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1

General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

« on: December 01, 2025, 11:24:12 pm »

116. 1080 Snowboarding (N64)

I probably mentioned this in my Tony Hawk Pro Skater reviews, but back in the late 90s there were few things cooler than skateboarding and snowboarding. As a young adolescent during this time I tried my hand at both and failed miserably at both. Luckily I had excellent games to play where I could live out my pro skateboarder/snowboarder fantasies in. While the Tony Hawk games had me covered on the skateboarding front, 1080 Snowboarding for the N64 had me covered when it came to snowboarding.


Growing up, I played the hell out of 1080. I have wonderful memories of friends and I playing this game on winter break or just on Friday nights just as the weekend was getting started. We've try and outdo each other's scores in trick attack mode or race down one of the few courses in 1080. For a little while, 1080 was actually our goto sports game and we relished in this game's distillment of how cool it was to be a snowboarder during that time. Even playing this game nearly 30 years after it first came out, I'm still enchanted by how well this game still captures that late 90s extreme sports feel and transports me back to being an angsty, albeit care free young teen during that time.


1080 is still a pretty damn fun game to play. While this game does have a slight learning curve in terms of how not to bail on your board whenever you catch any sort of air, and also the rhythm of pulling of tricks and trick combos, it does such a good job at representing the sport of snowboarding on the limited hardware it was developed on. Unfortunately the controls, especially in trick attack or just when trying to pull off more technical tricks does suffer from the limitations of the N64 controller and console it was developed on, but these don't distract too heavily from what is otherwise a fun, enjoyable snowboarding game. In fact, I'd say there wouldn't be another snowboarding game that rivaled 1080 until SSX came out a few years later, and even then I'd argue it took until Tricky to surpass 1080 in the gameplay department. It was just that good and that fun to play.


Sadly, 1080 does suffer from limited content, which also holds this game back a bit. There are only about 6 selectable boarders, probably a dozen different boards, and only 6 courses. The courses do have unique features that help distinguish them, however I wish a few of them were a little more distinct. Luckily, they're all fairly well designed, with a few the exception of a few sections in some of them. Character and board stats are all different too, making it matter who you choose for what kind of mode you're playing in, and also what board you choose to do the job. This definitely ads a layer of depth to 1080. Unfortunately, some of this depth does go out the window in the higher difficulties where there's almost a but of rubber banding going on in races. But for what it's worth, this is a small blemish on what is otherwise a pretty fun, well made game to play.


1080's presentation does unfortunately suffer somewhat of the limited riders and courses made available. There are a few different courses in the trick attack mode, but given one is a half pipe and one is literally one giant jump, it's not making this game feel anymore visually appealing for the most part. The character models of the 6 selectable boarders are all good and they definitely are distinct from one another. The selectable characters also radiate that late 90s coolness too despite the large polygons that make up their models. Overall, there are definitely better looking N64 games out there, but 1080 doesn't suffer from anything too egregious while also being pretty good looking for a 1998 console game.


Finally, we get to 100's audio which may be the best part of this game. Each track has its own music, with some of the tracks being kinda generic. However, there are a few songs, both in stage and during the ranking and replay menus that are INSANELY good. If you enjoy 90s drum and bass music, this game is absolutely worth checking out for the soundtrack alone. Other than that, there are cool snow shredding sounds when you take a sharp corner, or the sound of water or pavement if you choose to skate over those surfaces in a few levels. The characters are also uniquely voice acted, although you won't be hearing any lengthy dialogue or exposition in 1080s. They'll pretty much just shout one liners when you select them and when certain things happen while playing.


1080 Snowboarding has absolutely been surpassed in the snowboard game genre, but one thing none of its more contemporary rivals have is that late 90s X factor that will make most people who were old enough to remember that time period gush with starry eyed nostalgia. That's at least how 1080 makes me feel. On top of that, the game is still surprisingly fun to play despite various shortcomings from the game itself as well as the platform it calls home. It's still worth picking up and playing for a but though if you fancy yourself a late 90s extreme sports fan. (12/1/25) [34/50]

2

General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

« on: December 01, 2025, 09:28:09 pm »

115. Ninja Five O (GBA)

Ever since I began collecting video games nearly 20 years ago, it never ceases to amaze me how many expensive "hidden gem" games are undeserving of both their inflated price tag and their gem status. Sadly, from my experience, very few of these supposedly great games that were unappreciated during their time actually live up to the collector hype around them. After playing through Ninja Five O on the GBA, you can add this overrated collector's trophy to the pile as well.


Ninja Five O is pretty unimpressive in nearly every way possible. Even compared to similar actions games released over a decade prior to its 2003 release are vastly superior in every possible way. Ninja Gaiden, Shinobi III, Elevator Action Returns, and many other similar games far mroe deserving of your time (and money). It's hard to start with what Ninja Five O's strength are, so I guess I'll start with as good a place any any when discussing a video game, it's gameplay.


Gameplay wise, Ninja Five O is sort of a mess. The game has you completing isolated stages broken up into smaller levels where you'll be collecting colored keys, saving hostages, and taking down bad guys as a traditional looking ninja character. Levels are non liniar in the sense that you won't just be going left to right or right to left like you do in games like Ninja Gaiden, but rather you'll have to investigate areas of the level to accomplish all the things I mentioned a second ago. Unfortunately, nearly everything about doing this gets repetitive and boring by the time you reach the end of the second stage. It doesn't help that controlling your Ninja isn't ideal either. You'll friently get caught up on ledges when you meant to land flat on a platform to slash an unsuspecting bad guy, you'll accidentally kill a hostage just because you landed on a crate then slashed, instead of being on the same level as the bad guy holding the hostage, or you accidentally swing into a wall of spikes or other stage obstacle accidentally when trying to swing to a ledge. Speaking of the grappling hook mechanic, it's probably Ninja Five O's worst gameplay aspect as it can be very fidgety and difficult to get your character where you want them to go as you're swing from a ledge or trying to climb up a wall. Wall climbing is by far the worst, most needlessly difficult thing to do in this game, and even when you think you've got the hang of it, you'll quickly realize you didn't as you fall to the bottom of a shaft or something and have to try and get up to the top again.


Ninja Five O's gameplay isn't all bad, in fact, when the game's poorly executed controls and mechanics occasionally work, they produce some pretty satisfying moments. I found these satisfying parts mostly involved combat or stealth killing a bad guy from behind. The boss battles at the end of each stage can also be fun, although I found a lot of them to just involve keeping your distance and throwing shurikens at the boss until they dropped dead. Unfortunately, these high points of Ninja Five O's gameplay were not enough to make up for all the negatives which you'll be dealing with way more if you choose to play this overrated shelf fodder.


Both the visual and audio presentation of Ninja Five O aren't that much better. Having personally played a lot of GBA games in my day, I am fully aware of how good games can look on this little, amazing machine. Unfortunately, Ninja Five O's development team either lacked the time, budget, or talent to make this game look as good as it probably could have. Stage backgrounds are all flat and mostly unremarkable. There are things like scenic backgrounds or city scapes in some of the stage levels, but overall, everything just looks unappealing and dull in this game. The character, enemy, and boss sprites don't fair much better. There are very few enemies in this game and most are just reskins or color swaps of other enemies you've faced dozens of times before. Bosses do look better overall, but there lack of creativity and visual appeal is only rivaled by how lackluster fighting them can be at times.


I wish I could say the audio was better, but it really isn't. The music in this game is neither memorable or that good. Sound effects are equally unremarkable. Everything you'll hear in Ninja Five O is serviceable I suppose, but outside the game likely being more dull without it, it's doesn't help the game be anymore entertaining for the most part.


What's sad is I could totally envision how Konami (yes...THAT Konami who has made countless other great 2D action games) could have made this game way better. Of they had given the visuals a bit more polish, stringed the stages together better with a fun, cheesy narrative and had Ninja Gaiden-like cutscenes, and had one of the Castlevania composures cook up a memorable OST, Ninja Five O could have launched a new franchise. And that's without even touching the gameplay. Unfortunately, that's not what happened and instead we got whatever Ninja Five O is and has been for over 20-years. If you're reading this, I hope you never waste money on the original GBA version of this game. I would struggle to even recommend the Limited Run Games re-release of this game which is way cheaper. Either way, Ninja Five O is barely worth a bargain bin pickup, let along $40, or hell, hundreds of dollars. Play a different ninja game, like almost any other ninja game for a much better time. (12/1/25) [24/50]

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

« on: November 30, 2025, 04:42:54 pm »

114. Freedom Planet (PS4)

Pretty much every review you read or listen to is going to mention Sonic the Hedgehog when discussing 2014's Freedom Planet. It makes sense Freedom Planet began its life as a Sonic fan game before the developer repurposed it into its own original IP. While the influences and similarities to the Sonic franchise are undeniable in nearly all facets of Freedom Planet, the game successfully distinguishes itself from any Sonic game I've ever played (I've played and beat nearly all the 2D Sonic games) and becomes something so fresh and enjoyable that I actually ended up liking Freedom Planet more than most Sonic games I've played. In fact, Freedom Planet was so damn good that I'd place it in the upper echelon of incredible platformers I've played. And trust me, it's among some incredible company (DKC2, Sonic 3, and Sonic Mania just to name a few)!


If I didn't know any better, I could easily assume Freedom Planet was developed for the Sega Saturn back in 1997. The game oozes loads of charm in its visuals and audio. The sprite work is fantastic with nearly every character, stage, boss, or basic enemy being lovingly created with some of the best pixel art I've seen in decades. The game does an amazing job of giving all the main characters and villeins an excellent range of emotions and expressions, which are shown of masterfully in the games many cut scenes. Speaking of these cut scenes, they provide a surprisingly interesting and fun story that plays out as you progress through the game. You won't just be going from one stage to another with only a loose idea of what you're doing so, like in most 16/32 bit 2D platformers. These cutscenes do an excellent job at making you like and care about the various characters, and motivate you to want to want to see what happens next. However, the cutscenes visuals are only a small piece of the pie when it comes to why Freedom Planet is so gorgeous. The in game graphics when you getting through stages is incredible and each stage is memorable and distinct from any other you've played previously. There are very few reused assets in Freedom Planet, even in terms of standard enemies. And then there's the bosses! Holy shit do they show up a level of creativity and coolness unmatched by the vast majority of 2D platformers I've ever seen! I don't often say this, but I honestly can't think of a single fault in Freedom Planet's visual presentation. Your eyes are almost guaranteed to love what they're seeing from start to finish.


The audio in Freedom Planet is nearly just as stellar as the visuals. Nearly all the music in this game is a combination of catchy retro tunes that go perfectly with the action, or more calm melodies that will trigger nostalgia in anyone old enough to remember gaming back in the 90s. It's the kind of video game OST you'll want to put on your phone and listen to when you're in the car or on the go. As for the voice acting in Freedom Planet, it's a mixed bag in terms of quality, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Voice acting performances range from professional tier to some characters sounding like they were part of the dev team or friends of the dev team who volunteered to voice a character. If this were a game that took itself far more seriously, this would potentially be a major problem, but in Freedom Planet it just works. Even the more sub par voice actors in this game give their characters a level of charm that greatly enhanced my investment in their individual stories and what happens to them throughout the game. The voice acting almost reminds me of a late 90s Working Designs game where they'd famously, or infamously depending on who you ask, would commonly hire amateurs with little to no voice work to their name to do major characters when dubbing their games. However, I honestly wouldn't recast a single character in Freedom Planet with how it all just works so well.


My only gripe with the audio is that some audio quality when characters are speaking seems inconsistent. It's as if some voice actors were using different equipment to record their lines or were in different locations than other actors who contributed their voices. I found this to be especially true with the main character Torque whose voice didn't have the same fidelity that some of the other characters did. There were a handful of other examples of this as well, but Torque's was the most obvious. Still, this is a fairly small blemish in what is otherwise an excellently produced game from an audio standpoint.


While Freedom Planet's presentation is outstanding, the same is not true of its gameplay. As mentioned, Freedom Planet is a 2D sidescroller that takes undeniable influences from the Sonic the Hedgehog games. The stage layouts, obstacles, and other features are very reminiscent of what is seen in most Sonic games, however in many stages, these elements, as well as new elements that Freedom Planet brings to the table aren't always executed as well as they probably could. Stage layout and design can be an issue at times, and the flow of some stages in particular just doesn't feel as fun or fluid as what's seen in many Sonic games. Despite this, there isn't a bad stage in Freedome Planet, but there are unfortunately entire stages or parts of stages that are just decent to maybe slightly above average in terms of their design.


Freedom Planet allows you to play as one of three characters, similarly to how the later Sonic games gave you a choice of multiple characters to play as. Each of these characters has their own strengths, weaknesses and abilities they can use to get through each stage. Most of these abilities are implemented pretty well overall and definitely make for a pretty fin times regardless of what you're doing. As mentioned above, however, sometimes what your character can do and what is being asked of you at a particular part of the game does not always mesh as well as it should, but these isolated areas of annoyance fortunately do not represent the majority of Freedom Planet's gameplay.


I gushed over the visual appeal of Freedom Planet's bosses earlier, and it is with deep regret that I can't fanboy over actually fighting them. Don't get me wrong, some bosses in Freedom Planet are a blast to fight. Battling them is intuitive and engaging, and at least for me represent some of my highest highs while plating through this game. Unfortunately, some of my lowest lows while playing Freedom Planet also occurred when fighting some of its bosses. The design and balancing of some of the boss battles just wasn't that great and felt more frustrating than fun to play against. Some of these more frustrating, poorly designed boss fights can also be cheesed which really undermined their impact. However, I'd say half the boss battles range from good to very good, a quarter are just okay, and another quarter are pretty bad. So yeah, the boss battles can be a point of contention, but overall you're more likely to enjoy them than not.


Playing through Freedom Planet reminded me why I love video games so much and why they've been such a massive part of my life for the majority of it. This game was surprisingly amazing and from start to finish, the passion of the development team shines through. I'm almost ashamed it took me as long as it did to finally get around to playing Freedom Planet seeing how I originally bought the physical version off Limited Run Games ages ago, and even contemplated selling it at one point since I wasn't sure if I'd ever play it. Fortunately, I didn't sell it and after playing it I have almost nothing but unfettered praise for this game. Freedom Planet is an outstanding 2D platforming game that needs to be played by Sonic fans, genre fans, or just people who love retro video games. You will not be disappointed! (11/30/25) [42/50]

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General / Re: VGC's Anonymous/"General" Topic:

« on: November 29, 2025, 04:00:30 pm »

This is the first year in almost two decades where I really don't care at all about the potential deals to be had on video games right now. The problem is multifaceted. There's very little being released that people like myself actually would want this holiday season, most of the stores in my area that still have games have a pitiful selection so even if they offer a discount online the stores won't have any product you can actually go get, and of course, the discounted games this year are mostly last year's games or crap titles and now that MSRP is higher than ever that 25% to 30% off doesn't seem like such a sweet deal anymore.

All the years I remember standing in lines to get fantastic deals on recent releases that were super hyped, and buy two get one sales when there was actually enough games in the store to pick three you wanted. It was always the most fun time of year to be game shopping. This year it just feels like it's over, it's a thing of the past. It exists on a handful of websites, and it's nothing you really want.

So yeah, it's another tradition ruined by modernity.

At least for me it's been an opportunity to get games I wasn't going to pay full price for, but still wanted to play eventually. Perfect example of this was God of War Ragnorok which I picked up for $20 the other day. I also picked up a few switch games I've wanted as part of a B2G1 deal on used games at Gamestop. I don't think there will ever be a time where there aren't at least a few games I'm interested in buying at some point.


With that said, I agree with you that Black Friday isn't what it used to be as a gamer and collector. I used to go all over town to multiple Gamestops taking advantage of their B2G1 or B2G2 deals they've done in the past. On more than one occasional I actually spent too much money, but didn't care since I had like 10+ new games I'd wanted for a long time. Not only that, but the amount of new games I wanted was definitely higher than it is now. You're definitely not alone when it comes to feeling a bit disenchanted about the modern gaming landscape, but luckily it's not all doom and gloom. There are still a bunch of indie games that are getting released that I'm finding more and more have the soul that the mainstream industry has been lacking for some time. The only problem with indie games is getting them physically since there are only a handful of companies that make limited physical copies of them. Even though a lot of the better indie games that come out usually get the physical release treatment, there are sadly quite a few that never will, especially with the end of physical games being on the horizon. I guess my advise is to expand your horizons when it comes to gaming if you haven't already. There are a lot of great games out there if you're looking in the right place.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

« on: November 28, 2025, 06:12:02 pm »

113. Yoshi Story (N64)

Over the last decade I've developed a love and appreciation for many of Nintendo's Yoshi platforming games. It started with my wife and I beating Yoshi's Wooly World on the Wii U, and then most recently beating Yoshi's Crafted World on the Switch earlier this year. However, prior to all that, I remember renting Yoshi Story on the N64 back when that game first came out. Even though that game was made for kids around my age back in 1997, I still thought the game was sort of babyish and as stupid as it sounds to me now to say this, I think I was put off it wasn't a full 3D platformer like Super Mario 64. Unfortunately, I wouldn't touch Yoshi Story again until almost 30 years later.


Like many of the other Yoshi games I've played, Yoshi Story is an incredibly comfy, adorable game. Going along with the Story part of the game's name, Yoshi Story has you creating a choose your own adventure as you complete levels on each page of a picture book. The pages act as over worlds and there are six in total. Given you you only have to complete one level per page to progress to the next page, the game encourages replaying it to play through all the levels and also to get a different story depending on what stages you completed. Stages all look appropriately cute, however they can also be a bit on the plain side too. Still, the visuals carry a lot of charm and definitely go along with the very lighthearted tone of this game.


The audio is also pretty good in Yoshi Story too. There are some genuinely relaxing tracks that really capture the vibe of that cozy N64 era of games. Yoshi's various noises and grunts are also cute, as are the sound effects of eating shy guys, fruit, and interacting with various stage elements.


Gameplay, while good overall, is probably Yoshi Story's weakest quality. Despite how simplistic the gameplay in Yoshi Story is, the controls can feel a bit slippery at times, especially when doing anything other than jumping on immobile, stationary platforms. The water stages and some of the more technical platforming in the fina world stages can be particularly annoying given how its hard to play Yoshi where you want him at any given time. It really makes this game hard at times for the wrong reason, although, calling Yoshi Story a "hard" game couldn't be further from the truth. Overall, Yoshi story is a pretty easy, short game, maybe even too easy. Not only that, but even for a platforming game released in 1997, things are just a bit too simplistic most of the time. You're pretty much just trying to eat enough fruit to get to the next page and there are the occasional boss fights thrown in here and there for good measure. Sometimes it just makes the game a bit boring to play, despite Yoshi Story being a more enjoyable experience than not.


I've very happy I revisited Yoshi Story again. It's not the amazing gem of a game I was hoping it would maybe be, but it was still an excellent way to spend a large chunk of my day off from work. Yoshi Story is a genuinely charming, wholesome game with some flaws and shortcomings, but on the whole, it's still worth playing for any Yoshi fan or a fan of 2D Nintendo platformers. (11/28/25) [33/50]

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General / Re: November 2025 - Recently added to collection/recently purchased

« on: November 28, 2025, 04:51:54 pm »

The wife and I decided to go out and do some shopping this afternoon, and of course, I had to pick up some games on sale. Switch games were B2G1 at Gamestop and the two PS games were on sale at Walmart for about $15 each.


-Star Wars Outlaws (PS5)
-Crash Bandicoot 4 (PS4)
-Snipperclips Plus (Switch)
-Donkey Kong Country Returns (Switch)
-Super Mario Wonder (Switch)

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

« on: November 27, 2025, 12:36:47 pm »

112. God of War II (PS3)

Like the first God of War (GOW) game, I'm genuinely surprised how much of its sequel, God of War II (GOW2) I forgot despite beating game just shy of a decade ago. Also like the first game, GOW2 is appropriately epic in just about every way. One thing that stuck with me all these years since first beating GOW2 was how the ending made me immediately want to jump into God of War 3, and after beating GOW2 again, I completely understand why.


GOW2 improves upon its predecessor in most ways. Before I discuss those improvements, however, it is worth noting that GOW2 borrows a ton of enemies, abilities, and graphical assets from the first game, which makes sense since GOW2 only came out 2 years after the first game. This does make the visuals of GOW2 feel a bit lazy, but considering the visuals in GOW were pretty damn good for a late PS2 title, there just as impressive in GOW2. That's definitely not to say there aren't a lot of meaningful upgrades to the visuals, as well as new enemies, bosses, settings, and other visuals elements that make GOW2 absolutely distinct from its predecessor. GOW2 absolutely feels like a proper sequel unlike a game like Zelda Tears of the Kingdom which just felt like a glorified expansion to Breath of the Wild. If it weren't for rampant use of recycled GOW assets I'd have said the visuals were on par with an early Gen 7 game, but it is a point worth noting that did bother me while i was playing.


Another aspect of GOW2 that is shares a lot with the first game is the audio too. Like this visuals, this isn't necessarily a bad thing seeing how good things with in GOW and that definitely carries over in GOW2. There are new tracks and sound effects, but if you've played GOW and then jump into this game, your ears will definitely hear all the similarities that Santa Monica Studios reused for this game. One thing that I am grateful for that is the same are all the voice actors from the first game that lovingly returned for the follow up. Like in GOW, the voice cast does an excellent job voice acting as their respective characters, all adding to the over the top and epic scale the entire game is going for. Kratos is often just yelling and telling everyone he's going to kill them, but it really shouldn't be any other way. All the greek gods have very fitting and well casted voices too. Honestly, other than the copious amount of reused music and other sound effects, there is little to fault here from an audio perspective.


From what I've written so far, you might be thinking GOW2 is just reheated leftovers from the first game with a dash of pepper thrown in to kick things up. That would be somewhat true, if it weren't for the gameplay improvements which make GOW2 a superior game to the original. Yes, the core gameplay of GOW2 is the same as GOW, however the enemy balancing and controlling Kratos has been noticeably improved here. This goes a long, long way towards making this an excellent and fun game to play. I don't think there's a place where this is more evident than in the many excellent boss fights in GOW2. With a few minor exceptions, the bosses in GOW2 are a fast improvement over what was present in the first game. There are far less cheap deaths, annoyingly designed sections, and certain regular enemies have been altered to make them more enjoyable and balanced to fight. That's not to say, GOW2 is easier, because it's definitely not. It's actually a tad harder than the first game, but the term "tough but fair" certainly applies here for the most part. In fact, my only real complaints about GOW2's gameplay have to do with the non-combat aspects of the game.


For one, there are some pretty annoying and unintuitive puzzles and sections in the game. New gameplay elements like being able to slow time have been added and while sections that use this mechanic are fun and fell designed, some are less so and it certainly impacted my enjoyment of the game during these parts. Another fairly major thing worth noting has to do with the game's pacing. The area you'll find yourself in during the last third of the game drags on and on, and on, and on. You'll almost forget there were other parts of the game by the time you reach the end of this part of the game, which is a shame since the game just keeps getting better and better up to that point. However, the somewhat meh pacing of the final 1/3 of the game is made up for by an amazing final boss fight and excellent ending to the game that does a great job setting up GOW3. A will also say, that by a small margin I think the story of GOW2 is slightly better than GOW, but only by a little bit. It touches in an area of Greek mythology that isn't widely discussed and it was appreciated compared to the same old, same old Greek gods doing stuff stories you often see and hear when the topic of Greek mythology comes up.


Beyond having an overall great time with GOW2, I'm very happy to say that I'm caught up once more to dive into its various sequels. I started playing GOW2 when I last beat the game, but for reasons I can't remember, I never got past the first hour of the game and never picked the game back up. When I do decide to play GOW3, which will likely be sometime next year, I'm going to make sure I finish it. Not only do I want to see how the original GOW storyline ends, but I am very eager to jump into GOW 2018 and Ragnorok to see what all the fuss is about with those games. Replaying GOW 1-3 should definitely prime me to appreciate those newer games more once I do inevitably play them.


One final thing I want to say before wrapping this review up is GOW2 really makes me miss the way games used to be. Even though it hasn't even been 20-years since GOW2 came out, this old school action style of game has become an endangered special amongst games. GOW2 does an excellent job of capturing that not bullshit, all killer and no filler style of game I dearly miss. I know there are games like Stellar Blade that carry on this tradition, but games like GOW2 are a rarity these days. I'm glad I at least can go back and enjoy the classic GOW games and hopefully the newer games give me that same sense of pure, unfiltered power fantasy the older games do such a great job of implementing. (11/27/25) [40/50]

8

General / Re: VGC's Anonymous/"General" Topic:

« on: November 26, 2025, 10:33:52 am »

The US needs Black Friday deals on groceries instead of games and big TVs.

Sadly, even if they made groceries super cheap for one weekend, it still wouldn't fix the underlying issue of your money being worth jack now due to unchecked inflation. I don't want to make this political, but inflation benefits people at the top, while hurting practically everyone else. Unless something is done about that, which there won't be, inflation is just going to get worse and worse. Our politicians, nearly all of them, will never bite the hand that feeds them.

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General / Re: November 2025 - Recently added to collection/recently purchased

« on: November 25, 2025, 10:52:50 am »

My wife went out to do some Christmas shopping yesterday and brought back God of War Ragnorok on the PS5. She also picked up the Sidon Amiibo for Tears of the Kingdom as well which was $10 at Best Buy.

10

General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

« on: November 23, 2025, 02:34:47 am »

111. South Park (N64)

While growing up, there were two older boys I hung out with that lived on the same street as me. They were probably 2 or 3 years older than me, which means when I was still a fresh faced, innocent 10 year old, they were in the middle of being defiant, rude adolescent boys. Around the time South Park came out, it's all they would talk about and of course I wanted to be cool just like them so I did everything in my power to watch the hit new mature cartoon my neighborhood friends were so obsessed with. Despite my parents being pretty relaxed with what I watched as a kid, they would have never allowed me to watch South Park if they knew what was said and shown in it. That didn't stop me from sneaking downstairs at night and turning on Comedy Central at 11pm to catch the latest episode. I was instantly hooked!


South Park soon became my obsession as well as I amassed a large collection of South Park shirts, stuffed animals, VHS tapes, and various other merch that at the time I felt like I couldn't live without. Around this time, South Park the game was announced and my level of hype was immeasurably high. It's a game I bought day one with whatever meager amount of allowance and shore money I had to my name. Now 11 or so, my fandom of the show allowed me to overlook many of this games flaws and throughout the years, my general belief was that I thought the game was decent, but not great. Replaying South Park on the N64 over 25 years later, I somewhat expected my opinion to be more or less the same. After all, I still mostly like the show and have almost every episode on DVD to watch at my leisure. However, I now realize my adolescent opinion of this game being okay was far too generous.


Even with nearly 30 years of South Park fandom behind it, I cannot say anything other than South Park on the N64 is a terrible game. Aside from being on the repetitive side it does get the audio mostly right. Each character has a decent amount of lines for a game released in the late 90s, although you'll have heard every character one liner within 15 minutes of playing. Music from the show is present, however the music that plays when you're actually playing is on the generic side. Sadly, the audio is really the only thing I can say is at least pretty good. As for the visual presentation and gameplay...oh boy.


South Park does a decent job of capturing the town and vibe of the show. Character, enemies, architecture and other aspects from the show are mostly well represented in 3D, however, like the audio this game suffers from repetition, even more so when it comes to the visuals. This game has a woeful lack of enemy variety! You'll mostly be battling evil turkeys throughout the entire game which is as dull as it sounds. Worse yet, the game throws wave after way, after wave...after wave of these things at you to the point where you'll dread every second you see them pop up on your radar. There are variants to the enemies, turkeys and otherwise, but the lack of enemy variety is still a blaring fault with this game. Another major visual fault with this game is the poor draw distance which is represented by the entire game having a fog like haze that is constantly several yards in front of your character throughout the game. It doesn't matter if you're in a town, cave, inside a building, or any place else, the fog will always be there. This was obviously done to minimize framerate and other performance drops, however despite the constant fog, these are still major issues that will plague you throughout South Park. One final thing I need to gripe about when it comes to South Park's visuals are its mostly bland and uninspired levels. A lot of where you'll find yourself in South park are snowy mountain passes and mostly empty caves which combined with the repetitive waves of fodder enemies coming at you will eventually result in sensory deprivation like symptoms after less than an hour of play.


While the visuals in South Park are not great, nothing in the game holds a candle to how absolutely awful the gameplay is. It's hard to pinpoint what South Park does right from a gameplay perspective when nearly everything about playing this game just absolutely sucks. Beyond how visually unappealing the waves of the same enemies are, fighting them is even worse. The game has numerous weapons you'll find throughout the game, except ammo is somewhat limited, meaning you'll often be defaulting to snowballs which you have an unlimited supply of. All weapons have alternate modes which make things a little more interesting and dymanic. It's just too bad using any of them is terrible when it comes to aiming or hitting enemies. Speaking of enemies, stronger Tank like enemies and bosses are pure trash in this game. While the weaker common enemies will go down with a snowball or two, Tank and boss enemies are about the most bullet spongey adversaries you'll ever be up against in a game. Combined with bosses having specific weak points you need to target to do any damage, it can literally take the better part of an hour to get through most boss fights. Combine this with the half hour to 45-minutes you just spent trudging through whatever boring, fog infested level you just played through, with make even the most patient players want to quite before even getting through the first stage.


South Park is a terrible game, no questions whatsoever. However, I'd being lying if I said I didn't have a sentimental place in my heart for this game still. Probably the most ideal way to play this game is to look up cheats for it online, skip bosses all together and just get the story bits here and there, which is really the most enjoyable part about this game. For me personally, there's also that connection I have to the game as a kid growing up in the late 90s, but even with that, I still struggle to find anything enjoyable about South Park. Some things are just better left in the past, and South Park on the N64 (and PS1), deserves to stay there for good. (11/22/25) [19/50]

11

General / Re: November 2025 - Recently added to collection/recently purchased

« on: November 22, 2025, 07:47:23 pm »

My wife preordered Hades 2 for the Switch 2 (Switch 2 version also works on the Switch fyi) and picked that up on Thursday. I also got The Messenger for the Switch during Amazon's black friday deals for 50% off and that arrived today.

12

General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

« on: November 20, 2025, 12:13:41 am »

110. Layer Section (Saturn)

In the late 2010s and into the early 2020s, I was in the middle of a SHMUP renaissance that had me feverishly playing any and all SHMUPs I could get my hands on. I played some of the very best STG titles I've ever played during this time, as well as a few that are probably among the worst. But regardless, I was all about this genre for about half a decade. While my enthusiasm and adoration for this time honored arcade genre has cooled off since then, I still consider SHMUPs to be among my favorite genre of games and one that I return to often several times a year. One of the most enjoyable shooters I played when I was at the height of my STG fandom was Taito's Layer Section, a game that I considered one of the best SHMUPs ever made. After replaying and beating Layer Section again today, I still carry that sentiment.


Layer Section is a phenomenal game from all angles. Visually, the games sprite art mixed with limited 3D assets made it among the very best looking mid-90s shmups and eve none of the best looking games. This game just has ridiculously good production values all around. Everything from the stages, the basic enemies, the destructible backgrounds, and the crazy bosses are an absolute treat for the eyes from start to finish. Not only that, but the way this game is laid out has you on a continual journey where you do progress from stage to stage like in most shooters, but it is done seemlessly without any loading screens or end stage report cards before things transition into the next stage. The result is Layer Section feels like this epic journey where you're the lone ship battling an armada of futuristic ships, mechs and other awesome vehicles into the Earth's core for the final showdown against the boss. I struggle to find any flaws with this game visually, however, there is one fairly decent one which also ties into Layer Sections gameplay.


The name Layer Section is derived from the fact that this was one of the first SHMUPs to have two planes of combat. There's the top layer which is the one where your ship resides. You'll be dealing with enemies the way you would normally in most other SHMUPs by aiming your ship's primary lasers at whatever's in front of you and blasting away. However, in addition to this there's also a bottom layer where other enemies lurk and the only way to attack them is with your secondary weapon, a homing laser. Layer Section's gameplay depends on you being able to manage the bottom layer enemies and top layer enemies simultaneously, and especially addressing the bottom layer enemies before they make their way to the top layer. By the time enemies have made it to the top layer, they are far harder to kill than they were if you'd blasted them in the bottom layer, and they also often fire more projectiles at you as well once their on the same layer as you. This creates a very engaging, albeit very hard style of gameplay that is pretty fun, but at the same time very frustrating too.


Often, to take out bottom layer enemies before they make it to the top layer, you'll have to move ship somewhere that makes it easy for you to be point blanked by another enemy laser blast, or have an incoming enemy kamikaze you before you're able to react. I get this is likely an intentional design choice, but it often can result in a lot of cheap deaths or "WTF just killed me" moments. Where the game's visuals become a hinderance has to do with projectiles and enemies making their way from the bottom layer to the top layer. Often it can be hard to gauge where a laser is until it's too late. Luckily, these issues are fairly minor, but are still noteworthy blemishes on what is otherwise an excellent game.


Having address Layer Section's visuals and gameplay, the only thing left to talk about is the game's audio, which, oh man, is it good! The OST in Layer Section is incredibly catchy and undeniably has that mid 90s arcade sound to it which I'm admittedly addicted to. The other sound effects are pretty good too, but what really makes this game's audio stand out is that excellent soundtrack which you'll want to continue to listen to even after you've turned the game off.


Admittedly, I don't enjoy Layer Section as much I did when I first experience it 6 or 7 years ago, but even with that said, I still love this game. In fact, I'd still include it in a top 10 SHMUPs of all time list, which is saying something given all the SHMUPs I've played over the years. It is in good company too, even beating out excellent contemporaries like Hyper Duel and even more modern classics like Ikaruga. If you haven't played Layer Section and don't mind a very challenging game here and there, track this game down by one of its many names (Galactic Attack, Ray Force, or Gunlock) and try it out. It's amazing! (11/19/25) [40/50]

13

General / Re: Your 2025 Gaming and Collecting Goals

« on: November 17, 2025, 10:46:31 am »

Absolutely nothing. I've wrestled with the idea that maybe I'm done retro collecting now. For a long time I've felt so close, yet so far away. Several hundred games on my list I still wanted to get, but it's meant several thousand dollars I'm just not willing (and don't have) to dump into it. Hard to believe this stuff is still going so strong all these years later, folks clamoring to collect every title you can think of, for every console you can think of in 2025. I know the appeal of doing so has greatly diminished for me. I think it's mostly the speculators still going this hard at it.

I actually found myself in my local retro shop the other day and actually picked up a couple of NES games on the cheap, unexpectedly. So guess I'm not done. I just don't have the motivation to pursue it anymore. I'm really close with a lot of fifth gen stuff, so if anything I should try knock those out. Still a lot easier said than done.

It surprises me how much new blood still enters the hobby, and it's mostly not a bunch of fresh faced dudes in their early 20s. Rather, it's more guys in their 30s, 40s, and even 50s looking to grab old games they grew up with. I do notice some younger people entering the hobby, but they're primarily after 6th and 7th gen games, with some being interesting in 5th gen. It's all cyclical I suppose, but yeah, it blows my mind that we haven't had a steady decline in interest and prices when it comes to older games. Although, i will say that anecdotally it seems like there is far less interest in 3rd and 4th gen game collecting than there was even 4 or 5 years ago. I guess that makes sense since the crowd mostly into those games are all pushing 40s or well into them or even their 50s now.


I barely pick up retro games anymore either and instead have opted to go the flash cart and ODE route since my primary concern has always been to play. I have nearly everything physically that I'm either sentimental about or just really like. No way in hell I'm paying $500+ for various US Saturn releases that I'd love to own, or the handful of other games I wish I had that would massively break the bank. I'll remain content with my loose Pokemon Crystal Version since I'm sure as hell not paying 4x that for the box and manual to complete it. But yeah, I still pick up stuff here and there, but most of my purchases are for more modern consoles. Yet, ironically, most of the games I play are retro.

14

General / Re: Your 2025 Gaming and Collecting Goals

« on: November 17, 2025, 10:38:56 am »

Beyond my goal to continually prune my current collection down, I only have one real collecting goal for 2025:


1. Beat 100 games: I've stated it in other threads on here, but with nothing major currently planned for 2025, my ambition this year is to beat more games in a single year than I ever have. My goal is 100 games beat by the end of the year.

2. Finish all the remaining Resident Evil games I've never played: At the moment, I've played every RE game outside 7, 8, the Wii lightgun games, and the mobile games. I don't care about the mobile games, but I do plan on beating those other ones, which means I will not only have played and beat every RE game ever made, but also I'll finally be caught up with this series after being almost two decades behind as of the end of 2023. I am also adding a replay of the original RE4 to this since I haven't played it since around the time it came out in the mid 2000s.

3. Add at least 10 Switch games from my want list: With the Switch in its twlight years, I've decided I'm going to actively pursue the 30 or so games on my want list that I don't yet own. Many of these are first party releases that I slept on for years after they came out, but some are on the more obscure side. I'll probably prioritize those more obscure releases since they likely have the greatest chance of becoming expensive and hard to find as time goes on.

We're still a month and a half out until the end of the year and I'm sitting pretty with most of my 2025 Gaming/Collecting goals. While I haven't technically met goal #2, I did catch up on all the mainline RE games I haven't played, and also played a few side games as well this year. What's remaining is mostly just side games that are more or less inconsequential to main story of RE. However, goal #1 and #3 have absolutely been met.


Beyond the update to this year's goals, the reason I returned to this thread was to say I already have some goals in mind for 2026 that I'm looking forward to sharing as it gets closer to the new year. Some are not as ambitious as my 2025 goals, but that's because i'll be working on other things pertaining to gaming that i want to spend more time focusing on in the new year.

15

General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

« on: November 16, 2025, 12:17:04 am »

109. XGIII: Extreme G Racing (PS2)

Like many, one of the reasons I play a lot of retro games is experience the zeitgeist of the particular era a specific game was released in. Back in the pre-9/11 early 2000s, there was a general sense of optimism for the future where we all envisioned highly advanced, towering metropolises where everyone lived in harmony and everything was fun, exciting, and interesting. For those maybe too young to remember, or possibly you weren't even born yet, 9/11 was the beginning of the end of that unified, idealistic optimism for the future and its impact has only continued to compound more and more into the very hopeless dystopia most people think of when they envision the future now. Hell, some might argue we are living in that dystopia right now. But anyhow, before things get too serious, the reason I mention that pre-9/11 early 2000s collective optimism for the future is because of how common it was to see remnants of it in a lot of media at the time. Many shows, movies, and even games were saturated in it, and for me one of the most shining examples of it was in XGIII: Extreme G Racing.


I was a huge fan of Extreme G on the N64, so when I heard a brand new game was getting released for the then cutting edge 6th gen consoles, I appropriately freaked out with excitement. When I finally did get my hands on XGIII shortly after it came out in 2001, it was everything I'd ever wanted and then some. I adored it's futuristic settings and tracks that depicted an extreme racing series where futuristic motorcycles capable of touching nearly four digit speeds speed around crazy gravity defying race tracks. Not only that, but the soundtrack would be provided by the biggest EDM studio at the time, Ministry of Sound. Yeah, I was in love with this game...despite it being hard as balls.


Replying XGIII for the first time in probably 20 years or so, I was very happy to see none of the games charms and good qualities had been lost on me as I made several rounds through its excellent career mode, which is really the bread and butter of XGIII. As you race through various cups, you unlock more stages, more races and futuristic motorcycles, and earn credits to make you bikes even faster and more lethal. Oh, did I mention XGIII also has weapons you can use to drain your opponents shields, or just completely frag them too. The game allows you to change weapons on the fly which is a nice feature instead of hitting floating power ups on the track like you had to in the previous Extreme G games, as well as many other combat style racing games of the time. Another thing worth mentioning is your shields also use the same power source as your motorcycle's boost, which creates a very dynamic style of gameplay where you have to choose between being well defending against enemy projectiles and the occasional wall graze, or taking advantage of straight aways to pull ahead of other racers with your boost. XGIII's tracks and overall gameplay show a surprising amount of balance when it comes to juggling the shield/boost mechanic and it definitely adds to how surprisingly fun the game still is. Of course, the controls for racing are pretty damn good too. There is a real sense of speed and agility with your motorcycles in this game that really make for an engaging experience. Luckily most tracks in the game are well designed to accommodate the extreme speeds you'll be reaching in this game too.


It's not all perfect with XGIII's gameplay however. For one, this game is gets very hard the further you progress in it. Even earlier on, this game can really test your reflexed and muscle memory with a controller as you try your hardest not to hit the walls of the track, draining your precious shields. Unfortunately, not all the game's difficulty is by design, which includes some questionable tracks design in certain sections, and also jumps being a bit of an annoyance more than being a fun track feature to contend with. Weapons can also feel a bit ineffective at times, with it being more beneficial to just focus on the track and getting ahead of other racers than attempting to chip away at their shields or blow them up. However, despite these grievances, XGIII is still very fun to play for the most part, difficulty and all.


As mentioned, Ministry of Sound produced the soundtrack for XGIII which makes it a cut above not just most other racing games of the time, but most video games back in the late 90s and early 2000s. My little brother who I used to play this game with often, attributes a much of his love for EDM music to playing this game as a young kid. While I'm a fraction of the techno fan he is, XGIII undeniably has a great soundtrack still that goes perfectly with the visuals and action on the screen. Beyond just the great OST, XGIII has appropriately futuristic sounding narration voiced and sound effects too which all go great with everything else this game has to offer.


Visually, XGIII was also a cut above most games of the time. It's actually pretty surprising to me that this game wasn't a bigger deal back in the early 2000s given how good it looks. There is almost no graphical slowdown or stutter given how fast paced everything on the screen moves, and levels are all vibrant, interesting, and well designed. One minute you'll be racing through some extremely futuristic city, and the next you'll be racing through an equally awesome looking Egyptian looking area that looks like Cairo circa 2780. There was a ton of attention to detail and graphical fidelity put into this game and it absolutely shows. The game would benefit from there being more stages and maybe more variation to the appearances of the different racers, but these are mostly just nitpicks to what it otherwise an outstanding looking 6th generation game.


I can say without any hesitation that XGIII is still a riot to play. Not only does the game hold up very well nearly 25 years after its release, but there's also just very little there for me to fault. Sure, the game gets soul destroying difficult the more you progress in the game and there are a few tracks that are better than others, but on the whole this game is absolutely worth playing still. And of course, I couldn't end this review without mentioning that this game encapsulates the look, feel, and overall mood of the pre-9/11 early 2000s better than most other games released during this calm before the storm era. It was an a very fun time to be alive and thanks to games like XGIII, it can remind me of that as the years march on and I gradually forget more and more of what life was like back then. (11/15/25) [38/50]