52 Games Challenge 2020

[ignition365]

Main List
Previous List

bold games are games that have been beaten, previously beaten, or are unbeatable.
italicized games are in progress.
standard games are games I am not currently trying to beat.
strikethrough games are games that have been abandoned.

120. Final Fantasy III (6) (SNES)
Really hate that they called it 3 when it's 6. Anyway, another game club game, started this up right after finishing Persona.  Had some trouble early on because I really wanted to play Persona 2 instead, but I powered through and I'm making progress now.  Progress is slow, but I'm making it.  I just don't enjoy FF's ATB combat system, and this game has some convoluted aspects like the Blitz system for Sabin.  A few of the people taking part love this game, like they named their children after characters from this game.  I'm figuring that's a childhood thing, because I'm honestly not enjoying this game as much as say Chrono Trigger.  I basically abandoned this game for a month or so, stopped playing games and watched a bunch of anime and read a bunch of books.  Finally decided that I'm back playing games and played Fallout 76 and Watch Dogs and a bunch of other stuff.  Decided now that I'm playing games again, I need to give this game another chance.  Decided that if I'm going to give this game a chance, I'm going to use cheats to help push me through.  Played with cheats that weren't working for a while whilst still trying to get cheats working.  Mainly wanted to A) Turn off/lower chance of random battles, B) Increase XP/Lvl to where it should be for battles, and C) Have money to buy whatever equipment I want.  A) Took me a while, but I figured out turning off random battles around when I got the moogle charm .  B) The only way to level up skills I could find that actually worked pushed you to level 99, didn't figure it out until near the end of the game, so earlier, I was level whatever stat wise, but HP wise I was still 18, so that didn't work out very well. C) Couldn't find a way to have money, but found a way to have 99 of an item, 99'd a high selling item and sold it to have gold to buy equipment.  That stuff aside, I didn't follow the walkthrough close enough, and I didn't save often enough that Shadow died and I would've had to replay several hours of game to get back to the point where he died to save him.  So I said fuck it and kept playing.  Didn't get back Gau, Relm, Relm's pappy, and maybe one other person and ran through the rest of the game with groups of 3 instead of groups of 4.  Final battle, my groups died on the final hit at each stage so no chance of Phoenix Down to keep them alive so finished the boss with one guy still alive.  I feel like I can't rate this game too badly, because I didn't rightfully give it a chance it deserved, but the random battle rate was way too high and the combat system too complex.  I didn't care or understand Gau, Sabin required memorized button inputs, I didn't get or remember the relic/esper systems, and I just don't care for the ATB system of FF games.
Rating: Soft Pass.

121. Watch Dogs: Legion (PS5)
For some reason preordered this game when I know I shouldn't have.  Didn't pay full price, but still would've saved quite a bit of money waiting like 5 days for the 50% price drop lol.  Anyway, left the game sealed until I got my PS5.  Day one on PS5, couldn't get past the intro mission without the game crashing over and over.  Finally found a work around and got to playing, but I was so frustrated that I just wasn't very interested anymore.  Kept playing on and off for a while.  I feel like I had the same issue with WD2, but at least that game had characters.  This game has randomly generated characters that all sound way off from how they look. Honestly, that's this games biggest downside.  Not only aren't the characters relatable because they are randomly generated and not well thought out or designed, but the random generation is just absolutely terrible.  I didn't stress test the recruit system because I assume it's bad, like I assume there is an upper limit of like 50 recruits or something, otherwise I'd consider going and just recruit as many as I can, but I can only assume there is an upper limit and not worth the effort.  It'd be neat to have a game with a finite population where you can recruit the whole population and immediately win the game, or kill the whole population and immediately win the game because there is no reason for the game to continue.
Rating: Soft pass.

122. Dark Souls III: Fire Fades Edition (X1)
See Game Challenge 2021

123. Wreckfest (X1)
See Game Challenge 2021

124. Tomoyo After (NS)
See Game Challenge 2021

125. Resident Evil: Code Veronica X HD (X1BC)
Current Progress: Military Training Facility
Been looking to play more games that I want to play, and it was an achievement week, so I decided to pop this on and play far enough to get 3 achievements.  Managed to get all the way to Claire's playthrough's Military Training Facility.  Big bad is annoying, Steve is even more annoying.  Honestly, this game feels like so terrible it's good, my wife and I had a decent time laughing and making fun of the voice acting and such.

126. Marvel's Avengers (PS4)
A good dude on Discord used his Verizon perk thing to hook me up with a copy.  Not happy that the game requires an internet connection to start up, but the game seems fine so far.

127. Oxenfree (NS)
Current Progress: Going to save Ren
I asked my wife about playing a game again and she insisted on this one.  Personally I'm not feeling it, and I absolutely hate games that make you make decisions but don't give you enough time to even read the options.  It sounds like it's short though, and my wife insists, so I'll give it a go, but I will probably only play while my wife is watching.  What with me being so interested in DQ Builders 2, I just don't know when I'll get around to finishing up this game.

128. Yakuza Kiwami 2] (PS4)
Current Progress: Chapter 5
Decided to play this for some reason.  Not quite getting into it, but I'm enjoying my time so far.  I'm already struggling with the fact that I've already played through the story of Yakuza 2 so I'm not paying attention to dialogue.  I may not make it through given that fact alone.

129. Human Fall Flat (X1)
Current Progress: Demolition
I started playing this a while back for the easy achievements to meet my goals for Xbox Rewards, so when I need achievements I hop on this.  It's definitely a frustrating game, but it seems easy for quick achievements.

[kamikazekeeg]

I would personally count it as one game, I only really count stuff more than once if they are added on as DLC and tell a new story, like with Metro Exodus I counted Sam's Story with the Two Colonels story as a separate thing because Sam's is a new tale that acts sort of like an epilogue.  With RE6, they are all a part of the one story, so playing them all because creates the full picture, hence it being just one game.  Like I wouldn't count RE2 Remake as 2, even though they are two separate stories that intertwine.

Then again there are no real rules to this, so you can do what you want lol

[ignition365]

I would personally count it as one game, I only really count stuff more than once if they are added on as DLC and tell a new story, like with Metro Exodus I counted Sam's Story with the Two Colonels story as a separate thing because Sam's is a new tale that acts sort of like an epilogue.  With RE6, they are all a part of the one story, so playing them all because creates the full picture, hence it being just one game.  Like I wouldn't count RE2 Remake as 2, even though they are two separate stories that intertwine.

Then again there are no real rules to this, so you can do what you want lol

I'd definitely count RE2's 2 campaigns as separate because they are full on the same game... aren't they?  I played RE2 Remake as Claire and it was exactly as I remember Leon's campaign from the original, I didn't play the remake's Leon campaign because I just assumed it was the same, maybe with some minor differences.  I completed Leon's campaign and Chris's campaign so far, and Chris's campaign really didn't add much except maybe the last chapter at the underwater facility.

If I beat a game start to finish twice in one year, I count it twice.  I did it with Sekiro when I went through NG+.  It's not a common thing, but I count it when it happens.

[Cartagia]

They are not as different as they were in the original game, but there are some differences throughout - like playing as Ada and Sherry, and some unique boss fights.

But there is almost no difference between Leon A / Claire B and Claire B / Leon A.  So rather than 4 campaigns it’s really closer to 2.

[ignition365]

Devil May Cry for instance, if I played through any of the other character campaigns, I would probably count those as separate because they are the exact same game, you've just got different controls and stuff.

RE6 at least for the most part the campaigns are completely different content with maybe 1 or 2 sections that are exactly the same as someone else's campaign.  But story wise it's all the same story.  I don't feel like Chris' campaign actually added anything to the overall story except maybe the very very end.  I don't feel like Jake's campaign is going to add anything either.  Ada's campaign I'm waiting for because I see that tieing shit back together to make a cohesive story, but probably not.

[bikingjahuty]

23. Sim City 3000 Unlimited (PC)

Sim City has always been a franchise I've known about as a result of friends I've had growing up owning and playing it, but it was never a series I had much experience with. My first Sim City game was Sim City 3000 Unlimited that I vividly remember buying at Sam's Club with my mom back in the early 2000s. I was enthusiastic to play god and create my own sprawling metropolis like my friends had and get into this series as much as they did.


I remember trying very hard to figure out Sim City 3000's system, mostly in that I could never seem to keep up enough money to pay for everything while also keeping my town's people happy enough to stay. I remember playing for hours trying to figure it out before i finally just gave up, loaded a premade city and then unleashed tons of natural disasters upon it until the city lie in rubble. Returning to Sim City 3000 years later as an adult I was hoping that it was just my impatient, non-analytic 13-year old mind that had issues getting into this game, but unfortunately I've found that little has changed in 20-years.


While I understand the financial aspects of Sim City 3000 Unlimited better, actually making sure my city is making money while continuing to please my citizens remains a major annoyance for me. I feel like anytime I make an adjustment to taxes or ordinances, people freak out and move away, but as soon as I lower them I have no money to address the city's other problems. On top of that I continued to get notifications about not having enough water or electricity despite having more plants, power lines, water pipes, and other infrastructure components present to support my city.


Pretty much this game became the same micromanaging nightmare it was when I was a young teen, and I found myself wanting to pull my hair out more than enjoying the game. I know there is a way to overcome the financial issues the game throws at you, but as much as I tried to figure that out I eventually reached a point where I just didn't care anymore and decided enough was enough. I'm sure this game is fun as hell to some, but for me it just annoys me and creates a confusing series of tedious problems that I seem unable to overcome.


The game isn't all bad however, as there are various things I do enjoy about it. For one I love the music that plays; I've always found it very pleasing to my ears and just all around great music to build and manage your city too. I dare say it takes some of the edge off of the things I don't like about this game, but obviously it wasn't enough to keep me going. Also, I have a fair amount of nostalgia for Sim City 3000 as it's a game I did play quite a bit when I was younger, albeit unsuccessfully.


Sadly I think this is going to be my departure from this game for good. Funny enough I've never played Sim City 2000 which seems to be everyone's favorite for the most part, so maybe someday I'll give that game a chance, but as for 3000, I just can't seem to catch enough of a break in this game or separate up from down half the time to make any meaningful progression while playing. I've ran into similar issues in the Sims, a game about micromanaging people rather than entire cities, and found the task of trying to balance my Sims' needs and goals to be a very slow and tedious process. I guess that is sort of a hallmark of these games, but honestly I just can't do it anymore, and I'm going to pass on continuing to play this game I've spent 20-years trying to like and get into.


Abandoned

[telly]

Game 8 - Shovel Knight: Showdown (Wii U) - 15 hours

I counted this game as finished after I unlocked all of the characters and finished the story line with all of them.

+ I stumbled across this new addition to the latest DLC while I was playing through King of Cards, and was pleasantly surprised. Plays just like a 2D version of Smash Bros. except for a health bar and an emphasis more on gem collecting rather than stock based matches. There was a nice selection of characters across the main game and the DLC. The beautiful sprite work is a joy to look at. The gameplay is just as fast, frantic, and fun, with varied and exciting stages stages, and cool items. There was an absolutely kick-ass soundtrack, as always.

- My biggest complaints were with the movesets/mechanics. Most characters have maybe 3 or 4 attacks which is pretty restrictive. Some characters have little to no upwards recovery which really sucks when you get knocked over a pool of lava or a pit. Lastly, the parry felt way too overpowered and I don't like how it knocks your characters back.

[shfan]

2 more abandoned games: DNA (PS2) and The Outer Worlds (PS4).

Dark Native Apostle is the kind of quirky action game I like, but its small size seems to be padded out by forcing you to bang your head against a wall going back and forth and using trial and error to scrape forward. I just can't be chewed when there's no levelling system or anything like that to even have some kind of reward for having to kill respawning enemies.

The Outer Worlds.. it's good but not great, what really killed it for me is the lack of a solid narrative and the whole item/level system being underdeveloped. There's not enough different types of item to get and use, which makes exploring redundant. In the end the limitations became glaringly obvious to the point I just stopped playing.

[kamikazekeeg]

The Outer Worlds.. it's good but not great, what really killed it for me is the lack of a solid narrative and the whole item/level system being underdeveloped. There's not enough different types of item to get and use, which makes exploring redundant. In the end the limitations became glaringly obvious to the point I just stopped playing.

Yeah it's unfortunate that Outer Worlds wasn't very good, I ended up beating the game, but it was very lacking.  It's dialogue system and characters are great, along with a lot of variety to decisions you can make, it's got all the components of what makes me like Fallout games, its just doesn't match up, because exploration and gear isn't very good, which is what drives everything between the dialogue and story.  I'm kinda hoping that since Outer Worlds seemed to do well for them and now with big studio support from Microsoft, they can make a sequel that actually makes the game amazing.

[bikingjahuty]

24. Mario Party (N64)

Unlike many who look back on the Mario Party franchise fondly, I personally have more of an indifferent set of feelings towards it. Back during the N64 era I only ever rented a couple of the Mario Party games, the first and second ones to be specific. Years later I purchased Mario Party 8 on the Wii to play with my then girlfriend; we played and enjoyed Mario Party 8 for maybe a weekend before getting bored with it and never playing it again. That was over a decade ago, so I thought what better way to revisit the Mario Party franchise than to replay the first one, probably 20-years after I'd initially rented it from Blockbuster.


As many are aware, the Mario Party games are set up like a board game, with several levels, or boards for you to choose from. On these boards are a variety of spaces you can land on that do many different things including, but not limited to giving you coins, taking away coins, changing the location of items and spaces, stealing coins or stars from your opponents, and initializing mini games, but more on those mini games in a moment. You play against three other people or computer controlled opponents with the primary objective of collecting the most stars and coins by the end of the game which is preset by the player based on how many turns you select for everyone to engage in. You earn coins and stars in a variety of ways, but mostly stars are bought with coins you obtain in many different ways, the most noteworthy being through the games many different mini games.


These mini games come in a vast variety ranging from memory games, knocking your opponents off platforms, racing them, knocking them down with a bowling ball, and many other scenarios. These mini games are played in a variety of ways including battle royal, 2 vs 2, and 3 vs 1. I didn't count how many mini games there were, but if I had to guess I'd say around 30. Playing the game for a couple of hours will have you trying nearly all of them out.


While I have to give Mario Party creativity points in the concept of having people compete on intricate, dynamic Mario themed board games with unique mini games sprinkled throughout, I also have to fault it for its relatively poor execution of all these elements. For example, most of the mini game controls feel very unresponsive, stiff, and slippery, making the objective artificially difficult given the handicap the controls provide. In addition to the often janky mini game controls, some of the mini games are downright cheap or rely more on luck than any sort of skill. Speaking of luck, there are a lot of conveniences while navigating the board, that depending on what difficulty you've selected make you wonder how truly impartial the game is when it comes to dice rolls and item selection; for example while playing the game on easy I found myself in the right place at the right time more often that what seemed random, and meanwhile on normal difficulty it was often my opponents whom this happened to. It certainly gives the impression of the game being rigged. In addition to that, each of the game's six or so boards are aesthetically unique, however many of the same obstacles and strategies are present across all the boards with only minor variations; this can result in a major sense of deja vu while playing, easily making the game feel unfun and stale.


Graphically Mario Party is not much to look at. While it doesn't look outright terrible and the art direction of the stages is nice to look at and certainly creative, the 3D models in this game are among the most blocky, massive polygons I've ever seen. For example the characters in Mario Party look like a downgrade or two over those same character models in Super Mario 64. Many of the mini game levels are overly simplistic, but also some do look more intricate and detailed. I'd say the game looks slightly better than not, but it's still not a very good looking N64 game.


The audio in Mario Party is mostly good, if not serviceable at times. You will hear a lot of the same singles and themes depending on what is happening on the board or in mini games, but they are all pretty fun to listen to. Also, each stage has it's own theme song that will play while navigating that board. These songs are good, but nothing groundbreaking or so good you'd want to put them on your MP3 player or phone.


Sadly, Mario Party is one of those games I wish I'd left in my past. Again, while my feelings towards the game were on the indifferent side from when I was younger, I certainly remember enjoying them more than I did while replaying them recently. My experience replaying this game has certainly dampened my desire to play more games in the franchise, although I'm sure that I'll at least jump into the other two N64 titles at the very least, someday. There's also the fair criticism that Mario Party are not meant to be played alone against the game's AI controlled characters, but in a room full of friends as you yell and shout at one another for screwing over one another in mini games and during the duration of your turns. I'd be interested to see how this might change my opinion of the game, but unfortunately I don't possess the friends or the time to arrange such an event, which leaves me with my single player impressions of Mario Party. Overall, it's not the worst game in the world, but certainly one that's hard to understand the appeal of after replaying it again. (4/8/20)

Presentation: 6/10
Sound: 7/10
Gameplay: 4/10
Fun: 8/20
Overall: 25/50

[shfan]

The Outer Worlds.. it's good but not great, what really killed it for me is the lack of a solid narrative and the whole item/level system being underdeveloped. There's not enough different types of item to get and use, which makes exploring redundant. In the end the limitations became glaringly obvious to the point I just stopped playing.

Yeah it's unfortunate that Outer Worlds wasn't very good, I ended up beating the game, but it was very lacking.  It's dialogue system and characters are great, along with a lot of variety to decisions you can make, it's got all the components of what makes me like Fallout games, its just doesn't match up, because exploration and gear isn't very good, which is what drives everything between the dialogue and story.  I'm kinda hoping that since Outer Worlds seemed to do well for them and now with big studio support from Microsoft, they can make a sequel that actually makes the game amazing.

Totally agree with that, I think increasingly that kind of model is going to be used - try something out before a massive budget is lavished on it rather than running at every project as though it requires God of War levels of polish.

[justin8301]

12. Undertale (Switch) - 4/2/20
Now I know I played Undertale last year… and I know it probably sounded like I didn’t really like it, but I was looking for something short to play to hold me over till the FF7 Remake comes out and one of my friends suggested I revisit it and go for the True Pacifist run. So, I figured what the hell, lets do it; and let me just say, the True Pacifist ending was totally worth it. It really felt like a true ending to the story, way more satisfying than the Neutral run ending. I know there are a few more endings to experience, but I think I’m good at this point.

13. Abzu (PS4) - 4/4/20
If you have a few hours to kill, don’t care about story and just want a game where you can explore and maybe solve a few simple puzzles, Abzu is for you.  Just play it.

14. Sayonara Wild Hearts (Switch) - 4/10/20
So first of all.. WOW, holy shit! Ok so this game was recommended to me by my buddy a while back and I really wish I would have gotten around to playing it sooner, but since I’m still waiting for my copy of FF7 Remastered to come in, it seemed like the perfect time to do it. I’m just going to say it, this is hands down the best soundtrack for a game ever. I mean really this isn’t a game, its more like an interactive album; I just can’t believe how well the gameplay and music complemented each other. If anyone is reading this, go download this game, plug in some headphones and just enjoy the next hour of your life.

[telly]

Game 9 - Shovel Knight: King of Cards (Wii U) - 9 Hours

It's sad to be done with Shovel Knight, but this was a great way to finish off the series. The story actually had an interesting end to it and it took a direction that was more depressing and somber, which was unexpected and welcome. Everything that's great about the other games is here. Fantastic pixel art, and amazing music are present as always. I liked the shorter level design with lots of optional exits that you can find and unlock. I made it a point to try and find every secret that I could even after beating the game!


- I wasn't the biggest fan of King Knight's controls, but I got used to them eventually. I think it's the fact that his regular attack moves you forward, which can be tricky when trying to platform. I also wasn't the biggest fan of Joustus. It's cool that they put in a full collectable strategy card game in to the game, but it just wasn't the most fun for me.

[bikingjahuty]

25. Panorama Cotton (Genesis)

I remember first hearing about Panorama Cotton on Racketboy's webpage, more specifically on his page about the rarest and most valuable Sega Genesis games. However, Panorama Cotton was technically never a Genesis game since it never was released in the US, but was a Japan exclusive Megadrive game. Lucky for me I didn't have to drop the insane amount of money this game typically goes for, nor import one, but rather I played it via emulator for the first time tonight to see if another one of these uber rare games was worth the price of entry.


Before I get into the meat and potatoes of Panorama Cotton I was to say right off the bat that this was a very, very ambitious game for its time. Panorama Cotton is an on rails shooter, with the closest thing I've played to it being Space Harrier. The fact that this game runs like it does on the Genesis without the assistance of something like the Sega CD or 32X is very impressive in its own right. However, Panorama Cotton might have been a little too ambitious given the hardware it was released on.


In Panorama Cotton you play as a cute little anime witch blasting all manners of random looking enemies with energy blasts, similar to Space Harrier, but you also have various special attacks to help you blow away these enemies and the various stage bosses. While this is all fairly simple, there is so much on the screen at once at varying depths from where you are in the foreground that it can be at times confusing and overwhelming. I can't count the amount of times I misjudged the depth of an enemy or was confused about what depth an object was at, that it ended up damaging me in the end. You are given a life bar instead of ships/guys like in your standard shooters like this. This addition is nice, however you will be hit by so much of the projectiles and enemies on the screen that having it any other way would have literally ruined this game. With this gameplay config the game is definitely playable, but expect a lot of cheap shots and confusion while playing this game.


Graphically and just visually in general Panorama Cotton is a very, very impressive looking game. The bright, vibrant visuals, combined with the fun art style makes this game awesome to play through. Also the transition of settings and going in and out of areas, building, and environments is really cool to see, especially with how quick and seamless these transitions occur. This also has to be one of the most Japanese games I've played, especially on the Genesis. This extends to more than just the anime art style and visuals, but also most of the enemies seem very random and odd in nature, similar to what you'd see in a game like Parodius, albeit less self aware than that game. My only gibe with the presentation of this game has to do with there being a little too much going on and the framerate suffering as a result. This happens far too often and if it weren't for that, this would be up there with the best looking Genesis games, if it isn't already up there.


The audio is also great in Panorama Cotton. It has a very cute, upbeat soundtrack and just is awesome to listen to for the most part. With this game being made by Sunsoft I would expect no less since most of their games had incredible OSTs. There is also some modest voice acting in this game and it's your standard fare cute, Japanese voice acting for the witch and a few other characters in the game.


With the exception of the gameplay issues this would have been one of the better Genesis games I've ever played. Sadly, those gameplay issues make this game frustrating and just a pain to play and as a result my enjoyment of the game truly suffered. I did go back and try replaying it, but unfortunately I didn't feel like I was having anymore fun with it despite being more used to the chaos and issues with depth perception in this game. I mostly just felt like this should have been a game better suited for more powerful hardware where it may have been the excellent game it almost was on the Genesis. Still, it's a cute, unique game that is definitely worth checking out if even just for the impressive novelty of a game like this running on a Genesis. (4/12/20)

Presentation: 9/10
Sound: 8/10
Gameplay: 6/10
Fun: 9/20
OverallL 32/50

[kamikazekeeg]

14 - Final Fantasy 7 Remake (PS4 2020) - BEAT - With everything going on in the world, this game really couldn't have released at a more perfect time.  My sleep schedule is out of whack and I just got absorbed into this game and loved the absolute heck out of it.  It's a great mixture of nostalgia, but with lots of new flavor to everything that can keep you on your toes if you are familiar with the original game.  Honestly, any fan should love this unless you are an absolute purist about the experience and newer people will just enjoy the game as it's not some crazy time sink like a lot of JRPG's can be where you'll be doing 100+ hours.  I beat it in 35 hours, but I still have extras to do and it does unlock Hard mode, though I'll not likely play that, so I'll probably squeeze out another couple hours, finish up the battle intel, weapons, and make sure I have all the music and what not, the stuff I find fun to finish up with as I'm not really a 100% kind of guy.