Author Topic: 52 Games Challenge 2022  (Read 32100 times)

undertakerprime

PRO Supporter

Re: 52 Games Challenge 2022
« Reply #270 on: September 14, 2022, 12:18:00 am »
43. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade)

I was pretty late to the TMNT craze of the late 80s and early 90s. For one, I was an infant when it began, however by the time I did get into it around the time I was about 5 or so, the popularity of the franchise had began to fade significantly, but more importantly I missed out on a lot of the intense nostalgia that many people born in the early 80s and late 70s got to experience with the franchise, including playing some of the beloved arcade games. Unfortunately I can't remember ever playing TMNT or Turtles in Time as a kid, much less seeing them anywhere growing up. Because of that I lack the childhood connection to them that many people have. As a result I feel like I can go into playing this game as more of a fan of retro beat em' ups and a old time fan of the franchise, rather than someone who directly has nostalgia for the TMNT arcade game released in 1989. TMNT is a decent arcade beat em' up, however it lacks a lot of he refinement in terms of gameplay that some other games in the genre had around this time. In fact, I'd say Final Fight and many other Capcom beat em' ups had TMNT beat. And more importantly, TMNT arcade doesn't even come close to being as awesome or memorable as its direct arcade sequel, Turtles in Time. Audio and visual are both great, however some questionable character voiceovers and many stages having the same city look to them hold these two things back from greatness. Overall, it's a fun game, but the inherent repetitiveness of gameplay combined with a lack of refinement really prevented me from wanting to return to this game again for a very, very long time. But I guess your mileage will vary dramatically depending on your history with this game and franchise. (9/11/22) [32/50]

As you said, others’ mileage may vary, and that’s the case with me :D
TMNT Arcade is my second favorite game of all time, and I’ve played it a LOT. I can regularly beat it with 2 credits (still working on a 1CC; the game’s difficulty gradually gets higher the longer you go without dying and by the end it gets REALLY hard).

The big reason I like it over other beat-em-ups, including its own sequel, is because its fighting system is deeper than it seems, and can be mastered with a combination of timing, patience, and finesse. TMNT 2 Arcade involves more randomness, including the turtles’ throws (which seem to happen at random, unlike the SNES port) which can mess me up.
I totally admit it might be the nostalgia talking, but if I go into the nuances I’ll end up writing a thesis :D

Re: 52 Games Challenge 2022
« Reply #271 on: September 15, 2022, 08:14:50 pm »
31 - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: Radical Rescue (GB - Cowabunga Collection 2022) - I think of the collection so far, as I've been kinda wanting to get the games I know I won't love as much as the others first, I think this might be the best one.  It's very different from the other two GB games, which were more your very simple side scrolling beat-em-ups, this one is instead much more like taking Mega Man and crossing it with abit of Castlevania.  Your "abilities" for progressing are the Turtles you save, each one having a unique movement ability that allows you to progress further into the single map.  It is a GB game, so it is still fairly basic, but I enjoyed it.  Boss fights can be a tad rough as they do so much damage and their patterns can be a little wonky to deal, and the games challenge comes from the screen size as it's really easy to take hits.  Fairly solid time though, but I absolutely used the included strategy guide they had as navigating the map can be a little rough.  You get an ingame map, but it's very basic.  Decent game for sure.
« Last Edit: September 15, 2022, 08:16:28 pm by kamikazekeeg »

Re: 52 Games Challenge 2022
« Reply #272 on: September 16, 2022, 11:58:06 pm »
8. Zero Escape: The Nonary Games (Xbox)

I had to play this! I have played this before on several other systems, and when I saw it on Xbox, I had to play it! I love this series!
Currently Playing: Game & Wario

 

tripredacus

Re: 52 Games Challenge 2022
« Reply #273 on: September 19, 2022, 11:23:10 am »
22. Evoland II

This game has many different types of modes in it. Primarily it is a top down RPG but some missions change the gameplay style to other types of games. There are 4 different eras and they all have a different look. The oldest one (you get to it closer to the end of the game) makes everything look like a Game Boy. The one you start is like 16-bit, the past is 8-bit and the future is 3D so I guess the 64-bit or PlayStation era. Each of the different types of modes are platformer, fast platformer (like Sonic), fighting game (with SF2 moves), beat em up, vertical and horizontal shooter. No FPS mode but it is joked about in dialog. Story is neat but I ended up figuring out what was happening just before going to the ancient era.

The puzzles are good but no impossible to figure out. It is open-world type play to a point, meaning you don't necessarily have to do things in a particular order. I don't even think you can end up out-levelled by the way the game progresses, but perhaps it is possible if you don't buy new armor or weapons. There are some frustrating areas, especially if you are not good at or have played some of the modes such as the platforming areas. I don't think you can softlock even though I thought I had at one point in the Sylph forest. The card game was the most fun part for me, and I did use a guide to find out where the cards I didn't have were located. By that point I had the Dragon Radar already so I didn't really need a walkthrough.

The end boss I was not prepared for. It is a 3 stage boss and unlike in other parts of the game, it doesn't checkpoint you at the stages. So if you die then you have to do it over completely. I had not brought any potions and did not have the best armor. I didn't end up getting the best sword but I don't think it is required. The Okiron sword is the best but you have to find materials for it. I only had the Buster Sword. It was then I searched for the other cards I needed and found the Okiron I needed to make the armor.

There weren't many bugs and none were game breaking. It is just these few:
- sometimes the card art doesn't load during the card battle.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2863902836
- the player hitbox is very large in the current and future era compared to the past era. This is more of an annoyance and you may first notice this in the Sylph forest where you change eras a lot, and the bubbles can hit you without touching you. They are a low end enemy and won't kill you by that point.
- The enemy bullets in the horizontal shmup stage are the same color as the xp gems.
- Game makes a cardinal sin of shrump games by using timed (actual times, not use metered) power ups.
- Going into overlay triggers super weapon shots, just an annoyance.

One neat thing is you can name not only your character but some of the characters you meet. This name you pick shows up in all dialog and card names. You still need to find out what the original names are if you use a walkthrough.

telly

Re: 52 Games Challenge 2022
« Reply #274 on: September 19, 2022, 04:17:31 pm »
Game 12 – Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light (Switch) – 45 Hours

This is the second Fire Emblem game that I've ever played, the first one being Fire Emblem Awakening about 10 years ago. After finishing the very first entry on the Switch, it’s amazing to see how far the series has come, but also how much the first game was able to establish in terms of gameplay, characters, tone, lore, and story. I was shocked at how complex and deep this game is given that it originally came out on the Famicom. You have multiple characters to choose from with a deep array of stats and abilities. There are over 10 classes that have different strengths and weaknesses and can change into stronger versions with enough experience. There are multiple different weapons and support magic and items to experiment with. It’s all very impressive given the period when this game came out. Outside of the gameplay, this game has impressive graphics and animations, and 25 huge sprawling battles to play with, so you have a lot of impressive and engaging battles to keep you occupied.

So with that praise, you may think that I really enjoyed my time playing this game. Unfortunately, after finishing this and reflecting on my time with Awakening, I think that this series just isn’t for me. While this game was the forerunner to other tactical RPGs that I enjoy like Final Fantasy Tactics and Valkyria Chronicles, the one thing that this series does that I’m not a fan of is instant permadeath. It’s a very unforgiving game that I just couldn’t really get into, particularly when the combat involves heavy RNG including critical hits or the chance to miss your attacks. If you like that style of gameplay, that’s definitely fine, I can totally see how it makes you think about enemy placement and unit matchups. I just prefer a little more forgiveness when I make a mistake or try a gamble that doesn’t pay off. I tried to play it without resetting, but almost every time one of my characters died the urge to reset the game was so strong that I eventually gave up. Thankfully this game is very generous with about 4 different ways of reloading an old save state or save game.

Unfortunately, I wish some other aspects of the game were as improved as the save states. The first Fire Emblem is a very clunky and unintuitive experience. First, you have a limited inventory, which makes equipment management a nightmare. You have a convoy that you can use to swap out equipment, but you have to do it one at a time, for one character each, and it takes up that character’s entire turn. You also can’t trade items to characters unless they have a free spot remaining. You can’t do any item management in between battles either, which I think could have really helped. Second, you can’t decide where to place your characters at the beginning of a battle, which isn’t so much of a problem until the final level. I lost about 75% of my units in that fight because your team gets separated into four groups rather than one, and you can’t pick who goes in what group so they all got slaughtered. Lastly, the story just isn’t very good. For the time, it’s impressive certainly, but it’s extremely difficult to follow. It feels like this game cut all intermediary dialogue and just presents what happens during the battles. It felt fragmented and incomplete.

At the end of the day, while this series isn’t for me, I can definitely respect this game and what it did for gaming as a whole. It really is a remarkable beginning to the series and it paved the way for a lot of great tactical RPGs to come. Unfortunately, it has many dated and frustrating elements that really hold the experience back from being a great one.
« Last Edit: November 30, 2022, 09:25:01 am by telly »
Currently Playing:
DOOM (PS4)

My music collection | My Backloggery

Re: 52 Games Challenge 2022
« Reply #275 on: September 19, 2022, 05:26:34 pm »
Game 12 – Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light (Switch) – 45 Hours
[...]
after finishing the very first entry on the Switch, it’s amazing to see how far the series has come, but also how much the first game was able to establish in terms of gameplay, characters, tone, lore, and story. I was shocked at how complex and deep this game is given that it originally came out on the Famicom. You have multiple characters to choose from with a deep array stats and abilities. There are over 10 classes that have different strengths and weaknesses and can change into stronger versions with enough experience. There are multiple different weapons and support magic and items to experiment with. It’s all very impressive given the period when this game came out. Outside of the gameplay, this game has impressive graphics and animations, and 25 huge sprawling battles to play with, so you have a lot of impressive and engaging battles to keep you occupied.

[...]
Unfortunately, I wish some other aspects of the game were as improved as the save states. The first Fire Emblem is a very clunky and unintuitive experience. First, you have a limited inventory, which makes equipment management a nightmare. You have a convoy that you can use to swap out equipment, but you have to do it one at a time, for one character each, and it takes up that character’s entire turn. You also can’t trade items to characters unless they have a free spot remaining. You can’t do any item management in between battles either, which I think could have really helped. Second, you can’t decide where to place your characters at the beginning of a battle, which isn’t so much of a problem until the final level. I lost about 75% of my units in that fight because your team gets separated into four groups rather than one, and you can’t pick who goes in what group so they all got slaughtered. Lastly, the story just isn’t very good. For the time, it’s impressive certainly, but it’s extremely difficult to follow. It feels like this game cut all intermediary dialogue and just presents what happens during the battles. It felt fragmented and incomplete.

At the end of the day, while this series isn’t for me, I can definitely respect this game and what it did for gaming as a whole. It really is a remarkable beginning to the series and it paved the way for a lot of grant tactical RPGs to come. Unfortunately, it has many dated and frustrating elements that really hold the experience back from being a great one.

This is pretty much how I felt about it when I beat it last year.  It's really cool to see how developed the ideas were even 30 years ago, but it is dated and clunky as hell.  I'm still a fan of the series, but I wouldn't really want to go back and revisit many of the older games because the QoL today is sooo much better.


kashell

Re: 52 Games Challenge 2022
« Reply #276 on: September 22, 2022, 10:35:14 pm »
54. Wild Arms

Despite a high encounter rate and a few mistranslations, this game is still barrels of fun. The opening tune sets the stage for a fun adventure that has lots of content yet doesn't outstay its welcome. I have even more appreciation for late 90s/early aughts RPGs after playing this again.

It's weird seeing the word "platinum" next to a game from 1997.

Re: 52 Games Challenge 2022
« Reply #277 on: September 25, 2022, 10:05:47 pm »
9. Abzu (Xbox)- I really love this game. So much to explore at your pace. I really love the music as well. I highly recommend it!
Currently Playing: Game & Wario

 

Re: 52 Games Challenge 2022
« Reply #278 on: September 26, 2022, 02:49:31 am »
32 - Metal: Hellsinger (PC 2022) - BEAT - This is one of those games that feels kinda made for me.  I generally enjoy rhythm gaming, I love heavy metal, so take that, mix with what is essentially Doom 2016, and you got a really good shooter.  It's not amazing because it doesn't really do anything fresh with the style of game it is, it's pretty straightforward, the hook is the rhythm combat which can feel a little challenging with some weapons, but once you get into the groove, it can really draw you in.

One negative might be the bosses, they are all a variation of the same boss, just with some added danger each fight.  It's not the worst, but it's like Breath of the Wild where each boss fight is just a Blight Ganon with different combat features and it comes across a little boring even if the fights are handled differently, but here in Hellsinger, it's mostly the same each fight, but they add a new attack pattern or there's a stage hazard.  It's the only part that feels abit budget, because this isn't a full price game, but I don't hate it.  It's definitely worth checking out if you like any of these like Doom styled shooters and you like metal music.

tripredacus

Re: 52 Games Challenge 2022
« Reply #279 on: September 27, 2022, 10:42:18 am »
34. Bejeweled 3
This game is technically endless but it does have a quest mode. Completing this mode is what I used to determine whether the game is beat or not. The quest mode has 5 stages and many different game modes. Some of them are unique to quest mode and it takes some time to determine the correct strategy to beat them. I think the hardest one for me is the Poker one. Interesting thing is that leaderboards are still active per each non-quest game mode, showing friends scores maybe from even years ago. Deso is the best at Butterfly mode, I can't imagine how she got that score.

Re: 52 Games Challenge 2022
« Reply #280 on: September 29, 2022, 10:07:54 pm »
Alien Isolation (PS4) - ABANDONED

While I'm not a big fan of stealth games in general, I am a fan of the Alien franchise and the idea of playing a survival horror game around trying to escape a space station while being hunted by a Xenomorph sounded amazing. Unfortunately in practice I didn't enjoy this game nearly as much I thought I would. I loved the atmosphere and faithfullness to the look at feel of the original Alien movie that is present in this game. Despite being a 7th gen title originally I was blown away by how good this game still looks minus some character models that haven't aged the best. The sound quality is also pretty awesome and certainly ads to the uneasy suspense and dread in this game. However, the gameplay is what ruined my experience in Alien Isolation, so much so that I wasn't even enjoying it anymore only a few hours into the game. First off, the human enemies in this game are given bullshit accuracy and also will spot you even when logically they shouldn't. I found myself dying over and over, and over again in the same sections which got so tiresome that I nearly quit before the alien even showed up. Then when the alien finally did show up I found trying to escape and hide from it so difficult given the limitations of the gameplay that I was barely scared, and just plain annoyed. Since I wasn't having any fun I decided to cut my losses and turn the game off. I have to say that I'm pretty disappointed that I didn't end up liking this game as much as I'd hoped, especially since many consider this game to be a bit of an under appreciated gem.

Re: 52 Games Challenge 2022
« Reply #281 on: September 30, 2022, 07:02:19 pm »
33 - Legend of Zelda (NES Switch Online) - BEAT - Been many a year since I've beat the original game, but I it's always a nice time.  I was actually spacing on a few things and where they were as it has been awhile, but I still remember a lot of locations to bomb, fire, where stuff like the blue ring is, most of the dungeons, alot of that, with only a few moments of checking guides to remember what I needed.  Looking at it from a modern perspective, some things are abit obscure, which is why I'd love to see it get a decent remake treatment someday.  Good new sprite art and animations, some better guidance for things, it's not impossible to play, but you saw it with even Link to the Past how they improved the series.

Re: 52 Games Challenge 2022
« Reply #282 on: October 01, 2022, 07:06:45 pm »
34 - Gundam Evolution (PC 2022) - ENDLESS - As someone who loves giant robots/mechs, I don't actually do a lot with Gundam.  Not that I have anything against it, but it's just a series with ALOT of series to get involved with and lots of different games that I don't think ever registered for me.  Gundam Evolution could be one of the more accessible ways of doing so as it's essentially Overwatch, but with Gundam.  It's much less strict about what units you play as, at least in casual, as while it's good to have someone that can do good healing or someone that can handle big damage, it's not required if you can make up for it with other units.  Basic gameplay modes like single point captures or attack/defend point capture or bombing stuff, but I dig the gameplay and the mobile suits are cool.  Pretty fast paced.  It is free to play and the paid stuff isn't...ideal...but it's not bothering me a ton.  I feel like improving what people can earn will keep folks around better along with decent new unit releases, but we'll see.

kashell

Re: 52 Games Challenge 2022
« Reply #283 on: October 02, 2022, 02:43:10 pm »
55. Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water

I went through the Last Drop a couple of times so I could see the better of the two endings for Yuri. I honestly stopped caring about Ren halfway through. Miu's ending was absolutely lovely. I didn't have the heart to see the bad alternate. Overall, a solid entry in the series. It's not my favorite - that honor still goes to The Tormented. But, I'd say the wait for a proper physical release was worth it.

kashell

Re: 52 Games Challenge 2022
« Reply #284 on: October 07, 2022, 07:59:54 pm »
56. Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX 2

I had a good time with this game until the final boss. As soon as the final boss started doing things tantamount to Mega Man X4's final boss, it sealed the deal. Of all the Inti games this is my favorite. Little things like that are enough to win me over. Overall, a really fun game and one I'm excited to replay often.