52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

[bikingjahuty]

14. Grand Theft Auto 5 (PS4)

It had been a long time since I last played through Grand Theft Auto 5, 2017 to be precise according to my previous save data on my PS4, so I figured I was long overdue to see how much I still enjoyed this game. Not only did I enjoy GTA5 all over again, but it became my obsession for the past week where nearly every minute of free time I had was spent crashing cars, killing criminals, and doing all the other depraved things you can do in GTA5. Honestly, the variety of things this game gives you to do is a huge part of its appeal and why it’s hard to put down. Some of those many things you can do aren’t always executed as well as they could be, including some of the core mechanics like shooting and driving, but for what it is, it’s still pretty good. The sound in GTA5 is absolutely amazing, however one thing that always annoyed me about GTA5’s audio was how the radio is oversaturated with rap/hip hop. It would have been a lot nicer if they’d given you more variety of music to listen to while driving. I also noticed that they removed some songs from the game that were previous in it due to licensing issues. But otherwise the voice acting is awesome and definitely lends itself to how impactful and hilarious much of the dialogue is in this game. Finally, the presentation is still impressive, even for a 12-year old game. They really captured the looks and feel of Souther California which is what Las Santos is based on. There is so much detail crammed into every area and section of the game, it’s truly amazing what they did here. While it’s somewhat part of the presentation, the story is also great overall, although I feel like it does drag a little in the last quarter of the game, mostly after the North Yankton part. All of this definitely lends itself to being one of the most fun, addictive game you can possibly play, and it doesn’t surprise me whatsoever that GTA5 is the best selling game of all time. While I wouldn’t necessarily put it in my top 10 games of all time list, it isn’t that far off either. (2/16/25) [45/50]

[kashell]

17. Mega Man X4 - Zero

I finished this annual tradition a bit earlier this year. I played on Switch and it was as fun as always. Nothing to report. Just a way to kill some time with a favorite.

18. Mario Party Jamboree

After three boards (one of which I won!!) I feel like I can add this to the list. I used to have a negative view of Mario Party but this one has a lot of staying power, variety, and ease of access. I'll never own it but happy to be at someone's house that does.

19. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

Similar to MPJ, I feel like I can add this to the list after 12 - 15 or so tracks. I like playing as either Luigi or Boo. This is another game I'll never own, but happy to play. I'm actually getting better at it! I'll never be as good as some of those online players, of course. I swear some of them are formulated in a test tube.

[bikingjahuty]

15. Sonic Colors (DS)

Overall, I've been a pretty big fan of the Dimps handheld Sonic games. In some ways Sonic Colors is among the best, but in others it definitely leaves a lot to be desired. The presentation of Colors is decent, however I didn't find any of the levels particularly memorable in terms of their themes, art direction, or anything else. However, in terms of their layout and design, they are among the best between the Sonic Advance and Rush games. There weren't millions of bottomless pits to die in and overall things definitely flowed pretty well in each stage. Unfortunately the gameplay is held back by some of my least favorite bosses in any of the Dimps Sonic games, however a few were alright if I'm being fair. There is also the inclusion of the wisp abilities, which are fairly fun, albeit a little gimmicky. The audio in Sonic Colors is pretty good, but nothing amazimg either. Unfortunately, I felt fairly meh about this game. There were a few times where I thought I was really getting into this one, only for something to come up and annoy the crap out of me. But I think overall, the game is just a bit on the generic side and seems to lack an identity unlike most other Sonic games I've played. However, it's still worth a play through in my opinion, especially if you're a Sonic fan. (2/18/25) [30/50]

[kashell]

20. Mega Man X3

Of the three X titles, this one was has always been my favorite. I say that as someone who thinks Mega Man X is a 10/10, so that should say something. Another fun time was had. One thing this game has more is variety. Between Bit, Byte, Vile, and a bunch of other bosses, there are so many ways to get through the game. If you do some things correctly, then X will get to use Zero's saber.

[bikingjahuty]

First game abandoned in 2025


1. Sonic Rush Adventure (DS) - ABANDONED

For the record, i didn't hate Sonic Rush Adventure, in fact, it had some pretty cool aspects to the game such a pretty good levels as well as some of the coolest bosses. What really broke me was the "Adventure" aspect of this game which requires you to do a ton of backtracking in the form of replaying stages over and over again to collect specific resources you need to progress further in the game. Not to mention, having to travel between stages via some sort of craft which had me just wanting to play the stage instead of spending a minute or two getting there. This all really killed the pacing of this game for me, especially having ti replay stages I'd already beat multiple times already just so Tails could build a new ship for you or a Radio Tower. The audio was petty good, as were the visuals and art design. I also thought the story portion of the game was fairly endearing too for the most part. It's just the travel between stages and the stupid forced stage replaying that broke me in the end. It just killed the pacing of this game when all I wanted to do was just go fast... (2/19/25)

[telly]

Game 3 Marvel's Spider-Man 2 (PS5) - 24 Hours

I enjoyed my time with this game very much like the previous 2 entries. It bothers me that this is called "2" when MM serves as an important lead up story that in my opinion has to be completed first, but oh well. Much like before, what I really love about these games is the free-roaming exploration around the city, swinging at will, taking in the sites, and helping the citizens of New York as I saw fit. The game is essentially unchanged combat or exploration wise, though there are some additions that I liked including the web wings that allow you to cover distances more easily, and the web line that gives you a tightrope to make stealth takedowns from. The game gets a little unwieldly with the 2 Spider-Men that each have different skill trees and moves to unlock and customize. I kind of wish it was just one Spider-Man, but it does give you a lot more variety with your controls.

Where I don't like this game is really in the story and game-design DURING the story in particular. While the game is very open-ended in general, when doing the story missions you're either crawling through linear environments that are orchestrated to feel intense and scary but are pretty scripted and predictable while you listen to just the characters talk to one another, or your being dropped into linear rooms with copy-pasted enemies to take out with the occasional large boss fight. That's if you're even fighting, because a decent chunk of the missions are just glorified cutscenes with mindless activities like a theme park or cleaning your apartment, or Mary Jane stealth sections that are admittedly better than the first game but not a huge improvement. None of the story missions feel particularly exciting to finish, and on top of that, I just really didn't like the whole "angsty" Spider-Man approach taken this time around. Kraven as a villain was so lame and uninspired and it was strange to me that he could just take over the entire city and none of the police or military try to stop him, which was a big part of the first game with Li.

I might come back to this game to try and snag the platinum. This game is really fun still once you get past all the stuff I didn't really care for with the story.

[kashell]

21. Elden Ring

My goodness. What a game. For those wondering, I played it with my other account where I don't care about trophies. This was more of an "enjoy the ride game." And enjoy I did. For the most part. Open world games and I don't mesh. Elden Ring was as open as they come. But man. It was beautiful, rewarding, frustrating, and a bunch of other things that I've come to expect from From Software. But it also got redundant near the end. I'm not sure how people are able to acclimate to the intense, fast-paced combat with a melee build because enemies shred through health more than usual. It seemed that way, anyway. Using a magic build, I had to duck and cover often. I often found myself comparing it to Bloodborne which was just as intense but I was able to acclimate in Yharnam moreso than The Lands Between. All in all, I can see why the game has been so well-received.

22. Moonscars - platinum'd

This game was a bit more my speed and served as a good palette cleanser/in-between during Elden Ring. It was also a game I had my eye on for quite some time. Other than Irma seemingly being made of paper, this game was really fun. The narrative was easy to follow. The combat was tight. The setting was gorgeous and had music to match. I am kind of bummed that I got the platinum because it means there's not much reason to go back other than a random replay. Which, I might do at some point since there were still some witcheries I didn't learn. Fans of a Metroidvanias should enjoy this. Funnily enough, a year or so around this time, I just finished The Last Faith and griped about how much of a disappointment it was.

[marvelvscapcom2]

10. Monster Jam: Showdown Finished Feb 15th, 2025


11. Super Mario Bros. Wonder Finished Feb 20th, 2025



THE NEW "NEW" SUPER MARIO


Mario Wonder at it's core is one of the best Mario Games ever made. What it lacks in classic nostalgia it makes up for in so much creativity. You can kinda tell the project was a labor of love for the design crew


The power ups are wildly imaginative, weather it be blowing bubbles to encapsulate enemies, bulldozing underground, the elephant ability. It's got a power or move you're gonna remember amongst the crowd.

Levels

The game has incredibly ambitious level design. Some levels you race worms. Some you go through gauntlets of enemies seeking the fastest time. All of this is really rad and pretty risk taking for a usually one dimensional and dare I say dated franchise. I know nintendo likes to tout the "new" super mario bros on games that were fairly on brand. And hardly new at all.  This game? Everything it does is massively inspired and cute.

This game is fresh. Fresh as Korean street food cooked right in front of you. A new fusion food of Mario games. A deep fried oreo if most mario games are classic Keebler. The game is fresh. And boy is it fun.

pacing

Pacing is important for games to me.  This game is paced so incredibly well. It isnt too short where its a gameboy game. But it doesnt overstay its welcome. It lays the plot out. Gives amazing cinematics and then gets you to home plate before too long. It's very compact and worth adventuring again and again.

Overall the game is blissful. And a must play for anyone who grew up with the blast that was Mario World.  This is only the 3rd Mario side scroller I have beaten. And im proud its with the greats.


Rating - 90/100

[bikingjahuty]

16. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Switch)

It's a bit funny that I'm finally reviewing a game I've put easily over a 1000 hours on over the past decade between two different consoles. Mario Kart 8 has been one of my goto games to play in between games for the last 10 years. There are times I go weeks without playing anything else and just spend an hour to 4 or 5 hours straight just playing MK8 races online. The reason I'm finally reviewing this game is because 1) it's been a long, long time since i played through all the 150cc cups in single player, and 2) I've never played every single cup, including all the DLC cups and their courses back to back. Essentially, my recent experience with playing through every cup and track represents the most complete single player playthrough of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe I've ever done, and it absolutely warranted a review.


To put it lightly, I ADORE Mario Kart 8 Deluxe! MK8 was actually the game that motivated me to grab a Wii U back in the day, and it was the game I played the most on that ill-fated console. And despite having played MK8 for 3 years prior to its Switch release, it was still a big factor why I bought a Nintendo Switch at launch (along with Breath of the Wild of course). But anyhow, MK8 Deluxe is the best, most entertaining, and certainly most endearing racing game I've ever played. There are a mind boggling 96 tracks to race through in this game, which has to be some sort of record for a racing game. The vast majority of tracks are a blast to race through, with some certainly being better than others. Unfortunately, some of the more recent DLC tracks, mainly the Mario Kart Tour stages, are among the weakest in the game, but I guess they're there if you really want to select them. Most tracks are designed very well to optimize fast, frantic, and sometimes absolutely chaotic gameplay while up against opponent racers. There is also a tremendous amount of balancing in most tracks, as well as the placement of shortcuts, item boxes, and the many different hazards present in MK8. There is definitely quite a bit of risk/reward in each stage which just makes most stages very fun and dynamic to play through. Then of course there are the many, many racers and vehicle configs you can choose from which contribute even more to MK8 Deluxe's depth given character weight, wheels, vehicle type, and a plethora of other factors play into how fast or agile your racer will be.


Visually, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe still looks excellent despite technically being a 10-year, almost 11-year old game. Stages mostly all look vibrant and engaging, with tons of familiar, yet very fun Nintendo staples doing thing both on and off the tracks, as well as most levels having a distinct identity of their own which makes them feel unique and interesting. The 3D cartoonish look of the character models and stages has aged incredibly well, and I imagine any visual updates in MK9 will look marginally better, if at all despite it being over a decade newer whenever that game finally comes out. I honestly cannot fault any of the visuals in MK8 Deluxe, it's practically perfect as far as I'm concerned.


Finally, MK8's audio is excellent all around with some very catching songs throughout the 96 stages. There is a lot of throwback music and arranged versions of classic Mario Kart tracks as well, which only adds to the auditory bliss you'll experience while playing MK8 Deluxe. Characters also are voice acting excellently and capture the charm and presence those same characters exhibit in other Nintendo properties too. There are also some excellent stage sound effects and distinct noises like a blue turtleshell coming your way that just add the the already high bar set by the rest of the game's audio.


Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is so freakin amazing, it's almost impossible to imagine how Nintendo is going to make MK9 better. I feel like the best chance it has is to be just as good, but I guess time will tell with that one. Regardless of how good MK9 ends up being, MK8 Deluxe is an absolutely stellar game and a must play if there ever was such a thing in gaming. (2/21/25) [45/50]

[dhaabi]

10. Picross e2 || Nintendo 3DS || 02.15.25



Since some time has passed, I found myself wanting to play through another slow-paced, methodical puzzle logic game, so I settled on Picross e2. I have all of the e series games installed on my 3DS system after enjoying the first game, so I may end up playing an entry every year or so.

Overwhelmingly, Picross e2 is an extension of the first game in that there are few differences between the two games across all facets, from gameplay to presentation. Simply put, picross is a logic puzzle which tasks those solving to analyze how each tile comprising a large grid is filled, and its translations as a video game port well. For many of the larger puzzles introduced, there is often just enough information supplied that forces players to—initially, at least—work toward the solution in a linear way. At times, there is even only one immediate action to be taken based on the known information revealed, but it's easy to overlook that action when so many possible ones still exist. Like the first game, difficulty progresses at an expected pace, but players are free to solve any of the game's puzzles in any order they choose which is a welcomed decision, as some players may be unable to solve a puzzle but not want to feel stuck on it and instead move forward past it.

Compared to my time playing the first series entry, I found later puzzles within the game's Free Mode considerably more difficult. Even with the hint assist feature toggled on which highlights the rows and columns which currently can be solved based on all known information, I repeatedly found myself make some sort of incorrect action that negatively impacts the remainder of the puzzle-solving process. At times, the puzzle may eventually be fully completed but not solved because of some mistake made and players may be able to rectify the problem, but many of these instances require fully restarting. Unlike my previous playthrough which was more of a learning experience for me as I was unfamiliar with picross, I played through the majority of Picross e2 without using the hint assist feature, although there were still moments toward the end of the game and mistakes would sometimes be made that I did use it.

In a way, solving a picross grid is like solving a puzzle backwards, and it's especially true for more complicated ones. Over the course of my playthrough, there were three or four individual puzzles that I truly had no understanding how to progress early on after little progress was made. I went so far as to search videos discussing advanced problem-solving techniques, but I was surprised to learn that I was already familiar with them after naturally figuring them out while playing the previous game. I also searched for video walkthroughs to help gain insight, but they don't really exist. So, for those few challenging puzzles, I resorted to an illustrated walkthrough to help me progress; I picked a row and column plot that was in the general area that seemed like the most obvious point of where the next immediate tile solution would be. I'd have much rather just learned what exactly I was missing while analyzing everything, but that just wasn't an option.

While much of Picross e2 is like Picross e, there is one major difference—a new mode is introduced named Micross. In this mode, giant 8x8 grids are sub-divided into 10x10 sections which means the full puzzle is 80x80. Because of their size, there is a lot of opportunity for detail, so all of the puzzle illustrations are based on historical paintings. While there are only five of these Micross puzzles, many of them took me about one full hour to complete. Unlike other modes where there is a natural difficulty progression, micro-puzzles vary in difficulty since they're representative of only a tiny portion of the entire piece. For instance, middle pieces where subject matter is most often present may be complex, but side and corner pieces are elementary as little visual information appears. Some instances of the elementary ones truly take a handful of seconds to complete, but they're a nice break between the ones which take several minutes to complete.

Having now played the first two entries in the Picross e series, I'm hoping that subsequent entries introduce more quality-of-life changes and general advancements. There are 155 total puzzles in Picross e2 and still only one music track available to listen to. Even adding just one more would be a notable improvement. Hopefully there are new things to enjoy with the third installment.

[dhaabi]

11. Silent Hill: Downpour || PlayStation 3 || 02.20.25



For nearly a decade, Silent Hill: Downpour was what many consider to be the final full-fledged survival horror game within the series. Just like with the games I've played before it, I went in not knowing what to expect or the reasons for its less than favorable reception when compared to the first four entries.

Overall, Silent Hill: Downpour offers an expected story and protagonist that's representative of the Silent Hill franchise. That being said, what Murphy's story is exactly isn't really divulged for some time, although players do become aware of the tragic loss of his young son years prior. For nearly half the game, most of what the player really knows is that they're assuming the role of an escaped prison convict whose situation in Silent Hill arises from a vehicle accident. Murphy actually isn't here purposely and is instead fully set on just finding his way back out of town. Like with many of the previous entries, much of the early game consists of crossing paths with strange individuals who've clearly been broken by Silent Hill or, rather, broken down further by it; meanwhile, little is learned about Murphy until later on.

While many of the Silent Hill games forego straightforward narratives to instead express a vague one characterized by the high degree of mental anguish its characters struggle with, Silent Hill: Downpour is an outlier. That tragic history is still conveyed, but it is broken up considerably by the inclusion of side quests that are introduced once the player reaches the actual town of Silent Hill after navigating its outskirts. While I'm not opposed to the idea of side quests, I'm not entirely pleased with them. While the actual name implies goals separate from the main objective, they are not specific at all to Murphy's past in any way or even to the NPCs whom Murphy meets. Instead, they feel like random puzzle encounters which, while usually enough fun to solve, are superfluous. Overall, I don't really know if an entire side quest system is suited for the survival horror genre.

Perhaps more so than any other game within the series which utilizes combat, Silent Hill: Downpour emphasizes fleeing than confrontation. I'm again surprised at how involved combat actually is, and it's for the worse. When actually deciding to fight enemies—and this is largely in regards to when melee is the player's only available option—I often found myself juggling the controls for attack, focus, and block in a terrible panic. This was much less an issue of terror and more about certain enemies being quite overpowered. With that said, a feature that isn't explained but still an interesting concept lies in the storms that periodically occur. During these sequences, all enemies become far more aggressive than they normally are while actively seeking out the player. Despite it usually being more beneficial to run away from enemies than to engage with them, weapons are littered everywhere. While they can break, there is usually a decent supply of more durable ones to find while naturally progressing. Still, that there are so many comes across as such an odd design choice not only because fleeing is often the better strategy but because inventory space is limited. Players are limited to only two handguns and either one shotgun or melee weapon. Perhaps weapon abundance is to ensure players can remain relatively safe, but that idea rejects the entire genre's conventions altogether. At the same time, the act of fleeing is reinforced by scripted chase scenes that appear during crucial narrative milestones. Instead of actual enemies, Murphy runs away from some ambiguous void which pursues him. During these few encounters is really the only time Murphy spends in Silent Hill's otherworld which is a bit disappointing, and what purpose they really serve in parallel with proper combat sequences leaves me somewhat confused.

Most indoor exploration lacks any actual exploring as environments are often either small or linear, although there are few exceptions. With that said, most wandering will be outside throughout the town proper, although it often proves difficult to navigate even with a map as its layout and pathways aren't adequately displayed while looking the same. In fact, if wanting to branch off from the main story progression, the map leaves much to be desired as it lacks detail in reminding players where to go after discovering points of interest. While I before critiqued the game's weapons, I will mention how a small number of them serve practical purposes, such as axes being able to break down blocked doorways. It's a welcome feature (though not its first implementation in the series) but would benefit from more instances of it, as being able to discover optional points of interest is rewarding. Meanwhile, so many possible paths seem to exist, but they're regularly inaccessible or actually disconnected. Unless the location involves a major road, the map provides little information. This is made worse by the game's semi open-world environment which would otherwise be enjoyable to explore. With how the world of Silent Hill: Downpour was developed, I think it would greatly benefit from a more focused and linear adventure.

In addition to the less user-friendly design choices the game presents, it's unfortunate to report that there are many problems relating to loading the game's environment and frame rate. While mostly an issue while running about but periodically also while simply walking, frame rate stutters and pauses regularly. There were also a few instances where I'd enter a new area without the loading screen transition only for, after a few seconds of actually walking around, the transition to finally appear. During these instances, load times were notably lengthy—upwards of thirty seconds long. While these aren't game-breaking issues nor impact the play experience in any significant way, they were egregious and reoccurring enough to be irritating. Apart from this main issue, the only other thing worth mentioning is that the game would benefit from button mapping or just a less convoluted layout than what was decided upon. Although, I would be amiss to not comment on the developer's music decisions for the game's end credits, which features the following tracks: an original theme from Korn, a contemporary country song, and a song from Louis Armstrong. For a horror game, it was confusing to listen to this sequence.

Nevertheless, in spite of all the negative aspects I've highlighted, I still enjoyed my time playing Silent Hill: Downpour. The experience could have been substantially better had certain design decisions had been made, but the narrative itself was okay enough for me to not be overly bothered by everything else.

[kashell]

23. Mega Man X2

This run through was a bit more fun for some reason. I think it's because I didn't stress about getting all the Zero Parts and because I was able to snag the shoryuken, which was useful against the boss you face immediately after acquiring it. Still, of the three on SNES, this one is my least favorite.

[Cartagia]

SKALD: Against the Black Priory is an old school RPG in the vein of the old Apple II or Commodore 64 titles.  It's not as ridiculously difficult as those, as doesn't have nearly as many "gotcha" traps in the dungeons.  It was made by an incredibly small team (it might have just been one person) and is an obvious labor of love. While appreciate a general lack of instakill traps and the like, I do think there could have been a little more variation on the encounter types and dungeoneering.  Overall I really liked, but didn't quite love, it.

[tripredacus]

Castlevania Anniversary Collection came up and I tried it out. I technically did play it and did put the first game as NES on my game list, but did not count it as a true backlog game. I had the three NES games when I was a kid and I did not ever beat them back them. IIRC for the first game I was only able to get to the Grim Reaper or maybe Frankenstein. I don't know about the second game and the third game I was also able to get near the end. Outside of those three I'd never played any of the other Castlevania games except SOTN. After my short amount of time with Castlevania last week, I had no interest in playing the game again, or playing it enough to be able to get through it. This game collection on Steam isn't anything particularly new, it is just roms running in an emulator. Unlike using a regular emulator, there are no real options. I can't change the controls and of course you can't run codes. In fact the controls are weird where the default buttons for controller are swapped between Castlevania and Super Castlevania IV for example. Some day I would like to blast through these using cheats but my backlog is too big to allow for that kind of extra time.

I also played Blood Fresh Supply on Steam. I had Blood when I was younger but not the expansion. I didn't even care about playing the expansion. I played through episode 1 and didn't want to play it anymore. So Blood is probably retired forever. I also didn't count this as being a backlog game, since I had beat it when I was younger but also probably using cheats.

8. Dragon Age II (Steam)
This is the first game I was able to beat so far this year. It is a long game. The controls are the same as Dragon Age Origins but the inventory system was not like that at all. I was able to use my DAO save to influence this game, but I really don't know what it changes because I'm not going to be playing the games over and over to see what changes. This won't be something I'll be able to do for Dragon Age Inquisition, since I had started a game of that before playing DAII.

It was still good enough to play and I only really skipped one fight. There is one near the end where you fight a dragon. I couldn't get past that at all but since it wasn't required I didn't really try. There is a fight near the end of the game that I could get through. It basically comes down to if you didn't build/gear your characters properly to specifically handle that fight, you were doomed to not be able to get past it. Even on the easiest difficulty. Of course, it probably could be done if you micromanaged the fight like you were playing Starcraft, but there was no other fight or situation where you absolutely had to do that. So for that one fight I used a cheat to make my char unkillable. Which is fine, because the achievements were only on the Dragon Age site and not Steam.

But I want to talk about the internet age and games. First, Dragon Age II is Ultimate Edition, meaning it comes with all the DLC. And apparently has post-endgame things you can do. When I played, I never saw any of the DLC. I didn't figure out why until after I finished the game, where by that point I didn't care about doing anything with it. It comes down to the fact that these online services have been around for so many years and a lot of them used to be something else and was purchased. So it turns out I had two EA accounts for some reason. The DLC isn't tied to Steam, its tied to the EA account. Login with your account and the DLC appears. But the account I had was some other account and not tied to Steam. I didn't know I had two until I tried to link my account and was informed it was already linked to another account. I have this situation with other old-ass services as well... which account do I use for what? I have like 3 accounts for Microsoft/Live/Mojang and at least 3 for Sony. The entire reason why I was (am) TripredacusX on PSN is because my original Tripredacus account on Sony was connected to SOE (EverQuest) and my corporate account. Since I had left the employ of Sony, somehow that account was vanished... however the username is still active and you can't use it.

OK rant over. Some new stuff coming up but it does feel good to actually blast through the backlog to help determine what I actually want to play that I have.

[bikingjahuty]

2. Ninja Gaiden (NES) - ABANDONED

It's been a long time, but I finally picked up Ninja Gaiden and decided to see if it is as infamously hard, and also fun, as most claim it is. Having never grown up with an NES and because none of my friends had this game or its two NES sequels, I didn't find out about this game until I was a young adult in the late 2000s. Since finding out about it, Ninja Gaiden always fascinated me and it was a game I knew I was going to try out one of these days. Well, tonight was the night and I have to say I'm both humbled and pretty disappointed.


For one, the crazy difficulty this game is known for is just as much a product of design as it is the gameplay limitation of this game. The frequent and often inconsistent respawning of enemies, the stiff movement controls, especially when jumping, and the placement of specific enemies in close proximity to death pits makes getting through this game the stuff of nightmares and massive frustration. I got fairly far in the game (Act 6), but by then I was an inch away from quitting over how stupid this game can be. I finally knew i was never going to beat it due to its incredibly frustrating controls and difficulty and quit while I was ahead. That's a shame since the OST is really good for an NES game, as is the presentation. It's one of the few NES games I've seen to have cinematic cutscenes between stages and a decent, albeit slightly generic story to piece everything together. I totally get why this game escaped the dustbins of 8-bit obscurity, but its very blaring flaws are often given a pass due to the game's reputation and other positive attributes. For me, I think I'm done with the franchise's 8-bit entries and someday I'll start playing its 3D games that came out in the 2000s and 2010s...someday, but definitely not now. I need to cool off a bit before returning to this series lol. (2/24/25)