52 Games Challenge 2019

[kamikazekeeg]

I adored Jedi Fallen Order, and found way less faults with the gameplay, but I do agree that it is a better piece of Star Wars than a game. I beat it several weeks ago, but still contemplated replaying it this last week because of how much fun I had with it. I really hope the quality of story telling and writing in this game, as well as Mando, is where the franchise is headed post Rise of Skywalker. It's hands down the best Star Wars game I've ever played, which is saying a lot!

Even with my faults with the gameplay and performance, this might be up there in terms of best Star Wars game for sure.  For as long of a history Star Wars has had, I can probably almost count the games I've loved on like one hand...Star Wars: Shadow of the Empire, Episode 1 Racer, Star Wars Galaxies, Rogue Squadron, Republic Commando, the original Battlefront games, and that might be sorta it, but I don't remember too much about Knights of the Old Republic, and I never really played much of those late 90's/early 00's Jedi Knight/Dark Forces games.

[bikingjahuty]

I adored Jedi Fallen Order, and found way less faults with the gameplay, but I do agree that it is a better piece of Star Wars than a game. I beat it several weeks ago, but still contemplated replaying it this last week because of how much fun I had with it. I really hope the quality of story telling and writing in this game, as well as Mando, is where the franchise is headed post Rise of Skywalker. It's hands down the best Star Wars game I've ever played, which is saying a lot!

Even with my faults with the gameplay and performance, this might be up there in terms of best Star Wars game for sure.  For as long of a history Star Wars has had, I can probably almost count the games I've loved on like one hand...Star Wars: Shadow of the Empire, Episode 1 Racer, Star Wars Galaxies, Rogue Squadron, Republic Commando, the original Battlefront games, and that might be sorta it, but I don't remember too much about Knights of the Old Republic, and I never really played much of those late 90's/early 00's Jedi Knight/Dark Forces games.

There are a lot of other great ones out there, especially KOTOR and the Dark Forces series. It's funny you mention Galaxies since other than Everquest it's the only other MMO I ever played extensively. I played it before they completely overhauled the leveling system, when becoming even a bounty hunter meant sinking 200+ hours into it. I played it a lot, but not even close to what was needed to become one of the more advanced classes. Anytime I saw a jedi in the game I couldn't help but admire their dedication since I'm sure they probably had to put their life on hold to get there. It was a pretty cool game for a while, but I just couldn't do it anymore given how insane the grind was in that game.

[kamikazekeeg]

There are a lot of other great ones out there, especially KOTOR and the Dark Forces series. It's funny you mention Galaxies since other than Everquest it's the only other MMO I ever played extensively. I played it before they completely overhauled the leveling system, when becoming even a bounty hunter meant sinking 200+ hours into it. I played it a lot, but not even close to what was needed to become one of the more advanced classes. Anytime I saw a jedi in the game I couldn't help but admire their dedication since I'm sure they probably had to put their life on hold to get there. It was a pretty cool game for a while, but I just couldn't do it anymore given how insane the grind was in that game.

It's the only MMO I've also played for hundreds of hours.  Like I put some time into WoW, but I adored Galaxies.  Played it so much till the game overhaul that killed the game off.  I remember making a new character on a new and traveling to a planet, just to watch a fight between one of the rare Sith and Jedi in the game, where dozens of other people showed up to watch the fight, before I think it reached hundreds of people and then we actually crashed that planets server lol

[Cartagia]

So the longer I played KOTOR 2 the more I was feeling like I only half remembered the game.  So, I did some research on the Restored Content Mod, and it turns out that the first planet I chose was the most drastically changed from the original release.  I flew to my second planet and remembered almost everything.  It is still a pretty different experience overall, though.

[bikingjahuty]

There are a lot of other great ones out there, especially KOTOR and the Dark Forces series. It's funny you mention Galaxies since other than Everquest it's the only other MMO I ever played extensively. I played it before they completely overhauled the leveling system, when becoming even a bounty hunter meant sinking 200+ hours into it. I played it a lot, but not even close to what was needed to become one of the more advanced classes. Anytime I saw a jedi in the game I couldn't help but admire their dedication since I'm sure they probably had to put their life on hold to get there. It was a pretty cool game for a while, but I just couldn't do it anymore given how insane the grind was in that game.

It's the only MMO I've also played for hundreds of hours.  Like I put some time into WoW, but I adored Galaxies.  Played it so much till the game overhaul that killed the game off.  I remember making a new character on a new and traveling to a planet, just to watch a fight between one of the rare Sith and Jedi in the game, where dozens of other people showed up to watch the fight, before I think it reached hundreds of people and then we actually crashed that planets server lol

hahaha that's amazing! I had a friend that was really into it, and he actually got his character to Bounty Hunter and thought he was the coolest for it. He used to give me a lot of free loot in the game since he was more powerful than like 90% of the other players in the game. He probably helped me get a lot further than I normally would to in terms of credits and items.

[shfan]

I'm sticking at 45, the last one being Dirge of Cerberus on the PS2, amazed to have gotten that far considering what a hectic year it has been. 2020's going to be hectic as well, but everyone needs a little down-time so I'm hoping to start off with beating a few games and seeing how far I get.. Good luck for next year everyone.

[bikingjahuty]

I'm at 59 currently, but since that's an ugly number I'm going to try and beat one more game before the end of the year. Heavily leaning towards playing Sin and Punishment: Star Successor. I'm on a bit of a Wii kick at the moment.

[justin8301]

Well I did it! At the beginning of the year I honestly didn't think I'd be able to, but figured I'd give it a shot anyway and in the end it worked out. I decided to take off the first two games on my list since I had played them mostly in 2018 and just finished them up on the first of 2019, which brings my 2019 total to 52 exactly!

1. Destiny 2 (Xbox One) 1/1 - Beat
2. Moonlighter (Switch) 1/1 - Beat
3. Kirby's Dream Land (Game Boy) 1/1- Beat
4. Bayonetta (Switch) 1/5 - Beat
5. Balloon Kid (Gameboy) 1/11 - Beat
6. Bayonetta 2 (Switch) 1/13 - Beat
7. Mega Man 11 (Switch) 1/13 - Beat
8. I Am Setsuna (Switch) 1/31 - Beat
9. Bastion (Vita) 2/1 - Beat
10. New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe (Switch) 2/4 - Beat
11. Castlevania Circle of the Moon (GBA) 2/26 - Beat
12. Shovel Knight (Switch) 2/27 - Beat
13. Red Dead Redemption 2 (PS4) 3/4 - Beat
14. Uncharted Drakes Fortune (PS4) 3/13 - Beat
15. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS4) 3/29 - Beat
16. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (PS4) 4/6 - Beat
17. Final Fantasy IX (Switch) 4/6 - Beat
18. Yoshi's Crafted World (Switch) 4/8 - Beat
19. Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon (Switch) 4/9 - Beat
20. Super Meat Boy (Switch) 4/21 - Beat
21. Undertale (Switch) 4/29 - Beat
22. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (PS4) 4/30 - Beat
23. Uncharted: Golden Abyss (Vita) 5/6 - Beat
24. Mortal Kombat 11 (PS4) 5/8 - Beat
25. Super Monkey Ball Banana Splitz (Vita) 5/11 - Beatish
26. Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age (Switch) 5/26 - Beat
27. Castlevania (Anniversary Collection) (Switch) 5/29 - Beat
28. Super Mario Bros. 2 (Switch) 5/30 - Beat
29. Super Mario Bros. 3 (Switch) 6/2 - Beat
30. Kirby's Adventure (Switch) 6/12 - Beat
31. Uncharted The Lost Legacy (PS4) 6/22 - Beat
32. Final Fantasy VII (Switch) 6/26 - Beat
33. Castlevania 2 (Switch) 6/30 - Beat
34. Castlevania 3 (Switch) 7/20 - Beat
35. Marvel's Spider-Man (PS4) 7/24 - Beat
36. Marvel Ultimate Alliance (Switch) 7/29 - Beat
37. Super Castlevania 4 (Switch) 7/31 - Beat
38. Dark Cloud (PS4) 8/15 - Beat
39. Guacamelee (Switch) 8/18 - Beat
40. Super Mario World (Switch) 9/10 - Beat
41. Star Fox (Switch) 9/12 - Beat
42. Kirby's Dreamland 3 (Switch) 9/16 - Beat
43. Super Metroid (Switch) 10/1 - Beat
44. The Last of Us (PS4) 10/11 - Beat
45. Kid Dracula (Switch) 10/19 - Beat
46. Dead Space (360) 10/24 - Beat
47. Little Nightmares (Switch) 10/25 - Beat
48. Silent Hill (PS1) 10/29 - Beat
49. Link's Awakening (Switch) 11/14 - Beat
50. The Legend of Zelda (NES/Switch) 11/19
51.Luigi's Mansion (3DS) 11/29
52. Dead Space 2 (360) 12/8
53. Dragon Quest (Switch) 12/8
54. God of War (PS2) 12/29

[kamikazekeeg]

Only got to 41 this year, but I don't really try for the challenge anymore since I've done it twice now, it's more about keeping track of what I played.  I actually played way less games this year compared to last year where I played over 60 and over 50 before in 2017, but there wasn't a ton hitting me this year.   Especially on Switch, there was barely anything I wanted to play on that and I was kinda forcing myself to play a few games on there.

[droaa]

I knew I wasnt going to hit 52 this year but the point of this was to get some games out of the backlog which I did although 2 of them were replays. That said,  I know for a fact now and maybe something that I should have known before was that the constant stream of purchases wasnt going to do me any favors and hence why during the summer, I slowed down my purchasing outside of pre-orders and a few games I knew I wanted beforehand rather than impulse purchase but then Black Friday happened and some post BF deals which broke that but it is what it is. I do feel going with that mindset from the summer to start off 2020 will help significantly to better focus what I already have.

[telly]

I was only able to beat 20 games. Hopefully I can bring that nhmber up for next year! I usually shoot for half of 52.

[vivigamer]

I've not updated my list since July! but I am going to go through all the games I have beaten since quickly:
19. Judgment ( PS4) - Decent Story, didn't enjoy the fighting styles.
20. Dragons Crown PRO (PS4) - Great Co-op action!
21. State of Mind (PS4) - Great Interactive Drama, must for Quantic Dream fans!
22. Man of Medan (PS4) - A lot of inconsistencies and a bit of a let down really...
23. Catherine: Full Body(PS4) - Great game, but the implementation of the new Catherine doesn't work so well.
24. AER Memories of Old (PS4) - Anti-Climatic!
25. DOOM (PS4) - Beat the original DOOM for the 1st time (Even has co-op!)
26. Sonic All-Star Racing Transformed (Vita) - Playing it a lot this year, not getting all the S-Rank though.
27. Team Soinc Racing (PS4) - Great racing title, had a lot more fun with it than the Crash Team Racing remake... which remains incomplete...
28. Shenmue (PS4) - Remains in my Top 10 favourite games.
29. Shenmue II (PS4) - Explored the game in much bigger detail, love it!
30. Shenmue III (PS4) - While lacking in narrative was a wonderful gaming experience!
31. NeverDead (PS3) - Not as bad as everyone says, strangely compelling.
32. Virtua Fighter 5: Showdown (PS3) - Played it a bunch.
33. Dead Rising 2 (PS4) - The game has horrible time keeping issues, to the point if you don't make an objective in time the whole game shuts down on you... but it's co-op!
34. Lost Planet (360) - Very Decent Action B-Movie
35. Lost Planet 3 (PS3) - Frustrating combat mechanics, but decent main character and story.
36. World of Illusion (Mega-Drive-Mini) - Played World of Illusion on my Mega-Drive Mini, still one of the finest platfomers ever made!

36 isn't too bad considering I don't play short arcadey games, prett content with that really.

Playing:
Death Stranding (PS4)
Borderlands 1 GotY (PS4)

Plan to play:
End of Eternity (PS4)
Ni No Kuni Remastered (PS4)
Infinite Indiscovery (360)
Yakuza 1 & 2 Kiwami (PS4)
Final Fantasy VII (PC if I can get a solid build)

Beaten List:
36. World of Illusion (Mega-Drive-Mini), 35. Lost Planet 3 (PS3), 34. Lost Planet (360), 33. Dead Rising 2 (PS4), 32. Virtua Fighter 5: Showdown (PS3), 31. NeverDead (PS3), 30. Shenmue III (PS4), 29. Shenmue II (PS4), 28. Shenmue (PS4), 27. Team Soinc Racing (PS4), 26. Sonic All-Star Racing Transformed (Vita), 25. DOOM-Original (PS4) 24. AER Memories of Old (PS4), 23. Catherine: Full Body(PS4), 22. Man of Medan (PS4), 21. State of Mind (PS4), 20. Dragons Crown PRO (PS4), 19. Judgment ( PS4), 18. Devil May Cry V (PS4), 17. Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition (PS4), 16. Devil May Cry 2 HD (PS4), 15. Devil May Cry 1 HD (PS4), 14. Spyro The Dragon - Reignited (PS4), 13. Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (PS4), 12. Wolfenstein: The New Order (PS4), 11. Wolfenstein: The Old Blood (PS4), 10. Final Fantasy V (GBA), 9. Firewatch (PS4), 8. Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise (PS4), 7. The Simpsons Game (PS3), 6. Devil May Cry 3 HD (PS4), 5. Kingdom Hearts III (PS4), 4. Resident Evil 2 REMAKE (PS4), 3. Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance (PS4) 2. Resident Evil REMAKE (PS4) 1. Kingdom Hearts RE:Coded (PS4)

[kashell]

Copied and pasted from another forum:

RPG:
1. Final Fantasy V
2. Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition
3. Final Fantasy IV Advance
4. Song of Memories - platinum'd
5. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 2 - not finished
6. Chrono Cross
7. Valkyria Chronicles Remastered - platinum'd
8. Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna the Golden Country
9. Shining Force Neo - not finished
10. Death end re;Quest - platinum'd
11. Nostalgia - not finished
12. Forever Kingdom
13. Guardian's Crusade - not finished
14. Mary Skelter Nightmares
15. SaGa Frontier - Rouge
16. Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age - not finished
17. Odin Sphere Leifthrasir
19. Dragon Star Varnir - platinum'd
20. I Am Setsuna
21. Drakengard 3
22. Battle Hunter - not finished
23. Trials of Mana with Kevin (D/D), Charlotte (L/L) and Riesz (D/D)
24. Nier: Automata
25. Shadow Hearts: Covenant
26. Trials of Mana with Duran (D/L), Angela (D/L) and Charlotte (D/L)
27. Crystar - platinum'd
28. Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete
29. Trials of Mana with Riesz (L/D), Hawk (D/L), and Kevin (L/L)
30. Final Fantasy Adventure
31. The Legend of Oasis
32. Final Fantasy VII
33. Phantasy Star IV
34. Lost Sphear
35. Trails of Cold Steel - not finished
36. Vanguard Bandits - Empire Branch, Sadira's Ending
37. Romancing SaGa 3 - Ellen Carson
38. Vandal Hearts II
39. Dokapon Kingdom - not finished
40. Salt and Sanctuary
41. SaGa Frontier - Riki

Non-RPG:
1. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
2. Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn
3. Psychedelica of the Ashen Hawk - not finished
4. Britney's Dance Beat
5. God Hand
6. Um Jammer Lammy
7. Mega Man X4
8. Einhander
9. Vampire Savior
10. Akatsuki Blitzkampf
11. Power Stone
12. Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa
13. Ehrgeiz
14. Pop N' Music
15. Jubeat
16. Dance Dance Revolution Xtreme
17. Resident Evil 4
18. Period: Cube ~Shackles of Amadeus~
19. Samurai Shodown - platinum'd
20. Super Mario World
21. Rival Schools
22. Trauma Center: Under the Knife
23. Axiom Verge
24. Our World Is Ended - Normal Ending
25. Kuon
26. What Remains of Edith Finch
27. Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2
28. Dead Cells
29. Superbeat: Xonic
30. Spirit Hunters: NG
31. Death Mark - platinum'd
32. Castlevania: Bloodlines - Eric Lecarde
33. Demon's Crest
34. Manhunt
35. Earthworm Jim
36. Muv-Luv Extra
37. Muv-Luv Unlimited
38. Turtles in Time
39. Mega Man 5
40. Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX

[ignition365]

As is my tradition, time to close out the year's challenge with a stats post.

Top Games played that released in 2019

• Sekiro (PS4)
• Control (PS4)
• Code Vein (X1)
• Rage 2 (X1)
• Tangle Tower (NS)

Top Games played NOT released in 2019

• Spider-man (PS4)
• God of War (2018) (PS4)
• West of Loathing (NS)
• Witcher, The 3: The Wild Hunt (X1)
• Octopath Traveler (NS)

Top Games played overall in 2019

• Sekiro (PS4)
• Control (PS4)
• Spider-man (PS4)
• Code Vein (X1)
• God of War (2018) (PS4)

Honorable Mention

• Cosmic Star Heroine (NS)
• Final Fantasy XV (PS4)
• Gears 5 (X1)
• Golf Story (NS)
• Lost Phone Stories (NS)
• Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (PS4)
• Resident Evil 2 (PS4)
• Tangle Tower (NS)
• Untitled Goose Game (NS)

Console breakdown

• PS4 - XXVII (3 VR games)
• NS - XXV
• X1 - XVIII (4 BC games)
• PS3 - VI
• SNES - III
• Android - II
• GCN - I

Platform with Most Beat Games: PS4 with 27 games beat. 3 of those being PSVR games. NS was a close second with 25 games beat, but nearly double the games beat as last year, so NS has seen another major increase in play time as last year was nearly double over the year before too.  X1 actually came in a decent third with 18 games beat, I expect to see X1 make a big come back for 2020 as I'll be running through the DMC series on there and it's shifted to be my primary home console.

Platform with Most unfinished titles: That would be PS4 with 8 games unfinished, with 1 in progress and 2 straight up abandoned.  1 of which was abandoned in favor of the Switch version, which I'm starting today (DQXI:S)

Current v. Retro v. Mobile/Handheld v. PC: 70 - 10 - 2 (I am considering anything not PS4/X1/NS to be "retro")

Game that ate up the most time: For once I didn't actually put a lot of time into Phantom Pain, as I was actually quite close to the platinum.  I'd venture to guess Witcher 3 or Octopath might be the winner of that this year, maybe Sekiro as earning the platinum was like 100 hours of grinding.

Quickest game beat: I'm gonna go with Cube Escape Seasons as it took less than an hour.  Next to that I'd say Fairune Origin.

• Best Racer: Burnout Paradise (X1BC)
• Best Puzzle Game: Tangle Tower (NS)
• Best Fighter: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (NS)
• Best Party Game: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (NS)
• Best Platformer: Donkey Kong Country (SNES)
• Best RPG: Witcher 3 (X1)
• Best Action Game: Sekiro (PS4)
• Best Story: God of War 2018 (PS4) with MGS series as a whole a close second
• Best Soundtrack: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (NS)
• Best Shooter: Control (PS4)
• Best Independent Game: Tangle Tower (NS)
• Best Handheld Game: Two Eyes (Droid)
• Best Xbox Game: Code Vein (X1)
• Best Playstation Game: Sekiro (PS4)
• Best Nintendo Game: West of Loathing (NS)
• Character of the Year: Dr. Casper Darling (Control)
• Studio of the Year: FromSoftware
• Game of the Year: Sekiro (PS4)

[bikingjahuty]

Here is my breakdown for 2019


Total games played: 59


Total games completed: 58


Number of games played per platform
PS1: 9
PS2: 8
Saturn: 8
Arcade: 7
Switch: 7
Dreamcast: 4
N64: 4
PS4: 3
PS3: 2
360: 2
SNES: 1
Wii: 2
Genesis: 1
Gameboy: 1
PC: 1
XBOX: 1


Top 10 Best Games Played in 2019
1. Shenmue III (PS4)
2. Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order (PS4)
3. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PS1)
4. Tekken Tag Tournament (PS2)
5. Sonic Mania Plus (Switch)
6. Nights into Dreams (PS2)
7. Shadow of the Colossus (PS4)
8. Star Wars Trilogy Arcade (Arcade)
9. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time (SNES)
10. Street Fighter III: Third Strike (Dreamcast)


Top 10 Worst Games Played in 2019
1. Pokemon Sword (Switch)
2. World of Heroes Perfect (PS2)
3. Dragon Ball GT Final Bout (PS1)
4. Bug! (Saturn)
5. Uchan Nanchan Hoono no Challenge (N64)
6. Samurai Aces (Switch)
7. Strikers 1945 (Switch)
8. Super Buster Bros (PS1)
9. Cruisn' USA (N64)
10. Elevator Action Returns (PS2)