bells and whistles, and the tedious stage designs, there's really not much to enjoy. In order to finish it, you have to play it for 90 minutes straight, and by the end my eyes were giving me hell. It's the kind of game where success gives you little feeling of accomplishment, and failure (i.e. losing a life) just makes you feel stupid and/or mad at yourself.

 

So as they say in Tomcat Alley when a missile misses the mark, "no joy". But at least the controls work well. D.

[+thegoldenband]

53. Altered Beast (Genesis)

 

Beat this on Hardest difficulty with 5 lives and 5 health bars today (after beating Normal and Hard first). I may revisit it later to try to get down to the default 3 lives/3 health bars, but whenever a game gives you the option of going down to ridiculously low numbers, then I stop caring about trying to beat it on the toughest settings.

 

(In this case, that would be 1 life/1 health bar, which would basically mean you have to no-hit or one-hit the entire game. Actually I've no-hit the first level, and can imagine doing the same for most levels, but doing it for all of them consecutively is not an interesting use of my time.)

 

As for a grade, I dunno...the game's camp value probably outweighs its short length and slightly wonky collision detection, but I really don't like the fact that there are no health powerups, because it puts the player in a negative mindset. That is: since you can't recover from any errors, the game is about avoiding failure, not embracing success. So, call it a C.

 

BTW I still haven't found a good pattern for the Level 4 boss -- that's where I would lose more health & lives than anywhere else. All the others are super-easy as long as you execute properly, especially the Level 2 & 5 bosses who are practically mindless to beat.

 

EDIT: And now I've beaten Hardest with 4 lives and 5 health bars, but I only used 1 life + 3 health bars, so I used 8 health bars total. Since you get 9 health bars in the default 3 lives/3 health, I think that's that. Actually, I can totally see no-hitting this game, particularly now that I've figured out that a cautious approach works quite well against the Level 4 boss. Certainly, a 1LC with 3 health is absolutely possible.

 

EDIT #2: And now I've beaten Hardest/3 lives/3 health, using only 1 life + half the next life's health. I didn't lose a life in the first four levels.

[+thegoldenband]

54. Warrior of Rome (Genesis)

 

I think I might write a review of WOR for Sega-16, so I'll be brief for now: basically speaking, it's a disaster. Notwithstanding the satisfaction I got from beating the game, it doesn't deserve more than a D, and that might even be too generous.

[Latin Kid]

I finally beat that Superman game for the Commodore 64. It was a lot shorter and easier than I thought it would be.

[+thegoldenband]

55. Mazer (3DO)

 

Got this the mail yesterday, put it in to test this morning, and ended up playing through the whole thing. It's total early '90s cheese, a quasi-isometric run-'n'-gun that resembles a cross between, say, Robotron: 2084 and Pit Fighter -- or Smash TV and Shadow: War of Succession -- or...well, you get the idea. Goofy digitized sprites, gratuitous zooming and scaling, flaky controls, questionable hit detection, and thankfully, unlimited continues.

 

Is it a good game? ("I'll bet it's a good game, she said.") Well, together with what I said above, the fact that I played through it on my first try, but was willing to invest several hours to do so, should tell you everything you need to know.

 

However, just in case: no, it's certainly not a good game -- but of the bad games I've played recently, it's certainly among the more entertaining and (in its later stages) challenging ones. And who doesn't like getting a boss stuck on the scenery and pounding the crap out of it with impunity? C-.

[Christophero Sly]

Buffy The Vampire Slayer (XBOX)

 

A surprisingly satisfying beat-em-up, at least for the first ~80% of the game. Unfortunately, in the later levels, an uncooperative camera, sketchy jumping physics, and one of the worst checkpoint systems ever join forces to produce some of the most monumentally ponderous puzzle-platforming I've ever experienced. B-.

Edited September 2, 2012 by Christophero Sly

[Cybergoth]

Another tough one down: I've completely beaten Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix for the XBOX360. I played through the game with all 17 characters, twice with Chun-Li, and scored all 12 achievements!

 

Capcom games beaten in 2012: Bionic Commando, Legendary Wings, Bionic Commando Rearmed, Mega Man 2, Last Duel, Duck Tales, Strider, Ghouls 'n Ghosts, Forgotten Worlds, Tiger Road, Black Tiger, Gargoyle's Quest, Chip 'n Dale - Rescue Rangers, Little Nemo - The Dream Master, Mega Man 3, Final Fight, Mercs, Mega Twins, Block Block, Three Wonders, The Little Mermaid, 1941: Counter Attack, Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts, Talespin, Mega Man 4, Who Framed Roger Rabbit? & Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix

[Cybergoth]

Just for fun I played through Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix yesterday, until the credits were rolling. Not my favorite genre, but nice enough Tetris variant

[Austin]

33. Ys: The Oath in Felghana (PSP)

 

I reacquired another PSP this past week (as a gift, sweet!), and I went to the local store to pick up some new games for it. One of them is a game I've been putting off for a while, and that is Ys: The Oath in Felghana. This is actually a port of a 2005-ish computer game, that in itself was a remake of Ys III: The Wanderers From ys (SNES, Genesis, Turbo Grafx-CD, etc.). Ys III was one of my favorites for a long time on both the SNES and Genesis, and some of the music still gives me chills today.

 

Overall, this remake is excellent. For those that have never played an Ys game, it's essentially a watered-down action-RPG (more like "action-adventure", in my opinion). You level up and buy items, but that's about as "RPG" as it gets. Some of the areas are so littered with enemies, it feels very much like an arcade game at times--which is awesome. The original Ys III was a side-scroller, which was great in itself, but I enjoyed the shift to a top-down perspective in this remake. The gameplay was fluid, and it was just FUN.

 

The only downer moments come in the form of the unbalanced difficulty (some bosses are a cakewalk, while others required about twenty retries in order to beat them), and certain story segments that overstay their welcome with emotional inuendo that annoys more than not. Still, much of the story can be skipped through (you can tell when the predictable parts are coming), and the difficulty can be mitigated by taking your time and being as prepared as you can for a boss fight (i.e., leveling up some more, and upgrading your weapons and armor fully). All in all, it's a fantastic remake, and especially well worth it for people that grew up and were fond of the originals.

 

Now, I'll have to snag the Ys Books I & II remake for the PSP!

[Cybergoth]

I just fully completed Magic Sword in the Double Impact version, from Capcoms Digital Collection on the XBOX 360. That includes getting all remaining achievements of Double Impact, so after SSF2THR this is now my second game that's listed as "complete" in the achievement tab on the 360

 

Capcom games beaten in 2012: Bionic Commando, Legendary Wings, Bionic Commando Rearmed, Mega Man 2, Last Duel, Duck Tales, Strider, Ghouls 'n Ghosts, Forgotten Worlds, Tiger Road, Black Tiger, Gargoyle's Quest, Chip 'n Dale - Rescue Rangers, Little Nemo - The Dream Master, Mega Man 3, Final Fight, Mercs, Mega Twins, Block Block, Three Wonders, The Little Mermaid, 1941: Counter Attack, Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts, Talespin, Mega Man 4, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix & Magic Sword

[Austin]

34. Donkey Kong Country (SNES)

 

The other night there was a thread started on NintendoAge about this game. It sort of sparked my interest to play it again, and when my brother was over Sunday, we did just that. Took us just under two hours to complete it (with the dozens of deaths along the way, haha). For the most part, it was fun playing through it again and reminiscing about it (we are both pretty nostalgic about it), but I totally forgot about the last world and about by that point, I was ready to put the controller down. We did manage to push ourselves through to the end though. Overall, I'd have to say the game hasn't aged as well as I thought it did--mostly due to it getting repetitive by the end and the bosses being a joke (and pallette swaps)--but man, does it start off well. Awesome title screen intro, great first couple of worlds, and a wonderful soundtrack. I might have to give DKC 2 and 3 a shot now, since I never gave them much time before.

[+Charlie Cat]

Hi guys,

 

Duck Tales 2 NES

 

RC Pro-Am II NES

 

Incredible Crash Dummies NES

 

TMNT Tournament Fighters NES

Color A Dinosaur NES

 

Anthony....

Edited September 12, 2012 by fdurso224

[Cybergoth]

I just beat Darkwing Duck on the NES - Capcoms best Disney title for the NES I'd say!

 

Capcom games beaten in 2012: Bionic Commando, Legendary Wings, Bionic Commando Rearmed, Mega Man 2, Last Duel, Duck Tales, Strider, Ghouls 'n Ghosts, Forgotten Worlds, Tiger Road, Black Tiger, Gargoyle's Quest, Chip 'n Dale - Rescue Rangers, Little Nemo - The Dream Master, Mega Man 3, Final Fight, Mercs, Mega Twins, Block Block, Three Wonders, The Little Mermaid, 1941: Counter Attack, Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts, Talespin, Mega Man 4, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix, Magic Sword & Darkwing Duck

[Austin]

35. Ys III: Wanderers From Ys (Turbo Grafx CD)

 

After rolling through the Oath in Felghana remake of Ys III for the PSP last week, I had the desire to go through one of the original versions it is based on. Since I had the Turbo CD version in my collection and had never finished it before, I chose that one.

 

Overall I had a fun time with it, but it has some pretty glaring problems. For one, the backgrounds and many objects move in an extremely choppy manner. It makes the visuals very tough on the eyes, and some platforming sections trickier than they should be (the clocktower at the end is the prime example here). Also, the voice acting is absolutely atrocious. I cannot even begin to describe how bad it is. Castlevania Symphony of the Night has nothing on this game!

 

Anyway, despite those complaints, it's still a decent version of the game. The CD soundtrack is incredible, and I appreciate the added challenge on the boss fights. I actually had to practice them in this version, whereas in the SNES and Genesis ones, I could equip the power ring and just go to town, hacking and slashing with little attention paid to the boss patterns. That's far from the case in this one, as you will get destroyed doing that.

 

36. Gunlord (Sega Dreamcast)

 

Got this one in the mail last night and clocked a little bit of time then. When waking up this morning though, I had the urge to record a "Let's Play" of this game for YouTube. Surprisingly, like my Ghouls 'n Ghosts/Dai Makaimura video for the SuperGrafx, I ended up beating the game while recording. It took about an hour and a half, with some trouble given on the final boss.

 

Overall, this game is great. It's a total homage to the later Turrican games (Mega Turrican, Super Turrican, etc.). Great visuals, decent gameplay, and a fantastic soundtrack make for a fun experience. Some things are a little frustrating, like the claustrophobic feel, some wonky hit detection, and bullets that sit behind objects (making them impossible to see), but those aspects never took away from the experience. All I can say is, get this game while you still can!

[StanJr]

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. (Wii)

 

73%, so I got the crap ending, but the game is lot of fun anyway. Scanning everything, particularly during boss fights gets tedious.