GameTZ

1-Jan-24 1:30am
#1

SupremeSarna


Here's the spreadsheet for '24

Link to 2023's Thread for reference

LEADERBOARDS

Total Games Beaten: 218 Top Users 1. SupremeSarna (28) 2. DemonAlcohol, legendrko25 (22) 3. Slickriven, TalonJedi87 (18) 4. Renaissance2K (15) 5. Bleed_DukeBlue, ErickRPG, incubus421, PizzaTheHutt (14) ---------------------------------------------- Total Systems Covered: 85/334 (25.45%) Top Users 1. SupremeSarna (13) 2. ErickRPG, Renaissance2K (10) 3. Slickriven (9) 4. Bleed_DukeBlue (7) 5. incubus421 (6) ---------------------------------------------- Total Badges Earned: 23 Top Users 1. SupremeSarna (5) 2. legendrko25, Slickriven (4) 3. Bleed_DukeBlue, Renaissance2K (3) 4. Scott (2) 5. incubus421, PizzaTheHutt (1) ----------------------------------------------

Best1989 - - - - - - - Assassin's Creed Origins, The Outer Worlds, Strider - - - - Unique Systems Covered: 1/12 Total Games Beaten: 3

Bleed_DukeBlue image image image - - - - Centipede - - - - - - - Adam's Venture: Origins, Skylanders: SuperChargers, Skylanders: SuperChargers DLC, FoxyLand, FoxyLand 2 - Assassin's Creed: Mirage, RoboCop: Rogue City, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, Ziggurat 2 - 2 - Resident Evil: Village image - Mystical Mixing - - - - - - image - image - Young Souls - Bust-a-Move Unique Systems Covered: 7/24 Total Games Beaten: 14

BloodPuppetX - Mighty Goose, Dredge, VirtuaVerse, Werewolf: The Apocalypse, Persona 5 Tactica, Sonic Superstars, Mario vs. Donkey Kong, Mr. Gimmick!, Another Code: Recollection - - - - - - - *evercade* - image - Unique Systems Covered: 1/10 Total Games Beaten: 9

BucketofJustice - - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge, Progear, Tekken 8 *xsx* - Unique Systems Covered: 1/3 Total Games Beaten: 3

DemonAlcohol - - - - Assassin's Creed Valhalla DLC, Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Aperture Desk Job, Alan Wake Remastered, Alan Wake Remastered DLC, Alan Wake's American Nightmare, Control, Control DLC, Alan Wake 2, Not for Broadcast, Ravenous Devils, Thronefall, Yakuza 0, Kingdom Rush, Yakuza Kiwami, Not for Broadcast DLC, Donut County, Yakuza Kiwami 2, Last Epoch, Trover Saves the Universe, Marvel's Midnight Suns DLC, Yakuza 3 - Unique Systems Covered: 1/5 Total Games Beaten: 22

ErickRPG - Bad News Baseball - Mario Party 2 - - Pikmin 4, Trials of Mana - Super Dodgeball Advance - - - Dynamite Cop - - - - Mortal Kombat XL, Shadow of the Colossus - DiRT 5 - - Hyperdimension Neptunia ReBirth 2, Hyperdimension Neptunia U: Action Unleashed - - Twisted! - King's Quest IV: The Perils of Rosella, King's Quest V: Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder! Unique Systems Covered: 10/18 Total Games Beaten: 14

Finn - - New Tales of Borderlands - Star Wars Jedi: Survivor - Unique Systems Covered: 2/4 Total Games Beaten: 2

Frank - - - - - - - - - Portal, Mario vs. Donkey Kong - - - - - - - - - - - Hoa - - - - - - - - - - - - Final Fantasy VII () Unique Systems Covered: 3/32 Total Games Beaten: 4

Gypsy - - - Operation Winback - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Octopath Traveler II - - *xb* - - Lost Odyssey - - - Unique Systems Covered: 3/25 Total Games Beaten: 3

incubus421 image image image - Mega Man 2, Mega Man 3, Mega Man 4, Mega Man 5, Mega Man 6 - Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest - Octopath Traveler - - - - Dishonored 2 - Silent Hill: The Short Message, FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH - Close to the Sun, Roller Coaster Tycoon - Braveland Wizard image - Unique Systems Covered: 6/11 Total Games Beaten: 14

Johnny - - - Hogwarts Legacy - image - - Unique Systems Covered: 1/6 Total Games Beaten: 1

legendrko25 image image image image - - Mario Kart Wii - - - LEGO Batman: The Videogame, Fallout 3, Fallout 3 DLC, Gin Rummy, Crazy Taxi, Viva Piñata: Party Animals, Assassin's Creed Rogue, Dead Rising 2: Case Zero - PAC-MAN, Dig Dug, Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, Jetpac (image), Lunar Jetman (image), Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel, PAC-MANIA, PAC-LAND, Monopoly Plus, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl, Bluey: the Videogame, Golf With Your Friends, Dead Island 2 Unique Systems Covered: 3/6 Total Games Beaten: 22

PizzaTheHutt image - - Songs For A Hero - Definitive Edition, Max: The Curse Of Brotherhood, Shakedown: Hawaii, Nirvana Pilot Yume - LEGO 2K Drive, Aliens: Fireteam Elite, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart - Star Wars: Squadrons, Farpoint 2 - The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR, Ven VR Adventure, Travel The Words, Pixel Ripped 1995, Resident Evil 4 - Unique Systems Covered: 4/6 Total Games Beaten: 14

image Razeak - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Aliens: Colonial Marines - Unraveled Two - Aliens: Dark Descent image - - Unique Systems Covered: 3/31 Total Games Beaten: 3

Renaissance2K image image - - - Shaq Fu - - Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut - - - Mario vs. Donkey Kong - Shaq Fu, Donkey Kong - - Mario vs. Donkey Kong - - - Shaq Fu - - - - Shaq Fu - - Tekken 5 - - - - - - - - - - - - - Shaq Fu - Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut, Tekken 7, Tekken 8, Quake, Quake II - - - Unique Systems Covered: 10/37 Total Games Beaten: 15

sailorneorune - - - - - - - Silent Hope, Splatoon 3 DLC - - - - - - - - - - - *evercade* - Unique Systems Covered: 1/19 Total Games Beaten: 2

Scott image image - Super Mario Bros. - - - - - - Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Slay the Spire - - - - - - - - - - - Unique Systems Covered: 2/19 Total Games Beaten: 3

image Slickriven image image image image - - - - - - - Zen: Intergalactic Ninja - Mario vs. Donkey Kong - Shaq Fu - - - - - - - - - Asura's Wrath DLC - Return to Grace - The Last Case of Benedict Fox, Solar Ash, Lies of P - - Yono and the Celestial Elephants, Horizon Chase Turbo DLC, Quake 2, A Little to the Left - Ittle Dew, Binaries, Valdis Story: Abyssal City, Astalon: Tears of the Earth, Sheepy: A Short Adventure - image - image - Inertial Drift Twilight Rivals Edition Unique Systems Covered: 9/26 Total Games Beaten: 18

SupremeSarna image image image image image - Warbirds - Super Mario Bros. - Shaq Fu - - Wario World, Donkey Kong Jungle Beat - - Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze - Shantae (), Mega Man 8 (), Fire Emblem Engage, Pikmin 3 Deluxe, Pikmin 3 DLC, Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (), Splatoon 3 DLC, Donkey Kong Country () - Zelda II: The Adventure of Link () - - Kirby's Block Ball (), Donkey Kong Land (), Donkey Kong Land 2 (), Kirby's Dream Land (), Donkey Kong GB: Dinky Kong & Dixie Kong () - - Gunman Clive 2, Spotto! (), 6×1≠UNLIMITED? - - - - Mega Man X8 - - - SoulCalibur II () - - Grimace's Birthday () image - Scribblenauts Remix, Scribblenauts Remix DLC Unique Systems Covered: 13/23 Total Games Beaten: 28

TalonJedi87 - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Manhattan Project (), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of The Foot Clan (), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Radical Rescue (), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (arcade), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time (arcade), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time (), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters (), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist (), Shantae and the Seven Sirens, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Super Mario Bros. (), Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels (), Super Mario Bros. 2 () - - - Dead Island 2, Horizon Forbidden West, Hogwarts Legacy, Assassin’s Creed Mirage - - Unique Systems Covered: 2/6 Total Games Beaten: 18

Yoshi - - - Kyuukyoku Tiger, Blaster Master () - - - - Alien Crush - - Sniper Elite 4 & DLC, Double Dragon Advance (), Terminator: Resistance - Annihilation Line *evercade* - - Unique Systems Covered: 2/11 Total Games Beaten: 6

"RULES"

1. Respect each other and the gamekeeper(s) - this activity is a gift to the community, and jerks kill the fun. 2. Beat games. Proof is NOT required via an image, but lying is lame and you won't win anything for beating the most games. 3. It doesn't matter when you started the game - as long as you finish it this year, it counts. However, you cannot load up a finished save file and refight the final boss to get a clear. 4. DLC campaigns can count as a single clear for their respective game, so beating The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and The Champion's Ballad counts as two clears: BOTW and BOTW DLC. Any further DLC completed for that game will be lumped into the first campaign. 5. If you are interested in badges, when you beat a game for one, include something like 'Counts towards badge X' OR 'Earns me badge X, first game was Y.' One particular badge requires proof to obtain, however. 6. All participating past gamekeepers are thanked with a medal: image

ICONS & BADGES

Key - 50% of systems covered, - 100% of systems covered, - 0 games beaten, - 5 games beaten, - 10 games beaten (additional gold stars for 20, 30, 40, 60, etc), - 50 games beaten, - 100 games beaten, - 150 games beaten, - 200 games beaten, - top user in systems completed, - top user in games beaten, - badge leader Badges, note 2 games required for each 2nd Amendment: Beat 2 FPS or 3rd Person (ex: DOOM). All Aces: Beat 2 virtual card games (ex: Hearthstone) - win at least two matches in both. Bear & Bird: Beat 2 3D platformers and/or collect-a-thons (ex: Banjo-Kazooie). BFFL: Beat 2 primarily cooperative games with another person (ex: It Takes Two) - online or couch. Alternatively, you can beat two single-player games in a group setting, where all involved people are participating (ex: racing to beat a platformer or challenging each other's arcade high scores). Bo Knows: Beat 2 sports games (ex: Madden 08) - complete a single season. Brain Teaser: Beat 2 puzzle games (ex: Tetris). Chance Time!: Beat 2 party games or virtual board games (ex: Mario Party) - short games (under an hour) must be beaten twice while long games (an hour or longer) can be beaten once. Cross the Streams: Beat 2 cross-over games (ex: Mario & Sonic at The Olympic Games). The 2+ franchises meeting MUST be the game's theme, not just a small cameo by one in another's universe. Days Gone By: Beat 2 games that require 50+ hours to finish (ex: The Elder Scrolls), any genre. Requires in-game timer for proof. Delisted: Beat two games that can no longer be officially purchased first- or second-hand (ex: Pushmo). Destroy the Core: Beat 2 SHMUPs or on-rails shooters (ex: Gradius). Facelift: Beat a game as well as its remake, remaster, or demake - remake must have substantial differences. Gamer's Day: Beat the exact same game five times in one year. Girl Power: Beat 2 games with female leads, or are targeted towards a feminine audience (ex: Kirby?). Grown-Ass Man: Beat 2 challenging games (ex: Castlevania). Guybrush Threepwood: Beat 2 games from the point-&-click, text adventure, or walking simulator genres (ex: King's Quest). Hackin' and Slashin': Beat 2 3D hack-and-slash or musou titles (ex: Ninja Gaiden). Heavy Machine Gun: Beat 2 run 'n' gun games (ex: Mega Man). Hop 'n' Bop: Beat 2 platforming games (ex: Super Mario Bros.). Hyrulian Hero: Beat 2 action/adventure titles (ex: The Legend of Zelda). Level Up!: Beat 2 JRPGs (ex: Final Fantasy). Localize Mother 3: Beat 2 Japanese games that haven't been officially localized outside of Japan, or took at least a full year to be localized outside of Japan (ex: Mother 3, Final Fantasy V). Makin' Money with Minigames!: Beat 2 games that are entirely made of minigames (ex: WarioWare Inc.). Mass Destruction: Beat 2 games centered on destruction (ex: Rampage). Metroidvania: Beat 2 open-ended 2D platformers that focus on backtracking (ex: Metroid). Moustache-Twirlin': Beat 2 games starring a villain or morally-dubious character Now You're Playing with Plastic: Beat 2 games using non-standard controllers (light gun, musical instrument, steering wheel, dance pad, etc.) Pile Drivin': Beat 2 belt-scrolling brawler/beat 'em ups (ex: Final Fight). Quarter Muncher: Beat 2 games from the classic arcade, pinball, or breakout genres (ex: PAC-MAN). Quest for Peace: Beat 2 predominately superhero focused titles (ex: Batman: Arkham City). Raccoon City: Beat 2 survival horror games (ex: Resident Evil). Race Drivin': Beat 2 racing games (ex: Mario Kart 64). Rhythmic: Beat 2 rhythm games (ex: PaRappa the Rapper). Street Fightin': Beat 2 1-on-1 fighters (ex: Street Fighter 2) - beat standard arcade mode with 2+ characters OR beat 10+ match story mode. The Best Offense: Beat 2 strategy titles, tactical RPGs, or RTS (ex: Fire Emblem Awakening). Vault Boy: Beat 2 open world and/or Western RPGs (ex: Fallout). You're Winner: Beat 2 games with <55 review OR user score on Metacritic (ex: Sonic '06), or justify how poor your game was. image 2nd Amendment image All Aces image Bear & Bird image BFFL image Bo Knows image Brain Teaser image Chance Time! image Cross the Streams image Days Gone By image Delisted image Destroy the Core image Facelift image Gamer's Day image Girl Power image Grown-Ass Man image Guybrush Threepwood image Hackin' and Slashin' image Heavy Machine Gun image Hop 'n' Bop image Hyrulian Hero image Level Up! image Localize Mother 3 image Makin' Money with Minigames! image Mass Destruction image Metroidvania image Moustache-Twirlin' image Now You're Playing with Plastic image Pile Drivin' image Quarter Muncher image Quest for Peace image Raccoon City image Race Drivin' image Rhythmic image Street Fightin' image The Best Offense image Vault Boy image You're Winner

1-Feb-24 2:45am
#161

Bleed_DukeBlue


Thanks @SupremeSarna! Also, sorry to bother you, but it looks like you accidentally moved my Mystical Mixing clear to Luna instead of Portal?

SupremeSarna wrote:
January has now passed. I shall now run through a few fun stats from the past month to entertain you: -We've beaten 96 games so far! Good job, y'all! We'd have beaten more if I weren't being absolutely pounded with intern work right now. @ErickRPG leads the pack with 11. -We've cleared 48 systems. That's 15.34% of the whole lot. ErickRPG and @TalonJedi87 are tied for first place, with 11. -We've got four badges earned. Quarter Muncher is a popular one, isn't it? -I'm adding a new console to the OP: PS Portal. I'll have its icon finished soon. I'm also making a change to the BFFL badge: It will now include games that you play and beat in a group setting, not just ones that have a strict co-op mode. For example, if you and a friend race each other to the end of a single-player game, that would count. You must both be playing for it to meet the criteria, of course--no playing a single-player game while someone else watches, with no active participation.

1-Feb-24 2:46am
#162

SupremeSarna


Bleed_DukeBlue wrote:
Thanks @SupremeSarna! Also, sorry to bother you, but it looks like you accidentally moved my Mystical Mixing clear to Luna instead of Portal? SupremeSarna wrote:> January has now passed. I shall now run through a few fun stats from the past month> to entertain you:> -We've beaten 96 games so far! Good job, y'all! We'd have beaten more if I weren't> being absolutely pounded with intern work right now. @ErickRPG leads the pack> with 11.> -We've cleared 48 systems. That's 15.34% of the whole lot. ErickRPG and @TalonJedi87> are tied for first place, with 11.> -We've got four badges earned. Quarter Muncher is a popular one, isn't it?> -I'm adding a new console to the OP: PS Portal. I'll have its icon finished soon.> I'm also making a change to the BFFL badge: It will now include games that you play> and beat in a group setting, not just ones that have a strict co-op mode. For> example, if you and a friend race each other to the end of a single-player game,> that would count. You must both be playing for it to meet the criteria, of course--no> playing a single-player game while someone else watches, with no active participation.
Fixed.

1-Feb-24 5:05pm
#163

Renaissance2K


Playing through Tekken 8 has made me crave some high quality fighting games again. With so many historical options to choose from, the Retro Talkshop Thread made the decision easy.

Number: 6
Full Title: Shaq Fu
Platform Played: Super Nintendo
Collection: N/A
Native Platform: Super Nintendo
Original Platforms: Super Nintendo, Genesis
Applicable Badge: Street Fightin' (already earned), You're Winner (1/2)

Way back in the day, I may have babysat for a few kids that had a Genesis and a copy of Shaq Fu at the peak of Shaquille O'Neal's pop culture penetration. I don't remember playing it for very long before setting it aside. It took a lot for me to turn away a fighter at that point in my gaming career, so it must have been pretty bad, but not bad enough to burn it into my brain as one of the worst games of all time.

The above-linked article confirms a lot of my gripes about my game, as I played through the Story Mode with Shaq himself. Shaq is so damn tall that his regular attacks go over the heads of most of the other fighters. Special moves are extremely difficult to pull off, despite the actual on-paper commands being simple, and Shaq's specials aren't really worth doing away; they are slow and do terrible damage. Moving your character is inconsistent and imprecise, like steering a car in Jaguar's Checkered Flag. Half of each match consisted of me and my opponent just jumping past each other to opposite ends of the stage. When I did manage to do some damage, it was because I pinned the other fighter to an edge of the screen and just wail on an attack button until they fell down. Reminds me of another lackluster fighting game I played for this thread way back in the day.

I'm not even bothering to pick the game's obvious low-hanging fruit. That it's a supernatural fighting game. From Delphine Software. Starring a giant real-life basketball player. With no martial arts background.

But worst game of all time? Or even the worst fighter of all time? It certainly qualifies for the "You're Winner" badge just based on its legacy, but in a universe where E.T., Fight for Life, Superman 64, and Battle Beast exists, Shaq Fu barely makes it to the loser's podium. Though the awful soundtrack (which oddly sounds like a terrible remix of Super Meat Boy) tries very hard to kill any aesthetic goodwill, the game's animations and sprite artwork are actually really nice. We can probably thank Delphine - the brilliant minds behind Flashback and Out of This World - for that. And, at least, they didn't succumb to the temptation to fill the game with basketball references and mini-games. I even like the random, stupid "twist" in the ending, though that's par for the course for any Army of Darkness fan.

- Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut, Tekken 7, Tekken 8
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Bear & Bird - Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut
Street Fightin' - Shaq Fu, Tekken 7, Tekken 8
You're Winner - Shaq Fu

Unique Systems Covered: 4/38
Total Games Beaten: 6

There's still three more platforms of Shaq Fu I want to explore/subject myself to (five, if I can figure out how to get Amiga working on the MiSTer) and a bunch of playable characters to use for badge fodder, but the big highlight of this month is going to be a replay of Quake on my retro PC. At least, until February 29 rolls around.

1-Feb-24 8:16pm
#164

incubus421


Bleed_DukeBlue wrote:
Dishonored 2 is one of my favorite games of all time. I played it the first time on no powers no kills and you can’t be spotted once by guards. That was the most intense stealth experience I’ve had in a game.
Just got done beating it in high chaos mode with Corvo. It only took me another 4 hours. Just an awesome game! Again, I can't get over how detailed and intricate the levels are. I've not the patience to pull off a non spotted run. I think I'll end here.

2-Feb-24 12:10am
#165

Frank


First game of 2023 is down. Portal for Nintendo Switch.

2-Feb-24 2:36am
#166

Bleed_DukeBlue


#9 down: Skylanders: Superchargers on PS4. I'd like to count this toward the Grown Ass Man badge, as I beat it on Nightmare difficulty (which only 1.0% of players have done according to the trophy data). I've beaten other Skylanders games before on the hardest difficulty (Trap Team and Swap Force), but this was significantly harder than those. Some of the bosses basically one hit kill your characters, and, if you don't have enough to swap out, you have to start all over again.

This was a fun game. There's car, plane, and boat racing, levels in which you attack bosses or destroy targets via all of those vehicles, and a number of levels in which you get out of the vehicles and walk around, platform, fight, etc. There are some really creative ideas in this game, such as a level in which you eat a giant popcorn kernal and become gigantic. It's really cool to play as any of your characters in giant mode and wreck buildings with single attacks. I'm definitely going to go for the platinum (although it will probably take me awhile longer yet).

2-Feb-24 3:46am
#167

SupremeSarna


Bleed_DukeBlue wrote:
#9 down: Skylanders: Superchargers on PS4. I'd like to count this toward the Grown Ass Man badge, as I beat it on Nightmare difficulty (which only 1.0% of players have done according to the trophy data). I've beaten other Skylanders games before on the hardest difficulty (Trap Team and Swap Force), but this was significantly harder than those. Some of the bosses basically one hit kill your characters, and, if you don't have enough to swap out, you have to start all over again. This was a fun game. There's car, plane, and boat racing, levels in which you attack bosses or destroy targets via all of those vehicles, and a number of levels in which you get out of the vehicles and walk around, platform, fight, etc. There are some really creative ideas in this game, such as a level in which you eat a giant popcorn kernal and become gigantic. It's really cool to play as any of your characters in giant mode and wreck buildings with single attacks. I'm definitely going to go for the platinum (although it will probably take me awhile longer yet).
Was it actually difficult on that level? GA-Man is reserved for brutal expriences, like Castlevania or Ghosts 'n Goblins.

2-Feb-24 7:31am
#168

Bleed_DukeBlue


This is what the trophy guide says about it on PSN Profiles:

“For this stage, you may need a relatively large collection of Skylanders, as you will probably die A LOT. Be prepared to use them when playing through every level on Nightmare difficulty. Once you do it though, you will feel VERY accomplished.”

2-Feb-24 9:46am
#169

SupremeSarna


Bleed_DukeBlue wrote:
This is what the trophy guide says about it on PSN Profiles: “For this stage, you may need a relatively large collection of Skylanders, as you will probably die A LOT. Be prepared to use them when playing through every level on Nightmare difficulty. Once you do it though, you will feel VERY accomplished.”
Then I’ll count it.

2-Feb-24 10:05am
#170

Bleed_DukeBlue


Thanks! =)

SupremeSarna wrote:
Bleed_DukeBlue wrote:> This is what the trophy guide says about it on PSN Profiles:> > “For this stage, you may need a relatively large collection of Skylanders, as you> will probably die A LOT. Be prepared to use them when playing through every level> on Nightmare difficulty. Once you do it though, you will feel VERY accomplished.” Then I’ll count it.

2-Feb-24 11:22am
#171

PizzaTheHutt


Game #8 of 2024

Shakedown: Hawaii on

2-Feb-24 11:40am
#172

PizzaTheHutt


I usually only open this thread only when I have a new clear to post, so I missed out on the discussion of the "Now You're Playing with Plastic" badge. I have a bunch of VR games I plan to complete this year, I assume PlayStation Move controllers count towards it?

2-Feb-24 12:32pm
#173

SupremeSarna


PizzaTheHutt wrote:
I usually only open this thread only when I have a new clear to post, so I missed out on the discussion of the "Now You're Playing with Plastic" badge. I have a bunch of VR games I plan to complete this year, I assume PlayStation Move controllers count towards it?
Sure.

2-Feb-24 9:47pm
#174

Slickriven


Got my 1st in Feb, 10th overall, 4th on
Astalon Tears of the Earth
Badge - Really this should earn me the MetVania badge along with Valdis Story

I've been playing more on my PC and Steam lately, suspect that's a good thing with a decent gaming rig and 165Hz monitor, but the standout thing here is how excellent this game was. I gave it a glowing mid-play review in the 'scores for games you've been playing' thread and really it only got better. I 100 %ed the map, items and beastiary and got pretty dang powerful. So powerful in fact that the final 2 fights were almost too easy, but I suspect I paid my dues by dying and being a little weak to start. I know I complained about Valdis not having a good map, having weak controls and even a poor UI/UX, well this game was the polar opposite in all regards - really the only downside of those few things by comparison, is it would've been great to be able to put markers on the map for reminders of things - similar to Hollow Knight.

But overall this was fantastic and has rocketed to my top games list. Surely the best I've played in a few years and really top 10 all time. I put 19+ hrs into my save, though the clock doesn't stop when paused and that likely bumped me up a little. I did end up looking up a few things I got stuck on, but the game was WAY better vs. Valdis with giving you hints, the map and even tools to help you find things. After being sucked into this one hard this week - up at least 3 nights til 2 playing it, I am not sure what I'll move onto next. I did unlock a NG+ and some other things in Astalon, so I might start a new run.

2-Feb-24 10:18pm
#175

SupremeSarna


I beat Mega Man 8 (originally PS1), getting me halfway to the BFFL badge.
[imgt w=1280 h=720]https://pbs.twimg.co...[/imgt]
A friend is a big Mega Man fan, so he challenged me to race him at the game I knew best: MM8. It’s great race material—it’s fairly easy by MM standards, has an item shop that can help you strategize, and it’s fairly short. It’s the only MM game that I have intimate knowledge of, as it was the only PS1 game I owned for years. Jimmy is better at the series than I am, but he’s only played it once, years ago.

We set the rules. We could not practice 8, but we could research it as much as we wanted and play other MM games to shake off any rust. We both played the Legacy Collection 2 version so neither of us would have an advantage. We batted around a scoring system, but then simplified it to “first to beat Wahwee wins.” We’d then celebrate by getting ice cream, and the loser would foot the bill.

We started. I immediately took the long way through the intro stage due to muscle memory. Jimmy reached Tengu Man’s autoscroller stage first, and we both GO’d due to hubris. I managed to take the lead (and held it through the majority of the game). I got confused in the box maze in Clown Man’s stage, but I managed and even shared the path with Jimmy when he got there. I had trouble in the second half of Sword Man’s stage, as killer lava drained my life pool.

I had memorized Astro Man’s mazes beforehand, and I cleared it with little trouble. Jimmy, apparently, had done very little prep for this friendly race, so to be nice, I guided him through and even taught him a cool double-jump trick. I struggled against the second boss in Wahwee Castle, which helped Jimmy catch up. We both fought Wahwee simultaneously, and also GO’d on him. During the boss rematch, Tengu and Clown killed me twice, leaving me with one life to fight Wahwee; Jimmy held all three lives. I was afraid Astro Man would force me to use up my only HP refill before the final boss, but I managed to stunlock Astro and beat him easily.

So we both fought Wahwee at the same time again. I took hit after hit and used my refill. Then with low health and a short-ranged Flame Sword, I defeated Wahwee and won the race! Jimmy followed about 30 seconds later.

It was quite stressful for both of us. But it was a great time! I’m too compassionate to let my opponents flounder, apparently, but that speaks well of me. I got a surprisingly good slushy-ice cream mix at DQ, and the night was merry.

3-Feb-24 1:13am
#176

ErickRPG


#12 Pikmin 4 -

#12 overall, and 1st for switch surprisingly. Loved everything about this one. It's the best of the Pikmin games. They pretty much have improved on every aspect of the formula. Limited time during the day, but you have unlimited days to play. Time completely stops when you go into underground caves, so you can take all the time you want looking around there. The dandori battles (limited time vs. bots) thing worried me when I first saw it, but they are fun. The Dog is a fun element even though I was worried at first. Being able to ride him with the Pikmin makes it easier, not worrying about Pikmin lagging behind. Lots of quests and stuff to do.

image

3-Feb-24 1:28am
#177

SupremeSarna


ErickRPG wrote:
#12 Pikmin 4 - #12 overall, and 1st for switch surprisingly. Loved everything about this one. It's the best of the Pikmin games. They pretty much have improved on every aspect of the formula. Limited time during the day, but you have unlimited days to play. Time completely stops when you go into underground caves, so you can take all the time you want looking around there. The dandori battles (limited time vs. bots) thing worried me when I first saw it, but they are fun. The Dog is a fun element even though I was worried at first. Being able to ride him with the Pikmin makes it easier, not worrying about Pikmin lagging behind. Lots of quests and stuff to do. [imgt w=1280 h=782]https://i.postimg.cc...[/imgt]
They did a marvelous job on 4. It has the right amount of care put into it, with a sprawling world and quality Dandori. I wish they hadn't retconned the first two games to make it happen, though. Kinda feels antithetical to it being called Pikmin 4.

3-Feb-24 8:51am
#178

ErickRPG


SupremeSarna wrote:
ErickRPG wrote:> #12 Pikmin 4 - > > #12 overall, and 1st for switch surprisingly. Loved everything about this one.> It's the best of the Pikmin games. They pretty much have improved on every aspect> of the formula. Limited time during the day, but you have unlimited days to play.> Time completely stops when you go into underground caves, so you can take all the> time you want looking around there. The dandori battles (limited time vs. bots)> thing worried me when I first saw it, but they are fun. The Dog is a fun element> even though I was worried at first. Being able to ride him with the Pikmin makes> it easier, not worrying about Pikmin lagging behind. Lots of quests and stuff to> do.> > [imgt w=1280 h=782]https://i.postimg.cc...[/imgt] They did a marvelous job on 4. It has the right amount of care put into it, with a sprawling world and quality Dandori. I wish they hadn't retconned the first two games to make it happen, though. Kinda feels antithetical to it being called Pikmin 4.
It's been so long I forgot 1 and 2, lol. But I did think to myself "Olimar, he's still not rescued? oh well" and kind of just shrugged it off. I don't mind that sort of thing too much.

4-Feb-24 12:33am
#179

Frank


Frank wrote:
First game of 2023 is down. Portal for Nintendo Switch.
Game #2 is done as well.

Hoa

I've been putting off playing this for quite some time. It's a pretty short experience, but a really fun one.

4-Feb-24 3:37am
#180

PizzaTheHutt


Game #9 of 2024

Star Wars: Squadrons on

5-Feb-24 3:21am
#181

Bleed_DukeBlue


#10 down: Skylanders Superchargers DLC. I’d like to count this toward the Race Drivin’ badge.

All of the DLC for this game are racing expansions. There is one for land (car racing), one for sea (boat racing), and one for sky (plane/helicopter racing). I beat all of the DLC tracks and went through the other stuff that the expansions add (time trials, races where you try to kill a boss in another vehicle before he or she finishes the race, etc.). The base game mostly uses vehicles for combat and traversal, so the emphasis on racing in the DLC was a nice switchup. The tracks are creative, look great, and have lots of shortcuts.