52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

[bikingjahuty]

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.

Wow, what a drag. Half the games I was deadset on playing this summer are ones I eventually abandoned. While The Witcher 3 was a bit of a wildcard for me given my difficulty playing and beating RPGs, I thought for sure I'd love revisiting DK64. Unfortunately that was not the case and I ended up dropping it out of sheer boredom. Luckily the other two games I set out to beat this summer were ones I really enjoyed.

[bikingjahuty]

82. Columns (Genesis)

Columns will always remind me of one of my good friends from elementary school. We both had Genesis consoles and I remember he had a model 2 that came with a six in one cart pack in game. One of the games included on it was columns. Funny enough, the two of us probably played columns more than any other game on that pack in cart, which included Sega greats like Streets of Rage 2 and Sonic the Hedgehog. While i still enjoy Columns, the game just doesn't do it for me like it did over 30-years ago.


The game is called Columns and columns is what you get. Instead of different shaped boxes like you get in Tetris, every set of boxes that comes your way is an arrangement of three different colored jewels stacks on top of one another. The only control the game gives you is changing the stack order of the three jewels. You'll then want to line up three or more of the same colored jewels, which causes them to disappear and create more room for more columns of jewels. Like in Tetris, if you're too slow or make too many mistakes in getting boxes, or in this case jewels to disappear, you'll get a game over. The premise in both Tetris and Columns is so simple, yet so fun at the same time. I will say that Columns cranks up the difficulty way faster than Tetris does, which is a bit annoying, but it's definitely one of those games that you'll likely get into a groove after playing for only half an hour and should be able to get to level 8 or level 9 difficulty by then. Also, the limited nature of what you can do with the columns certainly adds to that difficulty as well, not that Tetris is any slouch either.


The audio and visuals in Columns are super basic, even for a 1990 Sega Genesis game. Aside from some ancient greek looking mosaic art you'll get at the start menu screen, the gameplay is pretty no frills with just your grid and multi colored columns of jewels falling down. The soundtrack and sound effects are satisfying, but unfortunately nearing just as basic as the graphics. I will say that the default song that plays will forever be burned in my brain given the countless hours I've spent playing this game as a kid and even as an adult. It's catchy and very Genesis appropriate, which are both positives in my book.


Columns is absolutely a simple game, but a classic game nonetheless too. It is deceptively fun if you enjoy games like Dr. Mario, Puyo Puyo, or of course, Tetris, and certainly worth being mentioned in the same conversations as those games. (7/30/25) [32/50]

[dhaabi]

Wow, what a drag. Half the games I was deadset on playing this summer are ones I eventually abandoned. While The Witcher 3 was a bit of a wildcard for me given my difficulty playing and beating RPGs, I thought for sure I'd love revisiting DK64. Unfortunately that was not the case and I ended up dropping it out of sheer boredom. Luckily the other two games I set out to beat this summer were ones I really enjoyed.

Good on you for having a goal toward playing specific games and at least seeing if they interested you enough to complete them. A lot of the goals I set for myself each year are more like motivators than anything else since I tend to stray from them. If I happen to actually clear a goal, it's just an added bonus.

[bikingjahuty]

83. Gundam Battle Assault 2 (PS1)

When I became an anime fan in the late 90s thanks to Toonami on Cartoon Network, there was a depressing lack of video games available in the US based on many of the anime franchises I fell in love with. While there were a handful at the time, most were either super expensive, super rare, or both. What I eventually would end up doing is paying some random person to mod my consoles so I could play imported copies of various Japanese only anime based games. Fortunately, by the very end of the decade and into the early 2000s, game publishers caught onto the growing popularity of anime in the US and started localizing various titles for North American consumption. Gundam, specifically Gundam Wing, was my gateway drug into giant mech anime and for a while I loved pretty much anything Gundam I could get my hands on. I had a bunch of Gunpla model kits and would watch various series religiously. When I learned of Gundam Battle Assault getting a US release I made sure I had enough money to buy it asap. However, while I remember having a blast with the first Battle Assault game, it was its 2002 sequel that the bulk of my fond Gundam gaming memories belong to.


In many ways, I would consider Gundam Battle Assault 2 to fall into the hidden gem category of retro games. For one, it has an OST that is way too good for a game like this. I can't imagine the budget for Battle Assault 2 was huge, but holy crap did they go above and beyond in the audio department! There are some incredible songs in this game which not only capture the vibe of the various series during that time, but are also very memorable and catchy. The end credits theme specifically is downloaded onto my phone and gets regularly listened to while I'm driving around or working. But beyond the music, it's pretty commendable that Bandai actually got a big chunk of the English voice cast to reprise their respective roles for this game. It's a fairly small touch, and often the dialogue is just silly, but the fact that it matches up with the various localized Gundam series of the time is just awesome.


Almost just as memorable as the audio in Gundam Battle Assault 2 is its visual presentation. The sprite work on all the playable mobile suites is absolutely amazing. Nearly all the details from the anime are present in the sprites, which is further complemented by their animations. And to add to further to this, there are A TON of unlockable mobile suits in this game. All are just as detailed and awesome looking as the more well known Gundams, and again, it's something I definitely tip my hat towards the developers for doing. Stage design and background is also very impressive with themes that feel in line with the various Gundam shows. Stages also are a mix of 2D and 3D elements, as well as cool dynamic elements that change while you're fighting. Oh, I almost forgot! mobile suit sprites all show off various damage animations and effects as you're fighting against your fellow Gundams and whatnot. I've seen much more respectable fighting game franchises that don't show off this level of care and detail in their presentations. Unfortunately, the top notch quality of the visuals and audio were not applied to Battle Assault 2's gameplay.


Sadly, it feels like Bandai put all their focus and energy on the presentation of this game and forgot all about the gameplay. The fighting mechanics and gameplay of this game are not terrible, but they are far from being great either. Movements and controls feel somewhat delayed and certainly very clunky. In some ways, Battle Assault 2 feels like a very pretty version of rock em' sock 'em robots, where you're just bludgeoning your opponent in an attempt to take them down before they take you down. There is some depth in this game, mostly thanks to the side step mechanic, blocking, and a rechargeable energy meter, but overall this is a pretty cumbersome game to play. As mentioned, there are a crap ton of unlockable mobile suits in this game which will become the reason most people will continue to fight through the poorly implemented gameplay in order to see all or most of them. I know that was my main motivation to keep on playing.


I feel like if even a little more effort had gone into this game's gameplay, we might be talking about Gundam Battle Assault 2 as one of the great fighting of the 5th generation. While its visuals and audio are worthy of being in the same conversation as fighting games that punch way above Battle Assault 2's level, the gameplay is just too meh for that to realistically happen. Still, if you fancy yourself a Gundam or mech fighting game fan, I would definitely recommend this game, if only for its eye and ear candy. Otherwise, it's still a fairly good, fun game to play, and one that is very sentimental to me personally. (7/31/25) [36/50]