General and Gaming > General
52 Games Challenge 2026!!!
Cartagia:
So, I made it to the final mission of Star Trek: Armada II, and the AI seems to go all wonky and make it basically impossible to beat the game. My resource gathering ships were just stopping in place and not delivering, and half of my fleet wasn't moving when I was commanding them around the map. Left a real sour taste in my mouth for a game I haven't played in almost 25 years.
Also beat Mega Man X2 for the first time since maybe the 90s. Some of the collectible upgrades in this one are a real pain in the ass, but it is still a fun game overall.
marvelvscapcom2:
--- Quote from: bikingjahuty on February 05, 2026, 02:57:10 pm ---
--- Quote from: dhaabi on February 04, 2026, 08:44:51 pm ---
--- Quote from: bikingjahuty on February 04, 2026, 08:25:10 pm ---
--- Quote from: marvelvscapcom2 on February 04, 2026, 05:36:30 pm ---5. Parappa The Rapper: Remastered [PS4]
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I'm glad I'm not the only one who really dislikes this game. The gameplay is terrible and makes it next to impossible to actually follow the beat. I can't for the life of me see why this game is held in such high regard.
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Unless I'm mistaken, my takeaway from these thoughts is that they focus more on the fact that this is a modern port to a game that released twenty years earlier but didn't have its flaws addressed. I can't comment on how the port plays, but something I can confirm is that, even in the original game, there is an element of performance experimentation that's expected of players to accomplish instead of strictly following the presented call-and-response rhythm beats. Anyone would be lying if they'd argue that this experimentation doesn't feel spastic during play, but I personally found it tolerable since I greatly enjoy just about everything else this game offers.
I mentioned this in 2021 when I replayed through the three games in the series on original hardware, but I personally consider the spin-off entry Um Jammer Lammy to be the most successful.
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The last time I tried playing it, on the PS1, I tried multiple ways of getting the hang of the gameplay. I tried going explicitly off the visual prompts and timing it gives you, I tried following the beat, and I tried just winging it, and nothing worked. I couldn't even clear the tutorial. I have no idea how you're supposed to play this game. I have to believe that it is playable since so many people speak highly of it, but I couldn't make heads or tails on how to accomplish even the most basic tasks that were being asked of me in this game.
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Damn. Really glad I didn't pay the 100+ the OG is going for. I guess I got off easy with 15 lol. It's so wierd because it's pretty revered like you said. What a disaster. I am legitimately shocked. I didnt even research before I paid because the game has such a huge name reputation. Cute colorful cover. And I liked 2. I assumed it was a porting issue but both of you say it has that bizarre timing issue on ps1. Just baffling they didnt repair it or give a simple calibration option to slow or speed the notes with a modern "remaster". Bare minimum stuff. Its the closest i'll ever feel to being catfished by a video game lol.
--- Quote from: dhaabi on February 04, 2026, 08:44:51 pm ---
--- Quote from: bikingjahuty on February 04, 2026, 08:25:10 pm ---
--- Quote from: marvelvscapcom2 on February 04, 2026, 05:36:30 pm ---5. Parappa The Rapper: Remastered [PS4]
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I'm glad I'm not the only one who really dislikes this game. The gameplay is terrible and makes it next to impossible to actually follow the beat. I can't for the life of me see why this game is held in such high regard.
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I mentioned this in 2021 when I replayed through the three games in the series on original hardware, but I personally consider the spin-off entry Um Jammer Lammy to be the most successful.[/font]
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Did Un Jammer Lammy improve on the accuracy over 1? Or is it the same trial and error?
dhaabi:
--- Quote from: marvelvscapcom2 on February 06, 2026, 07:44:04 pm ---
--- Quote from: dhaabi on February 04, 2026, 08:44:51 pm ---
--- Quote from: marvelvscapcom2 on February 04, 2026, 05:36:30 pm ---5. Parappa The Rapper: Remastered [PS4]
--- End quote ---
I mentioned this in 2021 when I replayed through the three games in the series on original hardware, but I personally consider the spin-off entry Um Jammer Lammy to be the most successful.
--- End quote ---
Did Un Jammer Lammy improve on the accuracy over 1? Or is it the same trial and error?
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The game has an arcade style as it's divided into narrative stages, similar to PaRappa the Rapper. Since they're both short experiences as most rhythm games are, there is some expectation that players may not clear a stage their first try. However, as a sequel, Um Jammer Lammy performs better in nearly every criteria that I can remember. Like I said before, I last played the game four years ago, but here are my thoughts from then if you're curious how I felt immediately after playing. Hopefully this is what you mean when asking about trial-and-error gameplay, as new players especially will have a difficult time progressing from one stage to the next. I almost always have such a hard time getting past "All Master's Rap" which is stage 5 that's about waiting in line to use the toilet.
I'll go on record now saying that I personally find PaRappa the Rapper 2 to be the weakest of the three games. It may perform better than the original title, but its stage design, narrative tone and sequencing, and even the music itself are all considerably weaker than what the first game so strongly established. Also, after reading more about the topic, your issues with input delay aren't even a port problem but instead a hardware problem. From what I've read, modern TVs make playing the game in any way a terrible experience.
bikingjahuty:
13. New Super Mario Bros (DS)
When it comes to the 2D and 3D games in the Mario franchise, I pretty much have the opposite opinion of them compared to the Sonic series; 2D Sonic games are amazing, while the 3D games...eh, not so much. Essentially, I love most of the 3D Mario games I've played, some even being among the very best games I've ever played. And while I don't feel as negatively or strongly about the 2D Mario games being as unenjoyable as the 3D Sonic games are for me, they still never are able to wow me in the way Mario's heavily polygon'ed adventures do. While I did enjoy it overall, this also applies to New Super Mario Bros on the DS.
When it comes to the New Mario series of platforming games, I've only ever played the second one, which many consider to be among the weakest mainline Mario games in the series. It was a long time ago that I played 2, but I remember mostly enjoying it. Same goes for New Super Mario Bros which takes the platforming formula from Mario's previous 2D games, mainly Super Mario Bros 3 and World, and throws in splashes of 3D models while maintaining the 3D perspective and gameplay. This game looks pretty good and definitely has that 2D Mario charm, albeit maybe not as visually appealing and the aforementioned old school 2D Mario adventures. Some of the stages are also a tad on the underwhelming, less memorable side, but for what this game is, it's still a pretty memorable and good looking Mario game, especially when you consider this is a handheld title from 2006.
New Super Mario Bros gameplay is also really good for the most part. I definitely appreciated Nintendo making Mario feel a lot less slippery compared to the NES games, and even to an extent what we got in Super Mario World. Platforming is mostly precise and easy to place the Italian plumber where you want him. Most levels in New Super Mario Bros are well thought out and designed too, however there are some noteworthy exceptions to this which are frequent enough to dampen the experience of playing this game just a bit. My other main gripe has to do with some of the new Mario power ups Nintendo introduced, which just feel a bit tacked on a gimmicky. These mostly involve turning Mario into a giant kaiju for a brief period of time, or making him super small, allowing him to reach certain secret areas and avoid being hit more. I didn't really feel like either mechanic really added anything to the experience of playing New Super Mario Bros and outside a handful of times, I never really used these power ups.
The final aspect of New Super Mario Bros I wanted to discuss is its audio. Audio is appropriately Mario, but unfortunately I found this OST to be a bit on the forgettable side compared to most other Mario games I've played. The soundtrack is certainly not bad, but it just lacks those fun, nostalgic, and timeless tracks that nearly all other mainline Mario games have. Still, the addition of voice acting to Mario, Bowser Jr, Peach, and other Mario staples is welcome, as are all the familiar and new sound effects. The takeaway here is the audio in the game is pretty good, if at times bordering on okay.
I seriously wish I liked 2D Mario games as much as I do the 3D ones. If I did, I'd likely be singing this games praises much more than I ended up doing, at least on a personal level. Still, I mostly liked New Super Mario Bros outside a few frustrating levels and sections. Still, when the end credits rolled, I didn't really feel the need to go back and unlock secret areas I overlooked or ignored. This really boils down to my personal taste in games, but even with my lukewarm enthusiasm for 2D mainline Mario entries, I still thought this was a fairly enjoyable game and certainly a competently made entry in this beloved franchise. (2/7/26) [35/50]
kashell:
14. Star Ocean: First Departure R - The Adventure Continues
A couple of complaints about this game before the praising. The first is the encounter rate. As fun as combat is, the encounter rate is high and none of the methods to lower it work. The second is the Appraising skill. I never understood why they included it in the first place in Second Story - just tell me what the item is and stop wasting my time. Otherwise, this was a solid game and a lot of fun to platinum. Going for all the trophies meant doing things I didn't do before: getting the SFTs, learning new moves due to SFTs, seeing certain PAs, seeing special endings, recruiting all the characters, and seeing all of the animated movies. Some QoL features would have boosted this closer to excellence, but otherwise this was classic Star Ocean for all the right reasons. I hope they add Till the End of Time back to the catalogue so I can get that, too!
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