52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

[bikingjahuty]

Was in an arcade racing game mood last night and decided to play two 90s Sega classics I missed out on as a kid. While one I would definitely say is deserving of the title of classic, the other I'm not so sure about.


6. ManxTT Superbike (Arcade)

I've seen this game on the Saturn countless times over the years and it always had an appeal to me since it was developed by Sega and also it came out around that time when Daytona USA was on top of the arcade world. In other words, I had fairly high expectations of this game. Unfortunately, there expectations were far from met. This is just sort of boring and unremarkable for the most part. There isn't anything special or particularly interesting about the very limited stages you race through, and even the other bikers and bystanders look pretty bad, even compared with the rest of the visuals. The gameplay is also not amazing, but not terrible either. I found the AI to be fairly punishing and also the bike seems overly sensitive with anything other that fairly sharp turns. Maybe I could have adapted to it if I'd played ManxTT long enough, but I just couldn't bring myself to play this game any longer than I had to to finish it. I will say the audio is pretty good, and sadly is probably the game's best quality. While I'm happy I finally played this game and have no regrets about the 20 minutes or so it took me to finish it, I still have nio desire to replay this game ever again. (1/11/25) [25/50]

7. Sega Rally Championship (Arcade)

Now this game was a real gem! For a racing game released in the mid 90s, I was surprised by how good the racing physics were in this game, particularly how different your car handles depending on if the surface you're on is gravel, pavement, or water. Not only that, but the game is the right amount of challenge while also controlling pretty well for the most part. Visually the game looks WAY better than ManX TT too in literally every way. There are cool set pieces in every stage, there is more going on in the backgrounds, and just overall the stages look more vibrant and detailed. The audio is also better than the previous game, although by not as wide a margin as its other attributes. I can't say I'm head over heals in love with Sega Rally Championship, but at the very least it was more enjoyable than I expected and definitely can hold its own with the other mid 90s arcade racing greats. (1/11/25) [32/50]

[kashell]

4. Ys X: Nordics

I had a lot of highs and lows with this one. I think I prefer Adol's adventures to be solo, but Karja really grew on me near the end. She stayed true to herself despite growing attached to Adol (in multiple ways) and learning of her origins. I liked that the story paid homage to Viking and Norse lore. The action was solid nine times out of ten. Some of the bosses were just ridiculous. It felt like I was playing a shoot 'em up. I played on Normal and a few bosses just drained me of resources. This was after I "mastered" how to perfect dodge and perfect block. Still, nailing those defensive maneuvers and seeing the cinematic attacks that followed was a rush. The story never seemed to go anywhere until the end, which was tantamount to sailing on the ocean on the Sandras. I spent more time fighting currents and waves and the stupid boat then monsters. The Sandras' crew were an annoying bunch that didn't know when to stop talking so Adol and Karja could get back to saving the gulf. Ultimately, I had fun and I'm glad I played it but this wasn't the next big thing for the series.

[kashell]

5. Chrono Trigger DS - Beyond Time

I finished the game again with the best ending after voyaging through the Black Omen and taking out Queen Zeal. The three heroes from 1,000 AD hop back in the time machine to do another search and rescue operation. Seeing the Epoch fly through the different ages and landscapes always hits. This game is so damn fun each time I play it. I remember starting a new file immediately after finishing it back in the days of the Super Nintendo. That first-time magic will never be recaptured, but there's still a certain something about Chrono Trigger that keeps it (pardon the word choice) timeless.

[Cartagia]

2. Metroid Dread

Incredible game that has a very steep learning curve, even if you are well versed in Metroidvanias.  It throws a ton of stuff at you right off the bat, so it's not exactly one you can ease into.  The map is huge and intricate, with lots of cool powerups and abilities.  It is also hard as nails, especially the bosses and the EMMI robots, which is also probably one of the bigger complaints I have (and I've seen) about the game in general - the chase sequences with the EMMIs.  It's fun the first couple of times, but with how hard it is to counter their insta-death grabs they became annoying more than anything else as the game went on. I also appreciate that it added a fair amount of new information to Metroid lore, especially regarding the Chozo.

[tripredacus]

1. Final Fantasy (NES)

First of all, this was abandoned not for the usual reasons but because of the purpose of these threads. When I had built my backlog program, I also had included games from ROM packs that I had to also download to get the ROM for a game I had but couldn't play on actual hardware. I had done this most of last year and my backlog went from over 2,000 games to over 30,000. This was really wearing me down thinking about it so over the weekend I decided to clone my database and remove all of the ROM-based entries. This leaves my backlog only with games that are in my collection here, although I am in the process of adding the software I have on disc to that list.

So Final Fantasy on NES was fine. The music wasn't that great but it wasn't as terrible as I was lead to believe. The only real issue I ran into early on was dealing with poison. And later it became somewhat annoying to deal with the paralyzing enemies but at the point I came across them my characters were strong enough to not take a lot of damage. The point I got to was just past the town with the pirates.

This game I also used to test out RetroAchievements, which is something you can sync RetroArch with. It basically adds achievements to old games which is kinda neat.
https://retroachievements.org/user/Tripredacus

[bikingjahuty]

8. Dead or Alive 4 (360)

It dawned on me when I decided to play DOA4 that it's been almost exactly 20 years since I last played this game. A guy I was friends with my freshmen year of college waited outside a Best Buy the day the 360 came out just to get one. I joined him the last few hours before they started selling them, and one of the games he picked up was DOA4. I went over to his house a few days later and him and I played for about an hour or so, and I remember thinking the game was pretty fun. I decided this year I was going to catch up on the series and this was one I was eager to revisit after two decades.


Despite this game being the hardest one in the series I've played thus far, it's also an incredibly fun and rewarding game to play too. The game heavily focuses on countering and keeping combos going in order to win matches. Taking pot shots and doing chip damage on your opponent is not advised, and screwing up your approach or timing can open you up to some massive punishment from whoever you're fighting. At first I didn't care for this system when I'd get locked in a combo and watch 40% of my lifebar fade away, but eventually I learned how to avoid this and also working on doing the same to my opponent. It grew on me the longer I played until I found myself enjoying DOA4 the most I'd enjoyed a game in the series since 2. Visually, DOA4 is among the best looking games of its time period, especially the extremely memorable stages which are all vibrant, fun, and full of things to throw your opponent through and off. There are also a lot of unlockable costumes and other things in this game which really up the replay value. The OST is also the best since 2, but I wouldn't necessarily say it's better. Voice acting is also done well, as there is a story, but I found it hard to follow. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this game and played it far longer than I had intended. I liked it so much that I now find myself questioning whether I like it more than 2 which has been my longstanding favorite since playing it on the Dreamcast in the early 2000s. (1/13/25) [37/50]

[telly]

Game 1 - Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes (PS4) - 51 Hours

This game was such a pleasure to experience, despite a lot of initial hesitation on my end after years of delays and the underperforming prequel in Eiyuden Chronicles Rising. Hundred Heroes is certainly not a perfect game, but it does an incredible job of honoring it's roots from the Suikoden series but adding and expanding on a lot of the groundwork laid previously.

First, for me the absolute greatest thing about this game is the over 120 characters that you can recruit and add to your team or use to bolster your home base. It blends perfectly with the story which is based around building an army to resist an empire. This is nothing new if you've played any past Suikoden game. I personally felt like the diverse cast available to you was such much fun to search out and recruit, and the dedication to voicing and characterizing all of these individuals was amazing. A smaller detail that I loved was that every character has voiced contextual lines that they give during story moments, which was probably a huge time commitment to put in the game, but really just adds that extra flourish that builds a deep and engaging game.

From a gameplay perspective, all the bones of Suikoden (mainly II) are here but most of them have been improved dramatically. I will say that because I've only played I and II, I don't know if what I'm praising has been done previously. But, some of the huge improvements came in the headquarters development options (it's really deep this time around), and the more involved large scale battles. Regular combat for me was fine, nothing too crazy but it was enjoyable enough. I didn't really like the 1v1 battles though, they still felt too scripted to be really enjoyable.

Eiyuden Chronicles shocked me with how many mini-games there are available. You have two different kinds of racing, Beyblades, cards, cooking, theaters, farming, fishing, trading, workshops, and a bunch more. For me they definitely went for quantity over quality. Most of them just felt very underbaked. Also, a lot of the dungeon design was more on the frustrating end with how long they felt to finish.

The visuals, score, and voice acting was another high for me. Yes, there are definitely some issues with lighting, framerate and other superficial flaws but all in all it's really quite nice. The music overall was quite nice and really complimented the game well. Most of the voice acting was actually pretty good, though there was a lot of unpolished, unrefined writing being delivered by certain characters that took me out of the mood a little bit. One thing that I absolutely adored was all the animals in the game that were real life pets of certain backers, and other bits of appreciation to the fans who made this happen. That was an absolutely treat to see.

The one aspect of the game I wasn't the biggest fan of was actually the story. It ended up being a very cliche RPG storying with some interesting movement in the in-between moments but was ultimately about a standard evil villain wanting to wield ultimate power to control the world blah blah blah. The good and evil sides of the story are played so straight without any complexity, which was a shame.

Overall I'm very happy that I backed this game over 4 years ago and it makes me proud to see my name in the credits. If you like classic RPGs at all, particularly Suikoden, you should definitely check this one out.

[Cartagia]

I beat Donkey Kong Land for the Game Boy.  Very solid imitation of the DKC games with limited hardware.  But it is still limited.  The platforming controls aren't super-precise or responsive, and at least one gimmick level is terrible.  Not mind-blowing or anything, but good enough for what it is.

[marvelvscapcom2]

5. Band Hero [PS3] - Finished - Jan 15th, 2025




Review - As ive.stated before. I am a bit of a lover of rythym based games. I recieved Guitar Hero III from my late grandmother during the guitar hero hysteria that was 2006-2009.  And as a child, it became one of my.fondest franchises.  It really has staying power in my.heart.

Now as for Band Hero. I love the set list but most of all I love its guest appearances. I am a pretty big No Doubt and Gwen Stefani fan. So the game being a bit of a world tour call back by having just a girl, dont speak and other scar anthems about sells me. The frets are very responsive. More so than Smash Hits.  And overall it's possibly the most accessible "hero" game for a casual player. 


SECRET NOTES


Now this is the meat that sets Band Hero apart from its other contemporaries. The game is riddled with secret note sequences. 19 of them to be precise. And these are just a blast to find. You'll kinda feel where they are. Or assume. But it drives you towards excellency.  They were in some of the most popular songs.


The game also adds a lot of pop hits from Jesse McCartney, Taylor Swift, Maroon 5 and even Janet Jackson.


Evernescense bring me to life was fairly rad  


In short. Band Hero is a nice and simple retake of the franchise and ir doesn't impose itself. While its not as creative as Guitar Hero 5 or rockband 3.  It's definitely got heart and is a joy to play.


Rating - 82/100

[bizzgeburt]

I beat Donkey Kong Land for the Game Boy.  Very solid imitation of the DKC games with limited hardware.  But it is still limited.  The platforming controls aren't super-precise or responsive, and at least one gimmick level is terrible.  Not mind-blowing or anything, but good enough for what it is.

I beat this one a few years ago, and yea, some of the later levels in the game stayed in my memory as very annoying   
I played it with the Super Game Boy using the enhanced coloring and frame.

Not as flawless as it's SNES counterpart, but very playable for a GB game! 

[kashell]

6. Chrono Trigger DS - The Dream Project

It was fun to get this ending. Crono uses Luminaire or Frenzy to dish damage. Marle uses Haste and heals as needed. And the rest is history. I really enjoyed talking to all of the sprites that represented the staff that made this game possible all those years ago. I'm not sure if I'll do a final romp through Dimensional Vortexes to get one of the exclusive endings because, despite its polish and briskness, combat does tend to wear thin after a while. We'll see.

[kashell]

7. Chrono Trigger DS - Dream's Epilogue

Obviously, I said "screw it" and went through the second bonus dungeons in 12,000 BC, 1,000 AD, and 2,300 AD. Each Dimensional Vortex wasn't as bad as I remember. I liked getting nifty new gear and the bosses at the end were especially fun. Doing these dungeons also helped shed some light on the events before Chrono Cross. There was mentioning of the Porre Army and a scene where you see a certain someone getting absorbed by...a certain something. (I'm trying to avoid spoilers for folks that never played Chrono Trigger/Cross.) I saved the game and now I have what I believe to be a solid starting point for another New Game Plus. This won't be the last time I play Chrono Trigger.

[tripredacus]

Some demo reviews. I had tried out PlayStation Demo Disc 1.3 after I hastily swapped out the CRT my PS2 was using. Not because there was any sort of problem, but the TV I had set up before was basically just testing. It was a Sony WEGA SD widescreen. I'm not even sure if it is an LCD or not, it could be some other type, but it probably isn't a CRT either. It has some burn or bright spots in it. Otherwise it works fine, I'm just not sure what is designed to work with this type of display. I know the PS2 has support for widescreen, but it did not display properly on that display. So I swapped it out with a 4:3 CRT. My PS2 seems to be on its last legs, it has issues with the disc tray, but I was able to try out these demos.

First thing I notice is that another change in the games I like to play. It seems not only do I not care for platformers, I also do not care for games that use a lot of complicated controls. Especially for a demo. Obviously there are more demos on this disc than what I listed. Some I didn't even bother to try after seeing the control layout screen.

1. Spyro Year of the Dragon (PS1)
First game on the disc, it has the complicated button layout. Seemed to be a kids game. Controls were frustrating. I didn't even die or anything, it just wasn't fun. I know many people gew up with this game and love it, but me playing it for the first time I found it wasn't for me. I've always tended to not particularly care for 3D platformers anyways, which this seems to be.

2. Crash Bash (PS1)
I understood the concept but in truth I had no idea what I was doing. In fact, while it appeared to me that I was losing the entire time, the game informed me that I won somehow.

3. Grind Session (PS1)
It is neat but there are too many controls. I did some tricks and called it a day.

4. MLB 2001 (PS1)
I love baseball games but I did not love this. It might be because it was a demo but there are some bugs present that turned me off. Primarily that pop-flies counted as hits which is not how that is supposed to work. Also you can't bean batters. With most baseball games, the fielding controls are terrible.

5. Medievil II (PS1)
The camera control used airplane type controls and there was no invert option in the menu. Hard skip. Too bad, it looked kinda cool.

6. Jarret & Labonte Stock Car Racing (PS1)
Decent game. Has a damage model which puts it way up as a racing game for me. The sound was kind of missing or messed up. After doing a race it kicks you back to the main menu, despite there being multiple race options to pick from. I didn't try it more than once. Would definately play the actual release.

-. Spider-Man (PS1)
This I didn't put into main post because it didn't actually work. I saw the controls page and was scared but decided to give it a shot. After choosing to continue, the game went through the loading screen and then just kicked me back to the main menu. So technically I didn't get to play this one.

Oh and yes before you ask, I took the memory card out of the PS2 before booting the disc. 

[bikingjahuty]

9. Final Fight CD (Sega CD)

Back when I actually collected for the Sega CD, my complete copy of Final Fight CD was one of my prized games for that console. For its time, it was by a mile the best home port of the game, and even now with arcade perfect ports available on newer consoles, it's still an amazing game in its own right even with its shortcomings and flaws over the original arcade version. Compared to the arcade port, the gameplay is about the same, which is pretty good for a beat em up. I especially appreciate all the weapons and food items which makes this pretty challenging game a little more tolerable to get through. Visually, the arcade version does undeniably have an edge, but by not as wide of a margin as you might think. Finally, one place where the Sega CD port shines over the arcade version is its OST. The arranged Sega CD soundtrack is freakin awesome and just has that awesome 90s Sega charm to it. There is also cheesy, bad voice acting in the prologue and epilogue cut scenes which add to Final Fight CD's entertainment value. Even to this day, I can safely say I like the Sega CD port of Final Fight just as much as the arcade. Sure, each has its weakenesses and strengths, but overall you're pretty much getting the same experience, but with nice flourishes that still give this version its own distinct identity. (1/17/25) [34/50]

[bikingjahuty]

Already 10% the way to my 100 games beat goal for this year! I'm not super confident I can maintain this momentum, but I'm at least happy i've been able to beat 10 games after only 18 days into the new year.


10. Virtua Fighter 2 (Genesis)

Virtua Fighter 2 on the Sega Genesis is a fun novelty, since it's an entirely different game than the 3D versions on the Saturn and Arcade, but for what it is, you could do way, way worse. Probably the craziest part about the Genesis version of VF2 is just how much of the feel and controls of the original 3D versions it maintains. Obviously, this is still a very different game, but I appreciate Sega trying to retain as much of of the original VF2 game as possible. Visually the game looks decent for the most part, as the sprites do retain a lot of the charm of the polygon models. However, probably my favorite part of VF2 on the Genesis is its MIDI sounding music that was adapted from the original OST to the Genesis. It's not as good as the original soundtrack, but is still awesome with how it has that gritty Genesis sound to it now. As I said, this game is an enjoyable novelty if you're already a fan of the original Virtua Fighter 2, but its certainly nothing more than that. (1/18/25) [32/50]