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52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

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kashell:
42. Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II - True Ending

It didn't long to get this. I'm glad I did because it put a pretty, red ribbon on top of the good ending.

bikingjahuty:

--- Quote from: bikingjahuty on May 28, 2025, 01:38:32 am ---I'm still marching forward towards 100 games beat by the end of the year. With summer around the corner, I have several games in mind that I really want to try and play before the fall. Some of these games are more summery in nature (I guess), but overall I just want to make sure I play and beat the following games before the beginning of September. Here is my current list of summer time games I plan on beating.


- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
- Donkey Kong 64
- The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
- Halo 2


I definitely plan on playing more than just those four games, but those are the ones that if nothing else, I definitely want to make sure I've beat them before summer's end.

--- End quote ---


Unfortunately, I abandoned The Witcher 3 earlier this week, but in its place I decided to replay one of my all time favorite games, Zelda OoT. Oh, and before anyone asks, no I didn't plan on it being the 64th game I beat this year. It was just kinda of a cool coinicidence :p


64. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64)

In terms of personal, special games, there are few games, if any, that are more at the core of who I am as a gamer than Ocarina of Time. I got this game when it first came out in 1998 as a birthday gift and it was unlike anything I'd ever played up until that point. Funny enough, that ended up being a bad thing initially as I struggled with its non-linear gameplay and puzzles (I was 11 years old, cut me some slack), and decided I didn't like the game by the time I got to the Deku Tree. I let a friend borrow the game shortly after and it was him praising the hell out of it that inspired me to give OoT another chance when I took the game back. Fortunately, the game clicked for me in ways I could have never imagined. It took me around half a year to beat OoT the first time I played it and it instnatly became my favorite game of all time.


For nearly 30-years I have got back and replayed OoT maybe more than any other game I've ever played. It's a game that heavily made me into the gamer I am now, and for a long time it was an annual playthrough for me. At some point, the frequency of me playing OoT became more and more spread out, with the last time I beat it until now being back in 2018, 7-years ago. When I realized just how long it had been since I last played through the entire game, I made it my mission to make sure I beat OoT in 2025, which is precisely what I have just done again!


I often go through the individual aspects of a specific game (ie. gameplay, visuals, and audio), but there's almost no reason for me to do this with OoT. It's a game that essentially speaks for itself at this point. It pushed the action adventure genre of games to new heights when it came out in 1998 and for many years it reigned supreme within the genre. Literally, everything in this game is perfect or near perfect and that's not just for the time it came out. This game is still incredibly good and super fun to play. I don't have a bad thing to say about OoT when looking at the games objective merits. It's a game that absolutely deserves all the praise and love around it, and I dare anyone to call it overrated and be taken seriously. The only reason this game doesn't score a perfect 50/50 score in my book has to do with the more subjective side of things.


Due to me playing and replaying OoT so many times over the last three decades, any novelty this game once had is now long gone. This is one of the few longer games where I know almost exactly what to do and when to do it. Nothing in this game is a challenge for me anymore. I even know where a ton of the optional items are and how to get them from memory. I know where all the fairy fountains are, where probably 2/3 of the gold Skulltulas are, and also most of the heart pieces. There is not a single dungeon I get lost in, nor do I have any problems or difficulties beating any of the bosses. Because of this, this game feels almost too familiar at this point which has unfortunately dulled some of the excitement I once felt when playing this game or when trying to figure certain things out in it. Despite this, however, how special this game is to me and how it makes me feel on a more sentimental level are just as potent as ever, maybe even more than ever.


As I said, I played this game originally back when I was 11-years old. I'm now quickly nearing 40, and the whole concept of traveling back and forth between two very different eras is not lost on me. The Hyrule kid Link lives in reminds me in many ways of being a kid in the 90s, where everything seemed exciting, fun, and optimistic. Things weren't perfect, but overall the zeitgeist of the time was something millions of people my age look back on with the utmost fondness. Compare that to the world we live in now and it's a much more depressing and dismal place to live, much like it is as adult Link in OoT. More than anything, the entire game takes me back to a much more simple, naive time in my life that I wish often I could have back somehow. OoT also represents somewhat of a pinnacle in gaming where the games and industry as a whole as at its best, most innovative and creative, and it just seemed like a new classic game or franchise was getting released weekly. It is this aspect of how OoT makes me feel that makes me believe this game will never ever budge from its place in my top 5 games of all time. Beyond just being a very fun game, despite how familiar I am with it now, it's also a game that means so much to me on so many levels, and one I will always cherish and love. (5/13/25) [48/50]

Cartagia:
Finished Shantae and the Seven Sirens this morning, and I think it's pretty handily my favorite game in that franchise so far.  It's feels the like the most traditional Metroidvania, and the map is fun to explore, and the abilities are cute and fun.  It is a bit too easy, and kinda rushes to the end.

bikingjahuty:
65. Cannon Spike (Dreamcast)

One part of my life that I've become fairly nostalgic for despite it having occurred not too long ago was when I was at the height of my video game collectorism back in the early and mid 2010s. While I pretty much collected everything from the NES all the way up to the newest consoles at the time, the console that I always got the most excited about when it came to acquiring new games was the Dreamcast. I've probably mentioned it a million times at this point, but the Sega Dreamcast is my favorite console of all time, so it makes sense why the finding new games for it would get me completely amped. One of the games that I remember being the happiest and most excited about getting was Cannon Spike. Beyond it being one of the rarer titles in the NTSC/US library, it's also a game that's actually good and fun to play. I got Cannon Spike as a birthday gift from my wife years ago and aside from playing it when first got it back in 2012, possibly 2013, I haven't touched it since. One thing I feared going into replaying Cannon Spike was that I might not enjoy it as much as I did, or that my feverish pursuit of Dreamcast games back then blinding me to the game's faults, similar to what I experienced in recent years with Tech Romancer and Sonic Adventure. While definitely a game with some flaws, I was pleasantly surprised to rediscover that Cannon Spike is just as fun as I remembered it being, maybe even slightly more fun.


Cannon Spike is more or less a SHMUP that has you free roaming in a square shaped arena set to the theme of a city street or inside some top secret lab, while you blast away enemies coming in from all directions. The closest thing I can compare it to is Geometry Wars, but in a way it shares similarities to other Psikyo SHMUPs like Zero Gunner. Unfortunately, this gameplay style is hampered by the fact that you can't aim and shoot at the same time. More or less, you have to let go of the fire button and somewhat awkwardly position your character in the direction you want to fire and then you can hold down the fire button to shoot enemies in that direction. This mechanic works seamlessly in the aforementioned Geometry Wars since duel analogue sticks allow you to fire and aim intuitively at the same time. I have no doubt Cannon Spike would have benefited greatly from this had the Dreamcast control been equipped with a second analogue stick, but as is, it's certainly functional and relatively easy to get used to, but still hampers the gameplay somewhat. Fortunately, the gameplay is so fast paced and engaging that you won't mind this relatively large gameplay blemish as many different enemy types will be coming at you from every direction. Before you know it, you'll then fight some sort of sub boss, immediately followed up by the main stage boss. In all, each stage is only a few minutes long, and for the most part they're all visually distinct from one another and possess their own enemy types, bosses, and themes. One stage is literally a haunted courtyard where you'll fight zombies and a giant zombie gorilla as a sub boss, while the next takes place on a city street where the final boss is three cool looking mechs that attack you at the same time. It's all really interesting stuff and makes this game really fun to play despite it's issues.


As for the characters you'll get to play as, the game has a fairly generous roster made up mostly of recognizable Capcom characters such as Mega Man and Cammy, but also a few more obscure ones like BB Hood and Arther from Ghosts n' Goblins fame. There are also two original characters that stylistically fit right in with the other selectable characters. All characters control more or less the same, and all have an automatic basic shot which you'll be using most of the time, as well as a close range melee attack too. Aside from how they look obviously, where the characters do differ is their special attack. Your characters also have a health bar which you can replenish by picking up health power ups from fallen enemies, but also you can pick up additional special attack power ups which allow you to use your special attack more often. While some characters are absolutely better than others, mainly due to how effective their special attack is, it's still fun to play as all of them for the most part.


One final aspect of Cannon Spike's gameplay I wanted to address is this game's general lack of difficulty balancing. As you'd expect, the game does get harder and harder as you progress, however there are a few boss encounters specifically that are downright annoying, especially the final few bosses in the game which hit you with attacks I'm not even sure are possible to avoid. I get this game began its life as an arcade title, which are known for being purposefully cheap in order to get more quarters out of you, but it still doesn't change the fact that these annoying elements diminish the overall quality of the game. Cannon Spike is no different, but luckily there is still more there to love than there is to dislike.


I already somewhat touched on the visuals of Cannon Spike just now, but to summarize, their excellent, mostly due to the detail and variety in them. Likewise, the selectable characters you can pick from all look beautifully rendered in 3D. Attacks and visual effects are also fairly unique and cool, but for the most part since this is a SHMUP at its core, you'll see a lot of round enemy projectiles coming at you that you'll want to dodge. It's honestly hard to fault anything with Cannon Spike's visuals and overall presentations. It's just that good!


Finally, Cannon Spike's audio is also pretty awesome. Capcom games from the late 90s and early 2000s are famous for having amazing OSTs in general and Cannon Spike is no exception. While there are a few somewhat boring tracks thrown in the game, Cannon Spike makes up for it by having some absolutely excellent tracks as well. The characters are also voice acted, which has them saying limited lines if they are damaged or you use your special attack, but it's still a nice touch I was happy to see.


While they have certainly released some amazing games since then, for me Capcom absolutely peaked in the late 90s and early 2000s, and Cannon Spike is a shining example of why that is. They were just pumping out such creative, interesting games during that time, and who'd have ever guessed they'd make their own version of Super Smash Bros, but as a SHMUP and with Capcom characters of course. Unfortunately, I don't think we'll ever see such an innovative and interesting era of gaming like this ever again, but luckily we still have these classics and obscure gems like Cannon Spike to return to. (6/14/25) [37/50]

bikingjahuty:
66. Killer Instinct -1994 (XBONE)

Leave it to me to get a modern game console and instead of playing something with modern graphics and gameplay, I instead play some arcade game port from nearly 20-years before that console was even released. Yep, while Killer Instinct: Definitive Edition was taking forever to download everything to my new to me XBOX One console, I decided to play the original arcade version of Killer Instinct which was included with it.


While i was aware of it back in the 90s, Killer Instinct was never a game I regularly played or got into. My only association with it is an older neighbor kid I grew up with had it, or possibly rented it, and for about a week he talked about it like it was the coolest game ever. I remember trying to play it with him, not thinking it was anything special, and then deciding to play street hockey or do something else. All these years later I still have barely played any Killer Instinct games, maybe dabbling in KI Gold or the SNES port of the first game for a few minutes, but never giving any of the games some serious play time. Well, that all changed this evening and well, I can't say I feel like I missed much over the past 30-years.


There are a lot of things I really like about KI, however the gameplay isn't necessarily one of them. While I don't expect every fighting game to have the gameplay balancing and polish of Street Fighter Alpha 2 or Tekken 5, I at least appreciate some level of balancing when it comes to my fighting games. KI has very, very little of that, nor does it have much polish when it comes to gameplay. CPU opponents block spam like crazy, combos, which by the way are a core mechanic of this game, are somewhat clunky and overly complicated to pull off most of the time, and this game's difficulty spikes are ridiculous. More or less, this game is not that enjoyable to actually play. Maybe it was back in the mid 90s when it came out; I mean, after all, Mortal Kombat, which was certainly the game KI was aiming for, didn't have the most amazing gameplay either, but was still fun. And don't get me wrong, KI still has its moments, but far less of those moments have to do with the combat and mechanics and more to do with the game's presentation.


I LOVE the visuals in this game! They just scream mid 90s to me like few other games do. KI definitely has that undeniable RARE look too that is also present in the DKC games that were being developed around the same time. The character models, which look like they were animated from clay models, all look cool, and definitely go with the fairly interesting stages present throughout. This game does a good job at looking 3D, while undeniably being a 2D fighting game.


While I've heard numerous people over the years rave about KI's soundtrack, I actually didn't find it particularly memorable, but still pretty enjoyable and certainly appropriate for the game's overall theme. It does have a good mix of dance music, rock, and even hip hop which in a way make this game's soundtrack feel a lot more diverse than most from this time period. Characters also have some limited voice acting, and of course there is the announcer that delivers over the top lines when you pull off various combo types throughout the game.


KI is definitely a product of its time, and I mean that in the best possible way...mostly. This game really does feel like a mid 90s time capsule and that is a huge part of its charm and appeal in our current year, at least to me. Unfortunately, the gameplay leaves a lot to be desired, especially when compared to many of its contemporaries like Street Fighter 2, Fatal Fury Special, and yes, even Mortal Kombat 2. KI is certainly memorable, but also definitely out dated as well. (5/14/25) [30/50]

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