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1

General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: January 07, 2026, 05:56:54 pm »

6. Castlevania (NES)


I'd originally given up on Castlevania yesterday due to how little fun I was having just prior to getting to the Death boss. After trying years ago to beat this game, and once again the other day, I fully realized once more that I'm not a fan of the first Castlevania game, or really most NES games for that matter. Still, a little voice in my head kept on egging me to return to it, if for nothing else than to say, "yep, I beat the original Castlevania." And stubbornly, that's what I chose to do. However, after beating Castlevania, I somewhat wish I hadn't.


Like most "hard" NES games, the game's difficulty stems more from gameplay limitations of the time, poor game design, and just really outdated mechanics. Castlevania is a prime example of this, and this game drives me crazy even when it's not at its most relentlessly difficult. Moving is very stiff and slow, jumping and even basic platforming is overly difficult, navigating stairs sucks, and certain sections of this game feel very half baked in terms of their design. This game is a literal test of patience and endurance over how many cheap shots and needless deaths the player can endure before wanting to turn the console off and just walk away. The gameplay isn't all bad however, but whatever it does right, it easily does two or three other things wrong.


The presentation in Castlevania is fantastic and I adore the gothic horror art direction of the game and how well the artists at Konami portrayed this with 8 bit pixels. Bosses and enemies are mostly all great and memorable, and there is a level of detail not seen in many other NES games for the time. The soundtrack is also very memorable and catchy and goes so well with everything else going on. In many ways, Castlevania's presentation really carries it and makes it a standout game on the NES.


While I am happy in a way that I beat Castlevania, I didn't necessarily feel a sense of accomplishment or even really relief. I was just sort of pissed off and a little annoyed with myself that I just HAD to go back and play this game again. I didn't enjoy it when I played and dropped it yesterday, and I enjoyed it even less getting through the rest of the game, include two of the most obnoxiously annoying bosses in the entire game. I definitely don't plan on playing Castlevania ever again and will instead spend my time with the newer entries that definitely refined nearly everything from the first game. (1/7/26) [29/50]

2

General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: January 06, 2026, 08:58:25 pm »

First abandoned game of the year.


1. Castlevania (NES) - ABANDONED

Even though I was born in the mid 80s and many of my family, friends, and neighbors growing up had NES consoles, I'm still a bit ashamed to admit that the NES is just a little too old school for me. Most NES games I've played, even the ones that are considered among the best on the console, I typically get minimal enjoyment out of. The combination of archaic gameplay, annoying old video game mechanics, and just general technical limitations keep me from enjoying vast swaths of the NES's library. Still, with that said I'll occasionally I'll get the urge to play an NES game.


Given how much I've fallen in love with the Castlevania franchise in recent years, I decided I was going to play some of the game that started it all. Keep in mind this isn't my first rodeo with the original Castlevania. Many years ago when I still collected NES games and thought I liked the console way more than I actually did, I got my own copy of Castlevania, played it quite a bit for about a week, and then just never had any desire to pick it back up. I can't remember how far I got, but all I remember is not beating it back then. I decided I was going to try it out again and see if maybe I had misjudged the game or possibly I'd find myself enjoying it more if I played it now. Unfortunately, that was not the case.


Like many "hard" NES games, its difficulty is more the result of technical limitation and poor game design than the deliberate planning of Konami back in 1987. The placement of enemies, the slow, stiff controls, the annoying knockback, and of course needing to restart a stage when you die, all will drain your motivation to continue playing. As you play through Castlevania more and more, you will learn to compensate and adjust to its meh gameplay, even at times tricking yourself into thinking it's maybe not that bad. But then you'll reach some section later in the level or on the next will will make you wish you were playing a better game. As I'll soon discuss, there is so much I do like about the original Castlevania, however its gameplay is definitely not one of them and had me quitting just before I reached the boss, Death. I do not enjoy playing this game or think it's fun, but that's not to say I hate everything about Castlevania.


From a visual and audio standpoint, Castlevania is a very appealing game. I'm a sucker for horror aesthetic and art direction in video games, and Castlevania nails it with its gorgeous 8-bit pixel artwork. The is a surprising level of detail in every stage. Enemies and especially bosses all look great and do an excellent job of representing whatever monsters they were meant to look like. This game's art is a true love letter to the horror genre and I could not get enough of it as I trudged through actually playing this game. Castlevania's audio is also pretty excellent and has some truly catchy and iconic tunes. I also am a fan of the sound effects weapons made and just the overall sound design Konami was able to accomplish here.


Castlevania is a game I really, really want to like. I can almost forgive this game for being the first entry in the series and creating the blueprint that future titles would improve upon (well, except Simon's Quest maybe). Unfortunately by the time i get to the Frankenstein boss battle, I'm just so burnt out and honestly a little bored with playing this game that I just don't really want to play anymore. At this point, I'm fairly certain I'll never actually beat Castlevania, but that's honestly okay with me. I've played enough of it at two separate times in my life to know this game isn't for me, and luckily i have a ton of newer titles that I enjoy significantly more. (1/6/26) - ABANDONED

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: January 05, 2026, 11:29:00 pm »

5. Dead or Alive 6 (PS4)

Up until last year, most of my love for the DOA series was the result of one game in the series, DOA2. I played the hell out of DOA2 on my Dreamcast and PS2 back in the early 2000s. The combination of its fast, action packed gameplay and umm...certain female character attributes heavily appealed to my teenage brain at the time. While I have dabbled in some of the later entries in the series, I'm a little bit surprised and disappointed I didn't play some of the later mainline DOA games more until 2024. Having played so much DOA relatively recently has definitely helped me decide which games I like better than others. In all honesty, they're all pretty good, some do stand out as being better than others for one reason or another. The final mainline DOA game I still needed to get my hands dirty with was the latest entry in the series, DOA6. And well, DOA6 was in many ways one of the most surprisingly good entries in the series while also being somewhat of a disappointing step backwards for the series as well.


I'll start things off on a positive note and say DOA6 might have the best gameplay in the entire series. Seriously, this game is so incredibly fun to play! Controlling nearly every character feels fluid, intuitive, and accessible than any other entry in the series. That's not to say this game is easy, but it certainly does make feeling like an absolute champion in a DOA game easier than ever as you're stringing together crazy combos and counters while the typical craziness of a DOA game plays out around you. This great gameplay is in no small part thanks to the knew Break system which acts as both a combo breaker and super system simultaneously. There is a gauge that fills up as you fight and once it reaches a certain level of fullness you can unleash a variety of supers on your opponent. The closest thing I can think of in terms of a similar system, both in implementation and how it looks (albeit WAY less violent) is the Xray special system in the newer Mortal Kombat games. I had a hard time wanting to stop playing this game, which isn't always the case when it comes to me playing fighting games.


Like most DOA games, DOA6 has many unlockables, mostly relating to costumes and accessories you can obtain for the fairly impressively sized toster of characters. Unfortunately, DOA6 has the distinction of having the most grindy unlockables system in any fighting games I've ever played. You don't just unlock costumes like you do in all previous DOA games. You literally unlock pieces of costumes by playing as the various characters, which also require you buy the costume with in game currency. Of course, being a modern video game, costumes and in game money can be purchased using real money, but I guess in a way it's nice they allowed you to unlock most of this content without needing to purchase it via DLC. Of course, there is plenty of content that is only paid DLC too, including a decent chunk of characters. But yeah, if you want to unlock anything decent in this game, be prepared to play this game for hours upon hours, sometimes for a single character costume. It's bullshit to be honest.


As mentioned, DOA6 was as much of a step forward as it was a fairly big step backwards. While DOA6 totes possibly the best gameplay in the franchise, it also tripped the series of a lot of its identity thanks to some questionable artistic decisions. Like it or not, DOA as a whole is loved just as much for its fun gameplay as it is for its overly sexualized female characters, over the top jiggle physics, and unapologetic promotion of TnA. While this part of DOA certainly appealed to me more as a guy in his teens, it's still an undeniable part of what makes a DOA game what it is and without it, the game just feels off. It's like if Mortal Kombat removed the blood and fatalities (MK vs DCU anyone?); it just doesn't work. Female characters have been undeniable defanged and the almost patented jiggle physics are almost non existent. I don't know whose decision it was to change these things or tone down the sex appeal of the female characters, but it honestly makes this game feel a bit generic and not as DOAish as nearly all other entries.


But even if DOA6 had all those staples of the DOA franchise in them, the game still doesn't look that much better than DOA5, a game originally released on 7th gen hardware. Stages are a noticeable downgrade as well. While there are a few memorable ones, many are simply generic looking Japanese villages or fighting rinks. There is far less verticality in stages too, meaning less opportunities to kick your opponent off rooftops or cliffs, and have them crash into the hard ground 50 feet below. Even the character models don't look as detailed or polished as they did in DOA5, which also includes the swear, damage, and dirt effects present in that game. This is still a fairly good looking game, but not nearly as good as a the previous entry in the series.


Finally, the soundtrack in this game is probably one of the worst in any DOA games I've ever played. DOA soundtracks jsut have this catchy, coolness to them that makes nearly all of them great. Unfortunately, DOA6 doesn't have a single track I really liked, yet at the same time none of them feel woefully out of place or offensive to the ears either. It's essentially a serviceable soundtrack, nothing more. Aside from the OST, the sound effects and voice acting is pretty good, at least if you turn on the Japanese voice audio.


I absolutely will be returning to DOA6 again at some point, albeit it will be almost exclusively for the game's stellar gameplay. It's a real shame this game didn't continue many of the staples the DOA series is known for or put more time and effort into the overall presentation of this game. This could have easily been one of the best DOA games ever made, if not the very best had they done so. But with how good this game plays, it's hard to be disappointed with DOA6 and I'd still strongly recommend people play it, even if it fell off the wagon in other ways. (1/5/26) [35/50]

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: January 04, 2026, 11:59:39 pm »

4. Halo 3 (XBONE)

Despite Halo CE and Halo 2 coming out while I was in high school and it being all the rage at the time, I never "loved" Halo, but I certainly liked it. By the time Halo 3 got announced I had graduated high school and was living 1200 miles away out of state for college. My little brother and I shared joint custody of our XBOX 360 Elite console; I'd have it for about 3 months, ship it to him, and he'd send it back in another 3 or 4 months. Around the time Halo 3 came out, my brother was in possession of our 360, which was absolutely appropriate given he LOVED Halo, definitely way more than I did. Funny enough, he went to a huge Halo 3 launch event that was holding an all ages tournament and he ended up winning it along with a free copy of Halo 3, a giant Master Chief cardboard cutout and like $100. I guess that's what playing Halo 2 thousands of hours on XBOX Live amounts to. But anyhow, the combination of my brother having the 360 when Halo 3 came out, me living so far away from all my high school friends whom I used to play Halo with, and the fact that I was never crazy about Halo to begin with meant I didn't play this game back in 2007, or in 2008, or for the rest of the 2000s....or the 2010s. Nope, here we are in 2026, nearly 19 years since Halo 3 originally came out and I finally sat down and played through the campaign. Better late than never I suppose.


As mentioned, I only played the campaign which is where most of my interest in Halo games lies. I enjoyed playing local multiplayer in Halo CE and Halo 2, but in recent years I've only ever played the single player campaign in those games. Same goes for Halo 3. With that said, i am aware how robust Halo 3's multiplayer and map editor modes are and how this games legendary for its multiplayer back in the day, both locally and online. The reason I mentioned this is because your mileage will vary greatly depending on how much you value the multiplayer aspect of these games and my review may not reflect how balanced or enjoyable this experience might be. However, if you're just interested in the single player experience, read on if you'd like.


I'm a bit bummed to say, Halo 3 was not nearly as impressive and many have led me to believe over the years. With that said, I sort of expected to like this game roughly about as much as I did Halo CE and Halo 2, minus the nostalgia I directly have for those two games. And sure enough, I enjoyed Halo 3 about just as much. With me saying that, i have to stress that Halo 3 did have aspects about it that I did genuinely enjoy more than any of the previous Halo games, mainly how much better paced Halo 3 is. There isn't nearly as many chapters and sections that just drag on and on like they did in Halo 2, and especially Halo CE. This meant the action and story just kept coming and coming, which is something I really appreciate. Unfortunately, the final chapter to the original Halo story arch was not as cool as I had hoped, but at the very least ties things up nicely and the final chapter of the game was appropriately epic.


Halo 3 also luckily refined the gameplay from the previous two Bungie Halo games. Shooting feels a little more crisp, vehicles control way better, and level design is generally way better. Speaking of vehicles, there are a decent amount more to pilot compared to the previous two games, which makes the improvements to how they control that much more appreciated. Most of Halo's chapters are very well made, however the sections and chapters that aren't are so bad that I dare say they are some of the worst in the original Halo trilogy. Particularly, the double scarabs fight and the final couple stages that bombard you with flood to the point where it's more frustrating than fun. There are also more weapons, although many are just variations of other weapons that have existed in the series for some time. In saying all this, the gameplay of Halo 3 is certainly improved, but it still has some notable flaws that prevent this game from being the incredible experience this game was often lauded for around the time of its release.


Probably Halo 3's weakest quality is its visuals. That's not to say Halo 3 is a bad looking game, but unfortunately the jump in visual fidelity compared to Halo 2 just didn't wow me as much as I was hoping. Maybe I've forgotten how old 7th gen game graphics can look, but honestly Halo 3 didn't look that much better than Halo 2. This lack of visual sharpness and detail is most evident in character models and animations which again, don't seem to look that much better than how they looked in Halo 2 back in 2004. Sure, some textures are noticeably better, but overall the visuals crispness of Halo 3 is not the leap forward I thought it would be. The beefed up hardware of the 360 seems to have gone more towards the spectacle and scale of the battles that take place; there are definitely way more enemies and just general chaos during the game, and fortunately there are rarely any framerate dips or stutters when these large scale skirmishes occur.


Finally, there's Halo 3's audio which is just as epic as it was in the previous games. Keeping with the Bungie era Halo games, many memorable and iconic tracks from Halo CE and Halo 2 are also present in 3 as well. There are some new orchestral tracks which really complement the action on screen and also fit in well with those classic Halo songs as well. Voice acting is also competent and well done too, with nearly the entire voice cast from Halo 2 reprising their respective roles in this game. As you'd expect, there are a ton of explosions, enemy growls and screams, cool weapon sounds, and just overall the audio design in Halo is something that needs to be experienced. My only real compliant about the audio is sometimes the volume of character dialogue can sound really quiet, even during cutscenes. Seeing how I commonly play games with voice acting on this same TV and almost never have this compliant, this definitely seems to be more the game's fault than my setup.


While it's a shame I wasn't blown away by Halo 3 as I'd hoped, I'm at least happy to say I liked it about as much as Halo CE and Halo 2, with Halo 2 being my favorite of the three by only a small sliver. Still, despite me not thinking these three games are the unparalleled masterpieces thousands, possibly millions of other gamers seem to think, I can still appreciate these games for what they are, but also what they mean to gaming culture. The original Halo trilogy practically defined the zeitgeist of 2000s gaming. I have so many wonderful memories of playing Halo CE and Halo 2 with friends back in high school, and those are honestly just as special to me, if not more so than the games themselves. As for Halo 3, I obviously never played it until just the other day, but I certainly remember the almost indescribable hype surrounding it before and after release in 2007 and 2008, and also how at the time of its release, it was practically synonymous with gaming. In a way, Halo 3 and its predecessors have become a bit of a time machine for me, reminding me of the fun times back in my teens and early 20s. It's for those reasons that I will always hold Halo CE, Halo 2, and Halo 3 in high regard, even if I think the games themselves are just pretty good for the most part. (1/4/26) [36/50]

5

General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: January 03, 2026, 06:57:58 pm »

3. Splatterhouse 3 (Genesis)

Despite my countless trips to rental stores, as well as me and my various friends who owned Sega Genesis consoles, the Splatterhouse series was completely unknown to me until probably the late 2000s. Had I been a bit older during the early and mid 90s, I probably would have heard of it given how violent and spooky it was, but it's not a game that was ever on m radar until long after the Genesis was discontinued. More so, even after hearing about Splatterhouse and its various sequels, it wouldn't be until this year (2026) where I'd finally try one of these games out and see if it was truly something special or just another 16-bit dud. Splatterhouse 3 was always the entry that looked the most appealing to me so it's the one I decided to start with. And yep, it's pretty freakin good.


I'm actually surprised the Slatterhouse series didn't get way more popular after the third game given how violent, gory, grotesque, and at times even disturbing this game is. For a game released in 1993 it even gives Mortal Kombat 1 and 2 a run for its money in the violence department. But beyond it 16-bit carnage, Splatterhouse 3 has an excellent horror art direction that oozes creepiness and atmosphere. Every stage has distinct rooms to traverse through and most of these rooms look pretty different from one another. Especially in the mansion floor stages, one room might be a decrepit study and the next is an old garage or balcony overlooking a spooky forest in the background. There are mangled corpses laying around, blood and entrails on the walls and floor, and sections of this game that looks like hell is doing its very best to merge with ours.


Enemies are also very creative and appropriately scary. There is a decent variety of enemy types in Splatterhouse 3 with most reminding me of some sort of mix between Hellraiser and The Thing in terms of their design. Speaking of enemies, as the main character Rick beats the crap out of them, they will gradually show signs of taking damage and getting closer to death; when most enemies are around halfway through their HP, their heads will become visibly bloodied or even parts of their bodies will fall off. This also happens with boss characters as well which especially show off an impressive level of detail and creepiness in their design. Even Rick and his two forms look cool. If not for the parts of the later stages being a bit underwhelming compared to earlier stages, and maybe a little too much recycling of the same enemy types, this would be one of the best looking Genesis games I've ever played. It's still certainly up there though given its visuals and graphics are its strongest suit.


Before moving on from Splatterhouse 3's visual presentation it's definitely worth mentioning how surprisingly story driven this game is. Unlike most Beat em' ups which just given you a brief explanation of what you're doing and why you're doing it either at the beginning of the game or before it starts, Splatterhouse 3 continued to deliver a narrative through cool 16-bit rendered cutscenes that use a lot of digitized looking actor stills to tell a pretty interesting and creepy story. Splatterhouse 3 goes a step further, however and also has multiple, pretty different endings depending on whether you completed certain levels before the allotted time expired on those levels. All of this absolutely adds to and is a big part of why this game is one of the creepiest 16-bit era games. I've ever played and one that would have almost certainly given me nightmares had I played it around the time it originally came out.


Audio in Splatterhouse 3 is also great. There are actually vocal sound clips in this game that surprisingly clear seeing how this was a cartridge based game. Music is also pretty good with a variety of spooky tracks that definitely add to the action horror atmosphere of the rest of the game. Sound effects when you hit and kill enemies also sound pretty good too. Overall, the audio definitely compliments the overall great horror presentation this game is going for and excels at.


I feel like with most beat em' ups, particularly the ones most remember fondly, I get to praise their visuals and audio up and down, but when it comes to their gameplay, I have to take things down several notches and explain why they're maybe not the most enjoyable games to play. Unfortunately, Splatterhouse 3 is no different. Don't get me wrong, the beat em up action in this game is prety satisfying and well implemented at times, but there are just too many issues with this game's gameplay that hold it back from being anything better than just okay.


For starters, Splatterhouse 3 is an insanely hard game, even on easy difficulty. There are some basic enemies that will drain half your life bar with a single hit, meanwhile most bosses don't even hit this hard. Luckily you have unlimited continues, but you'll be sent right back to the beginning of the stage, meaning you're very likely to die again before completing it and moving onto the next level. Even the main character's power up ability which has him transforming into what he normally looks like, but on steroids does little to make getting through Splatterhouse 3 any easier. I'm not one to be overly critical of games for being "too hard" but when a lot of that difficulty is because of poor design or just general cheapness, I'm going to call it out. Splatterhouse 3 also suffers from some really annoying gotcha moments where enemies will instantly attack you before you have time to reach when entering a new room, and bosses spam certain movies which make dealing any damage to them a matter of out spamming them with cheap moves. These are not hallmarks of good game design for any better em' up or really any game at that.


However, there are some very noteworthy aspects to Splatterhouse 3's gameplay that certainly act as a buffer to its often frustrating, cheap gameplay. Splatterhouse 3 is the oldest beat em' up I've seen with nonlinear progression. Once you clear a room within a stage, you are often given multiple doors to choose from which take you into different rooms in whatever stage you're playing through. This allows you to get to your final destination in each stage differently, adding to this game's replay value. You're given a map to review when you press the start button which allows you to easily navigate through each stage and its rooms, do you'll never get lost. Exploration can definitely be enjoyable as it can reveal secrets, special items, health and power up items, and other oddities you'll be rewarded with for doing so. However, straying from a more direct path to the final room you're making your way towards often comes at a price of running out of time.


Yep, each stage had a time limit, which ties directly in with the story and what is occurring in each stage. You can still beat a stage and progress to the next one if you run out of time, however it will be at the expense of getting a worse story and ending in the game. I don't want to spoil anything, but the time limit is definitely a consideration if you're looking to get a better ending.


The bottom line is there is a ton to appreciate and enjoy in Splatterhouse 3, and this is despite the game's pretty blaring gameplay faults. Even with dying over and over again as I made my way through it, I still really enjoyed Splatterhouse 3 for the most part. It's presentation goes a long way to carry it, but even all things considered, this is one of the better Genesis beat em' ups I've played and worth checking out if you're a fan of the genre from the 90s. (1/3/26) [34/50]

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: January 03, 2026, 06:15:20 pm »

I hope it's not too late for me to join. I don't think I could ever do 52 in a year, but I can see myself finishing 20-30 games.

My current active playthroughs are:

Tomb Raider 2 (Evercade)
Final Fantasy IV Advance (PC via emulation)
Mafia: The Old Country (PS5)

I'm at level 13 of Tomb Raider 2, so I should be finishing that one in a few days. Then I'll play through Tomb Raider 3 on Evercade before moving on to the remasters of 4, 5, and 6 on PS4. I'm also planning to replay the Legend-Anniversary-Underworld trilogy on PS3 since that was my favorite TR trilogy and introduction to the series.

It's never too late to join, not to mention we're only 3 days into the new year so we just started.

7

General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: January 03, 2026, 11:58:27 am »

2. Golden Axe (Genesis)

While I never owned Golden Axe as a kid, one of my best friends did and it was one of our favorite multiplayer games to play whenever I was at his house. Having never played or even encountered the arcade version of this game growing up, this was my first exposure to the Golden Axe series. However, it's been easily 30 years since I last played the original Golden Axe and I was fairly sure my opinion of this game had likely changed in that time period. Sure enough, it has.


For a fantasy style beat em' up from the late 80s, Golden Axe is a decent game. The visuals do a good job of capturing that fantasy adventure feel as you quest through each of the game's stages on your quest to defeat the evil Death Adder. In true fantasy style your progression through the game is tracked on a ancient looking map which just adds to the great encapsulation of the fantasy genre. Levels are also pretty memorable as you fight your way through villages, on the sides of cliffs, and eventually inside an ominous looking castle. Enemy variety is unfortunately lacking compared to some other contemporary beat em' ups of the time; most enemies will be the same models, but just color swapped. Bosses are also less varied than I would like, with most just being big looking dudes with giant swords or axes. Still, despite this, the visuals are pretty good in Golden Axe, especially for a very early Genesis release.


The soundtrack is also pretty good. There are some very memorable tunes in this game that gave been burned into my brain most of my life thanks to those Golden Axe play seasons from the early and mid 90s. Listening to the soundtrack now, however, there is still some decent music in this game, but still not as good as I remember. Aside from this, there are cool, crunchy sounding Genesis sound effects when you strike and enemy or they hit you, as well as the cries of enemies when you finally vanquish them.


Sadly, Golden Axe's gameplay isn't great, but in a way not terrible either as far as late 80s beat em' ups are concerned. Beyond the typical repetitive gameplay games from this genre are somewhat infamous for, there is a definite lack of balancing and an undeniable cheapness to Golden Axe's gameplay. Enemy default speed is faster than yours, which is already really slow, which allows them to easy flank you. You can do a variety of things to deal with this, including jumping and a 360 degree attack, but what often happens is the hit detection seems inconsistent, and niot just when surrounded on both sides. The inconsistent hit detection in Golden Axe is honestly my biggest grip with the game seeing how you're almost certain your strike with hit a bad guy, but instead just passes right through them, but next time from the same distance it lands? Okay. The use of magic via potion bottles you collect by kicking the shit out of little elves with bags does spice up gameplays, especially since the more you charge up your magic the better and cooler the attack you unleash. Oh and the three playable characters all have different magic attacks too which is pretty cool. There are also mounts you can use to help you fight, although between trying to actually get on them with getting hit by an enemy and then hit again after just one attack on the mount kind of diminishes their relevance in the game.


I have to constantly remind myself that Golden Axe is pretty par for the course when it comes to beat em' up games from this era, however it still had me wishing the game just had a little more refinement. There are so many great qualities in the Genesis port of Golden Axe, it's just a shame they didn't come together as well as I'd hoped they would. And unfortunately, even my childhood nostalgia for this game wasn't enough to mask these issues and have me coming out the end mostly enjoying the game. Still, the game is super short on a single playthrough (I beat it in about half an hour) and based on that, I feel like if you have an itch for some 16-bit beat em' up action, Golden Axe is worth trying even if there are much better examples from the genre and time period to be played elsewhere. (1/3/26) [29/50]

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General / Re: Intro thread

« on: January 03, 2026, 10:57:25 am »

Hello. I've been thinking about joining for a while now, as all the video game forums I used to visit have died off. These days the only consoles I collect for physically are PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Switch, and Evercade VS-R. I do have a PS5 Pro, but it's strictly for games I can't get on the other consoles. Everything else I rely on emulation for, as I have so many consoles it's starting to become an inconvenience finding power outlets and HDMI ports for them. Looking forward to finishing my collection in the next 3-5 years so I can spend the rest of my life enjoying what I have.

Welcome! As far as forums go, it's pretty quiet here too. There are roughly about a dozen or so of us that regularly/semi regularly post on here now. But luckily it's a cool little community that hopefully you'll enjoy.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: January 03, 2026, 02:26:04 am »

First game of the year down! I was rearranging my collection all day, making room for the few console collections which are still growing, and while moving the Wii games I grabbed a title I've been meaning to return to for some time.


1. Elebits (Wii)

I was one of the lucky ones who was able to get a Nintendo Wii at launch back in late 2006. The reason I was lucky was, a) they were hard as hell to find, and b) I was a broke ass college student who had no business spending the limited funds I had on a hot new game console. Regardless, I picked up Twilight Princess with my Wii and devoured that game over the following weeks. However, once I beat Twilight Princess and had extracted all the enjoyment i could out of Wii Sports at the time, I decided to use a Best Buy gift card I had burning a hole in my pocket to pick up a brand new game that was among the best to show off the Wii's then revolutionary motion controls. That game was Elebits.


It's been nearly 20 years since I last played and beat Elebits and in that time period I've been meaning to go back and replay it. Having finally done so, I can say that this game does a pretty good job with not only showing off the versatility of the Wii's motion controls, but unfortunately does so in a game that has some fundamental design issues and gets way too repetitive way too fast.


The basic premise of Elebits is you need to explore various confined environments to track down the chubby creatures whom the game gets its namesake. The Elebits are essentially beings made of electricity and the more you collect, the more you're able to explore and interact with various other parts of each stage, thereby allowing you to find and capture even more Elebits. As you progress through the game's 30 stages, new elements are introduces including new types of Elebits, new obstacles and hazards to contend with, new puzzles, and of course, new environments to explore. Unfortunately, the game does recycle stages, which is a shame since there aren't a ton of them to begin with, and many are just extensions/variations of others you've previous played. Aside from the recycled stages, all this might sound like this game remains fresh and interesting throughout, however the more this game adds, the worse it gets.


For example, there are stages where you are not allowed to break any objects like dishes or glasses, or you can't make too much noise while overturning furniture and other objects in search for Elebits. The games controls combined with the stage and time constraints you're required to contend with just don't mesh well enough for you to get through them in a matter than isn't either tedious and boring, or needlessly frustrating. With all that said, this is not a difficult game. It is also worth noting there are several Elebit bosses you have to fight throughout the game as well, and beating them requires some sort of unique action or strategy. Unfortunately these boss battles are somewhat half baked and don't make the game really any better, or I suppose worse either.


Elebits was a pretty good looking game for its time. Environments are fairly detailed and have many objects to interact with. This extends to the game's physics which are pretty fun and decently implemented. It's fun to use your Elebit capturing gun to throw objects like lamps, chairs, electronics, and all sorts of other things around a room like a manic lunatic in search of the colorful little creatures. The game is actually most fun when you just get to go insane on the sage environments and the objects within them. Unfortunately, these moments are too seldom and instead you are required to take a much more tedious, restrained approach to complete most stages. But anyhow, this game looks pretty good for what it is and certainly one of the better looking early Wii games.


Finally, there's Elebits' soundtrack which is surprisingly good, albeit not mind blowing by any stretch of the imagination either. There is a decent amount of voice acting too, which is all pretty terrible and wooden. Sound effects of objects being thrown about of the squeaks and cute noises of the Elebit creatures also help give this game a distinct, lighthearted identity as well. The overall sound quality of this game is good, just not amazing...other than the voice acting of course, which is fairly trivial regardless.


I have to admit, I am a tad disappointed I didn't enjoy this game more upon replaying it. I'd forgotten most of my impressions of this game from back in 2006, but do at least remember feeling more positive about Elebits than negative. Unfortunately my new opinion screws slightly more towards the negative side of things, mostly due to how limiting the gameplay can be and also how repetitive this game gets despite its best efforts to avoid that. Elebits served its purpose in late 2006 and Id say even through some of 2007 as one of the best showcases of the Wii's motion controls, however there are far better games that would do this in the years that followed during the Wii's lifespan. Still, this game isn't without its charm and it's certainly a decent little FPS game that you coiuld also play with young kids if you wanted to. (1/2/26) [29/50]

10

General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: January 01, 2026, 10:27:13 am »

Almost 2 years since took part in this. Let's go and howdy yall.

Welcome back!

11

General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

« on: December 31, 2025, 12:07:49 am »

With tomorrow already booked out and busy, I'm calling it for the year. 130 games beat...wow. I aimed for 100 games beat at the beginning of 2025, but never imagined I'd clear my goal by THAT much! I don't know if I'll ever beat this many games in a single year ever again, but I have to say it was one hell of a ride. See you all in 2026!

12

General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

« on: December 30, 2025, 07:21:56 pm »

Wow...what a game to close the year out with.


130. Celeste (Switch)

Other than knowing it was a platformer and it was a big deal back in 2018/2019, I knew very little about Celeste prior to playing it. With me being on a bit of an indie game kick recently, I decided to add Celeste on the Switch to my Christmas list and luckily my wife came through with getting it for me this year. Popping Celeste into my Switch, I didn't quite know what to expect or why this game is so widely loved and praised. After beating it, I now fully understand why.


There really is no other way of saying it; Celeste is a very special game. In a modern gaming industry, or really just the modern world we live in, there is so much nihilism, cynicism, and general negativity that it's a massive breath of fresh air to get something so encouraging and positive like Celeste in the midst of all this. While Celeste does tackle things like mental health heavily in its story, it tells a way deeper and meaningful story than just a generic "be kind to yourself" kind of story. The characters, the setting, the plot, and pretty much every piece of Celeste's story oozes with character and charm. Despite the retro inspired 2D visuals, I was more invested in what was going on during my playthrough than I have been during the vast majority of much more visually impressive, AAA modern games. The story and characters possess a relatability and realness that is seldom seen in any game, let alone a platformer. I don't want to spoil anything for anyone who hasn't played this game, but you will almost certainly love Celeste's protagonist Madaline, as well as the other characters that really help make this game standout way above most other games when it comes to story. Keep in mind, this is a platformer we're talking about, not an RPG or sprawling adventure epic. That's just how powerful and wonderful the story and characters are.


As mentioned, Celeste is a retro inspired 2D platformer which masterfully uses its sprite based graphics to construct a world that absolutely stands out amongst the hoard of other retro inspired indie titles. Backgrounds, interactive assets, obstacles, enemies, and everything in between look unique and gorgeous. The characters in Celeste are also given cute avatars with text based dialogue, and they regularly change expressions to help drive home the meaning of a particular line of dialogue. Really, my only gripe with the visuals has to do with stages sometimes reusing art elements a bit too much, as well as recycling some of these stage themes and elements later on in the game when it would have been cool to have more unique stages. Still, this is a fairly minor grievance to what is otherwise a very good looking game.


Celeste's music is arguably its best quality. The soundtrack is unreal how good it is! A mixture of classical tunes on a piano, some more upbeat techno like music playing in certain parts, and call be crazy, but some tracks sounding like David Wise of Donkey Country Country fame collaborated on them makes Celeste's soundtrack one of the very best I've heard. I can't think of a single song that felt undercooked or out of place in this game. Other than the OST, characters are voiced similarly to the characters in Animal Crossing. In other words, they mostly just speak cute gibberish. That's fine since it somehow works so well with everything else, particularly the cartoonish, yet very endearing character avatars I mentioned earlier. Sound effects are also great and well implemented as well. Celeste's audio is pretty much a perfect 10/10, no question.


While still very good for the most part, probably Celeste's weakest quality is its gameplay. The platforming in this game is absolutely a challenge and you will die many, many, many times. That is a guarantee. Luckily the game doesn't make you wait through any stupid death animations or continue screens and immediately throws you back at the last checkpoint you hit. Checkpoints are plentiful and are present at every portion of a level section that required a transition to it. There are many stages and areas with far more obstacles that will instantly kill you than safe places to land. A core mechanic of getting through this insanity is using Madaline's dash mechanic which allows you to zip to a higher platform, get past a dangerous obstacle more quickly, or perform some other feat that requires quickness and precision. The dash is also limited, meaning you will need to land on solid ground or hit a variety of dash recharging stage elements to perform more dashes. You'll often be stringing together more dashes and recharges to clear an area, which is almost always way easier said than done. However, the reason for Celeste's gameplay faults have nothing to do with its high difficulty, but rather some of its controls which make getting through some of these sections way harder than they should be.


I was unable to determine whether it was the game's fault, my Switch's Joycon analogue stick, or something else, but I found the act of changing directions mid air during dashes to be inconsistent about 75% of the time, especially during diagonal dashes. When trying to dash up-left or down-right, or some other diagonal direction, the game would register my analogue stick input as just up or left, or down or right, leading to my death the vast majority of times. I always would get past a certain section eventually, but this inconstancy really made a few sections rage inducing to get past. I was literally having this issue all the way until the very end of the game so I know it wasn't just me getting used to the controls or whatever. It makes me wonder if I'd played this game with a Pro Controller or on another console if I'd have had the same issue. Maybe someday I'll see.


My only other compliant with Celeste's gameplay had to do with a few stage elements making certain parts of the game far less pleasant than they would have been without them. These mainly include these cloud platforms which are supposed to make you bounce and give your standard jump greater height. I had a hard time getting consistent height off these clouds when using them to propel Madaline higher, which made using them pretty annoying at times. Another stage element which I hated was the win mechanic that was mostly only present on stage 4 I believe. Dealing with the wind is what made this stage memorable I suppose, but in some ways for the wrong reasons. This wind stage was my least favorite, mostly because of how obnoxious the wind pushing you back or forward made an already very challenging level even more so.


Despite these gripes with Celeste's gameplay, the vast majority of my time with this game was spent blissfully getting through the game's hard as hell stages. The term, "tough, but fair" absolutely applies to Celeste's level design; you can tell an insane amount of time was put into testing and fine tuning each part of each stage to as close to perfection as possible. Even after dying over 20 times in certain sections of Celeste, I always felt myself improving more and more until I finally cleared it and was able to move on deeper into the level. This trial and error is a huge part of Celeste's charm and enjoyability which definitely had me coming back for more, despite dying a total of nearly 1200 times by the time I reached the end credits.


Games like Celeste are why I adore video games. They are able to achieve a level of meaningfulness while also being fun, interactive entertainment. In this regard, Celeste nails what makes the very best games so amazing. The game's heartfelt story, unique gameplay and visuals, and beautiful soundtrack all mech together in near perfection to create one of the most unforgettable, enjoyable games I've ever played, let along this year. What a wonderful way to close out 2025. (12/30/25) [43/50]

13

General / Re: Do you ever buy Non-Original accessories

« on: December 29, 2025, 11:19:00 am »

I don't have an issue with others buying third party accessories, but I always choose first party, authentic ones. At least for me they feel the best to use and have the highest build quality (typically). I've had a few third party controllers back in the day and I always hatted using them because none of them felt as good to use and play with as the original, first party materials. While this falls under the third party accessory category, I've never used a clone controller I actually liked. The buttons just feel off and if there is any sort of analogue stick they're either less responsive, or just feel stiff. So yeah, I typically always go first party, original.

14

General / Re: Your 2025 Gaming and Collecting Goals

« on: December 28, 2025, 10:08:34 am »

I've got no plans or goals related to gaming.

I have interest in seeing what Nintendo is bringing with the Switch successor. If they have at least two games at launch that are of interest, it's affordable and there are more games in the works of interest, then I'll add a goal of getting the new system by next Christmas.

The one thing I had was the Switch 2 and that didn't happen.

1. In comparison to the OG Switch, it's not affordable. That said, with all computer components skyrocketing in price thanks to AI greed, I don't see game systems becoming cheeper...ever.

2. The only game released on it so far that I have any interest in is the new Hyrule Warriors and with Nintendo playing things so close to the chest anymore, they haven't announced any games in production that I have any interest in. That doesn't mean they aren't making something I or my kids would enjoy, they simply haven't announced anything yet.

3. The key card cartridges are a massive red flag. Nintendo is moving forward with removing ownership of physical games. What's the point in collecting them when you don't own the game in digital or physical editions? There is none and Nintendo are affectively removing themselves from consideration for future purchases in my house.

I'm kinda in the same boat as you. I have some interest in a few games fpr the system, but overall there isn't any anything currently exclusive to it or on the horizon that would even remotely justify its pretty steep price. I'm grateful Nintendo has kept all their first party titles on cartridge, however third party games are pretty much a wash when it comes to the key card nonsense. There are a handful of third party games that have kept their games on the cart, but they are outnumbered 10 to 1 when it comes to third party releases. I'm hoping Nintendo at least doesn't resort to using key cards ever for their games. If that remains the case for another couple of years, maybe three, I might take the plunge and grab a Switch 2. Mostly though, there has been nothng released or announced that has made me go, "Holy shit! I need this game!"

15

General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

« on: December 27, 2025, 11:10:48 pm »

129. Xeno Crisis (Switch)

For Christmas I had asked my wife for the Bitmap Bureau Collection, mostly just for one game included on it, Xeno Crisis. I fell down an indie game rabbit hole a few months ago and Xeno Crisis was one of the titles that really stood out to me as a game I really wanted to own and play. It's scifi overhead run and gun gameplay looked amazing and there were just so many things about it that looks fun as hell. Luckily, my wife ended up coming through on Christmas and getting me the collection and I finally had a chance today to see if this game was as incredible as it looked. Sadly, the answer to that would end up being a disappointing no.


Xeno Crisis references so many scifi and horror franchises, both related to gaming and movies, it will make your head spin. I'd say a large portion of this game will make you think of the Aliens franchise, but there is so much more than that. There is some Resident Evil, Tremors, Half Life, Metal Gear, and The Thing thrown in as well, and probably a few I'm forgetting. It all comes across as pretty insane, but at the same time really entertaining since you never know what will come up next. The only problem is that most of these cool references are delivered in such a high degree of repetition, in fairly lackluster looking stages that it is a bit lost on the player, at least it was for me. Luckily, there are some really awesome boss encounters in the game that make up for the kinda meh stages and overly used enemies.


The audio in Xeno Crisis is also pretty good. Music is all well done and has that 16 bit retro sound to it, which fits in with the sprite based action visuals. There are the expected weapon and action sound effects as well which all have a pretty good crispness to them too. Overall, the sound composition isn't the greatest, but it is far from the worst. I guess it can at times feel a bit on the generic side while not doing anything offense or bad at the same time. But yeah, the audio is definitely fairly good for the most part.


Presentation wise, Xeno Crisis does a pretty good job, and it is what really attracted me to the game. However, the Smash TV style gameplay that looks like it was applied the Aliens IP also really inspired me to want to get this game too. Unfortunately, the totally unbalanced gameplay that will constantly throw way more at you than you can manage is what began to diminish my enjoyment of Xeno Crisis only a few stages in. This was only compounded by the fact that you can literally run out of ammo in a game that more or less requires you to constantly be leaning on the fire button to even remorely have a chance of surviving. Oh, and then to add insult to injury, the game gives you like three continues before making you start all over from the very beginning of the game again. There is a way to remedy some of this by activating the unlimited ammo and continues cheat, which is what I did. However, while I thought I'd fixed a few of this games biggest flaws, I was met with the game's worst ending and also denied fighting what may be the coolest boss in the game as a result.


Not necessarily because I used cheat, but because I dared to use even a single continue, which come in the form of Elixers. I won't spoil anything, but you will not get to see the good endings of this game unless you 1cc the entire thing, which seems unimaginable given how bonkers the default gameplay is. Even if I played this game religiously for months, the incredibly haphazard, unbalanced gameplay would likely not allow me to even reach the fourth or fifth stage before needing to use a continue. However, I'd likely have gone insane from how repetitive and tedious this game could be as a result before that happened. Due to all that, the bad ending I received for using continues was pretty much the final slap in the face to what was otherwise a a fairly monotonous game with some good, entertaining aspects thrown in.


I certainly don't hate Xeno Crisis, but it is just a flawed game in so many ways that it would be hard for me to recommend it to someone looking for a cool, fun retro throwback action game. There are definitely pieces there that tease what could have been a much better game, but honestly these positive aspects are not utilized or designed well enough to make this game better than a one and done experience that you're better off using cheats to experience than torturing yourself through a sloppily difficult game with enough tedium to induce comatose. (12/27/25) [29/50]