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52 Games Challenge 2025!!!
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:
--- Quote from: Cartagia on January 14, 2025, 10:22:22 pm ---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.
--- End quote ---
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 :P
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! 8)
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