52 Games Challenge 2021

[droaa]

I'm on a massive KOF kick right now and have beat the following games in the series over the last couple of days.


8. King of Fighters 94 (PS2)

9. King of Fighters 94: Re-Bout (PS2)

10. King of Fighters 95 (PS2)

We'll start where it all began! I haven't really sat down and played KOF 94 in a long, long time. But the game is definitely a classic and is pure aesthetic in terms of levels, music and stages. Unfortunately the gameplay is KOF 94's biggest limitation, which can be forgiven since it was the first game in the franchise. Still, this is a very fun, engaging fighting game that still hold up well even to this day. Unfortunately it's more modern remake is less than stellar. Pretty much 94 Re-Bout takes nearly everything that made the original KOF 94 special and awesome and replaces it completely with bland new stages, uninspired character sprites, and remixes that don't hold up as well as the original OST. Worse still, they left all the negatives about KOF 94's gameplay in tact. If anything they should have just overhauled the gameplay while keeping the visual and musical assets in tact. Was pretty disappointed in Re-Bout though. And finally KOF 95 is mostly an improvement over its predecessor, at least in terms of gameplay. Visually it's about the same, and I feel like the OST was a smidge better than 94. Overall though, I enjoyed 95 just a bit more which is what you'd expect in a game that sought to enhance its predecessor from the year prior.

I got into a KOF kick late last year and it was a nice way to experience the KOF games I never really gave much time for in the past. It got very addicting.

Dude, I am deep in it right now! I've probably played close to 30-hours of KOF over this past week and I don't feel like stopping lol. I've spent a decent amount of time with most of the main games, but really dove into several I just never played a lot like 99, the original 2002, 94 Re-Bout, and the Maximum Impact games (shudders). But they're incredible games and overall my favorite fighting game franchise of all time.

I would like to replay them again mostly cuz when I did it last year I was a wennie and used the services to reduce boss health down cuz I wasnt putting in the effort beat them legit

[bikingjahuty]

I'm on a massive KOF kick right now and have beat the following games in the series over the last couple of days.


8. King of Fighters 94 (PS2)

9. King of Fighters 94: Re-Bout (PS2)

10. King of Fighters 95 (PS2)

We'll start where it all began! I haven't really sat down and played KOF 94 in a long, long time. But the game is definitely a classic and is pure aesthetic in terms of levels, music and stages. Unfortunately the gameplay is KOF 94's biggest limitation, which can be forgiven since it was the first game in the franchise. Still, this is a very fun, engaging fighting game that still hold up well even to this day. Unfortunately it's more modern remake is less than stellar. Pretty much 94 Re-Bout takes nearly everything that made the original KOF 94 special and awesome and replaces it completely with bland new stages, uninspired character sprites, and remixes that don't hold up as well as the original OST. Worse still, they left all the negatives about KOF 94's gameplay in tact. If anything they should have just overhauled the gameplay while keeping the visual and musical assets in tact. Was pretty disappointed in Re-Bout though. And finally KOF 95 is mostly an improvement over its predecessor, at least in terms of gameplay. Visually it's about the same, and I feel like the OST was a smidge better than 94. Overall though, I enjoyed 95 just a bit more which is what you'd expect in a game that sought to enhance its predecessor from the year prior.

I got into a KOF kick late last year and it was a nice way to experience the KOF games I never really gave much time for in the past. It got very addicting.

Dude, I am deep in it right now! I've probably played close to 30-hours of KOF over this past week and I don't feel like stopping lol. I've spent a decent amount of time with most of the main games, but really dove into several I just never played a lot like 99, the original 2002, 94 Re-Bout, and the Maximum Impact games (shudders). But they're incredible games and overall my favorite fighting game franchise of all time.

I would like to replay them again mostly cuz when I did it last year I was a wennie and used the services to reduce boss health down cuz I wasnt putting in the effort beat them legit

As much as I love KOF, the worst thing about the games are the bosses. I'd say half of them are cheap, but certainly still beatable if you're at least an above average player. Then there are about 5 or 6 that will try your patience to the limit given how insanely cheap they are. I don't think there is any shame whatsoever in lowering several of the bosses' HP given how insanely cheap they are; it's just leveling the playfield a bit.

[droaa]

I'm on a massive KOF kick right now and have beat the following games in the series over the last couple of days.


8. King of Fighters 94 (PS2)

9. King of Fighters 94: Re-Bout (PS2)

10. King of Fighters 95 (PS2)

We'll start where it all began! I haven't really sat down and played KOF 94 in a long, long time. But the game is definitely a classic and is pure aesthetic in terms of levels, music and stages. Unfortunately the gameplay is KOF 94's biggest limitation, which can be forgiven since it was the first game in the franchise. Still, this is a very fun, engaging fighting game that still hold up well even to this day. Unfortunately it's more modern remake is less than stellar. Pretty much 94 Re-Bout takes nearly everything that made the original KOF 94 special and awesome and replaces it completely with bland new stages, uninspired character sprites, and remixes that don't hold up as well as the original OST. Worse still, they left all the negatives about KOF 94's gameplay in tact. If anything they should have just overhauled the gameplay while keeping the visual and musical assets in tact. Was pretty disappointed in Re-Bout though. And finally KOF 95 is mostly an improvement over its predecessor, at least in terms of gameplay. Visually it's about the same, and I feel like the OST was a smidge better than 94. Overall though, I enjoyed 95 just a bit more which is what you'd expect in a game that sought to enhance its predecessor from the year prior.

I got into a KOF kick late last year and it was a nice way to experience the KOF games I never really gave much time for in the past. It got very addicting.

Dude, I am deep in it right now! I've probably played close to 30-hours of KOF over this past week and I don't feel like stopping lol. I've spent a decent amount of time with most of the main games, but really dove into several I just never played a lot like 99, the original 2002, 94 Re-Bout, and the Maximum Impact games (shudders). But they're incredible games and overall my favorite fighting game franchise of all time.

I would like to replay them again mostly cuz when I did it last year I was a wennie and used the services to reduce boss health down cuz I wasnt putting in the effort beat them legit

As much as I love KOF, the worst thing about the games are the bosses. I'd say half of them are cheap, but certainly still beatable if you're at least an above average player. Then there are about 5 or 6 that will try your patience to the limit given how insanely cheap they are. I don't think there is any shame whatsoever in lowering several of the bosses' HP given how insanely cheap they are; it's just leveling the playfield a bit.

Believe you me, some of the bosses in this are complete horseshit but trying to beat them legit is more a personal goal just to say i did it.

[kamikazekeeg]

Rainy Season (PC 2020) - BEAT - I probably shouldn't really count this for my list, since it's not much of a "game" and it can be beaten very quick, but it's still something and was a slightly chill, nice, experience.  Basically it's the "walking sim" game, where you are just walking around a house, interact with a few things, getting a little story, and that is about it.  This one in particular is very short and doesn't really a lot of story to it, it seems to be someone remembering back to a day they had as a kid, nothing special, it's just a rainy day that stopped them from going to the amusement park and as a stuck kid at home, you are just wandering around, having daydreams about stuff.  It's basically really short bouts of wandering the house to get little tidbits of what the kid sees, and then you get some nice daydreams about some spooky monster, or a giant cat having a party, or wanting flowers to bloom, there's really not anything more to it.  I like it for the Japanese aesthetics, I have a thing about that and it's overall quite chill with the simplistic graphics, there's no twist or surprise to it, it's just something kinda simple and nice. 

It's not something I would recommend since it can be finished in less than an hour and there really isn't a lot you can do, but it's only 4 bucks, so I'm fine having grabbed it.

[Cartagia]

February Update

Games Beat in February:
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light (Switch) - Started in Jan.  I'm amazed at how much it feels like the modern titles, aside from the graphics.  I was missing some of the quality of life stuff, in regard to be able to trade items, etc.  Beat on Feb. 4.
1943: The Battle of Midway (Switch) - Yeah, this was definitely an arcade title.  At least I didn't have to pump quarters in.  There were some sections that were surprisingly easy, but after the first level it is truly a bullet hell game.  Best on Feb. 19.
Deadpool (XB1) - Meh DMC style action game.  You'd think a previous gen updated game would run better than this.  It was funny in spots, but was also the more juvenile Deadpool style humor I'm not the biggest fan of.  Worth a play if you like comics and or the character, but nothing to write home about.  Beat Feb. 26.
Hitman (2016) (PS4) - Super fun, but kinda short if you are only playing to beat the campaign.  I'm just not personally that interested in the re-playability, but it has tons of options for it.  Feb. 28. 

Games Played in February:
Minecraft (PC) - Put a lot more hours into this month, but kind of hit a wall a week or so ago.  Still worth buying, and I'll probably return to it in the future, but that honeymoon phase is wearing off.

[dhaabi]

10. Astro's Playroom || PlayStation 5 || 03.04.21

Existing much more as a fully-fledged game than a tech demo, Astro's Playroom is a huge and welcoming delight to all who secure a PlayStation 5. As a free title, Astro's Playroom showcases the new features of the DualSense controller with much-satisfying 3D platformer gameplay. In truth, Astro's Playroom may be one of my favorite first-party SCEI titles of all time. Interwoven with dozens of cameos from past SCEI titles, fans of Sony will go out of their way to inspect every nook and cranny to discover what else the game has to offer in its world as simply background information. Having not yet played any other PlayStation 5 title, Astro's Playroom left me excited for what's to come throughout this new generation, all thanks to the DualSense controller. In particular, the updated trigger responsiveness and resistance is my personal favorite addition to Sony's line of controllers.

If you're a PlayStation 5 owner and have yet to play Astro's Playroom, play it as soon as you can.

[telly]

Game 3 -  Kingdom Hearts RE: Chain of Memories (PS4) - 22 hours

When I first started playing this game, I didn't like it much at all. As I continued through the game, I started to come around to it a lot more. I think it's greatly flawed, but it's not as bad as I originally thought when I started playing.

One thing that I actually ended up liking a lot was the story. While it was super cheesy and silly, I actually really liked the idea of someone taking apart your memories and replacing them with ones that are not yours. This setup added a lot of mystery and I thought it was really compelling. And it was great to learn about the in-between story that took place between Kingdom Hearts I and II. However, because the game is based on Sora's memories, you are forced to play through all the same areas from the first game all over again, with the same environments, music, and enemies. Every single boss was the same as the first game (except the fights in the actual Castle Oblivion). It felt very repetitive. In addition, the game takes on a dungeon-crawling like design with user-driven room creation, and while it was fun deciding what rooms to make, each layout was lazy and empty, with only some generic objects to hit and random encounters all day long. The stories in the individual worlds were also really lazily done and stupid.

To make up for most of the game being a copy-past from KH1, the developers implemented a card-based redesign to the combat. Generally, I do enjoy games with cards and deck building, and it was rewarding to try and find and collect as many different cards and sleights as possible. My biggest issue with this change is that Chain of Memories attempts to insert elements of strategy into frenetic action-based combat, and it ends up being a shitty middle ground between a strategy game and a hack-and-slash game that doesn't really excel in either genre. Simply, you have no time to strategize about which cards you should use in the middle of battle since you're constantly trying to joystick and maneuver around enemy attacks. Enemy attacks are way harder to dodge and some of them you can't dodge at all, meaning you have to use a 0 card or a high powered sleight to break through them. You can also have your attacks broken if your card's value (from 0-10) is lower than the opponents, so the strategy in the beginning is just "put the highest value cards possible in your deck so you can attack uninhibited". For the first 10 hours the game felt like a clunkier, slower, and disjointed version of the battles from Kingdom Hearts.

That is, until I figured out how to use sleights. Frankly, sleights are very easy to abuse, and there are some that can completely break the game. I ended up making two decks: one for regular battles and one for boss battles. For the regular battles I spammed powerful AOE attacks like "Proud Roar", "Omnislash", "Splash", and "Mega Flare", to completely demolish the hordes of heartless, and standard enemies don't carry any 0 cards or sleights of their own, so you'll always be able to use your sleights. Against the Organization/Riku fights, I would use a deck made of nothing but "Lethal Frame", and "Sonic Blade", which can stun lock your opponent permanently. I found that consistency was far more effective then actually strategizing on the fly in battle. So while there is plenty of strategy to be had in building your deck OUTSIDE of battle, the actual combat got very repetitive, linear, and brainless. Particularly with the Organization fights, I found that I had to employ this strategy or get completely bodied. There was no middle ground.

Next up will be 358/2 days and then I'm planning on taking a break from the series to play some other games before jumping into Kingdom Hearts II. I'm not sure yet if I'll also go back to play Riku's campaign in this game or if I'll just watch the cutscenes online, but if I do end up playing it I'll add to this post.

[tripredacus]

16. Fallout
This is my first time getting to play this game, but there was a time before that I had tried it. I'm not entirely certain what year it was that I had tried it before, but it was when Hive City was around, which was a Pentium 133Mhz computer with a Voodoo Rush and Windows 95. I do not remember how I got the game, I know I did not buy it. So I could have borrowed it or perhaps it was acquired some other way, idk. All I know is that the game did not run because it was so large that I had no free hard disk space. And then I put it into the Recycle Bin, which caused an even bigger problem since you need free disk space to empty the it. I remember it taking hours to figure out how to get that sorted out, and this was before you could just go online to figure things out.

Round 2, this time I have the game on Steam. It does support widescreen but I ended up playing in 1024x768 stretched. It didn't make too much of a diference. You can tell modern games have come a long way when it comes to inventory management and quest guides. The map was OK. Transferring items or bartering would sometimes not use the correct quantities. Especially when trading with companions, where say you want to give them half your ammo, the counter goes up to 6 so you put it at 3. Then your companions do not always use guns when they are supposed to which is weird. AND sometimes your companions will not engage in a battle if they are off screen, but this also happens with enemies. Some quests have details that are only kept in dialog and not shown on the quest screen. For example the Brotherhood of Steel gives you a quest to go to a town and bring back an item. The name of the town they give does not match the town names on the map. And then when you are in a town, it can be a pixel hunt to figure out what to do. I never ended up finding that item.

I got capped quite early. I finished the first quest to get the water chip, but ended up killing the ghouls. I wasn't intending for it to happen this way. I followed the direction of the ghouls to go a certain way to get the parts, but I never found any parts. In the process of exploring I found the chip, brought it back to Vault 13 and then went back to find those parts. But when I got there, everyone died because their water turned off. After that I went to another town where you needed to help The Blades get some guns, but you had to get past Deathclaws. Those are probably the hardest enemy in the game and I couldn't survive killing just one. I didn't have any other quests or places to explore left. So I ended up using Falche which is a save editor for Fallout and Fallout 2. There isn't really a way to make you do more damage, but you can change your DT so that you do not take normal damage. It isn't a god mode as you can still be killed and damaged by criticals. Even with this, it does not make the game any easier with the exception of being able to live longer. I still had the same weapons I did before and it takes forever to kill just one Deathclaw. And I had to do this many times because I didn't see the stairs to the basement of the building until my 4th time in that zone.

And then after doing that quest and being able to get some better guns, again I ended up with nothing to do. Some quests seemed to be not available, or people wouldn't talk to me. I couldn't get into the Glow area, which I'm sure is a quest from somewhere. And when I approached the Super Mutants, I didn't get a dialog option they just attacked and there is a door that requires a code. When all seemed like there was nothing left to do, I tried to kill the Overseer in Vault 13 and after an hour it seems he is unkillable.

Anyways, that's enough for me. The game is not interesting enough for me to try it again to do something different. I didn't want to bother having to look up everything or following a walkthrough. It was interesting experience and will definiately give Fallout 2 a go some day.

[koemo1]

Reserving my spot
1. Red Dead Redemption II [PS4] 9/10
2. Tomb Raider [PS1] 7.5/10
3. Klonoa: Door to Phantomile [PS1] 8/10
4. The Sniper 2 [PS2] 5/10
5. Devil's Third [WiiU] 6.5/10
6. Zelda: Breath of the Wild [WiiU] In progress
7. Demon's Souls [PS5] 8/10
8. Link's Crossbow Training [Wii] 7/10
9. Call of Duty: Finest Hour [PS2] 6.5/10
10. Jet Set Radio Future [XBOX] In progress
11. Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes [Wii] 7/10
12. Geometry Wars Galaxies [Wii] In progress

[dhaabi]

11. Bugsnax || PlayStation 5 || 03.09.21

Quickly introducing the player to quite the eccentric world, Bugsnax tells the story of a reporter sent to discover the rumors and the legitimacies regarding a group of settlers on a previously undiscovered island called Snaktooth Island and the rumored new collective species of animals called Bugsnax. Upon your arrival, the settlement has disbanded largely due to disagreements amongst another, with everyone going off to their own corners of this unexplored world. As you're introduced to each character, it's clear that they all believe that Bugsnax are the answers to all their problems on an individual level, but, in your time with them, you see that their reliance upon Bugsnax only caused more problems for them to overcome.

Did I mention that Bugsnax are the group's primary source of food and that, upon eating Bugsnax, the body begins to morph into physical characteristics to what they've just eaten? And that Bugsnax are some weird animal/food hybrid species, meaning that the settlers are literally mutating into food? Yeah, the creators weren't shy about introducing a quirky story.

With a straight-forward story and even more straight-forward gameplay, Bugsnax is an easy game for players to delve into. Simply find a settler and solve some of their immediate concerns, and they'll return to the group encampment. For a variety of reasons, their most of their problems require the player to capture Bugsnax, which of course the settlers eat without any question. While the game can be completed fairly quickly, it also offers a lot to accomplish for a complete playthrough, as several dozen side-quests and 100 unique Bugsnax exist to capture.

While I secured my copy of the game through PlayStation Plus, I would recommend to those who don't have Bugsnax but are interested that it ss a title worth trying at its given pricing and is one to try if you're especially attracted to oddball titles.

[necrosexual]

gonna make a quick rundown of the zelda games i've played so far this year. full disclaimer is i have literally zero qualms about using walkthroughs, especially as it pertains to hidden goodies unlocked after obtaining certain items. i tend to enjoy my time more this way.

i have also played all of these on emulated hardware of some kind, but strictly without using save states. i'm trying to experience them as originally intended, so while i respect people who use states, and have used them myself for other games, i'm choosing not to for the zeldas.

legend of zelda
i'm a wee young to have experienced this one at its prime, so copious amounts of walkthrough usage applied here. that said, this game still is a kind of magical experience, and super charming too. i spent a number of hours trying to uncover all that i could without assistance and it honestly gave me the same sense of exploring a huge map with lots of neat little secrets that breath of the wild gave, and i wish i could've been there when it was huge, trading what i found and so on. i think this is one of those games that i'll find myself replaying here and there, esp because its length is just right for it. good on them.

zelda ii: adventure of link
this game gets too much flak and 'one of the worst games ever!!' is exaggerated imo. that said, it is also downright cruel when it comes to HP management, with no bottled fairies, no recovery drops and a magic system that can get quite tight (leaving too little to heal) with uncommon MP drops as well. after struggling and barely passing palace 3 i realised i had seen enough to know it isn't for me, my reaction speed is too slow to keep up, and it was only going to get harder.

that said, i liked the palace maps i saw. i feel it is less cryptic than the complaints led me to expect. controls were tight, and my only worries about jumps were due to dmg knockback. i think there is potential there, but someone at play-testing should've said 'hey all, maybe we should be less mean to players...?' ahaha.

link to the past
dungeons great, overworld good, lots of fun items and fun visuals. i never knew about dark world bunny link and i was like 'whaaaat no one warned me of this! what is this?!'

that said, i'm mixed on this one. i was desperate for the defence upgrade long before it was obtainable. i never felt like i really 'got' the combat aim down, and whatever it was i expected was off balance compared to the left-handed swing and shots of the game. i don't really know why.

i felt like the first 50-70% of the game was a real fun time, and the last bit was also a fun time, but that late-mid and pre-end game area was sloggish and i felt kinda done with it, and frustrated at times by getting mobbed and my health sapped insanely fast by the enemies that continually got stronger over time, particularly before getting access to the defence upgrade. it really made my experience suffer overall, which is a shame because this game has really good dungeons and puzzles, really fun items to use and a welcome overall friendliness to players.

ocarina of time
p sure there is legit nothing i can say that hasn't been said 1000 times about this game. i played it up to ganondorf's castle when i was younger, so i had experience with the game, and it was fun to experience it again after some 15+ years since then! and amusing what i did and didn't remember.

my only real hot take to offer is: i don't mind the water temple, and would rather do it twice than jabu-jabu's nauseating belly dungeon and deal with ruto's spoiled brat nonsense. water temple has few enemies to interrupt you when trying to figure out the puzzles and doing map cross-checking. it's a super long dungeon, a little tedious if you dislike menuing, can become awfully confusing... but i kinda dig that 'ruins raid' feeling, tho the final boss fight is absolutely laughable ime. meanwhile jabu-jabu is the opposite, enemies try to interrupt you constantly, most of which are annoying to deal with (particularly pre-boomerang), the puzzles are not very complex, the map is pretty boring and the final boss was super unintuitive, with my boomerang making the 'clang' failure sound 3+ times, which i took as 'not the method to fight it', when it actually was i just got that unlucky. and the visuals are gross, too. no thanks. worst dungeon imo.

i also grew a visceral hatred for bongo-bongo, tho maybe that should be actually directed at the wreck that is z-targeting in that fight. but i chalk this up in part to the wii u version's input delay (it's a 4 frame delay, and most noticeable with the bongo 'rush' and [phantom] ganondorf's tennis mechanic ime), because i don't recall it being a wreck when i was younger.

but oot is a classic masterpiece and for good reason, and it would be asinine to say one dungeon makes the overall game suffer, no matter how much i dread jabu-jabu every time. i completed everything except the final quiver upgrade (my aim sucks and it was a real struggle to get the heart piece from horseback archery alone...) and the 100 gold skulltula task (finished with ~73 iirc), and while i was glad to be finished, i felt like it was the perfect length, not overstaying its welcome, and not closing out too soon.

[tripredacus]

17. Crusader Kings II (endless)
After having played this game for a week, it really has the potential of usurping Civilization V as my favorite casual game. It is really something else. This isn't the first Paradox game I've played, having previously attempted Europa Universalis III many years ago, I was well aware of how complicated it can be. Unlike EUIII, this game has a tutorial and you can easily get away with not doing anything and just play the events. The game is still super complicated and while I have learned much I'm sure I'm still quite terrible at it. I'm pretty sure I'll be playing this for years to come. I even considered postponing the 52 games challenge to just play this.

I ran through 3 dynasties. The tutorial area starts out in regular mode? And it took me quite a long time to figure out combat. Tutorial is a good start but isn't where you want to play. If you want to be able to earn achievements, you need to start a new game in Ironman mode. It is slightly disappointing as I'm sure I would have gotten achievements in Tutorial.

Some things I have yet to figure out is how to build boats. On my third attempt I was up in UK area and couldn't force claims on mainland Europe because I had no boats to take me over there. On this third run, I started as Gwriad ap Elidyr of Ynis Manaw (currently known as Isle of Man) which is another neat thing where all the countries and (playable) people you can choose at the start of a game actually existed. One thing I know now is I really do not know much about medieval Europe. Anyways, my guy joined the Coven of Satan and things were going great until I had to sacrifice a few kids to the devil and got possessed by a demon. Being on such a small island meant I was having a tough time filling out my council with competant people and eventually what happened is there was an uprising and the peasants killed the entire royal family.

Now this is truly an endless game, but it does technically have an end. You can't progress into the future forever, there is a cutoff year, while you can start around 760 I think the game would end in the 1600s sometime. The way the game works is you can continue on only if you have an heir. So yes in this game you can get married and have kids. And when you die, you play as your heir. All the while having to manage your kingdom and make personal decisions, there is just so much to do it is overwhelming at times... but as I said you can always just not do anything and click on event decisions.

[bikingjahuty]

gonna make a quick rundown of the zelda games i've played so far this year. full disclaimer is i have literally zero qualms about using walkthroughs, especially as it pertains to hidden goodies unlocked after obtaining certain items. i tend to enjoy my time more this way.

i have also played all of these on emulated hardware of some kind, but strictly without using save states. i'm trying to experience them as originally intended, so while i respect people who use states, and have used them myself for other games, i'm choosing not to for the zeldas.

legend of zelda
i'm a wee young to have experienced this one at its prime, so copious amounts of walkthrough usage applied here. that said, this game still is a kind of magical experience, and super charming too. i spent a number of hours trying to uncover all that i could without assistance and it honestly gave me the same sense of exploring a huge map with lots of neat little secrets that breath of the wild gave, and i wish i could've been there when it was huge, trading what i found and so on. i think this is one of those games that i'll find myself replaying here and there, esp because its length is just right for it. good on them.

zelda ii: adventure of link
this game gets too much flak and 'one of the worst games ever!!' is exaggerated imo. that said, it is also downright cruel when it comes to HP management, with no bottled fairies, no recovery drops and a magic system that can get quite tight (leaving too little to heal) with uncommon MP drops as well. after struggling and barely passing palace 3 i realised i had seen enough to know it isn't for me, my reaction speed is too slow to keep up, and it was only going to get harder.

that said, i liked the palace maps i saw. i feel it is less cryptic than the complaints led me to expect. controls were tight, and my only worries about jumps were due to dmg knockback. i think there is potential there, but someone at play-testing should've said 'hey all, maybe we should be less mean to players...?' ahaha.

link to the past
dungeons great, overworld good, lots of fun items and fun visuals. i never knew about dark world bunny link and i was like 'whaaaat no one warned me of this! what is this?!'

that said, i'm mixed on this one. i was desperate for the defence upgrade long before it was obtainable. i never felt like i really 'got' the combat aim down, and whatever it was i expected was off balance compared to the left-handed swing and shots of the game. i don't really know why.

i felt like the first 50-70% of the game was a real fun time, and the last bit was also a fun time, but that late-mid and pre-end game area was sloggish and i felt kinda done with it, and frustrated at times by getting mobbed and my health sapped insanely fast by the enemies that continually got stronger over time, particularly before getting access to the defence upgrade. it really made my experience suffer overall, which is a shame because this game has really good dungeons and puzzles, really fun items to use and a welcome overall friendliness to players.

ocarina of time
p sure there is legit nothing i can say that hasn't been said 1000 times about this game. i played it up to ganondorf's castle when i was younger, so i had experience with the game, and it was fun to experience it again after some 15+ years since then! and amusing what i did and didn't remember.

my only real hot take to offer is: i don't mind the water temple, and would rather do it twice than jabu-jabu's nauseating belly dungeon and deal with ruto's spoiled brat nonsense. water temple has few enemies to interrupt you when trying to figure out the puzzles and doing map cross-checking. it's a super long dungeon, a little tedious if you dislike menuing, can become awfully confusing... but i kinda dig that 'ruins raid' feeling, tho the final boss fight is absolutely laughable ime. meanwhile jabu-jabu is the opposite, enemies try to interrupt you constantly, most of which are annoying to deal with (particularly pre-boomerang), the puzzles are not very complex, the map is pretty boring and the final boss was super unintuitive, with my boomerang making the 'clang' failure sound 3+ times, which i took as 'not the method to fight it', when it actually was i just got that unlucky. and the visuals are gross, too. no thanks. worst dungeon imo.

i also grew a visceral hatred for bongo-bongo, tho maybe that should be actually directed at the wreck that is z-targeting in that fight. but i chalk this up in part to the wii u version's input delay (it's a 4 frame delay, and most noticeable with the bongo 'rush' and [phantom] ganondorf's tennis mechanic ime), because i don't recall it being a wreck when i was younger.

but oot is a classic masterpiece and for good reason, and it would be asinine to say one dungeon makes the overall game suffer, no matter how much i dread jabu-jabu every time. i completed everything except the final quiver upgrade (my aim sucks and it was a real struggle to get the heart piece from horseback archery alone...) and the 100 gold skulltula task (finished with ~73 iirc), and while i was glad to be finished, i felt like it was the perfect length, not overstaying its welcome, and not closing out too soon.

One of my many gaming goals I have for this year is to play at least one new Zelda game I've never played before. Fortunately there are a lot that fit that into category for me.

[dhaabi]

12. Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope || Nintendo Switch || 03.17.21

Already acquainted with the first two campaigns within the Shovel Knight series, I never got around to finishing the overarching story as subsequent DLC updates released over the years. With the series compilation Treasure Trove combining all four campaigns in one convenient package and in my possession, I decided to delve right back into the series from the very beginning to experience the story all at once.

Having played the initial campaign long ago at its debut for the Nintendo 3DS, my initial reaction to the Switch port was concerning. While it may just be my memory faulting my judgement, I don't remember the 3DS port's control feeling so heavy. Whether the controls have slightly changed or not, I quickly felt at greater ease in my platforming skills and combat. While I've not played many timeless platforming classics that inspired Shovel Knight—namely Zelda II, Castlevania, DuckTales, and countless others—I can tell as a stranger to the style of games that Shovel Knight's inspirations are worn proudly at its sleeves while excelling at bringing a fresh breath of nostalgic air to retro-loving gamers.

I'm looking forward to finishing the remaining three campaigns. That Yacht Club kept good on their word in delivering more and more content as promised from the Kickstarter campaign is a true testament of developers keeping their audience and fans in mind throughout the seven years spent on this one title.

[telly]

Game 4 – Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (DS) – 26 Hours

After reading some reviews online, I decided to pick this game up rather than watch the cutscenes on the PS4 collection. It looked like it was worth playing through, and while I don’t regret purchasing the game, I do understand why some people would opt to just watch the cutscenes instead.

For one, I’m not entirely sure why the game needed to be on the DS. While the gameplay is structured as a mission-based design with a local co-op option, hardly any other aspect of the DS is used at all. In fact, the gameplay takes a severe step down on the handheld because of the lack of analog sticks and only two shoulder buttons. Controlling the camera and locking on to enemies is made way more difficult as a result, and the game overall feels clunky and slower. Towards the end of the game, the mission-based gameplay started getting repetitive, and it generally felt like an inferior experience when compared to the console games.

The only other new aspect to gameplay is the use of a panel system in which all your upgrades, moves, and even leveling up is handled. At first it seems like it would be an interesting mechanic, but it felt unnecessarily tedious to manage. It’s like they took all the spells, moves, and weapons you unlock naturally from the previous games and added more bookkeeping on top of it.

Visually, 358/2 Days is very impressive for being on the DS. The game features several areas from KH I and II but “DS-ified” for lack of a better term, and it actually looks very good. Unlike Chain of Memories however, this game adds new areas to the existing worlds that you’ve explored in the previous games which was fun.

As far as the story goes, I’m a little more mixed on it. This game takes place in between KH I and II, and it was really great to learn about Roxas and the other Organization members, including Axel, Saïx and others. It gave those characters a lot more personality than they were originally portrayed in KH II, and you can sympathize with their motivations more. However, given that I had already played KH II, I was not interested at all in Roxas’s journey to discover “who he is” because it’s already been established that he’s Sora’s nobody. And even if you haven’t played KHII this game none-too-subtly tells you right off the bat from the opening cutscene. I was more interested in Xion as a character because of her tragic existence, though her interactions with Riku were very confusing and hard to follow. You also really need to have played through KH II to understand what happens to Roxas at the end of the game.

Like I said in my Chain of Memories review, I'm going to spend a little time playing some different, shorter games before starting KH II.