52 Games Challenge 2022

[bikingjahuty]

23. Mega Man X (PS4)

I owned an SNES and Genesis growing up, however I played my Genesis way more and owned far more games on it during the time both consoles were being supported. However, I got to experience some incredible SNES games during that period of time including the first two DKC games, Street Fighter II Turbo, and of course Mega Man X. Unfortunately I was never able to beat Mega Man X a a kid, in fact I never even beat all the robot masters until years later as an adult. The last time I took a crack at Mega Man X I'm not sure what happened, but I remember I stopped playing at some point during the first Sigma stage and never picked it back up. Well, I did pick it back up and finally beat this game.


Mega Man X is undoubtedly one of those must play iconic SNES games, although I'd still say it's far from being a masterpiece. For starters, the visuals and OST are not only among the best on the SNES, but absolutely some of the best you could find in any video game during the early 90s period. I adore Mega Man X's OST and it has this super awesome, high energy rock sound coming from the SNES's hardware that is just amazing! The level design is super unique, there are many enemy types that are used sparingly so you do see the same types way too often, and the bosses are also very memorable and cool in their design too. While definitely good, probably the weakest part of Mega Man X is its gameplay which has some questionable design issues as well as controls that can be tricky to use when you're in a pinch. I also almost gave up on this game again as the final stage consists of four parts. You get to go back to the part you want to if you simply die and need to use a continue, but if you power the console off and restart you have to go back to the first sub stage in the final stage. I found this out the hard way and nearly gave up on beating the game because of it. The final stage is probably the weakest anyways in terms of design, as it's mostly a boss rush with a few new bosses thrown in, including the final boss who has three forms. So in a way you could say my biggest issues with Mega Man X come down to some of its outdated features and issues. Otherwise, this is a solid game and a must play on the SNES. (3/13/22) [39/50]

p.s. I decided to play this game on the PS4 via the Mega Man X Collection, however if you are going to play it I'd recommend a different platform. There were a lot of perfomance issues, specifically in several stages for some reason that made the game even more difficult than it already was. The worst was the Chill Penguin Stage which has screen tearing at parts and just a slowed down framerate, sometimes for no reason at all. The score I gave above is assuming you play the SNES version, which I have enough to know that the technical issues I did have were simply because of the port and not the original game. If I was going to judge this port it would probably have been a point or 2 less in case anyone is wondering.

[telly]

Game 3 – Persona 5 Royal (PS4) – 135 hours, Platinum Trophy earned

This was one hell of a long-ass game to finish, probably the most hours that I’ve ever spent completing a game’s single player experience. There are some fantastic aspects of Persona 5 that I absolutely loved! But I do feel that there is are some flaws that harm the experience.

First, let’s talk about what’s great about this game. Persona 5 improves upon Persona 3 and 4 in pretty much every way. The most striking is a completely redesigned, beautiful, and expressive menu and UI system that rides the line perfectly between functional and flashy. The visuals in general are very stylish, and it really helps bring the game’s world and combat to life. The music is also the best in the series by far. I was never really a fan of Persona 3/4's music, but Persona 5 really blew me out of the water with a mainly jazz-focused score that fits well with the rest of the game.

My favorite improvements were with the dungeon progression and combat, however. I loved that the dungeons are not randomly generated and so they’re more intentionally designed with hidden areas and treasures to discover. They’re also more closely tied to each major villain throughout the game so they were more enjoyable to explore. You still have the option of the traditional randomly-generated dungeon progression system in the form of Mementos. I also appreciated the new additions to the combat system such as baton passing, new elemental attacks, guns attacks, technical damage, and being able to swap party members in battle, among other things. I liked the negotiation process for shadows which felt way more natural than the “card” system that Persona 4 had. Creating new personas has a lot more to explore as well as more options to train and turn your personas into items. Just a lot of additions with the combat that I really appreciated. The confidant and social aspects of the game were also improved. I loved that your confidants give you additional abilities that are thematic to their personality, which gives you an added decision to make when choosing who to hang out with.

I also enjoyed most aspects of the story compared to Persona 3 and 4. I think what this game does best is really lean in to the juxtaposition of your double life as a vigilante/superhero and a normal high school student. And whether your actions are justified or not was interesting to consider. However, the final Holy Grail boss was pretty bad in my opinion, and had no buildup or interest after Shido was defeated. I did think that the added bosses in the Royal additions to this game make it a lot better, and I think it did a better job with this kind of idea than a lot of other games. Overall I thought it was a fine story, but the experience of the story was held back by the game's pacing and length.

I think I deviate from most people (at least from what I’ve seen), but I think that this game is far, FAR too damn long. Every Persona game feels too long to me: at around the 50 hour mark I always get really fatigued with the social-oriented half of the game. Persona 5 is no exception, but of course this game is more than twice the length this time around! My issue is that Persona’s mechanics are not deep or complex enough to support such a long game. I thought about how much I enjoyed playing Kingdom Hearts even though that accounted to over 200 hours of gameplay, and it was because the combat was rich and varied, and each game added a new gameplay quirk or feature to mix up the formula and reduce the monotony. I would say that about 40 hours of Persona 5 consists of reading dialogue and text messages ad nauseum, and it's so exhausting after a while. The time in between targets was the worst, as the gameplay reduces to simply picking someone to hang out with and reading dialogue for hours and hours on end. Again, it's not terrible if the game were shorter, but it becomes a serious problem with such a long run time.

I also had a few other nitpicks. I think for how dark the topics in this game can get, Persona 5 can still get very immature/predatory with some of the humor. I’m not a huge fan of this game’s flavor of humor in general, but the times where Ryuji is looking up Ann’s skirt or when Yusuke wants to paint her nude against her consent (for example) felt extremely uncomfortable and weird when considering that the first boss you defeat is a sexually harassing teacher. One thing I didn’t like on the combat side was how if you die, you lose the battle, even if you have other party members that can fight. Got a few more game overs because of that than I thought I deserved. Lastly, I think the choice to use a silent protagonist felt a little outdated and I wish he was actually given a voice. The dialogue choices you ARE given are usually inconsequential, or are just different flavors of the same response, and they don't add that much to the character's personality for me.

[vivigamer]

15. Max: The Curse of Brotherhood (Xbox One X) 17/03/2022

A nice surprise! A very decent 2.5 Platformer, with an aesthetic designed like a children's CGI cartoon. The basic premises is your bother is taken too another world and you have to rescue him form a mysterious villain. The unique gameplay aspect is that you have a pen which acquires power-ups as you progress - This pen can manipulate the certain points to interact with powers of pillars, vines, branches and more. Some times you'll be required to draw certain shapes with the pen to create/manipulate objects, there's a lot of creativity put into the level design. It's just a very decent game, not overblown nor does it outstay it's welcome - Highly recommend!

[kashell]

19. Monark

You know how some games could be excellent if the developer's budget was increased just a tad? That's the case here with Monark. The story and vibe of the game is truly unique; worth the experience for a good chunk of the game. The pacing is great and there are some super creepy parts.

But man, the game is just a technical mess. The dialogues are awkward and there is too much emphasis on level grinding. With some extra buff and polish this could have been magnificent. But, I'm glad I played it. I'm en route towards the platinum now. Yay - more grinding!

EDIT: Platinum acquired. First one of the year!

[bikingjahuty]

24. Mario Kart 64 (N64)

While my intention this year was to play the original Mario Kart (and I still probably will before the end of the year), playing some of the new DLC levels for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe inspired me to actually go back and replay the Mario Kart game I had the most experience with growing up, Mario Kart 64. While I do possess a lot of the same googley eyed nostalgia for Mario Kart 64 that many others have, there were actually a decent amount of N64 racing games I played and enjoyed more as a kid. And well, this still holds true to this day.


Mario Kart 64 is definitely a classic on the N64, however it is not without its flaws that I feel many are too afraid or proud to admit. For one the handling of the karts is certainly serviceable, but they do feel fairly floaty and I found myself going off stages or crashing into walls way more often than I should have. Also, the courses in Mario Kart 64 are a mixed bag. Some are excellent, others are pretty good, a few are meh, and then a few more are just bad. The course design is really all over the place and will have you either excited or fretting whatever stage you're about to race on. The OST is pretty damn awesome in Mario Kart 64 and still sounds great to this day, as do the various noises and sounds the characters and their karts make. Graphically Mario Kart 64 was certainly a looker for its time and many of its stages show off a level of creativity that awed many gamers back in the mid 90s, myself included. Combined with the audio of this game, it definitely makes me feel are warm and fuzzy inside when I play this one. Still, the gameplay and course design at times does have its issues that really prevent this game from standing toe to toe with some of the undisputed classics on the console. I'd even go as far as to say Wave Race 64 is a much better, more fun game. This is probably blasphemy to many, but I stand by that statement 100%. Still, Mario Kart 64 is an excellent racing game from a simpler time in gaming. (3/19/22) [36/50]

[justin8301]

10. Kirby's Dream Land (NGB) 3/20/22

I’ve been getting a bit excited for the new Kirby game coming out this week, so I figured I’d take a stroll down memory lane to get me ready for Friday. Not much to say about this one, it’s the Kirby that started it all, everything we know and love about that big pink ball came from this one.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CbWSXFitnEj/

[kashell]

20. Triangle Strategy

A solid strategy RPG. I wish New Game+ would reset the enemies back to level 1 because I want to see what the different paths are like but no luck. If I do replay it, then I'm setting the difficulty to the lowest difficulty so I don't have to grind as much.

Now it's time to wait a few days for Kirby!

[justin8301]

11. Uncharted Drake's Fortune (PS4) 3/21/22

FUCK, I forgot how good this game is; even now it still holds up, it’s a goddamn masterpiece. You ever finish a game and immediately want to just start it over? That’s how good this game is… and its not even the best one in the franchise. Really looking forward to Uncharted 2!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CbY09iLtp1-/

[justin8301]

12. Kirby's Adventure (Switch) 3/23/22

This is one of the first games I remember BEGGING my parents for as a kid and I still have my original cartridge after all these years. It doesn’t matter how many times I play through this game; it always trips me up how difficult the last boss is compared to the rest of the game. Its not insanely hard, but after just breezing through the whole game its kind strange to have a boss like that.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cbd2p6st5NA/

[justin8301]

13. Kirby's Dream Land 2 (NGB) 3/24/22

Now this is the first time I played this one, and I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised with it! I don’t know if it was just because it was the first time playing it, but they seemed to have stepped up the boss difficulty across the board wit this one. Usually, I breeze right through Kirby games but this one gave me a little trouble on a few bosses and I’m totally ok with that! I’m still not sure how I feel about the animal friends though; the fish felt pointless most of the time, the hamster was ok, but the owl was almost overpowered especially paired with the umbrella power. None of them really felt necessary, but they also didn’t hurt anything by being there.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CbgaIZythhw/

[vivigamer]

16. Echo Generation (Xbox One X) 24/03/2022
Echo Generation is clearly inspired by Earthbound with it's kid protagonists and suburbs setting, overall I had fun with it but there are a few issues. The biggest problem I had with the game was pacing, it was fine at first but about 2/3'rds into the game most of the game turns into fetchquests and the story takes a back seat to the point where I couldn't even recall how to progress! There was no way to distinguish what was the way to progress the main story to just a simple sidequest. I was going to call quits but gave it another shot and beat it - Which I'm glad I did as the stories pay off was decent.

Then there is the turn-based combat - GAME IS HARD! I would find that after each main encounter I would have to backtrack home to rest everytime. It gets easier later on when you gain more levels and abilities but its a tough start! During combat, to use your abilities you will have to interact with little quick time event games, problem is I wouldn't want to test them out and fail during a big fight so I often stuck to ones I had a better idea of. Your ability attacks also take SP points and you have to really reserve them through out the battle - you later can get items to refill the SP bar but this is over half-way into the game.

Another weird feature about the game is you can recruit a pet as a 3rd character in battle, yet when you recruit them... they start at Level 1 - Why do some RPG's do this! I already had a 3rd party member near the beginning of the game which was near my level of the main two, so I wasn't encouraged to try any of the other possible characters out.

The game is decent, I'm glad I played it. There is a lot of charm in the writing and 3D-Dot-Heroes visual style, but the repetitive fetch-questing does become tedious especially when it is difficult to tell the difference between your main objective and side-content.

[justin8301]

14. Kirby's Dream Land 3 (Switch) 3/25/22

Not my favorite Kirby game but its certainly not a bad game. I didn’t take the time to unlock the true ending cause I wanted to finish today so I could play the new one but it still counts lol. I kinda hate when games do that, lock the true last boss behind some crap you have to complete, like just give me boss damnit! Oh well.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cbii6yZuSBY/

[kamikazekeeg]

10 - Jump King (PC 2019) - PLAYING - An odd journey on this one as I started it out, wasn't sure if I liked it and if I could even progress, so refunded it.  Moved to Pogostuck, knowing it was harder, but I liked how it handled it's jumping mechanic a little more in some ways, but yeah, really damn hard, so when I hit a wall, I went back to giving Jump King a shot, primarily because I loved it's visual style, some nice pixel art.

Ended up progressing through, getting a feel of the jumping and liking it.  Of course hating it also every time I fell down, but I it's solid for that first map.  I still sorta wish there was more of a visual indicator to the jumping, it's entirely a timing/feel sort of thing, you just figure it out when you need to let go for shorter distances.  Most things don't feel unfair, though there are very clear "hurdle points", where it's like, you gotta do something really hard to progress to the next area and screwing up really wrecks you.  Thankfully, with the last three areas, there's a legitimate safe zone that keeps you from falling back down into the rest of the previous areas, so they aren't completely merciless lol

It's a good game and if you want something simple, but challenging, I'd recommend it.  It took me about 7 and a half hours roughly to beat the first map, which seems like "Wow, this must be a big game!" and I say "No, that's just how long it took me to get through this relatively small and straightforward map that no other gameplay features beside jumping" lol.  I've seen speedrun records where if you do everything perfectly without falling, you can do it in under 5 minutes.  I kinda handled it in like hour long chunks, so I didn't burn myself out on it, but I usually made progress, or at least felt like I had a better handle on the jumps I was working on, so I could make more progress next time.

There is New Babe+, which I think is just the first map, but harder, which I will attempt, and then there's the DLC map, which is supposed to be really hard.  I know there's some fan made maps too that got the game creators blessing, but I doubt I'll ever get that far.

[vivigamer]

17. A Memoir Blue (Xbox One X) 27/03/2022

I was interested to see this game drop on Game Pass, it's not a very long game about an hour really. The game is very abstract and reminds me of an artistic prologue scene your often see in movies/games which explains lore/backstory before the main event - But this is the whole game. It's mostly point and click based and the actions your partake in are very basic - From starting the engine for boat to cleaning a window, I wasn't very taken with the gameplay portions if I am honest. The story was decent in concept yet a little underdeveloped - It could have featured a slightly longer epilogue but the story is intact enough to understand/enjoy.

Is it worth buying... no, but if you have a spare evening and are looking for something to play on Gamepass this is a decent option.

[justin8301]

15. Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Switch) 3/29/22

Game 15, Kirby and the Forgotten Land. NOW THAT’S HOW YOU DO A KIRBY GAME!!!!! Hands down best Kirby game of all time. It’s everything it needed to be and nothing more; charming, goofy, crazy and just a ton of fun. Can I just take a minute and talk about the level design…? That Funhouse level just might be the single best level in a 3D platformer ever; if you know, you know.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CbtXt7qNaKp/