Games Beaten In 2020.

[Nintendo64]

Just Finished Castlevania 64. I really liked this game and I would definitely recommend it. I might try to finish Castlevania Symphony of the Night next, or one of the Castlevania hacks i have for the NES.

[Austin]

On 1/22/2020 at 4:31 AM, Austin said:

5. Battletoads (NES) - Been a little while since I last finished this one. Managed a full one credit clear on it, but ended the game with just three lives which meant I lost a lot along the way. Sort of expected given I haven't played in a while. Still one of my favorites on the system though. Really satisfying to go through when you know what you are doing.

5a. Battletoads (NES) - Amending this one. Someone asked the other day if it was possible to do a full playthrough of the game without maxing out your points. I decided to try it out and partway through decided to try a low scoring run instead of simply "not maxing" the score. It took me a few tries but we managed to make it through the whole thing with scoring as little as possible. This involves using the stick when available (less points awarded), not juggling the birds on stage 2, and skipping enemies completely on the elevator shaft. Fun challenge overall for people familiar with the game. It requires you to play smarter as you won't be getting the loads of extra lives you might normally get on a typical playthrough. I believe I ended with something like 780,000-ish points. @mbd30 mentioned that when NintendoAge was still a thing, this challenge was attempted and the lowest score was in the mid-600k range.

[Cobra Kai]

Donkey Kong 1994 (Gameboy). I have been working on this one a long time. Although, not since 1994. I can't remember when I first picked this game up, but it was in a used game store. It's probably been atleast 15 years. It was done on the Super Gameboy. I had just soldered in a brand new battery on it a few weeks ago, and decided to finally go for it.

 

The hardest stages overall are the ones where you have to make your own platforms and ladders. Also, I think it's stage 8-12, this lava stage, I lost around 30 lives on that one. World 9, the Tower, was actually easy, but the final battle with DK was irritating. But I did it, with no help, so I feel good about it.

[digdugnate]

Several games this month so far!  

 

Momodora: Reverie under the Moonlight (Switch) -- I caught this on a sale so bought on a whim (since I have zero self control).  It's a pretty charming platformer that does Metroid/Castlevania-style platforming well.  The 'casual' difficulty setting allows for about seven hours of non-frustrating gameplay so that's a winner for me!

 

River City Girls (Switch) -- Another bite-sized game that's one of the best beat-em-ups on the Switch in my opinion.  Graphics and sound are fantastic, plays like a dream.  I loved the callbacks to the Kunio-Kun series.    

 

Torchlight II (Switch) -- I played this originally a few years ago, but picked it up after they patched some of the goofy bugs on the Switch version.  I finished it with three different characters (Embermage, Engineer, Outlander).

 

Mega Man 2 (NES) -- One of my fave carts as a kid; I specifically remember my dad taking me up to Montgomery Ward in October 89 to pick it up for my birthday.  I can't even count the number of times I've finished the game and I still hatehatehate Quickman's stage.

 

Castlevania (NES) -- I didn't own this one, but I sure rented it enough to buy it I think.  I finished Akumajō Dracula from the most excellent 'Castlevania Collection', primarily because when you get hit by one of those stupid Medusa heads there's no knockback. lol

 

Doom Classic (PC, but played on Switch) -- Played through the first episode on Ultra Violence.  Still a great game. 

 

I started Octopath Traveler back up, so it may be a pretty dry next couple of months for games since i tend to hyperfocus.  We'll see!

[Punisher5.0]

Im surprised there isnt a modern gaming thread for this topic so ill just post this here.

 

Last night I finished The Talos Principle. This is by far my most proud achievement in gaming. I did it legit without looking up any of the puzzles on the internet. If you want a game that tests your problem solving skills this is that game.

[Austin]

16. Gradius Galaxies (Game Boy Advance) - A bit of an odd duck in the Gradius series. It's a great looking game, has some catchy tunes and the ship and weapon selection is nice. It shoots and feels different from your prior arcade and console Gradius games though, not to mention the sounds used for bullets colliding with enemies isn't all that satisfying. There is some nasty level design later on in the game as well that requires some hardcore memorization. Fun game overall that I will definitely be coming back to (it has a harder second loop after you beat the game once!), but I can see people giving up on it pretty early due to some odd design choices. For instance, if you die at a boss you typically restart at the boss.. with no power-ups. That includes a lack of speed power-ups, and your default speed setting has to be one of the slowest, if not the slowest, in shoot 'em up history.

 

17. Double Dragon Advance (Game Boy Advance) - A love letter to the classic Double Dragon games. Takes levels from the arcade games, updates the enemy layouts, music and sounds, character designs and move sets, and adds in extra functionality (like running). It's a great game, quite possibly the best Double Dragon game, but it IS tough and can be quite overwhelming. Whereas in the arcade games you might have two or three enemies on screen at times (on average), in this game it's not uncommon to be bombarded by five or six at once. Still a good time overall even if it took several playthroughs for me to finally be able to get through it on the five credits given. I'll definitely be going back to that and trying to get my credit usage down. Not sure I'll be capable of getting a 1CC, but extra lives are dished out like candy on Halloween, so it might be possible.

Edited January 30, 2020 by Austin

[Nintendo64]

Just Finished The original Castlevania for the NES. One of my favorite games of all time, been playing it since i was young. Would highly recommend it to anyone who has never played or completed this game.

[Nintendo64]

Just beat Sonic 1 on the sega genesis. This is a great game, and the first time i finished it. Will try to finish Sonic 2 another time.

[Austin]

18. Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow (Game Boy Advance) - A really solid MetroidVania that hasn't held up quite as well as I had hoped (it had been about ten years since I last ran through the game). Great visuals and sound for the GBA. Fun Castle layout that is relatively straightforward compared to other games in the series. However, I found the bosses to be forgettable across the board--not a single one stood out. Also, the game requires you to have three specific souls obtained and equipped to qualify the true final boss and this isn't communicated very well in the game. Still, the game is a lot of fun. The soul system is enjoyable and the variety of attacks and abilities you can get from it is nice. I prefer Dawn of Sorrow in this day and age for many improvements (better visuals, slightly snappier gameplay, improved soul system that rewards grinding out for duplicate souls, longer game overall), but Aria is still a quality game.

[Skippy B. Coyote]

I've been moving a bit of a slower pace than usual this year gaming wise, but it's a month into the year and I have finished 5 games thus far!

 

1. Doom: SIGIL (Nintendo Switch)

I started off the year with something I had been wanting to play for a long, long time: A brand new episode of Doom! When SIGIL hit the Switch I downloaded it and played straight through from beginning to end the moment it became available, and what a cool new episode of Doom it was! It was pretty darn challenging, but not unreasonably so and I really liked the brand new and varied musical score.

 

 

2. Doom II: No Rest for the Living (Nintendo Switch)

Next up was the previously Xbox 360 exclusive Doom II episode No Rest for the Living that also came to the Switch the same day as SIGIL. In terms of level design, I think No Rest for the Living may be my all time favorite classic Doom episode; it's just brilliantly put together and was a ton of fun from beginning to end!

 

 

3. Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure (Sega Genesis)

Now this is a game that's been on my "To Beat" list for a very, very long time! Since I was 8 years old to be exact, so coming up on 27 years now. I had Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure as a kid but was never skilled enough to get more than halfway through it, but going back and revisiting this game as an adult I was able to finish it without too much trouble. After all these years it still feels like a really well designed and underappreciated game with a lot of variety and some great graphics and music for it's time. I should really pick up the Sega CD version at some point as well, to check out all the extra content and CD soundtrack.

 

 

4. Jurassic Park (Sega Genesis)

I was feeling pretty confident after beating Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure so I decided to tackle another childhood nemesis, Jurassic Park! I adored this game as a kid but could never beat it with either of the playable characters (Alan Grant or the Velociraptor) but this past week I beat it with both! Neither campaign was a pushover, this is one really darn tough game, but it was still a really good time finally finishing this game and seeing all those later levels I could never get to as a kid. I liked playing as Alan Grant the best for all the neat weapons you get to use, but playing as the raptor is really cool... aside from that god awful sewer level lol

 

 

5. Alien: Isolation (Nintendo Switch)

It's been a long while since I did a big marathon playthrough of a game, but I downloaded Alien: Isolation on Friday evening then spent almost all day Saturday and Sunday playing through it. I had played it once before a couple years ago when I owned an Xbox One so I still remembered most of where to go and what to do, but it was still just as nerve wracking and anxiety inducing as it was to play the first time around; which for a horror game is a really good thing! To this day Alien: Isolation is still the most genuinely terrifying game I've ever played, and definitely in contention for the title my all time favorite video game in any genre. 

Edited February 3, 2020 by Jin

[digdugnate]

22 minutes ago, Jin said:

I've been moving a bit of a slower pace than usual this year gaming wise, but it's a month into the year and I have finished 5 games thus far!

 

1. Doom: SIGIL (Nintendo Switch)

I started off the year with something I had been wanting to play for a long, long time: A brand new episode of Doom! When SIGIL hit the Switch I downloaded it and played straight through from beginning to end the moment it became available, and what a cool new episode of Doom it was! It was pretty darn challenging, but not unreasonably so and I really liked the brand new and varied musical score.

 

 

2. Doom II: No Rest for the Living (Nintendo Switch)

Next up was the previously Xbox 360 exclusive Doom II episode No Rest for the Living that also came to the Switch the same day as SIGIL. In terms of level design, I think No Rest for the Living may be my all time favorite classic Doom episode; it's just brilliantly put together and was a ton of fun from beginning to end!

 

 

3. Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure (Sega Genesis)

Now this is a game that's been on my "To Beat" list for a very, very long time! Since I was 8 years old to be exact, so coming up on 27 years now. I had Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure as a kid but was never skilled enough to get more than halfway through it, but going back and revisiting this game as an adult I was able to finish it without too much trouble. After all these years it still feels like a really well designed and underappreciated game with a lot of variety and some great graphics and music for it's time. I should really pick up the Sega CD version at some point as well, to check out all the extra content and CD soundtrack.

 

 

4. Jurassic Park (Sega Genesis)

I was feeling pretty confident after beating Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure so I decided to tackle another childhood nemesis, Jurassic Park! I adored this game as a kid but could never beat it with either of the playable characters (Alan Grant or the Velociraptor) but this past week I beat it with both! Neither campaign was a pushover, this is one really darn tough game, but it was still a really good time finally finishing this game and seeing all those later levels I could never get to as a kid. I liked playing as Alan Grant the best for all the neat weapons you get to use, but playing as the raptor is really cool... aside from that god awful sewer level lol

 

 

5. Alien: Isolation (Nintendo Switch)

It's been a long while since I did a big marathon playthrough of a game, but I downloaded Alien: Isolation on Friday evening then spent almost all day Saturday and Sunday playing through it. I had played it once before a couple years ago when I owned an Xbox One so I still remembered most of where to go and what to do, but it was still just as nerve wracking and anxiety inducing as it was to play the first time around; which for a horror game is a really good thing! To this day Alien: Isolation is still the most genuinely terrifying game I've ever played, and definitely in contention for the title my all time favorite video game in any genre. 

dude, i didnt realize there was another add-on for Doom II as well.  now I have to buy the game, dang it! lol

[Skippy B. Coyote]

5 minutes ago, digdugnate said:

dude, i didnt realize there was another add-on for Doom II as well.  now I have to buy the game, dang it! lol

 

Yup! Both Doom and Doom II got the free Final Doom add-ons on the Switch, but while the original Doom also got SIGIL, Doom II got No Rest for the Living. They're both worth having if you ask me, and thankfully Doom II is only $5 so it won't set ya back too much to get.

 

[Cobra Kai]

@Jin yeah Pitfall The Mayan Adventure is a nice platformer, and a good challenge. I beat the Jaguar version some years back. Good on you!

[+thegoldenband]

14. Musashi no Bouken (Famicom)

 

I "beat" tons of games with savestates back in the 2000s, and I've gradually been working to replay them legit, including all three games in this entry. This one's a Dragon Quest clone, for which savestates offer little but convenience -- but this time I'm using a more recent and more polished fan-translation, which makes a small difference. Then again, was that constipated mermaid (no, I'm not kidding) really in the original? C+.

 

15. Devilman (Famicom)

 

On paper this is a bad game in a bunch of different ways -- cryptic, repetitive, very weak in graphics and sound, and with gameplay that's unremarkable at best. Yet I enjoyed playing through it, maybe because it's such an odd duck, or maybe because I remembered just enough from my 2009 playthrough to make the game seem more intuitive than it really is. D+.

 

16. Ikari III: The Rescue (NES)

 

In which our heroes gain punches and jumpkicks, while guns and grenades get left on the shelf and pulled out only for special occasions. I mean, what's the point? P.O.W. is challenging, and Guerrilla War is fun; this is neither, and certainly not worth the 1CC a purist would demand. D.

[Cobra Kai]

Nice, some of you guys are hitting it hard. 

[8th lutz]

I just beaten my game of the year.

1.) Lunar - Eternal Blue for Sega CD

 

It is the first Sega CD game that I beaten.

I did beat the Epilogue today after beating rest of the game earlier in the week. I beaten the Playstation version years ago. 

[digdugnate]

Double Dragon (NES) - I played through Double Dragon this weekend- it's as short as I remember when I played it way back when.    I love that Double Dragon has a couple of funny glitches you can exploit (like not having to fight the second boss at all), plus it's just a fun game for me.

[Eltigro]

I completed a run of Diablo III on the PS3 recently.  Used the barbarian.  Wish I could've streamed some if it, but that stupid encrypted HDMI signal...   Anyway, I had played a bit of Diablo on the PSOne, but it was via emulation.  This was the first one I actually really played.  I enjoyed it, but not sure if I'll go back through it with another class or not.

[derFunkenstein]

Several games so far this year:

 

- Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete on PS1 (finished at around level 45 in 25 hours by the game clock, but it felt like a lot longer than that to me)

- 1CC on Hardest for Streets of Rage 2 on Genesis

- 6 stars 1CC on Street Fighter 2 SCE as Ken on Genesis

- Beat all 30 teams at default settings on NBA Jam for Sega CD 

 

Lunar might technically be "cheating" since I started it before New Year's Eve, but I didn't complete it until January. 

[Steven Pendleton]

On 2/3/2020 at 9:53 PM, Skippy B. Coyote said:

4. Jurassic Park (Sega Genesis)

that god awful sewer level lol

That's the single hardest part of the game for both of them, except for maybe some of the weird jumps in Grant's volcano level. I still really like this game and it was one of the first Japanese MD games that I bought. Rampage Edition is technically a better game and I actually had that one first, but they are both fun and different enough to warrant playing both. It turns out that Rampage Edition is slightly shorter than the timer on my local coin laundry's laundry machines, so I like to play it on my Nomad while doing laundry. I can add Rampage Edition to my list if stuff that I've beaten before counts.

 

Anyway, I beat Akumajou Densetsu for the first time on Jan 1. I prefer this one over Castlevania III because of the awesome music, but I'm planning on getting to Dracula's Curse as well eventually.

 

Also beat Road Blaster FX for the first time last month... although that's not much of an accomplishment!

 

Also beat Castlevania for NES on PC Engine, and I don't mean Rondo! Although I did beat that one for the fourth, fifth, and sixth times recently, too. PC Engine NES Castlevania is kind of super unfinished and a lot of the sound and music is either glitchy or just plain harsh to listen to, but it plays essentially perfectly. As I'd only played the original through the Castlevania collection on the Switch, which is emulation, this was my first time beating it on real hardware, although certainly not the hardware it was designed for.

[digdugnate]

Street Fighter Alpha (arcade) -- I dusted this one off again and finished with Ken then Sagat.  For some reason no one at the house will play SF with me, lol.

[Skippy B. Coyote]

I've got a big update to add today, since I've beaten another 9 games this month!

 

 

6. Mortal Kombat (Sega Genesis)

Starting off the month I decided to play through a couple quick old favorites, and the first of which is my all time favorite fighting game: Mortal Kombat on the Sega Genesis. Though Mortal Kombat II tends to be more popular, the original will always be my personal favorite.

 

 

7. Solar Striker (Game Boy)

Next up is Solar Striker, my honest to goodness my all time favorite shoot 'em up that I make sure to play through once a year every year. It's pretty basic and simple as far as spaceship shooters go, but it just plays so darn well and is a really approachable game for folks who aren't too skilled at shoot 'em ups. Great music too!

 

 

8. Ms. Pac-Man (Sega Genesis)

The first video game I ever played growing up was a Ms. Pac-Man arcade cocktail cabinet, and I've been a big Ms. Pac-Man fan ever since... even though I'm actually not very good as Ms. Pac-Man.  I've played a bazillion versions of Ms. Pac-Man over the years but the Genesis version is my favorite for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it has an actual ending! There's 4 maze selection options: Arcade Mazes, Mini Mazes, Big Mazes, and Strange Mazes. The arcade mode goes on forever but the other new maze selections each have 32 levels, and if you can beat all 32 (with 4 continues allowed plus extra lives every 50,000 points) then there's a pretty neat ending to the game! 

 

The other things that make this version of Ms. Pac-Man my favorite are the additions of 4 difficulty levels, the option to play in pac-booster (fast) mode like the speedup chip version of the Ms. Pac-Man arcade game, and two player simultaneous multiplayer with one player playing as Pac-Man while the other plays as Ms. Pac-Man and both of you zooming around the maze together either cooperatively or competitively. It's just an all around awesome package for any fan of Ms. Pac-Man! 

 

 

9. Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega Genesis)

One of my retro gaming goals for this year is to play through every Sonic the Hedgehog and spin-off game on the Genesis and it's attachments, and first up was the original Sonic! This is definitely one of those timeless classic sort of games, and while I do like the later entries in the series better there's nothing wrong with the original at all. It was good fun and I didn't have too much trouble beating it with all the chaos emeralds in hand at the end.

 

 

10. Sonic CD (Sega CD)

I was planning on playing Sonic 2 next, but I finally got around to replacing my old copy of Sonic CD that died of bit rot last year with a new copy... which turned out to also have bit rot when it arrived in the mail. Thankfully the rot wasn't nearly as bad in this copy and it played through just fine from beginning to end with no issues, so it'll do until I can eventually get a Mega SD and ditch all my original copies of Sega CD games since they're starting to get a bit long in the tooth and bit rot is becoming an extremely common problem.

 

Anyway, while it is my least favorite entry in the classic Sonic series on account of how differently it plays, Sonic CD is still fun to do a run through. What makes this game so different is that (if you want to get the good ending at least) instead of speeding through levels you'll be slowly and methodically finding ways to travel back in time and search around for the robot generators to destroy in each level. The other option for getting the good ending is to collect all the time stones from the special stages, but holy heck are they hard to beat so I just go for the robot generator option. I did manage to find them all and get the good ending, and it was a worthwhile use of a few hours of time. One thing I do love about Sonic CD is that it has without a doubt my all time favorite video game intro song! The beginning animation and music is just magical! 

 

 

11. Splatterhouse (Arcade)

I played through this one on Namco Museum Arcade Pac on the Nintendo Switch, and it was actually the first time I've ever beaten the original Splatterhouse! In the past I always got stuck on the second to last level, Stage VI, but this time I persevered until I finally got through it! Surprisingly the final stage was way easier than the second to last one and it was soooo satisfying to add this one to the games beaten list. I'd really like to try the TurboGrafx-16 or PC Engine port someday, but until I get a device to play them on (a PC Engine Mini maybe?) the arcade version is great fun and an absolute horror classic.

 

 

12. Splatterhouse 2 (Sega Genesis)

Another total horror classic is the second Splatterhouse game on the Genesis! The original definitely has greater enemy and weapon variety but the sequel is still my favorite of the two and one that I play through at least once a year every year. It's challenging but never unfair, gruesome and gory as all heck, and just a ton of fun to play through once you learn all the boss patterns and strategies. 

 

 

13. DOOM (Nintendo Switch)

I've played through this game probably a dozen times over since it came out and I have to say that the 2016 DOOM reboot may be my all time favorite video game. It's certainly in contention for the title, right up there with The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles, and Alien Isolation. It's hard to say which is my top favorite of the bunch, but DOOM is definitely an absolute joy to play no matter how many times I play through it. The combat just feels so smooth and satisfying and it absolutely nails that classic Doom feel, but with a pretty neat story, gorgeous graphics, and some really cool weapon modifications to collect and upgrade. There's not many games that I'd describe as a "perfect game", but in my opinion DOOM 2016 is certainly one of them. 

 

 

14. Alien 3 (Sega Genesis)

Here's the last game for this update, which I just finished about an hour ago! As much as I love Sonic the Hedgehog and Streets of Rage, sometimes I think it's the B-list games that really give a system it's character. Some of my favorite Sega Genesis games aren't ones you'll find on any mini system or retro compilation, and Alien 3 is one of my absolute favorite B-listers! It's very much an arcade style game that requires a lot of practice and memorization to complete each level within the short time limit and the number of lives you're allowed (there's no continues either), but practice makes perfect and these days I can do a run through the game in a few hours without too much trouble... though I still have to peek at a guide to find my way around the last few levels.

 

[Steven Pendleton]

4 minutes ago, Skippy B. Coyote said:

Solar Striker

I thought I was the only person in the world that actually knows this game exists aside from the dude I borrowed it from for 1 day 18 years ago or so. I just got a copy a few months ago after having never seen it since then in the past 18 years.

[+thegoldenband]

17. Ring King (NES)

 

The problem with Ring King isn't how it plays (decently), how long it drags on (way too long), or even its total lack of an ending (bummer). It's that, at a basic level, it's dishonest about how it works.

 

For instance, if my Punch and Speed stats are higher than those of my opponent, I should do more damage and move faster -- but instead, the game seems to total up your overall skill points (including Stamina, an otherwise nearly-meaningless stat) and uses that as the basis for assessing who moves faster and hits harder. Put all your points into Speed, and you'll still be slower than the guy whose total points are higher.

 

So, if my total points are higher, I should always outclass my opponent, right? Well, sometimes the game "anoints" one of its boxers, and no matter how much better your stats are, he'll comprehensively whoop you. Or sometimes it does the reverse, and a superior opponent (in training, at least) will succumb quickly -- including the very same boxer that just beat you badly. It makes no sense.

 

Worst of all, Ring King doesn't use the three-knockdown rule. Not only is knocking your opponent down meaningless, since you can't get a TKO that way, but it actually helps your foe to get knocked down, since he recovers a little bit of energy that way (and you don't). So all those flashy super punches mean nothing, and are just a waste of time that runs down the clock -- and, since Ring King lets boxers be "saved by the bell", makes matches drag on even longer. Ugh. D-.

 

18. Star Voyager (NES)

 

This is my fifth time beating Star Voyager (once per year since 2016), and it seemed to get on my nerves more this time around. I think it's because the game isn't transparent about the number of motherships in a sector, so it's never clear how much more you need to do -- and since failing to clear out every enemy drone makes the whole group regenerate from scratch, that's kind of a big deal. D+.

 

19. Super Pitfall (NES)

 

I only beat the First Quest and didn't get a "PERFECT", but I'm calling it done. Too bad Super Pitfall isn't better, because it means well and I like what it's trying to do. But you just can't hide this many things -- especially mission-critical, must-have things -- and expect to get away with it. D.

[Austin]

19. Halo: Combat Evolved (PC, 2003) - Not entirely retro, but not entirely new either.. Eh, I'll put it here. Played through the PC version twice last week. Still holds up very well, both in the visuals, gameplay and sound department. So much easier to rock the higher difficulties with keyboard and mouse controls.

 

20. Bare Knuckle III (Megadrive) - Fired this up for the first time last week and ended up getting a 1CC on the second try. Not particularly difficult, but I think it's a pretty good follow-up to Streets of Rage 2. It has some unique mechanics, such as running, infinite specials that don't deplete health (as long as your special bar is charged), and weapon specials. I then played the Western version afterwards and while I don't mind the changes, the upgraded difficulty wrecked me. Still haven't finished the NA version.

 

21. Tempo Jr. (Game Gear) - Super easy "mini" version of the 32X game. Looks good but the gameplay is stiff and there's not much to it--run to the left or right, find a key, then go to the exit. Tempo automatically attacks enemies if you dash (double tapping forward). There are checkpoints mid level but you won't need them. Highlight is the boss fights, but they shouldn't give anyone trouble. It's got charm but was clearly made for kids. I got a one-life-clear on my first try!

 

22. Tempo (32X) - Fantastic looking game with tons of charm. Gameplay is quite stiff however and takes a long time to get the hang of. Being that music is its focus, there are some fun tunes and I like how more instruments are added to the backing tunes when your partner appears. While the levels themselves are fun to figure out, the bosses are absolutely atrocious with horrible, nonsensical collision detection and weak points that don't make any sense. Also, if you want to get a better ending, the game has to be played from start to finish in one sitting and doing so takes at least three hours. Scoring higher nets you a better ending, meaning you have to explore each level 100%, and that takes a lot of time. The game has a password function but I believe you have to get a Game Over to get this and you lose your score in the process, defeating the purpose of it. This game really needed a battery backup like Knuckles Chaotix has. It's fun in short bursts but it's a major chore doing it in one sitting. Next time I play the game I think I am just going to rush through it instead of exploring.

 

23. Knuckles Chaotix (32X) - An oddball Sonic game that has a lot of positive elements and a lot of really negative ones. On the positive end, it looks good and has an excellent soundtrack--possibly my favorite out of any Genesis-era Sonic game. It also has solid boss fights and unique bonus stages. On the negative end, deliberate stage design is nearly non-existent with levels that feel like little care was put into them. Run right, loop up, run left, loop up, run right.. maybe run down a hill that slams you into a wall, stopping the flow. Not to mention each level theme has to be played *five* times and there's little in the way of unique landmarks letting you know where into the stage you are. I generally just keep moving in any given direction--left, right, whatever. As long as rings, enemies and items are available, I assume I'm getting closer to the end. I'm very mixed on this one overall--I do think it's a really good "chillout" kind of game and I enjoy it for that, but it's not really a good one to focus intently at, that only leads to disappointment. The elephant in the room with this one is the tether mechanic, and I actually like this. It's tough to get used to at first, but when you get the hang of it you can do some cool stuff with it, and things can get really fast.

 

24. Raiden V: Director's Cut (Switch) - Picked this up a few weeks back and got a 1CC on my first try. This is one of my favorite shooters in recent times and so I had already put a ton of time into other versions, I mainly grabbed the Switch one to support the genre and have a copy on the go just in case. I played it docked and overall the performance was great--no frame drops or anything outside of non-playable cutscenes. The music quality is significantly lower than other versions however, with it being a lower bitrate and in mono. The image looks much softer overall too, but the game was more than playable enough. Input response time is really sharp compared to your usual Switch shmup, so that was nice. I hear performance is worse in portable mode but I haven't tried it yet.

 

25. Rockman X5 (PC) - Played the Korean version of Rockman X5 on PC. In this version you can interestingly run the game with a software renderer (albeit it's quite unstable), getting you a much sharper picture than the North American version of the game. There are added options as well, such as a framerate counter, built-in cheats via the F-keys, and so on. Otherwise it's basically the same as the US version. Not a bad game overall, but not my favorite in the series by a long shot. It is tedious having to revisit previously played levels more than you would have to in most other X games (if you want to get all the items), Alia always stops you a bunch of times during your first play of each level, and the level design overall is the most basic in the X series.

Edited March 3, 2020 by Austin