Last month was so loaded down with entries in both of the main categories that I managed to forget to add a couple games, which will be included this month. Since I write these opening blurbs at the beginning of each month, I’m sitting here hoping that February’s list won’t be quite so full, but you just never know!
~ Now Playing ~
Super Mario 3D World (Wii U) – Yeah, still hacking away at this one. Technically, I’ve finished the game. I’ve beaten every level and collected every doo-dad, but this game makes you really go the extra mile for your 100% clear: you have to beat every level with all five characters. It may be a ridiculous task, but the game is so good that I’m happy to oblige. Except for the final two stages that are just crazy hard to the point of not really being fun anymore.
Dark Souls (360) – Yep, still working on this one, although my progress came to a screeching halt in mid-January. Early in February, though, I finally overcame what many players consider to be the hardest boss fight in the game, and I really got back into the groove after that particular trial. Of course, then Lightning Returns happened and I haven’t touched Dark Souls since.
NES Remix (Wii U) – I’ve actually been slowly chipping away at this one since it came out in December, but haven’t ever logged it in the Monthend Wrap-Up. It’s kind of like a mobile game, making you play short little stages over and over to earn 3 stars. Only this time the short little stages are challenges pulled from a handful of NES games. It’s a really fantastic idea, and I have got my fingers crossed that a Game Boy Remix is in our future.
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII-3 (360) – I was far more excited about this game than anything not made by Nintendo in recent memory, and at first it seemed like a mixed bag. I love how it’s a fine blend of Pikmin and FFXIII, but I was a bit thrown off by the weird battle system at first. It seemed really oddly balanced, wth battles being either trivially easy or painfully difficult. But then I learned how to actually play the game and that’s when it clicked. Is it the best in the FFXIII trilogy? Probably, but I’ve still got a lot of game ahead of me. I’ve completed three of the main quests so far, and have just recruited a chocobo to tag along with me. It’s pretty great.
Blowfish Meets Meteor (iOS) – Remember how a few years ago Wizorb came along and tried to inject a little life into the block-breaker genre but didn’t quite hit the mark? BMM goes a few steps further and makes the most videogamey block-breaker there has ever been. Destructible environments, huge boss battles, cool power-ups, adorable graphics, mermaids, and more! Definitely worth the few bucks you’ll spend on it, so head over to the App Store pronto. I’m currently on world 4, the Inside A Whale world.
Pokémon Y (3DS) – The Pokémon Bank and Pokémon Transporter apps were released at some point recently, and that got me to pick up the ol’ pokey mans games again. All I really have left to do is to transfer all the ‘mons I need from previous games to completely fill the pokédex, and while that doesn’t sound like too much trouble, it’s a much bigger task than one might think. There’s plenty of breeding and level grinding involved. Luckily, I was pretty thorough while playing White 2, and had a huge chunk of the pokémon I needed ready to go. I’m still puzzling out where I’m supposed to find a legitimate Deoxys though. I think it’s going to have to come from a very unlikely online trade.
XCOM: Enemy Unknown (360) – I had absolutely zero interest in this game until I started playing it, and then I learned about all the base-bulding and upgrade-researching and satellite-launching and I was hooked. Is it wrong that I want a version of the game with the tactical battles stripped out so I can just enjoy the process of maintainig the base? I just want to be the XCOM COO, not a commander or whatever. Basically what I want is XCOM: My Life As A King.
~ Game Over ~
Contrast (360) – A game where you play as an acrobat lady who becomes a shadow to do platforming puzzles. It’s a cute little game that’s got a pretty great story and even better voice acting tucked away in there. It’s just too bad that the controls are loose and there’s a bug right at the end that can keep you from finishing the game. The 1920’s aesthetic is what sold me on it.
Game & Watch Gallery (GB) – Four classic Game & Watch games, along with fancy modernized versions of each. I own this cartridge and played the crap out of it as a young’un, but apparently I never “beat” it, because the fact that it has a credits sequence was news to me. Can you blame me though? Who would have the patience to play Oil Panic long enough to get all the stars without save states? The modern version of Octopus is an absolute blast.
Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why’d You Steal Our Garbage? (DS) – I skipped this one when it came out because reviews said it was super easy and super short. They were right on both counts, but having waited until it was super cheap, I don’t mind. It’s still a decently fun game, and has Adventure Time charm in spades. I kinda wish I’d gotten the 3DS version though: the game is the exact same either way, but the DS version suffers from really poor sound quality.
Body Harvest (N64) – I wrote mostly nice things about this one in its article, but to be completely honest, it got harder to play the longer I was at it. I can appreciate that it must have been amazing back in 1998, but today, it’s kind of tedious. Mostly because of the lack of save points. I can understand losing half an hour of progress because I was too stupid to save often enough, but if you want to save halfway through a mission in this one, you’ve got to trek all the way across the map to do it. Kind of a bummer if you don’t have access to something that can fly. The final level, while brutally difficult, sure was a lot of fun though.
Final Fantasy Tactics (PS1) – Having been working on this for months now, it’s kind of sad to see it end. On the upside, I’ve never beaten the original version before, and I actually went and recruited all the secret characters this time around. Not that many of them were worth the trouble, but it’s still nice to be able to say that I’ve seen everything the game has to offer.
Witch & Hero (3DS) – A weird sort of tower defense-ish thing that I ignored when it first released. But then I played the demo on a whim, enjoyed it, and bought the full game because it was on sale for $3. It’s super-simple, but can get overwhelming quickly. Unfortunately the winning strategy seems to be grinding, so that’s a bit of a bummer. Also the final boss is (probably) literally impossible to defeat until you figure out the very sly trick to beating her.
~ Reruns ~
Super Mario 64 DS (DS) – Between my current obsessions with Super Mario 3D World and Nintendo 64, I’ve been having a hankering to get back into good old Mario 64. I figured that playing the extended DS remake would be the best way to go about it (I seem to have misplaced my N64 cart), and mostly I’m right. It’s got a lot of great extra content, but the lack of analog control for movement is really jarring. It took a long time to get used to again, even longer than the N64 controller did. In fact considering how hard I found it to get the 100 coin star in Rainbow Ride, I’m willing to say that I never got used to it. I did get all 150 stars though.
