Following yesterday’s remembrances of the Nintendo 3DS, I decided to open up the records app and take a good, long look at all of the games I played on the system throughout its lifetime. I definitely could transcribe the entire list of 254 games, but I settled on just listing any game or app that I used for over ten hours. That’s still 74 different pieces of software!
Continue reading Nintendo 3DS by the HoursCategory: Final Fantasy
TE’s Top Games of 2020
2020, as I’m sure you’ve heard many times, was a heck of a strange year. And to cap it off, I’ve got a heck of a strange Top 10 Video Games list for you.
Longtime readers might know that I don’t always play by the same rules for this annual listicle. The rule for candidacy this time around is simple: It must be a game that I played for the first time in 2020. That is it. That is the one and only criteria that I’m using to decide which titles are eligible. I’ve also decided to do away with the “must have beaten it” rule, because it seems unnecessary.
My selection process was this: I made a big spreadsheet of every game I played in 2020 (total of 118), removed any that didn’t meet my specification (47), and then narrowed it down to 28 frontrunners. From there, I simply looked at the list and picked the ones that I had the most positive emotional reactions to while reading their titles. By some wonderful coincidence, that left me with a clean list of 10 games. Neat!
And here are my selections, presented in the order that I played them:
Continue reading TE’s Top Games of 2020Monthend Video Game Wrap-Up: December 2020
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Paratopic (Switch) – I honestly have no idea what happened here. It’s roughly an hour of what I imagine a really low-key drug trip must be like. That said… I liked it. I played it a second time to see if there were different story paths, and you can diverge a bit to find some neat stuff, but it’s a really slow game, which made the replay very tedious.
Spec Ops: The Line (PC) – Pew-pew shootmans game wherein I recorded my playthrough. You can watch it here. (tldw: Game is v good, my recording framerate was v bad.)
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity (Switch) – I think that this is an overall better game than the original Hyrule Warriors, though it just didn’t quite click with me in the same way. I liked it, I really did, but mostly it just made me want to play Breath of the Wild again.
A Knight’s Quest (Switch) – An adventure that was clearly inspired by Zelda, but also had a little Mario thrown in for flavour. Buggy as all heck, but still playable and mostly fun. Combat made a hard transition from mindless button mashing to intensely frustrating near the end, and between that and one atrocious boss fight, I just about gave up on the game. The soundtrack is way better than it has any right to be.
The Final Fantasy Legend (GB) – Retro RPG where nothing works the way you expect it to. It’s that way by design, though, because this is a spiritual successor to FF2 and the first game in the SaGa series, known mostly for its obtuse mechanics and punishing difficulty. Still fun, once you figure out how all the systems work. Little bit too grindy, though.
~ Progress Notes ~
DOOM Eternal (PS4) – On stage 6.
Fitness Boxing 2 (Switch) – Achievement collection at 26%.
Witch Hunt (PC) – Defeated the second “boss”.
Picross S4 (Switch) – Mostly done with the regular puzzles.
Robo Recall: Unplugged (Oculus) – Half-done Chapter 2.
SINoALICE (iOS) – Mostly grinding the Xmas event.
Monthend Video Game Wrap-Up: September 2020
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God of War (PS4) – I’m quite surprised at how much I liked it, and especially how effective the ending was. It was completely the opposite of every video game ending ever, and I thought it was great. Totally caught me by surprise. If you missed it, I already wrote a bunch about this one.
FNAF AR: Special Delivery (iOS) – I wasn’t expecting much, but got even less than that, because the game kept crashing after being open for a minute. So I barely even know what it’s about. It may because my phone is sorely outdated, but I prefer to think that the app is just that poorly-made. Deleted after about 10 minutes of struggling against it.
Continue reading Monthend Video Game Wrap-Up: September 2020Monthend Video Game Wrap-Up: June 2020
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Nirvana Pilot Yume (PC) – Part visual novel, part high-speed space racing. Except the “racing” was actually just straight-line obstacle courses where the camera was too close to the ground to see half the obstacles (holes and very short barriers) until it was too late. It became more of a frustrating memorization challenge than a test of reflexes and/or skill. Soundtrack was bumpin’ though.
Shantae and the Seven Sirens (Switch) – After the last couple of Shantae games deviating from the formula a bit, it’s nice to see the series go back to a more standard Metroidvania setup. I really liked that the transformations are all button presses now, instead of powers you have to turn on and off with dances. Music was a step down because it wasn’t done by virt. I’d like to play it at least once more in NG+ mode, but… I don’t think there’s time.
Continue reading Monthend Video Game Wrap-Up: June 2020Monthend Video Game Wrap-Up: April 2020
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Mega Man Zero 2 (GBA) – I played it again, this time using cyber elves to blow through the game like it weren’t nothing. Also I finished getting all the styles, except the one for collecting all the cyber elves. Because… I just don’t care enough.
Resident Evil 3 (PS4) – Fantastic remake. I never really got into the original RE3, but this one is just made for me. Yeah, it’s a little linear, and yeah, it’s a little more action-oriented, but those are things I like! At least, they make for less of a headache when you’re trying to route out your S-rank runs. Anyway, my first run was far from S-rank, and I died a spectacular number of times because this game is ROUGH.
Continue reading Monthend Video Game Wrap-Up: April 2020Monthend Video Game Wrap-Up: September 2019
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Final Fantasy X HD Remaster (PS4) – I’ve never really played FFX before, and I have to say… This is an excellent game! The story was fun and surprisingly emotional, and the battle system is really something else. Definitely a top tier FF. At least if you’re playing casually or maybe even speedrunning. The most important thing I took away from it is that going for 100% or really any of the post-game is a fool’s errand and nobody should ever bother trying. I don’t think I’ve ever spent so much time grinding in any other single video game. Post-game content is not fun here.
Bastion (Switch) – This is another game that has a very good reputation but I’d never played it until now. I am less excited about this one. Not that it isn’t good… I just think I would have got more out of it back in 2011 before indie games got real big. I liked the unique storytelling, though the gameplay felt a little hollow and I can’t really articulate why.
Spyro the Dragon (PS4) – I guess September is like “discover beloved older games month” for me. And I’ve listed them here in descending order of how much I like them. Honestly I don’t really get why people dig Spyro so much. It’s fine, I guess. But really you mostly just walk forward and gather gems and dragons. It’s like if Super Mario 64’s power stars were just sitting out for you to collect at your leisure. Also the bosses are all really terrible. I really grew to enjoy the flight levels, at least. And it’s a spectacularly pretty remake.
~ Progress Notes ~
Pixel Puzzle Collection (iOS) – 90.2%
Super Kirby Clash (Switch) – Levelled to 59
Astral Chain (Switch) – Currently on File 07
Monster Hunter World: Iceborne (Switch) – Up to the Acidic Glavenus quest
Yoshi’s Island (SNES) – World 2-8
Pic-A-Pix Pieces (Switch) – 14/20 panels complete
Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage! (PS4) – About halfway done, as the gems fly.
Zelda: Link’s Awakening (Switch) – Cleared Level 8
Monthend Video Game Wrap-Up: August 2019
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PictoQuest (Switch) – This picross RPG came out of nowhere, and I fell for it so hard. Like, so hard. Truth be told, it’s not really special in any way and is a little too short, but it’s a solid game. The RPG mechanics make things a little more exciting, but thankfully never come even close to getting in the way. Unlike Jupiter’s Picross games, it has more than three music tracks, and some of them are legit bangers. The graphics are cute and colourful, and the puzzle solutions have a vague fantasy theme. It’s good! But there are only like 100 puzzles and I devoured them in no time.
Dragon Quest Builders 2 (Switch) – This may be a perfect sequel: all of the good stuff from the first stuck around, and everything less good was either fixed or removed altogether. Hammer durability is gone. You can unlock infinite stocks of common materials. Bosses are somewhat less tedious. Enemy contact damage is gone. I just wish I had more creativity, so that I could truly enjoy the free-build island and post-game. Alas, I don’t really have time for it anyway. Rest assured though, this is definitely one of the best video games of 2019.
Command & Conquer ‘95 (PC) – Remember when I started replaying this a few years ago? I randomly felt the need to pick it up again so I did. And then I cheated to get past the level I was stuck on, which I’m reasonably sure is impossible to clear legitimately (GDI mission 11, if you’re interested). I tried about 25 times, so I feel like I gave it more than a fair shake. Anyway, I went on to clear the rest of the GDI campaign, and I think this marks the first time I’ve finished any C&C campaign. Don’t plan on playing NOD; I may just go into a sequel.
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (PS4) – I’ve never had even a slight interest in the Uncharted series, but here we are. I’ve now played through the last one. It’s… perfectly fine. Needed more puzzles. I’m kind of over the “follow-the-grips” style of climbing gameplay these days. Breath of the Wild ruined me by letting me free-climb everything. The shooting parts are also… fine. It seems like trying to stealth your way through is not an actual viable strategy, but rather a way to take out the first two guys of an encounter without getting shot at. It’s like The Last Of Us, where stealth exists, but the developers really just want you to shoot everyone. AMERICA! GUNS!
Peggle (PC) – Technically I only played around half the game, as it was a co-op run, switching off after beating or failing a stage. And… I failed a lot. I’m not great at Peggle. Though I have to say it’s a surprisingly good casual time-waster. We sat and played for four hours straight. Might have been longer if it hadn’t been a work night and I had to go home to bed.
~ Progress Notes ~
DOOM II (Switch) – Got brickwall’d on “Tricks & Traps”. SO MANY Hell Princes.
Pixel Puzzle Collection (iOS) – 75.6% complete
Pic-A-Pix Pieces (Switch) – 10.5/20 panels complete
Final Fantasy X HD Remaster (PS4) – Sidequesting before entering Sin.
Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate (Switch) – Just plugging away at quests.
Kindergarten (PC) – Completed two storylines.
Superbeat XONiC (Switch) – Did the first planet of mission mode and a bunch of free play.
Bastion (Switch) – Did maybe like seven or eight levels.
Monthend Video Game Wrap-Up: June 2019
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Castle of Heart (Switch) – I wrote a full review of this one.
Refunct (Switch) – I liked the screenshots, and decided why not spend the $2.50? Well, it’s… an incredibly simple game. Jump across the platforms to the beacon. Watch more platforms rise out of the water, and then jump to the new beacon. Repeat a couple dozen times until complete. It took me about half an hour to 100%, but it was a nice, relaxing game. I’d happily buy a sequel with a stronger focus on puzzles.
Mutant Mudds Super Challenge (Switch) – It’s Mutant Mudds again, but this time it’s hard as nails. More spikes than you can shake a stick at, and way more situations that require pixel-perfect movement and/or timing. Also, bosses that actually get easier as you go. And a fancy new death counter. I died just under 250 times before completing the game. Though I didn’t manage to find even one hidden character. *shrug*
A Hole New World (Switch) – An alright game that I bought because it looks (visually) a lot like Shovel Knight. It plays kind of like a linear Mega Man, where you get a new power from each boss, but you are forced on a track from Stage 1 to Stage 7. Levels are huge and ripe for exploring, but all of your attacks (until the last stage) have weird trajectories, which makes dealing with monsters more cumbersome than it needs to be. Also the final boss has so much life and you have so little life that it feels really unfair, and I could not defeat him. In the end, I’m glad I got this for like 75% off, as I really didn’t like it as much as I was hoping to.
Final Fantasy Adventure (Switch) – I rented this once, waaaaaay back in grade 7, and I think I got to somewhere around Medusa? All I remember about it was walking an infinity symbol around two trees in the desert to make a cave open. It’s a somewhat obtuse game that doesn’t always direct you all that well, and having to constantly switch weapons was annoying, but I would say that I actually quite enjoyed my time with it. It’s a very ambitious Game Boy game, and certainly a lot longer than I expected.
Final Fantasy IX (PS1) – I really like this game, but am honestly a little disappointed by how linear it is. You don’t get even a boat until halfway through disc three! Glad I got around to replaying it, as I’ve never gone back after my first run. I like the chocobo treasure hunting mini-game, but the chocobo hot-and-cold minigame is so tedious if you don’t cheat. The final boss track is so good but I would very much like a version with the weird moaning removed please.
Dragon Quest Builders (PS4) – This is more or less the game that convinced me to buy a PS4, so it makes me sad that I took nearly three years to really dig in and finish it. I played the first two chapters at launch, and then it got lost in the shuffle somewhere. But now I’ve gotten to the end, and what a spectacular ride it was. In fact, I liked it so much that I kept playing for all the trophies, which meant completely replaying three of the game’s four chapters. The in-game speedrun challenges for each chapter are surprisingly fun, and I’m thinking that if I were to try doing a for-real speedrun, this would be my game. But I lack the motivation, equipment, and free time for that kind of thing, so.
~ Progress Notes ~
Pixel Puzzle Collection (iOS) – 45.0% complete
Dauntless (PS4) – My guy is level 22, however much that matters.
Secret of Mana (Switch) – Working through Elinee’s castle
Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate (Switch) – Apparently I’ve barely played G-rank
Detroit: Become Human (PS4) – On chapter “The Stratford Tower” (about ? of the way)
Picross S3 (Switch) – A little more than halfway through Mega Picross mode
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (Switch) – 22% map completion.
Super Mario Maker 2 (Switch) – Made one stage and played through 50 on infinite mode.
Rocksmith (PS4) – Back on the guitar now that school’s out for the summer.
Nintendo @ E3 2019
It’s that time of year again, E3 time. The time when all the big video game companies (and small video game companies too) come out to show off their upcoming wares. The most hyped week of commercials in all the year.
Like I always do, I’m going to write up a list of my thoughts on all the stuff that Nintendo showed off in their big presentation. “Why just Nintendo?” you ask. Because that’s where my heart is. Other companies show off neat stuff from time to time, but when it comes down to it, I always get the most excited about the new Nintendo games. And I find that this gets more true with each passing year, as video games in general become less and less exciting to me.
To be 100% honest, the most exciting non-tendo announcment for me so far has been the FF8 remaster. Because of course it is. So let’s get on to the show.
Smash DLC – YES DQ HEROES
DQXIS – I have it on PS4, no need for a re-buy. Even if there is more content. The last thing DQXI needs in more content.
Bowser Mix-up – That was a fun skit
Luigi Mansion 3 – Down To Play… You can never leave…? is it the Hotel California? I like the Gooigi angle. King Boo is in the trailer… So is he not the main villain? No release date is weird.
Dark Crystal Tactics – I like the look of this strategy RPG, but man I strongly dislike The Dark Crystal
Link’s Awakening – Just hook it to my veins! Releasing in September!?!? Whaaaaaat I had it budgeted for December! And it now has some sort of custom dungeon builder? Weird, but it could be cool.
Trials of Mana – HOLY FARTS all I wanted was an official translation of Seiken 3 and SquareEnix gives me THIS instead? What have I done to deserve something so beautiful??? I’m not worthy!
Collection of Mana – Oh hey it’s that official translation of Seiken 3 that I wanted. Plus two other games. Neat! Wait what… AVAILABLE TODAY!?!?
Witcher 3 – I want to care, but I don’t have the time (see the last three bullets)
Fire Emblem Three Houses – I don’t even want to care about this one. Sorry, Fire Emblem. You’re not for me.
Resident Evil 5 & 6 – Neat. I might buy 5 again, when it goes on sale. I really like RE5. Six, less so. I don’t know why there was a bit about making some actors play RE1 in a spooky house, though. Why should we be more excited to play RE on the go than anything else?
No More Heroes 3 – YESSSS (less so to the 2020 release date, but I can wait)
Contra Rogue Corps – I’m happy that there’s a new Contra game… But it’s not for me. Because it looks bad. Really bad.
Contra Anniversary Collection – Meh. But I would rather have this than Rogue Corps.
Daemon x Machina – Yep, still hype for this. Even after the demo failed to impress most other people. But how can this also come out in September?
Panzer Dragoon – You’re not Star Fox. Looks lame.
Pokemon Sword and Shield – Pokeball Plus functionality… I don’t care. Nessa is cute tho.
Astral Chain – Extradimensional attack.. That’s enough for me, I’m sold. It looks so sweet. I absolutely can’t wait for this one. So it’s good that it comes out in August!
Empire of Sin – Nothing about this is appealing to me
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 – I’d like to play this, but I think the rest of my 2019 video game budget has been allocated already. And it seems like it would lose a lot to play it all by my lonesome.
Cadence of Hyrule – It looks cool, but I’m going to wait on reviews for this one.
Mario and Sonic Olympic Something – Feh.
Animal Crossing – I was done with Animal Crossing after New Leaf. This isn’t looking like it’s going to change my mind. So I really don’t mind the delay.
Sizzle Reel – I think the only thing in there that I’m legit interested in is Doom Eternal. And I am VERY interested in Doom Eternal. Maybe the Crystal Chronicles remake. Stranger Things 3 still looks lame 🙁
MORE Smash DLC – Banjo and Kazooie! This is ALMOST as good as the DQ heroes! It just makes me sad that there are no BK games on Switch.