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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2024!!!!!

« on: November 22, 2024, 01:42:57 pm »

83. Metaphor: ReFantazio

What. A. Game. It's crazy that I didn't pay this game much attention until after it was released. It's hard for me to think of a negative critique. Maybe some of the dialogue being too wordy? Even that's a stretch. The game really was just that good. Trying to summarize it all here is an undertaking because the game itself is an undertaking. Maybe it'd be more accurate to call it a "fundertaking" because the game never stopped being fun. I'll do a replay at some point due to a trophy but for now I'm going to focus on getting a review going and playing something else that's lighter.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2024!!!!!

« on: November 22, 2024, 12:09:22 pm »

(Also one final thing: yes, it's apparently part of a series, but that's not indicated anywhere in the game and I didn't even know that until I already started playing. You don't need to play the other games at all to understand this game though: it works perfectly on its own.)

Waffle from Tail Concerto (and maybe some of the characters) make cameos, but you're correct. There's no need to play other games in the series to enjoy Red the Hunter. I enjoyed reading your thoughts on it. It was a fun game.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2024!!!!!

« on: November 20, 2024, 10:15:02 am »

82. Metaphor: ReFantazio - Bad Ending

I guess I technically beat this, but it was with a bad and underwhelming ending. So, I won't give my thoughts or spill tea on it just yet. I guess it's cool that there were multiple endings, though. The real ending should be happening later today or tomorrow.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2024!!!!!

« on: November 18, 2024, 07:52:46 am »

81. Super Mario Party Jamboree

I had a friend visiting from out of town. I picked up this to help pass some time between hangs and work. This is actually the second time I ever played a Mario Party. The first time was on the Wii, which I didn't like one bit. I went into this thinking that it's going to be more of the same: a cheating computer and a slow gameplay loop. I was right, but it was still fun. We went through three of the four boards and played a ton of mini-games. Most of them were in enjoyable. In fact, my biggest gripe with the game was the influx of tutorials that couldn't be skipped. Seeing Toad's annoying face every three seconds explaining how video games work was not grand.

80. Captain America and The Avengers - Iron Man

This was one of the games included in the X-Men arcade cabinet. I never finished it before. By my estimate, I would have spent about 10 dollars in quarters because enemies were everywhere. It was cool learning the names of some older Marvel heroes and villains.

I had the SNES version of this.  It was next to impossible.

That tracks. I'm guessing the SNES version had limited continues, too.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2024!!!!!

« on: November 08, 2024, 09:03:25 am »

80. Captain America and The Avengers - Iron Man

This was one of the games included in the X-Men arcade cabinet. I never finished it before. By my estimate, I would have spent about 10 dollars in quarters because enemies were everywhere. It was cool learning the names of some older Marvel heroes and villains.

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General / Re: What are you playing?

« on: October 29, 2024, 11:25:14 am »

Wellp. I started Metaphor. I suspect this will be the last RPG I platinum this year since it requires two play throughs and is a massive game.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2024!!!!!

« on: October 26, 2024, 10:57:08 am »

79. The Quarry

A group playthrough where I took the lead and others that played it for the first time watched. My choices resulted in most of the campers surviving, and all of the family members getting slaughtered. Compared to Until Dawn, I think I like Until Dawn a bit more for its more brisk pace and story. But, this game was still very fun and interesting. A little loquacious at times (specifically that old broad between chapters) but I had a lot of fun playing through this and making choices that were unique to those that were watching me play.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2024!!!!!

« on: October 23, 2024, 10:20:58 am »

78. Castlevania: Curse of Darkness

This was a blast of a replay; perfect for October. My OCD didn't get kick in as bad as I thought. I'm still missing some weapons and some Innocent Devil evolutions. But. I got 100% map completion, managed to steal from Death (quite a feat) and finished the game without much difficulty thanks to all of the other material farming I did. The game still plays brilliantly other than a shaky camera and one of the most annoying stealing methods I've ever seen. The silly camp and fun with the story still hits. Crispin Freeman as Hector is just *chef's kiss*. In the recent Netflix animation, Hector's story is a lot different. I like his journey in the game much more. He's a great dude.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2024!!!!!

« on: October 22, 2024, 12:39:40 pm »

77. Atelier Marie Remake

In some ways, it felt surreal to playing this despite it being a full-on remake. I remember sitting in a free period in high school, looking at RPGs on a site that never made it across the pond. Atelier Marie was one of them. It had adorable sprites, great artwork, and item creation. Item creation?! What kind of RPG in the 90s lets you make items?! It's crazy to think how far the series has come since then. Crazier that Marie got a remake. But, despite the game being easy and on the short side, it just reiterated that I might have outgrown the Atelier series. It was repetitive and kind. Just kind of "there". I had a feeling that might have been the case since I didn't care for the game with the twins (Lydie and Someone) or Lulua. Oh well. Marie graduated at the top of her class and all is right in the world.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2024!!!!!

« on: October 16, 2024, 03:47:10 pm »

76. Samurai Shodown III - Rimururu

While playing as Amakusa was fun for being able to play as a boss, going through the game that debuted Nakaruru's sister hit differently. I remember the first time I saw her in the arcades. I was well into my "I love shojo anime era" and then, my favorite fighting series introduces this girl with a magical ice gem. It's serendipity. Rimu-chan isn't my favorite anymore but she's still a special character on the roster and in the franchise as a whole. She's an adorable girl that stands tiny/tall among big, burly dudes.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2024!!!!!

« on: October 15, 2024, 08:31:07 am »

75. Samurai Shodown III - Amakusa

There's just something about this entry in the series. All games have their ups and downs, but III seems to have more downs. And yet I never grow tired of it. It's one of those games that instantly warps me back to childhood. I went through the game as Amakusa. His epicene beauty and mannerisms were ahead of their time (I said what I said) and he had a really unique set of moves. I still prefer other characters, but playing as "bosses" has a unique appeal.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2024!!!!!

« on: October 07, 2024, 10:05:02 am »

74. Ikai

Spooktober continues with a platinum trophy for Ikai. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would since it was in a first-person perspective. There was only one instance where the camera made me dizzy. Ancient Japan with plenty of folklore, Shintoism, and all the atmosphere that comes with that? Yeah, I had to play it. While the game was quick, it's one of those games that requires a guide in order to get everything out of it. Some of the puzzles needed some additional guidance, too. Otherwise, fun little palette cleanser of a game that's perfect for the season.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2024!!!!!

« on: October 06, 2024, 06:10:12 pm »

73. Tokoyo: The Tower of Perpetuity

I...guess I can consider this beaten? It's a rogue-like tower climber that (I think) takes place in the Tohou Universe. Or maybe it features characters from it? I dunno. It's definitely got its charms. And it definitely has its audience. But, after making it as far as I did after a few hours, I just found myself kind of bored. I don't play games online and this one really wants you to do just that. Oh well. As always, it's good to step out of my comfort zone with something different.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2024!!!!!

« on: September 30, 2024, 03:56:42 pm »

72. Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow - Julius

Wellp, that's that. I wasn't even trying to speedrun or anything. Since there wasn't any incentive to kill regular enemies unless they were blocking my path, I just zoomed through the castle. Julius moves at lightning speed so that helped, too. I thought his moves would grow tired but they didn't. I didn't get 100% castle completion but I had a lot of fun going through most of it with such a badass Belmont.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2024!!!!!

« on: September 25, 2024, 03:15:50 pm »

71. Emio: The Smiling Man - Minoru

A bonus story that sums up everything that goes on with some of the key players before the story begins in earnest and fills in all of the gaps from the main story. This was a nice bonus to a rather blah game. I really appreciated that the second half of it was done with some gorgeous, high-quality anime. If you do play Emio: The Smiling Man, I'd say it's worth it to see things through to completion so you can enjoy this bonus material.