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52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

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kashell:
41. Trials of Mana - Dark Lich

This was a more or less a speedrun. I intended for it to go quickly, but I didn't think it'd go that quickly. My party was Kevin (D/D), Charlotte (L/D), and Hawkeye (D/L). Thanks to New Game Plus, I had a boatload of options that drastically and rapidly increased my team's levels. They were ready to class change well before the class change capability was available. I had plenty of leftover ?? Seeds for the second class change. Finally, Kevin absolutely shredded everyone and everything in his path. He was a strong character in the original and that carried into the remake. His second class change to Fatal Fist had a CS that demolished groups of enemies and he learned a Luna spell that increased his critical hit rate. In other words, Kevin was bordering on OP and destroying all things in his path. Supported by Charlotte's Sage class that had saber magic, and Hawkeye's Ninja Master abilities, the enemies literally had no chance. The only time I was challenged was during the fight against the Wood Benevedon. Otherwise, a quick and brisk file where I wrecked everything with fisticuffs. After I get the trophies for their third class change, I'll start my last file with Hawkeye, Riesz and...I'm not sure who the third will be yet!

ssj4yamgeta:
6: Resident Evil: Code Veronica X (Gamecube)

Since the remake is heavily rumored to be coming next year, I wanted to revisit one of my favorite RE games before then so I can compare it to the remake when that comes out. While I can easily see why it was one of my top 3 favorites back in the day, oh hell it has aged poorly and is in desperate need of an overhaul. The main issue, and it's pretty serious, is that it is ridiculously easy to softlock this game at multiple points. The most infamous is the plane tyrant fight, where you are completely screwed if you didn't try to knife your way through Rockfort Island. If you save on that plane without adequate ammo, you might as well restart your file. The issue is caused by two things: first, the game has the worst character swapping of all time, coupled with the worst inventory management of all time. In most games, if a character gets sidelined, the next character gets their inventory. Not here. I almost softlocked myself a second time VS Alexia phase 1 because I had equipped Claire with all the good weapons in prep for endgame, only to find out I needed to beat Alexia both times as Chris. Luckily I was able to load an earlier Chris save and undo that mistake. The second part of the issue is that ammo in this game is very sparse. I get that limited ammo in survival/horror is important, but it's overkill when I'm expected to knife regular zombies to death so I can hoard ammo for two or three bosses. If I have a gun, let me use the gun.

My other issue is narrative-related. I remembered CVX as being "the Claire game", but upon replaying it, I see that in the second half when Chris shows up he absolutely steals the spotlight. Claire, who is on the game's cover, never even gets to fight the main villains. It's always Chris. Claire stops being the lead character once her brother shows up, and it's annoying since she had the most investment in the story.

Is CVX bad? No, not by any means. I've played plenty of games that were far worse. But holy crap is it rough around the edges. I'm really hoping the remake fixes the issues I've mentioned.

Rating: 7/10 (Great)

Completed:

Tomb Raider II (Evercade)
Tomb Raider III (Evercade)
Mafia: The Old Country (PS5)
Gundam Breaker 4 (PS5)
Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection (PS5)
Resident Evil: Code Veronica X (Gamecube)

In Progress:

Nioh (PS4)
Final Fantasy IV Advance (GBA)
Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation Remastered (PS4)

realpoketendonl:
13. Kaze and the Wild Masks

And that's this one beaten. And I enjoyed it! This is a really good platformer! This game is often described as very close to Donkey Kong Country, and I think that makes sense. You have a simple but effective moveset, assisted by great precise controls, and you simply navigate the platforming challenges.

The level design is great, to a point that pretty much on your first run you can keep going and instinctively take on the challenges without stopping. Sure, you'll die a lot, but the respawning is so incredibly quick and the levels short enough that it really doesn't matter. I liked the large amount of variety. With different power-up forms and varied level mechanics, every level felt different.

The challenge was balanced quite well. Not once did I get frustrated, even if I had to retry segments multiple times. It's decently challenging, but I wouldn't call the game particularly hard. If you've played some really hard platformers before, I think you'll find Kaze to be on the easier side, at least if you're not going for 100% completion. But that of course doesn't make it any less enjoyable.

There's stuff you could criticise if you want to. The visuals, while definitely good and crystal clear from a gameplay perspective, I also wouldn't say are anything particularly standout. The plot is barely there, and yeah, as a whole the game doesn't really do a whole lot truly original. But not every game needs to. What Kaze and the Wild Masks does, it does very well. If you enjoy good platformers, especially DKC-style ones, I think you'll find enjoyment in this game.

Also, I think I should mention,

#X Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream

I reached the credits, does that count? No, this is clearly an endless game that I can't count for this challenge. But I cannot not mention it, considering I've been absolutely in love with this game over the past few weeks. I've had time off work, and I've put SO many hours into Tomodachi Life it's not even funny. So yeah, can't count it, but at least it is another game played.


(Also also, I started The Legend of Zelda: Ocarine of Time 3D a week ago, but fairly quickly I put it back down again. I'm sorry, I know that OoT is considered a masterpiece, but I just wasn't really enjoying its gameplay. Not holding that against the game, just not for me I suppose. At least, not right now.)

marvelvscapcom2:
26. PRAGMATA [PS5] - Finished May 3rd, 2026





All Hail CAPCOM

Capcom is running away with 2026 truly. Capcom has it's proverbial sack in the air. Full of pride. And I am glad to be part of the ride


I can't even fathom a development studio having a 1, 2 punch this glorious back to back. It may be one of the strongest examples of this. And also with the release of GTA 6 nearing (most likely) 2026 is saying very attimently from the roof top. Set the bar low and we'll hurdle over the sun!   Pragmata is a delicious treat that may even outpace RE9.


Diana is adorable of course, and really not only makes the entire sad dad robo kid space adventure energy feel raw and alive but she also gives the player a connection to both Hugh as an esoteric lone wanderer to this melancholy regression into the deep void of space a whole paternal instinct about itself. He grows as real life dad's do by having a "daughter" it evolves both protective and extremely gentle qualities of the protagonist to show true value of soul. You grow to care about this digital rug rat and in doing so it makes the game connect to the purest parts of the human element within ourselves.  Diana is both helpless and extremely powerful in the same breath.  Helpless because she is isolated in a dangerous realm of polluted bots. But powerful because she can literally alter space time and hack telepathically.  So yeah she's OP.   Definitely not a "babysit" game. She kicks wholesale ass.


The bond forms slowly. Naturally. Going from Hugh being like "do I gotta explain the same things 25 times" to visible anger to any and all that attempt to harm the pragmata.   Dreams. Plans. Earthly escapes and restored earth memories that make up part of the ever expanding collectibles. 


It has a bit of Joel and Ellie vibes where the disgruntled and hardened dad who has been scorned by circumstance finds a child who at first is part of obligation but quickly becomes a product of deep sentiment.  And from hand drawn doodles, hop scotch to educational convos.  It really gives the play many opportunistic to hone that dynamic like a ginsu blade.




Most of this conversational bonding happens at "the shelter" the shelter is part of the larger cradle which makes up the mini universe you're in. Without giving up much of the plot. Your main goal is to get to a relay tower to signal to earth for rescue. Diana is a tag along who quickly becomes your adopted daughter essentially.  The shelter offers opportune time to not only interact with Diana (play hide and go seek) but also upgrade both your armor, weapons and Diana's hacking abilities. Which are upgraded using collectible elements. Cabin tokens fill out bingo cards and can be collected witjin each sector. These unlock outfits. More mods for Diana to hack with ect.  And within the shelter is also side missions known as training Sim which also reward you with the things you need to upgrade. It's laid out cool and acts as a very frequented sanctuary from battle to automatically heal and resupply ammo.


The game is pure substance. And it made me a bit emotional to find myself part of this world. It sort of shined the mirror on my childless existence and perhaps made me see the value in extending your knowledge and overall presence into the life of another creation (even in robotics form) that will carry your legacy and words throughout its finite existence. It's almost as if when we die. The trees eat out body. Roots grow. Air cycles. Nothing is lost.  All absorbed like spoken fertilizer.  The games story really tugs at the heart strings.  The sacrifice. The mortality of it all when in direct contrast with a robot AI essentially. The game is bonkers depth.


But to get off the plot sap. It's all really freaking badass! Think astral chain meets bomberman meets resident evil 9.  It has elements of dual character hacking, moving blocks on puzzle grids to electrocute enemies as you shoot them with the other character at the same time. Dual wielding entire personas. It's fresh conceptually and that hack and smack concept carries the core of the game to wonderful limits.


Long story short. Capcom is just daddy right now. Between RE Requiem and This in one damn year? Like save some drool for the other devs.   It seems more and more often that Capcom is passionate about the art of it all. Aiming to be respected as much as consumed and also willing to push both new and old IP to the highest of standards.  I admire that.

Oh and there are Mr. Cabins to collect. Mini statues of adorable computers that have led faces on them. Robo buddies Galore. What a cinematic good time this was!


99/100.

kashell:
42. Trials of Mana - Archdemon

The final playthrough with Hawkeye as the lead, along with Riesz and Angela. Finishing his campaign and his (and Riesz's) final boss earned me the platinum. This was my first time in any version taking control of Hawkeye as the lead. I really liked playing as him. His Nightblade (D/D) class was brutal as heck and had more versatility than I thought. Riesze, of course, became a Star Lancer (L/D) and Angela became a Rune Seer (D/L). Enemies were shredded left and right by the time we reached the second class change. Things were easy up to that point since I upped the difficulty, but taking advantage of new game plus and the carry-over abilities still made short work of just about everything. Trials was a lot of fun to platinum. I may have earned the platinum, but I didn't see 100 percent of what it had. There are some additional classes to try, and I never started a game as either Duran or Charlotte. Which brings me to my character rankings no one asked for: Riesz > Angela > Hawkeye> Kevin> Charlotte > Duran. I still hold Riesz as my favorite, but Angela is just a smidge behind. Both of them are great in terms of story and combat. I just like attacking/comboing slightly more than blasting with magic. Hawkeye is next. Dual daggers is always a way to win me over. His light class options don't feel as fleshed out as his dark class. Kevin is next and he's just a brute. Similar to Hawkeye, his light classes seem like an afterthought. Charlotte and Duran bring up the rear. I don't care of their stories and Charlotte's Elmer Fudd-esque dialect is such an odd choice. Still, they have moments where they shone. This is a great game so Charlotte and Duran would be ranked with something like a B. Time to take a break from action RPGs while I figure out my next game!

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